WOW - a month has passed along with Christmas!

New Years 2025 …. And Catch up!

I started this post almost three weeks ago and then Roy picked up a bug, followed by my picking up one bug after another… AND… we were right in the middle of a move to the southern part of the island.  Yes, we finally moved out of the big city of Cebu and accepted a new assignment in the little, TINY city of Alcoy.  You can always measure a city by whether it has a Jollibee, a McDonalds, and a 7-11.  We have ONLY a 7-11 so we are in a very “primitive” area with only a small market, the equivalent of a dollar store and a sister in the area who sells fresh eggs! It is a beautiful little area very close to the ocean and the people are very nice. 

We are taking over an MLS (member and leadership support) assignment that Susan & Glen Cary were doing just before they finished their 18-month mission. Roy is serving as a “group leader” for two small groups of Saints along with folks investigating the Church.  There is a Santander Group at the very bottom of the island and our Alcoy group.   After 18 months of working on the mission housing efforts; a completely different type of work is throwing us for a loop! We have four sister missionaries right down the street from us, and another four missionaries at the tip of the island.  The district is spread out for probably 50+ kilometers with 12 more missionaries north of us.   There is also another WONDERFUL senior couple, the Hansens on the west side of the island with another eight missionaries over in that area.  They are all great missionaries, and we are enjoying interacting with them while we figure out how to further the work in this area.    

OK…. Holidays.  We just passed our final Christmas in the Philippines and although we are NOT counting, have only six months left on our mission and that includes our 6-week extension!  The time has flown although I get very discouraged when I am sick and must slow down, I can’t believe we have been out of the US for 18 months!  Many problems associated with being out of our country, including health issues, medication issues, lots package issues, packages held in customs for more than 5 months!  This holiday season  was especially hard for me because of illness AND I didn’t have the distraction of having Sarahs family visiting; BUT…, we partnered with the Hansens and made a gorgeous Christmas meal for 18 of our missionaries on Christmas day!  They hung out for almost 12 hours and seemed to really appreciate the distraction from missing their families.  For most of those missionaries it was their very first Christmas away from home!   Great food, fun games, singing, dancing, and even frisbee throwing at the local soccer field!  When the meal was all over, we passed out leftovers and you would have thought a hoard of locusts came through by the time they all left! I forget how hungry young people are… especially missionaries on a very limited budget!  I can’t seem to keep enough food in the house but doing my best as I learn how to accomplish this new type of missionary work that not only supports our local missionaries but also supports and helps the members and leadership in our area. 

Holidays or not, there always seems to be a gathering of some kind and Filipinos like to eat!  They are super generous and share food at just about every activity, so I am always baking, cooking, making something to contribute! A great example of this was the day after Christmas we drove WAY up in the mountains to visit a member and their family and have a little “family home evening” for the holidays. The missionaries prepared a lesson and some games, and it was very fun! The family lives in a well-tended, bamboo home complete with coconut palms, home-grown chickens, gardens etc. etc. They obviously utilized the local materials and had WELL-tended bamboo chicken coops, pathways, porch, etc.  I was amazed at the class and cleanliness.  Before we came Sister Gina cooked amazing food, and Brother Felix got fresh coconuts and chopped them so we could make drinks, etc.  The drinks were a very new flavor with a mixture of fresh coconut water, sweetened condensed milk, AND believe it or not saltine crackers!  The soups and meat dishes were from her own chickens etc. and the flavors were amazing! Always a big pot of rice to go with the meat dishes.  We brought a special holiday macaroni salad that the sisters made the day before and I brought a bunch of gingerbread cookies.  The gingerbread response was about like my response to their coconut/cracker drink!  They use a LOT of ginger…. BUT… they use it in savory soups and other meat dishes.  They do NOT sweeten it & make it into cookies!  I saw them trying the cookies and was not at all sure if they liked them or not!  It was cute!  The macaroni dish that the sisters made is very different from our US macaroni salad…. It is made with cooked pasta but is sweet and has fruit, cream, sweetened condensed milk etc.! VERY different but it is one of their favorite holiday desserts!   Not crazy about it but REALLY like their custard or “egg pie” that is another favorite sweet.  I’ve learned to make it, and it seems to impress them each time a crazy, old white lady makes one of their favorite desserts.   No turkey to be had unless you go to one of the two "big box" stores in Cebu and about 5 dollars per pound for a butterball that was probably frozen and shipped last year! However, a holiday meal always included chicken and a lovely pork of some kind, along with soups and noodle dishes. They have great little hams that are in the shape of small, round balls I and about the size of a brown coconut. I think I’ve cooked 5-6 of them over the holidays and top them with pineapple and brown sugar & everyone goes nuts over them.  The typical vegetables go with, and they have year-round fruits, squashes, pumpkins, cabbages etc.  They also seem to love our US style mashed potatoes!   I learned to make Pancit – another wonderful Filipino dish (special noodles with veggies and meat flavoring the lot) and overall, we had good food and LOTS of fun.  OK….. I need to stop blathering as I try to catch up on the fact that I didn’t do a blog entry since Thanksgiving... holidays are always busy apparently anywhere in the world AND whether or not you are a missionary!  I will make Roy do the next one and keep it short and sweet!  I’ll start inserting pictures and explain them which will accomplish more than all of my words.

