Dapdap is via Bamban Not Mabalacat

  

Another busy week is done.  We thought we wouldn't have much to write about this week as it has been a quiet, routine week in the office.  But we made up for it today.  As we have mentioned before, President Clark has asked us to attend a couple of the small branches in the Tarlac Stake.  Today's destination was Dapdap Branch. Having never been to Dapdap, and trusting our GPS, we headed out at 7:30 this morning to be on time for the 9 a.m. meeting.  As we got closer, we called the Elders assigned to Dapdap to have them guide us the rest of the way in.  As we are describing what we are seeing, and comparing it to what they are saying, we realize we are nowhere near where they are.  We are telling them about the big bridge we just crossed and they are saying you need to go up the hill on the winding road.  There were no hills, and the road we were on was a straight as an arrow.  Come to find out, there's Dapdap, and there's Madapdap. The GPS took us to Madapdap beyond Mabalacat, instead of Dapdap beyond Bamban!

So we ended up backtracking quite a ways, and at the suggestion of the Elder, we found a trike driver and hired him as our guide to take us to the Mormon Church.  Well, first he took us to the Christ Mission Church. When we told him that wasn't it, he wandered around totally lost until he finally asked another trike driver to help us.  So we ended up following the trike that was following the trike that was leading us to ..... the Born Again Christian Church!  Apparently the Mormons are not well known among trike drivers in Dapdap!  Fortunately, the Elders saw us coming--the Born Again Church was just down the road from the branch--and we made it; a half hour late for sacrament meeting.

We were warmly welcomed, and shook the hand of every man, woman, and child in the branch; about 40 total.  They had kept the bread and water of the sacrament for us, which we were so grateful for.  Then we stayed for the rest of the block.  The branch president's wife, who led the singing in sacrament meeting, also taught Sunday School and Relief Society.  She is a sharp lady, and both lessons were wonderful.

After church, we stopped in Capas at a memorial to the victims of the Bataan Death March of World War II.  It was a sober reminder of the horrors of war. The memorial itself is rundown and in disrepair, but it was kind of fitting considering the events that transpired in this area.  Capas was the first holding area for the Americans who survived the Death March.  In Cabanatuan, which is also in our mission, is the prison camp where they were held for several years before they were liberated by Army Rangers as the Americans and Filipinos started pushing the Japanese north.  The events are chronicled in the book "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides.  It is an incredible rescue story that has been all but forgotten.  We recommend the book.

To update Mary and Richard, they are still taking the lessons, but didn't go to church today.  Aira has yet to be home to hear any lessons.  She is not yet 12 and is staying with relatives and working all week in their bakery, only coming home on the weekend.  Today is Mary's 29th birthday, so we went over to wish her happy birthday.  We hope you are all extremely grateful for your homes and circumstances. If we were to describe their home, "dirt poor" are the words that come to mind.  We are beyond blessed.

We leave you with Christ's words to the tempter in Matthew 4:4--"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (underline added)

Mahal Kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week--Jerusalem

Bridge from Pampanga Province to Tarlac Province

Cora's Trike!

Homemade basketball backboard mounted to an old power pole

Elders Pascua, Hagen, and Whiting

Future missionaries from Dapdap

Dapdap Primary children

Dapdap Branch Relief Society and Young Women, and one Primary boy!

Dapdap Philippines Branch building

Bataan Death March Memorial in Capas, Philippines

Detail of Memorial

Detail of Memorial

Wow! What a Week!

