SANTA CRUZ JUBILEE

(l-r pics) 1. VIP Gifts 2. Mayors, Vice-Mayors, and Barangay Leaders Listen to Jubliee Presentation 3. Mayor and Stake Leaders at Exhibit 4. Lucheon and Missionaries

Goats Along the Drive, View of Malaya from Hills Above, Arches Into Santa Cruz, One Mode of Transportation in the Hills Above Malaya

Hotel in Santa Cruz, Unique Bathroom, E. Bird Helping With the Remodel, Hotel Laundry Facility, Hotel Sign, S. Bird in Hotel Courtyard

The Jubilee Exhibit at Santa Cruz went so very well. On the first day when they opened the exhibit, they had over 50 VIPs, that they had invited, come. The Mayor of Santa Cruz spoke to everyone in the opening ceremonies......the funniest thing was to see a man at the pulpit of one of our chapels, speaking with a pack of Marlboro cigarettes sticking out of his pocket!! We love these people!! Then to watch their faces as they went through the exhibit......it was just so sweet.....many were so surprised to see what we REALLY believe.....it is truly a wonderful experience. Later that day, a jeepney arrived bringing 12 school principals to see the exhibit. Later in the week, those principals brought many classes from their schools to see the exhibit.....only in the Philippines!! We just love being here during this Jubilee year as the exhibits make their way throughout these islands. The drive from Santa Cruz back to Manila was so beautiful.....lots of green rolling hills close to a huge lake.....there are quite a few resorts in this area plus the traffic is not at all as bad. Several people that work at the MPAO live in this area of Laguna. Hard to believe that they travel this twice every day! It took about 2 and a half hours to get back to Manila.

Because we had a couple of funny experiences on this trip, I will have to relate them. The travel department at the MPAO sets up all of our travel reservations.....they have accommodations that they typically use and they have been just fine. Well, Santa Cruz is more rural and they really didn't have a place they knew of to have us stay.....so they did find this place that Elder Ko had stayed in some years ago.....so we said to go for it! I don't want to sound like I am complaining......it was just a new experience. We call it our "minus 1 Star Hotel"......granted they were in the middle of remodeling a section of it and it is also the off season. Sooo... we pulled into the hotel to find we were the only ones staying there (later we saw one other couple!). They showed us to our room and it was okay. Soon the air conditioning went out and we discovered the toilet didn't flush. So, they said they would move us to the executive suite--Randy said he would go check it out before we moved our things. He thought it would be fine but it was very hot and stuffy so the manager went right over and turned on the air conditioner--cockroaches and other bugs came scattering out from the unit and across the wall, falling onto the bed. The hotel manager started smashing the bugs on the walls trying to convince him that the room would work. Randy said we would have to try a third room. This one was small and no critters came out of the air conditioner and the toilet flushed.....it would work. We discovered a very unique bathroom. The shower came out of the wall in the very same small area that also contained the toilet and the sink....so to shower, you showered the whole room!! So, they provided flip flops for you to wear into the bathroom to shower because the whole floor would have water on it. At least this would be a quick way to clean the whole bathroom at once! Anyway, I did feel a little skiddish in this place, but I felt safe on the bed and looked forward to morning!

Well, I went to turn off the light in our room and saw some large thing sitting on the bed post right by Randy's head (my glasses were off) and I thought, "what is that brown thing"?....yes, as soon as I thought it, I realized it was a monster cockroach!!!! Randy said, "Hand me a shoe, quick!" as he kept an eye on it, I handed him a shoe (his, of course!) and I looked the other way. He whacked the bedpost and MISSED the cockroach......that almost cost our marriage!!....now the thing was loose under the bed. He chased it out and finally got it, and then flushed it down the toilet.....so he thought....after all that drama, I headed for the bathroom and to my horror, it hadn't gone down the toilet....TOO BIG! (Not really, the toilet just didn't flush well!) Anyway, most people wouldn't consider this a big deal, but it was traumatic for me!!!! I was very glad when Monday morning came and it was time to get up and head to the Jubilee Exhibit.