More of the Mission Tour/Zone Conference

Mindoro Zone..Front row is Elder Meniano, Elder Navarro, 

Elder Natividad, Elder Eldridge and Elder Yost. Middle row is 

Pres. Ramires of Lipa Stake, Elder & Sister Campbell, 

Elder & Sister Teh, Me & President. Back row is Elder Libatique,

 Elder Basco, Sister Osborn, Sister Tumaliuan, Elder Guyer, 

Sister Pascual, Sister Gusman, Elder Bactad, Elder Cortez.

Batangas Zone...Front row is Elder Ignasio, Elder Quimsing,

 Elder Garnica, Elder Viloria, Elder Pascua.  Middle row is Elder 

Visoria, Lipa St. Pres. Ramirez, Elder & Sister Teh, Me & 

President.  Back row is Elder Delfin, Elder Lopez, Sister 

Mathangi, Sister Juntong, Sister Agustin, Sister Gallagher, 

Elder Nance and Elder Ayap.

Lipa Zone, Front row,  Elder Dioso, Elder Ramos, Elder Tagulao,

 Elder Diaz, Elder Rubio. Middle row is Elder Alinsoot, Lipa 

Stake Pres. Ramirez, Elder & Sister Teh, & us.  The back row is 

Elder Lacson, Elder Yelle, Elder Quiambao, Sister Gabuyo, 

Elder Eyre, Sister Atillo, Elder Paddayuman, Elder Castor, 

Elder Collado, Elder Bandiola. 

Dinner with the Tehs

Elder & Sister Teh wanted to take us to dinner at a nice restaurant on the Lake in San Pablo called Clyden Josh.  It was a lovely setting.  Those windows looked out on the lake and there was a cool breeze that night.  We just let the Tehs order for us and we had some interesting entres...including fried frog legs!  (Tastes like chicken!?)  They invited the couples and the office/AP elders, too. Elder Surio, Eder Abanggan, Elder & Sister Bennett, Elder & Sister Packer, Elder Judd, Elder Johnson, President and me, and of Elder & Sister Teh in front.  It was a lovely evening!

Viewing Missionaries Apts. in Lucena with Elder Teh

Elder Delos Santos, Elder Abanggan (AP), Elder Dela Pena, 

Elder Painagan, and Elder Villamil.  Elder Teh was impressed 

with their apartment.

Elder Libutti and Elder Dela Cruz in Lucena are proud of their 

apartment...even thought they are looking for another one.  

It has a roof that leaks and trouble with water pressure

 and no skreens on windows.

This apartment seemed to win the cleanest apartment prize with 

Elder Teh, who is pictured with the elders living there, 

Elder Bayla and Elder Clark!  Good job elders!

Mission Tour/Zone Conference with Elder & Sister Teh in Lucena

This is the Marinduque Zone with us.  Front row is President Domini B. Bangal of the Lucena Stake, Sister and Elder Howell the PEF couple for the mission, Elder Michael J. Teh, our Area President from the 1st Qurum of Seventy & Sister Grace Teh, myself & President.  Back row is Elder Blanco, Elder De Leon, Elder Trapsi, Elder Waga, Elder Haake, Sister Camingao, Elder Lucero, Sister Baladad, Elder Pratt   and Elder Dela Cruz.

Here is Lucena Zone.  The back row is Elder Perez, Elder Bayla, Elder Villamil, Elder Poole, Elder Durano, Elder Clark, Elder Delos Santos, Sister Paul Raj, Elder Libutti, Sister Villasis, Elder Painagan, Sister Grow, Elder Tamale, Sister Tacbobo, Elder Dela Pena, and Dela Cruz.  Front row is the same except

President Bangal changed places with the Howells.

The Lopez Zone has Elder Cook, Elder Michaels, Elder Naeata, Elder Agan, Elder Smith, Sister Rombaoa, Elder Miranda, Sister Uy, Elder Navarro, Elder Sollano, ElderValenzuela, Elder De los Santos, Elder Francisquette, and Elder Rosario.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

The people here just love to take a lot of pictures.  After a while,

 you start feeling like a celebrity.  It is so fun to be a part of the

 filipino culture.

