The Philippines Part 3

Wow! Will this Filipino Blog ever end? The answer is yes but not yet. We have way too many pictures! So, moving forward. We finished our short stay in Cabanatuan and then went down to the island of Anilao to scuba dive for a couple of days. The four hour bus ride down was a little shady because we were positive that we were surrounded by three pickpocketers. Luckily nothing happened. We got to our hotel in Anilao and Sam could not get his wetsuit on quickly enough! He was so excited to get in the water but I was very hesitant. I was really worried about death by shark until our dive master told us that there weren't any sharks where we were going. I totally believed him and we went on our way to scuba dive! And here is the proof!
Before I say anything else, I would like to point out that Sam is an amazing underwater photographer!













Now here is a story. While Sam was taking my picture by this underwater cross, he felt a tug at his leg. He turned around and didn't see anything. He continues taking pictures and turnes around again and this ginormous fish was biting at his fin and chasing after Sam. I turned around and saw Sam kick this huge fish in the face. Here is a picture of the fish coming after Sam.








Looking up from 80 feet below the surface- the deepest we've ever been! Aah!


We saw a shipwreck while on our second dive. Sam liked it but it really creeped me out!










AND OUR SCUBA ADVENUTRE ENDED THERE. HERE ARE SOME SHOTS FROM THE END OF OUR GREAT TRIP IN THE PHILIPPINES! SUNSET IN ANILAO WAS BREATHTAKING!




At the end of our trip we met up at the Manila temple with the Guimba branch. Here is us with a group of people who all remembered Sam. It was so nice to meet each of them and to have fun at the temple!

We had a great trip! I cannot wait to go back to the Philippines again. I have never met more humble, sincere and loving people in my life. We are both so grateful to have been able to spend time there together! The end of the Philippines blog!

Our Philippines Trip Part 2

We welcome you back to part two of our Philippine trip blog! Our next stop on our wonderful trip was to an area that Sam served in the later part of his mission, Cabanatuan. We were so lucky to get together with so many people who I have heard so much about through Sam's stories.
The first person we went looking for was Andy Baguio, who Sam baptized. Andy has since served a mission, been married in the temple, is expecting his first baby and is now the Branch President in Guimba. It was so nice to meet him and his adorable wife.

We went on to Cabanatuan to meet up with a wonderful member of the church, Sister Adonis. Sam has always talked about how Sister Adonis was the best cook and how helpful and giving she was not only to the missionaries, but to other members of the church. We went to the hospital with her to visit a sick baby.

When Sam was on his mission in Cab, the members met in tents for their church servies. Since his mission, they have built an amazing church building for the members to meet in. It is so cool to see how the church is always growing!

We went to Sister Adonis' home that evening and she made us the best food that we had our entire trip. I cannot even explain what a wonderful cook that women is. A lot of people that Sam knew from Cabanatuan showed up for dinner. This was another one of my favorite memories.

We loved being in Cabanatuan! The people were so generous and it was so nice to feel their wonderful spirit. Everyone wanted to come and see Sam and to be with us. When we were at dinner, everyone went around the room and shared what their callings in the church are. It was amazing to me because it made me realize that I need to be more diligent in my church calling and to be more excited about having the opportunity to have a church calling.
There was a new member of the church we met while at Sister Adonis' home. She walked us down to the church and gave us a tour. She was so incredibly happy and positive! It was so obvious that she truly was "on fire" and loved the gospel so much! We had a great time here and we were both so happy to see people who Sam knew while on his mission.