29 Jan. 2023 Week #18: We're grateful for the other missionaries
Dear Family and Friends,
Monday was a real interesting day. Our Philippines Humanitarian Coordination Meeting (that is the real name for our Monday meeting) lasted over 3 hours. It is supposed to last one and a half hours. The Haynes are doing great things. This kind of stuff is just right down their alley. They presented 3 projects. They have a lot going on. The third one we thought would be a slam dunk, but it was picked a part and did not pass. It was scary. I don’t know what to think. When we do present one, they will probably feel so sorry for us they will pass it no matter what without any questions. I think some are just getting jealous with what the Haynes are doing, but it is all good stuff and helping the Filipinos in big ways.
At the end of the long meeting, the Huffs asked Jairus if they should be concerned about driving without a driver’s license since the Teicherts are no longer driving. The Huffs and Haynes have been here a month longer than us and don’t have driver’s licenses. Well Brother Jairus said we probably shouldn’t drive, but he would refer to Elder Slaugh, our legal administrator. Elder Slaugh said, “If you get in an accident or picked up, the church won’t defend you in court after your 90 days without a driver’s license. OH BOY!! Well, there was quite a discussion after that. There are a lot of senior couples here driving, not just the Humanitarian Aid missionaries, and they have been here longer than 90 days. We have really opened up a can of worms. I don’t know if that is good or bad. All I know is last I knew, we still believed in the 12th article of faith. I don’t always abide by it, but after that gentleman refused me a driver’s license until I can show him my passport, I want to follow this time. He was kind of scary and I wouldn’t want to go to jail and have a guy like him in my cell or being the jailer. That evening, we had a FHE with the senior couples and one couple talked about visiting a member in their branch each week in jail. When they described the circumstances, I really knew I didn’t want to be there.
After our Monday morning meeting we went next door to see the FM group, to have them look at our list of materials for the Tres Reyes Elementary Solar Project. They didn’t know much about solar power, but one of them has a good friend who runs a company who sells and installs solar panels, etc. The friend is also a member of the church. He owns a company called “CALLED2Serve Energy”. Pretty cool name. It was good to get in touch with him. He is up by Manila. We had him visit with President James Avenido so they could work out the supply list. It changed completely. President Avenido was so grateful.
However, now the list is so big, I hope we can get it passed. They need 19 panels instead of 6. I know nothing about this, so I just have to have Faith that Richard Inigo, owner of CALLED2Serve Energy, is being honest and steering us correctly. We don’t want to give them a solar project that doesn’t work well enough.
Monday evening we had a FHE with all the senior couples in the Visayas. Elder and Sister Strong from Americn Fork, UT, serve on Bohol. They were here in town, so they came. They had come over on the Ferry. They are the old timers. They just hit their one-year mark. They are the ones that talked about visiting the member in jail in a cell with 8 other guys and mattresses on the floor and the cell was about the size of liberty jail. Sister Garner has been here the next longest, she is right at 6 months now. Then it is us at 4 months. Then the Woods, then the Welchs (who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in March). Their kids are upset with them for being out here when they knew it would be time to celebrate while they were gone. The Parkers (from England) have been out about as long as us. The Parkers and the Strongs, and two older single sisters, Sister Jepsen and Sister L., who serve in the office, are serving in the Cebu East Mission. The rest of us are in the Cebu Mission. Then we have the Koyles and the Taylors who are at the temple. So, it is a pretty good group. When the Huskinsons were here, they were alone until about the end of their missions. It is nice to rub shoulders with these good senior missionaries. We are probably the youngest of the bunch. Then, when we walked home from the Templex at 9:10, high school had just let out and we were in the midst of a couple thousand kids walking home. It is crazy. It is a big high school pretty close to the Templex. The elementary kids go in the morning until about 1:00 and the the high school kids go in the afternoon and evening. It is crazy. Be glad you are in America raising a family. How would that be if you had kids going to elementary and high school. You would never have family time. We pass all kinds of kids, being walked to school by their parents or grandparents every morning as we are going to the Templex to walk.
