Another CSP - Community Service Project

One of our better cooking days.  Cracked wheat bread.  All made with a bowl and a spoon and lots of stirring and kneading on this table.  The kitchen gives you the jimmy jams  but we are cooking like it or not.

We were walking by a school and these kids love to have their picture taken.  We were out for a walk.  It is about 7:30 in the morning.  School starts at 8:00 a.m. and goes until 5:00 p.m.  Most schools wear uniforms but they don't in this one.

The girl standing by me in white skirt is JoAnn Racoma and President Tanner came over to set her apart as a missionary.  She is the sweetest girl.  Her mother is in red blouse and father in blue shirt.  I think the little kids must be grand children.  President Tanner gave her the most beautiful blessing.  He truly is an inspired mission president.  We learn so much from him.  It was great to hear the beautiful blessing and remind us of the important work we are doing and the blessings we are given to help us serve faithfully and accomplish what we have been sent here to do.  Such a privilege to be involved in the Lord's work full time.

We got home in time to visit a less active family with our sister missionaries.  You would not believe where this precious couple lives.  You step over a board to get in to their home and then sit on the floor.  They have two of the cutest little girls and this couple just smile and talk.  They haven't been coming to church but I honestly think they will start coming.  The sister missionaries taught them and then interpret for us.

Back to the Racoma's.  The priesthood men after the setting apart.

President and Sister Tanner sharing their love for JoAnn.

You go through a rice field to get to the Racoma home.  Sometimes it is wet and slippery and muddy.  This is the same place that I fell in a ditch when we first got here and did bad damage to my ankle which healed miraculously.

Our CSP project.  This is the Lanzadares territory.  This is part of the earthquake damage.  Habitat is building them a home on the side.  We were especially impressed with the ladder

Missionaries and branch members have come to help knock it down.  They have no equipment at all.  Norm tried to round up a sledge hammer.  Those are thick-heavy cement pillars.

They just kept chipping away at them.

Then they tied a rope at the top and pulled.  It went down after many tries and much labor.

This is coconut juice.  A delicacy.  They wanted to treat everyone.  After they get the juice out the scrape coconut into it and you drink the chunky coconut with the juice.  I would have to have a spoon for that one.  It is very delicious if you don't mind drinking chunks.  I had pop instead.  They are big pop drinkers in the Philippines.

Sister Grigg from Spanish Fork - or somewhere down there, goes home in April.  She is trying her luck at chopping open a coconut.

Brother and Sister Lanzadares in front of their daughters home.  All of these buildings are just feet apart.

Cleaning up the old and this is the new habitat home.

We usually sit in here and teach them.  The new habitat home is just to the side.  He hopes to rebuild their home but I don't think it will happen.  They don't have money and he is 70 years old.

They just about have the outside done.  Need to put on a tin roof and they asked Norm if he would do the cement floor.  Right now it is just weeds and all kinds of jumbled rock.

This is where they are presently living.

White door is their CR.  Behind is a room where he sleeps and the bigger part is where she sleeps with a son and daughter and two little girls living with them.

Norm loves this Catholic building.  We are out for a morning walk.  That is a tricycle passing by.  This is just past the market - very close to where we live.

Norm has made a name for himself eating Halo-Halo.  Elder Halladay eats Halo Halo. It has all kinds of fruit, a little ice cream, ice and I don't know what all.  You stir it all together.  They are big and very filling.

An English man runs this place.  I think it is called Silver Diner or something like that.  We went here to eat lunch with the sisters on our way to our appointments. We had a hamburger which you don't get very often.  It was quite highly seasoned but not a bad hamburger and they had delicious fries.  Sister Grigg who is going home in 3 weeks and Sister Palmieri from California and she goes home in July.  These sisters live in an apartment behind us and we truly do love them.  They are wonderful missionaries.  We have got to meet many of the people they are teaching.  They are very good to include us

Norm is off to a District Presidency Meeting.  He really does not enjoy these meetings.  He has such a hard time understanding what is going on even though they try to speak English.  They are long meetings.  So I have a little time to do the blog and maybe read the R.S. lesson for tomorrow.  The branch we are going to are the ones that asked me to teach on the spur of the moment and I was so unprepared.  I am going to read something this time.  One just never knows.