Special Convention Day 1 - Friday

You'd think I wouldn't have much to write about a convention day. I mean, typically you just wake up and hurry and get ready and get there and sit in a seat and pay attention.  But not so much here. Yes, we did wake up early and hurry and get ready.  We had to be at the busses at no later than 6:45, otherwise we'd be left.  So we made it on time, didn't want to chance that. We load the bus and ride about 45 mins (by the way, that has been where I've been writing my blogs recently since I'm usually tired when I get back to the hotel). When we get to the convention (it is a rented facility to fit us all) we look up and there is this HUGE banner on the side that looks like our regular badges but 100x the size. It says "God's Word Is Truth" 2013 Special Convention and the dates, for all to see as they pass by. You can't miss it. What a witness! And outside are tons of witnesses all loading into the building. I think John said there are just 1,500 total delegates, and the rest are from the Philippines. I'll have to let you know the total number in attendance later. It seems like a lot. We get inside and everyone is so happy to see us. Everyone is smiling and waving and saying welcome. The program started pretty soon after we got in the building. The music started at 8:20 am. Earlier than ours - but it ended earlier too, so that was nice. Oh and when the music started we were supposed to go to our seats, but we found Tim and Christa Ramey! So we just had to go say hi to them.  :)  We then went to our seat after. The program was in Tagalog, but we could listen to the interpreters in English (loose translation may I add)  through our MP3 players. At lunch time we had to go to get our lunches that were set up in the hallways and then go back to our seats to eat.  After our lunch we went and walked around, and it was crazy! Most people you pass want to shake your hand and ask your name and where we are from. I love the little kids. They are adorable. They even come up to you and ask you questions to get to know you. One little girl asked, "are you enjoying your stay here?"  haha what a cutie. Some people we talked to longer than others and made stronger connections with. It was nice. And again, so many people ask "Can I get your picture?" (My face hurt from smiling in pictures and to the people at the end of the day). So the afternoon session starts and we have to go back to our seats. It seems like the breaks fly by and you never have enough time. During the convention program we got to hear some special speakers as well. A Branch Committee member and the last talk was by Brother Splane of the Governing Body. He was also wearing a Barong (the traditional dress shirts that the Filipinos wear). That was pretty neat to see. The session ends and again we feel like there isn't enough time to talk to people before we have to be to wait on the buses. It was nice getting to the Philippines early and meeting all the people we did already  because now we recognized quite a few people at the convention and felt like it could have been one of our conventions at home. When we wait in line for our buses we get to meet more delegates from all over. We talked for a while to a couple from New York who are now serving in Taiwan. They were interesting to talk to. After a while we load the bus and head to the hotel (the traffic was bad at this point - a lot of starting and stopping, starting and stopping). At the hotel we were pretty tired so we just order room service (which was our 1st time doing that by the way) and then head off to bed. Tomorrow is another early day.

Getting to the convention 

This sisters notes were in Japanese characters . It was neat to see.

Bro Splane showing us the new tracts.  I got some in Tagalog.

Special Convention Day 2 - Saturday

Today was mostly the same as yesterday.  This morning though John went to a Starbucks. There is one in walking distance from our hotel. Nice! It tasted the same as back home. Today we left a little earlier than Friday. I guess they wanted to give us some more time to talk in the morning and make sure we get there on time. 

    We again met a lot of people. People from all over. Today we met some people from NY. One couple was from Walkill Bethel and knew Kathryn and Jonathan Straniero. Levi and Katelyn were their names, I think. He works in heavy machinery and she is in housekeeping. Forgot their last name at the moment. It was pretty neat talking to them. They are staying at a Family's home so they get to see the hospitality on a more personalized level. The stories they told us were great. We also met a couple from Brazil (who are now temporarily serving at the Philippines Bethel doing computer work and housekeeping ). John met the guy since he was looking at the way they do sound at the Conventions here. You know, Nerd stuff. Haha . We talked to him a while and then his wife comes up and he introduces us. Turns out, I met her at Bethel here when we toured it. Pretty neat. We talked to them for a while and then walked around for a bit more before the music started.        

