22 Jan. 2023 Week #17: We met the Army and great examples of the Gospel
Dear Family and Friends,
We have spent most of our work week in the office or at home on the computers. We have had our weekly meetings with Manila. Haynes presented 6 projects for approval. One needs more work and the other 5 were good to go. They are doing some great things. They really like the medical clinics and that kind of thing. I love all they are doing. On that line they have also helped fire departments with medical supplies because they are often the first responders on accidents and a lot of these far- flung places don’t have EMS providers. So, they have helped the people with medical needs at the great big hospitals and the little RHUs (rural health units), the EMS and Fire Departments. They are energetic people. I think everyone of their projects are great. He was a business guy, with an emphasis on party planning for groups from 20 to 1,000. He beat the bushes to develop his very successful business and they are beating the bushes here to find all kind of projects. That isn’t quite my nature. Also, we have so many requests that we are having a hard time to fill just through people contacting us. Just correspondence through emails is a couple hours a day. Then trying to keep straight all the different ones and our responses to them and updates.
With projects you also try to get a commitment from them to report on how things are going with the donation they received from us. Usually, that is a commitment for a report in 3 months after they have received the items. We are doing that with some now that were just completed with the Huskinsons. One of their projects just completed before we came was with 6 schools in the same district. With some, they don’t respond. This week as I requested reports from these six schools, we received two real neat reports from very satisfied people as they expressed gratitude and expressed how the donations had contributed to their learners (they always refer to students as learners). It is heart- warming to get that kind of response. I hope during this next week the other four will respond in the same positive manner.
With another project where we went to the Turnover with the Huskinsons where they had given a school 21 TVs for the classrooms one of the TVs didn’t work. So, we had to get with the supplier and get that checked out. They sent a technician to the school to fix it. They test all the TVs before they ship them, and it was working before delivery. Anyway, it wasn’t, and the technician fixed it. They mounted the TVs on the walls. Well, after they had fixed this one, they dropped it while trying to mount it. That we don’t replace when it is their fault. At least they were honest.
We attended the temple on Thursday to do sealings with the Woods. Sister Woods has a ton of names. While there in the men’s locker room I visited with a man from Mindanao and the city of Cotabato. The Huskinsons had done all the prep work on this and then helped us put it into CHAS (the computer program that all projects are entered into so Salt Lake can see what is going on). Well, this gentleman had been to the Turnover. He is a counselor in the Stake Presidency. We were in- charge of getting all the items delivered. So, this Turnover happened in December. He said it was a neat event and the recipients were very grateful. We won’t ask for a response from them until the end of March. We can’t go to Mindanao, it isn’t safe, but there are a lot of members there. They have three missions there, Davao, Butuan, and Cagayan de Oro (an area Conrad served in back in 1969). There will be three temples there. One is nearing completion. Anyway, we are always represented at Turnovers with a local church member. This member of the stake presidency went with Ronald Aban, our WSR manager over that area. It was fun to hear his positive response of the event and he was glad to meet me. He recognized my name as the project manager, even though the Huskinsons had taken care of it. This project was getting medical supplies and hygiene kits to the PDL’s (person deprived of liberties), the Cotabato City Jail. It has several hundred inmates. The supplies were sent to the closest church house in Cotabato where the church members repackaged all the hygiene kit supplies in packages for individuals. Then there were a lot of other medical supplies like a backboard, blood pressure machine, etc. Once again, it makes your heart feel good to have contributed in some way. This is one way to visit those in prison (Matthew 25:36). We have had 3 jail contributions and another one is pending. (All of our prison projects have been and are on Mindanao). The General Santos Jail is requesting washers and dryers to try to keep the inmates clothing clean. The sanitation is terrible they say. However, we have been a long time because of huge differences in the prices of different machines and the willingness to service the machines and the warranties provided. Our purchasing department is trying to get something better. We have 3 bids with big differences on what they will and won’t do.
