100 Islands and Commuting by Trike

While everyone back home is shivering through winter, we are enjoying unusually cool weather for the Philippines.  Although it's not cold by any stretch of the imagination, it has been quite comfortable.  We hope it lasts another month or so.

Since the car we are driving was in the shop last week, we commuted to the office via trike.  We learned firsthand that trikes are built for Filipinos, not Americans.  Each day we would go out to the road and flag down an empty trike, then wedge ourselves into the sidecar and off we went! Outside of the bubble of the car, we got an up close  and personal view of life in the Philippines; the sights, the sounds, and the smells.   We were not thrilled when one morning our driver took us past the "Wet Market" where they sell fish and other cuts of meat from all parts of the animal.  It smelled horrible. We were glad when all we could smell again was exhaust fumes! Haha!  We were happy when we got word the car was finished a day earlier than promised.  Although it was a fun experience, we are glad we didn't have to commute by trike our entire mission.

Tuesday, we took a P-Day. We went with all of the senior couples to the coast to Hundred Island National Park. We drove from the Angeles Mission through the Urdaneta Mission and the area where Elder Clark from our home ward is serving.  We didn't see any missionaries, but we saw several LDS chapels.  When we got to Hundred Island we rented a motorized outrigger and took a tour of these beautiful volcanic islands which have been carved into interesting shapes by the tide.  They are located in the Lingayen Gulf of the South China Sea, where U.S. forces returned to the Philippines during WW2 to help liberate the country from the Japanese.  It was a fun day of sightseeing and socializing with the wonderful senior couples we serve with.

On Friday, Elder Whiting made a loop through Mabalacat and Angeles doing various mission tasks, and last night we made an emergency trip to Capas to fetch a very homesick missionar back to Tarlac for some counsel and TLC.  Yesterday morning we watched the worldwide missionary broadcast with the Tarlac Zone.  It was fun to see first hand the reactions of the missionaries as they learned of the changes in their schedules and reporting of key indicators. Some didn't quite know how to take the news.

We continue to prepare for the arrival of Elder and Sister Richards, who will be here in just over a week.  We look forward to meeting them and getting them trained in their duties in the short time we have with them.

We leave you today with the words of a hymn that has been running through our minds:

"The time is far spent, there is little remaining ..." --Hymn #266--

Mahal Kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

Ready for a fun P-Day

The crew at Hundred Islands.  L-R: Elder and Sister Spung, Sister and Elder Dansie,
Elder and Sister Pugh, Sister and Elder Whiting

Filipinos take sun protection seriously

Ready to ride a 10 person banana tube!

Aa cozy ride in a trike to the office.

Our view from the trike.

Yes we have no bananas!

a little girl playing with her pet ducks.

We watched this bike zigzag through traffic.
The lady on the back has wonderful balance!

A Special Event

What a week it has been! On Monday we taught for the very last time our departing workshop.  This batch of missionaries went home not only to various islands in the Philippines, but to places like Florida, St. George, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Sri Lanka.  It's pretty tough saying goodbye to missionaries you have become close to and know you will never see again in this life.  We've done it enough times you would think we would get used to it, but we never do.  It's always a very emotional time.

Wednesday we welcomed 18 new missionaries from all over the world. We did our new missionary orientation for the last time.  It's a strange feeling to be doing these tasks that have become part of our lives for the last time.  At the same time, we look forward to coming home and seeing our loved ones.  We have learned and experienced so much, and have met some of the finest people on the planet during our mission. We will definately miss them.

Friday and Saturday were very special days for us.  Sister Bonnie Oscarson, General Young Women's President, and Sister Jean Bingham, General Primary First Counselor made a visit to the sisters who live in the stakes and districts of the Angeles Mission. They came for a day and a half of visits, training, teaching, and devotionals.  The mission office became the reception/break area, so we were blessed to greet them one on one when they arrived.  They were accompanied by their spouses and by Elder and Sister Alan D. Haynie of the Seventy.  They were all so gracious and loving; just regular, genuine people.  They were so easy to talk to, without a hint of self-importance about them.  Before they came to the office, they had stopped and visited members in their homes. What an unforgettable experience for them and for the members.

Sister Oscarson and Sister Bingham taught a seminary class Friday evening to young people from two of the Tarlac wards.  What a treat for those young people, and even though they may not have understood every word spoken, just to be there was something they will always remember and treasure.

Saturday, they arrived bright and early for more training in various focus groups.  While they did their training, we turned the mission office over to their spouses and Elder Haynie so they could do some preparation of their own.  Elder Haynie was using Sister Whiting's desk and when he saw the family picture she keeps there, he asked all about our children.  Soon he was showing Sister Whiting pictures of his children, and it was just like they were old friends talking and laughing.  Sister Haynie is as unpretentious as they come as well.