    During the session we sat next to Tim and Christa. It was fun. So Saturday is the baptism day like typical Conventions, but this was the most I've ever seen get baptized at once. I lost count at 35 and that was only about half. I'll have to get to exact count later. It was amazing. We clapped for soooo long, my hands were hurting by the end of it. We knew 2 of the kids from the 1st congregation we visited, so that was neat. (They were probably between the age of 10-12). 

    After lunch we walked around a while and I got to give out a lot of the gifts I brought for the locals. They were so thankful, it was funny. Then they wanted to take a picture of us after. Soooooo many pictures! The afternoon session started. It's funny, even though we heard this convention already we still get a lot of points out of it. I am taking notes and putting stars next to the things I want to apply, but I know I've already written the same notes at ours. Just goes to show, we really do need reminders - even from a convention we had only 4 months ago.  It is neat to see the convention program here though, seeing the similarities and differences. The girl who was interviewed on the same part that I was at ours had almost exactly the same experience and feelings as me. I wanted to go find her and tell her, but I didn't see her after the program. Also, the part that Jared and Cindy did at ours about working abroad may not have seemed like a problem in the USA, but here A LOT of people leave their families to work abroad. So it really touched home for them. The Faithful and Discreet Slave really know what they are doing. :)  Anyways, Bro. Splane gave the last talk again and then the session ended for the day.  

    We talked to more people for a little while and then head outside through the large crowd of people to our bus. We were one of the last few people to load so our bus group was small. Maybe about 15 people (compared to 45-ish). All the buses have a guide/attendant to make sure we get to the hotel ok. It was nice because of all of us just sitting on the bus and quiet, he had us all involved in conversation.  He used the microphone and asked questions about our experiences and how we felt about everything so far. He had a good sense of humor also. He was telling us how much work they all put into preparing for the convention. He said he put his application in about a year ago to help out with this. And spent a lot of time preparing, especially the last couple weeks. Because not only did he have these preparations to take care of but he has a job with Samsung and had to work extra hard the week before since one person got promoted, AND his wife is at home 8 months pregnant. But he was humble about it. He said, only by Jehovah's Spirit were they able to do it all. He said that all the smiles on the delegates faces made it worth it. 

    We get back to the hotel and decide to venture out for dinner. I was happy with McDonalds which is in walking distance.

But John wasn't into that idea as much so we decide to take a hotel shuttle over to a nearby mall. I didn't know how far it was, but it was only about 5-10 mins away. We get there and I see all the American places I'm used to. Outback, Chilis, P.F Changs ect. I'm really excited to see all that. Although I didn't show it at 1st, because I'm not really a happy camper when I am hungry and then I'd be proving John right for picking a better place than McDonalds.  ;)   Well, he was right. It was a lot better. We went to Chilis for dinner. Man, was it good to have American food. haha. 

    After dinner we found a Pinkberry (frozen yogurt)!!! This was really exciting because we go to this same place like twice a day when we go to NYC, and it has been this close to us the whole time?! Whaaaaat? Haha. So we went there for dessert and got to witness a little bit to the people who worked there. We told them why we were in town. After that we walked to where we needed to be for the shuttle and headed back to the hotel. 

    Again, very tired. I tried to listen to the Watchtower for Sunday but fell asleep about a quarter through. Guess I'll have to really study that one later. :) Looking forward to Sundays Convention Day! 

A delegate on the bus from Taiwan. She was reading the text in her language.  You pronounce her name as Shoe-Ping. 

But it was spelled Hsiu-Ping.

3 rows of baptismal candidates!! 

A guy in his traditional dress 

On our bus back to the Hotel

Yummy! 

