manilaadventures

Manila Miracle

2010-05-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we arrived home from Manila on the 2nd of April. Grant went back a week later because a big group of patients were coming from the island of Mendoro. They were to be operated on that week in the Cranio Facial Clinic that is owned by Deseret International Foundation. The building is a mini hospital that has the dental clinic that Grant built out when we arrived here. The building has really not been utalized and was just being used on Fridays for about 1/2 day. Grant was totally amazed when he went back. They had the two operatories ready to go with a/c no less. The third floor rooms were ready for patients to spend the night after their surgeries. It was like night and day to what had been going on there. We are calling it a miracle. They did 27 cleft patients that week and I think 7 or 8 more the next week. Grant came home tired but very happy with how things were going there. He is now getting ready to go back on the 21st for another two weeks. I have had to stay home because of health problems. I have what my doctor is calling COPD caused by my RA. I need to be on oxygen full time and we are in the process of figuring out how to treat my symptoms. I feel good but get tired so have to take it easy. I am hoping that I can get back to Manila some day because I am missing it. But it is good to be home with my family and I know that is were I need to be right now. So our plan is for Grant to continue to go back and forth for two week periods and do the surgeries. I hope to go back this fall or winter to enjoy that great weather again.

Yacht Trip/Cooking Class/Coming Home

2010-03-30T02:34:00.000-07:00

The two Grant's

Mike, Shiella, Grant, Susan, & Grant

Lunch on the Deck

Grant just relaxing

Just hanging out!

Grant Pace's yacht at Subic Bay

Cooking breakfast in the Galley

Sailing down the coast of Luzon

Cooking Class Raffel

Farewell Surprise Party

Last thursday morning we went up to Subic Bay with Mike and Sheilla our neighbors to go sailing on Grant Pace's yacht, the Puerto Galera. He was taking it down to Puerto Galera on the island of Mindoro. He named his yacht after this port. We sailed from Subic Bay in northern Luzon to another port south and spent the night there on the yacth. We went a shore for a swim and dinner at a very nice yacht club The next morning we were off to Puerto Galera.

The crew of three plus Captain Grant got going early. We arrived early afternoon and again moored at another yacht club. We went into town walked around a very interesting port city. We had dinner at a local restaurant and hotel. The next morning we left in a rain storm to catch a ferry to Batangas. That was quite an experience and a little scary as the ferry got hit by some big waves. Mike and Sheilla's driver and car were waiting for us and we rode home to Manila in about two hours. Our ferry ride took over an hour. I needed to be home to get ready for the R. S. cooking class I was teaching that afternoon. I had about 25 women sign up to learn baking skills and entertaining ideas. We had it in our little apartment but it worked out great and was so much fun. Grant even helped and we had a raffle to give many things we won't be taking home with us. After, Sheilla and Mike came and got us and said they wanted to show us something on the 6th floor of our building. So we went with them and when we got down there they took us into the party room and everyone yelled surprise! It was people from our ward that came to say good bye. We were totally blown away and surprised! They had all kinds of food and a big cake. Then they told us all the things they liked about us. It was quite touching to realize that we would be missed. For those of you who have not heard we decided to come home earlier than we had hoped. For a long time we had been wondering what to do. Grant had built out the clinic and then after that he just did not have much to do. We kept saying let's just give it some more time. We had even bought our tickets for coming back from being home in April. The people at the clinic were quite sad but they understood because they know the building just gets used one half day a week. Anyway we have kind of a compromise that they will group patients together and actually start using the building for the surgeries. Grant will return every two months to help do the surgeries. We fill good about things and think this will be for the best. If we can get them to use the building it will be a great accomplishment. See you all soon.

Asian Women's Conference

2010-03-17T23:45:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Manila Temple
Grant practicing with "silver heads" for Ballywag District Conference
Krisann and Robyn riding the out door escalator to our hotel at mid level in Hong Kong
Having lunch in Stanley Market after a full day of shopping
Robyn has to be admitted to the hospital in Hong Kong
The building with the steeple is the church building where they held the Women's Conference
We worked on a service project of tying quilts when we arrived Thursday evening
Some of my friends from Manila. We went to the Hong Kong Temple Friday night.

