Mother's Day, Naga and Gingersnaps

May 30, 2011

I realize that I have missed writing about so many things these past three weeks. We were assigned to Carcar Ward this past month; it is the farthest ward away from the temple. Ganirs were assigned to Naga which is on the same road but about 20 minutes closer. Since Elder Ganir drives, we exchanged wards so we went to Naga and Ganirs went to Carcar. That way he could drop us off and continue on for their assignment without having to backtrack. Our first Sunday at Naga was Mother’s Day. I may have mentioned that there were no special sacrament meeting programs for Christmas or Easter in the wards, but there was for Mother’s Day! We were so warmly welcomed and invited to sit on the stand and bear our testimonies. I think every child, youth and adult in attendance came to shake our hands and wish me “Happy Mother’s Day”. Special floral arrangements were handed to each mother. Even though all the talks except one were in Cebuano, we loved being there. Everyone wanted pictures taken with us. One family had 6 daughters, the middle one being very outgoing, the others very shy. I showed them the small family picture I carry in my wallet and told them I had seven daughters and two sons. They were so delighted and amazed at all the grandchildren. When we returned last Sunday, it was the Naga Ward conference. The Stake President, President Opus, invited us to the stand and had us speak—again. We always talk about the temple and invite members to prepare themselves for temple blessings. Some of these wards are struggling. Naga has 550 names on their membership rolls but about 100 come once a month or more to Sunday meetings. Someone mentioned that probably a lot of those people have moved or died, but the home teaching and visiting teaching is so poor and erratic that no one knows… Those who do come are so strong. One sister came up to me afterwards and told me she wanted to be a temple worker but her husband, a past bishop, was accused of using Church funds for personal purposes. She said he had used them to pay hospital bills for a ward member but had misplaced the receipts which were later found, but apparently, he has not been cleared to have his temple blessings restored and receive a temple recommend yet. How difficult it must be for some of these leaders who have so little and then handle sums of money to remain honest. Her husband was at church with her, which is a good sign. She is waiting for him to be able to come to the temple with her. We were so surprised at the conclusion of the conference to each be handed a brown bag containing a piece of fried chicken and two darling 2 ½ inch packets made from woven palm fronds that contained cooked rice; the rice had been boiled in the packets. One of the sisters told me that they had purchased the rice for 2 ½ pesos each, about 5 cents! The ward fed everyone a picnic lunch! We even had Tang to drink—it’s the most popular drink here. How would that be at our ward conferences? But you have to realize that Filipinos bring food to church with them—even many of the adults—and eat during Sunday School or Relief Society. They seem to have to eat every few hours. Some have even expressed the idea that they will die if they have to miss a meal.

Larry spent a small fortune to purchase our first beef roast here in the Philippines for my Mother’s Day dinner which we shared with Ganirs and Neos. He went all out with mashed potatoes, gravy, jello salad, etc. I had a made an apple pie and a chocolate cream pie (from scratch—and it was amazing) for dessert. Everything was sooooo good—black Angus beef shipped in from the states! The roast was about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick—and it cost about $28. I thought a lot about the pot roasts I bought for $.99 a pound at home. . .

Larry was up bright and early Monday morning preparing for the Mother’s Day dinner he was in charge of for Family Home Evening. The husbands were doing all the cooking. He had worried and stewed and laid awake at night figuring what he could serve since so many of the men do NOT cook! He came up with the brilliant idea of a potato bar so some could bring chopped tomatoes, some sliced olives, some grated cheese, etc. Of course, he tackled the hamburger stroganoff, the jello salad, the broccoli. He and Elder Ganir went to Carbon, the open market, and bought armloads of flowers for 120 pesos—about $2-3! He had chosen yellow mums, little purple flowers and white baby’s breath. They were gorgeous and filled our bathtub. He suggested I make bouquets for each of the sisters and put them together in groups of 4 for table decorations, which he gave to the sisters after the dinner. All I did was help with the flowers and round up tablecloths for the tables. The crowning touch was when Larry asked each person to tell one way his or her mother had influenced his/her life. We heard some very touching memories and were amazed at how many were raised by their mothers either because their fathers had died or had divorced. That made me even more grateful for my own parents. The evening was such a special occasion, but Larry was very grateful that it was over. I doubt we will have very many more of these dinners; the group has voted to go out to dinner as a group once a month and have a FHE lesson once a month after we come back from our July break. We do have a dinner in June honoring our mission president and his wife, The Hansens, who will be returning home in July, and a barbeque on July 4th, but we have assigned both of those responsibilities to other couples. I should have been smarter and done that earlier. I actually have loved being in charge; I’ve had an opportunity to use creative ideas, both with recipes and party ideas and decorations.

One of the recipes that has been so successful is gingersnap cookies. They are easy and sooooo good! You might like to try them.

Gingersnaps

2 cups sifted flour, 1 Tablespoon ginger, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt ¾ cup shortening, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, ¼ cup dark molasses, ¼- ½ cup cinnamon sugar

Cream shortening and sugar; add egg, molasses and mix well. Sift in dry ingredients and mix well. Roll in 1 “ balls, and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 2” apart on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.

We love you and pray for you always.

Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Mary and Larry