Chinese New Year

@Pebrero 19

We zipped out of San Jose at 6:00 am yesterday and had a pretty good drive to the mission home. Elder Seeds and his companion took us to the airport at 8:00.

We got to the airport way ahead of our needing to be there, so we sat and read scriptures while Filapinos gawked at us. The flight was easy and quick. 

We were met at the airport by Brother Boycee Labeste and Elder Kasteler. Brother Boycee is a local leader and church employee and friend of President Aquino. He told us many wonderful stories while we waited for various errands to proceed. It took us 5 hours to get from the airport to the MRC, so we heard lots of stories. 

Bro. Boycee heard Boise in our conversation naturally. He told us he was named by his family, not after Boise, dut he was the third son in his family, "There was boy a, then boy b, then came me, boy c." We all laughed and I figured he was telling the facts. It was his joke. But, he didn't tell us really how he was named. 

Elder Kasteler is a medical man and he and his wife seem to be leading at the MRC. We all had dinner last evening at Kasteler's apartment and some good conversation. After,  S and I walked down the street to a little store that had many American products. I bought some gluten free Chex and cannot wait to have a bowl of cereal. Weird. 

This is a huge city and very rich, built around abject poverty. It seems to be the jeepney capital of the world.

I will get more pictures today. I want to paint a jeepney collection. The highways are terribly crowded. 

It is so quiet here at the MRC (Missionary Recovery center). No dogs bark. I can hear no chickens crowing. It is so very peaceful. I just want to stay here a while. We go to the temple at 10:00 this morning. 

The temple is similar to the Boise Temple. The story is that Pres. kimball came here and looked at three sites. At the first two he said, "No, this is not the place," at this sight, the last sight, he said, (Yes, this is the place." So, the rest is history. As with other temples, the area around prospers. 

Looking forward to getting medical help here. Several of the Elders are doctors. They are first Elders and brothers. It is as it should be. They are here to help people. Strange feeling as we have built doctors into Demi-gods in America. They are of great service here serving 21 missions in the Philippines and some outside (Marshall Islands for one). Ill missionaries come and get help and try to get well and go back to their assignments. I fear there are many missionaries who come because they are homesick, but I don't pretend to know.

Looking forward to today.