Day 2 Zone Conferences

Day 2 was for Cauayan Zone, Santiago, Alicia and Ilagan Zones.

Santiago Zone

Cauayan Zone

Ilagan Zone

Alicia Zone

Sister Brown, Sister Rivera, Sister Baladjay and Sister Benes waiting outside the church

Valentines Week and our First Zone Conference of 2011-DAY 1

We held our first zone conferences during the week of Feb. 14. Our focus was on Teaching People Not Lessons. On Day One Tuguegarao, Nueva Vizcaya and Roxas Zones came together.

We've been trying to teach our missionaries to make healthy food choices. So for lunch we cooked chicken stir fry with tons of veggies. (Filipinos call this Chop Suey) We served that over rice and had big yummy homemade valentine cookies for dessert and ice cream on a stick.

Why is it that missionaries are ALWAYS hungry!

Sugar cookie hearts and ice cream for dessert!

Elder Geddes, three from the right, loves to cook with tons of fruits and veggies. He teaches his companions how to eat good. Sister Larson asked him to share some of his health secrets with the rest of the mission in her weekly health tip.

That's Elder Goobie with the crutches. He sprained his ankle on P-Day playing basketball. We're happy to report he has healed quickly and now able to resume his normal routine.

What a great bunch of amazing sister missionaries.

Another shot of those lovely sister missionaries!

You would be amazed at how much food these elders packed away!

Tuguegarao Zone

Nueva Vizcaya Zone

Roxas Zone

Staff Meetings and Family Home Evening

Every Sunday afternoon we gather together for our weekly staff meeting. This is the time to share our joys and coordinate our schedules. Each of the couples and Assistants to the President come and report on their work of the week.

After the meeting we enjoy a yummy pot luck dinner. (We are lucky that all senior couples who are currently serving  in the Cauayan Mission are good cooks.) We end with a spiritual lesson and a game. Last night we each practiced giving a 30 second mini-lesson on an important gospel principle and then we played Apples to Apples.

We have the greatest staff and enjoy being together!

Elder Farley's Shoes

I love seeing worn out shoes. It tells the story of relentless missionaries who walk and trek through mud and rocks to share the gospel message with others. Elder Farley stopped by last P-Day and showed me the shoes he was wearing. They were barely attached on one side. Later that day we got him to the new mall (the one and only mall in our entire mission) and he was able to purchase a nice pair of sturdy shoes.

I would bet Elder Farley's feet have gotten wet a time or two as he's walked through rain storms and mud.

Baptisms in Cauayan

This was a great day in Cauayan!

We think Sister Martin'Z is a good luck charm. There is always a baptism scheduled the Saturday after she arrives in an area. This was a great baptism here in Cauayan. Our focus is to bring souls unto Christ by sharing with them the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We never push our beliefs on others, but are happy to share our message with those who are searching for the truth.

More Transfer Photos

I think I have figured out the problem with attaching photos. Thanks to our son Chad!

Elder Ariete and Elder Bangal will be serving together in Amulong.



Sister Lorico and Sister Avencena are headed to Pena Blanca

Elder Ferrer and Elder Andreasen, zone leaders for Tuguegarao Zone

What a fun, happy bunch of awesome missionaries!

Elder Hale and Elder Cabanacan will lead the Cauayan Zone.

Elder Schmidt, who just arrived from the MTC is practicing his baptizing skills on his trainer Elder Farley.

Elder Munoz and Elder Murillo will be serving in Benito Solivan. Elder Munoz is a new district leader.

It's Strawberry Time in Baguio

Our mission is just a few hours from Baguio which is called the fruit and veggie capital of the Philippines. Right now we are  able to get fresh, ripe strawberries from the palenke. Here is a batch I purchased this week. They weren't as juicy and sweet as Oregon berries, but they were still delicious.

The Blessings of Senior Couple Missionaries

We have been so very blessed to have three fabulous senior couples assigned to assist us here in the Philippines Cauayan Mission. We could use another dozen! Seniors are so very valuable in missions. These three couples are running everyday to help teach and train our missionaries, work with less active members, strengthen members by providing training and leadership. The list of their accomplishments goes on and on.
This morning I ran across a scripture that really speaks of these senior couples.
It's found in Mark 10: 29-30

And Jesus answered and said, "Verily I say unto you, There is no man hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time and in the world to come eternal life.

