Rainy Days, Fun Food, and Precious People

We are surviving the weather and are loving the people.  So many have such hard lives but they are generally upbeat and willing to share their stories.  I have been collecting these stories and will someday share them.  

For starters, one woman's father died in a serious accident when she was very young, and then her teenage brother committed suicide.  Because of these tragedies, the family was in deep mourning when they were contacted by the missionaries.  They loved what they learned about eternal families and God's plan of happiness and the wonderful gift of forgiveness given by Jesus Christ and his Atonement.  They joined the church and committed to attend regularly.  They walked for two hours each Sunday morning, wearing slippers to keep their Sunday shoes clean, attended the three hours of meetings, then walked the two hours home again.  They faithfully paid tithing and were blessed to have multiple small jobs to feed the family.  They are so strong in their love for Jesus Christ.

That's just one woman's story.  Everyone here seems to have a story of hardship and then blessings because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now for a crazy question.  Does Elder Torrie really look like Church president, Russell M. Nelson?  Check out the pictures below and let me know what you think.

I have been collecting fun first names for girls.  And I have learned that Coleen is also a Filipino name.  Not spelled like my name (Colleen) but pronounced the same.  The name was popularized due to a Filipina actress, Coleen Garcia.  We even regularly see a laundromat named Coleen's Laundry. 

Here are the fun first names:  

• Amor (Love in Spanish)
• Art
• Baby or Babie (often meaning "only one, most loved")
• Hearty (as in "heart", with siblings Love, Valentina and Valentino, all born in February)
• Honeylee
• Jessebel
• Jerusalem
• Love
• Lovely
• Princess
• Queen
• Russel (pronounced roe-sel)
• Sugar 
• Sunshine
• Sweet (with sisters Honey and Sugar)

Now on to the pictures . . . 

There have been many huge dumps of heavy rain in July.  When it pours, it really pours.  And with the rain, there's lots of lightning and booming thunder.  The booms echo across the city and seem to bounce off the high-rise buildings.  This is the first beautiful rainbow we have seen.

Will we find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?  Would be nice for a taxi driver who told us that he and his partner work hard so they can support themselves as well as her 9 siblings. 

It's so interesting that when it rains, the air is still hot.  So unusual for us to feel a hot rain.  It is slightly cooler when the clouds cover the sun though, so we are enjoying somewhat cooler temperatures from time to time.  In fact, this morning, at 6:30, as we were walking to the temple, we said, "Wow, it feels quite nice out!"

(Sorry about the double picture.  Not sure how to get rid of the top one without deleting the bottom one and causing a major problem.)

We are still trying to get a good picture of this 5-way intersection that we regularly manoeuvre through.  No stop lights and no traffic police.  It's so amazing that it actually works, with all the cars, motorcycles, and jeepneys. Jeepneys are a low-cost metal bus with side benches for passengers.  Sometimes passengers hang on to the back of the bus.  There's always room for one more.

Our last hurrah with Elder & Sister Andreasen who have faithfully served in the temple for 1 1/2 years.  We are walking the five minutes to the restaurant close to the temple.

Motorcycles usually carry passengers.  This time, it is carrying a huge cooler with cooking equipment on the side car, all covered with a tarp to protect it from the rain.

We're at La Parisienne (also known as La Vie) for a last supper with the Andreasens.  We will miss them.  Such fun people.

Three stakes put on an After-Easter musical program on a Sunday evening.  The Andreasens are in the back row on the left.  Being in the stake choir is a huge time commitment, which Elder Torrie and I decided not to commit to.  (We are old and tired!) We have sung in a lot of stake choirs through the years.

This group of violinists was amazing.  Some older and some younger.  Look at the intensity of those very young boys.  Below is a short clip of their playing.

Got word that on July 5, a hail storm was soon to hit in its fury at home on the farm near Grassy Lake, Alberta, Canada.  We've seen clouds that look like that here in Cebu, but it rarely hails here.

July is hail storm weather in Alberta, and every year, we pray for protection for our crops.  We also buy hail insurance.  Yes, we trust God to protect us, but we also wisely do all we can ourselves.  This year we were blessed so far, in that the hail was fairly light.  To the south of us, many fields got hammered.

