27 Nov. 2022 Week #9: Amazing People Doing Amazing Things
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! We all have a lot to be thankful for. Number one the gospel of Jesus Christ and our Savior’s atoning sacrifice for each of us.
When I talked about us starting our day going for a walk at 5:30 a.m., just know it is already light outside. We are not walking in the dark. This close to the equator we receive about 12 hours a day of the sun being up every day all year long. So, it is getting dark at 5:30 in the evening all year also. By 6:00 it is all dark. We pass little kids with parents taking them to school that the kids begin at 6:00 a.m. On our way back we pass a lot of kids headed to school that starts at 7:00 a.m.
It has been a wonderful week. We have seen some amazing things. The thought, the thoughtfulness, the insight, the vision, the resourcefulness, the desire, the caring, the compassion, the goodness of people is incredible. Monday through Thursday several hundred Filipino people received free dental help. Extractions took place, (ouch), fillings were given, and cleanings were done. A gentleman, Elder Reynolds, who served a mission here thirty years ago, and has all the qualities listed above, and many more, brought all the machines, his family and others, and organized many more to help with this project. He has used the gifts the Lord has blessed him with, he is not a dentist, but he loves people, has become independently wealthy, because of the qualities mentioned above, and wants to serve Heavenly Father’s children. He lives in Twin Falls and his kids go to school in Kimberly. He has four children, two who have graduated, a son who is married and his wife is a dental hygienist, (she got a lot of practice in), and a daughter who is a senior in high school, and a son who is a sophomore. They come every year at Thanksgiving, they feel it is a great way to express their thanks for their blessings.
Elder Reynolds, I don’t know his first name, is industrious, and able to get others to join in. They had about 16 stations going at once, between the three procedures going on. This took place in the Lahug Stake Center, our meeting house. So, the primary rooms and young women’s rooms, etc. were turned into dental rooms. Only a couple dentists were here from the U.S. He had many Filipino dentists on board. One Filipino dentist from Manila is a gal, a member of the church, who is missing her legs below her knees. She was working from a wheelchair. She had a wonderful personality, was very positive and energetic. The dentist that pulled Clyda’s broken tooth, Merlyn Matthews, always helps with this project. She has an office with two other female dentists here in Cebu. This Sister Matthews is an impressive widow. She is the one that directs the amazing Cebu Stake Choir. She has three children, two sons and a daughter. One son is a doctor here in Cebu. The other son is in his third year of dental school. I’m not sure about the daughter. Both sons were helping out with this project.
It was advertised in the wards that this would take place Monday – Thursday from 8:00 -4:00 with a lunch break. Well, they really meant Mon.-Wed. On Thursday the plan was for all the volunteer help to get their dental work done in the morning and then clean up in the afternoon. Each day people would arrive before we quit walking at about 6:30 a.m. There was always a line outside the building. On Thursday when we started walking at 5:30 a.m. there was already about 10 people in line. Oh my, they had come from quite aways away. It turns out that Thursday was a complete day. They did get all the volunteer helpers through. Most of the volunteers were YSA. One YSA gal was in charge of the volunteer help, getting them to appropriate places to help and keep this whole thing going. She was also in charge of the food, snacks and water for the volunteers and dentists and lunch. She was one impressive young lady. We were helping in the snack-room, they assigned us there knowing we weren’t going to be eating all the Filipino snacks and lunch. If we had our kind of snacks, I would have eaten them all before they ever made it to the help. Anyway, this gal in charge teaches English and several other subjects to Chinese students online. She is sharp. Her roommate, who was another main helper, was also very sharp. She works for “Hello Fresh”. For those who don’t know, that is a food service that delivers to your door. They provide menus and all the ingredients to cook healthy nutritious meals. Another volunteer was a gentleman who is the brother of one of our top bosses. Here is here serving in the Cebu temple and just serving however for a year. He moved to Houston, TX when he was 32 years old. He has lived there ever since. He has a son going to school at George Washington University in Washington D.C. He says it is soon time to go home, meaning back to the U.S. He is a Filipino. He is one sharp guy.