We have had an amazing week.  The highlight of course was our mission conference on Tuesday with President Russell M. Nelson, his wife Wendy, and Elder and Sister Shayne Bowen of the Seventy.  We were blessed to hear from all of them, and to shake their hands.  Our missionaries were so excited and attentive during the conference.  President Nelson and the others gave some wonderful counsel and really brought the Spirit with them.  We were all smiles long after he had departed.  It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Along with that great spiritual experience, twice this week we went with the sisters to teach the family across the street.  We ended up teaching the mother Mary, and her 10 year old son Richard.  We all huddled around the makeshift table, the only light being the makeshift kerosene lantern and the flashlight on the sisters' phone, while the sisters taught about eternal families and the restoration.  The Spirit was so strong; Mary felt the Spirit and wants to be baptized. We taught her again on Friday night, and when the sisters checked with them on Saturday, Mary wanted another lesson, so they taught another lesson then. They have a baptism date of March 26th. Today was stake conference, and we got Richard there, but Mary ended up going to visit her 12 year old daughter Aira, who works across town instead. Hopefully next week we will get both Mary and Aira to church.  Mary and Christopher (the dad) are not married, so they need to get married so Mary can be baptized.  Right now Christopher is not interested. Those were the spiritual highlights of the week, and boy were they ever! This was our first real opportunity to help teach, and we hope to do a lot more.

Wednesday, we made another trip to Manila.  We delivered three sisters to Manila, all of them leaving our mission.  One, Sister Lenogon, was a visa waiter serving in our mission until she could get her visa to the U.S.  Today, she is in the Utah Provo Mission, most likely freezing to death!  The other two have health issues. One was released, the other will have knee surgery and hopefully return to the field. Manila traffic is as challenging as ever.  At one point it took 45 minute to go two kilometers.  But we made it there and back without incident. Thursday, we unexpectedly had to transport a short term missionary to San Fernando, which is halfway to Manila, to take the place of Sister Lenogon. Flexibility is something you learn as a missionary.  Whatever is necessary, we do.

Which brings us to today.  As we mentioned, it was the Tarlac Stake Conference.  We attended the Saturday evening session where President and Sister Clark spoke as well as Elder Perez, an area seventy.  But through some miscommunication--which isn't unusual with the language barrier--the Clark's were unaware they were supposed to speak today as well and had made appointments in other parts of the mission.  So guess who represented them as speakers in stake conference today?  Yup.  We threw something together last night and we think it turned out okay.  It's kind of a crazy thing, because last September, our first Sunday in the mission, it was also stake conference, and they had us bear our testimony then. Deja Vu!

We leave you with D&C 138:55-56, which President Nelson used to describe the youth of today:  "I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen from the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in His vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men."

Mahal Kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week--Japan

 The Mission Choir performing at the Mission Conference: "If the Savior Stood Beside Me"
Photo credits, the church photographer assigned to the event.

Notes from the Missionary Conference

Listening to an Apostle of the Lord

President Russell M. Nelson

Shaking hands with an Apostle

Elder Whiting's turn, while President Nelson's body guard looks on! 

Recording President Nelson's Counsel

Saying goodbye and "Well Done" to President and Sister Clark. Elder and Sister Bowen are on the left

Our missionaries waiting for the conference to start

Mission Conference Photo.  We are on the back far left.
Photo credit--Brother Garcia, a member of the Tarlac Stake.

Transfers, Baptisms, and a Trip to S&R

President Russell M. Nelson is coming to the Philippines Angeles Mission! He will speak at a full Mission Conference on Tuesday February 16th.  We can't wait! But first, a recap of the last two weeks.

Saturday, February 6th, we rode with Elder and Sister Pugh and President and Sister Clark two hours north to San Jose to participate in the setting apart of the new 2nd counselor in the mission presidency. He lives in that area, so we went to him. Elder Whiting is the secretary in the mission presidency.  After the setting apart, we all had dinner together and got home quite late.

February 7th, we drove out into the country and attended the Burgos Branch.  We counted around 60 or 70 in attendance, and we enjoyed it very much.  Most members of the branch are farmers; folks just like us. Afterwards, we drove another 20 kilometers into the mountains to a monestery. It was an interesting contrast to the branch; not much in the way of the Spirit was there, but it was a neat place to see.  It was so good to be in the mountains again; even though these mountains are dwarfed by our mountains.  We miss our mountains.

