Before We Say Goodbye this time...

I just realized that I never posted the pictures of our last departing missionaries. That is always so hard for me to think about. I go into denial because it rips my heart out every time we put them on the bus and say goodbye. This batch was brand new when we got here two years ago. We have come to know and love every single one of these amazing elders. Next week we will do it again with another great batch.
We pay tribute to their obedience to mission standards, hard work and unwavering testimonies. These young men have truly been warriors in our battle to find and save souls. We will surely miss each one of them.

From Left: Elder Cajumban, Elder Cledera, Elder Caamic, Elder Brown, Elder Magsonic, Elder Escalona and Elder Lim

These powerful elders prepared to sing a song to the group that had gathered for their farewell fireside.

At the fireside each elder shared his final testimonies. We watched a video with clips of their time here. President gave his final counsel. Afterwards there is time for missionaries to meet with fellow missionaries and friends who gathered to say goodbye.

Lots of hugs and well wishes.

Those missionaries who are close enough to the mission home to make it back to their areas that night after the fireside are invited to come and enjoy the fireside. It's always a spirit-filled, tearful meeting.

Elder Velez, Sister and Saragnaya surround Elder Magsanoc. It's hard to say goodbye to good friends.

After a farewell banquet and visit in the Mission Home we headed to the bus stop. Our elders took an all-night bus ride to Manila where they had a day to spend at the temple and shopping.

Even though we had reservations we waited for almost an hour for the right bus. It gave us all more time to visit and say goodbye.

President loves each of these fine young men!

On the bus--just one last shot!
Goodbye dear elders. May you continue to love the Lord and serve Him with all your heart, mind and strength. Thanks for blessing our lives and the lives of so many here in the great Philippines Cauayan Mission!

Working with the Sister Missionaries

I try to spend some time each week working with our sister missionaries. Often I go and participate in their companionship study, especially if they are new missionaries and involved in the 12 Week Training Course. Other times I go teaching with them and that is what I love most. I love meeting their investigators and teaching the gospel with them. Whenever I think of those times I get a huge smile on my face. They will be my most precious memories when I leave this place.

 Working in Roxas with Sister Francisco and our part-timer Sister Banzali

 I have taught this dear sister before. She is such a sweetie.

 It was so nice to meet her husband and children.

This is a very dear man, I loved that the neighbor girl came over to listen in his window. Notice his beautiful thatched roof.

 This Lolo and Lola (grandparents) and their grandchildren. What a lovely couple. When we were ready to leave she grabbed me and hugged me and whispered "I love you" in my ear.

 Children always come and gather around. The one with the book is actually a mother of two darling boys.

Lots of cousins, some are members and some are learning about the church. This was a fun day in Cabatuan.

Quarterly Career Workshop

We offer a full-day Career Workshop for all of our outgoing missionaries. We used to do it on their last day but decided it would be better to do it every quarter and make it optional. This time we had 13 missionaries come in for the training. It's really a great program and everyone who participates in it always says it was valuable. We now have Elder and Sister Gottfredson heading the program. In addition, they are meeting with every missionary prior to their departure to discuss their future plans and to see if they need any help in the transition.

Elder Aligmagno accompanied us. He has learned to play the piano on his mission. He did a great
 job!

 Elder Lucernas led the music.

 Elder Dupitas, Elder Sister and Elder Biating will be leaving us within our next two transfers. We love these dedicated and hard working elders.

Sister Casurog and Sister Galang are two amazing sister missionaries. Oh how we are going to miss them!

Elder Jackson, Thomas, Crowley, Valdez, Shackelford and Elder Quinto--these are truly powerful elders.

Elder Gottfredson hands out Elder Valdez' workshop graduation certificate.

There they are--our graduates! Elder Sister, Elder Biating, Elder Quinto, Elder Dupitas, Elder Jackson, Elder Lucernas, Elder Crowley, Elder Valdez, Elder Thomas and our two beautiful sisters: Sister Galang and Sister Casurog. Where's Elder Shackelford and Elder Aligmagno? They graduated too!

Happy Father's Day

We currently have 5 wonderful couples serving here in the Philippines Cauayan Mission. We invited all the couples to come on Sunday afternoon for a Father's Day Dinner. We had a "Butterball" turkey in our freezer and so we cooked it that day. We made homemade stuffing and turkey gravy. Sister Gottfredson brought delicious mashed potatoes, Sister Laker made glorious homemade rolls, Sister Russell brought a green salad with all kinds of yummy veggies and some dried cranberries, Sister Shaner made the most delectable broccoli with lemon butter and toasted almonds and Sister Mills made two scrumptious desserts! It's really tough living out here in the wilds of the Philippines but we manage somehow.


