Legazpi

This is a picture of the famous Mayon Volcano.  It has been acting funny.  But for now it is perfectly shaped and beautiful. Bonus is the double rainbow.  We had a great trip to Legazpi.

We did a medical screening and then the missionaries drove us more than two hours to our next screening in Naga.  We didn't see anything cool in Naga.

***

Well its’ nearly the middle of October and slightly more than only nine months to enjoy our service as missionaries here in the Philippines – working with LDS Charities. Not that our Public Affairs time wasn’t fun, but we have learned so much new as we have served in this new assignment and things are really beginning to come together. Many of the stalled projects of the past and new one we have inputted are getting up to full stream and our schedules are filling up really fast. As an example, this past weekend we traveled on official business to a small, remote village of Sagada, in the mountains of Luzon. This little village had started a clean water project well over a year ago, but for many reasons the project was put “on hold” and we are just now re-starting it. It will serve over a hundred people who otherwise must walk many challenging roads and kilometers with water buckets and other types of containers to get drinkable (potable) water for their cooking and for other human usages. Having to haul water is a great additional burden to these people – who live only on the edge of existence - they have often in the past have drunken water which was either very impure and may have caused them to have - all sorts of health and other physical disorders and problems. Children are generally small in the Philippines (much smaller than in the US for example), but these children of this village were particularly smaller and have experienced much poorer health than the normal, in part – due to the lack of clean (potable) water for their households. The trip there was over twelve hours by van (we had a driver), over some roads which were near to impassable – through the mountains of this large island – formed by volcanic activity over the centuries. One certainly might say – that this community is “off the main drag – way off the main drag” and extremely isolated from any major population center or area. Several hours by any type of vehicle to see “what one might call – real civilization. Most towns have a SM Superstore (all in one store) nearby in a neighboring community or at least in their town square, but I’m not sure - I even saw a “town square.” We traveled most of the day Friday, starting around 1am, arriving around 11am, checked into what you might call a motel (of sorts), ate dinner, prepared for visited all day on Saturday, and returned late Saturday (really early Sunday morning around am) Long weekend but very enjoyable.
We have planned to travel to Legaspi and Naga in southeast Luzon, this is where the famous, classic and now active volcano is located for some medical screening at some of our meetinghouses. One of our NGO partners (Mabuhay Deseret) is conducting these screening with one of the nearby Hospitals. The hospital provides staffers to look at the people, we provide (MDF) the oversight, and the Church provides funding and a place to gather (our meetinghouse) The Church host the event, provides a cool, comfort place to gather and smiling “Mormon Helping Hands” volunteers to assists. These screening are in very remote areas - where these type medical services would not otherwise be available to these generally very poor and extremely needy people. Any advanced medical treatment is often not sought until much too late, in many of their cases – which results in early loss of life – far too early for many of these people or at least a reduced quality of life – most of their lives. This project is an Area Initiative – which means the Church is underwriting (funding) the travel and housing of our staff - to these remote areas – so the communities can receive help that often is just not available to them - otherwise.
With love for – may the Lord bless each of you.