Food Food Yummy Food!!

Oh how I love food!  I think I have already gained several pounds starting in the MTC.  Not only was the food delicious with a great variety - build your own wraps!!, BYU creamery ice cream!, soups, sandwiches, chicken fried chicken, cookies to die for, ice cream bars, etc. etc. but I didn't have to think about what to eat (well, maybe a little thought about what to choose) nor shop for it nor prepare it.  That all adds up to such enjoyment plus the added bonus of not doing the dishes.  Add to that the opportunity to sit with a thousand plus other missionaries while dining!!  Now for some reason the MTC has rules about taking pictures in the cafeteria so I have none.

On to Cebu, we were immediately met by President S. & his wife & two of the AP's who took us to a little cafe where we met one of the office senior couples for a yummy lunch.  Broke the first rule of eating in the Philippines & ate lettuce & no one stopped me.  It worked out fine - no bad results.  I am assuming they know all the places that are safe to eat.

They delivered us to the Quest Hotel in downtown Cebu after a harrowing drive there!

Then on to the mission home for some training & instruction from the President.  We met many of the sisters in the mission who were there on Pday making cookies with the President's granddaughter who is visiting.  This ended about 6 pm on Wednesday after arriving at 11:45 & leaving SLC at 8:45 on Monday evening.  Yes you read that right.  We left Monday nite & arrived Wednesday morning & while I dozed some on the plane (George never slept) we were like walking zombies.  We were to have dinner at our hotel with the senior couple who lunched with us but there was no way I could have eaten a bite.  I did, however, want to share a picture of the buffet we planned to eat as well as the breakfast buffet we ate the next morning.

Once in Cebu we were offered some fruit we had never eaten & when we arrived here even more.  We did eat one fruit named durian fruit which is large & spiny & stinks to high heaven before it is even opened.  One of the elders at our district meeting had the insides in a bag for a snack for himself & offered to share with us.  It looked like slimy boiled chicken but much softer & smelled much worse out of it's skin or hide would be a better word.  I decided even before Elder A that I would try it.  I had hope that the sweetness would be a surprise but NO!  It was nasty.

Here are pics of two of the fruits we've eaten & I have really enjoyed.  Don't ask me the names of them - I do not know!!

I added water to the fruit with the seeds in the glass & drank it - wonderful.  The red fruit's thick layer is hard but the white insides is yummy!!

Now you may be wondering if all we do is eat.  We had planned on taking a couple of weeks or so to find our way around, get settled, get over the jet lag & make certain we had what we needed to be effective.  For those of you who have served, that just isn't how it happens.  We have been going from 9 am to about 7 pm each day with just a short lunch break.  Our primary responsibility is to support & assist the young missionaries so we have been looking at & fixing apartments, purchasing the things they need, renting new ones, attending baptisms, district meeting & getting lost!!
We are having a great time.  All seniors should give this a try.