This is a picture with a few members of the Pagbilao ward in the Lucena Zone.  They just finished this new building.  We thought it was being dedicated today, but I guess that is coming up soon.  Elder Poole on the back left and Elder Tamale, second to the end on the right had a baptism that day.  The man in front of Elder Poole is the one baptized. The Packers, President and I are standing together in the middles

Transfer Day Oct. 2011

Sister Marzan came back with her family for Transfer Day.

Elder & Sister Packer ready for the big, busy day!

This is my little helper...Sister Marzan's niece!

This is one of Sister Marzan's former companions, Sister Osborn.

  As you can see, she is very sad to see her go.

Elders waiting around the office for reimbursements, etc.

Elder Belandres and Elder Butler.  Happy elders!
 I love the dimples!

New missionaries Oct. 2011

Waiting for the bus to bring the local missionaries.  Elder Clark on

 the left, then Elder Judd, Elder Pesamino, and Elder Johnson 

sitting on rail.  Elder Clark & Elder Pesamino are brand new

 "foreign" missionaries that flew in the day before.

The Packers and us waiting for the bus of 7 new locals 

missionaries.

Bus arriving with the local missionaries!

They've arrived!!

Here we are with the new batch! In the front row, ElderViloria,
Elder Alinsoot, George & I, Sister Agustin and Elder Ayap.
Back row, Elder Clark from Calif., Elder Collado, Elder De Leon,
 Elder Pesamino from Samoa, and Elder Pascua.
  It is so fun to get new ones!

Going Home October 2011

Sister Marzan and Sister Hilario are looking a little sad!

Our going home bunch...Front row, Elder Davis, myself, 

Sister Hilario, Sister Marzan, George, Elder Jerusalem.

  Back row, Elder Butler, Elder De Leon, Elder Favero, 

and Elder Kitzmiller.  We will sure miss these elders & sisters!

  It is getting harder and harder to say good-byes.

You have to love that face!  I wanted a poster of this one...

cropping in on his face!  As he saluted and waved, he called out,

 "I will miss you!"...He is too cute!

Elder De Leon and his family.  He is one of the sweetest and

 hard working elders.  What a wonderful sense of humor he has!

  We are truly going to miss him!

Elder & Sister Packer getting trained

Sister Packer getting trained as our office secretary by Elder Torres.  We will miss Elder Torres.  He is going back out into the field to train a new elder!  He is a kind, patient, loving elder with wonderful manners!  We love him!  We have Elder Surio in the office too...to help Sister Packer when Elder Torres leaves.

Elder Judd is training Elder Packer to take care of all the financial affairs of the mission.  Elder Judd will still be in the office for a while.  He is a sweet elder anxious to get out to a new area, away from the pressures of the office.  He is a good elder.  We love him too!

Alaminos Ward Baptism

These are our office elders with a baptism of a family in the 

Alaminos Ward, which is the ward building next to the mission

 home.  Sweet family...the husband is working out of town right 

now, but he has shown a lot of interest too.  The family got 

baptized on his birthday.  Elder Torres is on the left end and

 Elder Judd on the right.  We love these elders!!

Zone Leaders Council Oct., 2011

ZLC group shot...We are missing the Island Zone Leaders,on 

Mindoro and Marinduque because none of the boats were going

 across the water due to the storms.  We have Elders, Rubio, 

Dela Pena, Abanggan, Vandermyde, Quimsing, Remollo, Favero 

(squating in front), Dioso, Delos Santos, Roxas, President and I, 

Elders Painagan, Villavueva, Johnson, Miranda, Adop, Lopez, 

and squating on the right front in Elders, Yance, and Sambile.

Elder Dela Pene, Elder Lopez, Painagan, Elder Rubio, 

Elder Dioso, Elder Quimsing & Elder Abanggan.

