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
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| Jeepney of the Week - Gift from President and Sister Clark |
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| 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 |
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| Thank you Deanna and Marlo for the darling missionary aproms |
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| Gift from Elder and Sister Spung |
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| Gift from the Mission to study together |
Happy Noisy New Year - Filipino Style
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