Afterwards we played several crazy and fun games and laughed our hearts out. It's fun to serve with great people who have become great friends! And by the way, if you ever meet Elder Gottfredson, ask him about his home teaching adventures teaching Butch Cassidy's brother!

You can imagine how good the mission home smelled!

 

President is our official turkey carver.

We had a feast!

With 12 of us we can't all sit around the dining room table, so some ate in the living room dining area.

P-Day Cooking Fun

Last P-Day we had four missionaries who came to do some baking in the mission home. Most families in the Philippines don't have ovens. Instead they either cook over an open fire in their backyard or use a gas burner. Our missionary apartments are outfitted with a gas top burner system that runs on propane.

I'm always happy to share my beautiful oven with missionaries who have mixes from  home or with those who just want to come over and bake cookies with me.

It was a treat to have the missionaries serving in San Mariano (Elder Acu and Elder Villania) and Benito Solivan (Elder Buness and Elder Penaranda) over for a few fun hours. They baked banana bread and Devil's Food chocolate cake. I made homemade lentil soup for their lunch (the filipinos had never eaten lentils). And President let them watch some of the dvd about BYU's incredible season with Jimmer. Elder Buness is a real basketball fan and he loved watching it.

Elder Buness and Elder Villania were the chief bakers.

That's a great looking chocolate cake!

Elder Ilagan and Elder Robinson from San Mateo joined in the tasting party.

Visitors from Manila

We have loved getting to know President and Sister Laceste (he is the director of the MRC in Manila--the Missionary Recovery Center. He is also a stake president in the Manila Metro area). We have sent a few missionaries to the center for medical attention in Manila. It gives us such assurance that they are being well cared for because Pres. Laceste and a wonderful senior missionary couple--The Flemings see that the get to their appointments on time and have a safe place to stay during their recovery period. From what I understand the Philippines is the only country to have such a center. I honestly don't know what I'd do without it. During our two years here we've been able to get to know and love the Laceste family.

We also have the help of Elder and Sister Boehme, who serve as our Area Medical Authorities. Whenever I have a medical concern I pick up the phone or email Dr. Boehme. He is always happy to answer any medical question and offers such great counsel as we try to help out a sick missionary.

The two couples recently came for a few days visit. While the men were off contracting with some of our local hospitals the two sisters and I had a lot of fun. They were sweet enough to help me make and frost 175 mini-carrot cakes for an upcoming zone conference. We also had time to go visit one of my favorite families--the craftsman that makes incredible plaques and picture frames.

 These are two amazing women who freely gave of their time to help me with my cooking project!

 We did have a little time for a haircut and my favorite salon!

It is absolutely fascinating to watch this dear man work. He creates intricate mosaics from the weeds on the hillside below his humble home. Each project is a true masterpiece.

We were able to visit this sweet sister and her new baby. He doesn't look like a new born but he was only a few months old. What a healthy, darling baby boy!

The Laceste's with Elder Miole, whose father served as a missionary companion with Pres. Laceste many years ago in the Baguio Mission.


We only wish their visit could have been longer! We love and appreciate both of these dedicated couples.

We Love to Attend Baptisms

 

 

Elder and Sister Breese loved this young woman. I know they would have loved to witness her baptism in Angadanan. Elder Samar and Elder Valdez had the great opportunity to prepare her for her baptism.

Elder McLaughlin baptized this wonderful mother and son and another young man.

A very special baptism in Cauayan.

Only in the Philippines...

Only in the Philippines do little kids run around with a towel draped down their backs, looking like a super hero. Actually moms keep their sweat rags handy that way and when they get hot they remove it and wipe them down and then put it back.

Do you see perfectly normal adults walking around with rags on their heads or people using an umbrella when there are no rain clouds in sight! Both the rags and the umbrella help shield them from the super hot sun.

Do surgeons come walking down the hall dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. We thought he was the janitor but he was the surgeon. Elder Allen needed surgery on his in-grown toenail. He was a great guy and actually did a good job.

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Do you see such quaint little lanes leading to humble homes. Notice how they have moved rocks to create a border. And they've planted all kinds of pretty plants to line their little street. The lane itself had round rocks leading up to the homes.