Last week I went to Hong Kong for the Asian Women's Conference and Grant went to Davao. We have a clinic in Davao and Grant went down there to see if he could be utilized better down there. They have a nice clinic down there and although it is in the Muslim area it is a pretty safe city. But by the time he got his license there our time would be pretty much over, plus we would have to move and get settled there. But he was happy to see what is happening down there. I had a great time at the women's conference. There were seven of us that went over from Manila. There were probably about 200 women in attendance for the conference. We had a service project and great speakers too. I loved being in Hong Kong again. We arrived on wednesday walked along Nathan Road, went to the Peninsula Hotel for high tea and watched the laser show from the Kaloon side that night. We stayed up late playing games and the next day took the bus out to Stanley Market. My favorite place to shop. It was lots of fun because we had no husbands that made us leave when we didn't want too. The Conference started Thursday at 5 pm with a service project and then speakers at 7. We again stayed up late that night playing games. Friday we had speakers, lunch and breakout sessions where you could choose your class. We went out to the Hong Kong that evening and then back to the hotel. That night we did not play games because Robyn was not feeling well. Early the next morning we were very concerned about her and got some of the Church members over there involved. A doctor who works for the Embassy and another priesthood holder came and gave her a blessing and quickly admitted her to the hospital. She had to stay there for several days. One of us stayed back with her and they just got home wednesday. They think she has dengay fever. It is kind of scary because she is the 3rd person I have known that got it recently in Manila.

Grant and I both got back about the same time on Saturday night. The next day we went with some of the senior missionaries to the District Conference in Ballywag. Grant and two of the missionaries sang at the conference. They sounded great.

INFANTA SCREENING

2010-03-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Our delicious dinner made by Melonie and Maricar the social workers

Melonie and Maricar on the left

One of the little patients that will be coming to Manila

Some of the little patients at the screening, notice club feet.

Beautiful drive to Infanta

Catch of the day. One of four big tuna's they caught that day.

Always interesting trucks to see.

We saw this little girl taking a bath as we drove along.

Last week we went to Infanta for a screening with Manny (director of Mabuhay House). We work with the social workers up there and they get the word out that we are coming to look for patients. Infanta is about a 3 hour drive from Manila going east and north until you come to the eastern shore. So we are on the western shore of the island of Luzon and they are on the eastern shore. It was a very beautiful drive and you always see interesting sights along the way. When we arrived we were met by Melonie and Maricar who are social workers for the government. It was a busy town and I thought very nice. They took us for a snack and said they would be bringing our dinner to us later because the place we were staying had no services and all the places in town close at 6:30 pm. I thought that was kind of strange. We stayed in a fairly nice resort right on the ocean. We were the only guests as it was the middle of the week. They came back later with a dinner for us of fish, rice, and mangos. The fish was really good. We ate out in front of our little cottages. It was only when we got back to Manila that I found out why everything closes at 6:30. I guess this is a dangerous area with political fractions that don't get along so people are just home and the town closes down at night. We didn't feel scared so I guess it was good we found out after the fact. The next morning we went to the large covered pavillion that each area seems to have. It is used for basket ball games (very popular sport here) and large gatherings. Lots of people were there and we had to listen to the political talks by the Mayor and others before we could start the screening. We found some patients that our organization can take care of. They will be bringing these patients down to Mabuhay on Monday. It was fun for me to help out with the screening and we will get to go to more of these in the future. Grant is going to go to Davao on friday and check out our clinic there and I am leaving for Hong Kong on wednesday to go to the Asian Womens Conference. I hear it is cold over there (60's). We are used to 90 so it will be a shock to our system. I am going with about 10 women from my LDS ex-pat group.