We paid a visit to the 7th Army Division this week to thank them for their generous and speedy donation of transporting a couple hundred wheelchairs to the designated hospital here in Cebu. We have a contract (MOA-memorandum of agreement-a legal document) with a hospital here. When the wheelchairs arrive from Manila it is the hospital’s responsibility to get them from the port to the hospital. Well, they have run out of money because of all the extra demand
because of Covid. So, the wheelchairs arrived at the port, were put on the dock and sitting in the rain. Something needed to happen quick. Brother Colipapa was out to lunch with his wife close to that area. He checked it out, saw the need, said a prayer, and went to the army, which is located close to the pier. The person in charge (third in command and both superiors were out of town on assignments) said it would take a week to get permission and we would need to fill out the proper paperwork. When Brother Colipapa explained the urgent need, the good man took action, got three big army trucks and soldiers and headed over to the pier, loaded up the wheelchairs, and took them to the hospital. Then, after thanking them for their help, we offered that if there was a need that they had to contact us, and we would see what we could do. We let them know we can supply equipment but not labor. They said they could get all the labor they need from the army personnel so that wasn’t a problem. They showed us their junk pile of vehicles and said they needed a portable welder and tools for repairing vehicles out in the field. We will see if they request anything. The two superiors were at the meeting and the head person was a lady. They were all so gracious. It was fun to meet them. We told them we believe in helping others and especially helping those who help others.
We had the Elders over one night and the Sisters over another night for dinner. Clyda always makes a great meal for them and sends them home with a container of Chocolate Chip cookies. They love it. We also sent emails to their families telling the families how great their missionaries are doing. With Elder Quicay it was to his older sister. He doesn’t correspond with his folks, they are divorced and aren’t members, but his sister is a returned missionary and set a great example for him. She lives in Manila.
We went with the Woods and Sister Garner to a big aquarium on Friday afternoon. That was fun and impressive. We spent about 3 hours there and then went out to dinner at a huge mall and then they went shopping. That wasn’t fun. Oh well. Also, the malls here don’t have any benches for a guy like me to just sit while others do their shopping. After a while, with my feet killing me I did what any good man would do and went into Dunkin Donuts, got a donut and sat down on a soft chair, ate the donut slowly and waited for the call saying they were done. That is the longest I have ever taken to eat a donut.
We have witnessed a couple of firework displays with the celebrating of Chinese New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year. They take advantage of anything to celebrate. I think they have more national holidays and local holidays than we do. They have a lot!
We were able to get in 6 mornings of exercise in this week. That was a first. And until we get our driver’s license it might not be our last. The newest couple, the Taylor’s from Perry, Utah, also get out and walk each morning at the templex. It is fun passing them. He served here as a young man in the early 70’s. They served a Humanitarian Aid mission to Cambodia a few years ago and now they are here to serve in the Cebu Temple.
We went across the street to the 7-11 this week to get a swirl ice cream. It was almost like being at Little America, plus a million people, and 70 degrees warmer. We were missing the basketball girls, but it was still good. We will probably do that again. It is kind of amazing how we have a McDonald’s about 200 yards away and a Jollibee’s (Filipino McDonalds) and we still haven’t been to McDonald’s and have only been to the Jollibee’s once. I do really enjoy the Jollibee’s Peach Mango Pies, deep fried like McDonald’s apple pies. I have had them at a couple other Jollibee’s out of town.
We have really been enjoying watching the kids play ball and wrestle. Tyson shared with us the capability to watch wrestling on trackwrestling or flowrestling and that has been fun to see some of Tel’s matches like that. Thanks to NFHS we can watch the Cokeville kids and Mt. View girls play ball. We are enjoying that. Thanks to Coach Thompson for teaching me and getting me hooked up with the right connections so we can put it up on the TV provided in our apartment.
We went to a celebration of the WSR (Welfare Self-Reliance) Cebu City Stake accomplishments for 2022 and goal setting for 2023. Once again, plenty of music and dancing and food. They love to party. Neat though to see all the great people that are trying to help their Filipino members, neighbors and friends have a better life. Basically, it was a Stake Leadership Mtg. where we were taught to work together and communicate well through games and activities, then finished with a testimony after each activity. They had teams of the different groups, child nutrition, emotional health, personal finance, etc. and then showed how (through games) we need each other and rely on each other to make it all work.
