Halfway Home

The rainy season has begun.  It's not quite as hot as it has been, but it's much more humid, so it feels if not as hot, even hotter.  An American Elder's father served in the Philippines and he told his son that it's hot and wet, hotter and wetter, and hottest and wettest.  We concur!

Today we attended the Padapada 2nd Ward; a building with no air conditioning, just ceiling fans. We were done in by the heat by the end of the meetings and were grateful to retreat to our little air conditioned bedroom for the day.  We have decided we will never get used to the heat.  Even Elder Whiting, who was almost always cold at home, is having a hard time with the heat.  The Tagalog word for hot is Ma-een-it.  We have that word down!

We made back to back trips to Manila last week. Sunday we took Ron and Diana Williamson down for their return home.  They have been here four months helping out--and we have appreciated their help.  Monday, we took a Filipina visa waiter down.  She is now somewhere in the Salt Lake City East Mission.  We're sure her skin has dried out and she is freezing to death!

Tuesday, May 24th, marked the halfway point of our mission. It's all down hill from here!  We didn't burn anything--Elder Whiting didn't bring enough ties to spare one to burn, and Sister Whiting was not sure what sister missionaries burn.  It was too hot any way! So we went to dinner instead.

Friday night, we helped President and Sister Clark host the Guimba District leadership and their wives for dinner at the mission home.  There were about 25 in all.  They rode a jeepney for two hours to attend. After dinner, President Clark talked about the goal of making Guimba District into Guimba Stake and what needed to happen before that can come to pass.  He then entertained their questions and concerns about missionary work. They went away with a better idea of how to use the missionaries and what they need to do to become a stake.

Along with our office duties, we have been preparing our workshop for Zone Conference to be held June 7-9.  We will leave you with some thoughts from that presentation:

"Knowing who you are, changes what you do."  --Bonnie D. Parkin--

"We do not preach and teach to 'bring people into the Church' or to increase to membership of the Church.  We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives ... We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the Celestial Kingdom to the sons and daughters of God.  No one else can do this."
--Dallin H. Oaks; Preach My Gospel, pg. 9--

Mahal Kita
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

This car was driving down the streets of Tarlac.  

Throwback to the first of the month and the Mission Tour With Elder and Sister Haynie.
This was the new members and investigators meeting at the Mission Home.

Our hard working Office Elder and Assistant take a nap in President Clark's
office during their lunch break.

Wives of Guimba District leadership with Sister Clark and Sister Whiting

Guimba District Leadership and wives at the Mission Home

Busy

Happy Sabbath,

Today we went again to Pisapungang with Burgos Branch members.  Because the village is so far away from the chapel, the faithful branch president and members take sacrament meeting to the new members there three times a month.  They do this in the afternoon--after they have had their regular block of meetings in the morning.  This is true ministering. Today we joined them, and instead of not understanding what was being said in Tagalog, we  didn't understand what was being said in Ilocano--the language of the tribe.  We did learn a couple of words in Ilocano, but we have forgotten them already. ;)  Brother and Sister Fallorin, the chief and his wife who Elder Whiting baptized, were so happy to see us, and they thanked us for making the sacrifice to attend.  That made the travel over the rough road and the heat and humidity all worth it.  We had driven in with the branch president, but we chose to walk out.  It was evening by then and we enjoyed the walk since it was relatively cool and all down hill.

We finished another transfer this week, sending home a wonderful group and welcoming another wonderful group of missionaries. It is a challenging week with long hours and lots of emotion.  It drains us all. Now we begin to prepare for Zone Conference in three weeks. President Clark has asked us to teach a 45 minute workshop reminding the missionaries of their purpose.  We've got some work to do to put that together.  In addition, we are getting another senior couple the end of July and we have been charged with finding housing for them in the area of the mission they have been assigned to.  So, we will do for the Dansie's like we did for the Pugh's--find and furnish a house for them.  Thank heavens for the zone leaders and missionaries in the area who will do most of the leg work for us in finding a place.  We really really appreciate their help.

We got a wonderful letter from Dennis and Georgia Dawn Clegg this week!  Included with the letter was the following quote, which we love and wish to close with:

"We once knew well our Elder Brother and our Father in Heaven.  We rejoiced at the prospects of earth life that could make it possible for us to have a fullness of joy.  We could hardly wait to demonstrate to our Father and our Brother, the Lord, how much we loved them and how we would be obedient to them in spite of the earthly opposition of the evil one.  Now we are here. Our memories are veiled. We are showing God and ourselves what we can do.  Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar His face is to us."

--President Ezra Taft Benson--

Mahal Kita,
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

Elders Thacker and Fillmore are worn out at the end of Transfer Week

Cattle in the road.  Is this Wyoming or the Philippines?

Huge thunderheads.  The rainy season is just around the corner!  The sky in the Philippines
is big and beautiful!

Sister Whiting navigating the half washed out bridge
on her way from Pisapungan

Under the Banana Tree.  Sister Whiting rocks the skirt and hiking shoes look!

Down the hill to the meeting in Pisapungan

Mission Tour, Subic, and Mother's Day

We wish all of our mothers a Happy Mother's Day!  Sister Whiting was spoiled by notes and posts from all of her children.  In addition, many of her "Mission Children" sent notes and texts wishing her a Happy Mother's Day.  She loves being their "Mission Mom"

We have had a great week in the mission.  It started out with a pizza party last Monday with the Tarlac Zone.   It was their reward for again meeting their Standard of Excellence, which is two baptisms per companionship per month.  This is the second SOE pizza party we have been able to attend since coming to the mission.  Way to go Tarlac Zone!

