25 Dec. 2022 Week #13: Merry Christmas!!
Dear Family and Friends,
We spent Monday at the office, meetings, then working together to get all of our photos categorized into files. We have a ton of photos already. When we need to submit some for our projects it takes time to find them, so we decided before it got worse, we’d better make it better. That evening we had the sister missionaries, Sister Bangcong and Sister Noble, over for dinner. It was fun to have them and feel of their spirit. Sister Bangcong is training Sister Noble. It appears she is a good trainer. They get along great. They are in their second transfer. Sister Noble started her mission about the same time we did. She is from Santa Clarita, California. Clyda made homemade chicken and noodles. Sister Noble loved it, it was new for Sister Bangcong, she was very gracious. We also had vegetables and fruit. Sister Bangcong loved the fruit, so she got plenty to eat. Clyda made homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
On Tuesday we went for an early morning drive, before the traffic got all crazy. We went to the waterfront to see the ferry terminals and ticket office. Then, we went out by the burn site on our way to the airport. We need to know how to get to these places on our own. We have never done it with me being the driver. We wanted a trial run before we have to do it in crazy traffic. We also located the Department of Agriculture. When we got back home we did some exercises and our normal “Come Follow Me” routine. We then spent most of the day organizing our emails into folders, depending on the projects. We have so many emails coming in along with photos we had to get those organized also. We then worked on getting in our monthly reports. They are due on the 20th of each month. We have to prepare a word document and a powerpoint.
That evening we had the elders over for dinner, Elder Quicay and Elder Willis. Elder Quicay is training Elder Willis. Elder Quicay also is doing a great job of training. Those Elders get along great and have the Spirit with them. Elder Quicay’s parents are divorced and neither one of them is a member. His grandmother is. He had to work for a couple of years to earn enough money to come. He is a great young man. Elder Willis is full of energy and a great trainee. He is from Lehi, UT. It is hard for these young missionaries to learn the language. Both the Elders and Sisters are in apartments of four. The other three are Filipino. In the Philippines there are a ton of languages. The language spoken here is Cebuano. However, these Filipino Elders come from different places in the Philippines. The universal language is Tagalog. So, when these other Elders and Sisters get together they speak Tagalog. So, the new missionaries aren’t hearing Cebuano being spoken in the apartment. Pretty frustrating. Sister Noble and Elder Willis are still very upbeat though. It would probably be a lot better if they were in an apartment where it was just them and their companion. The Filipinos who are members of the church joke that when the Tower of Babel fell, it fell in the Philippines.
On Wednesday we went to visit the Department of Agriculture. It was a very good visit. We got some pamphlet books on gardening, organic insecticides, and urban gardening. Even in the rural places some people have so little property they need to garden urban style. We then helped a new couple, Elder and Sister Welch, get some items. Elder Woods actually did most of it. The Welch’s lived in Marsh Valley, Downey, to be exact, for years. He was a principal and coach there. They are good friends with cousin John and Karen Brady. They also know very well, Lori (Pope) Gamble. We made several other connections, with them also. I always enjoy that. They are living in a home about one mile away, and 10,000 people, in the Busay Ward. They are
serving in the office with President Agustin. They are the housing coordinators and from what we understand, this will be a big task to get better housing for a lot of the missionaries, and some more housing. They are also in charge of “English Connect” for the Filipino missionaries. This, I think is really big. They want the Filipino missionaries to speak good English when they finish their missionaries. That is another drawback for these poor American missionaries. The want the missionaries to be speaking as much English when together as Cebuano. We have noticed the more successful Filipinos are the ones that speak pretty good English. If they don’t speak very good English, they are struggling to make ends meet.
On Thursday we left at 3:30 a.m. on a long adventure, returning at 9:30 at night. It was a good fun time. We did this with three other couples, the Woods, Parkers (from Consolation), and the Strongs (who came over from Bohol), and also Sister Garner. We saw some beautiful country, spent a half hour on a beautiful island beach, spent a half hour at a really cool waterfall, and a half hour swimming with whale sharks. It was all with a guide and pretty cool. They were pretty close together geographicly, but it still took quite a while transitioning from one event and place to the other. Then, for me the real highlight came when we went to Kawasan Falls. It is a series of falls where you are hiking down along side them, when you aren’t swimming in pools, swinging on rope swings and landing in pools, or jumping off platforms into the pools. It was beautiful and took about 3 hours. It was a good time. However, they have some dang slippery soil and rocks here. With just a little water you had better be careful or you are going down. I’m not sure just what kind of shoes would be best on those, but I hope I have them when I go again. The guides were helping me stay on my feet half the time.
We slept in Friday morning and then went for a late stroll to the Templex. The temple was a buzz. It is a busy place with a lot of people, and especially youth groups taking advantage of the holidays and coming to the temple from afar. That evening the Sisters stopped in again. They had been to the Templex practicing singing. They are performing with a group of Sisters and Elders tonight at 6:00. We told them whenever they need a ride home to come here and we will give them one. It is a sketchy neighborhood where they live. They live in a locked in yard and building, but it is pretty sketchy just getting there. When we took them home on Monday, I told them to never walk there in the dark. They said they don’t. They try to get home before dark, or get someone to take them home.
