Maligayang Pasko! (Merry Christmas!)

Now that Thanksgiving is over, you don't have to feel guilty about doing what we've been doing since September; sing Christmas Carols!  The lights and nativities in Tarlac are getting more and more numerous and beautiful.  We spent Friday night with President and Sister Clark driving around town taking pictures of all of the beautiful nativities.  We've included some of our favorites below.

We experienced another first this past week.  Elder Whiting drove to Manila!  Because President and Sister Clark were presiding over Zone Conferences, we were charged with taking a sick missionary down to the Missionary Recovery Center (MRC) at the Area Offices in Manila.  We took as our navigator, 20 year old Elder Hatch, one of the office elders, because he had done this once before.  The scripture in Philippians 4:13--"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (even drive in Manila) took on a whole new meaning.  But Elder Hatch did a great job for us!  While there, we were given a tour of the Area Offices and the Manila MTC by a senior missionary.  The area offices and the MTC are across the street from the temple--a peaceful oasis in insane Manila.

We had our turn at Zone Conference on Friday.  President Clark shared messages from the mission presidents' seminar with the missionaries.  One point he made was that the Philippines is the most fertile field for the preaching of the gospel in all the world.  But missionaries and members alike need to step up and move the work forward like never before.  Zone conference got us fired up to work harder.  Other topics were, make the Sabbath a Delight, and have an Attitude of Gratitude.

Saturday night, we attended the baptism of a cute young couple.  They had a darling little girl.  After the baptism, they were asked to bear their testimony.  Even though we did not understand their language, we understood the language of the Spirit.  They both struggled to bear testimony because of the tears of joy they were shedding.  There was such a strong spirit there.

We leave you with the words of Isaiah:  "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shall thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.  --Isaiah 58:13-14--

Mahal Kita

Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

A wonderful young family is baptized.  They were taught by Sister Aguspina from the Philippines
on the left and Sister Ram from Fiji on the right. Our sister missionaries often wear matching outfits.

This nativity's lights were synchronized with music. I think it was "Frosty the Snowman" or something like that.
It was not a song about Christ.  It was quite weird.

This nativity was made with water bottles painted different colors.
The Filipinos are experts at recycling and repurposing.

Sister Whiting's favorite.
It's just up the street from where we live.

The manger and the light above the manger are made from woven fans

Thankful to Be Here

We have had many and varied experiences this week. Some disturbing, most uplifting.  We came across a fatal hit and run accident and were disturbed by the seeming lack of respect for the body of the victim.  Filipinos have quite a fatalistic attitude about life and death. There is much in the way of untreated disease and injury here.  A woman at church proudly told us she was 62 years old.  She looked 90. We are thankful for healthcare in the U.S and pray we don't get sick here.

We traveled north in the mission to pick up a sister who lives in one of our districts.  She has been called to serve in the Cavite mission, and we were helping transport her. She was to report to the Manila MTC the next day.  She had already ridden a bus all day from the most remote part of the mission, and still faced a 6 hour bus ride to Manila the next morning, after spending the night at a Relief Society president's house in Munoz. (which by the way was an extremely humble home) We met up with President Clark there.  Aside from presiding over the Angeles mission, President Clark also presides over the five districts within the mission, so it was his privilege to set this sister and another sister apart as full time missionaries and it was our privilege to witness the ordinance.  It was so spiritual and reminded us of our setting apart.  We resolved to be better missionaries. The sisters would leave Munoz at 2:30 a.m. to get to the MTC on time.

President and Sister Clark spent most of the week in Manila at a mission presidents seminar with the other 20 mission presidents and their wives.  They were richly taught by Elders Anderson and Renlund of the 12, and Elder Maynes of the 70.  We look forward to hearing their teachings this week at Zone Conferences.

While they were in Manila, Dad and I fulfilled our assignments at the office, which included preparations for Zone Conferences.  We have been invited to attend the conference in San Jose, a part of the mission we haven't yet visited.  This will be our first Zone Conference experience and we are so looking forward to it.

We attended the Camiling 6th Branch today. They have no piano player in the branch, but they have a keyboard which is programmed with the Hymns; so they either sing along to that or sing A Capella. The sacrament hymn was A Capella and it was so cool.  For the postlude, several youth gathered around the piano and sang primary hymns loudly and happily.  We loved it.