While setting up for lunch on Thursday I received a phone call. It was kind of noisy and I was talking to a lady with a strong Filipino accent. I couldn’t understand her. Finally, another lady speaking perfect English got on the phone and communicated with me. Many small miracles took place that day. The lady, and another one, were here from Manila for just two days. Because we were not going to be cleaning up after the dentists for quite a while, we were free to go visit these ladies. They represent the Mabuhay Deseret Foundation. It is a foundation started by a former mission president in 1988. He saw so many people here while he served that needed surgeries. He came back after serving as a mission president and started this foundation. He has organized doctors and hospitals to give certain surgeries for free. Actually, a lot of the time there is some cost. Not all doctors do it completely free or hospitals. However, it is free to the patient. The main surgeries are for cleft palates, anything to do with the mouth, vision surgeries of all kinds, club feet, and prosthetics for surgeries below the knee. The Mabuhay(wonderful welcome) Deseret(we all work together like the bees of a hive to make good things happen) Foundation (MDF). The MDF organizes all these surgeries and does the screenings to qualify those to receive them. They did 160 screenings throughout the Philippines last year and performed over 6,500 surgeries last year. They have a house in Manila, Davao, and Cebu. These houses are similar to the Ronald McDonald house. They house patients for surgery and recovery. An adult can stay with each child. Adults also can have surgeries so they can have a spouse stay with them or an older child, etc. They are in the process of completing their new house here, because they didn’t have an adequate one. It isn’t quite finished, but donors paid for the house and LDSC(Latter-Day Saint Charities) (that’s who we represent), have provided the furniture, beds, appliances, etc. for the home. Natalie, who I couldn’t understand on the phone, but was easy to understand face to face, lives at the home. This home will house 22 patients at a time. There is a space for a doctor to come and recast club feet as they need new casts almost weekly to change the feet. Of course all of these surgeries are more successful the younger the patient is. They will do them for adults also. At the house they ask the adults, because there is no cost to stay here, to fix all the meals to feed everyone, keep the place clean, do the laundry, etc. They will raise vegetables in containers and hydroponics, to offset some of the costs to feed the patrons. The adults will be asked to help with the gardening also. When it comes time to set up the gardens we will be involved again to help them get the containers, etc. to have a good garden in their limited space around the building.
Finding property is at a premium. The property for this house is off a narrow two lane road, then down a lane not much wider than our truck and almost straight down. I couldn’t see the road all the way from the top, about 60 yards long. I had Clyda get out and walk down it to see if it was okay to drive down. I didn’t want to get down part way and have to back out. It was okay so we went down. We had a great visit with three ladies, Natalie, who will live in the house here in Cebu and run this house. Melody and Kim were here from Manila. Please take time sometime to log onto and listen to their foundation. It is amazing!! (mabuhaydeseretfoundation.org)
We made it home through all the rush hour traffic. Another miracle.
On Friday it was the grand opening, unveiling of the “Light the World” Giving Machines here in Cebu at the Ayala Mall. It is a huge mall. Three stories of parking garages. Then 6 levels of mall. Each level being bigger than the University Mall in Orem. Only three countries house these machines outside the US. The Philippines have two, Manila and Cebu. It was a great kickoff event. Co-sponsors with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for these machines are, MDF, that’s why Melody and Kim were here, a Catholic Organization, and Feed the Children.
This week there was a terrible fire here down by the ocean burning up homes, shanties, of about 700 families. Another incredible charitable foundation that assists abused children and helps them with counseling and getting back on track for an education and then employment etc., had its main office right by this place so it was burned also. We received a call for help. We will be helping out the victims, over 2,500 of them, with hygiene kits, food, and blanket and a pad to sleep on. We will be working on this tonight and this week as we get the numbers to be helped.
We visited with the two head ladies, the lady who runs the organization and the head counselor, yesterday. Another interesting find where they are temporarily located. They got out with their seven computers, but their monitors were destroyed. This happened at about midnight. We will look to help them with supplies for their office, etc. later. Right now it is relief for the fire victims. (bidlisiwfoundation.org)
May our Heavenly Father bless and help these people and all of you! The gospel is true and it is fun to see its influence in these wonderful Filipinos lives. The ones who have embraced the gospel are incredible people.
