1 October 2023 Week #53: It's a small small world
Dear Family and Friends,
Monday and Tuesday were mostly computer work. Clyda cut Sister Koyle’s hair on Monday. On Tuesday the Carys came from San Carlos to go to the temple, visit, and get some shopping done. We all went out to dinner together on Tuesday evening to a French restaurant close to the temple. It was a good time with great people.
On Wednesday we took 1400 Kangaroo Tubes to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. They were excited to get them. It was just a delivery and not a turnover due to the fact it was an extension of a 2019 project. It was rewarding. They were almost out of tubes, and they currently have 11 ladies in the hospital with premature babies using the tubes. It has really been a highlight for Clyda. She has enjoyed everything about this project except one day shopping for the fabric in downtown Cebu with an ornery husband. We still have enough material for Clyda to make another 200 so she can just work on it when she is bored or needs a little stress relief. We will then take them to the hospital before we go home. Attached are a couple pictures of Clyda with a tube on with a stuffed animal inside. With the mothers or fathers, the baby is inside the tube skin to skin.
On Wednesday morning, 9/27, it was 9/26 back home, so Clyda and Mya had a birthday at the same time. Two different days, but the same time, pretty cool. We went out to dinner at Italiani’s to celebrate. A gentleman with his Filipino bride came in. As they passed by us, he saw our name tags and got excited and started talking to us. He joined the church in Northern California three years ago. He is a counselor in a branch presidency. It was fun to visit with him. When we left and tried to pay for dinner, he had already paid our bill. That was awful nice of him.
Thursday was the three-year anniversary of little Clyde returning to heaven. We are so grateful he was born in the Covenant, is guaranteed the Celestial Kingdom, he is a ministering angel helping and protecting his parents and us. We miss him and can only imagine how much fun he would be having with his folks, his little sister, and his cousin Layne. They would be good buds.
We woke up at the normal 5:10 time, but instead of going for a walk we got cleaned up and headed out to Carcar. We went and visited the Valencia and Lunas Schools where we have delivered a lot of supplies to repair their damaged schools. We had brief visits with the principals. We hope the schools come through with the labor portion of this project. We then continued over the mountain to Aloguinsan to see Elder DuBose, from Cache Valley, and take him some cookies. He is training a new Filipino, and they seem to be doing great. We then took a package from the mission office to Elder Meredith from Mapleton who is serving in Pinamungahan. These are part of the Toledo Zone. We then visited Awihoa High School to see if we could help there. A lady in Busay has a brother that teaches there and referred their school to us. Next, we contacted Sister Bernaldez, her companion, and Elder Hartvigsen and his companion. They are in Toledo. He is the Zone Leader, and she is the Sister Training Leader. They are great missionaries and we have known them since clear back last January with a service project at Mabuhay Deseret. We asked them to meet us at McDonalds for lunch. It was a great reunion.
When the Sisters walked into McDonalds with us a group called them over. There were six people at a table. They were members from Iloilo. Two young people, a young man and a young woman were headed to Cebu to get their endowments. They recently received their mission calls. He is headed to Antipolo Mission and she is headed to Spanish speaking Mesa Mission at the Temple Visitors Center. These six had come on 3 motorcyles. They had to take two ferries. The father and the daughter, a friend of the young man, and another couple. They were from the Iloilo Central Stake. Elder Dickey from Star Valley is in their ward and they say he is a great missionary. I asked them if they knew anyone from the Lagunas Ward. I showed them the picture of James Teichert’s mission companion, and the father said, “That’s my nephew,” and the girl said, “That’s my cousin.” That was a fun connection. Then the married couple asked where we were from and we of course said, “Wyoming.” He said, “My favorited companion was from Wyoming, Evan Call.” You could have knocked us over. For those who don’t know that is Tessa’s brother-in-law, just older than Justin. He pulled up a picture of Evan with his wife, Sam, and two kids on a snowmachine. That was so fun. If we had been fifteen minutes later, we would have never met them. These connections we are getting to make are sure fun. And the real cool part is to find out how these guys think so highly of their old companions that we know. It makes me proud to say I’m James’s uncle and I know Evan Call. We smiled all the way home, amazed with this tender mercy, getting to make these connections.
