Now, That's Gpa's Boy

Anyone who meets President Carlos soon learns that he is an avid BYU fan. In fact, back in the 80's he won a radio contest's search for BYU's #1 fan. To win it you had to write an essay and tell why you deserve to be named BYU's biggest fan. He won it! The prize? He got to bring a bus load of friends to the BYU Utah game and sit in the Utah section. Both President and I graduated from BYU and we loved every minute there. Both of our sons also graduated from BYU.

As grandkids came on the scene it was only natural that we would teach them the BYU fight song at a very early age and talk about "when you go to BYU." It seems that whenever our family gets together we discuss BYU sports. One night at dinner our oldest granddaughter, Mayah, said "I'm not going to go to BYU." (She was 5 at the time.) All the adults at the table exchanged horrified looks. I think President dropped his fork. I finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Mayah, honey, why don't you want to go to BYU." She replied, "I don't know how to play football!"



We were delighted today to open up our email and see that our grandkids from New York visited BYU recently. Here's Ty, age 2, all decked out in his BYU gear--now that's enough to bring a tear to his grandpa's eyes! As a postscript a day later. Our daughter-in-law writes that Ty slept in his shirt and hat and wouldn't let her wash the shirt. The next morning after his bath he wanted to put them back on.

Doughnuts Galore!

On Sunday night the senior missionary couples had family home evening. We made homemade doughnuts and our recipe made around 100 big, fluffy doughnuts. They have Mr. Doughnuts here and Dunkin' Doughnuts but they aren't the same. No glazed doughnuts anywhere. So we decided to make our own. We invited the three missionary sets from the Cauayan area to come around 7:30 pm-about the time the doughnuts would be ready to eat. They made three huge plates of doughnuts. (Of course we all ate a few!) The senior couples each split with one young missionary companionship. President and I went with Sister Webre and Sister Stewart to a wonderful lady's home who is raising her grandchildren. She had visited church for the first time earlier that morning. When we arrived she about fainted. She kept saying, "I can't believe the president is here in my home." It was a great night.

President was the fry boy.

Elder Larson's job was to glaze the doughnuts

Sister Larson and Elder Breese were in charge of drying the glaze by ringing them up and down the handle of a big wooden spoon. Elder Moffatt was watching them work.

This dear sister was gracious enough to invite us into her home for a quick visit.

The Larsons Have Arrived!

On Friday morning we were excited to welcome Elder and Sister Larson from Silverton Oregon to the Cauayan Mission. However, their plane was late. At first one hour and then another hour and then finally at 1:20 their plane touched down. The Breeses and the APs were with us.

We've had a wonderful first week with them. The first morning we took them to the palenke (farmer's market) and they didn't even faint! We are so grateful that Elder and Sister Larson would leave their homes and families and come serve the members and missionaries here in the Philippines Cauayan Mission. Sister Larson is serving as our mission nurse (I'm so glad about that as I've been trying to do it). Elder Larson was called as her assistant! We all got a laugh out of that as he was a dentist before retiring. They also have a host of other jobs and will work very closely with two of the branches.

January Zone Meetings Week 1

We've had a jam-packed schedule the past two weeks by visiting every zone during their zone meetings. President conducted his quarterly interviews with each missionary.

Tuguegaro Zone leaders started their meeting by showing a slide show they had taken in the halls of their stake center. You could spot the investigators in the crowd. They had a great lesson about providing investigators with a good experience when they visit our Sunday Meetings.

The Nueva Vizcaya zone leaders invented a really fun game. They put cups way across the room from each missionary and gave them a bouncy ball. If they got the ball in the cup it was a baptism. It didn't take long before the missionaries where grumbling about how hard it was. A few actually got the ball into the cup, but it was hard. The only rule was that you couldn't leave your chair. One missionary finally picked up her chair and moved it closer to the cup. She could easily get the ball in the cup. She won a prize for that! The key is that if we stay close to the members our baptisms are easier.

The Santiago Zone Leaders gave each companionship time to strategize on ways they could encourage their investigators to visit our church meetings. Here Sister Abad and Sister Martine'z put their heads together to come up with a good plan.

