Transportation

Thought it would be fun to share some type of transportation here in the Philippines!

This is a jeepney  It's like a little bus but much more crowded!

 This little horse and cart was brought to Manila to celebrate Independence Day here.  

They are used more up in the north part of Luzon

 Of course we have buses!  

Boy, do we have buses and if thy decide 

to turn in front of your car you stop!

 There are tons of motorcycles here!  I need to get a picture of the parking lot at the mall by our apt.  It's crazy!  See the blue lines on the road.  

There are signs telling the motorcycles to stay on the blue lines because it is safer!!!!!  

Whoa!  That is scary!

 Here is one of the transporter trains.  We think there are about 3 different lines here in Metro Manila but honestly I can't remember.  That is one thing they talked about on the way home from the airport when we were totally out of it!  I don't think we will ever ride on these.

 

This is a tricycle or a trike!  If you had to go on a long trip out to the country you might start on a bus, then move to a jeepney and then finish your trip on a trike!  Someday we are going to take a ride on one of these!  These are some of the cute girls from the Branch in Malaya.

  Then there is the taxi!!!  We have had our first taxi ride but for sure not out last.  This sign showed us where to go to get our ride.  They are priced well so you can use them often!  Ours was very friendly and we had a great talk about the Mormon Elders and why our Church is here in the Philippines!

Moving Day!

 We stayed at the Legend Villas hotel for the first three nights we were in the Philippines.  This was the sitting area outside our front door.  So pretty but we didn't sit there for even one second!  We walked out our door the first morning and I was sure we were entering a sauna!!!

 Pretty nice tub huh, jets and all!  It was wonderful until I realized that our new apt. doesn't have a tub!  So Friday morning, June 8th, I took my last bath for 18 months.
I'll still be clean though.  We do have a shower
even though there is a washer and dryer in it!!!

 These were the stairs leading up to our hotel room.  It was so beautiful with the painting and the wooden staircase and the old tile floors!  Glad we had some help with the luggage going upstairs but Elder DuPaix had to drag it all down by himself.

 Home Sweet Home!  The Pioneer East Tower.  This is our front foyer where there is a security guard that keeps a close eye on all who come and go!  They weren't excited about Elder bringing in our suitcases until they were sure that we really had an apt. there.  

The pretty fan was the first gift I received.

When you first walk in our apt. the kitchen is off to the right and bath/laundry room.  They didn't have any place for a washer and dryer so the couple before us put it in the shower!

This little front room is off to the left.

Next comes our HUGE bedroom with a small desk, couch, and built-in selves under the window at one end and our bed at the other end.  The picture above the bed is of Filipino fishermen.  Our landlady said she got it because we are fishers of men.  She isn't even a member but has rented to the missionaries all 12 years that she has owned this apt.  Another apt by us is for sale for p40 million which is $1,000,000!

The first night we slept on this bed was like sleeping on a box spring.  We bought a tiny foam pad and it is great!!!

Through the bedroom is our closet.  Twice as much space as we have at home!!! Plus we have a full length mirror!  To the right is the other bathroom and as you can see we actually have a shower that we can use!  The first week we took more cold showers than hot ones.  Then we learned the secret.  The heater runs on water pressure and someone had turned off half of the water under the sink!  Also, if you turn on the heater to HIGH, it will trip the breaker off.  Now we have the heater set on LOW and sometimes have to have the water running in the sink so there is enough pressure for a hot shower!

 This is the view from our front room window.  It's also the view from our bedroom window as we only have windows on that side of our apt!  We have decided to take at least one picture a month of this building so you should see the finished product before we leave!  

Sometime we'll show you all the lights that shine at night!

First Impressions!

We had a layover in Hong Kong after a bumpy 15 hour plane ride  

 Don't look too worse for the wear!

  

 The airport ceiling had some pretty cool archetecture!

  

The first look out of our airplane window of the beautiful land of the Philippines!

Mabuhay is a greeting in Tagalog!

Elder DuPaix is so excited to finally reach the Philippines!

We found three new missionaries who were also on our flight.  They still had one more flight to go   before reaching their mission in Bohol!  And they are still smiling!!!

The Philippines Manila Temple!  This is what we see when we walk out the front doors of our office!

Our second day here was spent getting our driver's licenses.  That included a drug test, blood pressure test, being weighed and measured and getting an eye test.  Why do we even want to drive???

At least we got to go to Micky D's afterward!!!

Thurs. the 7th we finally got to go into the office.  I was so helpful!  I cut up some little cards so we could get ready for the big launching of our public relations website.  Check it out!  www.mormonnewsroom.ph    This is our cute director, Haidi!

MTC Provo, Utah

What a wonderful experience we enjoyed in the MTC.

We met some of the most awesome people in the world.  We cannot wait for you all to go on your missions.  There is a spirit there that you can not find anywhere else.  We were especially appreciative of the enthusiasm that we felt from the young Brothers and Sister who were our teachers!  One of the highlights of the week was a devotional where Elder Zwick from the 70 spoke.  Over 2,000 missionaries were there and we all sang "Called to Serve".  Edie also got to sing with the MTC Choir and they sang, "Oh How Lovely Was the Morning".  What a week!

 Leaving our little home behind!

 Our District: Slades, Leatherwoods, DuPaixs, Blacks, and Taylors!

 Our classic MTC picture:  "Here are the Philippines!"

 We were able to find Chase, Elder Hill, and Ben!

What great young men!

  We were excited that Kyle was there.  He took good care of us in the food department!

What fun it was to meet cute Sister Ackley in the cafeteria!