Our senior couples have left their homes and families for the sake of the gospel and I KNOW they will receive blessings now and more importantly in the world to come. We pray for more senior couples and we encourage anyone who knows a senior couple who loves this gospel to encourage them to submit their papers and serve. We heard at the MTC that the pool of senior couples wanting to serve missions is way down. I promise you that it will be the best few years of your life!

I'm Frustrated

I have been trying to post photos and update our blog for the past few days. But every time I try to attach a photo it says to try back at a later date.
We just finished our quarterly zone conferences and I have a lot of great shots to share. So let's hope that I didn't somehow corrupt my blog and that I will be able to make posts in the next day or two.
Take good care,
Sister Carlos

It's Transfer Day!

Transfer day is always full of great anticipation. It was fun to see so many great missionaries. Here are some random shots I took as new companions greeted each other and made plans to head to their areas and get to work!

New companions: Elder Lucernas and Elder Thomas. (Elder Lucernas is a new district leader in Santiago Zone)

Elder Nielsen is the trainer for Elder Aguiton. To his right is his first son, Elder Aligmagno. He is now the father of two missionaries. (That's mission talk for being the trainer.)

Sister Valdoz and Sister Benes are headed to Alinguigan. This will be Sister Valdoz's last cycle.

Elder Alfonso and his dad (Elder Lien). President Carlos says the most important job in the misison is that of being a trainer. We are excited to watch Elder Lien become a trainer and know he will do a great job.

Elder Riner and Elder Haycock will be leading the Santiago Zone as the new Zone Leaders

District Leader Elder Geddes and Elder Medina will be working hard in Lagawe.

Elder Bates and Elder Katoa will serve as the Zone Leaders for the Ilagan Zone.

New Missionaries Arrive!

At 4:30 am we received a text that the new missionaries were now in Santiago (about 1 hour away). We jumped out of bed and started making our traditional breakfast rice and cinnamon rolls. Then we headed to the corner where the bus would let them off.
We greeted 8 new elders and one new sister missionary.
Elder Aguiton was the first one off the bus.
Two North Americans were in this batch, Elder Elgan (our friends nephew) and Elder Schmidt. They were both so very tired after traveling 40 hours to get here!

President Carlos loves his new missionaries!

Elder Schmidt is from California and Elder Elgan is from Idaho.

From left to right: Elders Alfonso, Rocaberte, Aquiton, Macaisa, Elgan, Schmidt, Tadena and Cajumban and Sister Casurog.

We enjoyed visiting with them all during our brief training session before our transfer meeting. These are going to be some of our best missionaries ever!

Sad Goodbyes

Once again it was time to say goodbye to our beloved missionaries going home. It seems like those six week cycles just whiz by. We had nine elders and one sister leaving the mission field.
We loved every one of them and enjoyed our last day with them.

Attending the Career Workshop

After dinner and a testimony meeting, we had time for a group photo.

Elder Paco holds a special place in our hearts. He was our first Assistant and taught us well. We will forever be thankful for his great assistance!

We pray great things will come to: Elder Prias, Elder Paco, Elder Adovas, Elder Ricardo, Elder Awe, Elder Erbito, Elder Sanglap, Elder Embradora, Elder Hernandes and Sister Redaja

Thank you for your wonderful service to the people in the Philippines Cauayan Mission!

Cabatuan, The Russells and the Internet

Elder and Sister Russell have been trying all week to get the Internet in their home in Cabatuan. They have been on a big scavenger hunt to determine if they can get service and if who would provide the service. Finally after praying about it they found one provider who covers the vicinity (possibly their area). It just so happened that one of the employees is a member of the church. He suggested that they run a test. So he asked the Russells to get a long bamboo pole and some wire. We got Ranie, our gardener, to hop the fence and go cut down a pole. He brought back the longest pole you've ever seen. We guess it's between 30 and 40 feet long!
The problem was how could we get the pole from the mission home down the highway to Cabatuan. The solution was simple--hire a trycie driver to take it. They will take anything on those little sidecars. So for 100 pesos we hired a guy to take it all the way there. (That's about $2.00) It was quite a site seeing that pole hanging way out in front and way behind the trycie. (My camera froze up and so I didn't get a good photo.)