Goodbye Barrak-eye

So today we wake up at 5:20 a.m . I read on the internet that the sun rise is at 5:45 am. so we hurry and get ready and go outside to the beach front - and it's light outside but no sun yet. Where is the sun? John looks on google maps and ohhhhh, we are on the west side. Oops. Probably should have checked that 1st, so we didn't have time to make it to the other side in time for the sunrise. Kind of disappointed we woke up early for nothing, we walk along the beach.  There were a lot of people out surprisingly.  Some working out, some shopping, a lot selling or trying to sell things already, and some even swimming. The water was still a little too cold for us to swim in.  So we walk on the beach and kind of look for a place that is open for breakfast. Nothing that looked good was open yet. Then a guy comes up to us and asks if we want to sail around the island and watch the sun rise. (A lot of people approach you there trying to get you to do 'sea sports'.) I told him - it's too late. It already started to rise and then no thank you.  But then as John and I talked we decided, it would be kind of fun and it's our last few hours there so we might as well go .  So we call the guy over and ask him how much.  John got him to do it for a little cheaper.  Nice! And we hop on the boat.  It was different. We weren't IN the boat. We were on the side of it. A catamaran type of boat. It was amazing though. It's like we were floating on the water. The water and island was so pretty out there.  And yes, we got to see some of the sun rise.  Even though it already started, it was beautiful still. With the sunlight reflecting on the crisp blue water and a cool breeze upon your face, what more could one ask for? Haha. We head back to the shore after about 45 mins or so. Then we head to look for breakfast. To hold me over I get a fresh made pineapple banana smoothie. It was delicious! Then we stop at a place to get some eggs and a waffle.  Not the greatest, but it was good. After that we go back to the hotel and I take a nap since we got up so early. 

    John went out exploring I guess because when I woke up I had his jacket over me to keep me warm (what a sweetie) and he was gone. I guess he wasn't as tired as me.  When he gets back we pack up and just get our bags ready.  We don't have much time left at this point, maybe about 1.5 hrs.  So we decide to do some tourist shopping to get some souvenirs to bring home. It was a lot of fun. Some things were pretty cheap there too. We then get some lunch to go since we won't have time to get it during our trip back to Manila. 

   At 11:45 we go back to the hotel to get our stuff and the sister, Lea, gets there about that time to help us get back to the airport.  She insisted on carrying my bag.  So nice.  We walked a little and she hailed a tricycle for us and we rode to the pier.  During our tricycle ride it started pouring. The weather is very unpredictable here. It can start raining at any moment.  We get to the pier and wait under a tent with a bunch of other people huddled underneath. Lea took our money and went to get our boat and van tickets.  I think she knows how to get things cheaper since she lives there.  She comes back to us and says 'this way' and off she goes. She is so fast.  Haha.  At this point the rain already let up some. Thankfully as quick as it comes, it goes quickly as well.  So we ride the boat for a few mins back over to the place we need to get on our van. 

    I had this whole plan for when we got to that side so I wouldn't get sick again; get water from a local store, use the restroom, and then ask the driver to sit in front. BUT as soon as we got there it moved so fast. The sister took us to the guy with the van and he said get in. The van was loaded full and they wanted me to go in back. I said "I don't think I can do it, I get car sick. Can we wait on another one?" They were really confused and the sister said we might miss our flight if I wait. Ugh! Fine. I guess I'll have to deal with it. So John somehow got to sit right up front (they said cuz of the leg room)  and I am in the WAY back with 2 adults and a kid.  Squeezed in like sardines. But where I was, I could watch the road somewhat and I felt the AC on me. So thankfully I didn't get sick this time. Woohoo! 

    It was actually quite nice to be able to enjoy the scenery this trip; to see the mountains next to the water, and all the rice fields on the way. There were so many of them! The locals were all laying the rice out in thin layers on tarps near the road, and occasionally we would see them moving the rice around so it would  dry evenly. 

    After about 1.5 hrs, we get to the airport. Again it is a small place and kind of confusing. Every time something was said about our flight I had to go up to the desk and ask, "What did you say about this flight?" I felt like such a foreigner. haha. They just smiled politely and said, you wait there and we will tell you when to board. I think what makes it so confusing is it is TOO EASY, compared with the complicated way bigger airports are. 

    So to continue, we fly back to Manila and get a taxi to our hotel, and eat at one of the hotel restaurants. That pretty much ended our day. We were again, exhausted. But it was a good day and a fun trip. Although it was fast paced, we were glad that we did it.  

