March 2013

We have been in the Philippines now nine months (my husband says we are in our 43rd week of missionary service) and it is now officially summer here.  I actually notice it is a little less humid (thankfully) so I am not sweating to death.  This last week our mission area was expanded to include the Cebu Mission. So...our responsibility will include the six islands: Negros (where we live), Panay and Guimarus (called the Iloilo Mission) and Cebu and Bohol and Siquijor (which are currently the Cebu Mission.  In July it will be split into the Cebu and Cebu East missions. The mission president in Iloilo (President Pacaduan) will complete his assignment in July and we will have a new mission president there and in the Cebu West Mission.  I can't believe the growth of the church here.  It is so exciting to be a small part of that history. We are excited to add the new missions because it will give us the opportunities to travel more to new places and there is a temple in Cebu that we can attend. 

Last week the church announced the creation of 58 new missions including the four in the Philippines.  Two of the wonderful priesthood brethren we love and work with, have been called to be mission presidents here.  One is President Torres, who is currently the Institute Director in Iloilo. President Balledos, is currently serving as the Employment Resource Center Director for Cebu.  We were not surprised by their calls as they are great men and will be great mission presidents. They will both be missed in their current positions though.

This last weekend we were in Iloilo to visit with the Pablero couple and attend church there.  The passage on the ferry over was so rough I spent most of the one hour trip (on the fast ferry: Supercat) in the comport room (bathroom). I was a mess. After I finally emptied my stomach the steward offered me "white flower" and a cotton ball and told me to hold the cotton ball soaked in "white flower" under my nose and I would not vomit anymore.  I wish he had given that to me previously, because it really did work and now I carry a small bottle of it in my purse for rough seas.  One the way home there were about five people sick and provided with barf bags, but thankfully I was not one of them as I now know a preventative measure. Usually when we go to Iloilo we take our car on the slow ferry and it takes two hours.  I am so thankful we were on the fast ferry as it would have been horrible to be sick for two hours.  One was bad enough.

 I am also very thankful that the travel to Cebu is by air (40 minutes) otherwise it is an two hour drive across the island, six hour ferry ride and another hour drive into the city, so Cebu Airlines will be our way of travel and we will have to rent a car.  The first few times we travel there we will probably have to stay at least a business week and two weekends to meet all the priesthood brothers and ask them to call senior service missionaries for us.  Then we will have to go again to train them all.  It is so very exciting.  The senior couples we already work with are so thankful to be able to serve missions here in the Philippines as they probably will never be able to afford to serve senior missions otherwise. As a service couple missionary the couples live and serve in their own stake or district, living in their own home and they continue to work their full time jobs. What a real blessing that is for them and their families.  They also do not have to be senior couples (they can and many do have young children).

Today we began teaching the second batch of Planning for Success for the June school start date.  We think we will only have two classes both in Bacolod (one on Tuesday morning and one on Saturday).  That will be less stressful than driving twice a week to give the classes.  We also have service missionaries starting to teach the same workshop and we will sit in on a couple of them to give the couples support. I am so grateful for the service missionaries who truly lighten our load.  They help teach the workshops, make monthly contacts for us in their areas and support the students locally.  I know there is no way I could contact all the students in our five missions without their help.  With their help I am only responsible to contacting 100 of the 400 participants we have currently.  Cebu missions have 172 participants currently and they will be mine to contact monthly until we have service missionaries there locally called and trained.  I love the interaction with the participants as many have become very close to us and are doing so well with their educations.  I bet I will have as many Philippino Facebook friends as I do American before my time is over here.