Makati
Metro Manila
Philippines
26 September 2010
Today (Sunday, Sept.26th) was our last full day in the Philippines. We decided to attend church at the very same building where we attended our first Sunday with Elder & Sister Johnson, the Makati 1st Ward. What makes the Makati 1st Ward unique is that it was the first chapel built in the Philippines! Built during the 1960s, it was located on farmland. Now the bustling city of Makati surrounds it with high-rise office buildings and expensive hotels. Needless to say, many offers have been made to purchase the property but that historic chapel is there to stay.
We met Bishop Stephen Notarte, his wife Cathy, and sons Jarom Kyle (9) and Jared (6) (pictured above) there at church. Stephan is a PEF (Perpetual Education Fund) Supervisor and a wonderful and diligent young man. He has been great to work with. We will miss him and all the dedicated people we have worked with in the Welfare Department of the church here in the Philippines.
We were so sad to leave the members of the Paniqui District, we will love and remember them always. The paperwork has been sent to Salt Lake for the District to become a Stake of Zion.
On Monday, we attended our last “Mission Couples” meeting we bid a fond farewell to the other couples and to President and Sister Puzey. We shared our heartfelt thanks for all they do and the lives they have touched. They have truly touched ours.
This past week we spent four days in Palawan and it was just beautiful and very relaxing. Tomorrow (Monday) we fly to Hong Kong for 2 days, we will attend the Temple there. On Wednesday the 29th we leave for home. We feel so very blessed to have served a mission in the Philippines. We feel so blessed to have known these beautiful, humble people. We didn’t come to change the world – we just hope that we made a difference.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Cebu City,
Cebu,
Philippines
30 August 2010
In June, Pres. Monson came to the Philippines to dedicate the new Cebu City Temple. The cultural event the night before and the dedication itself were televised via closed circuit broadcast. To say the least, both events were awe inspiring and meant so much to the wonderful saints of the Philippines. As we are nearing the end of our mission, we had a desire to visit that temple before we returned home. After getting our mission president and area president’s approval we jumped on a plane Monday and flew to Cebu. It was just a one hour and twenty minute flight. Our friends in the ERC office in the city arranged a hotel room for us.
Tuesday morning we arrived at the temple about 8:30 a.m. The temple sits high up on a hill and it was majestic! It is not a large temple but gives the appearance of being bigger than it really is. We went inside and were impressed from the very entrance all the way through the building. It is well appointed and makes you feel you are truly in the house of the Lord.
We had not been able to attend the temple for about nine months so our first session was very special to us. As a special treat, we had two recently returned sister missionaries from the Angeles mission join us for the second session. They had both served in our zone and they had made an effort to come to the temple to be with us. One brought her twin sister who had just returned from the Cauayan, Philippines mission and we had a good visit with all three. What special people the Lord has strengthened in this area.
We had a great time at lunch with the sisters, they asked us if we had any referrals for husbands! We told them to keep the faith and keep searching for the right one. We also told them to be sure to visit the Cebu ERC office for help in finding jobs now that they are back in the real world. We said our goodbyes and then we walked over to the ERC office to see the team that has responsibility for this area. They are very busy helping, coaching and training many people. The office was full when we arrived. We were impressed by all the things they are doing.
On Wednesday we took a short tour of the city to see some of the historical sites – Magellan’s site where he planted his cross for Spain in 1521 and then at another site where he fought his last battle and was killed by the natives and chief Lapu-lapu. (He was no longer gellin!)
We will never forget our visit to the Cebu City Temple – what a treat.
Elder NB & sister MB
Tarlac, Tarlac
Philippines
8 August 2010
We have about six weeks left in Tarlac, Tarlac Philippines. We are trying to finish up all of our projects. This week we will have the last computer classes (and graduation, certificate ceremony) for Gerona Branch and Victoria Ward. They have worked so hard and have mastered some basic computer skills to help them in this computer age and their job search. The last two classes we conducted were in an internet shop so they could learn how to use the internet, search and get an e-mail address. This week we will have them sign up on ldsjobs.org.
