Uncle Bob

This is us with the Orbello family (minus dad and baby). When we first started out visiting them, they didn't hold back with telling me how horrible I was at Tagalog! After all, I had only been there for about 2 months! So, every time it got to be about 7:00pm, I started to think to myself, "Alright, time for another Orbello onslaught..." And it went on like that for a couple weeks but eventually they got used to my terrible Tagalog and started to see me for who I really was. I learned to love this family and a few of them started coming to church.

Then one dismal day, I found out that I was being transferred to an entirely different area. I had been in the field about 4.5 months now. I had to break the bad news to the Orbello family. When we first arrived to their humble home, the girls weren't back yet so we decided to wait. While waiting, I noticed a man outside that was very different from what I was used to seeing in the Philippines. It was an American! An old drunk American... and he was starting to come into the house! He looked at us for a second and then focused on me and said, "I'm Roman Catholic, who are you!?", in a slurred voice.....

I thought to myself, "Oh, no..... This couldn't be good." and said, "I'm a Mormon!" He was actually the first American I had seen in the Philippines other than other American Missionaries. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be a happy reunion with my same race. He started yelling at us (when I say us i mean ME, the only other American) and saying that I don't know anything about Filipinos and how hard life is and how poor they are and that I just walk around in my white shirt and tie and blah blah bleep blah... At this point I am just sitting in shock wondering wondering how such a thing was taking place.

"How long have you been in the Philippines" he asked. I told him 4 months. He then asked my companion and the members that were with us (who actually were Filipino). They looked at each other and said, "Our whole lives..." He responded, "No! How many years!" They replied (in a very scared way) about 20 years or so. He then stated very matter of factly, "I've been here for 25 years!"

He then proceeded to tell me that I didn't even know the Orbello family. "Okay old nasty man", I thought to myself, "That's the last straw!" I told him I knew and loved this family and he said "Bull s***! You don't even know their names. Who is that?" He said, pointing to the baby.

"Thats ChingChing (the babies nickname)", I said. He points at me and screams "NO! You're wrong!" We all look at the mother and she said that it was.... Apparently this man is their uncle! He is married to their aunt and his name is Bob. Anyway, eventually we had to just leave which was so sad because it was the last time I was going to see them!

We went over to their relatives house where the girls were at and decided to say goodbye there. We walked them close to their house (so that we weren't seen by Uncle Bob) to say goodbye but one of the girls wanted us to go inside really badly. No way! She was pleading me to come back in but there was no way I as going to go back for some more verbal abuse from Uncle Bob. So she decided to snatch my name tag and run into the house! Ouch! No one takes my name tag! I didn't know what to do so we just waited for about 10 minutes on the street and eventually she came back, let me have my name tag back, and we left. I never got to go back. Till we meet again Uncle Bob... I will have my revenge! :P