On Friday we got to do our morning routine and then head to Carcar again. We stopped in at the templex to pick up a package for Sister Simmons in Talisay. We saw the group at the templex that we had met the day before in McDonalds in Toledo. It was fun to see them again. The two young people had just received their endowments.
We headed to Carcar to a school board meeting with the mayor also in attendance. It is about a 2-hour drive to Carcar. We had a 2:00 appointment so we headed out at 11:00. We wanted to make sure we were on time. We were attending the meeting to make sure they school, and city were committed to making sure these buildings get rebuilt. It was a good meeting, and we feel like they will see that the materials will stay safe, and that the construction will take place.
On the way home we met Sister Simmons and her companion, Sister Naguiat, at McDonalds in Talisay at 5:30 p.m. We found out that Sister Naguiat is a 23-year-old civil engineering graduate. She is one sharp missionary and a Sister Training Leader in her zone. Of course, in the discussion we found out she had an older brother who served in the Naga Mission. We contacted James, and sure enough James knew him. We now have met two missionaries James served with and a sister of another. Pretty cool. Of the Filipino missionaries that we have met, I would say at least a third of them are older and college graduates. They are an impressive bunch.
The traffic was terrible both nights returning going about 5 mph. We did a lot of exercising of our patience muscle.
On Saturday we went to the market with the Taylors and Koyles. We watched Mylie on the big screen at the office as the Mt. View Buffaloes played the Lyman Eagles. We also watched the Cokeville Panthers vs the Rich Rebels and later on demand the Panthers vs Mt. View football. It was fun. We worked on some projects and prepared to present a member welfare chicken project for the Carcar 1st Ward. Then to sleep. We woke up at 11:30 p.m. and headed to the office. It is a different group of people on the streets at that time of night. We didn’t stop and visit. The reason we went to the office was to join the translation team and witness a live translation of general conference. That was pretty cool. It started at midnight here Saturday night which was 10:00 your time and the start of the Saturday Morning Session. They have a few others join the three of them. One for each speaker of the session. Then they all do a speaker in one session and then they do another speaker in the next session. They have a lady come in to do the translation for the Sisters. They have a lot of food. The three main guys stay there at the office from Saturday evening until Monday morning. They have others come for the Saturday sessions and then they go home, and others come for the Sunday sessions. When not translating they are in the conference room, where we usually set up when we go to the office to work. The table was covered with food and Clyda added a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. That was a admittance fee. They introduced us to others there, the President of the Consolacion Stake, the President of the Lioan Stake, and the President of mis-stake. I did catch that right off and said how can that be, I’m the President of that stake. They said my release was in the mail. They are a fun bunch with a great sense of humor. We stayed through the first two speakers, listening to the Cebuano. It was pretty cool. Way too much to tell about. Back home at 12:45 and to bed.
Sunday has been a great day. We slept in. We went to church. It was Fast Sunday. They will rebroadcast the sessions at the chapel next Saturday and Sunday. We have listened to a couple sessions of general conference on BYUtv. They were great sessions. Of course, Elder Rasband, speaking about senior missionaries, we could relate. This mission isn’t anything like we expected. Of the senior missionaries we know here, we have seven different types of missions. That is amazing! I am so impressed with all of these senior couples. We have had some tough times. But the blessings we have enjoyed, and we feel our family is enjoying has all been worth it. We had tough times back home. That is part of life. We are so impressed with the people who try their best to live the gospel. Our lives have been blessed for being here and witnessing this people accept the gospel and flourish. We are fortunate to be led by a living prophet and apostles. The Book of Mormon is true! Joseph Smith is a prophet! I am so grateful the Holy Ghost has born witness to me of these truths. We miss our children and grandchildren, but we know we are doing what we should be doing at this time. We are constantly the recipients of “Tender Mercies”. The gathering of Israel is the most important thing happening on the Earth. We are grateful for all you are doing to help in this great work. We are blessed because of your service.
