Christmas Parties

New Year's is fast approaching and will be very noisily celebrated in the Philippines, but we've just finished up some late Christmas parties in the past couple days.  Of the seven branches of the church that we visit, two had their parties on the 25th, one on the 27th, and two on the 28th.  We didn't hear about the other two.  We attended three parties and they were very different than the church Christmas parties we know from home.

At home, the tables are set up and decorated beautifully, there's a good dinner or at least a nice dessert, a nice program with special Christmas music performed, and, at the end of the evening, Santa makes an appearance for the kids.  And this definitely takes place before Christmas!

Parties here, in the branches, are more likely scheduled during the day, even at 8:00 a.m.  But we learned pretty quickly that they don't actually start until about two hours later than announced.  They'll begin with a carol sung by everyone there, and a prayer.  Then the branch president will give a little Christmas message, and then the party kicks in!

 

The chairs have been set up all around the room, but no tables.  The back wall of the stage has been
decorated with the name of the event, and streamers hung on the windows.

The activities/program of the party consist of games for all ages and performances by every age group.  There are relay races of all kinds, cookie-eating races, circle games, and dancing games.  We got pulled into a tomato-toss and did pretty well, including Tony diving to catch a short throw.  It ended when I made a really bad underhand throw that hit the ceiling!  (Fortunately, it was a green tomato that didn't splat!)

The performances are mostly dance routines and the music is always loud!  Not everyone has really learned the dance, but no one cares.  I think they're dances that they've seen on TV music videos.  Every age group is expected to have something prepared, and there are lots of laughs.

 Everyone has a great time, and if things aren't wild enough, someone will throw out a handful or two of candy, and all the kids scramble!  

This all goes on for a couple hours, with lots of loud pop music, until it's time to eat.  Some parties are potluck, some are bring-your-own-rice and the church provides the ulam - - whatever goes on top.  One branch had roasted a whole pig for their party.  All the food was in a side room and Tony went in to take pictures of the pig, which was something new to us.  The woman who was setting things up offered to turn the table so he could get a better angle.  Unfortunately, the legs on one end of the table weren't secure, the table went down, and the whole pig went sliding onto the floor!  They scrambled to get it back onto the table, and no one was the wiser.  (Don't tell anyone!)

These girls had seen me come in with a bowl of star-shaped sugar cookies and immediately became my best friends.

Lots of other cuties there . . .

As things are beginning to wind down, or you think they are, the karaoke begins.  Videoke, they call it here, or more like 'vidjokie.'  Everybody loves it!  So, while some are sweeping up candy wrappers and mopping up orange pop spills, some are singing their favorite popular songs, which, of course, are amplified.  It's funny - - babies can sleep through it.  Older people don't seem to mind it.  Maybe they're all deaf from so much exposure!

Anyway, we went to three parties like that, in about thirty hours' time.  It was a lot of fun, really, and great to see these people in their party mode, but it was pretty good to get outside afterward and hear the quiet!  We're told that New Year's is a much bigger celebration here than Christmas, and I'm thinking that's probably true, or at least, noisier.  As I write this, on December 30, late afternoon, I've been hearing a street party down the block, going on for a couple hours already.  We're told it'll go on until 4 a.m.  And that's just the music - - no fireworks yet!

So . . . Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Philippines!  : )

Work and Play

It's been a busy couple of weeks, with moves of furniture and supplies into three new apartments for missionaries, hanging curtains in those and other apartments, some leadership training, and lots of piano lessons.  And then we were asked to haul four desks and other supplies to a new apartment in Alaminos.  We'd not been over to that part of the mission yet, so we were kind of excited to see some new territory.  It's much farther west, out onto the 'hook' of land that forms the western border of the Lingayen Gulf.

We got a very early start yesterday morning, since the trip would take a couple hours and since the zone leaders there had a narrow window of time that they were available to help.  We drove out beyond Lingayen, previously the farthest west we'd been, and continued northwest.

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 Crossing the river near Lingayen, we saw all these fishing floats.  They don't seem to be manned, just anchored in the river, with huge nets suspended from their poles.

As you get away from the cities, you're more likely to see actual nipa huts.  Many have metal roofs, but these roofs are made of nipa palm leaves. 

We stopped for a minute at Labrador to look at the outrigger fishing boats.

After Labrador and Sual, the highway leaves the coast and heads into the mountains, zigging and zagging wildly for awhile.  (Wish I'd gotten a picture of the sign that reads, "Sharp curves / Godspeed.")

After a lovely drive through the mountains and hills, we drove into Alaminos City and found the church, where several missionaries were waiting.  It was transfer day, some had left for their new areas, and some were waiting for their new companions to arrive.  We picked up the zone leaders and drove to their new apartment.  (Sorry, no pics!)  It was a second-story apartment, but they got the four desks up there with little trouble.  Tony used his new power drill to install curtain hardware and we took care of a few other things there and were on our way.  (By the way, if you're ever a senior missionary in a country where most construction is concrete, don't bother buying a cordless drill.  Get a good one with a cord.)  We dropped off the elders at the church, ran and bought them some curtains, took their curtains back to them, then headed north on a little pleasure trip to Hundred Islands.

On our way through Alaminos, we passed the Oregon Building, of all things!  It's even green and yellow! 

 Hundred Islands is a national park on the Lingayen Gulf, which, to be fully appreciated, requires a boat tour out to the islands.  We decided to save that for another time.  There's a wharf there with lots of passenger boats.  And lots of ladies with baskets of souvenirs.  I finally decided to buy some keychains and was swarmed immediately by six or eight women, all wanting me to buy theirs.  I divvied it up as well as I could.  It was like throwing out one little piece of bread on the ground and have a whole flock of seagulls come after it.

The status of some of these islands must depend on the tide!

This boy's friend was in the water and gave him a shell he'd found.

After leaving Hundred Islands, we took a little side road which promised a beach and, eventually, a waterfall, according to our map.  We drove and drove, through some beautiful country and into a more and more remote, hilly area, on a remarkably good concrete road.  We drove until the pavement ended without finding the waterfall, which must've been up some trail, I guess. 

Rice paddies.

A carabao lounging in a field of rice straw, with fish ponds in the background.

Doubling back to the town of Bolo, we detoured to Bolo Beach, a beautiful little beach in a small cove, which was pretty much like paradise that day . . . a nice, cool breeze, a beach to ourselves, and shady palm trees to rest beneath.

The waves are small here, by the way.

Much of the beach is lined with resorts, which have nipa huts as 'cottages' to rent.

We parked and went out on the beach where there was a row of these funny mushroom-shaped umbrellas.  They had protective mesh over their tops, like hair-nets.

Directly overhead

Someone didn't want me to take his picture lying on the beach, but he took this one while I was snoozing.

Perfect.

 

 

I don't know if we were there for . . . an hour, maybe? . . . but it was heavenly and a perfectly lovely little rest from our labors and a break from the heat.  It was well worth the extra drive and we felt so refreshed for the long drive home and for the continuing efforts in the coming days.

We love our mission!  We love the work we're doing, the people we get to live among and serve, and the knowledge that we're helping with the Lord's work in many little ways.  And we're grateful for the blessings that come with our being here, and this day was definitely one of them.  Feelin' the love!  : )