Lot’s of office tasks got done this week.  We pretty much worked from 8 - 5 everyday.  A chapel in Cuba’s was robbed.  They took all the electronics out!!  There are bars over the windows in every chapel here and they can’t figure out how they did it.

We are trying more places to eat and even made a trip to S & R on Saturday in Global City.  It is like a big Sam’s Club where you can find many more American brands.  We stocked up then had to bring it up the elevator in several different trips.  Saturday, The Brownes from Meridian that we met in the MTC, asked to go to our Baptisms with us in Morong.  So we left about 2:30 and witnessed 8 children being baptized.  They confirmed one boy and the rest they confirmed on Sunday.  We actually had 80 baptisms this week..Elder Ferney will be extremely busy!!
Lot’s of office tasks got done this week.  We pretty much worked from 8 - 5 everyday.  A chapel in Cuba’s was robbed.  They took all the electronics out!!  There are bars over the windows in every chapel here and they can’t figure out how they did it.

We are trying more places to eat and even made a trip to S & R on Saturday in Global City.  It is like a big Sam’s Club where you can find many more American brands.  We stocked up then had to bring it up the elevator in several different trips.  Saturday, The Brownes from Meridian that we met in the MTC, asked to go to our Baptisms with us in Morong.  So we left about 2:30 and witnessed 8 children being baptized.  They confirmed one boy and the rest they confirmed on Sunday.  We actually had 80 baptisms this week..Elder Ferney will be extremely busy!!

 Our little girl friends!

What an Adventure

Because of all the action going on everyday in the mission office, we are finding out very slowly about our office duties!  This week we went on apartment checks in the Quezon Zone with Sister Lola. Elder Ferney used Google on his phone to find all the little hidden apartments. WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!  It took all day to locate 5. We also attended the Zone Conference at President Koster’s House. It was fabulous!  We could not believe what a good job the Elder & Sister Leaders did. It was fun. Then we had a delicious luncheon where Sister Koster instructed them about manners. Since most of the missionaries are native, this was new to them. It was the 1st time since we arrived that we had eaten any vegetables. What a treat. There are 8 more zone conferences coming up. 

One night we were strolling around looking for a restaurant & we found a Mexican place called Agave. As we stood & looked at the menu, a young lady who worked there invited us to come in. She saw our badges & said she had been going to Bible class once a week with some friends & had decided she wanted to become a Christian. Well, we just happened to have a pass-a-long card & gave it to her to fill out. We were all 3 thrilled!  We gave the referral to the Sister missionaries in her area & they already have an appointment set up with her. PRETTY EXCITING!!

On Sunday, we packed a lunch & headed for the Teresa Branch in Morong. It is about an hour drive if the traffics not bad. We passed hundreds of bicycle riders (fat & skinny wheels) plus another thousand motorcycles. 

We were called up to introduce ourselves in Sacrament meeting. They mostly speak Tagalog but were able to understand English well. They invited us to a mtg. after church with the mission President’s Counselor to discuss their qualifications to be a ward. Their numbers were high enough & everyone was thrilled. Our neighbor from home, William Moffett is the new Zone Leader there and it was fun to see him. After that mtg. We were invited to another mtg. with the missionaries. They have 8 baptisms scheduled for next Saturday & want us to attend. On our way home we passed some rice patties, quite a view  with some carabao. 

We Made it!

Hey everyone yes we are doing wonderful. We have been disconnected for the last couple of days. We are at the mission office today where we have WiFi, I even drive drove the car here to the office today. 😁😱. Mom is do great 👍, we are just trying get everything set up in apartment. If you look on the left of the Temple you will see some high rise buildings that is were we live, there is also a picture looking out of our apartment window. There is a shopping center all around us, this what they call little Manhattan, this is different than what we thought, but it is going to be great once we are all set up. It is taking us a little long to get WiFi connected in our apartment, the saying over here is “ everything is more fun in the Philippines” meaning don’t get in a hurry 🤔.  

We love you all and hope all is well at home. 

We will be here all day so you can respond and we will get it. 

PS  it is warm and humid 84% humidity and 85 degrees!!!😰

We spent our first day in the office and we are both confused, but we will learn fast.

Dad

The day of departure, we noticed that the other couple (the Seymours)we were flying out with had a different flight time. All morning Elder Ferney questioned if there was a mistake & decided to stop ignoring the feeling & make a call to the travel office. Sure enough, it was a mistake & we had just enough time to run to the Church Office Building & switch envelopes. We left SL on Jan. 8th & arrived on Jan. 10th. There were 300 passengers on the plane & every seat was filled. It took 1 hour to fly to Los Angeles where we had a four hour over-lay. During this time we found out that our Philippine tickets needed to be re-issued. That took about an hour. When we got to the gate, we found 9 young missionaries that were going with us on the same flight. However, they didn’t know they were supposed to get their flight tickets re-issued. So Elder Ferney took them all & showed them what to do. I shutter to think what would have happened if they had failed to get the proper tickets!! After an extra 2 hours on the tarmac, at mid-night we took off & flew 15 1/2 hours to Manila. The Seymour’s said they would have never been able to figure out the locations at the airports if Elder Ferney hadn’t of been there to help them. I’m pretty sure that is true. They were very inexperienced. They will be serving in Baguio.

Day 1 Sister Lola, the 79 year old mother of President Koster me us & accompanied us to the Mission Home. We were pleasantly surprised to see how lovely it was! It also happened to be the same day as transfers which made things a little Chaotic for Sister Koster. She was on crutches and had prepared a large luncheon fo all the new missionaries and several Senior couples. She suddenly decided that hired help could take care of feeding the young missionaries that needed training and the rest of us would go out to eat.We were able to see the MTC and the Temple on the way.

The Manila Temple is unfortunately closed for the next 4 months.

Mom

Departure 

 Our Classy Living Room

 Our Lovely Dining Room

 Our Kitchen. Complete with rice cooker and water filters

What we have learned this week!

Because of Christmas, we only worked two days last week at the FHL.  However we each past a couple more tests. We had plenty of time for a pot-luck branch dinner on Christmas Day then went over to the Dugan’s for games. We had a blast!!  The next night, the Robinson’s invited us over for games. Then they were kind enough to take us to Fashion Place Mall to check out the sales & have lunch. On Saturday, we attended the temple & afterwards met Heidi & Jason’s Family. We had a great time on Temple Square & visited the FHL so the kiddos could see their famous ancestors. On Sunday we attended the “Music & the Spoken Word” in the Tabernacle. It seems so much better live!

Here is what we have learned this week, that the power of prayer is real. We have never heard such beautiful prayers offered up. You feel strength in unity as humble servants pray each day for blessings upon their families & the success of the mission. We feel the spirit in abundance as we strive to support & serve one another. Elder Ferney & I testify that our loving Heavenly Father hears & answers our prayers.