Do you see these caravans of basket sellers. Underneath all those baskets is a trycie. They seem to come in groups and work a city for a few days and then they head on. I see them in Cauayan about every three months. Here they are parked and ready for a break. I bought a picnic basket from one of these vendors. Cost? A little over $2.00.

FAITH FACTOR- A Very Special Specialized Training

In an effort to emphasize Preach My Gospel we (with the help of our senior missionaries) decided to do a fun, but powerful specialized training. For several months we advertised Faith Factor and gave them weekly hints about the training in President's Weekly email letter. It soon became evident that they had nothing to fear if the were prepared and the best way to prepare was to study every inch of Preach My Gospel.

 

We held the training on three separate days, so we split our mission in thirds. They were invited to arrive at 12:30 after they had lunch. The meeting lasted until 3:30 which gave them plenty of time to be back in their areas by dinner time.

Here's how it worked. When they entered they were put into a team. The team names were the 4 sons of Mosiah: Ammon, Aaron, Himni and Omner. We had line drawings of what these amazing young men might have looked like and we made a medallion for each missionary to wear. Each team also was given a team color.

They sat in their teams for the toss up questions,  all of the answers were found in Preach My Gospel. Each team had a senior couple serving them as their chief judge. The first team to find the answer got to sit out during the challenge and they earned a score of 15 points. The other 3 teams had to participate in the challenge, which consisted of all kinds of fun activities involving 1, 2, 6 team members or in some cases the entire team. The team that won the challenge earned 10 points and the other two teams won 5 points. We began the day by talking a little about the Sons of Mosiah and what an inspiration they are to us as later day missionaries. In the end the team with the most points won a beautiful hand crafted scripture frame with a beautiful scripture inside. It was a lot of fun and a worthwhile review of one of our greatest resources!

 Elder Jackson, one of our assistants, served as an emcee for the day. Elder Crowley was on the blue team and Elder James on the red team.

 Elder Cajumban, our other assistant, really got into his role as our Faith Factor emcee. These two made it really fun!

 The yellow team is waiting for further instructions.

The green team looks ready for the fun to begin.

 Sister Russell is getting her team ready.

Ready or not here we go!

 The Pie Eating Challenge. Each team sent up one member they had 60 seconds to see who could eat the most pie in that time! It was messy but fun!

Go Elders Go!

For this challenge team members had to walk a distance with a tub, towel and ball on their heads!

The rule was to go without hands, so team members help to stabilize the bowl before he started the course.

Next came the bubble blowing challenge. Go Elder Young!

Elder Penaranda and Elder Averion work hard. It's really hard than you think!

There you go Elder Dixon. You did it! Three members of each team had to chew a piece of gum and blow a bubble big enough to pop.

Each team was given a block of ice and the first team to melt it won! They were so smart to break it and stomp on the pieces. It really didn't take them long to melt it.

We had to include a few disgusting challenges. Here one member from each team had to empty a sack and eat all the contents of a can of sardines and rice. GROSS!

How did two North Americans get roped into this challenge? We warned them to send someone up with a tough stomach! Elder Hamblin and Elder Fry really held up well against Elder Rocaberte!

And then there was the hop challenge. How many baskets can you shoot in 2 minutes?

Wow! What a shot!

One companionship from each team came up for this challenge. One companion was blindfolded and had to feed the other companion with goggles a bowl of pudding.

Sister Shaner asked the to pick their weapon from a variety of spoon sizes. That was before they knew what they needed to do for this challenge.

 Elder Magalong and his companion, Elder Needs, enjoyed this crazy challenge.

 The Merienda (snack) challenge. Every missionary received a little bag with a banana, a drink box and a half of a peanut butter sandwich. We hid a gummy pair of false teeth ( yuck!) in one of the sandwiches. The first team to find Elder Breeses' false teeth won a 10 point bonus. The first team to finish their sack lunches won the challenge.

Chowing it down.

Elder Meru was able to catch a cup full of marshmallows on his head for this challenge.

For this relay, teams lined up and the first person had to come up and eat a cracker until it was completely gone. Then the next person ate a cracker until the entire team had done it.

The day was full of fun challenges but more important were the toss up questions between each challenge that really made the missionaries think about what they would do in certain situations and where they could find help from Preach My Gospel. What a rewarding training session!