On Saturday, Christmas Eve, we spent from 10:00 until 4:00 at the mall working the “Giving Machines”. It was a cool experience. We would just sit off to the side as people would look and read the machines and choices. Many would walk away. When we saw others start to get money we would step up and ask if they needed any help. There are 24 different things that you can contribute to, from 50 pesos to 500 pesos. We met some neat people. It wasn’t real busy, but it was good.
At 5:00 p.m. we headed out to Brother Colipapa’s for a Christmas Eve party. They love to party here. There were a lot of games, and singing, etc. It was at grandma’s place, a very nice home, but held outside on the patio. She has seven children. Two daughters live in Germany, a son in Canada, and one son, Jairus, our boss, lives in Manila. The other three families are here. There were about 25 in attendance. It was a hoppin’ good time. We enjoyed ourselves. We stayed until 10:30. So we were there for 5 hours without a dull moment.
We came home to the sad news about Aunt Georgia’s passing. She was an incredible lady. She was a great sister-in-law to me and a great aunt to our children. Through the years
I’ve reflected on the many times her and Burke and Trudy came to see me during my month at Primary Children’s hospital. It was the oasis in the desert for this homesick boy. Then on return doctors visits we would swing down to Provo to stop in at Burke and Georgia’s apartment in Orem. Her warm welcoming hello was wonderful. Then over to Provo to see the college sisters, Trudy and Teresa. Thanks, Georgia for being a delight. Your reunion with Errol, and your parents I’m confident has been wonderful. I’m also confident you have given our Tillie and Clyde hugs. Condolences to you, Burke, and your children.
We woke up to the best Christmas present ever as we got on our devices and heard our Grandchildren recite, “The Living Christ”. It was wonderful to see the three youngest grandchildren first, Layne, Quincy, and Piper, and then the other one who couldn’t participate that way, Jack, at the end. Then to have Connor, who is on his mission in Chile, participate by quoting a paragraph, along with 16 grandchildren each quoting parts of it, and one special grandson, Clyde, watching it all from Heaven as he cheered his cousins on. That was incredible. We blubbered through the whole thing. We are so grateful for wonderful children who love us and are trying to do their very best raising Heavenly Father’s children to return to Him. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!! We love all of you and wish you the very merriest Christmas. Thanks also for getting together at Olivia’s, those who could, and for enjoying each other. Thanks for the videos of the two wonderful Nativity scenes at the Micheli’s in Ft. Bridger and at the Heiner’s in Thayne. We love it and you!
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
Week #13 12/19-12/25
We spent Monday at the office, meetings, then working together to get all of our photos categorized into files. We have a ton of photos already. When we need to submit some for our projects it takes time to find them, so we decided before it got worse, we’d better make it better. That evening we had the sister missionaries, Sister Bangcong and Sister Noble, over for dinner. It was fun to have them and feel of their spirit. Sister Bangcong is training Sister Noble. It appears she is a good trainer. They get along great. They are in their second transfer. Sister Noble started her mission about the same time we did. She is from Santa Clarita, California. Clyda made homemade chicken and noodles. Sister Noble loved it, it was new for Sister Bangcong, she was very gracious. We also had vegetables and fruit. Sister Bangcong loved the fruit, so she got plenty to eat. Clyda made homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
On Tuesday we went for an early morning drive, before the traffic got all crazy. We went to the waterfront to see the ferry terminals and ticket office. Then, we went out by the burn site on our way to the airport. We need to know how to get to these places on our own. We have never done it with me being the driver. We wanted a trial run before we have to do it in crazy traffic. We also located the Department of Agriculture. When we got back home we did some exercises and our normal “Come Follow Me” routine. We then spent most of the day organizing our emails into folders, depending on the projects. We have so many emails coming in along with photos we had to get those organized also. We then worked on getting in our monthly reports. They are due on the 20th of each month. We have to prepare a word document and a powerpoint.
That evening we had the elders over for dinner, Elder Quicay and Elder Willis. Elder Quicay is training Elder Willis. Elder Quicay also is doing a great job of training. Those Elders get along great and have the Spirit with them. Elder Quicay’s parents are divorced and neither one of them is a member. His grandmother is. He had to work for a couple of years to earn enough money to come. He is a great young man. Elder Willis is full of energy and a great trainee. He is from Lehi, UT. It is hard for these young missionaries to learn the language. Both the Elders and Sisters are in apartments of four. The other three are Filipino. In the Philippines there are a ton of languages. The language spoken here is Cebuano. However, these Filipino Elders come from different places in the Philippines. The universal language is Tagalog. So, when these other Elders and Sisters get together they speak Tagalog. So, the new missionaries aren’t hearing Cebuano being spoken in the apartment. Pretty frustrating. Sister Noble and Elder Willis are still very upbeat though. It would probably be a lot better if they were in an apartment where it was just them and their companion. The Filipinos who are members of the church joke that when the Tower of Babel fell, it fell in the Philippines.
