Only in the Philippines!!

You have all seen my 'Only in the Philippines' posts before and know the reasoning behind them but if you are a first time follower to this blog, I will quickly recap the background to these fun pictures.

Being raised a mid-western girl and never having visited abroad much in my life, I have found myself truly intrigued with this glorious country. Living in this tropical environment among some of the Lord's choicest children, in a country racked with poverty, sickness, and sometime untimely death [as you have read about in this blog in the past], it has been such a great learning experience for me-I have never had the experience of visiting a Third World Country before and to be honest, I was a little apprehensive about this adventure. Having my 'best friend' at my side, we just packed our bags and came with faith. Isn't faith how each of us commonly live our lives? If you knew 'back then' the things you know now, would you have made the same choices? Probably not and that is why faith in the Savior and His plan is so essential to our successful earthly tests. That said, this country is definitely an experience in faith for me and I have LOVED every minute of my interactions with these wonderful people.

Our mission is coming to a close and I want to share one last 'Only in the Philippines' post...enjoy!

This is a true 'free loader'...the motorcycle is apparently out of gas and is
freeloading a ride with a trycie

They use vinyl banners for everything, including advertising of new
health care options outside of local hospitals and if there
is a breeze, never fear-the banner is properly weighted down with
a water bottle full of dirt!  Clever people...

One of my favorite things here is seeing the people taking a break/nap in
their hammocks. We see them hanging in trees, under porches, inside their
homes dangling from the rafters, or sometimes even on the move-this
fella is having a little snooze as he travels down the road.

This hot tropical climate encourages frequent swims in the nearby rivers
and streams-here an entire family is cooling off before returning to their
daily chores.

I have told you how incredibly clever these folks are-they can build or fix ANYTHING!!!
This young man needed a toy and built this whirlygig push toy from empty
soup cans, a piece of bamboo and a lot of imagination. The helicopter blades
actually turn as he pushes it along.

We live in a small town called Cabatuan and every Monday morning, the entire staff of city workers gather at 8:00 a.m. for a flag raising ceremony, the singing of the national anthem and a reverent moment of silent prayer. The entire city stops for that 20 minutes and all workers are required to attend. Policemen stop all traffic on the highway in front of the city offices and respect is shown for their country. What would happen in our country if we still had that kind of respect and love of country?

My bi-weekly shopping trip to the Palengke brings me such great produce-and this
little trip cost me about $8 US currency...

And we all share the roads with the cows...notice how the locals just are not at
all surprised or affected?

Elder Shaner's 'twins' I have never seen this before coming to the Philippines. In
America these must be 'culled out'

As we begin to wind down our time in this glorious country, we are sad to be leaving such a beautiful Garden of Eden setting. Everyday brings such beautiful scenery and experiences. Our adjustment was not long upon arriving but we know our adjustment in returning to our home country will be much more difficult. We will miss these wonderful people-they are so happy, humble, and such a great example of the Lord's ability to help people 'bloom where they are planted'. They do not know any different and revel in the great lives they have been given-wish more of their attitudes would rub off on me!