This was right out our hotel room, a police station. They were so loud the whole night. 

Our cheap hotel room - it wasn't too bad though 

The balcony off our room. See the ocean? 

The guy adjusting the sails on the boat

One of the avenues going between all the shops 

Those girls on the right in black liked John. They were all flirty with him.

Our drive back to the airport

At the airport 

Boracay

Today we head to Boracay. We leave our hotel at 7:30 am by a taxi and head to the airport.  The airport here is very different.  It's actually easier than where we live but since we're not used to it - very confusing.  We get to the domestic airport and it is a one story building that stands alone.  We go through security 1st thing when we get in the bldg. But we didn't have to take our belts or shoes off . Then we check in at the right counter.  We didn't know where to go next - but there was only one place to go and the security officers all pointed to the way to go.  I felt really lost and like a tourist.  And they didn't speak that well of English there.  We then go  around the corner and we have to go through security again. Weird.  But again, it is very easy.  Leave your shoes and belts on , put your bags through , ect.  Then we get through and there are people sitting all over.  There were 4 gates right next to each other and our ticket didn't say what gate we were supposed to wait at. We look at the tv and again, not sure what gate to wait at.  Then we figure it out.  They don't tell you the gate # until they are actually ready to board. So everyone just sits anywhere they want and have to really listen to any announcements made for when to board.  John got his SIM card as we waited and I played Cut The Rope and bought some frozen hot chocolate at Seattle's Best Coffee Place. (It is interesting, when you don't feel the best a lot and feel lost -  a place of familiarity is quite comforting ... Even if it isn't that great of a place at home. )  So finally we hear they are boarding our flight and instead of doing it in sections like at home  - everyone lines up at once in front of the gate .  But the line goes pretty quick.  We board our plane and once we finally take off it is only a 45 minute flight.  We get off the plane and again the airport is a tiny one story building.   We are in a place called Kalibo and have to take a shuttle over to Boracay.  Inside the airport it is crazy .  People all have signs up with prices on them to take their mode of transportation.  We call the sister that we are suppose to meet at Boracay and ask the info desk just to make sure we understood the sister correctly (she doesn't speak very good English).  It is kinda hard to understand them  even though they speak English some.  So we take a van over to a shore on the other side and then have to take a boat to Boracay.  We have no Idea how long it was going to take .  No one really explained it to us. Haha.  Just - 'you want to do?',  'Ok , go here'  ect .  LoL . So we get into our shuttle-  it is a big van packed with 12 people and we are in the very back.  Even though the AC was on we couldn't feel it in the back.  I see road signs that say 60 km till where we need to be . How long is that ?  John looks it up on his phone and it'll take about 1 1/2 hrs . Whaaat?!  I didn't realize it'd be that long.  We didn't eat lunch and it was about 11:00 am.  So with not eating , the heat , the crazy driving and windy rds. - guess what happens, again?    I get car sick.  Ugh! Annoying !  Haha .  The drive was really pretty though.  Mountains in the background, and palm trees, and lots and lots of rice fields.  We get to our destination and I'm so happy to get out of the back of that van.  Then the sister is there to meet us. She knew it was us since we were wearing our badge cards.  Her name is Lea. And we could barely understand each other .  She is like 'ok , we go on boat now' .  