On Wednesday we went to visit the Department of Agriculture. It was a very good visit. We got some pamphlet books on gardening, organic insecticides, and urban gardening. Even in the rural places some people have so little property they need to garden urban style. We then helped a new couple, Elder and Sister Welch, get some items. Elder Woods actually did most of it. The Welch’s lived in Marsh Valley, Downey, to be exact, for years. He was a principal and coach there. They are good friends with cousin John and Karen Brady. They also know very well, Lori (Pope) Gamble. We made several other connections, with them also. I always enjoy that. They are living in a home about one mile away, and 10,000 people, in the Busay Ward. They are
serving in the office with President Agustin. They are the housing coordinators and from what we understand, this will be a big task to get better housing for a lot of the missionaries, and some more housing. They are also in charge of “English Connect” for the Filipino missionaries. This, I think is really big. They want the Filipino missionaries to speak good English when they finish their missionaries. That is another drawback for these poor American missionaries. The want the missionaries to be speaking as much English when together as Cebuano. We have noticed the more successful Filipinos are the ones that speak pretty good English. If they don’t speak very good English, they are struggling to make ends meet.
On Thursday we left at 3:30 a.m. on a long adventure, returning at 9:30 at night. It was a good fun time. We did this with three other couples, the Woods, Parkers (from Consolation), and the Strongs (who came over from Bohol), and also Sister Garner. We saw some beautiful country, spent a half hour on a beautiful island beach, spent a half hour at a really cool waterfall, and a half hour swimming with whale sharks. It was all with a guide and pretty cool. They were pretty close together geographicly, but it still took quite a while transitioning from one event and place to the other. Then, for me the real highlight came when we went to Kawasan Falls. It is a series of falls where you are hiking down along side them, when you aren’t swimming in pools, swinging on rope swings and landing in pools, or jumping off platforms into the pools. It was beautiful and took about 3 hours. It was a good time. However, they have some dang slippery soil and rocks here. With just a little water you had better be careful or you are going down. I’m not sure just what kind of shoes would be best on those, but I hope I have them when I go again. The guides were helping me stay on my feet half the time.
We slept in Friday morning and then went for a late stroll to the Templex. The temple was a buzz. It is a busy place with a lot of people, and especially youth groups taking advantage of the holidays and coming to the temple from afar. That evening the Sisters stopped in again. They had been to the Templex practicing singing. They are performing with a group of Sisters and Elders tonight at 6:00. We told them whenever they need a ride home to come here and we will give them one. It is a sketchy neighborhood where they live. They live in a locked in yard and building, but it is pretty sketchy just getting there. When we took them home on Monday, I told them to never walk there in the dark. They said they don’t. They try to get home before dark, or get someone to take them home.
On Saturday, Christmas Eve, we spent from 10:00 until 4:00 at the mall working the “Giving Machines”. It was a cool experience. We would just sit off to the side as people would look and read the machines and choices. Many would walk away. When we saw others start to get money we would step up and ask if they needed any help. There are 24 different things that you can contribute to, from 50 pesos to 500 pesos. We met some neat people. It wasn’t real busy, but it was good.
At 5:00 p.m. we headed out to Brother Colipapa’s for a Christmas Eve party. They love to party here. There were a lot of games, and singing, etc. It was at grandma’s place, a very nice home, but held outside on the patio. She has seven children. Two daughters live in Germany, a son in Canada, and one son, Jairus, our boss, lives in Manila. The other three families are here. There were about 25 in attendance. It was a hoppin’ good time. We enjoyed ourselves. We stayed until 10:30. So we were there for 5 hours without a dull moment.
We came home to the sad news about Aunt Georgia’s passing. She was an incredible lady. She was a great sister-in-law to me and a great aunt to our children. Through the years
I’ve reflected on the many times her and Burke and Trudy came to see me during my month at Primary Children’s hospital. It was the oasis in the desert for this homesick boy. Then on return doctors visits we would swing down to Provo to stop in at Burke and Georgia’s apartment in Orem. Her warm welcoming hello was wonderful. Then over to Provo to see the college sisters, Trudy and Teresa. Thanks, Georgia for being a delight. Your reunion with Errol, and your parents I’m confident has been wonderful. I’m also confident you have given our Tillie and Clyde hugs. Condolences to you, Burke, and your children.
We woke up to the best Christmas present ever as we got on our devices and heard our Grandchildren recite, “The Living Christ”. It was wonderful to see the three youngest grandchildren first, Layne, Quincy, and Piper, and then the other one who couldn’t participate that way, Jack, at the end. Then to have Connor, who is on his mission in Chile, participate by quoting a paragraph, along with 16 grandchildren each quoting parts of it, and one special grandson, Clyde, watching it all from Heaven as he cheered his cousins on. That was incredible. We blubbered through the whole thing. We are so grateful for wonderful children who love us and are trying to do their very best raising Heavenly Father’s children to return to Him. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!! We love all of you and wish you the very merriest Christmas. Thanks also for getting together at Olivia’s, those who could, and for enjoying each other. Thanks for the videos of the two wonderful Nativity scenes at the Micheli’s in Ft. Bridger and at the Heiner’s in Thayne. We love it and you!
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
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