We arrived on Palawan on December 26, 2008. This first week has been very eventful and exciting. We have had an opportunity to visit all of the missionaries that are serving on the island, all of the chapels & Missionary apartments except one, and we have met most of the District & Branch leaders. As well as well as being able to visit most of the tourist attractions on the Palawan. We also had a quick tour of what will be our little home for the next eighteen months. It will be hard to try to cover all of the events and all of the things that we have felt this week, but we will at least give you a brief overview.
We arrived with President & Sister Howard, Sister Howards sister Beckie & President & Sister Lesuer. (President & Sister Lesuer are the Missionary Couple that we will be replacing on Palawan) It has been great to have all of them with us. The airport was kinda what we had expected, very small, we deplaned outside and walked to the little outdoor baggage area, it was covered with a metal roof and had a small baggage belt where they unloaded our bags, one of the church members works there, he helped us get all of our bags, and President Lesuer had made arrangements for a Jeepney to pick us up and take us to the Hotel, where we checked in, then walked across the street to the church where the twenty missionaries serving on the island were attending their District Meetings. The church is very nice and clean(we will send you pictures when we figure out how to attach them) We spent a very enjoyable afternoon with the missionaries, the spirit is so strong whenever we are around them.
On Saturday we visited some of the tourist attractions around Puerto Princesa. The city seems much smaller than we had expected. There are only a very few two or three story buildings, and only a few paved streets. The buildings and homes are mostly made out of bamboo, or old sheet metal, some cinder block, but mostly very old. There are a few cars, but mostly Tricycles, bikes and Jeepneys. We also had a quick tour of our future home. It is smaller than we thought, but nice, the washer & dryer is outside, the bedroom has a queen size bed that takes up most of the room, it has a closet, but you can only open the doors part way, It has hot water in the shower, but not in the kitchen, we will need to heat any water other than the shower on the stove. We will be moving into the home on January 1st. They say that Palawan is the Resort Island, but it is nothing like we would think of as a resort in the States. To get to what they refer to as a resort, you need to drive over the roughest roads that you can imagine, then very few of the beaches are sandy or developed, but the view is incredible.
On Sunday we drove 2 1/2 hours each way to Roxas for church, this was very special, they treated us like Royalty, one of the sisters made a corsage for each of us, they all treated us like we were Royalty. The spirit is so strong, the people are so humble and grateful for the gospel, families mean so much to them. The Branch President asked us and President & Sister Lesure to speak, it was mainly an opportunity for the Lesuer's to say good bye, and us to introduce ourselves. The ride up and back was absolutely beautiful.
Monday, President & Sister Howard took their first day off since they here arrived last July (the first time he has been outside without a tie on). All of us went out to the Under Ground River, it was incredible, but the ride to get there would jar your insides loose. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there, then we took small six man boats out into the South China Sea, around a point then back to the beach where we walked on a nice trail through the jungle. We were able to see many monkeys along the way and at the beach at the other end of the trail. There we had to wait for about two hours for some other boats that took us under the mountain. This is the longest underground river in the world and in places the ceiling is more than 200 feet high. It will be listed in the next 7 natural wonders of the world. Then the 2 1/2 hours back to the hotel. That night President Howard set Elder Golding apart as the 2nd Counselor in the Philippines Manila Mission Presidency, and Sister Golding as his Assistant and Companion. We never realized the magnitude or responsibility of these callings. President Golding will be presiding at any and all meetings that they attend on the Island, unless President Howard or one of the General Authorities are visiting. We will be responsible for the training of the District & Branch leaders in the two districts and nine branches. These leaders are wonderful and dedicated, but many of them have only been members for a short time. One of the District Presidents has only been a member for three years, but doing a great job. Then the young missionaries, what a wonderful privilege it is to be able to work with and associate with them. it will be a treat to get to know them better.
Tuesday: President & Sister Howard went back to Manila, we went with the Lesuers down to the Northern Districts. Again it is so beautiful that you can't even imagine how pretty it is. There is not a spot anywhere on the island, except where they have cleared to build a house or a road that is not thick with green trees and plants, wild banana trees, coconut trees, palm trees, green rice fields, but the people are so poor. Most houses are build out of bamboo, a few with old cinder block. They work the rice fields with tamed Carabows? (not sure of the spelling) they are in the water buffalo family. They pull their bamboo sleds that they use to haul what ever need to be moved. They just live off from the land, this area is a moneyless society, no one has money, they grow or trade for what they need. Many of the members there are strong, but many are too far away from the church to walk and there is no other way to get there. The missionaries could baptize many but if they did they would not be able to stay active, so they are not allowed to teach or baptize them.
Tuesday night we stayed at this incredibly beautiful place, way back in the jungle there is this clean well kept resort and you can't believe the natural beauty of this place. Once a year the owner invites all the people from the area to come and spend the day, Tuesday was the day, it was something to see. We will need to go down to that end of the island at least every other moth, more often if we can. On the way home Wednesday we visited some of the missionaries, and Branch Presidents. It was a great two days, but again the roads were so bad, we blew a tire out on the van, this is the third tire they have blown out since they received the new van in July.
We spent New Years Eve back at the hotel in Puerto Princesia, and then moved into our new home today. It is small, but it will be great. It is in a gated area that they are starting to develop. There are only five homes in the development, but they have sold several lots and it looks like there will eventually be 40 to 50 homes in the development. We have five cows, that graze around our house, some chickens & roosters. Mom is trying to adjust to the house and area, but see is doing great.
We hope all of you have a great New Year.
We love you,
Dad & Mom (President & Sister Golding)
ith President and Sister Howard & Sister Howard's sister. We were scheduled to have a staff meeting at the mission office this morning, but President Howard invited all of them to dinner this evening so we will have the staff meeting here at the Mission Home this morning, President Howard will conduct his interviews with each, then we will have the afternoon to visit and get to know each other better. and have dinner together.