Young Single Adult Hawaiian Party

2010-02-28T23:08:00.001-08:00

We had the young single adults over for a party at our building. On the sixth floor of our building we have a party room and a pool area so we decided to have a party for them. It was a Hawaiian theme. Everyone seemed to have a good time eating pizza, swimming, doing the hula, and playing games. We even had a performance by one of the girls who is quite a good gymnast. For the last two weeks Grant has been involved with Project Hope. They are doctors from America, Britain, Australia and the Philippines who were here doing cleft lips and palates. They did over 300 surgeries and Grant learned some good techniques. We are leaving on Wednesday to travel about 4 hours away from Manila to hold a clinic screening for finding qualified patients for the foundation here in Manila. That should be interesting. Then next week I am going to the Asian Women's Conference in Hong Kong. There are about 8 of us going from our LDS ex-pat group here. We are also looking forward to coming home for a short visit the first part of April so hope we will get to see some of you then.

Nicole at Mabuhay House

2010-02-18T06:20:00.000-08:00

When I was over at Mabuhay House today I took some film and pictures of Nicole. She has come in from one of the Provinces. Before we left Salt Lake we were at church and met some friends of the Adamson's. They were visiting from Bermuda where the Adamson's had served a mission recently. Don and Diane told them what Grant was going to be doing and they were very excited to meet us because they had a relative with a daughter that needed some surgery in the Philippines. They felt like the Lord had a hand in meeting us and getting to find out about Deseret International Foundation. I think so too since it was just before we were leaving and they just happened to be friends of our friends. Now little Nicole is here in Manila and will soon be having her surgery. She is a very sweet little girl and very friendly. She likes the Mabuhay House. Thanks to the High Priests in our ward at home that have donated money to pay for the hospital costs of the surgery. We will keep you posted on how she does.

ISLAND OF BOHOL

2010-02-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

Wow, we have been on the go. We have had two of Grant's assistants from home with us to help train the gals over here. Leslie Bain, who most of you know arrived the last week of January and then Pyper came the next week. They were here for one week together to make it do able for the office back home. Now we still have Pyper for the rest of this week. We have tried to do some fun things while they were here. We took a little trip to Bohol where we stayed at the Panglao Island Nature Resort and Spa. It was a very beautiful and restful resort. While there we saw the famous Chocolate Hills, the tarsier monkeys (smallest monkeys in the world), lots of dolphins and beautiful coral and tropical fish. The situation at the clinic has it's ups and downs. Grant is running into restrictions on being able to do IV sedation and that has really slowed things down and put a whole new light on what he will be able to do. I am not sure how things will turn out yet but things have been hard to get going. Grant is having to be patient and that is really hard for him. The other problem right now is that none of the x-ray equipment is working. So things move slowly here but we have really met some wonderful Filipino people as well as Americans. We have also enjoyed seeing the country. It has so many beautiful places once you get out of the crazy Manila traffic. We send you our love and wish you a wonderful Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is a big holiday over here. I tell you what the Filipino's really like to celebrate everything! Each little Baranguy (neighborhood) has all kinds of celebrations. We went to one friends area to see their Santa Nino (baby Jesus) celebration. It is something they look forward to all year. It might be bigger than Christmas and Christmas is very big. We are enjoying getting to know their culture better. They are a very friendly sweet people and yet they have their problems with killing off political opponents during elections and anyone who is an elected official has to have body guards. The judges and political system is all corrupt. The poorest people in America would probably be middle class here. We love this big mess though!

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN

2010-01-16T05:25:00.000-08:00

HOMES AT SMOKEY MOUNTAIN

This is the new school they are building out of recycled box cars

The other day we went to an area they call the smokey mountain. It is actually a dump that they call smokey mountain because smoke comes off of it from the decomposition and people burning trash. It is really quite a shock to go there because people live on the dump and make a living by sorting through the garbage and selling what can be recycled. It is very sad to see the little children that live there in such conditions. The Government does not seem to do much to solve the situation. This area is not really that far from some of the most posh areas in Manila. It is like they are the forgotten people. Several years ago a lady was on a trip

here when she actually followed some children to the dump. She was so appalled that she went home to England and quite her job and came to Manila and started a foundation to help the children in the smokey mountain. She was the one that took us on the tour. Her name is Jane. She is in the picture above. She has got a school going there now and is building a new school right there on the dump. It is made from recycled box cars. It is going to have 1200 students. It was amazing to see the school they have there now with the children from the dump all clean and in their uniforms. I still can't believe that this place actually exists.