We had an assignment to distribute the annual Welfare Employment Assessment form to nine of the twelve Stakes and Districts across our mission. It had to be completed in one day so we were able to use the other “Senior” missionary couples (pictures above from the top - Prisbrey, Crosgrove and Chase) to accomplish this assignment. We love and appreciate them so much. They turned a large task into a small and happy task. They are the greatest!
Recently our ERS boss Gerry stopped by our home in Tarlac to introduce us to two “brand new” Senior Sister Missionaries. They were Sister Cooper from Bournemouth, England and Sister Rawson from Salt Lake City. They are enthusiastic sisters who will be working at the office in Dagupan organizing, training, and answering questions from members and non-members. They will be a welcome addition to the office staff there. As yet, we haven’t heard of a couple coming to replace us here in Tarlac. Hope someone comes!
Next Saturday is the ground breaking ceremony for a new chapel in the Anao Branch, Paniqui District. They have been meeting in a small rented house, many times spilling out into the courtyard. What a wonderful blessing it will be for them to have their own building where there will be room for them to expand and grow into a ward. We are so happy for them! This is the first building that has been started in our mission since we arrived.
It has been such a rich blessing to see the young elders and sisters spreading forth the Gospel in the Philippines. Almost every day as we travel, our hearts are touched as we see a set of two missionaries out working to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Laoag,
Ilocos Norte,
Phillippines
20 July 2010
Still traveling to the far corners of Northern Luzon. The past two weeks has found us in Santiago, Isabela and Laoag, Ilocos Norte for the launching of two Employment Resource Services (ERS) Volunteer Centers that will assist members in their search for employment or self employment. With the new Employment Resource Center (ERC) opening in Dagupan it required three satellite volunteer centers to a help our members and only one was operational – Angeles VC. Our visit to Santiago was short and quick to show our support for their launch.
Our assignment over the past month has been to assist Laoag to plan, prepare and host an open house to introduce itself to the community. They had completed some preliminary activities but were not progressing as quickly as was planned by the Dagupan manager so we were asked to evaluate and help. We found they had a good outline and had identified some costs but they were slow to proceed because of funding questions.
As the planning committee went to work everything fell into place – the date was set for July 15. Invitations were designed and delivered to government, academic and business leaders by the committee. The luncheon menu was finalized, caterer found and costs established at 100 pesos ($2+) per plate (this included a very nice buffet meal, salad bar, tables, table settings, centerpiece, chair coverings, etc). A letterhead was designed for the office stationery, banners for the open house were designed and made and the flowers and flower arrangements for the ribbon cutting and entry were ordered.
On July 14, the day we would be returning to Laoag, we were worried because a typhoon was threatening the Laoag region and we wouldn’t be allowed to travel. During the night it had changed directions. Yea! We arrived late on the 14th to find the Stake Center (VC is located there) and grounds in perfect shape and the members glowing and so proud of all the work they had completed. The cultural hall was all dressed up with tables perfect and the flowers were impressive. We were so happy for them to see the reward of all their hard work and dedication. They accomplished all this with off and on power black-outs the whole day.
The morning of the 15th dawned sunny and beautiful. We found the committee putting on the finishing touches and they were ready. Their guests arrived and were impressed not only by what they saw but by what this ERS program offered the people of Laoag – member and non-members alike. As the speakers talked they said many positive things about the church and its members and how they influence the community for good. Following the introduction program, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony and tour of the facilities – ERS office, family history and the other rooms of the building. There were plenty of wonderful missionaries in attendance to answer questions about the church.
We had a great lunch with all the dignitaries staying and chatting about the opportunities this office provided the community. It was a wonderful day for the faithful saints of Laoag.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Angeles,
Pampanga,
Philippines
3 July 2010
Happy 4th of July from the Philippines! Every six weeks we have an Angeles Mission “couple missionary” meeting. This week the couples met on Saturday, July 3rd for a 4th of July picnic at Paradise Ranch which is kind of a nature preserve. It is located near Clark Field (where the mission home is located) and it covers many acres in the foothills overlooking Clark. Many improvements have been made to make it an enjoyable place to visit. Volunteers have planted thousands of flowers, plants, bushes and trees which thrive in the Philippines heat and humidity. They also have many different birds in big cages, monkeys and a large butterfly enclosure.