Tuesday and Wednesday were basically office all day. Tuesday evening, we had Elder Quicay and Elder Willis over for dinner. That is always a highlight. We are impressed with them. It also makes us think a lot about Connor. It is so fun to read his emails. Then, seeing these Elders just brings smiles to our faces and comfort to our hearts as we see their Faith and Testimonies in action.
We also got another week of walking every morning. Clyda jogs quite a bit of it. Of her 4 miles the first one takes about 16 minutes because of picking up a lot of litter and dropping it off in garbage cans, which are hard to find, garbage
cans not litter. The next two miles she covers under 12 minutes each, and then her 4th mile is about 16 minutes because she is walking with me. I feel really good when I get miles 2 and 3 under 15 minutes. Thursday morning was a downpour. It was coming in buckets. We walked with umbrellas, so not as fast, and we still basically got soaked. It is a warm drenching rain though. Our shoes were really squishy when we returned. We could have gone for a swim in Bear Lake, and they couldn’t have been any wetter.
Thursday afternoon we went to the temple. That was a neat experience. There were only 6 brethren. When we were in the prayer circle it was obvious one brother probably hadn’t ever been in the circle before. He was one of the first at the veil and it took a long time. He spent quite a bit of time in the Celestial Room. He is probably in his thirties I would guess. He was alone. After he changed, he stayed inside the temple sitting on a couch before you exit. I went to visit with him, and he couldn’t speak any English. I gave him a good pat on the shoulder and thanked him for being there. I hope he will come back. He had on a pair of old muddy shoes, no socks, an old pair of pants, no belt, and a short sleeved white shirt, no tie. I am sure he came quite a way in a Jeepney to get to the temple. My heart was full. It wasn’t easy for him in any sense of the word, yet he seemed to be taking in every bit of the Spirit he could get. I was so proud of him. I haven’t got a clue what his circumstance is, but I sure hope he makes it back soon.
Friday evening, we had the Taylors come for dinner. He is a MAN. He used to do the bicycle race from Logan to Jackson every September. He did it for years. Now that is a man’s race. He and his wife did a Humanitarian Aid mission, just like we are doing, in Cambodia. Then, they were home for 18 months and are now here on a Temple Mission. They have 6 children, 5 with each one about 2 years apart, then one more about 15 years later. She was about 45 when she had the last daughter. However, that daughter was a miracle and has been a huge blessing in their lives and especially Sister Taylors. They are from Perry, Utah. He is a family doctor. It was fun to get to know them. We pass them time after time as they also walk on the templex grounds like us each morning.
Saturday morning at 8:30 we got to watch Mylie’s basketball game at the same time that it was actually going on on Friday evening at 5:30. It was so fun to watch them beat Lyman in overtime. Then we watched Tel’s Friday matches, On Demand, on Trackwrestling, thanks to Tyson. We also rode our first Jeepney just for fun. It was an adventure. We took it to the Ayala Mall, then we didn’t know where to catch it for the return trip. Apparently, it picks you up at a different side
of the mall going back. We walked for a way, and then we finally caught one going home.
To finish, it was great watching Tel wrestle on Saturday. Congratulations are in order for taking 2nd in that big of a tournament as a freshman. I am extremely impressed with your wrestling ability, Tel. But, I am much more impressed with the kind of young man you are, how you handle yourself in competition, win or lose. This preparation will be a great asset to you as a missionary. Thanks to all of you for faithfully living the gospel and staying on the covenant path. We had excellent meetings again today. I am grateful for the Spirit at the meetings here. Today after church the young man who plays the organ most of the time just stayed and played for about 20 minutes, music from the 2023 youth music. It was wonderful. It made me reflect on Tyson playing the piano so much and playing wonderful music. It filled our home with the Spirit and our hearts with joy. Of course, we are grateful for the girls also playing. I relate this because it is a young man. He is a sophomore in high school and just got ordained a priest last week. A young man that the Sister missionaries taught was baptized two weeks ago. Today he passed the sacrament, but better yet, yesterday he baptized his best friend. Pretty Cool! Thanks to all of you for your great examples to us. We appreciate our associations with all of you, family and friends. You have all made an impact on our lives for the better. If everyone had friends like we do the world would be a great place.