Once the got the pole positioned right in their yard, they performed the test and determined that they had an excellent connection there! Great News!!!! But then they found out that the company had already given out their quota for Cabatuan and they didn't have any more to give. So we're praying that somehow they can make an exception for the Russells! We'll keep you posted on their saga.

February ZLC (Zone Leader Council)

Our February Zone Leader Council was full of energy and exchange of ideas. President always leads the group in a lively discussion about their responsibilities and challenges. I was asked to talk about using object lessons as they teach. I had seen lots of great ideas that our zone leaders have been using and so I mainly asked them to share those ideas with their fellow zone leaders. We did all kinds of fun and enlightening activities.

Elder Haycock taught how to decide what's the most important. (Good, better, best)

Elder Miller shared his insights about working with branch/ward leaders.

The Assistants to the President Led a Session on Being One as a Mission. How zone leaders can inspire missionaries to be united.

Sister Larson made the lunch, which was Sweet and Sour Chicken and a delicious oatmeal choclate chip cake. Everyone enjoyed it!

Bambang District Conference

Last weekend we went to Bambang for their District Conferences. The Larson's traveled with us and we stayed in a town called Bayombong (about 15 minutes from Bambang). It is in Nueva Vizcaya the mountain region for our mission.
In the morning we split up and went visiting some of the members. President and I went to visit three precious families. One family had a mother who was severely crippled. She was sitting on the dirt floor peeling green mangos, which she put in a vinegar brine to make pickles. Her little daughters (12 and 9) sold them at the corner near their home. The girls got their cousin to run the stand while we visited their family. The mother was happy we came but soon started crying as she told how she had lost her little sari sari store (went bankrupt) when one of her daughters had to go to the hospital. It took everything they had to pay the bills. She said her daughter never misses church but she is too ashamed to attend. Without their income they are very impoverished and that makes her feel very self conscious. We assured her that the members of her branch loved her and needed her. I was so touched as I watched her youngest daughter turn her back and sob as the mother shared this sad story with us. We exchanged hugs and words of encouragement and the next day we were thrilled to look out in the congregation and see that family. (Their father arrived at the end of our visit.) Both parents are working day and night to try to make ends meet.


The Larsons had an equally memorable morning. They went with other leaders on a trycie to visit a family who lived out in the rice fields. (Their first trycie ride) While walking on the ridges between two rice patties, Sister Larson lost her footing and landed with her nose in the mud. She said she wanted to see the rice close up. Consequently they had to find a pump and try to wash her off best they could.
That afternoon Sister Larson and I taught all the Relief Society, Primary and Young Women Leaders. Then we had the adult session. We headed to nearby Solano for dinner--McDonalds! The Larsons seemed happy to each a hamburger--their first since arriving in the Philippines.
Sunday morning began with a meeting with investigators, new members and missionaries. The general session had over 400 in attendance. Afterwards we had fun visiting with all those precious members while President conducted lots and lots of temple recommend interviews.


This is the family with the two daughters.



After our morning visits we went to a beautiful restuarant with the District Presidency.

Sister Larson was teaching how we can receive personal revelation.

I love seeing our missionaries at these conferences. This is Elder Valdez heading back to Diffun. Branch members hired a jeepney to bring members to the conference.

It was a wonderful conference!

Baking Class 101

We have met a wonderful young man whose family owns several large businesses in the Cauayan area. He spent a year as an exchange student in Arkansas and so his English is perfect. Anyway, his dream is to go to cooking school and when he heard that I had written a baking textbook, used in culinary schools he asked me if I could teach him how to bake.
About the same time I met a returned missionary who lives in Alicia (about 30 minutes from here). He would love to start a cookie baking business and so he asked me if I could teach him how to bake.
So I invited both young men to come over for our first class--Cookies 101.

Renauldo, the recently returned missionary and Oyeen, the business owner.

We made chocolate chip cookies, lemon bars and cut-out sugar cookies. It was really a lot of fun. We hope to do it again soon and focus on cakes and muffins.