A few stones were fairly big.  We have heard of golf ball-size stones.  That would definitely damage much more than crops. 
I remember one hailstorm when I was very young.  Our dad was working out in the field on an open tractor.  Our mom could see the storm approaching and she had us hold pillows to the big living room window so the hail would not break it.  We prayed for our crops and for our dad.  After the storm ended, he came home with huge welts on his head.  He had crawled under the tractor to get a bit of protection.  We were so thankful he was okay.  And our window was okay too.  We prayed a very sincere thank-you prayer that day.

Crowds of people at Ayala mall on a Friday night.  There must be a lot of people with money to spend.  So sad to see the discrepancy between those with money and those without.

I was so shocked to see these heavy sweaters for sale.  I asked a young shopper why they would ever want such heavy clothes in this hot climate.  He told me that in the mountains it can get quite cold.

I think Filipino idea of cold is very different from my idea.  I left all my warm clothes at home and have so far not needed them.

We were so surprised to see ski jackets for sale here.  But then again, I remember on our Kenya Nairobi Mission, seeing people in hot Nairobi wearing toques and gloves on a cooler day there.  I guess you get used to the heat and when it's cooler, you need protection from the "cold."

Guyabano is a spiky tropical fruit.  Its flesh apparently tastes like a mixture of strawberry and pineapple.  I need to try it.

Rambutan is another tropical fruit with soft hairs on the outside and its inside is white, tasting like lychee.  So many different fruits here in the Philippines.

I bought some of these mangosteens to try.  When you can gently press the sides, they are ripe.  If they are hard, they are overripe and you need to throw them away.  I bought a couple and kept one too long and it was hard as a rock and I threw it away.  The other, I cut (see below).

It was hard to cut through the outer shell of the mangosteen.  Inside there was a white fruit.  It was okay, but nothing to write home about.  I like dragonfruit better.

Every Thursday evening, we invite all the temple workers living in the building to a sing-along.  Sometimes there are few and sometimes there are many.  Then just a few treats at the end.  We keep it to an hour because we all have to get up early Friday morning.

There are many miagos bushes (also called green aralia) on the grounds of the temple compound.  They are an evergreen that can grow up to 10 feet tall, but the gardeners keep them to about 3 feet.  They blossom with greeny-white flowers.

The golden Angel Moroni on top of the Cebu Temple shines brightly against the dark storm clouds.  Moroni was an ancient prophet in Book of Mormon times in the Americas. 

Church president at the time, Gordon B. Hinckley, explained in the October 1997 General Conference, that “The figure of Moroni, atop many of our temples, is a constant reminder of the vision of John the Revelator: ‘And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people’ ” Revelation 14:6 (“Look to the Future,” Ensign, November 1997, p.67).

Here's a mother and her daughter climbing onto a motorcycle taxi.  Children from a very young age learn how to hang on to a motorcycle.  Motorcycle drivers bring helmets for their passengers, but sometimes, as in this case, the passengers provide their own helmets.  When they use taxi drivers' helmets, they often cover their heads with a towel before putting on the helmet.

Cars, motorcycles and jeepneys all share the road.  Jeepneys were repurposed from WWII military jeeps.  They provide a cheap and colorful way to transport many people.

Another Thursday evening.  Another sing-along.  Fun times with fun people.  You can see Elder Torrie in the very back in the middle.  He's the tall (he's tall here anyway) gray-haired man who many people say looks like President Russell M. Nelson (our church president from 2018 to 2025).

Everyone is trying to get into the picture.  For my information:  Sister Kapa, Sister Preciosa, Brother Tambolera, Sister Ottonelli, Sister Montera, Sister Arcayan, Brother Verdeflor, Sister A in front.

LeRon and I have been training Brother and Sister Cespon to be temple workers.  Love these two.  Sister Cespon was one of many who said Elder Torrie looks like President Nelson.  Can you see the resemblance?  Look at the picture below.  Hmn . . . yes, I can see it.  

Here's President Russell M. Nelson at a younger age than he was when he passed away in 2025 at the age of 101.  We got to know his lovely great-granddaughter who served with us on our mission to Sweden 2020-2021.
Let me know if you think Elder Torrie looks like President Nelson!  Elder Torrie says that he hopes he acts and lives like President Nelson anyway.

We went to a dinner at the temple president's home and were served milkfish, complete with eyes.  Milkfish is the unofficial national fish of the Philippines.  It's also called bangus.  It's a living fossil because it is the sole survivor of an ancient family of fish.

