Today (Monday, October 15th) we decided to have a P-day because the schools are closed in Manila and there is a big meeting for the Iglesia Ni Cristo in the area by the Institute building. We were able to find out about it by checking our Twitter account on my phone. We get updates of traffic and weather reports for Manila. That saved us from being stuck in a bunch of traffic.
We took a cab to the Intramuros area of Manila. It is the old walled city that was built by the Spanish back in the late 1500s. We walked around and saw the old churches, San Augustin and the Manila Cathedral. The Manila Cathedral was being repaired, so we were not able to go inside. We also saw a building built by the Spanish as a Customs House that was destroyed by bombing during World War II. The outside wall is still standing, but the roof is gone. There were buses parked all around this building with signs on them saying Iglesia Ni Cristo Evangelical Mission. We thought we had escaped the big activity, but ended up being in the middle of it. We walked over to the Pasig River and watched as two men paddled small crafts that looked like small rafts. We stopped at Jollibee
One of the entrances to Intramuros.
After getting refreshed, we walked to Fort Santiago. The Spanish built it a long time ago. It was the place where Jose Rizal was imprisoned for causing an uprising against the Spanish. There were some artifacts displayed there about Jose Rizal. He was later hanged in what is known as Rizal Park today. He is considered the Father of the Philippines independence. The Fort was nice to visit and the grounds are very well kept.
Entrance to Fort Santiago.
When we finished there we walked out of the fort and were asked if we wanted to buy hats. I was all for the idea because the sun was beating down on us. Dale didn't really want one, but the vendor insisted he try it on. We then of course bought two hats.
Aren't we a pair!
We continued our walk and saw more of the wall around the city. We hoped we could go out a gate there, but it led to a golf course and was off limits. We walked on top of the wall back in the direction of our apartment and found another exit to get out of Intramuros. We then continued walking toward the Ocean Park and saw that there was an aquarium there. We were pretty hot and tired of walking by then and decided to take a cab back to our apartment. It was nice to get out and actually see more of the city.
While walking in Intramuros we came upon a rooster who had a rope attached to his leg. We think he was a fighting rooster. Here he is:
We got up today (Saturday,Oct. 19th) and went for a run along the bay and down by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. There were lots of people out early (7:00 am). We had to dodge people as we ran down the sidewalks. There are always so many vendors with their carts on the sidewalks. During the run we went up the ramp in front of the Cultural Center which we had seen other joggers doing. It took us about 40 minutes and it wasn't as hot going early in the day. We came back to the apartment and I did some cleaning and washing. I also went into the mall and bought some candy and little bags so we can give Halloween candy to the Primary in our ward. I decorated the bags by drawing jack-o-lanterns and writing "Happy Halloween" on them. I don't know if the children here do anything for Halloween, but they do sell costumes and decorations here. I sent a text to the Bishop to make sure it was okay to give them candy at church. He said we could give it to them during Primary. Dale and I will be visiting some other Wards the Sunday before Halloween, so I will have to give the bags to the missionaries to distribute for us.
Here are some of the candy bags along with cookies I made for the missionaries.
Here's a picture of our apartment building from the Yacht Club.
Our building is in the middle in the background.
This afternoon (Wednesday, October 23rd) at the office a man and his daughter showed up. They had come to Manila to go to the doctor because the daughter has some sort of eye problem. The man told us that he was willing to give one of his eyes to his daughter so she could see better. That really floored me. I could hardly believe that he would be willing to do that. They showed up at the church building looking for someone to give them blessings. Dale went out to find someone to help him. While he was gone I talked to the father some more and found out that they didn't have money for food and would be getting on a boat to take them back to Bicol at 4:00. Dale couldn't find anyone to assist so he came back and did the blessings himself without consecrated oil. He first blessed the father and then had the father help him bless the daughter. After they finished the father mentioned again how their stomachs hurt. I whispered to Dale that we needed to give them some money. Dale got out 200 pesos to give them for food. I thought that we should give them a little more, so I got out another 250 pesos. The father looked at Dale kind of asking if it was okay for me to give him some more money. I told him that it was fine, we have enough to share. We wished them well. I hope that they will be okay getting back home and also in arranging for the surgery they need. I felt so sorry for them and also awed by the father's willingness to give his daughter one of his eyes.
Another view of Manila from the Yacht Club.