HAPPY 2010!

2010-01-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

Diane enjoying a mango shake at the Red Coconut.

Mango crepes for desert yum!

Sand castle on the beach in Boracay

Red Coconut Beach Hotel Boracay

Sunset on the beach at Boracay

Looking out to the beach from our hotel the Red Coconut in Boracay

Boarding our flight to Boracay

Dinner with Elder and Sister Ko

Taking a trike to dinner in Palawan

Drinking buca juice in Palawan

Lisa getting the full service upon arrival!

Crocodile Farm

Putting away supplies that Lisa & Diane brought

Getting ready to go into underground river

Happy New Year to everyone! We just put Diane and Lisa on the plane early this morning for home. It is January 2nd here and they will arrive home just a few hours after leaving here according to the clock. It will really take them about 24 hours because of the time difference. We had a great Christmas with them visiting us. We only let them rest one day after arriving and then we were off to the island of Palawan. We spent Christmas there doing some island hoping, snorkeling, going into an underground river and enjoying Puerto Princessa. The crocodile farm was very interesting too! We flew back to Manila on the day after Christmas so we could take Diane and Lisa to church with us and see what our ward was like. Sunday evening we had a special treat of a Korean dinner at the Ko's. Monday we left for Boracay. Move over Hawaii, all of the Caribbean, and Gulf Shores you have been replaced. What a beautiful beach. It was truly like paradise. We stayed at the Red Coconut right on the beach. each day we went out on these banka boats and went island hoping and snorkeling. The sunsets were beautiful. The mango shakes delicious and we didn't want to leave. Try to come to this island some day. We flew back to Manila in a small plane again. It is just a short 30 minute flight to paradise! It was New Years Eve and we wanted to experience the new year in Manila. We had heard that you had to see it to believe it. They were right! Fireworks went on for hours all over the city. We watched from our balcony on the 27th floor. I am adding a clip so you can get a little idea what it was like. You can't really comprehend how massive and loud and noisy it is with out really being there. We had a wonderful holiday and we are not missing the snow and cold one bit! But we are missing you and our family. It was so fun to have Diane and Lisa with us but now it is back to work.

Fireworks on New Years Eve

The True Meaning of Christmas

2009-12-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while we have an experience that touches our soul. Last night was such an experience. Susan organized a visit to the temple grounds for the children of the Mabuhay House (our Ronald McDonald house). The temple area is beautifully decorated here with colored lights on the palm trees and a manger scene near the temple. It is closed on Monday nights but we arranged for it to be opened for our children. We met about 5 PM and the children had been anxiously awaiting our arrival for the past 2 hours. We brought the children a treat of yogurt and tangerines and sang Christmas songs while we waited for the vans to arrive. I pulled one little girl over to the food. Her arms were deformed and so thin I thought they might break. I pealed a tangerine for her but had to feed it to her as her arms wouldn't bend enough for her to put the food into her mouth by herself. Most of the kids currently are there for repair of clubbed feet and are on crutches or in wheelchairs, but others have cleft lip & palate deformities, cataracts or crossed eyes or burn contractures. They each have a parent or guardian with them. After singing "Jolly Ole St. Nicholas" I asked them "when does Santa Claus visit in the Philippines?" All I got was a blank stare. I then realized that these people were too poor to have Santa visit. It is all they can do to feed their families. The time finally came to get in the vans and we drove through Manila traffic for 15 minutes to arrive at the temple. One little deaf boy, who has difficulty interacting with the kids because he can't talk, started jumping up and down with delight as he saw the colored lights and ran up to Susan, threw his arms around her and gave her a big hug. This was something he could experience like the other kids. We walked as a group, looking at the beauty of the grounds, stopped for a few group pictures and then over to the apartments of the temple workers right there on the temple grounds. We sang Christmas carols to them in English and Tagalog and they came out and gave the children candy. After, we went to the Manger scene and I told them a condensed version of the Christmas story as related by Luke. During the entire evening no one cried, there was no fighting among the children only a peaceful feeling of love and happiness that is difficult to put into words. When it came time to leave, no one wanted to get in the vans, but babies were starting to fall asleep and the time had come. We drove back to the Mabuhay House and let them out knowing they had experienced something special, the true spirit of Christmas in their hearts as we had. Early this morning I awoke with tears in my eyes as I thought about these children. We have come here to help mend their broken and deformed bodies but Christ is there to comfort their souls and through His atoning sacrifice they will eventually all be healed, completely restored to their perfect frame. They will undergo enormous difficulty in this life but can be resurrected without blemish through His perfect life and atonement. This makes me feel very inadequate but so grateful for the knowledge I have that He lives and loves us all.