Farewell to Glen & Suzy Cary! They were our "batch mates" & it was really hard to see them go in early December! This was the night we dropped them off for their flight home.

For your listening pleasure! There was a complete and LOVELY choir to entertain us in the Cebu equivalent of Costco!

Us "wrinkle ranchers" making a fuss over Jesson (one of our two security guards @ Prestigio) on his 30th birthday; we LOVE this kid!

Just about the biggest smile you ever get from Jesson - he is the shy quiet type!

The Terecita Depar family and their very first grandbaby! They are members of our very first ward in Cebu City and we love them! The boy on the far left saw me crocheting during church one of my first 2-3 Sundays and came up and asked me to make him a hat! It was hilarious and I crocheted him a hat the very next week and believe it or not, he wears it for months each cold season! His mother Terecita came up to me very concerned about what her son had asked me to do... I explained and we got to know each other and laughed! This was a tough year for their family with job loss and an unexpected miracle baby! This was their Christmas Eve family dinner.

This is a closeup of their fat, juicy grandson in the blanket I crocheted him. It is so hot here one wouldn't think a flannel baby blanket would be such a treasure! But in/out of air conditioning and I am surprised at what treasures these blankets are! She couldn't believe I made it for them and all I did was act on a little prompting that a blanket was important. When I found out what a miracle he was - Terecita and I were both bawling!

The Prestigio Staff & guest Christmas party! Far left to right; Kathren & her husband, Harfield, Neri, Jay Abera, Marge and Kathrens little daughter, Ellen & her son, Dyke & Kimber Millard David & Ruth Brooks, Janet (favorite house cleaner and language exchanger!), Ken & Shaynie Wayman, Wendy Beesley and Suzanne & Darryl Damstedt. A great group and we LOVE our staff!!

Just part of the staff party feast! Front & center are the fish that Harfield grilled and brought. Behind that is fresh squid.... there were many items to include American type desserts, lots of lumpia, rice etc. I LOVE to see how they feast & this is an island nation and fish is usually on the menu. Pity those that don't like fish! Ohhh & underneath that food is some tablecloths I made for Christmas parties when we are long gone, maybe they will remember us.

The start of Christmas Zone Conference madness! This was the Argao district and the sashes I made them for their costumes. It is common to just wear a nice sash for dancing and singing! Left to right FAT me! Elder Smith (just a few weeks away from home & he is amazing), Sisters Pagdilao, Arancon, Lee, Foni (also brand new!) & the District Leader Alcobedos

The senior zone along with the office elders. Left to right elders Pertez, Goyena, Nidoy, Tatafu, & Christoffersen. Back row Dyke & Kimber MIllard, David & Ruth Brooks, Roy and I, Larry & Lapreal Hansen, Darryl & Suzanne Damstedt, Ken & Shaynie Wayman & last but NOT least Wendy Beesley

I couldn't begin to capture all of the special numbers each zone put on for the Christmas ZC! This was a small sample of the crazy Office Elders dance.

Elders Tatafu, Goyena & Christoffersen going nuts!

This is a close up of Elder Santiago... one of our FAVORITES. I want him to marry Hollis Bendall (my niece). Their whole district did a GREAT dance I just singled him out because I hope to be related to him some day!

The senior sisters wearing our "baking spirits bright" aprons that Therese Heath sent us. We absolutely LOVED them! Oh, and Sister Fernandez is in there as well!

Ruth Brooks made our office party super fun but giving us all Christmas socks to wear. As you know the Philippines is a southeast Asia country and shoes are NOT permitted in the house.... so we either go barefoot or put on socks or slippers and this made it so fun! Oh... and the office elders gave each of us senior sisters a little bouquet of flowers that lasted an entire week after the party!

Our Argao District sisters on Christmas day. Left to right: Sis Lee, Dela Cruz, Dube, Arancon, Zembe, Agbada & Pagdilao

Too many to list but our (almost) entire Argao zone after they were all in a food coma from Christmas dinner!

Diligent elders helping with the PILE of dishes following the Christmas dinner, they were wearing my aprons so I put my ginormous size into perspective! You should have seen the pile when they were finished.... I was SO impressed! These are Elders Alcobedos & Abad. great elders who are always happy and helpful!