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
Week #9 11/21-11/27
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! We all have a lot to be thankful for. Number one the gospel of Jesus Christ and our Savior’s atoning sacrifice for each of us.
When I talked about us starting our day going for a walk at 5:30 a.m., just know it is already light outside. We are not walking in the dark. This close to the equator we receive about 12 hours a day of the sun being up every day all year long. So, it is getting dark at 5:30 in the evening all year also. By 6:00 it is all dark. We pass little kids with parents taking them to school that the kids begin at 6:00 a.m. On our way back we pass a lot of kids headed to school that starts at 7:00 a.m.
It has been a wonderful week. We have seen some amazing things. The thought, the thoughtfulness, the insight, the vision, the resourcefulness, the desire, the caring, the compassion, the goodness of people is incredible. Monday through Thursday several hundred Filipino people received free dental help. Extractions took place, (ouch), fillings were given, and cleanings were done. A gentleman, Elder Reynolds, who served a mission here thirty years ago, and has all the qualities listed above, and many more, brought all the machines, his family and others, and organized many more to help with this project. He has used the gifts the Lord has blessed him with, he is not a dentist, but he loves people, has become independently wealthy, because of the qualities mentioned above, and wants to serve Heavenly Father’s children. He lives in Twin Falls and his kids go to school in Kimberly. He has four children, two who have graduated, a son who is married and his wife is a dental hygienist, (she got a lot of practice in), and a daughter who is a senior in high school, and a son who is a sophomore. They come every year at Thanksgiving, they feel it is a great way to express their thanks for their blessings.
Elder Reynolds, I don’t know his first name, is industrious, and able to get others to join in. They had about 16 stations going at once, between the three procedures going on. This took place in the Lahug Stake Center, our meeting house. So, the primary rooms and young women’s rooms, etc. were turned into dental rooms. Only a couple dentists were here from the U.S. He had many Filipino dentists on board. One Filipino dentist from Manila is a gal, a member of the church, who is missing her legs below her knees. She was working from a wheelchair. She had a wonderful personality, was very positive and energetic. The dentist that pulled Clyda’s broken tooth, Merlyn Matthews, always helps with this project. She has an office with two other female dentists here in Cebu. This Sister Matthews is an impressive widow. She is the one that directs the amazing Cebu Stake Choir. She has three children, two sons and a daughter. One son is a doctor here in Cebu. The other son is in his third year of dental school. I’m not sure about the daughter. Both sons were helping out with this project.
It was advertised in the wards that this would take place Monday – Thursday from 8:00 -4:00 with a lunch break. Well, they really meant Mon.-Wed. On Thursday the plan was for all the volunteer help to get their dental work done in the morning and then clean up in the afternoon. Each day people would arrive before we quit walking at about 6:30 a.m. There was always a line outside the building. On Thursday when we started walking at 5:30 a.m. there was already about 10 people in line. Oh my, they had come from quite aways away. It turns out that Thursday was a complete day. They did get all the volunteer helpers through. Most of the volunteers were YSA. One YSA gal was in charge of the volunteer help, getting them to appropriate places to help and keep this whole thing going. She was also in charge of the food, snacks and water for the volunteers and dentists and lunch. She was one impressive young lady. We were helping in the snack-room, they assigned us there knowing we weren’t going to be eating all the Filipino snacks and lunch. If we had our kind of snacks, I would have eaten them all before they ever made it to the help. Anyway, this gal in charge teaches English and several other subjects to Chinese students online. She is sharp. Her roommate, who was another main helper, was also very sharp. She works for “Hello Fresh”. For those who don’t know, that is a food service that delivers to your door. They provide menus and all the ingredients to cook healthy nutritious meals. Another volunteer was a gentleman who is the brother of one of our top bosses. Here is here serving in the Cebu temple and just serving however for a year. He moved to Houston, TX when he was 32 years old. He has lived there ever since. He has a son going to school at George Washington University in Washington D.C. He says it is soon time to go home, meaning back to the U.S. He is a Filipino. He is one sharp guy.