But I wasn't ready for that yet because of me feeling so sick.  So I had to ask her where I could get bottled water and we needed lunch.  We go to this junky fast food place where everything is smothered in sauce and very flavorful- which might be good if I wasn't recovering from car sickness.  Haha.  I get speghetti (oddly enough they had that) and was able to eat a couple bites. And I had Gatorade and lots of water.  John had some barbecued chicken on kabobs and rice and coke of course :) .  When we finish we go get our boat tickets , go through another security check and hop on a boat. That all would have been very confusing if we didn't have Lea with us. She was able to zip us right through everything. It's a cool looking boat .  Probably holds about 30 people and has 2 rows to sit.  I'll have to upload a pic cuz it's hard to describe.  About 5 mins later we get to the other side.  We don't know where we'd be without the sister with us.  She talks to the people In Tagalog and then turns to us and says 'ok , we take this now' . After the boat , we take what they call a tricycle.  A man with a motorbike and a side car that fits about 3-4 people.  It was fun.  We get to our hotel. And the sister is like - 'ok , you want to do sea sports now?'  Well I need to take a nap 1st.  She said she will come back when we are done.  We rest for about an hour. And at about 4 pm we are ready to go, so we text her and she says to meet her in the lobby.  We go down and she is already there sitting on the couch. We are pretty sure she was there the whole time.  Sheesh. How nice!  We felt bad.  So we had no idea where she was going next for these 'sea sports' . There was a beach right outside our hotel but she went the opposite way and we got on another Tricycle.  Apparently this is where we go for the tourist stuff.  We decide to go helmet diving.  It's a giant helmet that has air In it and we go under water with it - easier than real diving .  We pay and then she walks down the beach and finds a guy with a boat and speaks to them in Tagalog.  Then she says 'ok you go with them , I stay here and wait for you'.  I feel so lost here . Haha.  We get on a small motor boat and head for two pontoon type boats tied together (but made out of wood, like they do on the islands) in the middle of the ocean that have the helmets and oxygen tanks on them.  We listen to our instructions and John lets me go 1st.  The water was slightly chilly but not for long.  It was kinda scary at 1st but once you realize there really is air in the helmets , your are ok and can focus on the beauty.  It was really nice down there- seeing the reefs and the school of fish. We got to feed fish out of our hand. I touched one on the side. Haha.  And the best part -  I got to see NEMO !  Swimming in the Anenome ! Awesome. The tour guide took a lot of pics of us under water and gave us a cd so we are interested in what those look like.  And if they are good- we will show you guys haha.  We get out of the water after about 20 minutes and get back on the boat. The other boat gets us soon after that and we head back to the shore.  There the sister is waiting for us and we head to get dinner. It was at an outdoor mall on the beach front . First she tried to take us to a 'new place' called 'Sbarro'  but John rescued us and spoke up , "Is there anything nicer? We want to try something different since we have these in the States." He was nice about it. Then we go to this nice restaurant on the beach called, Epic.  The food was good too. Maybe not epic, but probably the best food I had here yet.  Then we head back to our hotel , but see a lot of cool things along the way - touristy vendors selling things, fancy decorated sand castles and even FIRE DANCERS! Pretty cool.  Then we get back to the hotel at around 8 pm and go to bed soon after... man we feel like old fogies. But we were tired from the journey :) 

