Under the Mango tree 4/5/15

We have 4 sets of Elders that live next to us. There are 3 apartments in our building, and the Church has leased all three. One of these set of Elders invited us to go along with them to one of their lessons. They are teaching a family that is living under a huge Mango tree. They told us it was ok with this family if we took some pictures. We were very excited for the opportunity to meet this family.

We had to park on the Main Street and walk down to their house. Many of the poor people here do not own the land they build their shacks on. It seems to be excepted.

This is the lane we needed to walk down to get to this family. 

This is the tree, and this is the family. A father (who was not here when we visited), a mother and four kids.

The Elders visited with the family a little, but decided to wait until the father was there to teach the lesson.

The mother asked the older daughter to go get the "Aklak ni Mormon" that the Elders had given to them on an earlier visit. She had some questions about it. The girl got up and ran and jumped through the window that is shown below and returned through the door with the book.

The family is very proud of their tree. It is well over a hundred years old. The exposed roots are massive and is a very nice place to sit, and for the kids to play. It is a beautiful tree. 

We visited for awhile. We had some candy that I gave to the kids, which they were greatful for. This little family had almost nothing, but they had smiles on their faces. They were not miserable as we westerners might suspect. They seemed to be happy. 

They may never remember us, but I do not believe I will ever forget them. Today, they taught me. I have been thinking about them ever since our visit. I think this visit may be a life altering event for me.

A gift from the family that lives in the little shack under ths Mango tree. They are in a every way.....

Mga Anak ng Diyos (children of God).

Fire 3/30/2015. Lunch with the Luyon family 4/1/2015

Things are getting dry here. We did not expect that here in the Philippinies.

Things started happening just as soon as we got into the office Monday morning. Later in the day we noticed smoke out side. I went out to see what was going on. The open area behind the mission office was on fire. We had a few anxious moments before we realized it would not reach us. I did think I was going to be a firefighter for a while. Maybe I could use my tie to beat out the flames. 

The next day, the area was still smoking.

The goat (can not see real well) did not seem to mind. 

Wednesday, April 1, 2015, we were invited to lunch along with other missionaries to the Luyon family. They are some of the pioneers here in the Philippines. Brother Luyon is an engininger. He work out of the country and can only come home every few months. This is something many Phillipinos do. He was just released as a Brench President in the area where he works. 

What a great lunch.

These are wonderful people. There are many wonderful people here. I really like the people of this country.