The Clinic is Completed

2009-12-13T04:35:00.000-08:00

Susan is letting me write on the blog this time! The Craniofacial Clinic buildout is finally finished and really looks great. The purpose in doing this is to reduce the number of hospital cases we do by using the clinic as an outpatient facility thereby reducing foundation costs and increasing the number of cases we can do for the same amount of money. I brought a lot of instruments and some equipment with us but the dental chair, unit, light and air/water facilities needed to be purchased. The problem with much donated equipment is that it is a cast off from someone who no longer uses the outdated stuff or it is broken and requires hard to find and expensive parts. We thus invested in some new equipment that will last and can be repaired locally. Using my previous office as a template we employed a local carpenter to build out the cabinets, plumbing and electrical. We were able to get a donated panoramic x-ray machine to work so now we're in business. We should be able to do many of the cleft lip and some palates right in the office under local anesthesia and sedation. Dr. Guiverra, our plastic surgeon, was really excited after seeing the potential and I am anxious to work with him. I have struggled getting licensed through the local political boards and failed to get approval last week as one of the agencies once again failed to get their certificate to the Regulator Board in time so it will be January before I can be official, but we will begin to use the clinic anyway. I do have a cleft lip case scheduled later this week at Fatima Hospital Medical School. Hope you enjoy seeing the before and after pictures of the clinic. Hopefully, next month, there will be a few pictures of patients to show.

HIGHS AND LOWS

2009-12-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

Working with the government to try and get Grants license has been very frustrating. The committee meets on the first friday of the month. In December he was turned down because one letter had been sent to the wrong fax number. Then last friday it was turned down for some problem with the public health department. We don't even know what it is and Grant is trying to find out what the problem is today. He might have to wait another month. It was not so bad the first time because the clinic was being built out but now it is nearly finished. Now it looks like another months wait. You can imagine that it has been quite discouraging for Grant. On the brighter side, we went to Villa Escudero on monday. It is an old Spanish Plantation. The family still lives there but has opened it to the public probably to make money. The grounds are very extensive and beautiful. One of the fun things to do is eat lunch in the river by a manmade water fall. You can rent places to stay with back porches overlooking the river. They have bamboo rafts you can paddle around the river on. It is quite a peaceful and lovely place. I am sure it is used for some wonderful parties and weddings. Last Saturday night we went to Manny's ward party. He works with Grant and runs the Mabuhay House. He is also bishop of his ward. Anyway it was quite the event. I wanted to show you this little boy who did a Michael Jackson impression. He is probably about six years old. He should probably meet Annika and they could be on "So You Think You Can Dance"! Well, sorry the Michael Jackson dance did not download for some reason. Maybe it needs government approval. I am not sure what happened but I have tried twice and that's it because it takes too long.

Road Shows

2009-11-29T02:44:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the Makati Stake Road Shows. It was something. They had ten wards preforming for a packed house. Each ward chose a musical to give the gist of the story. We were amazed by the costumes, choreography, singing and all out enthusiasm. Each production had well over 50 people. The performances lasted almost 5 hours but it was worth it to experience so many people having such a great time. These Filipino's really know how to have fun. These video's don't really give the productions their due but thought you would get a little flavor of their enthusiasm.