Holy Habits
Righteous Routines
Week #53 9/25-10/1
Monday and Tuesday were mostly computer work. Clyda cut Sister Koyle’s hair on Monday. On Tuesday the Carys came from San Carlos to go to the temple, visit, and get some shopping done. We all went out to dinner together on Tuesday evening to a French restaurant close to the temple. It was a good time with great people.
On Wednesday we took 1400 Kangaroo Tubes to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. They were excited to get them. It was just a delivery and not a turnover due to the fact it was an extension of a 2019 project. It was rewarding. They were almost out of tubes, and they currently have 11 ladies in the hospital with premature babies using the tubes. It has really been a highlight for Clyda. She has enjoyed everything about this project except one day shopping for the fabric in downtown Cebu with an ornery husband. We still have enough material for Clyda to make another 200 so she can just work on it when she is bored or needs a little stress relief. We will then take them to the hospital before we go home. Attached are a couple pictures of Clyda with a tube on with a stuffed animal inside. With the mothers or fathers, the baby is inside the tube skin to skin.
On Wednesday morning, 9/27, it was 9/26 back home, so Clyda and Mya had a birthday at the same time. Two different days, but the same time, pretty cool. We went out to dinner at Italiani’s to celebrate. A gentleman with his Filipino bride came in. As they passed by us, he saw our name tags and got excited and started talking to us. He joined the church in Northern California three years ago. He is a counselor in a branch presidency. It was fun to visit with him. When we left and tried to pay for dinner, he had already paid our bill. That was awful nice of him.
Thursday was the three-year anniversary of little Clyde returning to heaven. We are so grateful he was born in the Covenant, is guaranteed the Celestial Kingdom, he is a ministering angel helping and protecting his parents and us. We miss him and can only imagine how much fun he would be having with his folks, his little sister, and his cousin Layne. They would be good buds.
We woke up at the normal 5:10 time, but instead of going for a walk we got cleaned up and headed out to Carcar. We went and visited the Valencia and Lunas Schools where we have delivered a lot of supplies to repair their damaged schools. We had brief visits with the principals. We hope the schools come through with the labor portion of this project. We then continued over the mountain to Aloguinsan to see Elder DuBose, from Cache Valley, and take him some cookies. He is training a new Filipino, and they seem to be doing great. We then took a package from the mission office to Elder Meredith from Mapleton who is serving in Pinamungahan. These are part of the Toledo Zone. We then visited Awihoa High School to see if we could help there. A lady in Busay has a brother that teaches there and referred their school to us. Next, we contacted Sister Bernaldez, her companion, and Elder Hartvigsen and his companion. They are in Toledo. He is the Zone Leader, and she is the Sister Training Leader. They are great missionaries and we have known them since clear back last January with a service project at Mabuhay Deseret. We asked them to meet us at McDonalds for lunch. It was a great reunion.
When the Sisters walked into McDonalds with us a group called them over. There were six people at a table. They were members from Iloilo. Two young people, a young man and a young woman were headed to Cebu to get their endowments. They recently received their mission calls. He is headed to Antipolo Mission and she is headed to Spanish speaking Mesa Mission at the Temple Visitors Center. These six had come on 3 motorcyles. They had to take two ferries. The father and the daughter, a friend of the young man, and another couple. They were from the Iloilo Central Stake. Elder Dickey from Star Valley is in their ward and they say he is a great missionary. I asked them if they knew anyone from the Lagunas Ward. I showed them the picture of James Teichert’s mission companion, and the father said, “That’s my nephew,” and the girl said, “That’s my cousin.” That was a fun connection. Then the married couple asked where we were from and we of course said, “Wyoming.” He said, “My favorited companion was from Wyoming, Evan Call.” You could have knocked us over. For those who don’t know that is Tessa’s brother-in-law, just older than Justin. He pulled up a picture of Evan with his wife, Sam, and two kids on a snowmachine. That was so fun. If we had been fifteen minutes later, we would have never met them. These connections we are getting to make are sure fun. And the real cool part is to find out how these guys think so highly of their old companions that we know. It makes me proud to say I’m James’s uncle and I know Evan Call. We smiled all the way home, amazed with this tender mercy, getting to make these connections.
