Work week

June 21, 2012

Today is Friday and it is the end of the office week.  I thought I would write about what we are currently doing.  Monday thru Friday we begin the day going to the office.  it is about a ten minute drive from our house to the Galo Chapel where our office is located in the Institute portion of the building. Our daily work has mostly consisted of Dan working on computer related issues and reports. I spend the most time trying to call our college participants.  This can be frustrating as most of the contact phone numbers are out of service or wrong numbers.  I usually talk to only one or two students a day.  We are directly  responsible for 67 students in the villages of Antique (on the neighboring island), Binalbagon, about an hour south of us, Sagay, San Carlos, and Sipalay.  We have not been to Sipalay or Antique yet but plan on that soon.  We also supervise eleven couple service missionaries (their title) who oversee the other over 200 student participants.  We have only met two of those couples and will meet another on Sunday.  We hope to meet the rest of them next week.  Then we will start contacting the priesthood to set up the "Planning for Success" class we will be teaching.  The first class is July 3rd.  We also plan on going to Iloilo in July to meet the service missionary  couples we supervise there. To travel there we have to take the ferry across the ocean.  On a clear day we can see Iloilo from our back yard. 

Elder and Sister Detal are in Bacolod Stake and they are also the couple who picked us up at the airport and took us to our home the first day.  They helped us go to the grocery store called SM and then took us to church the next day.  They are a very kind couple and so willing to help us get settled.  They know all but one of their 30 students.  They visit with each one of them every month and do anything the students need to be successful.  They are so diligent in contacting their students and can tell us about each one.   We are so thankful for t heir help getting settled and their diligence with their students. 

Yesterday we drove about an hour to La Carlota and met Elder and Sister Billones.  Elder Billones is a barber and owns his own Barbershop.  They suppervise17 student participants and also know all but one of their students.  The student that they do not know moved to Manila,  The student cannot be moved off their record until they have a new address for the student.  Most of the student's family either do not know the address or are unwilling to disclose it.  The Philippino families are very close and protective so they do not give our the information until they can really trust the supervisors.  Elder and Sister Billones speak English very well but at a bit shy and nervous about it. 

We are encouraged to speak English mostly so the students will become fluent as the business of the country is mostly in English due to the hundreds of dialects spoken across the 700 islands.  We have not really been able to continue learning Ilongo yet, but have the contact number for the tutor and are attempting to contact her.  Once again phone contact is not the most successful way to reach others.  But we will keep trying and the Detals go to church with Gay the young woman who will tutor us and will give her the message to contact us Sunday. 

Things move very slow here which I am learning to live with.  It is difficult since I am such a Type A personality and want things done correctly NOW!  I thought I was very patient after teaching school all those years, but apparently I am not patient at all.  Dan keeps telling me to "Lower my expectations!" 

I have surprised Dan though as I have not had one heart attack about his driving here unlike when we are at home.  maybe it is because the traffic never goes faster than about thirty miles an hour.  The drivers do not follow the lines on the road and just line up at the few stop lights as many across as they can fit.  Drivers often turn left from the far right lane or right from the far left lane so everyone goes relatively slow and just play leap frog across every intersection.  Dan expected me to be screaming and yet unless a small child in near or in the road I am pretty calm!  I am also amazed by that.  I have not attempted to drive yet and do not anticipate that anytime soon. 

So this is our work week! Love to all of our family and friends.  We love you!!!