This year has been a record breaking year for heat! Our tour of Paradise Ranch was on a very warm, sunny day and all of us were carrying hats or umbrellas to keep the sun off and we were drinking lots of water.
It is always so special to be with and visit with the other couples and hear about their successes in strengthening and re-activating members. One of the things we love the most about our mission is seeing the hand of the Lord at work every day. It is the little things we see happening that makes his hand obvious.
Our mission President commented that this is the first time he has had enough senior couples to cover every area of the mission. In addition to “inspecting” missionary apartments, we all recently installed Smoke/C.O. detectors in every missionary apartment. The church is very concerned about the health and safety of all missionaries.
We have just completed twenty months – time is flying by!!!
Elder NB & Sister MB
Laoag,
Ilocos Norte,
Philippines
18 June 2010
Wow! More than half way through the month of June and we have been traveling all over. First to Dingalan, Aurora on the east side of Luzon then to Dagupan, Pangasinan on the west side, down to Angeles, Pampanga – central, and finally to the very north – Laoag, Ilocos Norte. We are putting the kilometers on the car this month.
Our work has taken us to teach a group Self Employment in a small branch, meeting with our manager so he could give us a special assignment to help the team in Laoag prepare and launch the Volunteer Center in July, toured an Australian school under development in Angeles that will be able to house and train as many as 15,000 students for work in Australia, and we spent part of three days with the Laoag Team working on what needs to happen to have a successful launch in July. Busy, busy is what we have been and enjoying every minute of it – well except for the eight hour drive to Laoag. The country is beautiful but the traffic is a challenge.
While we were in Laoag, we drove to the northern tip of Luzon and walked on the white sand beach of the South China Sea. They are so pretty with the palm trees, warm breeze and hot sun. Honest, all we did was walk on the beach.
Elder NB & Sister MB
San Jose,
Nueva Ecija,
Philippines
30 May 2010
Last week we returned to “Baler – By the Sea”. We were there about a year ago to teach and train the members in employment skills or self-employment skills. Baler is a road trip over the mountains to a coastal valley on the eastern side of Luzon. The roads are very rough and we are driving our Corolla on these roads – 6 MPH was too fast in some areas. It took us six hours of driving from Tarlac. On the positive side – it is always worth the trip because the scenery is just beautiful. We were so happy to again visit with the Baler members and see the growth – the four little branches we visited before are now organized into a district. You can see that the missionaries have been working so very hard there. The Baler Sacrament meeting was full with hardly a vacant chair to be seen. We enjoyed the spirit and their strong testimonies of the gospel.
On Thursday we were invited to the college graduation of our District President’s son Kirby Nadado. He is such a very fine young man graduating fourth in his “IT” (Information Technology) class. He also received 4 different awards for outstanding performance in developing programs and applications. One thing that is unique in the Philippines is that when someone graduates, a parent walks across the stage with them to receive the diploma. Kind of special! He is preparing and is ready to submit his mission papers.
Saturday we traveled to San Jose, (yes we know the way) Nueva Ecija. We taught the Career Workshop to 50 members from that stake. Of course it is harder with that many people but they were an excellent group and participated well. The booklet we use and the workshop itself are all in English. They all understand English well but they get worried about responding in English, afraid they will say something wrong. After awhile they forget about their worries and the English seems to come to them quite easily. If they stay the whole 8 hours there is a little graduation ceremony at the end and they receive a certificate saying they have completed the Career Workshop. It is great to see how much this certificate means to them. We so enjoy interacting with them at these workshops. They are a loving and delightsome people – we love them.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Burgos, Tarlac
Philippines
9 May 2010
We were privileged to attend 2 baptisms this weekend. One in the church baptismal font and the other in a river, both were just wonderful.
