Pisapungan Reprise

It's still brutally hot, with no relief in sight.  President Clark has cautioned our missionaries to be wise in working in the heat so as to not endanger their health.  The young missionaries continue to be our heroes.

It was a routine week of office duties and errands to run. We are preparing for a mission tour by Elder and Sister Allen D. Haynie of the Seventy on May 3-5.  We are anxious and excited for this opportunity.  Elder Haynie will do training, preside over zone conferences, and interview missionaries and new members.

Yesterday we again made our way to Pisapungan--we finally know how to properly spell it--to witness no less than EIGHT baptisms; seven convert baptisms and one child of record from a newly reactivated family.  We again parked at the end of the pavement and walked in.  This time we were ahead of the branch members, so Sister Whiting didn't have any "help" down the path.  It worked out much better.  The last time she hiked in, she knew that wearing dress shoes would be a disaster, so she wore flip flops instead, and that turned out to be as bad of a choice.  She had let her pride not allow her to wear the hiking shoes she had brought on the mission with her dress.  Yesterday, she swallowed her pride and forgot about looking fashionable and wore the shoes.  What a difference a good pair of shoes makes!  And no one cared!

The baptisms were amazing.  To give opportunity to as many as he could, the branch president arranged for six baptizers; which included the full time missionaries and the brother that Elder Whiting baptized last month.  It was so great to see him perform two baptisms.  We were very proud of him.  There are many more being taught in this little community and many future baptisms scheduled.  They are literally flocking to the church.

After the baptism, we started hiking  back to our car, and had gotten only part way when a member caught up to us on his trike and insisted on giving us a ride out to the car.  Sister Whiting got in the sidecar, and Elder Whiting sat on the back of the motorbike.  It was all he could do to hang on and the ride in the sidecar was bone jarring as he bounced over rocks and ruts in the road.  But we appreciated it because it saved us a half hour of walking in the heat. They really will do just about anything for the couple missionaries, and they were amazed that we hiked in all by ourselves "at our age".  Haha!

Last night, we treated the Office Elders and Assistants to tacos at our house.  One of the American elder's family had sent him taco seasoning and we volunteer to fix tacos for him.  Between the local grocery store and the wonderful S&R, we were able to get most of the ingredients, right down to the taco shells, so it was pretty authentic.  It was the two Filipino Elders first taste of tacos, and they are fans!  We had made a lot, and when dinner was over, they had eaten almost all of it.  It was awesome! We found Dr. Pepper at S&R and they were thrilled to have some.  It was a great evening, and at the end they left us with a wonderful message.  Elder Branzuela goes home to Davao City in Mindanao in a couple of weeks, so we are glad he got to experience tacos!

We leave you today with thoughts from Elder Neil L. Anderson's talk from October 2015 Conference Priesthood Session, "Faith is Not by Chance but by Choice", and encourage you all to reread it and ponder its powerful message:  "Faith is a principle of power, important not only in this life but also in our progression beyond the veil.  By the grace of Christ, we will one day be saved through faith on His name. The future of your faith is not by chance but by choice.  ... How we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith ... be relentless in protecting your faith ... Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, 'I don't know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship.'"

Mahal Kita
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

The road to Pisapungan

Sister Whiting in her coolest clothing and most comfortable shoes.
Drenched in sweat and goofy looking, but nobody cares!

Elder Whiting helping a boy dunk the ball

Baptizers and Baptizees

Baptismal candidates and their baptizers

The Pisapungan River

Brother Fallorin baptizing just a month after his own baptism

Taco Saturday!! L-R: Elders Branzuela, Amparado, Fillmore and Thacker

52* Celsius!

Sister Whiting has such a fun & different writing style than me--I told her I'd help with the blog this week - hope I don't bore you to tears.

Se we've had about the same temperature in some parts of the mission as back home - 52* - except home is Fahrenheit and we're Celsius! 52*C is about 125*F.  Can you say HOT!! We're so grateful for air conditioning! & for the power not being off too much! & the young Elders & Sisters really are our heroes!

We've had a busy week. Tues. just back from Baguio, we had to take another Missionary to Manila via Clark Medical City (hospital to get an MRI) - long day.

I ordered 3 dozen cks for Jun-Aug rent; Sister Whiting assembled a bunch of Orientation manuals & Departure binders.

Fri nite we rode with President & Sister Clark to San Jose (after they had attended to a Sister who was thrown off a trike & rolled 50 yards down the highway - luckily/blessed she's ok with just scrapes & bruises) for dinner with Stk Presidency & Bishops & wives - Sister Whiting & I haven't really taken to any Filipino food - we came home & had Coke.  But good people - they're all 'pioneers' in the Gospel in this land.

