Caroling

We love having carolers visit the mission home. Our night guard only let groups that we know come into our yard and up to our door. We had several wonderful batches of enthusiastic carolers come this year. After they sang we invited them in to see the decorated mission home and share in some treats that we kept on hand-just in case we had holiday visitors!

 YSAs from Cauayan District were our first visitors

 They sounded beautiful especially when accompanied by the guitar

 They enjoyed the dancing snowman and stopped to pose for a few photographs.

 This darling batch of seminary students came to surprise us. Notice the girls in their uniforms, there were four schools represented that night.

 These are vocal students from Isabela State University (Echaugue Campus) their director Calvin is a member of the church and so extremely talented. This is the tenor section.

 The girls were darling and wow--could they ever sing!

These four gwapo guys were the bass section. I love to sing the harmony parts but you rarely hear filipinos singing in four part harmony. What a treat it was to have this fantastic choir in our very own living room!

This group got into our office and before we knew it we were singing and swaying with them. They were from a private music school in the area and they were so good that we hired them to come back and perform for a holiday dinner we were hosting for the Stake President's and their wives.

We also had many visitors come to the gate and "buzz" us. Unfortunately I rarely had my camera with me. This group of four generations came by on New Year's Day to sing. At the end of their song they put their hand out for some loose change. (I guess this is acceptable begging and we couldn't resist!)

Farewell to Elder Miole

Whenever one of President Carlos' assistants returns home or to the field, we let them organize a farewell dinner. They get to pick the menu and decide who they want to invite to come. Elder Miole always loved all the food we served in the mission home but after thinking about it for several weeks he decided to ask for President's "Saucy Pork Chops" and invite the Cauayan Zone to dine with him.

 President's secret recipe is so delicious.

 The San Mateo Sisters: Sister Cajigal and Sister Ramos pose in front of the Christmas tree.

 Sister Kushi and Sister Saez from the Cabatuan Branch.

 Elder Betancourt lifts his trainer Elder Reyes

 Lettuce salad, rice, sauce and pork chops--delectable!

Afterwards we played spoons. Yes, it got very wild and now there is a permanent scratch down the middle of the dining room table. Elder Miole stayed in until the end but Elder Gloria won.

After dinner we all headed over to the church next door for a Branch Family Home Evening--but really it was a surprise going away party for Elder Miole. 

 While we were waiting for things to get rolling I invited over some of the sisters to see the mission home decorated for Christmas. We had 9 nativity sets on display and the sisters loved looking around!

 A few kids tagged along and they loved seeing the Christmas tree and our dancing Snowman.

 Finally the party started rolling and as usual they played some super fun games. This was a hand squeezing game. A coin was flipped at the beginning of the line. If it was "heads" the first person in each line (it was a relay race) squeezed the person next to them's hand. The first team to get the squeeze to the end of their row won.

 About this time they showed a fantastic video that the YSAs made of Elder Miole. It really took him by surprise.

Later they asked him to come to the front where they sang him a special song and said nice things about him. He was truly a beloved missionary to missionaries, President and I, but also to the members.

We MISS Elder Miole and wish him much happiness in the future.

The Kiholms have Arrived!

We got the best holiday gift ever--another wonderful senior couple. They actually arrived a few days after Thanksgiving. They will be serving in the ERC in Santiago (Employment Resource Center). We are so excited to have them serve the saints in this part of the Philippines.

They are a lot of fun. Elder likes games and he's a hoot. We're still trying to convince Sister Kiholm that game playing is a great way to relax and have fun together. So far she's been a good sport about it.  I don't think it's going to take too long to convert her!

We had fun shopping for all the things they would need to set up their brand new really nice apartment in Santiago. The other senior couples helped by doing the final clean-up and organizing it for them. We hope they felt loved and welcomed!

We had a welcome luncheon so that they could meet the other senior couples and a few days later we had a staff meeting where President organized an American BBQ. He was able to get some American beef burgers. Sister Shaner, Sister Kiholm and I made homemade onion rings and they were delicious. The other sisters brought all kinds of great salads. We never have trouble throwing together a fantastic meal.

 Broccoli Salad, Potato Salad and Fruit Salads!

These were a bit of heaven to us in this beef deprived country!

Since their arrival we've enjoyed getting to know this amazing couple. They previously served in Africa and claim that serving in the Philippines is super easy compared to their adventures there.