2009-11-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

The Clinic is coming along great. The new chair was delivered on Thursday and things are starting to come together. Grant met with the Doctors at Fatima Medical school that volunteer their services and they are going to give the 6:00 am time slot for surgeries to Mabuhay Deseret. He will also be able to work with them under their licenses until his is approved. I have been helping at the Mabuhay House. This is where the children stay with one member of their family while they are being treated. The things they provide for are club feet, crossed eyes, clef lip and clef palate. On Thursdays we have a group of women from the Church come over for "Thursday Thrills". We have singing time and treats and an activity where they make something. Even the adults really get into it and have as much fun as the children. This house is so nice because these children come from other islands and areas outside of Manila. If they didn't have a place to stay they could not get the treatment they need.

Pagsanjan Falls

2009-11-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

Wednesday we went with Sister Kim and her daughter Hye-won and DiAnn Bledsoe to Pagsanjan Falls. It took us about two hours to get there but it is only about 50 miles away. That is because of the traffic in Manila. We got in these canoes with two boatmen to pull us up to the falls. At first a motorized canoe pulled both of our canoes up the river until we got to the rapids and rocks. Then the two boatman pull and push you through the rocks and rapids. There are 14 rapids. Then you are at the falls and you get on a bamboo raft and two raft men pull you up to the falls and underneath them behind the falls. It was on a small scale of Niagra but still very powerful. Here they let you jump off the raft into the water. I declined because I was not sure I could get back on the raft again! I will try to download a little film of going up the river. It was really a fun day and it was so beautiful with mountains on both sides of the river and lots of foliage. I don't think I have seen anything more beautiful even in Hawaii. They told us several movies have been filmed there.

Grants Life Changing Experience

2009-11-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Monday we went golfing. We have been on a vacation mode while we are waiting for the Clinic to get finished and Grants license to get approved. It was not the best golf course we have been on but it was interesting to have a caddy who magically put your ball where it should have gone rather than where it went. I also had a much appreciated umbrella girl who kept me shaded and fanned me at the same time. We did walk the 18 holes however. So when we got home my feet were feeling like I needed a foot massage. Luckily we have a massage spa in our building. So for one hour I got a great foot massage for about $5.00. Grant in the mean time went across the street to get his hair cut, not knowing that they do all sorts of services in the barber shop. He decided to have them cut his toenails which turned into a pedicure. He has never been able to understand why I love pedicures. Now he does. He says he is never going to cut his toenails again. Life changing experience? I would say so!

Orphanage

2009-11-13T01:28:00.000-08:00

Birthing room (birthing stool)

Make shift swing

Laundry room full of diapers

Nursery

Toddlers

Today we had and interesting experience. We went out to an orphanage that our friend DiAnn is involved with. It was started by a women that came over here with her husband and family about 20 years ago. She is a midwife and this is how the orphanage got started. Even though she works hard with the mothers to keep their babies some just can't do it. Also some of the babies are found in the trash and brought there. They are well cared for and most get adopted. They have a birthing center here and the women that have their children here have to agree to take a course there in how to take good care of their baby. They have a graduation ceremony when they leave and give them a little outfit for the baby and a receiving blanket. So if any of you are looking for a service project for your ward they could use cloth diapers. The ones you make. They are about the size of receiving blankets. They are made out of flannel or cotton. The could also use light weight receiving blankets or heavier ones that they lie on top of. Also, something for the baby to wear, since most of them don't have any clothes to take the baby home in. We could bring them back with us when we come in April or I could find people to bring things because they are always going back and forth.

