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!