Sister Ong, our temple president's wife, cooked 10 milkfish and cut them up into 60 pieces to feed the crowd.  Sometimes you got a head and sometimes a tail and sometimes you got an in between, all served in a soup with vegetables.  I found it hard to eat because there were so many bones.  As a child, I had a great fear (and still do) of swallowing fish bones and having them pierce my organs and I imagined that I would probably die.  

The weeks are going by quickly.  Sometimes days go slowly, but weeks definitely fly by.  We are loving the people here.  They are generally very kind, giving, and faithful people.  They appreciate what God has given them and love to help others.  They share whatever small things they have with others.  A good lesson for us all. 

Magellan and More and then . . . to the TOPS of the Mountain

We've been wanting to go on a tour of Cebu for some time, but it's been crazy busy.  But finally . . . Brother Redulla (pronounced ri-dool'-ya), who is temple recorder and also a counselor in the Cebu Mission presidency, along with Brother Olayao (pronounced oh-lie'-yoh), the assistant temple recorder, gave us a city tour.  So fun.  

We're starting our tour with Brother Redulla guiding and Brother Olayao driving.  They both grew up in Cebu so knew their way around very well.  First stop: an I love Cebu sign.  Here we are with Elder & Sister Smith, who serve as Family History specialists in the Cebu Mission.

Christianity began in the Philippines in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan planted a cross right here to commemorate the baptism of King Humabon of Cebu and his Queen, family, and 800 native Cebuanos.  The King and Queen were given the Christian names of Carlos and Juana.

The original cross, of course, is long gone but this cross marks the spot.  Ferdinand Magellan was Portuguese but he sailed for Spain because Portugal refused to support him in his search for a route to the Spice Islands (eastern Indonesia) to buy spices such as nutmeg and cloves.

Magellan was killed here in Cebu by natives who refused to be converted. His crew carried on to the Spice Islands and returned to Spain in September 1522, with only 18 of the original 270 men. Despite the loss of four ships and many men, including Magellan, the cargo of spices was so valuable that it paid for the entire expedition and generated a profit. 

Right across from Magellan's Cross is the City Hall.  Interesting words on the building:  Public Office is a Public Trust.  Too bad many government officials in the world don't believe that, or at least act like they don't understand it.

Now we're approaching the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, the Basílica Minore del Santo Niño.  Brother Redulla is explaining that the ladies in red, yellow and white are "Tig Sinug" candle vendors.  If you buy a candle, they will dance and whisper prayers for you.

The basilica stands on the spot where Spanish soldiers found the original Santo Niño (the child Jesus), miraculously untouched inside a burned wooden box.  The Spaniards had fought a war with the natives and had burned the village, but Santo Niño was unharmed. 
The original statue was given by Magellan to the King and Queen of Cebu.  It was lost through the years and then re-discovered and placed in the Basilica.

This is an internet picture of the Santo Niño in the Basilica.  For some reason, I don't remember seeing it when we visited.  I think I was just too awe-struck by the beautiful Basilica and I probably forgot to look for it.

The current stone Basilica was built in 1740.  So beautiful!  LeRon and I love to visit old churches.  They have such character.

One of the first things that Elder Torrie looks for in a church is the pipe organ.  You can see it in the center, although the light is reflecting so it's hard to see.

And I enjoy looking at the ceilings.  This one has paintings of Biblical scenes and historical scenes of Magellan and Christianity.

INRI is an acronym for the Latin phrase, "Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum," which means "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."  Pontius Pilate ordered that this sign be placed on the cross.  Yes, Jesus of Nazareth was and is King of the Jews, and of all of us.  His suffering and death mercifully allows us to be forgiven of our sins and to come again into His presence after we die.  What a beautiful blessing!

I took this picture at the Basilica, not for the big red sign, but for the fact that people are writing requests for prayers for people they love.  The "Pamisa Drop Box" is where they place their requests.  

Interesting that we too, in our LDS temples, have a place where we can write the names of people who need our prayers.  
And interesting that in the above Basilica, you can send your requests via the internet.  We too in our Temples, can request prayers online or by phone. 
We have been told that in our Cardston Alberta Canada Temple, even those not of our faith sometimes phone in to the temple to request prayers for loved ones.

Prayer is powerful.  We have experienced praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem beside Jewish people who are also praying.  We have seen them push small papers with prayers or requests for prayers into cracks between the stones.
We have seen Muslims praying on their prayer rugs and in their mosques, seeking blessings from Allah.  Many faithful people throughout the world connect with God in powerful ways.

