I figured this week I would let most of the pictures and
videos do the talking, so here is my short snippet to summarize the events of
the last couple weeks:
My mom described one of the days of
last week as "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". They are working so hard and
coming face to face with some real adventures! There have been heavy rainfalls
and my parents had heard of homes being destroyed and flooded in mountainous
areas, so they went to check it out.
My mom said "We had a truly adventurous Sabbath day
today filled with; sharing messages in the Bangui Ward, having a wheel go off
the road into a deep ravine and 6 Filipinos lifting the car back on, hiking
through jungle and rain to visit homes of members that were affected by a heavy
rain followed by mudslides, hiking to inspect missionary apartments and finding
one incredibly unlivable, getting a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere but
two Filipinos help change it, a stop at the Stake Presidents home - a humble
place, but clean and filled with the spirit.
A full day and we loved it!!!!
None of it was preplanned or scheduled - we just went wherever we were
led. We felt guided by the spirit and it
was so easy to follow and take the time wherever we were needed - meeting
wonderful people along the way and doing our best to represent the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” and concerning the week in general, my dad
said, "There are a lot of details to still figure out, but mom and I are
having a good time. We are enjoying all the business of everything!"
- Sadie
Enjoy the pictures below with captions by Sister Peterson:
Elder and Sister Van Wermeskerken stayed with us for a couple of
days. He is the Area Medical Advisor. He trained me and we also visited three
of the local hospitals. We walked into one and were there for about 30 seconds
and Elder VW said, “I’ve seen enough”. And we walked back out haha!
The quality and standards of their medical facilities are no where near the
ones from home. If a person isn’t sick going in, he probably will be going
out...
Made a short stop at a place called Saud Beach. An impromptu walk on the beach had Dad pulling his pant legs up to keep them dry. However, a wave foiled that plan haha. The ocean water is warmer than Hawaii - I would definitely swim here.
Just in case you were wondering what the schedule is of our Aparri District Conference. It is on a big sign on the front of the church building.
Lunch with the Gonzaga district. Notice that my bowl is still full.... not my favorite...
The Lasam church building. So sad. The church has had land to build for a long time, but we are not sure what the hold up is.
A little retreat we found.
This place is at the farthest point away from the mission home and we
are sooooo happy to have somewhere we feel like staying at for a couple of days
in order to be with our missionaries who are so far away.
Complimentary fruit that took someone a bit of time to prepare.
The pier where you can catch a boat to a little island.
Since I can't hold my own grandkids, I couldn't resist this cute little baby!
The tips of your fingers crossed makes a little heart ❤️. “Sister Peterson, when you see us do this, it means we love you” 😍
Two of the four Filipinos who participated in my first haircut in the Philippines.
Wheel over the edge 😯
Protecting their prize roosters.
The mud on the right comes from a road that was being built behind this brother's home. He is the Elders Quorum President. The heavy rains caused all that fresh dirt to cover his rice fields. His home was flooded, but not destroyed.
Rice fields along the roadside of the flat tire incident.
Mark walked back to the missionaries apartment and recruited them to help with changing the flat tire. Beautiful backdrop!
Dad began changing the tire, but before long two Filipinos stepped in and did an awesome job!
Help from some Filipino friends