June 2015

It was time for us to return to Bogo for additional Self-Reliance training.  Because of the travel time (3 hour drive) we decided to stay overnight because we did not want to drive home in the dark again.  The roads are just jam-packed with people, tricycles and jeepnies that make traveling in the dark a hazard.

The drive to Bogo is beautiful going through a mountain range at the furthest north end of Cebu Island.

I made arrangements for us to stay at the Casa del Mar Golf & Beach resort.  After looking on line I only found three facilities.  One was too expensive, the other a real dive and this one was supposed to be 3-star.  We got up early Saturday morning to drive to Bogo and to get checked in.  We had made arrangements to meet with Elder & Sister Bock from Australia to have dinner later that evening.

We arrived at about 1 PM and hooked up with the Bocks who were having a Family History Fair.  We got directions on line how to get to our resort. Ha! While trying to get there we ran into two funeral marches in the road and as a result we took a right turn when we should have taken a left turn and got lost.  We stopped and asked a local resident for directions.  He informed us that he was a 'travel guide' and knew exactly where our resort was.  I offered him P100 to take us there. So, on faith, we had him jump into the back seat to take us there!!

He DID get us there but boy, were we surprised.  We knew that this area of Cebu had been hit hard by the typhoon in 2014 but nothing like we saw.  The homes and trees were in ruin from the storm.  They had been renovating this resort ever since but things still needed work.  The golf course was brown due to the lack of water since they had no irrigation. The lawn at the resort was also brown but at least the beach had white sand and was clean.

Entrance to Golf Resort

#1 Tee - burned grass

Fairway on golf course

Fairway on golf course

Our room:  Well the first one they showed us was up two floors and was worse than a Motel 6 on a desert road in New Mexico. So they upgraded us to a room on the ground level which was much larger and cleaner.  After getting unpacked we discovered that the TV did not work and the hot water left something to be desired.  However it was habitable and clean. After fussing with the TV I finally got it working.  But when we got home from dinner it was not working again. We were too tired anyway.

As I said we had arranged earlier to meet the Bocks for dinner at a resort and restaurant that was highly recommended on line.  The problem was that to get there we had to drive on dirt roads  through the poorest shanty town.  You would have thought that a nice resort would have had paved roads, but NOT in the Philippines.

Road to the Restaurant

We finally got to the resort and it was very nice and beautiful.  It was one that I had  considered staying at but it was quite expensive. Obviously lots of time and money had repaired it!

The dinner was delicious so we had no complaints there.  We drive home again over dirt roads to reach the main road that took us to our resort.  However once we left the paved road it was dirt all the way to the entrance to our resort.  Once we entered the resort we were actually driving on the golf cart paths, that is how bad it was.  Got home to discover that the TV did not work so we went to bed.

We got up Sunday and to our surprise the shower really did work and it was a hot shower.  However the experience was not what we had expected so we decided to check out and drive home after our meetings in the day.  We just did not want to spend another night in this place. The manager was very kind and decided not to even charge us for our stay!  Nice perk for their less-than-ideal conditions. 

We checked out and headed off to church to prepare for our 3:00 PM meeting with the District President and his Self-Reliance Committee.  We had a great meeting covering Self-Reliance. I introduced them to the Organic Farming program and the possibility of them developing a piggery.  The District President got real excited so we discussed what we needed to be looking for. They are moving forward and their Stake SR Specialist is on the ball getting things organized.  We are hoping to have a graduation in July for all the 3 SR groups.

After the meeting was concluded we packed up and headed for home.  The drive was rather pleasant this time, not a lot of traffic as usual so it only took us 3 hours to get home, not the 4 of last time.

JUNE 12.  Today was another YSA Conference held in Danau (an hour north of Cebu) at the Sunshine Shin Resort.  Jenee and I along with Sister Darby set out at 11 AM as we needed to be there by noon to meet Mary Ann, our SR Manager to set up.  It's always full of adventure and adjustments to our plans when we see what venue we are working with!  We had from 1 to 3 PM for our Self-Reliance presentation to 180 single adults.  This was the best YSA Conference we have attended. Each of us had a different presentation.  Mary Ann covered Self-Reliance Scriptures.  Sister Darby and Jenee did games and music centered around building trust, self-awareness and church history.  I did the "My Path" presentation and introduced them to the three developmental groups of Self-Reliance.  Everybody was able to be themselves including myself and we interacted with the kids rather well.  (Gail was crazy fun with them!) By their remarks and reaction at the end it was evident that they enjoyed our entire presentation and learned something worthwhile about Self -Reliance.  We have had feedback on all our youth presentations stating that the kids have all thought our gig was their favorite activity of their conferences.  That makes it worth doing and fulfilling.



 

 

After we completed our presentation we decided to go for an early dinner at 4 PM.  There was a German Restaurant just up the road (about 20 minutes) from where we were that had been recommended to us by other missionaries.  Jenee and I had passed by it several times on our way to Bogo.  So we decided to go there and boy, were we treated to a wonderful German meal.  The owner of the place was a famous chef from Germany who married a Filipino lady and relocated to Cebu 13 years ago.  His nephew was working there and treated us like royalty. As usual, SR picked up the tab. 

 

The atmosphere was wonderful and the hospitality very warm and inviting.  I am sure we will return there many time either going to or coming from Bogo.

The Restaurant

Grounds at the Restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We are so enjoying all our many experiences and continuing to learn and grow from them all.
We feel blessed to be a part of this wonderful program to help these gentle people. Let us all press on!