Cebu City Temple

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.

Another on-going project has been trying to help members set up a small business on their own. Our son (who recently set up a bakery business) suggested an excellent internet source called SCORE.org. Retired executives have set up this website to help anyone in planning how to set up a business. It is very detailed and an excellent source of information. This has been very helpful to the members here.

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.

Elder NB & Sister MB

Laoag VC Office Open

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 14^th 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 15^th 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

Happy 4th of July

Angeles,

Pampanga,

Philippines

3 July 2010

Happy 4^th of July from the Philippines! Every six weeks we have an Angeles Mission “couple missionary” meeting. This week the couples met on Saturday, July 3^rd for a 4^th 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

Far North of Luzon

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.

We have been able to do a few other things as well – NB was asked to give a new little house a ‘House Blessing’ (picture above), attended another baptism with a departing missionary and his parents and the best of all, witnessed by closed circuit TV the cultural event and the dedication of the Philippines Cebu City Temple on Sunday, 13 June. What a special event to have President Monson, Pres. Eyring, Elder Oaks, Bishop Burton and others in attendance and to listen to the direction given to the Filipino people and instructions given to us all as we ‘endure to the end’.

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.

The work in great!

Elder NB & Sister MB

Do You Know the Way?

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

Baptisms

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