Missionaries were recently sent to re-open Burgos, an area that has not seen missionaries for three years. It is in the Provence of Tarlac and is about a 40 minute drive from our home. The missionaries have been working for a few weeks and had prepared a sixteen year old young man to be baptized. The Branch President also had two children of a part member family ready.
The branch has no baptismal font in their rented building so the plan was to hold the service in the branch building then adjourn to the river about 1 ½ kilometers from the building to perform the baptisms. The spot was identified and prepared earlier to make it deep enough and private enough for our purposes.
The service was conducted with talks by one missionary and a local sister – all in Tagalog which we mostly don’t understand but we can feel the spirit of the service. At the conclusion, everyone loaded into our car, the mission’s pickup truck (driven by Sister Puzey) and a tricycle and then drove to the river. We had to walk a bit down the river bank, we passed 2 Carabao cooling off in the river. Carabao are the Philippines’ beasts of burden similar to water buffalo. The 20 branch members present were so happy to see the three young people baptized in the river by their Branch President and witnessed by the two wonderful missionaries.
Sunday while attending meetings in Cuyapo Branch we were invited to an afternoon baptism for the Branch President’s son Joseph who just turned eight. We joined the branch at the district center (Stake Center) for a very sweet service and witnessed this young man being baptized by his older brother Harold. Joseph has another brother serving a mission right now.
The best part of this service was after the baptism three young primary girls, ages 9, 8 and 6, and Joseph all bore the sweetest and strong testimonies of the gospel. They spoke with such commitment and sincerity. We were so impressed! Had to give each a big hug! It was a great baptism.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Dupax del Norte,
Nueva Vizcaya,
Philippines
25 April 2010
This last week we have had another special experience in the Philippines.
We were asked by the Area Humanitarian couple (Smiths) and our ERC Manager to teach “Value Formation” to a group of 45 disabled women and teen-aged girls. There were also a few disabled men included as well. We said sure but what is it? When and where? They said Wednesday and Thursday in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya.
Our schedule had us in Angeles training the departing missionaries on Monday and Tuesday but in order to head five hours north for this assignment, we would have to finish a little early. We adjusted the training and left Angeles at 2 p.m. on Tuesday driving the back country roads then over the mountain on semi-good roads to reach the hotel by 7 p.m. There we met the Smiths and got an outline of what was expected for the next two days.
The workshop sponsored by the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) was scheduled to last for 10 days. LDS Charities financially supported the first two days and we were to provide the training. Because the Career Workshop and other material we teach are about eight hours long we decided to break it into two four hour sessions. It was held in a nice, homey resort with good shade and Nipa Hut accommodations for the participants who stayed at the resort.
We were a little apprehensive as we set up our equipment but as we all introduced ourselves to each other we felt their love and desire to learn and improve their situation. You see all the participants had a disability – orthopedic, ocular or auditory. Most were very outgoing and all participated in making presentations as they worked to review their abilities and improve their self-confidence. In the two days we saw a change come over the entire group as individuals talked about what they wanted to do with this new information.
As we closed the second day they all thanked us for sharing this information with them and we felt their spirit and desire to move their lives forward even with their physical challenges. We took group pictures and had fun over lunch before we left for our long drive back home to Tarlac.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Paniqui, Tarlac
Philippines
4 April 2010
What a special week this has been. We were invited to two 6th grade graduation ceremonies – one in Gerona for Kimberly and in one in Cuyapo for Angelique. There is no “middle school” in the Philippines so after the 6th grade they go directly to High School graduating from there at age 16. Then, if they are lucky and have the funds, they can go to college. Education is very important to Filipinos. Both girls were graduating with “high” honors.
The graduation in Cuyapo was the most interesting – besides 6th graders they included the kindergarten classes so in total they graduated about 100 students. They gave diplomas, speeches, awards, more speeches and recognition for almost everything you can think of. The hot afternoon sun caused the audience to seek shad wherever they could as the sun moved across the sky. We arrived as it was ready to start and had to leave two hours later for another appointment and they were still giving out awards.