Elder Brown and Elder Crowley plan what will work in Ramon, where they are both serving.

We always love to watch our zone leaders in action. Each meeting was well-prepared and valuable. We are so proud of the great work that is happening in this mission!

And the winner is...

We had a contest for our Mission-wide Apartment Clean-Up Day. We're happy to report that all but two companionships completed our check-off list. The two that didn't complete had some extenuating circumstances or else I know they would have participated as well.
If a companionship finished their list they were to hand it in at their next district meeting along with a before and after photo of their apartment. Wow, you wouldn't believe some of the photos we saw! One companionship thought they had a brown toilet, but after they scrubbed it, they realized it was blue!
The district leaders emailed the list of those who participated and we randomly pulled the winners names out of a hat. The first name out was Elder Valdez and Elder Hale. They got to pick what they wanted from a list of prizes. They choose to come with their zone leaders to the Mission Home for a meal. Other winners got new pillows and bouncy balls, new towels, tubs of cookies, a batch of homemade cookies and a few other fun prizes.

Elder Valdez and Elder Hale enjoyed baby back ribs, salad, green beans, rice pilaf and Sister Breese made a fruit cocktail cake with a butter sauce. Yummy!

Elder Riner's Faithful Companions

Last P-Day Elder Riner came into the office asking if we knew a place he could get his shoes resoled. Last August he had them done. I studied these shoes and saw that the tops were no longer attached to the bottoms. I also saw that the bottom was worn through. There were holes in the soles and small rocks were lodged in the bottoms. These shoes tell me alot about Elder Riner. He is a workhorse. He happily trudges through the bukid (rice fields) day in and day out serving his investigators, members and fellow missionaries as their district leader.
These shoes have been faithful companions to Elder Riner. They have served him well--I'm not sure they can be resoled another time!

Watch Out Taco Bell--Here We Come!

These girls may be filipino but they are sure make good Mexican food!

I love to have the young women from area branches come over for cooking lessons. It's a challenge to think of things that they can actually make in their homes for their familes. None have microwaves or ovens. A few weeks ago I had a group over to make tacos. We made the tortillas, the filling and mango salsa. I have never seen so much meat pilled onto a tortilla before! (Their leader kept saying, Sister they love meat!) The tacos turned out great and we had a lot of fun making them and eating them.










Elder Kelson's Birthday

Who doesn't love Elder Kelson? He happens to live in Cabatuan about 12 minutes from the Mission Home (at least by car). So we get to see him often. He's one of those elders who is always happy and everyone considers him as a friend. His mother sent a secret family recipe for his birthday cake (Betty Crocker) and some mixes for cookies. We were happy to make them for him and have local missionaries stop by for a yummy birthday lunch.

We hope Elder Kelson had a great birthday!

South Sea Pearls

One of the treasures here in the Philippines is the availability of beautiful South Sea Pearls. I have seen pink, peach, gray, black, and white pearls in all kinds of shapes and sizes. We have a friend who is willing to pick them up from the manufacturer and deliver them to people in our mission. An entire set is roughly $20 US. I thought I'd just show you a few of the sets I have seen.

These are rice pearls. They are my personal favorite. A member gave me a set similar to this one. Mine has gray, white and peach  pearls. I love it! The colors are natural. It's amazing to me that mother nature makes them all those colors!

This is another set using the rice pearls. Sister Breese just got this set in white pearls. It's so gorgeous!

These photos don't do them justice. They are so beautiful and lustrious. (Is that a word?)

This was a special order. It's a triple strand of gorgeous pink pearls.

They can be made in any length. This one is a long strand. The white is like mother-of-pearl in that you see pinks, yellows, blues, etc. all reflected in the shiny surface.

I've included this chart to show that they can come in tear drops for a single pearl setting. Also my all-time favorite are the funky shaped ones in the bottom right hand photo.

Our New Missionaries and Trainers Orientation

It was time for our new missionaries and their trainers to come in for their full orientation. This happens two weeks after they arrive and we love seeing them and hearing all about their first impressions of missionary work.

