PHILIPPINES HERE WE COME

Every third week we have a large group of missionaries come to the temple. The MTC is just across the street and trains missionaries from 13 countries in the Asia area. Many of these missionaries have never been to the temple before because of the difficulty of getting to a temple from where they live. A week ago last Thursday, we had 69 missionaries come and many of these were there to receive their own temple ordinances. It is challenging for our small temple so they come in smaller groups so we can accommodate them. One of the groups was from Mongolia and most did not speak any English. We had about 12 Elders and 6 Sisters from Mongolia and one of the Sisters was deaf. She brought with her someone who could sign for her in the session. For other ordinances, we used a language card for the Mongolian language and then prayed for the Spirit to teach them. Elder Barfuss was the officiator in the Mongolian session. It was presented in the Mongolian language and everyone present who could not speak this language had a headset for their own language. Elder Barfuss, of course, heard it in English but it was quite challenging at times when questions or problems arose, and then at the end of the session. The Spirit was especially strong this day. The following Thursday these same missionaries returned to again be taught in the Lord's House. This time I was the follower in the Mongolian session and wore the English headset. It was a great experience for me. These missionaries are such beautiful young people; I especially remember a couple of beautiful young women missionaries. It is a privilege to be able to serve them in the temple.

We decided to send you a few pictures and some of what we experienced last Monday. Sister Wright, who is serving with her husband at the Mission office across the street, offered to guide us to a couple of places we might enjoy. She is quite the lady. So courageous! She has a car and drives herself anywhere she wants to go. (Her husband is the lawyer for the church in this area.) She went with a few couples in our van to the old Manila Hotel and the Coconut Palace. On the way there we caught our first view of the ocean in Manila Bay. The old hotel was built before World War II and was bombed and then restored later. ( General Douglas McArthur lived in this hotel during the first part of the war.) It is now in elegant condition and we marveled at the architecture, furnishings, beautifully dressed people who work there. We had a tour of some areas and then ate lunch there. Most of our lunches were between $8 and $10 US and were very good. I had fish (a variety I had never heard of) potatoes, and steamed vegetables; Irv ordered Pork, garlic mashed potatoes, and vegetables. It was so good! Of course there were other more Filipino choices on the menu, but we were afraid they would be too spicy. Others had salmon, veggie pizza, salad and so on. We stopped on our way out to buy some bread and sweet rolls that looked and tasted so good. There was a small musical group playing all this time and very few people around us in the hotel.

Dear Family,

It is so good to talk with you through the computer and even see some of your faces. We are beginning to feel a little confined after being here nearly 3 months and not being able to go anywhere but from our apartment to the temple or to do some shopping at the grocery store or mall. I mentioned this to someone and so last night Elder and Sister Kemp called and asked if we wanted to go to a new mall and eat out somewhere. That was so nice of them and we had a good time. It was a very new mall and very modern, with a department store, grocery store, and many fast food places along with many other shops. We really indulged in the junk food stuff. We went to Burger King and had burgers, fries, sundaes, and Sprite. It all tasted so good. We can't do that very often, though. It helped to get out and away for a couple of hours. Every month the missionaries here have a fireside, and Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching meeting where one couple gives the lessons to the rest of us. Tonight is a fireside where our temple president, Pres. Monson will be speaking to us about temple building. He was a temple architect. It should be enjoyable.

This week a few Sisters met together in the Common room and Sis Gorriceta taught us how to do "Body Flex" exercises and then some Pilates exercises. The body flex exercises are very good for me as they help to expand your lungs and put oxygen into muscles you are working to strengthen. It makes you sweat and really makes you feel good. I need a mat so I can do exercises at home like I should. We are starting to gain weight back so we need to work at exercising more. We come home from the temple very tired each day and really don't feel like exercising but somehow we need to do it.

The work at the temple has slowed down now that school is back in session and the rainy season has begun. It rains nearly every day now and sometimes very very hard. You always have to have an umbrella with you . I am getting new assignments in the temple that are very challenging because I know only a few of the Filipino sisters names, and can't communicate with the Filipino patrons as well. The methods and procedures here are sometimes difficult because of space and workers available. It is getting easier to pronounce names but my memory of names is the problem. It is embarrassing at times. I am often assigned to the celestial room at the end of our shift and I sit or stand in there and think of many things. I especially think of my love for our Savior and how He has done everything He can for us, to make it possible for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven again. There is so much we must do and overcome to make that possible. It is my fondest dream to be with my Sweetheart and all of you through the eternities. We must not accept the commandments casually and observe them when it is convenient, but put forth the effort to be completely committed to them. It is hard, but is really required of those worthy to gain exaltation. We are so proud of your efforts and all that you are doing to have righteous families and to serve others. Remember Family Home Evening, scripture study, prayer, service and attending the temple. We need the direction of the Spirit in our lives. We pray for you and are grateful for your support of us and each other.