Friday night was a special occasion for us, we were invited to witness the “setting apart” of 5 wonderful young missionaries from the Paniqui District. We spend our Sundays in the branches of these young men and love their dedication and spirit. The next day they entered the Manila MTC for a few weeks of training before going to their missions – two to Manila and three to Naga, Philippines. What great young men they are with strong testimonies of the gospel and a desire to humbly serve the Lord.
On Saturday we were invited to our first “Filipino” wedding. The ceremony itself only lasted about three minutes but the rest of the program lasted two hours. Plus the wedding was an hour late getting started. This is considered normal for most Filipino activities. We love the young couple getting married, Christian and Jennalyn, and wish them every happiness in their new life together.
We were invited as honored guests to attend the wedding reception at the home of the bride. The bride and groom rode with us to her home in our car – the only car in the procession of tricycles and jeepneys. When we arrived they had a crowd of maybe 150 people all seated under canopy tents in their garden area. We were seated at the head table and treated very special – Jennalyn has been a special friend of MBs since we arrived here in the Philippines and it was demonstrated at the reception. The young couple are so in love and we are happy for them.
Elder NB & Sister MB
TarlacCity, Tarlac
Philippines
21 March 2010
March has been a busy and productive month. The high-light for us was the marriage of our daughter Holly and Tom Clark in the Salt Lake Temple. We could not be there physically but we were there in spirit and felt happy all day. It helped that we received cell phone photos soon after the ceremony. We are so proud and happy for them as they start their life together.
This month our assignment has been to train all the SEC’s (Stake Employment Committee) in the Angeles Mission – six stakes and seven districts. Working directly with ERS Angeles Volunteer Center managers, we completed the training and also advised them on ways to improve their reporting. We are also charged with helping the committees register on ldsjobs.org. This has been a challenge because of the lack of availability of personal computers. We have enjoyed visiting stakes and districts and will return periodically to see how they are doing and what we can do to help them.
Like most “Senior” couples, we have the responsibility to inspect the apartments of the young Elders and Sisters in both Paniqui and Tarlac Zones – fourteen apartments. The Sister’s apartments are always very clean and tidy. The Elders need a little more encouragement but generally they do well. One Sister complained because the termites were eating her bed frame. One Elder said that they have “ghosts” that live upstairs. (Of course he was smiling as he told us this).
Our mission wanted to re-open an area (about an hour’s drive from our house) that had been closed for three years and asked NB to find and prepare a house for missionaries. We found a house then contracting with a local brother to make repairs and paint the inside. We were happy when all work was completed and the local branch finished the final cleaning. The house was occupied by two elders during this last transfer and they are happy to be in such a nice house.
This week we are helping at the new ERC in Dagupan – we have been re-assigned to this office from Makati. They are planning the launch and grand opening in mid April and we will be hand-delivering personal invitations to local community and government officials. The ERC managers and volunteer staff are so excited to have this office open and we are also excited to be part of this new office!
Elder NB & Sister MB
Tarlac City
Tarlac, Philippines
28 February 2010
We are enjoying our assignment as Employment Specialists. Sometimes we wonder about the sweet and fun people we teach, we don’t often get to hear the end of the story – if they were successful or not.
Last Feb. 2009, we were asked by our Employment Resource Center (ERC) office to help teach the Career Workshop to about 1,000 graduating seniors from the Angeles University Foundation. It took us and another team about 4 weeks. AUF is basically a Catholic university with classes beginning with prayer at the start of each day. We were not sure how the students would feel about “Elder and Sister Costley”. We tried to make the workshop fun and tailored to the needs of someone graduating in a week! Among other things, the workshop prepares them for job interviews with confidence building exercises and mock interviews. One thing that we left in our presentation was all the quotes from our prophets with scriptures to match that we normally use when we are teaching members. It was so wonderful to watch their faces when Elder Costley read this quote from President Hinckley, “The Lord would want you to be successful, He would. You are his sons and daughters. He has the same kind of love and ambition for you that your earthly parents have. They want you to do well and you can do it.” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 1997, p.614). Their faces would just light up, it was a great sight. We encouraged them to involve the Lord every step of the way in the job seeking process.
