18 February 2024 Week #73: And the Phillipinos speak of Christ
Dear Family and Friends,
On Monday we had our typical Humanitarian Team Committee meeting and that lasted over two hours and then another zoom meeting that long in the afternoon. We worked on the Cadiz Hospital Project. They have requested 40 items. Some are very expensive. They are a Level 1 hospital. Hospitals are rated here from 1-3 with rural health units below the level 1 and Tertiary Hospitals as the top tier hospitals above level 3. The Cadiz hospital is a large hospital, and they want to move up to a level 2. As a result, they are asking for a lot of items to try and get them to that level. However, we don’t help them move up, we just help them at the level they are at. As a result, we removed 8 items off the list and some were very expensive.
We went to bed early and then we were up at 11:30 p.m. We headed to the airport at midnight for a 2:00 a.m. flight to Manila. Then a 4-hour layover and then a flight to Catarman on Samar. It was then a 2-hour drive to the Catubig River. We then had a pump boat ride about a mile upriver. Then it was a motorcycle ride to the Cagdarao Elementary School for the turnover. We had made a visit to this school in November. We had a wonderful turnover. There aren’t any members of the church there. However, as I mentioned before, the school head had done her homework, found church songs, and had taught the children “I Am a Child of God”. At the start of each program, and school day, they start with singing the Philippine National Anthem and a prayer. The prayer is usually a recited prayer of some kind. Well, they started the turnover with the Philippine National Anthem, and then for the prayer they sang “I Am a Child of God” and they had 10 children do the song in sign language. They did another song with the children doing sign language again later in the program. It was a rainy day but each time we had to be on the motorcycle going and coming the rained stopped. We were blessed! It was a good day. Also, on both of these trips, both drivers that took us had mellow rock music playing from their play lists on the radio. We heard a lot of 1970 music. They seemed like real good guys and both asked a few questions about the church. We hope the drivers and the school head, Carmella Olchandra, will someday let missionaries teach them.
We spent Tuesday afternoon in Catarman. It was a tiny room. The wind was blowing strong and the rain coming down hard. All of the windows were loose in their frames and rattled like crazy. We had no internet service, so it was a long afternoon and evening. We had plenty of time to catch up on our sleep. The next morning, Wednesday, we caught a tricycle ride to the airport and then flew back to Manila and then Cebu. We stopped at the Ayala Mall on the way home from the airport. We went to Chili’s for a Valentine’s Dinner. It was delicious and I am lucky because beautiful Clyda is still my Valentine!
Thursday was office work completing tasks related to the Cagdarao project and then we attended the temple that afternoon. It was a wonderful day. We are blessed to be so close to the temple. We look forward to our weekly temple session.
Friday was a 7:00 a.m. meeting where seven of the team’s ten projects were presented to the Area Welfare Self Reliance Committee and they all passed. We just didn’t have time to present the other three projects. They will be presented in a special meeting this coming Wednesday. This coming week will be a little different for the people/humanitarian missionaries in Manila. Elder Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve will be visiting. They have a lot going on in Manila and they are all involved. We finally got new quotes on our Calape FAITH Garden project so hopefully we will get to present that soon. We adjusted our presentation and are ready to go.
Saturday we were up early again and headed to the market with the Taylor’s, Koyle’s, and now Damstedts. We came home and had our gospel study and then headed to the office to watch ball games on the big screen. We are getting so excited for the Cokeville basketball teams and wrestlers, for the Mt. View girls basketball team (Mylie) and for the Star Valley Brave wrestling team, in particular Tel and Kimball who both took first at regional wrestling this week in dominating fashion with Kimball winning the championship 15-0 and Tel taking first also with a pin. We can hardly wait for the next three weekends of play as these seasons wrap up.
In the afternoon we worked on our Calape FAITH Garden project. The new bids came in so we could update our budget page and our presentation. Hopefully it will pass this time. We also spent a couple more hours on the Cadiz Hospital project. It would be nice if we knew what we were doing!
Two things jumped out to me in our gospel study this week.
One was that the families of Laman and Lemuel and those that followed them had their skins changed to darkness so the Nephites could easily recognize them and that skin color is still with their descendants today. However, that wasn’t a curse, the curse was that “they were cut off from the presence of the Lord”. (2 Nephi 5:20-21) Later in the Book of Mormon Alma teaches us that when they accepted the gospel and followed the Savior “the curse of God did no more follow them”. (Alma 23:18) They still had the dark colored skin but the light of the gospel now shined in their eyes.
Also, soon after Nephi and his followers moved away the started to build a temple. Just like the Prophet Joseph had the Saints build the Kirtland Temple, and then the Nauvoo Temple. These temples are beautiful to look at, but that is not why we build them-to look at them-but rather to attend them. It is in the temples that God completes his manifestation to us after the ordinance of baptism and priesthood ordination. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real and they love us. They wish to bless us, but it is our choice, do we want to be where they want us to be, or do we want to make choices that keep us away from them. Please attend the temple as often as you can, for yourselves, your families, and for those whose names you take to the temple. This is His great work, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”.