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
Week #18 1/23-1/29
Monday was a real interesting day. Our Philippines Humanitarian Coordination Meeting (that is the real name for our Monday meeting) lasted over 3 hours. It is supposed to last one and a half hours. The Haynes are doing great things. This kind of stuff is just right down their alley. They presented 3 projects. They have a lot going on. The third one we thought would be a slam dunk, but it was picked a part and did not pass. It was scary. I don’t know what to think. When we do present one, they will probably feel so sorry for us they will pass it no matter what without any questions. I think some are just getting jealous with what the Haynes are doing, but it is all good stuff and helping the Filipinos in big ways.
At the end of the long meeting, the Huffs asked Jairus if they should be concerned about driving without a driver’s license since the Teicherts are no longer driving. The Huffs and Haynes have been here a month longer than us and don’t have driver’s licenses. Well Brother Jairus said we probably shouldn’t drive, but he would refer to Elder Slaugh, our legal administrator. Elder Slaugh said, “If you get in an accident or picked up, the church won’t defend you in court after your 90 days without a driver’s license. OH BOY!! Well, there was quite a discussion after that. There are a lot of senior couples here driving, not just the Humanitarian Aid missionaries, and they have been here longer than 90 days. We have really opened up a can of worms. I don’t know if that is good or bad. All I know is last I knew, we still believed in the 12th article of faith. I don’t always abide by it, but after that gentleman refused me a driver’s license until I can show him my passport, I want to follow this time. He was kind of scary and I wouldn’t want to go to jail and have a guy like him in my cell or being the jailer. That evening, we had a FHE with the senior couples and one couple talked about visiting a member in their branch each week in jail. When they described the circumstances, I really knew I didn’t want to be there.
After our Monday morning meeting we went next door to see the FM group, to have them look at our list of materials for the Tres Reyes Elementary Solar Project. They didn’t know much about solar power, but one of them has a good friend who runs a company who sells and installs solar panels, etc. The friend is also a member of the church. He owns a company called “CALLED2Serve Energy”. Pretty cool name. It was good to get in touch with him. He is up by Manila. We had him visit with President James Avenido so they could work out the supply list. It changed completely. President Avenido was so grateful.
However, now the list is so big, I hope we can get it passed. They need 19 panels instead of 6. I know nothing about this, so I just have to have Faith that Richard Inigo, owner of CALLED2Serve Energy, is being honest and steering us correctly. We don’t want to give them a solar project that doesn’t work well enough.
Monday evening we had a FHE with all the senior couples in the Visayas. Elder and Sister Strong from Americn Fork, UT, serve on Bohol. They were here in town, so they came. They had come over on the Ferry. They are the old timers. They just hit their one-year mark. They are the ones that talked about visiting the member in jail in a cell with 8 other guys and mattresses on the floor and the cell was about the size of liberty jail. Sister Garner has been here the next longest, she is right at 6 months now. Then it is us at 4 months. Then the Woods, then the Welchs (who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in March). Their kids are upset with them for being out here when they knew it would be time to celebrate while they were gone. The Parkers (from England) have been out about as long as us. The Parkers and the Strongs, and two older single sisters, Sister Jepsen and Sister L., who serve in the office, are serving in the Cebu East Mission. The rest of us are in the Cebu Mission. Then we have the Koyles and the Taylors who are at the temple. So, it is a pretty good group. When the Huskinsons were here, they were alone until about the end of their missions. It is nice to rub shoulders with these good senior missionaries. We are probably the youngest of the bunch. Then, when we walked home from the Templex at 9:10, high school had just let out and we were in the midst of a couple thousand kids walking home. It is crazy. It is a big high school pretty close to the Templex. The elementary kids go in the morning until about 1:00 and the the high school kids go in the afternoon and evening. It is crazy. Be glad you are in America raising a family. How would that be if you had kids going to elementary and high school. You would never have family time. We pass all kinds of kids, being walked to school by their parents or grandparents every morning as we are going to the Templex to walk.