CLEAN UP, TRAFFIC, & CLINIC

2009-11-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

Grant at ward cleanup

Getting the mold off the benches

Trimming the damaged fan palms in front of the Ward

Last Saturday we had a ward clean up from the damage done by the flooding they experienced here after hurricane Ondoy. Our building was flooded for several weeks so we were working on outside clean up and inside clean up. We were working on getting rid of the mold and sanitizing the building. We started at 7 am and were to be through at 9 am but that was about the time we took a break for a potluck breakfast. We left at 11 am because we had something and they were almost done. Sunday when we went to Church it didn't smell as musty as last week. We went to a choir practice that evening. It went on for 3 hours. We had hitched a ride with the choir director so we couldn't leave. They had it at a different building than our ward so we didn't know how to get there. Next time we will take our car. It was interesting to see that several families were still living there from loosing everything in the flood. Several classrooms had the name of a family on the door and that is where the whole family was living.

Traffic continues to be a big problem here. It is dangerous and scary to cross the road. The pedestrian definitely does not have the right of way. But the fruit is so good here that it makes up for the horrible traffic. Everyday we enjoy mangos, bananas, and pineapple. What a treat!

We got some disappointing news yesterday. The committee that met last friday to see if Grant got his license did not give approval yet because they were missing one letter. It had been faxed but not to the right number. We were given some misinformation. Now we have to wait until the first part of December for their next meeting. It is not too much of a problem because the clinic is still being built out. They just started on it this week and it will probably get done just about the time Grant gets his license. Thursday I am going to the Mabuhay House and I am going to teach the kids how to sing "There's a big fat turkey down on Grandpa's Farm". Maybe I will video them and send it to you for Thanksgiving. I am sorry that the photos are on top of each other. I have no idea how it happened. I hope you like the collage effect! Now it seems to have magically gone away. Go figure!

My Life Keeps Getting Better

2009-11-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

Manila Temple
Our Plants in the Trunk
Our James
James twin brother?
Our Trunk Garden
We are making some progress here. Grant is hoping to have his license approved today. He met with a carpenter at the first of the week and he can do the build out for the clinic in three weeks and it will only cost $3000. Let's hope this is all going to happen. Today he is out looking for dental equipment and he just called and let me know that he was finding some of the things he needs. We now have a car and a driver names James. So I can say "home James". The car belongs to another Grant who used to live in our apartment and his wife is named Susan. They live in China now and keep a car here that they use when they come to the Philippines. He wanted to give his old driver some employment we needed a driver and a car. So we are renting the car and the driver. It is helping both Grants. I think the other Grant maybe was one of the people who started New Skin. It is really great to have a driver because driving here is very crazy and finding a parking spot is even crazier. So when you need to go your driver takes you and picks you up when you are through. I would feel like a celebraity if it weren't for the fact that the car is a 1996 honda with a few problems. I also have a maid that comes and cleans and does the laundry once a week. That is good because I can't figure out how the washer works at all. It is plastic with several hoses coming out of it. We are feeling more at home now and have even bought some plants for our balcony. Yesterday Grant was driving our car. He did ok. He only hit the passenger side mirror twice. On Thursdays our car is only allowed to be on the road from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. We went to the Maybuhay House in the morning for Thursday Thrills with the children. We came home and on the way home stopped and bought some plants for our balcony. Then we hurried over to the temple before 3:00. We did a session at the temple and caught a ride with a missionary couple over to the Out Back Steak House for a birthday dinner with about 12 missionary couples. They are nice to include us in their activities. We caught a ride back to the temple and got our car that we could now drive because it was after 7:00 pm. On the way home we learned that we really needed new windshield wipers. I said "Let James do it."

CORREGIDOR

2009-11-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

The picture above is the Pacific War Memorial in Corregidor
This is the Bishop of our ward
Outside of Bledsoe's
Inside home with sister Bo playing the piano
Grant and Richard Bledsoe

Yesterday we spent the day on the island of Corregidor. This was the famous island that the Japanese had so much trouble taking during WWII even though the rest of the Philippines was completely under the control of the Japanese. It is the island that General said "I shall return".

He did come back and took the Philippines back. We saw the city across the bay where the Bataan Death March began. I was not up on my Philippine history but now know that the Japanese attacked them the same day they attacked Pearl Harbor. So Corregidor is like their Pearl Harbor and they have a War Memorial there.