Getting off the plane

Driving to Boracay

Boarding our transport ferry 

On the boat

The tricycles 

Getting ready to go Helmet Diving (sorry no pics of that on here) 

Walking to dinner 

Me and the very hospitable sister, Lea.

Sandcastle

Fire dancers 

Bethel and Assembly Tour

Today is our day assigned to go to a local Assembly Hall and Bethel to tour.  So we went down to breakfast at 6:25 am and this time we were in a giant ballroom with the witnesses staying at our hotel.  It was beautiful and like usual, the breakfast delicious.  I was still trying to take it easy on my stomach.  So I drank bottled water , didn't eat rice ;)  thanks to Chelsea's advice.  I had some fruit and eggs.  Man is the pineapple good ! Mmmm... So ripe.  John had some pancakes with the raspberry compote and eggs. Yes I know, American food . Haha.  

We met with our bus group at 7:00 am . There are 48 of us in a bus and there are 4 buses total traveling from our hotel.  It has been nice getting to know the other delegates.   We met some from Indonesia, some from Washington State,  and some from near Washington DC.  On the way to our destination a couple local pioneer sisters shared experiences and told us what buildings we were passing and how many congregations there were in the area.  

Assembly Hall Tour

So we go to the Assembly Hall 1st.  Apparently this is the 1st time they opened it to the Public for

Touring.  What a privilege!  So we get there and look out the bus window, and WOW -  sooo many people all waiting for us .  They were in a row holding up fans that had individual letters on them that spelled out "Welcome Brothers & Sisters". We get out of the bus and there are people lined up on our right and left all the way from the bus to the kingdom hall that is right next to the assembly hall.  Everyone wanted to shake our hand and were saying- thank you for coming , nice to meet you, ect.  It was so overwhelming , but in a good way of course.  We get inside the hall and sit down and they play a really touching video on how they built their assembly hall.  Then at the end they surprise us by saying each family gets to take home a copy of the video. What?!?! Awesome !     Then we walked from the hall to the assembly. It was over a grassy area and all the brothers were holding banners that said 'Welcome' and on the side were decorated with plants and fruits so people can take pictures next to them.  It felt like you were in paradise already.  So many smiling faces and such beautiful scenery.  Everyone wanted to take pictures again.  "1 more, 1 more" haha  they're hilarious. They always say that.  So we finally arrive at the assembly hall.  It was an open air style building, but they had big fans on the ceilings so it felt cool in there.  They handed us all bottled water and sweet snacks made of sticky rice .  Then we sat down because they had a program prepared for us.  We got to see more traditional dances in their traditional dress again.  There were 2 songs.  They prepared for 3 months for us!  After it was over we had to go back to the bus.  But again they lined up with banners that said 'We Love You' and 'Thank you for coming' ect... All with smiling faces. So nice. It's very difficult to even put into words.

Bethel Tour 

We get off the bus and again we are welcomed by a bunch of Bethelites lined up. They were holding a banner that said "Welcome Beloved Brothers & Sisters" and we were all herded into where we were going to eat.  Some into the dining room , but since it only holds 600 people, the rest of us went out to the basketball court that was covered with tarps and made up nice just for us. It looked like a wedding reception.  There was a live band playing kingdom songs for us on the mandolins and guitars.  Brother Splane from the Governing Body made a few comments and then prayed.  Apparently he will be speaking at the convention so he is staying at bethel. Pretty neat.  So we eat lunch with the Bethelites and afterward we all go to the Kingdom Hall on site there and watch a new video they prepared for those to watch before they take their Bethel Tour.  We are divided up into groups of about 8 people.  Our tour guides name was Jemiamah , but people call her Mai.  Apparently they are big on nicknames here.  So as we tour Bethel, each department had little gifts set up for us. Mostly candy and a bookmark or card with their info. on it.  People were in their offices looking out and waving at us excitedly as we took our tour.  They had signs on their offices that said things in Tagalog and then translated what they were (this was in the Translation Dept. Come to think of it) .  They said things like 'Good Day' , 'Thank You' , 'We Love You' ect... One room had a cardboard looking Jeepney (one mode of their transportation here) set up with straw hats to try on so we could take our picture behind it.  The girl reminded me of Kathryn Straniero cuz she was so excited and playful and was trying to get us to sit there and take our pic. She pretended to be the bus driver and said 'beep, beep' as she presses on a fake steering wheel.  It was cute and funny.  

There are sooo many things we saw along the way and can't even write them all here.  We had an amazing time. It felt like we were famous . As we left on our bus the Bethelites , again, lined up and waved goodbye to us as we drove off.  

We got to our hotel and took a nap since we were really tired from the day.  Then John went exploring close by our hotel since he needed to get food and a Sim Card and get our taxi arranged for tomorrow morning.  I didn't go because of course I started to feel sick again.  Probably cuz I didn't eat on time :/ .  He said he found a Starbucks close by that is 24/7. Nice!  Anyways, Tomorrow, We are going to a nearby Island - called Boracay (pronounced Barack-Kie) for parts of 2 days.  I don't know if I'll have wi-fi there , but I'll tell you about it when we can.  Good bye for now :) 

Cool :) 

The Jeepney with someone in our group from Atlanta , GA. 

Bethel Kitchen.  They had cookies prepared for us and cold drinks. 

Our Bus tour guide and our Bethel tour guide- Mai .  

Our friends Toti and Manny from

Bethel that we've been in contact with

Through email . Saying goodbye to us. 