The highlight of the week though was meeting Erica Soledad and her mother Annabel Carredos. We had scheduled an appointment to meet with them after they finished working at the temple on Friday at 1:00. They serve in the temple as workers every Friday morning. The Carredos family have a lot of businesses. They are amazing. Their daughter, Erica is a graduate of BYU-H, where she met another Filipino and got married. Erica is in her mid- twenties and helps her parents in their many business adventures. One of their businesses is as a supplier. They have worked with LDSC for many things. They, especially Erica,
have been great to handle the MWP in Calinog with their pigs. She does all the paperwork and details with them getting feeds and then getting that through purchasing and finance with the Manila office and I don’t have to do anything with that one. It is a huge blessing for me. We had a supplier on another pig project that charged too much and double the delivery fees, etc. and the project ran out of money before they were ready to sell their pigs and make it on their own. I’m grateful for Erica and her integrity and honesty that makes this all work so well for the Calinog group and I just get updates on how it is going and don’t have to worry about the pigs getting fed. It is wonderful. It was delightful to meet them. Also, along with that is one last story. On our way back from the Manila Christmas devotional and party I sat on the plane beside a young lady that is an accountant. I didn’t strike up a conversation with her until just before we landed. She noticed my name tag and said she had a client that is a member of our church and has a very successful massage business. She has clinics all over the island of Cebu. Well, it turns out that this client is Sister Carredos. The gal, I would guess in her mid-twenties, didn’t say who the lady was, but said she admired her. It was neat to put two and two together and find out that this neat lady was Sister Carredos. We can be grateful for members of the church that live the gospel in a way that they are great examples to others. We appreciate their honesty and integrity. This gospel is true and will spread throughout the earth. In comparison with the total population, it will just be a few, but it will cover the whole earth, and it will be crowned with Priesthood Power. It is wonderful to be on the Winning Team. I always have liked winning more that losing. Let’s all keep on the covenant path and enjoy the victories together.
Also, it is so great to read Connor’s emails each week. We are so proud of the great work he is a part of in Chile. We especially enjoy his recognition of the Lord in his life and the life of those people he is serving.
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
Week #17 1/16-1/22
We have spent most of our work week in the office or at home on the computers. We have had our weekly meetings with Manila. Haynes presented 6 projects for approval. One needs more work and the other 5 were good to go. They are doing some great things. They really like the medical clinics and that kind of thing. I love all they are doing. On that line they have also helped fire departments with medical supplies because they are often the first responders on accidents and a lot of these far- flung places don’t have EMS providers. So, they have helped the people with medical needs at the great big hospitals and the little RHUs (rural health units), the EMS and Fire Departments. They are energetic people. I think everyone of their projects are great. He was a business guy, with an emphasis on party planning for groups from 20 to 1,000. He beat the bushes to develop his very successful business and they are beating the bushes here to find all kind of projects. That isn’t quite my nature. Also, we have so many requests that we are having a hard time to fill just through people contacting us. Just correspondence through emails is a couple hours a day. Then trying to keep straight all the different ones and our responses to them and updates.
With projects you also try to get a commitment from them to report on how things are going with the donation they received from us. Usually, that is a commitment for a report in 3 months after they have received the items. We are doing that with some now that were just completed with the Huskinsons. One of their projects just completed before we came was with 6 schools in the same district. With some, they don’t respond. This week as I requested reports from these six schools, we received two real neat reports from very satisfied people as they expressed gratitude and expressed how the donations had contributed to their learners (they always refer to students as learners). It is heart- warming to get that kind of response. I hope during this next week the other four will respond in the same positive manner.
With another project where we went to the Turnover with the Huskinsons where they had given a school 21 TVs for the classrooms one of the TVs didn’t work. So, we had to get with the supplier and get that checked out. They sent a technician to the school to fix it. They test all the TVs before they ship them, and it was working before delivery. Anyway, it wasn’t, and the technician fixed it. They mounted the TVs on the walls. Well, after they had fixed this one, they dropped it while trying to mount it. That we don’t replace when it is their fault. At least they were honest.