I also wanted to show you the inside of the Bledsoe's fancy home we went to Sunday night. So I will attach the video of the cute Korean gal playing the piano. She is so talented. She is working on her 2nd masters degree here.

Today Grant is meeting with a carpenter and they will see how the room can be done. He has his plans all drawn up the way he would like it. Then he is going to take some papers to turn in for his license. He thinks he might get his license by Friday. I am going to the ex-pat group. We are going to some famous bazaar. That should be interesting.

Well I was not successful in down loading that vidio so I will add some pictures.

Typhoon Santi

2009-11-02T01:49:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we woke up to no power and typhoon Santi. We got the power back by 10:30. It was not as bad as the typhoon that came through a few weeks ago and caused so much flooding. It really was not nearly as strong as hurricane Danny that we experienced in Alabama about ten years ago. Saturday afternoon we went in a taxi to and area called Intramuros. This is an old part of the city. I mean it goes back to the 1500,s. We also went by the House of the President of the Philippines. About 200 children were in front to get a halloween treet. We saw some areas that were still flooded from the typhoon 3 weeks ago. Yesterday we had church in our own ward. I am impressed with the members. They are very capable and knowledgeable about the gospel. It is a big ward and one of many in the city. One area we drove through on the way was still flooded. It was hard to tell that the chapel had been flooded up to three feet. It was very clean. Our hymn book was quite moldy and slightly wet. That evening we went over to the Bledsoe's home for a potluck supper. He works for one of the many call centers here. They were fun to get to know better and they had several families from the ward over including the bishop. There house was really something. It was huge. They had too kitchens and off the kitchen she had a laundry room with a real washer and dryer. We had so much fun with everyone. This one gal who is from Korea gave us a ride. She is here living with her parents. Her father is assigned here by the Church to be in the Area Presidency. Her name is pronounced Hey Juan Ko. Sorry I don't know how to spell it yet. She is working on her second masters degree in music. She played the piano for us. Today (Monday) we went to Corregidor. I will have to tell you about it on the next post.

MORE NEWS FROM OUR FIRST WEEK

2009-10-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

We arrived a week ago today. We have a nice apartment and have been busy getting all the things we need to make it a home. It is interesting how many clerks they have in the stores. It seems like they have as many clerks as customers. One day we had three clerks carry our packages out to our ride. We met with some of the missionaries on Monday night for FHE. They had a karaoke night. They made Grant sing not knowing he could sing and he blew them away with Barry Mandalow's "I Can't Smile Without You". Things have been frustrating for Grant. Nothing has really been done at the Cranial Facial Clinic to get the Oral Surgery Suite ready. He is also still waiting for his license. I have to calm him down every once in a while. We are finding it is a much slower pace here in the Philippines. Good for me but not so good for Grant. There is an LDS ex-pat group (americans living out of the country). They get together on Tuesdays and either study conference talk go to the temple or the bazaar. Next week we go to the bazaar. You should have seen the fancy high rise apartment we went to. This gal's husband works for our government as a drug chaser. Now I know where our tax dollars are going. I took a picture of the view out their window of a beautiful golf course. We have not seen any flooded areas but our friend Manny (in the picture with Grant) is a bishop here. His home was flooded so fast with no warning. He put his wife and four children in a bath tub they had given to their neighbor and it was still in the yard. He put the plug in and pushed them through chest high flood water for over an hour. They are back in their house but really lost everything. We were going to go help his ward with the final clean up of their chapel on saturday but it got cancelled because we are expecting typhoon Santi. That will be bad for all they millions of people partying in the cemeteries.

2009-10-29T05:15:00.000-07:00

I really need McKennah here to help me with the blog. I wanted to tell you about the pictures. The couple are Mike and Sheilla Johnson. They live next door to us and have been so helpful. He serves on the board for Deseret International. We have already had Halloween here. They have it early because of All Saints Day on Nov. 1st. On that day everyone spends the day and night at the cemetary and and parties all day and night with their dead relatives. Grant and I rode home in a jeepnee one day--quite exciting.