After several LONG flights we finally landed in Manilla, Philippines. Although we had been traveling for 40+ hours, the moment we landed we headed to the car rental booth. It was Monday, missionary Pday, and we needed to hustle in order to see our nephew Mahonri who is also serving in a mission in the Philippines. We drove 3 hours and had a wonderful lunch with Mahonri and his companion. It was an awesome treat to get to spend some time with him. He is doing wonderful, is full of the spirit, and an incredible young man. We couldn't love him more!
Visiting Mahonri we a special treat but we were anxious to get to the island we would be serving on, Cebu. In Cebu we met with our mission President and were assigned to the Northern part of the island, Bogo district. We have been asked to help the district grow into a stake. David is serving as a counselor in the district presidency. We have 6 branches that we serve, on 2 different islands. It will be a lot of work but we are excited to do it!
It's gorgeous here! The ocean is breathtaking. There is white sand and crystal clear warm water. I'm so grateful senior missionaries can enjoy the water activities!!! There are plants and trees and greenery everywhere. I love the jungle! We went to visit some members who live near our home and got to hike through the jungle on small trails. It was crazy. From the road you can see homes all over. But you have no idea how many homes there are hidden in the massive trees and bushes. We passed home after home. Most were very humble. The people are incredibly loving and kind. Everyone waves at us and says hi everywhere we go. We love them with all our heart! Here are a few videos of our hike -
The family we visited was so warm and inviting. They said we were the first senior couple missionaries that had ever visited them. There were 4 generations living in there sweet humble home. They kept apologizing they hadn't fixed us anything to eat but we assured them we had just eaten so not to worry. We all shared messages of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and bore testimony of the blessings we recieve when we obey His commandments even though at times it may not be easy. Our hearts were filled with love and the spirit of Christ. It was a cherished experience. Here is a picture of the family, the young missionaries and some youth that went with us.
Some fun facts!
Public transportation primarily relies on either jeepnees or trikes. Jeepnees are the old World War II jeeps that were left here that have been redesigned to be used like a bus. They are painted all sorts of fun colors and can be found all over. Trikes are either a motor cycle or a bicycle attached to side compartment that can hold 2-4 people. They are custom made here and are super cool. Here are some pics:
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