We attended the temple on Thursday to do sealings with the Woods. Sister Woods has a ton of names. While there in the men’s locker room I visited with a man from Mindanao and the city of Cotabato. The Huskinsons had done all the prep work on this and then helped us put it into CHAS (the computer program that all projects are entered into so Salt Lake can see what is going on). Well, this gentleman had been to the Turnover. He is a counselor in the Stake Presidency. We were in- charge of getting all the items delivered. So, this Turnover happened in December. He said it was a neat event and the recipients were very grateful. We won’t ask for a response from them until the end of March. We can’t go to Mindanao, it isn’t safe, but there are a lot of members there. They have three missions there, Davao, Butuan, and Cagayan de Oro (an area Conrad served in back in 1969). There will be three temples there. One is nearing completion. Anyway, we are always represented at Turnovers with a local church member. This member of the stake presidency went with Ronald Aban, our WSR manager over that area. It was fun to hear his positive response of the event and he was glad to meet me. He recognized my name as the project manager, even though the Huskinsons had taken care of it. This project was getting medical supplies and hygiene kits to the PDL’s (person deprived of liberties), the Cotabato City Jail. It has several hundred inmates. The supplies were sent to the closest church house in Cotabato where the church members repackaged all the hygiene kit supplies in packages for individuals. Then there were a lot of other medical supplies like a backboard, blood pressure machine, etc. Once again, it makes your heart feel good to have contributed in some way. This is one way to visit those in prison (Matthew 25:36). We have had 3 jail contributions and another one is pending. (All of our prison projects have been and are on Mindanao). The General Santos Jail is requesting washers and dryers to try to keep the inmates clothing clean. The sanitation is terrible they say. However, we have been a long time because of huge differences in the prices of different machines and the willingness to service the machines and the warranties provided. Our purchasing department is trying to get something better. We have 3 bids with big differences on what they will and won’t do.
We paid a visit to the 7th Army Division this week to thank them for their generous and speedy donation of transporting a couple hundred wheelchairs to the designated hospital here in Cebu. We have a contract (MOA-memorandum of agreement-a legal document) with a hospital here. When the wheelchairs arrive from Manila it is the hospital’s responsibility to get them from the port to the hospital. Well, they have run out of money because of all the extra demand
because of Covid. So, the wheelchairs arrived at the port, were put on the dock and sitting in the rain. Something needed to happen quick. Brother Colipapa was out to lunch with his wife close to that area. He checked it out, saw the need, said a prayer, and went to the army, which is located close to the pier. The person in charge (third in command and both superiors were out of town on assignments) said it would take a week to get permission and we would need to fill out the proper paperwork. When Brother Colipapa explained the urgent need, the good man took action, got three big army trucks and soldiers and headed over to the pier, loaded up the wheelchairs, and took them to the hospital. Then, after thanking them for their help, we offered that if there was a need that they had to contact us, and we would see what we could do. We let them know we can supply equipment but not labor. They said they could get all the labor they need from the army personnel so that wasn’t a problem. They showed us their junk pile of vehicles and said they needed a portable welder and tools for repairing vehicles out in the field. We will see if they request anything. The two superiors were at the meeting and the head person was a lady. They were all so gracious. It was fun to meet them. We told them we believe in helping others and especially helping those who help others.
We had the Elders over one night and the Sisters over another night for dinner. Clyda always makes a great meal for them and sends them home with a container of Chocolate Chip cookies. They love it. We also sent emails to their families telling the families how great their missionaries are doing. With Elder Quicay it was to his older sister. He doesn’t correspond with his folks, they are divorced and aren’t members, but his sister is a returned missionary and set a great example for him. She lives in Manila.
We went with the Woods and Sister Garner to a big aquarium on Friday afternoon. That was fun and impressive. We spent about 3 hours there and then went out to dinner at a huge mall and then they went shopping. That wasn’t fun. Oh well. Also, the malls here don’t have any benches for a guy like me to just sit while others do their shopping. After a while, with my feet killing me I did what any good man would do and went into Dunkin Donuts, got a donut and sat down on a soft chair, ate the donut slowly and waited for the call saying they were done. That is the longest I have ever taken to eat a donut.