Model of the Basilica.  Such a beautiful building.  Parts of it were under renovation when we were there.  Always renovations going on in these old buildings.

If you click on this picture, you will see that this sign actually reads, "500 Years of Christianity" with the year 1521 on top.  The US is only 250 years old and Canada is only 159 years old.  Christianity here the Philippines is now 505 years old!

We're now on our way to Fort San Pedro.

Fort San Pedro was originally built of wood in 1565.  Almost 175 years later, it was rebuilt from coral stones with limestone and egg yolk mortar.  It has housed Spanish troops, Filipino resisters, American troops, and even was a Japanese hospital during WWII. 

Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan on right.  Map on the bottom is of location of Cebu drawn at the time of Magellan's conquest.  Picture at top is of Magellan carrying the cross as he meets with Filipinos. 

The fort was originally built of wood.

You can see moss growing on the stone walls of the Fort San Pedro and an image of Santo Niño, the Christ Child. 

Grandmother teaching her granddaughter to weave "puso".  See next picture for an explanation.

Click to enlarge to read the explanation.  You see these rice packets everywhere.  Such a good way to transport cooked rice.  It's part of the "fast food" culture now.

We were astounded at the beautiful music these blind players made on this partly cloudy/rainy day.  See belong for a very short video of their playing.  I thought I had recorded more than just a few seconds, but I guess not. 

The walls of Fort San Pedro with the modern city of Cebu.

Make sure you are not under this tree when that dark, ripe, coconut falls!  The yellow ones are still green so they won't hurt you, but look out below if a ripe one falls.

Farewell to Fort San Pedro!  Would have liked to stay longer to hear the blind musicians play.  But we were hungry so it was time to head to the SM Seaside Mall, the huge mall fairly close to Fort San Pedro.

The SM Seaside City Mall is one of the largest in the world with a a floor area of 470,486 square meters and 700+ stores.  According to Wikipedia, "It is a circular-shaped retail mall with multiple anchors, . . . a Centerstage theater, a Super Screen Cinema (formerly Large Screen format cinema), two Director's Club cinemas, and 4 regular cinemas, an 18-lane SM Bowling and Amusement Center, and an Olympic-size ice skating rink near the food court."

We were so surprised to see a huge ice skating rink here in the hot, hot, hot Philippines!  So fun to watch them skate.  That's all I can do anymore.  I used to love skating.  As a child, I skated on our frozen pond with my siblings and often at the indoor rink in Taber.  As a mom, I skated on our frozen dug-out with my children. 
So fun!

Fun Filipino Food here at SM Seaside.  It was pouring rain.  Brother Redulla and Brother Olayao wondered if we should end our tour here and go home.  But Elder Torrie said, "Let's go on.  It will probably blow over."

And blow over it did.  Because of the heavy rain, most tourists had gone and we had the place almost to ourselves.  The wind reminded us of our southern Alberta winds.  But the wind also brought with it cooler temperatures, which was perfect for us!  We drove up, up, up, into the TOPS of the mountain.  The TOPS is a lookout point in the Busay hills, about 600 meters (about 1968 ft) high.  Interesting that our home on the farm near Grassy Lake Alberta is about 3000 feet high.

If you know where to look, you can see the teeny-tiny steeple of the Cebu Temple amidst all the high rise buildings of Cebu.

So windy up here in the TOPS of the mountain!  The lookout gives a 360 degree view of Cebu and the surrounding area.

You can see small farms and small farmhouses.

I zoomed in to this very small farmyard.  We're always interested in farming throughout the world.  Many of our workers live in small places like this.

Another direction, another view.

Here are the men of the tour:  Elder Torrie, Brother Olayao, Brother Redulla, Elder Smith.  Looks like  we didn't take a picture of me and Sister Smith.  Sad.

Another view from TOPS.  Perfect place for a special event.  To find the Cebu Temple, look straight back from the yellow flowers (yellow bunch on the right).  You will see white buildings hooked together (the first ones you come to as you look straight up from the flowers).  Look past them and you will see the steeple of the temple.

Three lovely ladies.  Hook your lock on to one of them and they will watch over your promises.  See below to learn what the different coloured locks mean.

The Three Marias of Tops.
Click to enlarge to read about what these three will do for you.

TOPS Promise Locks.  You can buy a lock here in the store and fasten it onto one of the Three Marias and they will watch over your promises.  Maybe even better, YOU should take care of your own promises!

-----------------The End of a Perfect Day-------------------