Between the morning and afternoon training sessions (these general auxiliary presidencies work very hard!) they had lunch and a rest period in the mission office.  In the afternoon, they held a general leadership training meeting, which was packed with sisters, took another short break in the mission office, and ended the day with a devotional for sisters age 8 and up, which was even more packed. Every room in the stake center was full of sisters young and old; and what they couldn't understand through language, they experienced through the Spirit.  Such a great day.

After the meeting, it took Sister Oscarson and Sister Bingham several minutes to make their way through the throngs of sisters from the chapel to the mission office, graciously posing for pictures as they went.  Their spouses went out to help escort them through the crowds, but soon they were posing for pictures as well!  Sister Whiting and Sister Clark were on the steps of the mission office just watching the spectacle, and before they knew it they were posing for pictures too! Sisters Oscarson and Bingham finally made it into the mission office, and it turned out that Sister Clark and Sister Whiting's photo session was a sort of diversion that allowed our guests to depart for some much needed rest at their hotel.

This was an event these Filipino sisters will always cherish.  Many of them came as families and made a day of it; the husbands dressed in their Sunday best tending the children outside. Others came as wards and branches in rented jeepneys and buses traveling many hours to attend.  All of them were so thrilled to be there--it will be a highlight of their lives.

We leave you with these words from Sisters Oscarson and Bingham from the September 2016 General Women's Meeting:

"Fervant charity, meaning 'wholehearted', is demonstrated by forgetting the mistakes and stumblings of another rather than harboring grudges or reminding ourselves and others of imperfections in the past."  --Jean B. Bingham--

"Sisters, I don't believe that conditions are going to improve going forward.  If current trends are an indcation, we need to be prepared for the storms that lie ahead.  It would be easy to throw our hands up in despair, but as covenant people we never need despair. As Elder Gary  E. Stevenson has said, 'Heavenly Father's generous compensation for living in perilous times is that we also live in the fulness of times.'" --Bonnie L. Oscarson--

Tandaan mo, mahal kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

Lunch with the Pugh's at the Chinese Restaraunt last week.

Saying Goodbye to Elder Navadya Silva as he prepares to return home to Sri Lanka.
He served in the office, and will be a great strength to the Church in Sri Lanka

Our Salt Lake guests arrive!

Elder and Sister Whiting with Sister and Brother Oscarson

Lunch between training sessions.
Clockwise from bottom: President Clark, Sister Clark, Sister Oscarson, Brother Oscarson, Sister Haynie,
Elder Haynie, Sister Bingham, Brother Bingham, Sister Whiting, Elder Whiting

Elder and Sister Haynie and Sister and President Clark

Sister Oscarson greeting the throngs of sisters.  She is in the plaid jacket with her back toward the camera

A day never to be forgotten!

Brother Oscarson had his photo op as well!

Balancing her wares on her head. And she was walking very fast!

Street cleaners in Manila.  A Dangerous job.

Peddler selling foam mattresses; what most people sleep on.

Sugar cane harvest is in full swing.  This truck is headed toward the
processing plant located near the Mission Home.

A typical "family car".

Halo Halo

If you are wondering what in the world Halo Halo is, let us explain.  Halo Halo is a Philippine dessert whose literal translation means "mix mix".  It's really good and is a mixture of many sweet things, usually jello squares, coconut milk, cheese chunks, fruit and anything else sweet and tasty.  That's kind of the subject of this post -- just a mix of things.

Earlier this week we had a sister missionary go to the Missionary Recovery Center for treatment. It was determined that she needs to be released to go home to finish recovering.  She had left most of her belongings behind and it fell to us to deliver her things to the MRC. We attended sacrament meeting at 9, then took off for Manila.  It's not every day that a Sunday drive takes you to Manila, and usually it's anything but a relaxing drive.  But the traffic was light and we made it in good time.  Dear Sister Peel, the MRC nurse, had lunch ready for us and while we were eating, President and Sister Trask, Manila MTC president and wife popped in.  They finish their service this week, and it was great to meet them before they leave.  Before we knew it, we had been there an hour.  Traffic was even lighter coming out of the city, and we were back to Tarlac in record time.

Elder Whiting has been working on getting the new senior couple's house ready, and Sister Whiting has begun compiling the 2016 mission history along with her other duties.  It has given her a chance to reminisce about the past year and how much has transpired.