On Friday we got to do our morning routine and then head to Carcar again. We stopped in at the templex to pick up a package for Sister Simmons in Talisay. We saw the group at the templex that we had met the day before in McDonalds in Toledo. It was fun to see them again. The two young people had just received their endowments.
We headed to Carcar to a school board meeting with the mayor also in attendance. It is about a 2-hour drive to Carcar. We had a 2:00 appointment so we headed out at 11:00. We wanted to make sure we were on time. We were attending the meeting to make sure they school, and city were committed to making sure these buildings get rebuilt. It was a good meeting, and we feel like they will see that the materials will stay safe, and that the construction will take place.
On the way home we met Sister Simmons and her companion, Sister Naguiat, at McDonalds in Talisay at 5:30 p.m. We found out that Sister Naguiat is a 23-year-old civil engineering graduate. She is one sharp missionary and a Sister Training Leader in her zone. Of course, in the discussion we found out she had an older brother who served in the Naga Mission. We contacted James, and sure enough James knew him. We now have met two missionaries James served with and a sister of another. Pretty cool. Of the Filipino missionaries that we have met, I would say at least a third of them are older and college graduates. They are an impressive bunch.
The traffic was terrible both nights returning going about 5 mph. We did a lot of exercising of our patience muscle.
On Saturday we went to the market with the Taylors and Koyles. We watched Mylie on the big screen at the office as the Mt. View Buffaloes played the Lyman Eagles. We also watched the Cokeville Panthers vs the Rich Rebels and later on demand the Panthers vs Mt. View football. It was fun. We worked on some projects and prepared to present a member welfare chicken project for the Carcar 1st Ward. Then to sleep. We woke up at 11:30 p.m. and headed to the office. It is a different group of people on the streets at that time of night. We didn’t stop and visit. The reason we went to the office was to join the translation team and witness a live translation of general conference. That was pretty cool. It started at midnight here Saturday night which was 10:00 your time and the start of the Saturday Morning Session. They have a few others join the three of them. One for each speaker of the session. Then they all do a speaker in one session and then they do another speaker in the next session. They have a lady come in to do the translation for the Sisters. They have a lot of food. The three main guys stay there at the office from Saturday evening until Monday morning. They have others come for the Saturday sessions and then they go home, and others come for the Sunday sessions. When not translating they are in the conference room, where we usually set up when we go to the office to work. The table was covered with food and Clyda added a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. That was a admittance fee. They introduced us to others there, the President of the Consolacion Stake, the President of the Lioan Stake, and the President of mis-stake. I did catch that right off and said how can that be, I’m the President of that stake. They said my release was in the mail. They are a fun bunch with a great sense of humor. We stayed through the first two speakers, listening to the Cebuano. It was pretty cool. Way too much to tell about. Back home at 12:45 and to bed.
Sunday has been a great day. We slept in. We went to church. It was Fast Sunday. They will rebroadcast the sessions at the chapel next Saturday and Sunday. We have listened to a couple sessions of general conference on BYUtv. They were great sessions. Of course, Elder Rasband, speaking about senior missionaries, we could relate. This mission isn’t anything like we expected. Of the senior missionaries we know here, we have seven different types of missions. That is amazing! I am so impressed with all of these senior couples. We have had some tough times. But the blessings we have enjoyed, and we feel our family is enjoying has all been worth it. We had tough times back home. That is part of life. We are so impressed with the people who try their best to live the gospel. Our lives have been blessed for being here and witnessing this people accept the gospel and flourish. We are fortunate to be led by a living prophet and apostles. The Book of Mormon is true! Joseph Smith is a prophet! I am so grateful the Holy Ghost has born witness to me of these truths. We miss our children and grandchildren, but we know we are doing what we should be doing at this time. We are constantly the recipients of “Tender Mercies”. The gathering of Israel is the most important thing happening on the Earth. We are grateful for all you are doing to help in this great work. We are blessed because of your service.
Holy Habits
Righteous Routines
Lift Where You Stand
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
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