Just another pretty view.

Nice picture of President Anderson and some Tongan missionaries.

Finishing the back of a huge, new stake center in San Pablo...

using bamboo scaffolding right by the high tech satallite dish. They do get the job done.

Now this is what we call a plumbing fix!

Some elders had a problem with their kitchen sink faucet. So, they used a tie to hold the pipe in place by anchoring it to a shelf. It worked. Elder Ganir has been there twice but, he is not going to remove the tie until he can figure out why the water shut off valve doesn't work!
This apartment has two Americans in it. So, it is not only the Filipinos that can improvise.

A New York liscense plate with no smoking and a bagel sign, but no bagels.

They even display their American treats

This is the first American milkshake that I have had since I have been here.

It is a very small place. Notice Dad's head. He can't quite stand up completely.

This is what they serve.

They call themselves an Italian restaurant. I didn't want to tell them that they are very American in their menu and taste.

Ever since we got here we have been told to eat at Arabela's

They are closed on Mondays and it seems that we have only been close by this place on Mondays but, not today. Boy are we glad we stopped. It was so good.

The mall of Asia is global in size.

We passed by Mall of Asia. We've never been there.

It is so huge that one could not probably visit all of the stores in one day. This picture is just a small portion of it.

Another view

I had to take a peek inside. Wow!

I love the tree growing on the building.

Across the street from Immigration is this beautiful old building.

It was built by the Spanish for the first immigration building and then bombed by the Japanese. It still stands as is.

We are wondering who this person is on this momument. The inscribed explanation did not help us know.

A beautiful Military monument park of some kind. Notice there are two soliders in front of the monument.

A beautiful old catherdral in Manila

What a day! It took us 14 hours from the time we left our house until we returned to our house.

To comply with new immigration requirements from the Philippine government, we had to take a trip to the Immigration building in downtown Manila. We had to be finger printed and have our photos taken to renew our visas. Out of our mission we had about 40 foreign missionaries that had to get this done. In the past, the PAO (Presiding Area Office) came to our mission home and set up everything to get this done. We had to catch this bus that was provided for us all and go to Manila. We didn't know where we were going. We thought we were going to the PAO, but we didn't go that way. Then we thought we were maybe going to the American embassy, but when we passed it, we had no other guesses. When I saw the immigration building, my heart just sank. To my pleasant surprise, the people from the church had it so organized, that we were all in and out so fast, I am still shocked. Lunch was provided for us. There was a Jolibee across the street from Immigration. Again, my heart sank. If you have ever had a Jolibee hamburger, your stomach will not thank you. Again, I was pleasantly surprised when they order chicken and rice for everyone. I knew I couldn't eat a hamburger, but, I was willing to try the chicken. It was pretty good and hot! It took Jolibee longer to make all our meals for take out, than it did to go thru the Immigration process. Driving in Manila is like driving in New York City, only worse. We only live 48 miles from Manila but, it can take three to four hours to get home. In this picture you can see the Tongans in the very back, they are singing. They love to sing whenever they get together. All in all, it was a good trip, but very long.