On Friday we had our pre transfer staff meeting, and afterwards went to lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant with Elder and Sister Pugh. Then Sister Whiting rode with the Pugh's and Sister Clark to Angeles to pick up an order at the capiz shell factory.  We had a great visit on our drive down and back, and we didn't get lost in Angeles like the last time when we couldn't find the quilt shop. Whew!

This coming week is transfer week, and we will, for the last time, teach our departure workshop. We are writing tonight from the mission office as we wait for the missionaries from the outer areas of the mission to arrive for interviews, dinner, and to settle their finances with Elder Whiting.  It will be a late evening and it has been a long day.

This coming Friday, on the heels of transfer week, the mission will help host Sister Bonnie Oscarson, Young Women General President, and Sister Jean Bingham, 1st counselor in the Primary General Presidency, as they visit and do training with the local units' young women and primary presidencies.  They will spend two days training and meeting with the sisters from all but two of the units within the borders of the Angeles Mission.  Since the mission office is attached to the Tarlac Stake Center, where they will be meeting, the mission office becomes the reception area for them.  We are looking forward to meeting them and hearing their counsel.  As it was for President Nelson's visit a year ago, the FM group is busily cleaning, painting, and sprucing up the grounds and buildings.  Exciting times!

We leave you with a "Halo Halo" of sweet scriptures:

"Doubt not, fear not." --D&C 6:36--
"Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy." --2 Nephi 2:25--
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." --Philippians 4:13--
"I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands."  --Isaiah 49:16--

Mahal Kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

Angeles Mission Baptisms for 2016--around 1,300

Can you find Elder Whiting in this closeup of the baptism board?

Hand painted Capiz products

Hand made Capiz products

Sprucing up for our special guests includes scrubbing the roof.

Peddler standing in the middle of Manila traffic

Another peddler crossing four lanes of Manila traffic--risky business!

This peddler sells curdled milk and toppings--a popular breakfast

Baby It's Cold Outside

A shout out to Marilynn Holland, Sister Whiting's sister for the theme of this week's post.  As we see pictures and read about the good old fashioned winter back home, we want to tell you that we are having a cold spell as well. When we went for our walk this morning, we saw children shivering as they donned sweatshirts and hats.  We even felt the nip in the air.  After all, it was all the way down into the upper 60's. We don't mean to rub it in! We are going to freeze when we get home!

We are down to single digits in the number of weeks we have left in the mission.  Each week seems to go by so quickly.  We are trying to enjoy each moment we have left as full time missionaries. We often shake our heads and ask ourselves, "where has the time gone"?

Tuesday, Elder Whiting spent the day at the mission home at Mission Leadership Council, doing a year end reconciliation of the zone working funds with the zone leaders and sister training leaders.  Thursday, we took a trip to Manila to retrieve a missionary who had been at the Missionary Recovery Center for treatment.  We left very early in the morning and avoided a lot of the bad traffic.  When we arrived, we met Boycee, the manager of the MRC.  He told us his conversion story, when as a teenager, strung out on marijuana and alcohol, a bold missionary invited him to join his family in the lesson he was teaching.  He was baptized a year later, served a mission, married in the temple, and was serving as stake president when Elder Bednar and President Uchtdorf called him to be a mission president.  Four months later, before he could serve, his wife died.  He told us of the many times he has felt the presence of his wife in his life.  He told of "talking" to her often.  One time he got an impression from her where she told him to quit calling her, because she was busy and time is short in this last dispensation.  As we left, he turned to the elder and told him to work hard and talk to everyone.  Before we left, Elder Peel of the MRC made us a delicious omlet for breakfast, and we were back to the mission office by noon.

On Friday, we got word from Manila that the Philippines Area is going to implement the Church's My Plan program to assist returning missionaries' adjustment to post mission life.  The Area will sponsor a day and an half seminar in Manila for all departing missionaries beginning with the March departures.  This has altered their departure date, and Sister Whiting spent the rest of Friday and most of Saturday rearranging travel plans for March.  This plan will replace the departure workshop we have been teaching and alter the mission's departure routine.  But it will be of great value to missionaries returning home and by bringing them all together, it will provide consistency in teaching the concepts.  So a week from tomorrow we will teach our workshop for the last time.  We have loved teaching this class but know that My Plan is inspired and will be of great worth.