While setting up for lunch on Thursday I received a phone call. It was kind of noisy and I was talking to a lady with a strong Filipino accent. I couldn’t understand her. Finally, another lady speaking perfect English got on the phone and communicated with me. Many small miracles took place that day. The lady, and another one, were here from Manila for just two days. Because we were not going to be cleaning up after the dentists for quite a while, we were free to go visit these ladies. They represent the Mabuhay Deseret Foundation. It is a foundation started by a former mission president in 1988. He saw so many people here while he served that needed surgeries. He came back after serving as a mission president and started this foundation. He has organized doctors and hospitals to give certain surgeries for free. Actually, a lot of the time there is some cost. Not all doctors do it completely free or hospitals. However, it is free to the patient. The main surgeries are for cleft palates, anything to do with the mouth, vision surgeries of all kinds, club feet, and prosthetics for surgeries below the knee. The Mabuhay(wonderful welcome) Deseret(we all work together like the bees of a hive to make good things happen) Foundation (MDF). The MDF organizes all these surgeries and does the screenings to qualify those to receive them. They did 160 screenings throughout the Philippines last year and performed over 6,500 surgeries last year. They have a house in Manila, Davao, and Cebu. These houses are similar to the Ronald McDonald house. They house patients for surgery and recovery. An adult can stay with each child. Adults also can have surgeries so they can have a spouse stay with them or an older child, etc. They are in the process of completing their new house here, because they didn’t have an adequate one. It isn’t quite finished, but donors paid for the house and LDSC(Latter-Day Saint Charities) (that’s who we represent), have provided the furniture, beds, appliances, etc. for the home. Natalie, who I couldn’t understand on the phone, but was easy to understand face to face, lives at the home. This home will house 22 patients at a time. There is a space for a doctor to come and recast club feet as they need new casts almost weekly to change the feet. Of course all of these surgeries are more successful the younger the patient is. They will do them for adults also. At the house they ask the adults, because there is no cost to stay here, to fix all the meals to feed everyone, keep the place clean, do the laundry, etc. They will raise vegetables in containers and hydroponics, to offset some of the costs to feed the patrons. The adults will be asked to help with the gardening also. When it comes time to set up the gardens we will be involved again to help them get the containers, etc. to have a good garden in their limited space around the building.
Finding property is at a premium. The property for this house is off a narrow two lane road, then down a lane not much wider than our truck and almost straight down. I couldn’t see the road all the way from the top, about 60 yards long. I had Clyda get out and walk down it to see if it was okay to drive down. I didn’t want to get down part way and have to back out. It was okay so we went down. We had a great visit with three ladies, Natalie, who will live in the house here in Cebu and run this house. Melody and Kim were here from Manila. Please take time sometime to log onto and listen to their foundation. It is amazing!! (mabuhaydeseretfoundation.org)
We made it home through all the rush hour traffic. Another miracle.
On Friday it was the grand opening, unveiling of the “Light the World” Giving Machines here in Cebu at the Ayala Mall. It is a huge mall. Three stories of parking garages. Then 6 levels of mall. Each level being bigger than the University Mall in Orem. Only three countries house these machines outside the US. The Philippines have two, Manila and Cebu. It was a great kickoff event. Co-sponsors with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for these machines are, MDF, that’s why Melody and Kim were here, a Catholic Organization, and Feed the Children.
This week there was a terrible fire here down by the ocean burning up homes, shanties, of about 700 families. Another incredible charitable foundation that assists abused children and helps them with counseling and getting back on track for an education and then employment etc., had its main office right by this place so it was burned also. We received a call for help. We will be helping out the victims, over 2,500 of them, with hygiene kits, food, and blanket and a pad to sleep on. We will be working on this tonight and this week as we get the numbers to be helped.
We visited with the two head ladies, the lady who runs the organization and the head counselor, yesterday. Another interesting find where they are temporarily located. They got out with their seven computers, but their monitors were destroyed. This happened at about midnight. We will look to help them with supplies for their office, etc. later. Right now it is relief for the fire victims. (bidlisiwfoundation.org)
May our Heavenly Father bless and help these people and all of you! The gospel is true and it is fun to see its influence in these wonderful Filipinos lives. The ones who have embraced the gospel are incredible people.
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
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