We have witnessed a couple of firework displays with the celebrating of Chinese New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year. They take advantage of anything to celebrate. I think they have more national holidays and local holidays than we do. They have a lot!
We were able to get in 6 mornings of exercise in this week. That was a first. And until we get our driver’s license it might not be our last. The newest couple, the Taylor’s from Perry, Utah, also get out and walk each morning at the templex. It is fun passing them. He served here as a young man in the early 70’s. They served a Humanitarian Aid mission to Cambodia a few years ago and now they are here to serve in the Cebu Temple.
We went across the street to the 7-11 this week to get a swirl ice cream. It was almost like being at Little America, plus a million people, and 70 degrees warmer. We were missing the basketball girls, but it was still good. We will probably do that again. It is kind of amazing how we have a McDonald’s about 200 yards away and a Jollibee’s (Filipino McDonalds) and we still haven’t been to McDonald’s and have only been to the Jollibee’s once. I do really enjoy the Jollibee’s Peach Mango Pies, deep fried like McDonald’s apple pies. I have had them at a couple other Jollibee’s out of town.
We have really been enjoying watching the kids play ball and wrestle. Tyson shared with us the capability to watch wrestling on trackwrestling or flowrestling and that has been fun to see some of Tel’s matches like that. Thanks to NFHS we can watch the Cokeville kids and Mt. View girls play ball. We are enjoying that. Thanks to Coach Thompson for teaching me and getting me hooked up with the right connections so we can put it up on the TV provided in our apartment.
We went to a celebration of the WSR (Welfare Self-Reliance) Cebu City Stake accomplishments for 2022 and goal setting for 2023. Once again, plenty of music and dancing and food. They love to party. Neat though to see all the great people that are trying to help their Filipino members, neighbors and friends have a better life. Basically, it was a Stake Leadership Mtg. where we were taught to work together and communicate well through games and activities, then finished with a testimony after each activity. They had teams of the different groups, child nutrition, emotional health, personal finance, etc. and then showed how (through games) we need each other and rely on each other to make it all work.
The highlight of the week though was meeting Erica Soledad and her mother Annabel Carredos. We had scheduled an appointment to meet with them after they finished working at the temple on Friday at 1:00. They serve in the temple as workers every Friday morning. The Carredos family have a lot of businesses. They are amazing. Their daughter, Erica is a graduate of BYU-H, where she met another Filipino and got married. Erica is in her mid- twenties and helps her parents in their many business adventures. One of their businesses is as a supplier. They have worked with LDSC for many things. They, especially Erica,
have been great to handle the MWP in Calinog with their pigs. She does all the paperwork and details with them getting feeds and then getting that through purchasing and finance with the Manila office and I don’t have to do anything with that one. It is a huge blessing for me. We had a supplier on another pig project that charged too much and double the delivery fees, etc. and the project ran out of money before they were ready to sell their pigs and make it on their own. I’m grateful for Erica and her integrity and honesty that makes this all work so well for the Calinog group and I just get updates on how it is going and don’t have to worry about the pigs getting fed. It is wonderful. It was delightful to meet them. Also, along with that is one last story. On our way back from the Manila Christmas devotional and party I sat on the plane beside a young lady that is an accountant. I didn’t strike up a conversation with her until just before we landed. She noticed my name tag and said she had a client that is a member of our church and has a very successful massage business. She has clinics all over the island of Cebu. Well, it turns out that this client is Sister Carredos. The gal, I would guess in her mid-twenties, didn’t say who the lady was, but said she admired her. It was neat to put two and two together and find out that this neat lady was Sister Carredos. We can be grateful for members of the church that live the gospel in a way that they are great examples to others. We appreciate their honesty and integrity. This gospel is true and will spread throughout the earth. In comparison with the total population, it will just be a few, but it will cover the whole earth, and it will be crowned with Priesthood Power. It is wonderful to be on the Winning Team. I always have liked winning more that losing. Let’s all keep on the covenant path and enjoy the victories together.
Also, it is so great to read Connor’s emails each week. We are so proud of the great work he is a part of in Chile. We especially enjoy his recognition of the Lord in his life and the life of those people he is serving.
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
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