As you can well imagine, we had a lot of fun working with these well educated students – nurses, medical technicians, media students, computer technicians, teachers, etc. We enjoyed talking with them after class and wished them all good luck.
Last week we were in a mall in Angeles and a young lady said “Sister Costley, do you remember me last year from AUF?” She was so cute and she went on to say that she got a job teaching English to Korean students. She thanked us so sweetly and we were so happy for her. It just made our whole day.
On Sat. Feb. 6th, we gave the Career Workshop to a group of young adults here in the Tarlac Stake. Then last week we received notification that one of the young men attending the workshop was starting a job in Manila the following day. We were so happy for him. These young adults are so sharp, we just love them and we feel blessed to be here. Once in a while we like to hear the “end of the story”.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Tarlac City,
Tarlac,
Philippines
15 February 2010
Yesterday we enjoyed a wonderful Stake Conference in Tarlac. It was a very spiritual and uplifting meeting although it was 3 hours long – sitting on hard wooden benches even made it seem longer. One of the speakers told about a special boy named Jake, who was intent on honestly practicing the principle of tithing that he had just been taught in Primary. Jake’s mother gave him 10 pesos each day as he left for school for his expenses. He lived too far from school to come home for lunch so the money was to be used to buy lunch and he also needed to save 1 peso to pay for a boat ride to bring him across the river at the end of the day. Jake decided to pay his tithing from the 10 pesos he received each day (10 pesos is about $0.20 cents in the U.S.). When Jake would get home from school, he would proudly give his mother the 1 peso he had saved and she would hold it until he could pay his tithing to the Bishop on Sunday.
One day at school, Jake realized that someone had stolen his 10 peso coin. He was so sad, he hadn’t missed one day of giving his tithing to his mom. He felt in his pocket and discovered he still had 1 peso that he had not spent the previous day. After school, Jake was very late getting home. His mother was starting to worry when Jake arrived, hot and tired. He told his mom about the stolen coin but instead of taking the boat across the river with his only remaining peso, he had decided to walk the long way home so that he could still pay his tithing! Did we mention – Jake is 6 years old.
Our children can teach us many things by example if we will but watch and listen to them after we teach them correct principles.
Another uplifting story was about a young man who is now eleven. Two years ago his area was closed to missionary work due to a shortage of missionaries. The elders were removed but the small branch continued under the direction of the branch president. A month ago the mission was able to reopen the town and sent two elders back to teach the people. The first Sunday the missionaries attended the branch this young man eagerly approached them and asked if he could be baptized. He told them he had been attending church since the elders left and had not missed one Sunday in two years. The missionaries were so excited about him and asked him if they could meet his parents – now the whole family is being taught the gospel.
Elder Lesa pictured above with Pres. Puzey is one of the missionaries working with the family.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Dagupan,
Pangasinan,
Philippines
31 January 2010
We started the week at the mission home teaching the Career Workshop to the Angeles departing missionaries. We enjoy the opportunity to visit with them as they are leaving the mission and a chance to talk to them about continuing their education and entering the workforce again. We love their enthusiasm and their strong testimonies of the gospel.
On Wednesday we drove two hours north to Dagupan where the church is building a new ERC, (Employment Resource Center). We met with the new manager and assistant manager (our new bosses) and their staff of about 20 volunteers who are so excited to get the center up and running. We have been shifted from the Makati (Metro Manila) ERC because we live in the northern part of Luzon. An ERC plays a vital role in helping the members find employment. We appreciate our callings as Welfare Missionaries and enjoy working with these centers and the wonderful and dedicated members that volunteer their time to serve the Lord.
On Saturday morning early, Elder NB attended a Coordinating Council Meeting (CCM) at the Tarlac Stake Center. Elder Augustine, an Area Seventy, conducted the meeting for stake and district presidents from twelve units. He asked Elder NB to speak about the new ERC and the services provided for the members benefit and invited the presidents to use any or all of the services.
