4 February 1999

Yesterday was a day that I won't soon forget.  We went on splits again, but this time I was with Elder Kenney. The morning was fine.  We did some less active work and some contacting, and then we came in for lunch.  Our second appointment after lunch was with the Orina family, who are less active.  Brother Orina has a Word of Wisdom problem.  (The Word of Wisdom is what prohibits Mormons from smoking and drinking alcohol, coffee, and tea.)  He was drunk when we arrived and feeling sick, but his wife told us to come in anyway.  The first wrong thing that we noticed was a poster of a practically nude woman on the wall.  We tried our best to ignore it and talked to Brother Orina and his wife.  Everything was going fine at first.  Then, when Sister was saying something to us, Brother came over, got on his hands and knees, and bowed his head between Elder Kenney and I.  It almost looked like he was worshipping us.  Elder Kenney didn't notice, because he was looking the other way at Sister, and I had no clue what he was doing, so I just sat there.  Brother finally sat up and looked at me.  He mumbled something that I couldn't hear (he usually speaks English), so I leaned in a little and said, "Pardon me?"  He gave me the ugliest look of contempt I've ever seen and started yelling at us: "I'm the head of the house, not her!  I want you to leave!  I bow down and ask for a blessing, and you listen to her!  You should leave, and I don't care for you to return!  Do I make myself clear?"

Elder Kenney calmly and seriously explained to Brother that we couldn't give him a blessing because he was drunk.  This calmed him down, and he started talking about his Word of Wisdom problems.  About 15 minutes later, when Elder Kenney and Sister were talking, Brother turned to me and asked if I was a local missionary.  I told him no.  Elder Kenney was listening now.  Brother continued: "So far, in your experience in the Philippines, have you, in a group or with an individual, attempted any sexual activities?"  I was so shocked by the question that I just sat there staring.  Brother turned to Elder Kenney and said, "That's a good question, no?  And he doesn't answer."  Elder Kenney and Brother said some things in Cebuano that I didn't understand.  Then Brother switched back to English.  He offered us to go into his room and have "sexual experiences" with his wife "free of charge."  Elder Kenney kept saying "Ayaw," which means "don't," but Brother wouldn't stop talking like that.  So we got up and started leaving.  On our way to the door, Brother came up to us and said, as he whipped out his penis, "Here in the Philippines, we have certain manipulations..."  We didn't hear the rest of the sentence, because that was when we said good-bye and left.

And after that, I fell in a rice paddy.