THE QUEZON QUIBBLER: Happy Birthday President Hughes!

Dear Family,

We've loved seeing the photos of your week together (well, except for FOUR of us) and are happy that you enjoyed being together.

This is the second week that it's rained every day, but this week it's rained REALLY HARD every day. Thursday the thunder was so close I felt I almost got struck by lightening walking between the office and the church and Dad pointed out to the missionaries at MLC that it would have been an embarrassing headline: Mission President's Wife Struck by Lightening! Although people here appreciate the rain for the rice harvest, there is a lot of flooding in our mission and we've heard many evacuation centers are full. In some areas, the missionaries are walking through thigh-deep water, and it just continues to rain. We are on in the third typhoon of the two weeks, "Josie", and we're thankful we are not an area that's been hit head-on--just heavy rains and flooding here.

Despite the flooding, the missionaries and members united to try to map the most flooded stake of the mission, Caloocan Stake, yesterday. They were in good spirits but completely soaked through by the time Dad arrived at about 2pm. Earlier that day, we went to Manila where he was the keynote speaker for "Academy for Creating Enterprise" which teaches people how to start their own businesses. (The Church took their curriculum for their Self Reliance program). I sat by a MPW who just returned from her service July 1 and she turned to me and said, "I feel like I'm in zone conference!" as Dad taught them about getting up early, exercising, planning, reading from the Book of Mormon and practice teaching and how having these private victories each day will lead to a public victory. He did a lot of good in that hour. And we met the parents of one of our sisters from South Cotabato.

The greatest blessing of the week was the arrival of Bob and Diane Ogden Monday morning to be our office couple. The elders have done a good job in the seven weeks since the Dicksons left, but they are powerful teachers in Tagalog and we need them out teaching. Sister Ogden was the RS president when we moved to Orem 19 years ago, and was Stewart's stake Primary president and very organized and capable. Elder Ogden has been ward clerk which is perfect as the clerks here need a lot of training. We went with them to their assigned ward for the first time this morning and she bore her testimony in Tagalog!

Stewart turned 63 on Friday. He celebrated his birthday working and getting a haircut. At night we went to a dinner for the stake and ward leaders in Montalban stake. I'd asked the caterer if she could make an American pie for his birthday, and she made three pies and two cakes AND had her daughter decorate a chalkboard with "Happy Birthday President Hughes!" Of course, when Dad saw it he was embarrassed he turned it around so people wouldn't see it (after he posed for the photo below).

Earlier in the month my Tagalog tutor, Joana, asked if she could use the mission home pool for a birthday party (the 20th is also her birthday). Of course I agreed, but she seemed sad when she told me none of her friends were available. Dad suggested I invite her to come with us. I was surprised that she wanted to, but she was thankful not to be alone on her birthday. On the drive over I asked if her family had called to wish her Happy Birthday (I knew she came from a province) and she said, "no," and described her family life which is too complicated to record here. She found our at age ten she was adopted and her biological mother was her aunt who'd given her to her brother and his wife. Her adopted mom abused her but died when she was 11 and she went to live with another aunt who was a member and she joined the church. She lived with a variety of aunts and a step-sister until she left to serve a mission in Hong Kong (with the Hawks) and returned to no home or family. She lives alone in a tiny apartment. When we walked into the cultural hall where the tables and huge "Happy Birthday President" display were set up, she looked at the caterer and almost screamed, "She's my cousin!" She was actually her cousin's wife whom she hadn't seen for 20 years, but they immediately recognized one another and she met her two daughters and had a wonderful night. The stake president's wife's younger sister served with her in Hong Kong, and she felt so loved. Dad invited her to blow out the cake candles with her. This is just one example of how inspired Dad is as he leads this mission and ministers to all the missionaries and reaches out to the members. His talks are powerful, but it's his one-on-one quiet interactions that impress me. I don't know most of them, but I observe some of his personal interactions with the missionaries and know they are changing lives as they feel his sincere concern and love.

Good news: Sister Calapini's platelets started raising Monday morning and she was released from hospital on Wednesday and back to work!

Bad news: Elder Yates, one of the assistants, has dengue now.

The mission reveals many miracles, but it also continues to reveal my weaknesses. I'm depending on the promise in Ether 12:6 and hoping that by the time I return I'll be very cheerful and optimistic and not murmur. But at this rate, my progress needs to accelerate!

Love,

Mom

Photos:

With President and Sister Andrade of Laoag Mission (their RM son was killed crossing street in Manila the first year of their mission--they have so much faith!)