Then we returned to our apartment for a a game of hand and foot. The Sisters were ahead until the last game and then the Elder’s laid down their book of 7’s and whooped them! Ha! Ha!
Since our last entry, we have spent the last couple of Saturdays in the Temple. We first got to go with a young perspective sister missionary and a middle-aged sister to take out their endowments.
Next to me, Sister Mont Claire, Sister Rellones, Sister Hernandez & her daughter.
Next to me, Sister Mont Claire, Sister Rellones, Sister Hernandez & her daughter.
The following week we got to go with the Taberos family to take out their endowments and be sealed. The two missionaries that baptized the parents also attended with us. It was a thrill for us! Afterwards we took them for lunch, then back home to Teresa. That night we had a District Conference in Morong for the Saturday night session so it worked out great.
An Area 70 spoke to us about ministering which was very good and then the Morong Tabernacle Choir performed. The women wore long dresses that were black, red, and white. They looked and sounded very impressive in front of the huge floral bouquets they had brought in for the meeting.
Then Sunday morning, the choir performed again wearing long, royal blue satin dresses with a strand of pearls. I felt like we were in Salt Lake. Ha! Ha! Sister Lola told us that she has actually seen the choirs change outfits in between songs. Isn’t that hysterical??
President Bowen came and talked to us for Family Home Evening a week ago. He had a wonderful presentation about the Abrahamic Covenant that he had put together. We had taken classes and learned quite a bit about it and enjoyed studying it in the Old Testament but this was very extensive and absolutely fascinating to us. We were able to download a copy of it and we can’t wait to share it with you when we get home. We were very surprised afterwards as we walked out the door we heard most of the Senior Missionaries had no idea what he was talking about! ~ WOW ~. It’s what the scattering and gathering of Israel is all about.
Okay, so last Sunday was our Branch Conference in Teresa. We decided it would be nice to support the choir and brought home the words (only) to the song they had selected. No notes, no melody, no piano music. The brethren sang a different melody than the sisters, then we combined it . . . They used a tape for the accompaniment. We were asked to wear al black dresses and the men, black ties. Then they were bringing pink scarfs for us. Let me tell you, those scarfs added an extra 15 degrees to your body temperature!! AND, NO AIR CONDITIONING! Well, we put a smile on, sang our song and then went to a photo shoot outside immediately after Sacrament Meeting. They all posed for the next 20 minutes as they passed all the cameras around. We get such a charge out of it!
On 7 June 2018, we packed up and drove a van with the 2 AP’s and 2 Zone Leaders to the island of Mindoro. A 156 mile drive to our destination in San Jose. Heavy traffic extended the first 59 miles from Quezon City to Batangas where we boarded a ferry into 4 1/2 hours. We boarded the ferry at 1:00 and enjoyed the cooler fresh air for the next 3 hours. After unloading, we drove another 45 minutes to Mamburao. Then on to our final destination along the border of the South China Sea. The Rainy season just arrived and we drove in a torrent of rain all the way down. Funny thing here, when it started to get very Dark around 6:00 we noticed frogs hopping all over the road. Hundreds of them were laying back feet in the air. It literally keep us awake trying to see how many we could hit. Only 60 more miles but we didn’t arrive until 8:30!
Elders, Ropati, Jorgensen, Okuonghae, & Baldemor
These guys dive for coins that you throw off the ferry. They find every one!
Pig without a blanket.
We dropped off the Elders at the Zone Leader’s apartment and went over to the Season’s Hotel where we met up with the Koster’s. The next morning we attended a Zone Conference. We enjoyed visiting with the Gebhardt’s , Taylors, and the Mowers. We discovered that Elder Mower was a missionary companion of our former bishop Dick Powell in Japan.
Sister and Elder Mower
We had a delightful luncheon and made a plan to all get together that evening for dominoes at the Hotel.
Yesterday, we left the Hotel about 10:00 and picked up the two AP’s. We drove in torrential rain back up to Mamaburao where we had been invited to a baptism for 7 people in the South China Sea at 3:00. At 3:15 we pulled in to pick up the Elders and all the baptism candidates that were at their apartment with some family and friends that needed us to give them a ride to the ocean. We piled in as many as we could in the pouring rain, a few plastic chairs and some hymn books and drove down a narrow flooded dirt road to the baptismal site. Then, we hurried clear back again to the apartment to pick up the others and took them down. Luckily the Branch President had a sister that lives in a “grass hut” where we held the baptism program. We sang a hymn, listened to the talks in Tagalog and they all headed out to the ocean waters that were very rough with 5-7 feet waves rolling into the shore. I offered up a word of prayer that the Elders would be able to keep their balance and not get swept away. The rain lightened up and the sea calmed just enough for them to baptize all 7 people including one young sister 3 times! You know, I don’t think it even occurred to anyone to postpone the baptism until the storm quit. The candidates were all so eager and excited and of course the Elders were ecstatic. It really was a special privilege for us to witness the strong spirit that afternoon.
We had a delightful luncheon and made a plan to all get together that evening for dominoes at the Hotel.
Yesterday, we left the Hotel about 10:00 and picked up the two AP’s. We drove in torrential rain back up to Mamaburao where we had been invited to a baptism for 7 people in the South China Sea at 3:00. At 3:15 we pulled in to pick up the Elders and all the baptism candidates that were at their apartment with some family and friends that needed us to give them a ride to the ocean. We piled in as many as we could in the pouring rain, a few plastic chairs and some hymn books and drove down a narrow flooded dirt road to the baptismal site. Then, we hurried clear back again to the apartment to pick up the others and took them down. Luckily the Branch President had a sister that lives in a “grass hut” where we held the baptism program. We sang a hymn, listened to the talks in Tagalog and they all headed out to the ocean waters that were very rough with 5-7 feet waves rolling into the shore. I offered up a word of prayer that the Elders would be able to keep their balance and not get swept away. The rain lightened up and the sea calmed just enough for them to baptize all 7 people including one young sister 3 times! You know, I don’t think it even occurred to anyone to postpone the baptism until the storm quit. The candidates were all so eager and excited and of course the Elders were ecstatic. It really was a special privilege for us to witness the strong spirit that afternoon.
Schools just got out. Drenched and Darling!
Filipino ingenuity, a rotar-tiller pickup
Carry on, Carry on, Carry on. A couple of inches of rain doesn’t bother us in the rice fields!
We love you all. Hold tight to that rod!
Rexann just sent me the link to you blog. You look so great! I hope everything is going well for you both. Things are fine here in the neighborhood, as far as I know. Love to you both!
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