Elder Ward and Elder Apin are two of our trainers. Sister Galang (a new missionary) with Sister Redaja (her trainer) Here they were enjoying the delicious chicken salad sandwiches.

Sister Martine'Z and her trainer Sister Abad

From left to right. Assistant to President Elder Rondilla helped with the training. Elder Katoa (trainer) New Missionaries: Elder Galang, Elder Velez, Murillo, Miole, Templado, Reyes and Biason. Trainers: Elder Goodbie and Hardman.

We started with a session for both the trainers and new missionaries. We played a game to see how well they know each other after a couple of weeks. After lunch, which was prepared by Sister Breese, the new missionaries went with the Assistants to the President and the Breeses for their training and President and I worked with the trainers. We always love this meeting. President says the most important role in the mission is that of trainer. It's so important that each new missionary has the best first experience. We just love this group of trainers--they are awesome. And we are so excited about this batch of new missionaries! Wow! They are powerful!

Imagine That!

We attended district meetings in Tuguegarao and then did some shopping in the National Bookstore (the only decent bookstore in our mission) and in Brickstone, a grocery store that carries pinto and kidney beans in the can. (Only sometimes and this is the only place to buy these in our mision.) After all those errands we ended up in McDonalds and who should we see? Almost all of the Tuguegarao Zone, just finishing up their lunch. President treated each to an icecream sundae and we enjoyed having a few extra minutes to visit with them. They are a happy bunch of missionaries--so full of fun.

First Leadership Training of the Year

January started with a bang! The first Wednesday we held our bi-monthly Leadership Training. It began with a zone leader council and then from 10 to 2 we had our leadership training. This was the first time that sisters were invited. Sister DeFiesta and Sister Stewart are our new sister trainers. They will be traveling throughout the mission visiting with various sister companionship to train, guide and lift! It is so nice to have our sisters represented at our leadership training. We focused on the topic of "Receiving Revelation through Church Attendance." We want every missionary to be able to teach the reasons that church attendance is important to our investigator's and member's spiritual growth.

Why is Elder Dahlin kissing Elder Jenkins? Come on...we need the rest of that story!

We served Sloppy Joes, macaroni salad and chips. Even the filipinos seemed to like them.

We are so proud of our great leaders!

Looks like Elder Riner is up to some mischief.

We were suprised to see how much Elder Anzal (little guy on end) could eat!

Little did we know that Elder Mortensen (second from left) was starting to get Dengue Fever.

District Meeting in Nueva Vizcaya

Each Tuesday we try to visit a different zone during their district meetings and when we get there we (the President and assistants) split up and visit different districts. Recently we traveled to Nueva Vizcaya where I attended Elder Awe's meetings. He is one of our newest district leaders and he did a superb job. I was so proud of him!

Elder Awe in action!

We love these meetings and the opportunity to visit with our missionaries. They are a good looking, happy bunch!

Alicia District Conference

The Alicia District Conference was held on Jan. 8 and 9. President Carlos was the presiding officer and organized the proceedings. The conference started with a brief meeting with the district presidency and the mission presidency. Next we split up and went out to minister to some of the families who hadn't been attending regularly or who were new converts. Our car visited three amazing families. They welcomed us into their homes and seemed so grateful to come. One father explained that he felt guilty coming to church because he smoked. His family wanted to start coming again. (He had three beautiful daughters.) President offered to give him a blessing and the father agreed. When President Carlos was finished the father had tears streaming down his face and we were excited to see that family in the congregation on Sunday morning.
The afternoon was filled with priesthood and auxiliary training. Sister Carlos and Sister Breese taught the importance of receiving personal revelation in regards to our callings. They also conducted a Q&A session on the church's new Handbook of Instruction.
The Adult Session was held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday morning began with a special session of investigators and new members. Many came and the spirit was so sweet. At 10 am the General Session began there was over 700 in attendance. We loved mingling with the special saints in Alicia before and after the meetings.

The Villanueva Family welcomed us with open arms. Their Tatay (Father) had passed away last June. His widow and three daughters and their husbands and families live together in their humble, but lovely home.

I was so impressed with the lovely decorator touches throughout their home.

Every inch of their home and yard showed such pride of ownership!

