Elder and Sister Whiting in the Philippines: It's Still Hot

We see where it has turned off cold back home with some snow falling. No such luck here--it's still hot. We did get some rain last week, and looking out the window of the mission office it looked cold. But it was just an illusion brought on by the air conditioning. We ran into a senior couple serving in the Quezon North Mission while shopping at S&R last week. They are from Canada and have been here just three months. The sister summed up how we feel when she said she missed the crisp, fresh air. Here, sometimes the air is so heavy it's hard to breath.

The highlight of the week was Zone Conference. We always enjoy the spiritual feast that it is. Elder Whiting gave the spiritual thought to open the conference. He talked about how our mothers love us so much because they do so much for us; and that is why our Savior loves us so much, because of what He had done for us. The conference theme was one of encouragement to meet the high expectations in the mission, and to develop Christlike attributes. Also, we had special guests, Elder Collins, one of the doctors from the MRC, and his wife. Elder Collins emphasized the importance of staying healthy. After all, a sick missionary cannot do the work he has been called to do. He taught the missionaries some habits they should develop to stay healthy.

The rest of the week was spent in the office; except Friday we did some more apartment inspections. We went to Dau and Santa Lucia, two areas of the mission we hadn't visited yet. Santa Lucia is a very quaint farming community which made us feel like we had stepped back in time. The elders in these two areas are good, strong, obedient missionaries and the inspections were easy because both places were clean and orderly, and their 72 hour kits were in good order. Elder Whiting replaced one burned out light bulb and that was it. After the inspections, we met up with Elder and Sister Pugh at S&R for lunch, as they were doing apartment inspections in the area as well.

Last week Elder Whiting was a little under the weather, and this week it's Sister Whiting's turn. We are very grateful to have had such good health on our mission, and when we have been ill, we are grateful for speedy recoveries. The upcoming week will be a busy one. We will celebrate Thanksgiving this coming Friday at the mission home with the Clark's and all of the senior couples. We are supposed to bring our favorite Thanksgiving dish to share. Sister Whiting had to settle for her third choice of what to bring because the ingredients are not available here for the first two choices.

We hope all of you have a happy Thanksgiving and always remember how blessed we are. We leave you with this thought from President Howard W. Hunter; "Those who are filled with the love of Christ do not seek to force others to be better, they inspire others to do better."

Mahal Kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting