Heatbreak and Sinolog in Cebu

January 13, 2011

Why do bad things happen to good people? Ryker and Crista Brown, a young couple in Daniel Ward, emailed me in November and asked if we would place two packages of baby things with two Filipino couples who were expecting new babies. They had a healthy baby girl this year and in appreciation for their blessings, and as a gift of service and love to Ryker’s parents for Christmas, they chose to send newborn gifts to couples here. WE received a large package the week after Christmas filled with baby clothes, onesies, blessing outfits, baby toys, baby nail clippers, baby wash, rubber pads and blankets. I wrapped the little boy things and Larry took them to the Bishop of a couple we had met in Talisay who were so excited for their first new baby to be born in January. Today as I was working in initiatory, one of the sisters told me that the young couple had given birth to a stillborn baby boy last weekend. I have cried off and on all day. Sister Pungasay told me too, that Iris, the mother, had donated one of her kidneys to her brother a few years ago and then had gotten pregnant, but miscarried. She carried this baby full term, only to deliver a stillborn. How very hard. I thought, “Oh no, now those baby things will be a constant reminder of her loss.” But Sister Asher said to me, “Just think, they had a beautiful blessing outfit to bury that baby in.” What a comfort that was. I feel that I will wait until the girl baby is born before giving the second gift, however. I don’t want to go through that again.

The second hard thing was a phone call I received from MaryJane Francisco, the bride who had only seen her husband once before she married him in August. She is the bride on the family calendar. She had also had a miscarriage and because her husband had loaned their meager savings to a friend, they had no money to take her to the hospital and she nearly hemorrhaged to death. She is doing better now but they are struggling. Her husband is an electrician and works when he can. But the hardest thing for her is that she has no friends. The little branch has started rumors about her that she says are totally unfounded—she is beautiful and was confident and I’m sure there are some jealousies; she says she is uncomfortable going to Church but goes to Sacrament Meeting but cannot stay for Sunday School and Relief Society because she hears what they are saying (and that is a very prevalent thing here in the Philippines, even in the Church. We have been warned against “Chismus” here in the temple! Gossip is a terrible, killing thing!) She has not been able to tell her mother about their situation, and even if she did, her family probably could not help because they live far apart and have five younger children they are still supporting. My heart aches for these people and their problems.



January 17, 2011

This week all of Cebu City has been celebrating Sinolog which is a type of Mardi Gras with religious overtones. We were told we probably would not have many workers or patrons who would be able to get to the temple Saturday because the roads were closed and jeepnies and taxis would not be running in this area, but we had many who did come. Thousands come from other islands for the extravaganza, and we had been cautioned against going to see the parade or big cultural dance celebration since thieves and pickpockets frequent such events. And they were both to be held on Sunday! After we got home from Church today (we went to one of the three wards here in the compound for the first time in a long time), Sister Mortimer called and said that the parade was on TV. When we were hunting for the channel, Larry discovered the cultural dance event was on a different channel. For the next four hours we watched a fabulous array of costumes and dances in honor of the baby Jesus. Strong pulsing drum beats the main accompaniment but there were also trumpets, something that sounded like a xylophone, and some other native instruments including large hollow tubes (possibly bamboo) that were tied together and that moved on wheels with a big feather-like mallet forcing air into the tubes to create unique sounds. There were few “floats”—and most of those were big trucks sporting large plastic banners advertising a local business and holding people dressed in the same color t-shirts. There was one dramatic exception: the SMART cell phone company sponsored a huge, animated dinosaur float with a flying pterodactyl-like animal that moved its wings and head while it was soaring over a tropical rain forest filled with flowers, waterfalls and three hippo-like dinosaurs that opened and closed their mouths. It was an amazing technological wonder. But the real marvel was the costumes the thousands of participants wore and their synchronized dances. There was always a central female dancer who wore the most elaborate and ornate costume, often with a huge hooped skirt with rows of ruffles and jewels (someone told me that last year one of the winning costumes had cost a million pesos!) ; she carried a small very Catholic looking statue of baby Jesus dressed in a royal crimson robe and a gold Pope-like crown. All the babies looked alike. Most of these “Mary” figures wore high head pieces or back pieces that could have been wings. Each was a magnificent work of art. Each group brought its own backdrops that changed as the dances changed. One had blue skies with white clouds and when the dancers holding them moved, the clouds moved. All the dancers carried props—baskets, sticks, colorful streamers, sparkling cylinders, greenery or posters of Filipino fruits or vegetables like, bananas, pineapple, corn, etc. One of the most impressive groups were crouched down as the painted screens were slid to the side at the beginning of their presentation and they gyrated up, letting go of hundreds of pigeons they were holding in their hands. Wow! It would have been exciting to have been there in real life, but in reality we probably saw more than we would have in person and we didn’t have to jostle our way through the hundreds of thousands of drinking, smoking, shouting, dancing bystanders who were busy eating foods sold by the street vendors along the food route. (And I didn’t see anyone selling cotton candy!) We finally turned the TV off when Brother and Sister Richey came to share the pumpkin pie I baked today.



Sister Richey slipped and broke her collar bone and was badly bruised from the fall about two weeks ago and has been home nursing her aching bones for the past two weeks. She has had her arm in a sling the whole time. WE have missed her; she should be back this week.



We hope Connor is doing well after his tonsillectomy/ adenoidectomy. We hope too, that Natalie and David's loan goes through quickly so they can get settled and not be up in the air so much. We have been able to talk with Heidi, Jonathan, Laura, Timmy, Isaac and Joseph on Camille’s computer through Skype and hope to be able to talk to Whitney, Connie, Aralia, Adelyne and Eleanor on Eleanor’s birthday since Emily is staying with them as she travels to and from a friend’s wedding in Nashville. She is back in school in Chicago. Everyone seems to be traveling. We will be doing that too in February when we visit two other neighboring islands during our temple break. Right now my travels mainly are the 250 steps from our apartment door to the front door of the temple and 250 steps back. WE are so grateful to be able to serve in the House of the Lord. I feel His spirit there as I walk through the big double doors. WE love all of you and miss you, but love doing what we are doing here.

Love, Mom/ Dad, Grandma/ Grandpa, Mary/ Larry