July 2013

July, 2013

Only nine months of our mission left! It is rainy season so it has rained most evenings.  I do not mind when it rains if we are already home for a couple of reasons.  The first is we do not get wet, and the second is for some reason the dogs next door are quiet during the rain and we can get a complete night's sleep without the barking serenade. 

We have been very busy this last month.  We were in Iloilo for the Priesthood cluster meeting and then took a few days off to stay on Boracay Island.  After returning from Iloilo we began teaching the Planning for Success Workshop again.  It is on Tuesday morning and is four weeks long. 

The Employment Resource Center holds a Career and Self Employment Workshop that lasts a week.  The founders of the program is Brother Mel and Sister Bette Gibson.  They were hear from Salt Lake City and we were able to meet them and have lunch with them.  They had a bit of information for us on the new training that is being provided for the new ERC-PEF, missionaries.  They are doing one of the training sessions at the MTC. They are a fun couple and we were excited to meet them.

We also had Franco Avencula and Elder and Sister Tenny from Manila, and Sister Maryann from Cebu here last weekend to train our Church Service Missionaries. After they arrived on Friday afternoon we took them to see the ruins prior to dinner and transporting them to their hotel.  The next day we had a full day of training.  At the end of the day Dan dropped me off at the Bacolod Sixth Ward building as I am helping them with their ward choir for Ward conference.  You know they in real trouble when they have to ask me to help.  Their normal choir leader is in Cebu having Cancer treatment and since I am a missionary even though I told them I have not done it before they asked me to help.  Dan then showed the Tenny's, Maryann and Franco our home before taking then to the airport to return home.

Yesterday, the young missionaries were here for their Zone Activity.  I love having them here because is lets me feel like I am being a mom and grandma for just a little while.  I love having the opportunity to visit with them and feed them.  They are the nicest bunch of young people.  We had about twenty missionaries here from the Bacolod Central Zone.  Two of the sisters are from Kiribati, a country I had not known anything about prior to meeting the sisters.  They are closely related in culture to Polynesia but are part of the Micronesia area of the world.  Sisters Palai and Teunaia are both completing their missions in two weeks and I will miss them so very much.  Also in our Zone we have the Smoot cousins.  They are so cute and both from Utah.  It is fun to see them together.  We also have Sister Davis a tall, fair, blond who has been having great success here. Sister Sanders is also very special to us.  Actually, we love all the elders and sisters, but feel especially protective of the young sisters. Tomorrow we are having lunch with Sister Martinez and her companion since we miss her so much after he transfer. Yes we adore the elders too. Elders Eagan, Cheney, Johnson, Mifflin and Pulsipher are all from the United States and are leaders and office elders.  Then we have the Philippine elders, Elder Galanza, Dy, Dulam, and Gorospe.  To round out our group we also have Sisters Manosig, Vargas and Libria all from the Philippines.  We had a small lesson, lunch, and watched a church history video.  The visiting was the best part though and is a real emotional lift for the missionaries old and young.

Also this month we both have been fighting colds, mine turning into a sinus infection.  I am working through the second round of antibiotics which I hope will finally turn the tide and allow me to feel normal again.  Luckily, we are not traveling now and will be home until August.  Most of our Church Service Missionaries are ending their time of service so along with trying to get Cebu Church Service Missionaries called, we need to train the new missionaries here in Bacolod and Iloilo Missions.  We have two new Mission Presidents to meet also, President Aguino in the Iloilo Mission and President Tanner in the Cebu East Mission.  So August will be full of those commitments.

Love to all.  I love you

PS. A special thank you in  advance to Colleen for being substitute grandma for Jackie and Caleb when the new baby is born.  What would I do without our Sheldon family??