Tuesday and Wednesday were basically office all day. Tuesday evening, we had Elder Quicay and Elder Willis over for dinner. That is always a highlight. We are impressed with them. It also makes us think a lot about Connor. It is so fun to read his emails. Then, seeing these Elders just brings smiles to our faces and comfort to our hearts as we see their Faith and Testimonies in action.
We also got another week of walking every morning. Clyda jogs quite a bit of it. Of her 4 miles the first one takes about 16 minutes because of picking up a lot of litter and dropping it off in garbage cans, which are hard to find, garbage
cans not litter. The next two miles she covers under 12 minutes each, and then her 4th mile is about 16 minutes because she is walking with me. I feel really good when I get miles 2 and 3 under 15 minutes. Thursday morning was a downpour. It was coming in buckets. We walked with umbrellas, so not as fast, and we still basically got soaked. It is a warm drenching rain though. Our shoes were really squishy when we returned. We could have gone for a swim in Bear Lake, and they couldn’t have been any wetter.
Thursday afternoon we went to the temple. That was a neat experience. There were only 6 brethren. When we were in the prayer circle it was obvious one brother probably hadn’t ever been in the circle before. He was one of the first at the veil and it took a long time. He spent quite a bit of time in the Celestial Room. He is probably in his thirties I would guess. He was alone. After he changed, he stayed inside the temple sitting on a couch before you exit. I went to visit with him, and he couldn’t speak any English. I gave him a good pat on the shoulder and thanked him for being there. I hope he will come back. He had on a pair of old muddy shoes, no socks, an old pair of pants, no belt, and a short sleeved white shirt, no tie. I am sure he came quite a way in a Jeepney to get to the temple. My heart was full. It wasn’t easy for him in any sense of the word, yet he seemed to be taking in every bit of the Spirit he could get. I was so proud of him. I haven’t got a clue what his circumstance is, but I sure hope he makes it back soon.
Friday evening, we had the Taylors come for dinner. He is a MAN. He used to do the bicycle race from Logan to Jackson every September. He did it for years. Now that is a man’s race. He and his wife did a Humanitarian Aid mission, just like we are doing, in Cambodia. Then, they were home for 18 months and are now here on a Temple Mission. They have 6 children, 5 with each one about 2 years apart, then one more about 15 years later. She was about 45 when she had the last daughter. However, that daughter was a miracle and has been a huge blessing in their lives and especially Sister Taylors. They are from Perry, Utah. He is a family doctor. It was fun to get to know them. We pass them time after time as they also walk on the templex grounds like us each morning.
Saturday morning at 8:30 we got to watch Mylie’s basketball game at the same time that it was actually going on on Friday evening at 5:30. It was so fun to watch them beat Lyman in overtime. Then we watched Tel’s Friday matches, On Demand, on Trackwrestling, thanks to Tyson. We also rode our first Jeepney just for fun. It was an adventure. We took it to the Ayala Mall, then we didn’t know where to catch it for the return trip. Apparently, it picks you up at a different side
of the mall going back. We walked for a way, and then we finally caught one going home.
To finish, it was great watching Tel wrestle on Saturday. Congratulations are in order for taking 2nd in that big of a tournament as a freshman. I am extremely impressed with your wrestling ability, Tel. But, I am much more impressed with the kind of young man you are, how you handle yourself in competition, win or lose. This preparation will be a great asset to you as a missionary. Thanks to all of you for faithfully living the gospel and staying on the covenant path. We had excellent meetings again today. I am grateful for the Spirit at the meetings here. Today after church the young man who plays the organ most of the time just stayed and played for about 20 minutes, music from the 2023 youth music. It was wonderful. It made me reflect on Tyson playing the piano so much and playing wonderful music. It filled our home with the Spirit and our hearts with joy. Of course, we are grateful for the girls also playing. I relate this because it is a young man. He is a sophomore in high school and just got ordained a priest last week. A young man that the Sister missionaries taught was baptized two weeks ago. Today he passed the sacrament, but better yet, yesterday he baptized his best friend. Pretty Cool! Thanks to all of you for your great examples to us. We appreciate our associations with all of you, family and friends. You have all made an impact on our lives for the better. If everyone had friends like we do the world would be a great place.
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
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