Iloilo

Milo Church, Iloilo City

Logan enters the Provo Utah MTC on June 15th to begin his two year service as full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He has been called to serve in the Philippines Iloilo Mission. Like any missionary, Logan will have the chance to serve in many areas while in Iloilo. Over the course of the next two years, we will get to know those areas too through his weekly emails. Before he leaves, I thought I would share some things we've learned about Iloilo.

Iloilo is the capitol of the province of Iloilo. It is on the island of Panay, one of the many islands that makes up the Philippines. Nearly one million people live in the Iloilo metropolitan area, so it's a lot larger than the little town in Connecticut Logan leaves behind. It has, like much of the Philippines, a long history of colonization by the Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese. Spanish is still spoken by some of the area's older residents, but the primary language is Hiligaynon, with English used in business and education.

Iloilo is a place where Logan will not have to worry about snow. The average daily year-round temperature is 81 degrees. It rains about 76 inches per year and as a result, the average humidity is 81%. There may not be snow, but he'll be wet.

A jeepney

Hopefully he can stay dry when he's getting around by riding one of the jeepneys that make up the primary means of public transport in Iloilo and the Philippines. Not only will riding the jeepneys be a new experience, Filipino food will be new as well. Some of the things he may be trying include:

Batchoy - a hot noodle soup made up of pork organs and cracklings, chicken stock and beef loins. This soup is an Iloilo original.

Siopao - a Filipino take on Chinese steamed buns. They are sold by street vendors and bakeries all over the area.

Tsokolate - Filipino hot chocolate

Batchoy

Jeepneys, batchoy, Hiligaynon. This mission will introduce Logan to all sorts of new things. It will also, and most importantly, introduce him to the Filipino people. As he has prepared to go to the Philippines, Logan has already developed a love for the people he will be serving.

We are so excited for the next two years. Logan is going to be an amazing missionary. Check back here frequently for his weekly updates.