Our office Elders, the Assistants, & the Sisters in our 'home' Ward all had baptisms yesterday. 2 were at the same time in different buildings, so we divided up & attended both - Sister Whiting drove back to the Office in a thunderstorm - rain like I can't describe / never see in Utah!

While I was fighting heat & traffic to Post Office Friday Mom visited with another Sr couple from Ogden serving in Manila Area Office on their way to I.T. train a stake (needed a potty break) - had a great visit with some white people!

One of the baptisms was a 79 yr old grandpa--I kept thinking of an old song made popular by an old group named Afterglow:

The Touch of the Master's Hand
by Afterglow

The auctioneer held up an old violin
And surveying the crowd asked with a grin
What am I bid for this old violin?
And he held it up with the bow
A dollar or two? Who'll make it three?
Perhaps it has no real value said he
But what am I bid for the old violin?
And he held it up with the bow.

Well no one spoke, and the auctioneer sighed
And took the old fiddle to set it aside
When far in the rear there arose an old man
Who walked to the front of the row
He lovingly brushed the dust from it's face,
Tightened the strings, put the bow in it's place.
Then drawing the bow with a move sure and slow
The old man began to play.

With a touch of the Master's Hand,
 The old violin sang a song from within
And the listeners began to understand
The Touch of the Master's Hand

The old man concluded, then shuffled away
And the auctioneer looked where the violin lay
Then raising it up he turned to the crowd
With a voice that was humble and low
Who'll start the bidding? A thousand said he;
Two thousand once; and who'll give me three?
Three thousand going, and three thousand gone;
He whispered, then turned away.

Well some in the crowd were confused and amazed
What changed the value from night to day?
Is the old violin not the same as before?
It seemed they could not understand:
Many a life, scarred and battered with sin,
Can find a great change like the old violin
When our eyes are opened, our hearts touched from within
By the Touch of the Master's Hand.

With the Touch of the Master's Hand
The old violin sang a song from within
And the listeners began to understand
The Touch of the Master's Hand

With the Touch of the Master's Hand
Like the old violin our heart sings from within
When we look on His face to understand
It's the Touch of the Master's Hand.

Love you each one so very much!
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

The Road to Baguio
Life Size and Larger Statues for Sale

The Road to Baguio
Philippine Lions Club decided to carve this giant lion head out of the mountain

More Baguio:  Elder Whiting and an Investigator

A Lifetime System in San Jose
Sister Whiting and President and Sister Clark in the background

"The Touch of the Master's Hand"
The man in the middle was baptized at age 79
His non member daughters and grandchildren attended

Transfers and an Extended P-day

It's been a busy two weeks with a very involved and complicated transfer and all that accompanies it.  We helped transport departing missionaries, taught the departure workshop, then helped orient the new batch of missionaries.  Along with that was the added task of sending 9 India Visa Waiting Elders back to India, and receiving 5 new ones.  Last week was spent doing all of the clerical work a transfer generates. Add in problems with our computers and it has been quite the two weeks.  In addition to all of that, we have had over 70 baptisms the past two weeks!  It is Sister Whiting's privilege to input the Baptism and Confirmation Records into the Church's system, and with that many baptisms, it takes a while. But what a wonderful task!

Friday, we took a P-Day weekend with Elder and Sister Pugh to the city of Baguio in the Cordillera Mountains 3 hours north of Tarlac to celebrate both of our anniversaries.  Baguio is a mile high in altitude and is pleasantly cool--unlike the triple digit heat index we experience in Tarlac.  We stayed at Camp John Hay, a former U.S. military retreat that with its rustic log and stucco hotel surrounded by pines looks like it could be in the mountains of the United States or Canada. Baguio is a city of 3 million built on the side of the mountains, the houses hanging from the cliffs.  The roads are winding and steep, and no trikes are allowed.

We have shopped, hiked, birdwatched, and eaten. Since we rarely take a P-Day, the down time has been welcome.  Today, we watched conference in the Baguio Stake Center with hundreds of Saints and missionaries.  Tomorrow we go back to the heat of Tarlac, energized to continue our regular missionary duties.

We leave you with the words of our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson: "It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people's lives. The choices we make determine our destiny ... if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice."

Mahal Kita
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

Gateway to the Province of Nueva Ecija. Mabuhay--Welcome!

Selfie with departing missionaries, Sister Umaga of New Zealand and Sister Norman of Oregon

Headed to Baguio in the Benguet Province

Camp John Hay Hotel with Sister and Elder Pugh

The Gardens at the Camp John Hay Hotel

Baguio City, Population Three Million

The Cordillera Mountains

A hike through "Jurassic Park"

Elder Whiting at the Camp John Hay Golf Course

Elder and Sister Whiting at the Tam Awan Village

Native Art at the Tam Awan Village

Sister Pugh and Sister and Elder Whiting's First Jeepney Ride