A Hike to FHE

Yesterday, we went to the home of a family we hadn't met before.  The sister missionaries asked us to go with them for a Family Home Evening with this family and some neighbors with whom the sisters have been working.  I had a rough idea of where the house was, and the sisters did mention a river we'd have to cross.  I was glad they were having this FHE at 3:00 so it wouldn't get dark before we be heading back.

We drove out to the end of a muddy road - - it had rained earlier - - and parked the van.  Then we hiked off through the trees, along a muddy path.  We went a quarter mile or so.  It was beautiful there, but you had to watch every step.

Eventually, we came to the river, which was a small one with a crossing of sandbags all the way across.  The sisters and the young man who also came crossed it with no trouble.  But I'm finding more fears creeping in as I get older, and I struggled a bit with nerves and balance and slippery spots, but it wasn't too bad.

Doesn't look too hard.

My turn . . .

I really don't think they were laughing at me . . .

We went farther along the path, through lots of coconut palms, talking about how you could get killed by falling coconuts, until we arrived at a little community of houses scattered among the trees.  We were amused to hear music thumping from one of these huts as we approached, but we went to a different house.

This little house is home to a family of ten.  Well, the one behind it.  Maybe both!  It has a small enough living room with a few plastic stacking chairs, but a good part of it has been partitioned off as a tiny store, where you can buy snacks or packets of Tang or dish soap or noodles.  Beyond that room is another, with a bed platform and a table, where this good lady had spread a dinner for us all.  And beyond that, the kitchen, which had an open fireplace, elevated to stove height, on one side and a counter on the other.  Their fridge is in the living room.  There's also a ladder from the living room, going up a few steps to two bedrooms.  I think they just throw mats on the floors where they sleep.

This is actually the house we went in.

Family Night consisted, after an opening song and prayer, of an object lesson by one of our sister missionaries and some games led by Claudius, the young man who came with us.  I think everyone had a good time.  Lots of laughing, anyway!  After the closing prayer, those of us visiting were invited to dish up and eat, which we did.  The family had to wait, I'm pretty sure, because they didn't have that many dishes.  There was a lot of food - - rice (of course!), pancit noodles, some kind of clammish shellfish in a sauce (I asked the lady what it was, and she just said it's shells), and buko juice, which is coconut milk, with shreds and slices of coconut in it.

We played a game, passing around a rolled-up bandana.  Whoever is holding it when it tips over has to perform a talent.  Behind them, you can see the little store in the house.

Bon appetit!  The white tub in the back is buko juice.  Can't remember how many coconuts they said that used.  A lot - - 30?

Behind this little cutie, you can see the bed platform in the next room.

 After we ate, we said our goodbyes and made our exit, so the family could eat.  It was a fun time with them, though language was a bit difficult with the adults.  It all works out somehow.  : )

I'm holding a nearly-invisible empty cup.  The plastic cups here are incredibly thin.  You have to hold them gently if they're full, or you'll squeeze the contents right out!

As we left, Tony spotted a guy up in a coconut tree and took a couple pics, but it was getting a little too dark for a good shot.  Some of the trees in the area, we noticed, had a couple strands of barbed wire nailed to them, to prevent climbing.  Not sure how they harvest . . .

Then we headed back the same way we had come.  As we crossed the river again, a young girl came along behind us and walked her bike across the river - - it was shallow enough that she just walked across the riverbed.  (Why didn't I do that?!)

So . . . another day, another adventure!  : )