This past week was a good one with lots of interesting events.  We again taught the departing missionary workshop on Monday--we LOVE teaching this class.  It is so great to spend a few hours with these wonderful missionaries who have served honorably and are headed home.  We hope our class prepares them a little for life after the mission.  At the very beginning of the class, even though they all know each other, we ask them to introduce themselves using their first name.  It is so hilarious to watch how hard it is for them to say their first names after being Elder or Sister for so long. You can see the inner struggle.  It's pretty funny.

The rest of the week was filled with welcoming the new missionaries and transfers.  By Thursday afternoon, transfers were over and everyone headed to their new area with their new companion. 

After transfers on Thursday, we took Elder and Sister Pugh to S&R to do some shopping.  While there, we picked up a big supply of vitamins for the mission.  We used our card to buy them--rather to attempt to buy them--but because it was a LARGE transaction, and we were in the Philippines, our card got declined and frozen.  There we were with a shopping cart full and a frozen credit card.  Ahhh! We can't have our card frozen! We called Nicholas, woke him up, (sorry) and he was able to help us unfreeze the card and complete the transaction. Thanks, Nicholas--we owe you.

Today, we took the sister missionaries who are assigned to our area across the street and introduced them to the family whose kids come open the gates and do other odd jobs for us for pesos.  The sisters got a return appointment for next Wednesday.  We will go with them and sit in on the lesson.  These same sisters taught and prepared children from part member and less active families for baptism, and last night, we attended the baptism of five children ranging in age from 8 to 11.  It was one of the highlights of our mission so far.  Each one bore their testimony afterwards. Today, we witnessed their confirmations in sacrament meeting.  Maybe soon we can witness the same thing with the kids across the street.

Some of you have asked about the young men who were hit by the truck a couple of weeks ago.  A week ago Thursday, we attended the funeral of the boy who died--it was held in our ward building.  The room was packed with mostly nonmembers.  It was hard to watch a mother grieve. When it was time for the bishop to speak he did  a wonderful job of testifying and teaching the plan of salvation.  The other boy who was critically injured is recovering and will be OK.

We are so looking forward to President Nelson's visit on Tuesday.  Tomorrow will be filled with last minute preparations and instructions.  Our missionaries have been asked to have their appearance "match the message" for President Nelson's visit. A little side note, we have a young sister who is headed to the Utah Provo Mission and has been serving in our mission while she awaited her visa.  Well last week we got word that her visa was ready and she was scheduled to fly out the day of President Nelson's visit.  President Clark arranged for her departure to be delayed two days so she could be in attendance at this event.  We admire him so much for doing that, because he didn't have to go to the trouble. The sister is so grateful that he did this. At any rate, keep your eye out for Sister Lenogon from the Philippines.  She's headed your way!

We leave you with the words of President Russel M. Nelson and the Prophet Joseph Smith:

 "Prophets see ahead. They see the harrowing dangers the adversary has placed, or will yet place, in our path.  Prophets also foresee the grand possibilities and privileges awaiting those who listen with the intent to obey. ... You may not always understand every declaration of a living prophet, but when you know a prophet is a prophet, you can approach the Lord in humility and faith and ask for your own witness about whatever His prophet has proclaimed"  --President Nelson--

 "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."  --Joseph Smith--

Pagpalain ka ng Diyos (Lord bless you)

Mahal Kita

Jeepney of the Week

2016 Mission Theme

Philippines Angeles Mission Presidency L-R: President Zapanta, 1st Counselor; President Clark;
President Cruz, 2nd Counselor; Elder Whiting, Secretary

Elder Whiting at the Monestery de Tarlac

Mountains! (Sort of)

The Local Swimming Hole

The Reason for the Frozen Credit Card!

Five new members of the Church along with President and Sister Clark,
Sisters Tumala and Wilber, and Bishop Arcansalan of the Tarlac 1st Ward