We send our love, Mom and Dad (Grandma and Grandpa)

Hi Family,

Mom and Dad called me yesterday and we had a great time chatting. They sounded really good, but were missing everyone and were eager to hear from all of you! They are still working on the internet. It was supposed to be connected yesterday, but nothing is really reliable there, so who knows when. They were at the temple all day, so they had no idea if the company tried to come by and get things hooked up. The company doesn't answer their phone calls either. FRUSTRATING! We had better use the pouch and send them some letters!
They are working from 5:30-2:00 at the temple every day except Sunday and Monday. Next month they will work afternoons. They have been walking the apartment stairs and the pathway under the road to the MTC and back for their exercise in the evenings. It is hot, but they stay nice and cool in their air conditioned apartment and the temple. Every Monday, they go to the Fresh Market and buy as much fruit (mangos, bananas, pineapple, oranges, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries) as they can eat for about $10-$20. The meat market there is very stinky and Mom says she tried to get a picture of it, but couldn't get close enough for a good one because of the smell. When they go out, they do not wear their missionary badges or nice clothing. The mission president said they are service missionaries and he doesn't want them to stand out when they go to the city.
They had just received haircuts from a Filipino gentleman that works at the temple, who is a barber. He cuts with just a comb and razor. Mom got very nervous when she saw all the hair falling to the ground during her haircut. I guess he cut it pretty short, but she says it is a good cut and Dad said it looks really good! That is not all, he also gave them a head massage and back massage, all for $2 each. (Where do I sign up?) They tipped him for the great service. They also have their nice maid who comes and cleans and irons, changes bedding, etc.!
One of the couples they work with in the temple are from Mountain Home. (by Bluebell) They know Mike's family and actually worked in the Vernal temple with his parents.
They were able to watch the Priesthood session of General Conference, live. (There is a 14 hour time difference) They saw Saturday's session of conference on conference Sunday and last Sunday they watched the Sunday session.
Manila is the most densely populated city in the world, and it is a crazy place to drive in. Mom said she will never get her license to drive there. Dad will probably need to, but he is not ready for it yet. Traffic is usually slow moving (35-40 mph), but cars move in and out of lanes very close and they have actually had their van mirrors clipped a couple of times. Also, when there is no traffic coming in the opposite direction, they use the lanes for counter flow. Streets are generally not labeled. Street signs are only seen about every ten miles, so a map is pretty useless. Much of the city looks the same, so it is tricky to learn your way around. Most streets don't allow left turns, so you have to do a U turn and then take a right. Interestingly, they haven't seen a lot of accidents.

They send their love to you all!!! SUE

Mom and Dad called my family this morning to give us an update to pass on to the family. Dad said that they are starting to get used to the heat. They went to the farmers market again and dad was brave enough to go and check out the meat section of the market. He said that there were whole skinned goats hanging from stalls and one stall that sold just whole goat heads. They have been told that it may not be safe to eat the meat so they did not buy any. Mom did not even go over to the stalls because it stank so badly. They are able to get meat from a big Costco type store safely so they are still able to get what they need.

Dad explained how driving works over there. In order for mom and dad to drive they would have to get a Philippine drivers license. They are hesitant to do this however because the drivers there are crazy and dad is not comfortable driving the big mission van they would have to drive. First off the do not stick to the lanes. If there is a 3 lane each way road, there may be 5 lanes of traffic going each way. They also will drive on the wrong side of the road if it is not being used legally. They have had to put up concrete barriers in high accident area to cut down on this dangerous practice. Also big vehicles have the right of way. If a bus or Dump truck is coming you have to move or they will run you over going full speed.

Mom and Dad are enjoying the work and come home from the temple each day tired. As far as learning the language, they have not made much progress beyond learning the vowels so that they can say the native names. Dad has been having trouble understanding some of the people because they speak really softly and with a thick accent. He has to turn up his hearing aide as far as it goes and still has to ask people to repeat themselves often. He has discussed this with other missionaries and has found that even the couples with good hearing have trouble hearing everything.

