July 5, 2011
Dear Family and Friends,
It is hard to believe that another week has gone by. The weather is hot and humid, but what else is new. Only a few more months and the ‘ber’ months will be upon us. The ‘ber’ months are the cold months here – September, October, November and December. One of the members told us that it would get cold in September. I told her that we were here last September and it wasn’t cold – in fact I thought we were going to melt into a puddle. She said that it is cold to us in the Philippines. What a beautiful land this is.
Well, yesterday was the 4th of July. On Sunday one of our Elders asked how ‘we’ were going to celebrate the 4th. “We” of course included them. He had noticed that we had a small charcoal grill on our back porch area. “Would our plans include a cook out?” he asked. So yesterday we grilled some chicken breasts and hot dogs, Mom made a great potato salad. The Spencers called and asked us if we would like to go out to eat that night to celebrate the 4th. We told them that we were having the missionaries over for dinner. They asked what we were having and if it was good they would come over too (they were just teasing about only coming if the food was good). Spencers brought over some brats also and an apple pie. We found some cans of A&W Root Beer bought some chips and had a traditional July 4th celebration. I think the Elders loved it. Since it’s the 4th of July, I’m going to get patriotic for a moment. I remember as a young missionary being totally enthralled with Germany and the German culture. I don’t think that I really appreciated America until I flew back home. I can still remember the distinct feeling I had when I stepped off of the plane at the Salt Lake Airport. I wanted to kiss the ground. I was so overwhelmed with being back on American soil. That feeling has never left me. Germany will always be a part of me, as will the Philippines, but there is a feeling of freedom in America that I have never felt in any other country as I have travelled.
The Philippines is a land of freedom but it is still different from back home. I miss America even with the numerous problems that we have. In every store here there are armed security guards at the entrance to the stores. The malls have security guards stationed in the entrances and in every store. You can’t take bags or packages into the stores so they are checked in at depositories outside of the stores. We haven’t reached that point in America.
There are very few traffic rules here. The stop signs don’t really mean stop. The lines on the road are not used to separate traffic. Courtesy in driving is rare. But the system works for them. If someone is pulled over by the police you can often times pay the policeman and he will let you go by (thank goodness we haven’t encountered this problem). I have come to appreciate laws that have purpose and keep order.
Education means everything over here. It is the ticket to take them out of their poverty. But the schools are crowded. If there are not enough desks in the classroom, the students sit on the floor. All the teachers and students wear uniforms. Many of the kids drop out to go to work to provide for the family. I have come to appreciate the schools back home and the environment for learning.
I miss mail delivery to our house, cheap gas (its $5.12/gallon here), clean drinking water, clean air, garbage pick-up, no litter on the streets, warm/hot water in the house, a garbage disposal, air conditioning and hundreds of other little conveniences that have made me a rich spoiled American. I appreciate what we have and the opportunities we have been given. Not everyone has those opportunities. Most of all I appreciate my freedom. I love my freedom. God bless America.
Thanks for your love and support. We love all of you. Hope you have a Happy and safe July 4th. Take care and be safe. We are doing good and are staying busy. We are starting to see some fruits of our work with the less active members. Write when you have time. Remember to BE good, DO good and BE men and women of Christ. And as always, remember to say your prayers.
Love,
Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Janene and Grant
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