We leave you with these words from our wonderful President Clark: "We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather than on our blessings.  Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, 'He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has'. Gratitude, brethren and sisters, results in love, unselfishness, and consideration for others. It has a refining influence, and when expressed, can be a beautiful thing."

We are grateful for you!
Mahal Kita!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Jeepney of the Week

Teenagers and Technology are the same the world over

This boat seemed so out of place.  And how about that pink bus?

Carabou plowing a rice field

Dad could not believe his good fortune! Dr. Pepper is hard to come by!

We are Thankful for Christmas

Each day we see another new nativity in Tarlac.  And each day there are more and more Christmas lights to see.  No Thanksgiving here! It will come and go as we hold Zone Conferences throughout the mission.  But Mom found a genuine Norbest Turkey at the supermarket last night.  She couldn't believe her good fortune!  We will have Thanksgiving over the weekend at the end of Zone Conferences.

Being the only senior couple in the mission, we fulfill many assignments for President Clark; most of which involve travel. Last week was a busy travel week as will be the coming week.  But we are seeing more and more of the mission and feeling a little more comfortable with driving. And we are happy to ease President and Sister Clark's heavy burden as much as we can.

One great thing about the Philippines is that it is a Christian nation.  A man saw our name tags last night and reverently said to us "Jesus Christ".  In spite of the language barrier, we found common ground with him through our Savior.

We leave you with this note from our friends, the Naegles, who gave us, along with the note, a beautiful hand painted butterfly magnet:

"Outside our home in the Philippines there lives a beautiful black and white swallow tail butterfly.  He often swoops by us in greeting as we go out the door to start our day.  He is the Papillo Polytes or the Common Mormon Butterfly.  This butterfly is prevalently found in Southeast Asia.  The name is a reminder to us that even common Mormons like us can make a difference.  By small and simple things, great things can be accomplished.  President Monson has told us that, "history turns on small hinges".  Daily simple acts can add up to something far greater than we are.  Remember even the most common member of the church can make a difference.  --Elder and Sister Naegle--

We love you all, and we love serving our Savior!
Mahal Kita

Jeepney of the Week

School children in uniform.  (Except the boy!  He's already shed his uniform. That's a boy for you!)

The "Ice Man"

Our neighborhood

Sisters of the Padapada 1st Ward. The sister in the yellow skirt is the bishop's wife.

Elder Whiting with Elder Santiago from Cavite, Philippines, and Elder Larson from Pocatello, Idaho

Our "Common Mormon" butterfly magnet

You Cold?

Hello from the Philippines, where the sun shines and when it drops to 70 degrees everyone freezes. We will send warm thoughts your way this winter.

Another week come and gone--transfers again.  Saying goodbye gets hard.  We said goodbye to the Naegles, our wonderful Self Reliance senior couple.  We will miss them so much, but wish them well in "civilian life".

Among events this week--Elder Whiting and President Clark traveled north in the mission on Saturday to attend to mission business. Sister Whiting drove for the first time--and didn't hit anyone and no one hit her.  Wahoo!

This post will be short, but with lots of pictures.  The office elders finally got us the pics of them trying to drive through the floodwaters of Typhoon Lando, and we wanted to include them in this post. They ended up turning back because the water got too deep.  But they were able to go another route to help our missionaries who were affected by the flooding.

We leave you with this poem from Grandma Muhlestein:

 "Give to the needy sweet Charity's bread,
 For giving is living the angel said.
But must I keep giving again and again?
My peevish and pitiless curt answer ran.
Oh no, said the angel, piercing me through.
 Just give 'till the Savior stops giving to you."

Mahal Kita

Jeepney of the Week--"Dong"  Wonder where "Ding" is?

Typhoon Lando floodwaters.  This truck couldn't see the road and drove off it, getting stuck.
Can you see the lines on the road?

Where's the Road?

Putting out a Wake

 Flooded Rice Fields with Mount Arayat, a dormant volcano, in the background

The flooding destroyed many rice crops.

Driving through the floodwaters, trying to see the yellow line that shows the edge of the road.

Departing missionaries and the Clark's

Transfer day--Bring everything you own!

Transferring missionaries here to pair up with new companions and go to new areas.