MP Seminar

Dear Family,

We woke up Monday morning to photos of the Hunt Reunion and got to Facetime with Aunt Nancy when Mark and Abby and Fenton had her over to dinner.  The highlight of our week was a visit from Derrick Monday afternoon/evening, who came to help me with a meeting to design the new mission office.  He brought us a cool, small projector we can take with us to zone and district meetings easily.  (IF we can remember how to use it!)

Tuesday we went to the Manila Temple for a session with President Bowen and some of the Mission Presidents and their wives.  The endowment rooms only hold 28 people and there are 21 missions, so we couldn't all go together.  We spent most of the week at a hotel near the Temple where we met with other mission presidents and their wives and were taught by the Philippines Area Presidency. On the last day, Elder Haney unveiled a washing machine and microwave. We already knew our missionaries were being given microwaves, but since most are Filipino, they didn’t really care about that. But the decision that each apartment will have a washing machine with a spin cycle is monumental!!  The missionaries will no longer have to wash all their clothes and bedding by hand. Compared to US washers they are small and plastic and only cost $86.50 each, but we are so excited!

Stewart introduced it to our apartment senior missionary later that day in our office meeting, telling him that even though he’s served for one year, there still “remaineth an effectual struggle to be made” (Mos 7:18) installing 60 washing machines in apartments. (He wasn’t quite as excited as we were.) 

I went with the some of the other MP wives two evenings for quick shopping trips.  One to a market-mall and the other to the Kilos Foundation, started by a man wanting to provide work for mothers in his neighborhood.  They recycle used juice boxes and magazines and books and sew and weave them into bags and roll them into jewelry. When their warehouse caught fire,  LDS Charities replaced all the sewing machines for them to continue their work.  They are actually pretty great bags.

Today we spoke in stake conference in San Jose Del Monte North Stake with Elder and Sister Haney, who are sadly (for them and us) being reassigned to the US in July.  We learned that in 1961 there was only ONE Filipino member of the Church.  And now there are 104 stakes and almost 800,000 members.  The Philippines has grown amazingly fast!  The zone leaders in this stake were inspired to invent a program to get referrals from members called "JIFFY" (they were eating Jiffy peanut butter at the time), and they got over 500 names from the members in just one Sunday in one of the wards!  The members really are the key to missionary work here.  I related a story Connie wrote me this week of her visiting teacher:

My visiting teachers are elderly and when they were assigned to me 4 years ago I thought, "Well, they won't be much help!"  I was wrong. They have been such wonderful examples to me!  They cannot visit every month (it scares me when they drive!) but they always call and check on me and read me the message or discuss it with me if I've already read it. More importantly, they pray for me every day.  One of them just celebrated her 90th birthday and her children threw a big open house for her.  At the open house I met her friend who had friendshipped her into the church.  She was introduced to the church in California as a young married but her husband was not interested. He would not let her be baptized but allowed her to attend meetings.  When she went to church for the first time, she attended the investigator Sunday School class. A woman waved her into the class and said "Come sit by me."  The two became friends and the member woman invited her to RS activities, church activities and other things.  My visiting teacher was finally able to join the church later in life when her husband died, I think in her 50's.  Her friend attended her baptism and at age 92, flew to Oklahoma to celebrate again with her.  I have learned much from my visiting teacher about enduring to the end and the power of friendshipping.

I am inspired to be better at reaching out to people.  I never really know who is new in a ward, so I just have to be extra friendly to everyone.  Fortunately, Filipinos are super friendly and so respectful of missionaries.  This week I did my exercise by walking in a mall near the hotel and I walked into a store to be greeted by a man who said, "Hi Sister!  I am a member!"  This actually happens a lot.  Sometimes they say, "Where's your companion?" and we explain we have different rules than the senior missionaries and don't always have to be with our companions--but they are always watching the missionaries!

Monday morning we start four straight days of zone conferences, so please pray extra hard for us.   Actually, just pray extra hard all the time -- we are always in need of help here. 

Much love,

Mom

Photos:

Ann, our mission home helper, teaching a Pancit demo to the senior sisters

Kilos Foundation

Booth at market mall (Green Hills) that sells purses made from real frogs -- who wants one??

The unveiling of the washing machine and microwave at MP Seminar

With President and Sister Cruz -- Hyatt Glenn is serving as their assistant

More Filipino mission presidents and wives --the nicest people ever!