They have not been able to get their internet set up. The contract that dad was going to have transferred to their name has not yet worked out. The companies over there are not consistent in the information they need each time they are able to go into the office. Dad thinks that they will have to set up a new account as the transfer is not working out as they have planned. The reliability and speed of the connection they will get from what they have been told will be poor. They are hoping that it will be good enough to keep us updated once they get it set up.

Dad says that they send their love to the family and love and miss each of you. It was 10:00 pm Saturday night their time when he called. I was going to ask them about Easter traditions and more about the culture but their calling card ran out before I could.

Thanks

Chris

Hi Everyone!

Mom and Dad called me this morning at 6:30 a.m.!!!! (As if I would be up and going by then...ha...ha...ha!) It was so fun to talk to them and they sounded great! I think they are really enjoying their mission so far. They asked if I would e-mail all of you and tell you about the things we talked about. You guessed it.....they still do not have Internet access! Let me try to explain why. Dad said that when they arrived in the Philippines, there was a missionary that was going home early because of health problems. He had signed a contract for his Internet service, and had another 6 or more months before that contract was up that he would still have to pay for even if he wasn't using it. He asked Dad if they would be willing to take over his contract instead of signing up for a new one. Dad agreed. When Dad went in to change things over to his name, then they said he needed the other guys ID to do it. The other guy had already left to go hometo the states, and now they are in the process of getting a copy of his ID sent back to the Philippines so Dad can complete the transfer. It may take another week or so. So, they are doing fine, but probably won't be in touch with us for a while yet. (Dad is a great example of always keeping his word when he commits to something!)

Mom is starting to feel better. She said that she developed bronchitis when they first got there, but saw the mission doctor and started some new stronger antibiotics. (You can get antibiotics and other medicine all over-the-counter there--no prescription needed. You only have to have a prescription to get narcotics.) That could really come in handy at times.

It is the summer season there. Hot and very humid. They have had very little rain. The monsoons will start in about August. They don't see the blue sky much, however, due to the awful pollution in the air. Mom says that they don't have regulations to keep the air clean, so the people take the filters (?) off of their cars to get better gas mileage, and the exhaust from so many drivers makes the air very dirty. (Something like that.)

Throughout the month of April, their shift at the temple will be from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tue-Sat. but Friday is even a little longer shift. The Temple President has made a goal to have the temple ran by the Filipino people. Mom and Dad are helping to oversee that transition and fill in where needed as they make this transition. They cover a lot first thing in the morning because some of the workers have to drive 2 hours to get there, and so they don't arrive till a little later.

They love the Filipino people! Mom says that they all come up to them in the temple and ask their names and hug and kiss them. They are so friendly and loving. She was amazed at the young women who came to do baptisms this week. They have beautiful dark skin and long dark hair.

Mom and Dad work all day and go home exhausted. They don't really have a place to go walk outside for exercise, but they do have a room in the basement of their apartment with a treadmill and a bike that they can use. The President does not like them to walk laps around the temple grounds. He is trying to keep a reverent atmosphere.

Luckily, they don't have to work much when they get home. They have hired a Filipino to come and clean their apartment for $10/ week, and she does a fabulous job!!! (Where do I sign up???)

They have a T.V. in their apartment--even watched "The Biggest Loser" this week!! They will have the opportunity to watch General Conference at the Mission home--This Sunday they will watch Saturday's sessions, and next Sunday they will watch Sunday's sessions.

The traffic is crazy. People swerve all over the roads, vendors come out to the cars when they stop and try to sell you things, the buses drop people off in the middle of the traffic, etc. Very crazy!

They have a grocery store across the street that they walk over to. Kirkland brand food is sold there, but costs more than in the states so they are paying a little more for groceries now. Except for the produce that they get at the open farmers market on Monday mornings. The Filipinos eat a ton of rice. All 3 meals! They fill up their plate with rice and then have a little of something else on the side. (They like the good sticky rice there better than the long grain rice we use here.) I'm pretty sure that mom and dad don't eat as much rice as the locals do.

They would LOVE to hear from everyone, especially right now while they don't have their e-mail. They miss everyone very much and are hoping that they will get some mail soon through the pouch. (Hint. Hint.) They said that you can put your letter in an envelope with the pouch, but only a single sheet of paper and no pictures are allowed that way. I sent them a letter yesterday through the post office and it cost $.94 They said I could send up to 5 sheets of paper for that same price. (Pretty sure the pouch is faster though.)

That is about all that I can remember. It was a little early though so who knows...I hope I got it right. If not mom and dad can correct me later.

Hope you are all doing good.

Love ya!

Julie