We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving; we certainly did. But let's back up to the first of the week. As President and Sister Clark were at a mission presidents' seminar most of the week, we filled in for them on some duties. On Monday, we picked up a sister companionship and took them to Clark Medical City as one of them needed some bloodwork done. Their area is about halfway between Tarlac and Clark, so we picked them up and got back on the highway, but we mistakenly went the wrong way. Sister Whiting was busy visiting with the sisters, and Elder Whiting automatically turned toward Tarlac instead of Clark. We didn't realize our mistake until there was nowhere to turn around except at Tarlac. The sisters were good about the whole thing and Sister Whiting had a good time teasing Elder Wrong Way. We finally got to Clark, the sister had her bloodwork done, and we delivered them back to their apartment. We must say, if ever we need medical treatment, we will go to Clark--it's a first class facility, one of the best in the Philippines. Not scary like some hospitals we have visited.
Tuesday evening we began the week of feasting as we had the Tarlac sisters over for dinner. We love hosting them, and it's fun to get to know each new sister assigned to the area. Wednesday, we fulfilled another assignment for President Clark. If each companionship in a zone baptizes two people in a month, they have achieved the Standard of Excellence and earn a pizza party. With all of the hard work in October, we had several zone achieve Standard of Excellence. Three zones chose to have their pizza party on the same day. and since the Clark's were at the seminar, we were asked to take the pizza to Gapan Zone, about an hour and a half drive from Tarlac. So we picked up the pizza, made the drive, and were warmly welcomed by the Gapan Zone. We joined them in eating pizza, then continued south through an area of the mission we had never been to. We made a loop around Mount Arayat, the dormant volcano that is a prominant landmark in the mission, and made our way to Angeles to pick up orientation books and look for ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner at a duty free store in Clark. We were happy to get out of the car that evening, it was a long day of driving, albeit through a very beautiful part of the mission.
Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, we sort of celebrated. It was one of the office elder's birthday, and Elder and Sister Pugh came to Tarlac for errands, so we took him and his companion to a Chinese restaurant for lunch--his first experience with Chinese food. Afterward, we had cake and ice cream at the office.
Friday, President and Sister Clark were back in town, so we met at the mission home in the afternoon for our Thanksgiving celebration. Each of us brought a dish to share and we had turkey, ham, funeral potatoes, and other delicious food, including apple, pumpkin, and pecan pie that the Clark's found at S&R on their way home from Manila. We couldn't believe our good fortune! It was such a nice time. We then visited and planned the Christmas Conference. It was a wonderul day that we hated to see end.
Yesterday, we finished up the week's work in the office, and today we attended church in Dapdap. And yes, we have been eating Thanksgiving leftovers, which are the best!
We leave you with the following thought: As Elder Whiting has been preparing to read the Christmas Story (Luke 2) at the upcoming dinner party for the stake and district presidents and wives, he has thought we often overlook verse 19: "but Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart."
Mahal Kita and Maligayang Pasko,
Elder and Sister Whiting
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| Jeepney of the Week |
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| Left to right: Elder Whiting, Sister Touli, Sister Lagilayan, Sister Whiting, Sister Evans, Sister Bandoy |
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| Gapan Zone Pizza Party |
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| Up close and personal with beautiful Mount Arayat |
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| Birthday lunch. L-R: Elder Whiting, Sister Whiting, Sister Pugh, Elder Pugh, birthday boy Elder Apolinario, Elder Silva |
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| Thanksgiving at the Mission Home |
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| Pie!! |
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| Thanksgiving dinner at the Mission Home. L-R: Elder and Sister Whiting, President and Sister Clark, Elder and Sister Pugh, Elder and Sister Spung, Elder and Sister Dansie. |
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