The Almanza Congregation - Monday

So today was our day to work in the ministry with a nearby congregation.  We went down to eat breakfast at 6:45 am and met in  the lobby at 7:30 am.  While we were down there waiting we got to meet a lot of other delegates for the convention.  Some from Texas, A lot from Atlanta GA and from Charlotte, NC.  One person knew Jennifer and Daniel Montana when they served her congragation in Mt. Giliad (? I think that's the name of it)  ( but we didn't find that out until half the day with her) . It is funny how you can go across he world and still find someone that knows someone you know.  So anyways , we met a lot of delegates , but only 8-10 delegates were assigned to each congregation in the Manila area because there are a lot of congregations in the city.  That way they could all get a chance to be with us delegates since they aren't all invited to the special convention (since there isn't enough space there at the venue).  Each congragation was assigned to take us delegates in the ministry then out to lunch and back to the hall to show us a small program they prepared for us.  

The Ministry 

       So we made it to the hall.  And again, everyone in the hall was so friendly and came up to meet us.  When I say everyone , I don't mean like a majority, I meant - literally, everyone.  No wonder we got there early.  So the meeting for service starts and I don't really understand what is going on at 1st because they were talking in part Tagalog, part English.  Then I realize they are making groups up.  We were assigned our groups . It was about 7 to a group - however many could fit in the car .  And then after an hour they said they would switch us around , so more could get a chance to work with us.  So since I woke up that morning I still wasn't feeling the best , but I figured I'd make it out and just be able to deal with the queasy stomach.   I took my ginger pill and thought I just needed to eat.  So I continued on. Getting to the hall it was really warm and I felt really weak and still sick to my stomach.  So when they started to pray for going in service I realized -  I don't think I could do this.  It was really sad and when they were done with the prayer I couldn't stop crying.  And those who know me-  I don't cry in front of people.  Haha.  So now I have a lot of the congregation wondering what is wrong and a couple people come up and ask what's wrong.  I really wanted to go in the ministry with them and now I didn't think I could do it.  Especially cuz it is walking territory and I felt like I'd pass out in the heat.  So they talked amongst themselves and said I could sit in the car if I wanted to.  One ran to a nearby stand and got me bottled water and medicine.  (It was a lot like a chewable peptol bismal tablet).  It was so nice how they wanted to help.  So John went out and I layed in the car the whole time and rested. A sister stayed in the car with me. It was really sweet. And she was excited to see my Bible and looked at it the whole time.  

After about an hour and a half it started POURING rain.  And we got the group together again, some were soaked and laughing a lot.  The streets were flooding quickly even though it wasn't raining long.  After we got our car group they took us to a near by Kingdom Hall being built .  It will be done by the end of the month  and it will be their hall.  They started in May so i wouldn't call it a quick build . But everyone was so excited to see us they stopped what they were doing.  I got to see the kitchen and I told them I do that on our Kingdom Hall builds.  It was really neat to see.  Then i used the restroom on the site. By the way , they bathrooms are really weird here at certain places .  There was no toilet paper - not that they were out - they just didn't have any. And no lids - like just sitting on the porcelain toilet. And then no soap, just a bucket of water .  Uhhhh, not what I'm used to. Haha  .  Thankfully not ALL of them are like that here.  So when I get back everyone is wanting to take pictures .  They keep saying "1 more, 1 more" I heard that a 100 times.  And then people were literally running and sliding across the floor so they too could be in the picture.  Someone said a Filipino hobby is taking pictures.  We probably took pictures for about 30 mins.  And again , I started feeling weak and sick to my stomach so I had to go sit in the car.  I'm glad I got to see it though.  

Lunch 

So we all go to lunch at the nearby mall.  The brothers ordered for everyone. It was crazy, it was like the whole congragation was in the restaurant with us.  They set up a really long table.  and they brought many different kinds of food.  And Rice , of course . Rice is with every meal here.  So I just had tiny tastes of everything and it was good what I had .  Unfortunately, I still didn't feel good.  So after lunch an elder was asking how I felt and if I wanted to go back to the hotel.  Well I really didn't want to cuz I didn't want to miss out, but I figured I should.  So they gave me a ride back to the hotel but John stayed and said he'd film it for me.  So I pretty much slept the whole time after I got back- from 2 pm to 11 pm . Woah.  So John will have to tell you what I missed out on.  ...  