Holy Habits
Righteous Routines
Lift Where You Stand
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
Week #73 2/12/23-2/18/24
On Monday we had our typical Humanitarian Team Committee meeting and that lasted over two hours and then another zoom meeting that long in the afternoon. We worked on the Cadiz Hospital Project. They have requested 40 items. Some are very expensive. They are a Level 1 hospital. Hospitals are rated here from 1-3 with rural health units below the level 1 and Tertiary Hospitals as the top tier hospitals above level 3. The Cadiz hospital is a large hospital, and they want to move up to a level 2. As a result, they are asking for a lot of items to try and get them to that level. However, we don’t help them move up, we just help them at the level they are at. As a result, we removed 8 items off the list and some were very expensive.
We went to bed early and then we were up at 11:30 p.m. We headed to the airport at midnight for a 2:00 a.m. flight to Manila. Then a 4-hour layover and then a flight to Catarman on Samar. It was then a 2-hour drive to the Catubig River. We then had a pump boat ride about a mile upriver. Then it was a motorcycle ride to the Cagdarao Elementary School for the turnover. We had made a visit to this school in November. We had a wonderful turnover. There aren’t any members of the church there. However, as I mentioned before, the school head had done her homework, found church songs, and had taught the children “I Am a Child of God”. At the start of each program, and school day, they start with singing the Philippine National Anthem and a prayer. The prayer is usually a recited prayer of some kind. Well, they started the turnover with the Philippine National Anthem, and then for the prayer they sang “I Am a Child of God” and they had 10 children do the song in sign language. They did another song with the children doing sign language again later in the program. It was a rainy day but each time we had to be on the motorcycle going and coming the rained stopped. We were blessed! It was a good day. Also, on both of these trips, both drivers that took us had mellow rock music playing from their play lists on the radio. We heard a lot of 1970 music. They seemed like real good guys and both asked a few questions about the church. We hope the drivers and the school head, Carmella Olchandra, will someday let missionaries teach them.
We spent Tuesday afternoon in Catarman. It was a tiny room. The wind was blowing strong and the rain coming down hard. All of the windows were loose in their frames and rattled like crazy. We had no internet service, so it was a long afternoon and evening. We had plenty of time to catch up on our sleep. The next morning, Wednesday, we caught a tricycle ride to the airport and then flew back to Manila and then Cebu. We stopped at the Ayala Mall on the way home from the airport. We went to Chili’s for a Valentine’s Dinner. It was delicious and I am lucky because beautiful Clyda is still my Valentine!
Thursday was office work completing tasks related to the Cagdarao project and then we attended the temple that afternoon. It was a wonderful day. We are blessed to be so close to the temple. We look forward to our weekly temple session.
Friday was a 7:00 a.m. meeting where seven of the team’s ten projects were presented to the Area Welfare Self Reliance Committee and they all passed. We just didn’t have time to present the other three projects. They will be presented in a special meeting this coming Wednesday. This coming week will be a little different for the people/humanitarian missionaries in Manila. Elder Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve will be visiting. They have a lot going on in Manila and they are all involved. We finally got new quotes on our Calape FAITH Garden project so hopefully we will get to present that soon. We adjusted our presentation and are ready to go.
Saturday we were up early again and headed to the market with the Taylor’s, Koyle’s, and now Damstedts. We came home and had our gospel study and then headed to the office to watch ball games on the big screen. We are getting so excited for the Cokeville basketball teams and wrestlers, for the Mt. View girls basketball team (Mylie) and for the Star Valley Brave wrestling team, in particular Tel and Kimball who both took first at regional wrestling this week in dominating fashion with Kimball winning the championship 15-0 and Tel taking first also with a pin. We can hardly wait for the next three weekends of play as these seasons wrap up.
In the afternoon we worked on our Calape FAITH Garden project. The new bids came in so we could update our budget page and our presentation. Hopefully it will pass this time. We also spent a couple more hours on the Cadiz Hospital project. It would be nice if we knew what we were doing!
Two things jumped out to me in our gospel study this week.
One was that the families of Laman and Lemuel and those that followed them had their skins changed to darkness so the Nephites could easily recognize them and that skin color is still with their descendants today. However, that wasn’t a curse, the curse was that “they were cut off from the presence of the Lord”. (2 Nephi 5:20-21) Later in the Book of Mormon Alma teaches us that when they accepted the gospel and followed the Savior “the curse of God did no more follow them”. (Alma 23:18) They still had the dark colored skin but the light of the gospel now shined in their eyes.
Also, soon after Nephi and his followers moved away the started to build a temple. Just like the Prophet Joseph had the Saints build the Kirtland Temple, and then the Nauvoo Temple. These temples are beautiful to look at, but that is not why we build them-to look at them-but rather to attend them. It is in the temples that God completes his manifestation to us after the ordinance of baptism and priesthood ordination. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real and they love us. They wish to bless us, but it is our choice, do we want to be where they want us to be, or do we want to make choices that keep us away from them. Please attend the temple as often as you can, for yourselves, your families, and for those whose names you take to the temple. This is His great work, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”.
Holy Habits
Righteous Routines
Lift Where You Stand
With love,
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
Briant and Clyda
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