Later in the afternoon we attended the Saturday sessions of the Angeles Philippines Stake Conference. Angeles is an hour south of Tarlac. In the priesthood session, Elder NB was asked to talk about the new ERC office with its services. The group in attendance was the stake and ward leadership who can schedule the training for large or small groups in their units.
Sister MB was able to attend the Stake Relief Society training session. She loved it! The sisters were so friendly and they were enjoying each other so much. They were learning great leadership skills but they were having so much fun doing it. It was great to visit with them and just enjoy being Relief Society sisters together, no matter where you are in the world!
Elder NB & Sister MB
Mount Pinatubo,
Zambales Mountains,
Luzon
19 January 2010
We had three of our four children (Camille, Melissa and Holly) visit us here in the Philippines for ten days and it was a very special time. We were able to introduce them to two branches of the church and some of the very unique sights of nature in Luzon. They also saw the very busy city of Manila (we attended the Manila Temple) and saw much of the country provinces of the north.
Our ecclesiastical assignment is in the Paniqui District so during the two Sundays of their visit we went to the largest branch in Gerona and the smallest in Cuyapo. Both turned out to be very uplifting for our girls and they were very impressed by the love offered them by everyone in attendance. The Gerona choir sang two musical numbers during the sacrament program that touched the hearts of us all. The teaching of the basic gospel and the personal testimonies during the block by the members in Cuyapo was very uplifting. The girls were asked to bear their testimonies both Sundays. Holly also taught a “Sharing Time” in the Gerona Primary, the children loved it and Holly was amazed at their great “English” skills.
During the week we took a trip into the mountains of Ifugao to Banaue to see the 4,000 year old rice terraces – one of the wonders of the world. We traveled in a Jeepney riding along a one lane rough mountain road so we could see a spectacular view of the rice terraces and visit the small native community of Bangaan. We walked down many steps to the village to see the native culture and how they prepare and plant the rice.
Another day we took an open jeep ride into the Zambales Mountains to the now quiet volcano of Mount Pinatubo. The jeep ride was over an hour long as we crossed the river many times before climbing into the mountain and parking the jeeps so we could begin our hike to that beautiful crystal clear lake in the crater at the top. We had lunch and spent time by the lake and visited with our local guide (a member of the church) to hear stories of what it was like to live near the mountain when the volcano erupted in 1991.
We had a great visit and enjoyed introducing our children to the Filipino culture and the loving people of this humble country. It was short but helped us renew our commitment to the work we have been called to do here in Northern Luzon.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Rosales, PangansinanToday, Jan.3, 2010 was a great Fast Sunday. After attending our “Paniqui” District meetings we came home for a quick dinner and then drove about 2 hours to the City of Rosales in Pangasinan to present our “Prosperity” Fireside (subject: temporally taking care of yourself by saving for the future). Rosales was one of the cities devastated in the last typhoon because a dike broke and most of the entire city was flooded. As we have stated previously, Filipinos are very resilient and nothing gets them down for very long.
After we presented our information, the Rosales Bishop got up to close the meeting and told of his boyhood, losing his father at the age of 6 and his self reliance. At this young age, before he became a member of the church, he knew he had to take care of himself because no one else was available to help him. He and his friends would have contests to see who could sell the most breakfast bakery goods each day. He would get up at 4:30 a.m. collect his baked items and sell them on the street until 7 a.m. then he would go to school for the day. By buying and selling he was able to put himself through elementary, high school and college. He is still in the buying and selling business with his wife and they are able to support their family and be self reliant. He was the Stake President and now the Bishop of his ward. He has not forgotten the Lord since his baptism at age eleven and not in all his success.