Friday afternoon, Elder and Sister Spung came to town to convert their U.S. Driver's license to a Philippine license so they can continue to drive in the country.  They learned first hand about Filipino red tape.  Because of a slight discrepancy between Elder Spung's name on his passport and his Utah driver's license, they refused to give him a Philippine driver's license.  That's bad news because it is essential that he be able to drive.  They called Sister Whiting, who in turn called Church Legal.  After researching the issue, Legal told Elder Spung to apply for a student driver's license rather than a conversion, because he only needed a passport for that. Believe it or not, the same people who would not give him a regular license gave him a student license!  His only restriction is that he has to always have a licensed driver with him--Sister Spung!   They were there six hours and stood in six different lines, twice!  Elder Spung said afterward that he will never ever complain about the lines at the DMV again.  To celebrate, we all went out to dinner and had a good laugh.

Today we attended Burgos Branch, which is growing and developing.  The saints are excited to study the Doctrine and Covenants, and they love the fact that we are studying the life of President Hinckley. He is one of their favorites as he dedicated the Philippines for the preaching of the gospel, dedicated the first chapel, and the first temple.

We leave you with these thoughts from President Ezra Taft Benson: "The Book of Mormon is the 'keystone' of our religion, and the Doctrine and Covenants is the capstone, with continuing latter-day revelation.  The Lord has placed His stamp of approval on both the keystone and the capstone." (conference report, April 1987)

We testify that the keystone and the capstone teach us about the Savior, who is the cornerstone of the gospel.

Mahal Kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week. It's not just the spare that's bald!

Horse and Buggy

Elder and Sister Spung attempting to obtain a Philippine Driver's License

It took them six hours in spite of the Anti Red Tape Act of 2007!

Meet the Philippines' Newest Student Driver!

Happy Noisy New Year!

2017 is upon us! We hope it's a wonderful year for all of us.

On Monday evening, we gathered at the mission home for our senior couple Christmas dinner.  We were joined by Gus and Mila Lacanlale, our dear friends who just returned from the States. Mila had gone for cancer treatment and it couldn't have gone better for her. We are so thankful for that.  We had a wonderful time eating, visiting, and exchanging gifts.  As always when we get together, we hated to see the night end. It was a perfect way to conclude our Christmas celebration.

We spent most of the rest of the week catching up in the office and cleaning up from Christmas Conference.  On Friday, Sister Whiting went with Sister Clark down to Angeles to pick up the quilts we had ordered last October. The quilt shop is difficult to find and with one wrong turn, we were lost; and in a very seedy part of town.  We called Rosa, the owner of the quilt shop to come to our rescue, and while we waited for her to find us, we watched many unhappy people pretending to be happy while not keeping the commandments. (Alma 41:10)  It was a very uncomfortable 20 minutes or so, and we were so happy when Rosa found us and led us to her wonderful quilt shop.

After leaving the quilt shop, we drove to S&R for some much needed groceries.  It. Was. Insane.  It was a holiday--Rizal Day--and the day before New Years Eve.  The crowds would rival any Black Friday crown in the U.S.  We got what we needed, stood in line for a very long time, and were glad to get out of there.

Yesterday, New Years Eve, the noise began early in the day, and continued to increase until by midnight, it was a nonstop explosion of sound.  We stood on our balcony at midnight and watched fireworks and wished each other a Happy New Year. By 1 or 1:30 am, they were out of ammunition and we were able to sleep in the post fireworks quiet.  Today we attended church in Dapdap, and Sister Whiting was asked just before the meeting started to speak.  Unknown to us, since it was announced the week before in Tagalog, because of the holiday it was not fast meeting but regular sacrament meeting, and the branch president was one speaker short.  Sister Whiting quickly found Elder Cornish's conference talk, browsed through it, and did a passable job of presenting it.  Prayers are answered!

Today, we begin a mission-wide project of reading the Book of Mormon.  Each missionary was given a new hard cover copy of the Book of Mormon for Christmas, along with a marking pencil and bookmark.  We are to read about 5 pages a day, marking every reference to Jesus Christ.  We will finish the project by April, and this reading will be the topic of our zone conferences between now and then.  It was such a spiritual experience today to take a new, unmarked book and read it focusing entirely on our Savior.  The Book of Mormon truly is Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and all the other characters and stories contained within it are just in a supporting role. How we love that book.  We invite you to join us as we read and mark the Book of Mormon to begin the year 2017.

Happy New Year!
Mahal Kita!

Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week - Gift from President and Sister Clark

Christmas Dinner at the Mission Home
Front L-R: President and Sister Clark, Gus and Mila Lacanlale, Sister Dansie
Back L-R: Elder and Sister Spung, Elder and Sister Pugh, Elder and Sister Whiting, Elder Dansie

Thank you Deanna and Marlo for the darling missionary aproms

Gift from Elder and Sister Spung

Gift from the Mission to study together

Happy Noisy New Year - Filipino Style