The wonderful couple recently joined the church. They have a darling little girl who was too shy to be in the picture. The father drives a trycie all day for his work, picking up passengers and goods to be delivered. He pays the trycie owner a fee and then makes whatever he can bring in above that after he pays for gas.

Elder Mulliner's Birthday

It feels like we've never been without Elder Mulliner. He joined us as our Mission Financial Secretary a few weeks after we arrived. Later he became an Assistant to the President. He we such a wonderful, responsible elder that we just couldn't let his birhtday pass without a little celebration. He said he liked pork chops and so President found the biggest pork chops on the planet. We served them with mashed potatoes, rice, stir fry veggies and salad. Yummy!


The Alicia District Conference was on Saturday January 8-Elder Mulliner's Birthday. Here a group of our missionaries serving in Alicia surprised Elder Mulliner by singing Happy Birthday after the meeting. Elder Anzal (in front of Elder Mulliner) was really standing. He's our short but mighty elder!



Look at the size of that pork chop! Note: He ate the whole thing.

 Later in the evening Elder Mulliner and Elder Rondilla joined in a game of Racko while we waited for the other Cauayan missionaries to stop by for cake and ice cream. As I recall Elder Mulliner ended up winning the game.

We hope Elder Mulliner has a wonderful new year of life ahead of him. It'll be a sad day when he is transferred!

Elder Starley's Namesake

James Weldon in the left of the photo and John Weldon in the right.

Little John Weldon's head is as big as his mom's and he's only 4 months's old!

Rani, the Mission's gardener and his wife Melanie had twins right after the Starley's left. They knew they were having a son and so they wanted to name him after Elder Starley (John Weldon), you can imagine how surprised they were when two little boys popped out! So they named the second son James Weldon. Elder Starley and Rani had forged a very special relationship together. They are both quiet and hard working and became great friends. We were able to visit Rani's home last week and see the twins. They are super-sized boys. Now at 4 months, John Weldon weighs close to 20 pounds. Both Rani and his wife and tiny and so we're wondering how much longer they will be able to lift these little bruisers! They may have careers ahead of them as sumo wrestlers!

New Year's Day

Our guests woke up at their regular time: 6:30 am. I'm not sure how they did it with just a few hours of sleep. President was busy cooking pancakes and bacon for everyone. After a great breakfast the missionaries headed out, it was a busy day ahead for many of them.

We went to Rizal and saw a wonderful family of four  and another man baptized. In fact, there were over 20 baptisms on New Year's Day. So we have a wonderful start to a great new year.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve in the Philippines is a dangerous night. People light off anything in site. We've heard that if they don't have fireworks, they go outside and shoot guns. So there has been a tradition to have a lock-down beginning at 6 PM on New Year's Eve. President allowed missionaries in certain areas to gather in cluster groups. Some played board games and ate fun foods.
For those missionaries stationed near the Mission Home we asked them to come spend the night at the Mission Home. They gathered at 6PM. We served chili and rice with all kinds of cheese, crackers, cake, cookies, etc. We played board games (Mexican Train) and Scrabble; ping pong, basketball and football. Around 10:00 pm we showed the movie "The Ultimate Gift." It's not a church movie but Mission Presidents can use their discretion to show uplifting movies from time to time. This is a great movie and if you've haven't seen it, you should rent it.

Elder Breese had fun teaching people how to play Mexican train.

Elder Riner and Elder Farley enjoying a game of ping pong.

In the church building next door, there was a lively game of basketball.

Watching the Ultimate Gift

It's almost time to usher in the New Year!

The sky was full of glorious explosions.

What a fun night!

Around 11:30 we all went outside to watch and listen to the craziness around us. We were locked inside the gates of the Mission Office and Home. You just can't imagine the noise and fireworks we saw and heard. At mid-night Elder Mulliner pulled out some confetti pops. Our missionaries aren't allowed to handle or light fireworks of any kind. So the confetti pops was our way to celebrate. It was so much fun. The sisters slept in the vacant apartment above the mission office and the elders slept in various areas of the misison home. We had a blast and we got the impression that all our missionaries had fun too!