One of our beloved Tarlac Sister Missionaries had told us the story of her youth when her father left their family of 6 children. All of the children (and mother) had to find some form of employment to provide for their daily needs. She, being the only girl in the family, learned to make a fried banana kind of dessert to sell every morning before she went to school. Last New Year’s eve she taught Sister MB how to make the dessert and shared this story. The little youngest brother (about 6) tried to fish daily so the family would have something to eat. Not knowing how to fish or how to assemble the little bamboo fishing trap he needed, the Barangay men laughed and made fun of his humble trap. Because his trap would usually fall apart, he kept trying and trying and after awhile mastered a technique and proudly provided fish for their family. Eventually he got so good that he began to sell his traps! Sister Igcas didn’t go on her mission until she was 28 because she worked so she could support her brothers on their missions. Her story is typical of many Filipinos, don’t give up! Don’t stop trying! (In above photo Sis. Igcas is in orange on the far left).
There are two wards that meet in the Rosales Chapel every Sunday with a set of missionaries in each ward. As we arrived we visited with one set of young missionaries, a Filipino and Elder Hales from Utah, he has only been in the Philippines 20 days! After our meeting, we met another set of missionaries, a Filipino and Elder Hales from California! (they are not related). It was so cute because each Filipino Elder was about 4’9” and about 90 lbs. and each Elder Hale was at least 6’. Quite a contrast but great companions!
Elder NB & Sister MB
Paniqui, Tarlac,
Phipppines
23 December 2009
Every Wednesday we have the opportunity to attend the missionary development meeting with the young Elders and Sisters and during the most recent meeting we were asked to help them with their Paniqui Zone Christmas presentation for the Mission Zone Conference to be held December 23rd in Tarlac. They had prepared a script and assigned parts to all eighteen missionaries in the zone then asked us to be the grandparents (type casting!) and narrators in the skit. The Grandfather told the story to his grandchildren that when he went on a mission as young man, they still had to work hard on Christmas day. The missionaries did a great job through songs (Called to Serve) and scenes that depicted working hard, even though being far from home and a little homesick on a special holiday but continued to work faithfully and finally found a golden family that made this their best Christmas day ever (Joy to the World!)
We had a great time practicing and singing with them and learned a lot from their example of diligence and obedience in following mission rules and being blessed for the commitment. At the end of the practice we gave them each (12 Elders, 6 Sisters) a little stocking filled with treats from Santa. As you can imagine, Wednesdays are one of our most favorite days of the week!
We also got to participate in a skit that just the “Senior” couples presented so it was a really fun Zone Conference. President and Sister Puzey helped us all to focus on the birth and especially on the life of the Savior. He is the Light of the world and through his teachings and example has brought the only true light to all mankind. His Light will give us understanding and lead us to follow the Savior’s example to help us endure to the end.
We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season.
Elder NB & Sister MB
Tarlac City, Tarlac,
Philippines
6 December 2009
We were having a discussion with a member back in September when she mentioned the “Ber” months were here. Not knowing what she was talking about we asked what were the “Ber” months? She looked at us as if we where little children and said “You know September, October, November and December”. These are the months the Philippines celebrate the Christmas holidays. Yes, they start as early as September singing Christmas carols. While attending a missionary district meeting in September we sang a carol as one of our songs. To us it was a bit early.
As we paid more attention we noticed businesses started putting up Christmas decorations and trees as part of their way of doing business. Even the local municipalities have their displays out and lit in October. Other cities have waited until December to open their displays of Christmas. Many houses are also putting up lights for the season.
The Philippines is a Christian country so Christ’s birth is the theme of almost all their community displays. As we drive for our assignments we can see a whole spectrum of displays from the most humble – a little manger with small figures set alongside the country road, to big elaborate sets that are hugh and well lighted. No matter how it is presented it shows the enthusiasm each community has for this time of year.
The weather does not let us relate to the Christmas season that we remember from back home because it is so warm. We have no snow, no ice on the roads, do not have to wear coats or gloves or hats to keep our ears warm – we only wear short sleeved shirts, sun glasses and keep the A/C turned on in the car and house.
In our house here in Tarlac we will put up a little table top Christmas tree (we inherited from the previous missionaries) for our personal celebration and enjoy our Christmas time together here in this beautiful country.
Elder NB & Sister MB
