Price of a cow in Leyte continued....

Thanks for your thoughts on my relative's bovine plans. Yes, I'm sure if I sent money it would be consumed quickly and we'd hear a story about the cow that got away. We only send money to a few very trustworthy relatives and have them make purchases if needed. In the case of my sometimes drunken relative we have only had a few items purchased for him and also had those items placed in my wife's name. Presently Carmen owns a Carabao and we have a motorcycle and sidecar with "Bill&Carmen" written on it. I think that it's best to support relatives with a means to make money although sometimes it would be much easier to just send an allowance. I've paid close attention to the stories on this forum and I avoided throwing money around.
Carmen is adjusting well to life here. The toughest thing was a bout with Lyme's Disease last year which lasted many months. Fortunately it just faded away after about 9 months and lots of meds. She makes friends easily and I kid her about knowing more people here in the USA than I do. She's had her driver's license for over a year now and I no longer worry about her driving around on her own. Also, I should mention the cooking. Other than the occasional fried dried fish...uggh, her meals are incredible. I'm convinced she could open a restruant. I've tried to get her to write a bit here on the board but she's still a little shy.