Having fun together at ZLC.  Elder Favero, Elder Vandermyde, 

Elder Judd, Elder Roxas, & Elder Abanggan

Three Elders Singing Christmas Hymns...They start early here.  

They have been playing Christmas music in the mall and selling 

christmas decor, etc. for a month already! This is Elder Villanueve,

 Elder Yance, and Elder Rubio at the piano.

Busy times in the Office during Transfer week.  Reimbursements (for medical or other extra needs) , pouch (mail), vitamins, etc. are just a part of the happenings!  Here are some elders waiting around for their turn!  That is Elder Surio on the right in front.  He is the one that has been training for Elder Torres' spot.  The elders on the other side of the counter are Elder Vandermyde, Elder Miranda, Elder Favero, and Elder Rubio.  The other two in the background facing the camera are Elder Dioso and Elder Lopez.

One of the Many Fiesta Parades

There seems to be a lot of Festivals and parades in the 

Philippines.  This is a little parade passing through our 

neighborhood!  They seem to have a lot of Holidays

 to celebrate, too!

Medical Issues

Sister Cinco and Sister Alferez waiting patiently.  Sister Alferez has major migraines and she is going to stay at the MRC (Missionary Recovery Center) while she waits for Dr. appointments and test results.  We also brought an Elder De Guia to try to figure out his dizziness...maybe an inner ear problem.  We were hoping to pick up the Bennett's when we brought them in, but they weren't ready yet.  However, we came back to Manila a few days later to pick up the Packers and ended up bringing Sister Alferez and the Bennett's back too.  Things are much better for them all and we are glad to have them back!

Elder and Sister Packer Are Here!!

Here we are at the airport picking up Sandy and Brent Packer.  We are so excited to have them!!  They have had a long trip.  We are going to try to get them to bed early tonight so they can get caught up on their sleep.  Their home isn't ready to move in yet so they will be staying with us at the mission home for a while.  They will be working in the office.  They were specially trained at the MTC for that job.  Did I say, WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE THEM HERE!!  We are!

Zone Interviews, Oct 2011

The Lopez zone, Elder Francisquete, sitting down in front, far left 

is Elder Rosario, Elder Smith, Elder Valenzuela, Elder Miranda,

 Me, Elder Michaels, Sister Uy, Elder Cook, Sister Baladad, 

President, Elder Sollano, Elder Navarro and Elder Abanggan.

Visiting with the sisters from Cabuyao, Sister Bowthorpe, 

Sister Villasis, Sister Orro, Sister Huerta, and Sister Marzon.  

Sister Marzon is talking to me about how President and I got 

together.  She was very curious about that!

Sisters in Lucena...Sister Paul Raj, Sister Rambaoa, Sister Grow,

 and Sister Tacbobo.

It's a Real Frog!

This is a real frog...turned into a coin purse!  It belongs to Elder Johnson.  The zipper is at the back end and the purse is lined with fabric.  Have you ever seen frog leather?!!  I just about died when I saw it!  I know, it is really not a pretty sight.   However, we thought is was so unique that we had him go get us some more...just in case some of our grandsons wanted one.

These are not all ours...half are Elder Johnson's

Traveling in the Philippines

This is a tricycle that was in front of us on the highway.  The side 

car had 2 or 3 people inside, you can see a couple of people

 on the back of the motorcycle side with someone on top and 

2 people on top of the side car...plus all the baggage piled up! 

 This is very typical.

This is a typical sight, also.  The jeepney is full of people, with

 a bunch more riding on top!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT!!

This is a great Birthday card from the office elders and assistants.  

They LOVE their President!!

Elder Johnson & Elder Abangan enjoying the cake!

President is getting ready to blow out the candles after the 

Happy Birthday song!  You can see how surprised he was!

As we were going around to zone interviews, the Lucena Zone 

brought a birthday cake to surprise President after the interviews.

  It was delicous and very rich chocolate.