I Just LOVE these Missionaries

Everyone should get the opportunity to spend time with the missionaries from our church. Can you imagine leaving their families, girlfriends, school, jobs to volunteer for 2 years (18 months for girls) and working 12 hour days to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who will listen? We continually hear--it's the hardest job I've ever loved!

I have a few random pictures of some of these missionaries.
I LOVE looking at the missionaries feet...

We were at a meeting and I looked over and noticed that this elder had one black sock and one white sock. Bless his heart--at least he was wearing socks!

I LOVE being in their apartments and seeing how they live--or being in their future apartments...

We are continually trying to find better housing for our missionaries. Our mission now rents over 70 different apartments (luckily we have the Shaners who look after that job!). Recently we took Elder Ilagan and Elder Smith to look at a new apartment. They both loved the frilly decor. We struck a deal and they will be moving in as soon as we can get the water to work.

I LOVE spending time with our senior couples...
We recently celebrated Elder Gottfredson's birthday--after the delicious dinner we played The Great Del Moody game where everyone was trying to get to become The Great Del Moody (as signified by the king's crown). Elder Gottfredson began in that position but was ousted by the end of the game! Each position becomes a lower class until we get to the peon and assistant peon at the end of the circle. These folks really know how to have a lot of fun!

 The game begins with Elder Gottfredson as the Great Del Moody.

 Sister Kiholm and the Mills are still pretty high on the social rankings.

 President and Elder Laker are in the middle class.

And then there was Sister Shaner and Sister Laker.

Sister Gottfredson was definitely lower class but not as much as the Mills who dropped during the game to the assistant peon and peon class.

I LOVE our assistants...

Elder Miole and Elder Huffstutler enjoyed dinner out with President after a busy day serving as his assistants. To protect their white shirts they made bibs out of their napkins. It looked like they enjoyed their dinner from the Hotel Andrea--the one really good restaurant in Cauayan. What would we do without assistants?

I LOVE the talents of our missionaries...

We have so many talented musicians here in the Philippines Cauayan Mission. Elder Rostedt is one of them. He sings beautifully--all parts and can play a wicked guitar! We love it when he accompanies others on his guitar.

I LOVE divine companionships...

Our sister missionaries love to dress alike and when they do we always tease them about becoming a divine companionship! Here is Sister Cajigal and Sister Ramos dressing alike for a fireside. They opened up an area for the mission and truly serve with all their hearts. Amazing things are happening San Mateo. Great effort sisters!

I wish you could see in my heart--I truly LOVE all of the missionaries serving here in the Philippines Cauayan Mission! Each one holds a special place in my heart!

Mission Presidency Celebrates Christmas

Early in December President invited his counselors and secretary and their wives to spend an evening at the mission home. We had a great time visiting and dining together. His counselors are wonderful, strong men with supportive wives. We are so proud of them and know that the church in the Philippines is in good hands with families like theirs in the gospel.

 Elder Shaner serves as the missions secretary and so the Shaners were invited to come to the dinner. President Carlos made delicious osso bucco--it was so yummy!

From Left to Right: The Pascuas (from Rizal), the Palays (from Paddad) and President Carlos

We love these men and their families and appreciate the great work that they do for the mission and the church.

Elder Betancourt's Birthday Surprise

We got an email from Elder Betancourt's mother wondering if we could help her pull off a birthday surprise--afterall it was his 21st birthday and his first one away from home. Luckily he was currently serving in a little town about 15 minutes from the mission home. We purchased a delicious chocolate cake, wrote a card from his mother and headed to surprise him. Oh, and President had made some chicken alfredo the night before and we packed up the leftovers of that yummy dish to share with Elder Betancourt and his companion, Elder Reyes.

We caught them just as they were finishing up their morning companionship study session. It was so much fun to watch him open the card and realize that the surprise was from his mother back home.

Career Workshop for Soon to be Departing Missionaries

In December we held a Career Workshop for those leaving in December and some of the batch that would be leaving in January. Elder and Sister Gottfredson conducted the workshop. Like always they did a superb job! Each participant thoroughly enjoyed the day and left realizing that they had acquired many skills as missionaries that could help them in their future job searches.

From Left front row: Sister Velasquez, Sister George, Elder Rocaberte and Elder Miole.
Back row: Elder Oliva, Elder Murillo, Elder Galang, Elder Elgan, Elder Biason, Elder Reyes, Elder Templado and Elder Malimali.