John's turn 

So, I'm going to pick up where Gabby left off, well actually I'll start in service. We all went over to the territory in car groups. It seemed like we took about 3 or 4 cars and then a few motorcycles (which seem to be the vehicle of choice because of being able to get around in traffic a lot easier). The group I was in had 6 people in it, and we all worked on the same street in close proximity to each other. I stayed with one married couple and we began our street. The place where we were didn't have doorbells, and usually they had a gated porch that you couldn't enter. So as we come up to the house they would say "Magandang unado" which means good morning. So you just hope that they are able to hear you. They have  a lot of not at home there just like back in the states. The first person we found at home was a young guy who was about 20. He only spoke Tagalog but could understand English. So I was able to talk to talk to him a little(most people here speak at least 3 languages - Tagalog, English, and their native dialect). The next person was a 20 something girl washing clothes outside.  We just briefly left her a tract as she was busy. The next woman invited us in which was nice since it was really starting to get hot in the sun. We talked awhile, half in Tagalog and half in English. It was funny though, the wife had to keep reminding the husband to talk in English so I could understand. It was nice though because I could actually contribute some. The woman and the husband we were talking to ran a business making and selling handicrafts to Pier 1, Michael's, and Wal-Mart. So that was interesting to see. She was Catholic (a lot of people are here) but we had a nice conversation with her. As we left it went from sunny to a downpour almost instantly. Thankfully they all carry umbrellas for the sun and rain there, so we popped up our umbrellas and made for a nearby shop. It was a tiny little market and we huddled under the awning to keep dry. The shop keeper set out a few chairs and made us sit down as we waited for the rain to slow. Eventually the car we rode in there showed up and we got in and headed over to the site of their new Kingdom Hall.
    Everyone was very excited about their new Hall. There were many workers busy and happy to see and meet us as they showed us around. I'm just going to reiterate here how much they love taking pictures here, they could do it for hours! It had taken them 8 years to make this project happen. They expect to be done by Nov 15th. Just about 5 years ago they were one congregation and since then they have already grown to 3 congregations. And the congregation that was hosting us is already back up to 135! So you can see why they really needed a new Hall. And this is a double Hall.
   Gab covered lunch so I will skip to the program they prepared for us. We get back to the Hall and everyone is getting ready and getting in some of their traditional clothing. Before they start, a brother comes up to me and shows me a set of questions for an interview they want to do with me. So when it starts they invite me up first and ask me questions which would take too long to expound on. Just how long were you baptized, how my congregation is, etc. It was a privilege to be interviewed. Then they asked the other Brother that was visiting too. After that the children sang 2 Kingdom songs for us, it was very cute. =) I can't remember the order exactly but they also interviewed a pioneer sister who from her words had assisted an entire congregation worth of people into the truth. Then a big group of the Men and Women sang a song for us which was beautifully done. We then had a bible trivia game which everyone was involved with. And then they asked me to close with prayer which was another great privilege. Then they had snacks with alot of their native foods and some pizza from Pizza Hut and cheeseburgers from McDonald's. Was kinda funny, they just call that kind of food snacks. It's not a meal unless you have rice according to them. We then all exchanged gifts. It was such a neat experience. And regretfully after that we had to leave our dear friends. It was such a great time. 
    I just want to add on here how crazily insane the traffic and driving is here. I can't believe that they all dont die here everyday!! It's so funny. People just do what they want to, and pull out in front of you. It's hard to even describe. The brother said you can't have 6 inches between the cars, it needs to be 2 inches. And that seemed be the case. But for some reason I don't feel nervous, because somehow it's also orderly in an odd way too. If traffic was like this in America we would be extinct.
   Well it's now 2:45 am and I need to be up in 3 hours to get up for our Bethel tour tomorrow. My sleep schedule is still off. Good night!

Their hall now . 

At the kingdoms hall site 

I took a picture of them taking pictures of us  :) at one time it was about 10 people taking pics at once 

Lunch 

The sister from Charlotte  that knew the Montana's