30 April 2016

It is now official.  We will be returning home on May 19, 2016!

The first question that will be asked is:  Are you coming home early?   Answer: Yes.

The second question will be:  Are you sick?  Answer:  NO!

Tinandayagan Falls and Resort.  We visited here on Friday
before going to the Pamplona Zone Conference for lunch.

We are not sick right now and don't know that we have any major diseases or illnesses. However, we and President Reeder have recognized that we have had some ongoing health issues and a loss of energy the past few months.  President Reeder started the discussion and even suggested that we consider going home sooner. We do know that nothing will change while we are here so we decided we should go home where we can start to take care of ourselves.We have basically completed all of our major assignments but still have a few little things we need to do before we can leave.  Some of the "to do" things is a piano recital on May 11;  speaking in Naga 3rd Ward Sacrament meeting on May 15, and then another commitment to speak at a special conference for the Univeristy Nueva Caceras on May 16.   We both speak in the afternoon and when we are done - we are done! We will fly the next morning to Manila where we will spend 2 nights and then fly home from Manila on May 19.

We visited this great man and his family while on the Iriga
Zone trip.  This is the Branch President of Baao.  They live
in humble circumstances but he is always smiling.

We have had a fun week.  As we are very near the end, we and our closest neighbors (the Watsons) have been visiting each Zone Conference to say goodbye to the missionaries. We have now been to 3 of the 5 zones.  We have not been going to the full meetings but just stopping in for lunch.  That has given us some time to visit other sites or people while in the area.  It is our intention to attend the entire conference for the Naga Zone.  That is our home Zone and we want to hear the messages from President and Sister Reeder.  

This is where they cook and the water hand pump is on the left
in the area outlined with wood.

There are many people who live right around here.  As soon
as we got there, the whole yard filled up with kids.  The family
here has 4 children.

The rest of our week was filled with the following:  Pick up and drive a Sister Missionary who finally got her Visa for the US and take her to the airport.  She is going to the SLC Temple Square mission.  We were excited to tell her that we would be seeing her again soon.

We also had lunch for the Office Elders which included 2 extras - the Zone Leaders were on exchanges with the Assistants that day.  Pictures are below.

The Elders fixing their own enchiladas.

This is serious business!!!

Pamplona Zone

Iriga Zone

The rest of the week was piano meetings and lessons along with cookie baking for the Zone Meetings.  Sister Hoopes started a tradition of taking cookies to every meeting so she can't quit now.

The week went by fast and the next two weeks will be the same.  We still have a lot going on with visits to Branches to say goodbye.  We will never see them again.  We also have at least one large trip to make with the Watsons to visit Caramoan which is a resort city on the ocean front which is a long ways away but still in our mission.

See you soon!!!