As of today, July 22nd we have almost traveled from the northern most point to the southern most point in our mission.  We say "almost" because there are still parts of our mission we have not been to yet.  The above picture is a lot different from the pine trees we have in Star Valley or the cedar trees in southern Utah.  This is a coconut tree and they are abundant along the roads as we travel throughout all of our mission.

 During our travels, we find sporatic construction taking place on the roads.  Most asphalt is being replaced with concrete.  We have only seen one cement truck, and that has been in the city of Naga.  Most of the concrete for the roads is been mixed in small personal size concrete mixers like you would find people using for small jobs at their homes in the States.

 At one point, we were detoured at a bridge that has been out for 2 years.   We saw this flag girls with two sticks in her hands, one with a red rag for stop and one with a green rag for go.  At this particular place, we ended up going through a small village with dirt roads only as wide as our van.  At several places along the way there were other flag people (men, women & children) making sure we didn't get diverted from the path we were supposed to be on.

Above is a picture of a caribou workiing in a rice field.  They don't have or use any modern kinds of equipment.  Almost everything is done by hand, from the plowing of the fields to the planting of the rice.

We have learned the  art of eating our food here in the Philippines.  If there is a table knife set on the table, it is for decoration only, as you don't use it at all.  The big spoon is held in the right hand and the fork, which is held in the left hand, is used to push stuff onto the spoon.  If any part of the meal needs to be cut, that is done with the edge of the large spoon.  We haven't figured out what the little spoon is for, yet.  It is actually smaller than our teaspoon in the States.  We truly eat international food.  Our Tang breakfast drink is from Thailand, our milk is from New Zealand, and it requires no refrigeration until it is opened.  The milk we bought last week has an expiration date of October.  Our granola breakfast cereal is from South Africa.  Our Delmonte corn is also from Thailand, Heinz vegetable soup is from Australia.  Our tomato sauce, mayonnaise, and pork and beans and most of our soups come in pouches instead of bottles or cans.  The list could go on and on.  The "Strip Fries" pictured below are actually made here in the Philippines.  They are really good, and not very expensive.  They do have Lays potato chips and Doritos, but they're so expensive that we stick with the Pik Nik shoestring potatoes and the Strip Fries.

We are really enjoying getting to know the Elders and Sisters.  Last week we drove to Malilipot where we installed some screens on windows of one the Sisters' apartments.  They have found about 6 "small" snakes in their apartment and were quite worried that they might be bitten during the night as they slept.  One of the Sisters is from Luzon, the northern most part of the Philippines, and the other Sister is from the island of Mindanao, the southern most island of the Philippine chain.  Their cultures are entirely different from each other, and from the Naga Mission area.  All of our missionaries (even those from the U.S.) seem to adapt well.

The "rainy season" has really begun.  When we came here, we were told that we'd be coming at the beginning of the monsoon weather, but it has been really dry, with very little moisture.  The last couple of days and nights it has rained an awful lot.  We asked one of the members of the Branch we attend if this is the beginning of the rainy season.  He said yes, and that it will last about three months.  Everyone carries an umbrella with them at all times, and the tricees have curtains on them that can be pulled shut so as to protect the passenger.

We are trying to learn a little of the local language, Bicol, as it is different from Tagalo, which is the national language.  We would like to say "salamat", which means thank you in Tagalo, for all of your support and prayers.

Elder and Sister Campbell