Sunday, February 10, 2013

We were asked to join the Mission President and his wife on a trip to one of the two islands in our mission - Catanduanes.   We left Naga at about 4 a.m. on January 31st to drive for  two hours to the boat harbor, in Tabaco, where we boarded an ocean ferry. The trip from there to the island aboard an ocean ferry took about three and a half hours.  While there, we did apartment inspections and drove to San Vicente where we are opening a new area for our missionaries. We also had a District Conference which was well attended and presided over by an Area Seventy authority, Elder Pajaro. It is good to see the dedication of the Filipino people.  Attending were also several less-active members and some investigators who traveled long distances.  Following the morning session of conference, we were fed a delicious meal of fried chicken, fresh caught baked fish, chop suey and carrot cake for dessert.  The Filipinos have a wonderful way of preparing and serving their delicacies. 

 

While on the island, we were so impressed with its beauty, and especially their industry of producing a hemp-type rope from the fibers of the Abacca trees, which are VERY plentiful.

 

We thought we'd give you a glimpse at some of the things we saw and experienced while there.  We begin by boarding an ocean ferry. 

 

The ferry on the left is the one we rode on.  The trip was over calm ocean waters, so the listing back and forth was pretty minimal.

 



 

These are the stairs we had to climb to board the ferry.

 

This is the inside of the lower space of the ferry where they park all of the vehicles going to the island.  By the time all of the cars and trucks are parked, it's barely possible to get the car door open far enough to get out.  They utilize EVERY bit of space they have.

 

 

If you look close, you can see us sitting in the 5th row back.  The seats are very comfortable, but not a lot of legroom for people with long legs such as Elder Campbell.

 

 

The shoreline of Catantuanes Island as we were waiting to leave the ferry.

 

View from our hotel window.  There are always lots of rice fields, no matter where you look.

 

This is the dining room in the hotel we stayed in.

 

Elder standing next to one of their smaller boats that they use for fishing.

 

We sat at an outdoor restaurant called 'Sea Breeze', which was, as you can see, right on the shore of the island.  They had no inside dining, which was just fine, because it was wonderful to hear the waves crashing against the shoreline and feel the breeze.

 

This is a photo from our table where we ate, showing a pier you can walk out on.

 

In the center is Elder Pajaro, an Area Seventy, and to his left are President and Sister Bliesner.

 

 

When Jerry and the President drove to San Vicente to check out a potential new apartment for elders, they were served shrimp, rice and fish.  This is a typical meal for the Filipinos in this area, especially.

 

The tree in the center of this photo resembles a banana tree, but it is an Abacca tree, which bares no fruit.  They use the fibers from this tree to produce Abacca, which is used to make a hemp-type rope.

 

 

The light colored material you can see lying here, is Abacca, which has been stripped from the trees.

 

 

Abacca being prepared for drying.

 

Along the roadways, here in Catanduanes, we see a LOT of Abacca hanging over bamboo poles to dry.

This is a typical shed kind of "building", where they do a lot of the stripping of the Abacca.

 

This is a snall village we passed as we were driving along the coast.  In the foreground, you can see what they use for getting water to their village.  Also, note the Abacca hanging and drying.

 

We ate a 'dessert' called Halo Halo, which consists of beans, corn, pieces of pineapple, crushed ice/icecream.  It was kind of good, but definitely not what we consider a dessert.

 

After being on the island from January 31st to February 4th, we are ready to board another ocean ferry to head back to the port in Tabaco and then drive for a couple of hours back to Naga and  Home, Sweet, Home!!! 

 

View of the Tabaco shoreline close to where we left the ferry and headed for Naga.

 

Another picture of the shoreline in Tabaco.

 

Picture taken on Ferry, just prior to docking.  If you can't tell it, we were happy to arrive safe and sound.

Happy to be headed back to Naga and our apartment.

 

We are getting to know more and more of our missionaries, and soon our compliment of missionaries will be over 200.  We are anticipating many wonderful experiences and are enjoying being able to be of service to the Filipino people and our Elders and Sisters who dedicate their time to the service of the Lord.