We were privileged to have Elder and Sister Allen D. Haynie of the Seventy tour our mission. His assignment is counselor in the Philippine Area Presidency.  They arrived at the mission home Tuesday evening and we were invited to share dinner with them.  After dinner, about 30 new members and investigators arrived by jeepney and were privileged to hear the Haynie's speak.

While the Clark's and the Haynie's held a Zone Conference on the other side of the mission on Wednesday, we buckled down and worked in the office. Thursday was our turn for Zone Conference. Beginning at about 8 a.m. Elder Haynie interviewed some missionaries, greeted each missionary individually, and then we settled in to be taught by them and the Clark's.  We had a wonderful lunch, then spent the afternoon again being taught.  The day ended with a wonderful question and answer period where the missionaries brought their own inspired questions for Elder Haynie.  We know his answers were inspired because of his response to a question posed by an elder whose family is having a great trial right now.  Elder Haynie answered as if he knew everything about the elder--which he did not.  It was amazing to see how perfect the answer was for the situation.

Saturday we finally celebrated our anniversary. We left early in the morning for Subic Bay in our casual clothes--that felt strange.  We were met by the Wrights, residents of the area who acted as our tour guides for the day.  They were recommended to us by the Olongapo Mission Office when Elder Whiting contacted them for information on the area.  The Wrights are service missionaries having served six years so far in the mission.  They own a nice little farm and have a beautiful home.  They were the perfect hosts as they took us to a Sea World type aquarium and other places of interest. We watched dolphin and wild animal shows and did a totally bizarre thing.  We went to the "fish spa" where we put our feet in a tank and had what were called Doctor Fish come eat the dead skin off of our feet.  It was the weirdest pedicure we've ever had, and most likely we will not repeat it.  When they were sucking on our feet, it tickled and felt like pins and needles all at the same time.  Just bizarre. But all in all, we had a wonderful day and have made some great new friends.

Yesterday started Transfer Week; and we picked up two departing missionaries and took them to the mission home.  Today we taught the Departing Missionary Self Reliance workshop, and the rest of the week will be just busy.

We leave you with some thoughts from the mission tour: From President Clark--We are children of Heavenly Parents who love us perfectly and have never made any parenting mistakes with us.  Trust them.
From Elder Haynie--Happiness and peace are not mutually exclusive.  It is not either/or; you can and should have both.  The scriptures do not say that men ought to be somewhat moderately happy in this life.  The scriptures say men are that they might have joy.  Trust in the timing of the Lord's answers to your questions; trust yourself that you can make good decisions.  Remember, as is says in D&C 8--"I will tell you in your MIND and in your HEART." And D&C 121--"Let VIRTUE garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall they CONFIDENCE wax strong in the presence of God."

Mahal Kita
Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

Subic Bay, Philippines; a former U.S.Navy Base

Giant fruit bats with a wing span of up to 5 feet.  Just one of the creepy
crawlies that live in the jungles of the Philippines.

Fish Pedicure. Ewwww. Never again.

Sister Whiting with Mila and Dale Wright. holding a bottle of
home made mango jam preserved by Mila.

Elder Whiting and Mila and Dale Wright at their farm near Olongapo, Philippines

Tarlac Zone Pizza Party--Standard of Excellence!

Thanks for the memories, Cleo.  Rest in Peace.

Dapdap for Church; Squealing Pig Next Door for Dinner

Sister Whiting is still working on Baptism and Confirmation Records; and Elder Whiting is done with his work, so he is writing again this week.

We've had our noses to the grindstone this week - can't think of anything earth-shattering.  We took a short term missionary to Cabanatuan one day - takes much of the day to drive as well--we've talked about the roads and modes of transportation and 'rules of the road' before!  We took another missionary leaving early part way to San Fernando; turned her over to President and Sister Clark there, and drove home in the rain.

Today we attended church in Dapdap again - the little branch meetinghouse has paper thin walls, so above the noise of the dozen ceiling fans we could hear the squealing pig next door (we're sure it was being bled out for dinner), the dogs barking, the roosters, etc.  Also the power went out during testimony bearing.  Oh well - par for the course! But these member 'pioneers' are strong and faithful and we love them. We paid a generous fast offering there - hope we can leave a positive influence on the branch.  One convert, baptized yesterday, was confirmed today.  (We had 112 baptisms in the mission last month)

Yesterday we served lunch to the 12 stake and district presidents and 2 area seventies gathered for training.  The other night we bought a drill and masonry bits to drill holes to hang pictures in the office. (Elder Whiting thought he was done with concrete walls!)

This week we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.  We are lucky to have each other.

We leave you this week with an extract of our Mission President's weekly message: "The Miracle Formula ... this is a profound piece of knowledge. OBEDIENCE + WORK (faith) = MIRACLES.  We all want more miracles in our lives.  We know that faith must precede the miracle and now we know that faith is manifest through our good works.  Elder Russell M. Nelson teaches that a mission is an exercise in obedience training. 'Obedience brings success; exact obedience brings miracles'..."

Love you one and all!!
Mahal Kita,

Elder and Sister Whiting

Jeepney of the Week

Forty Years Together

First Counselor in the Tarlac Stake Presidency, President Garcia, and his family on their way
home from church.  This is a special multigenerational LDS family that "gets" the Gospel.

We occasionally see horses pulling carts.  A remnant of the past.

In our mission, we talk about the "Divine Companionship" as taught by Elder Holland.  It consists of our missionaries and the Holy Ghost.  It is demonstrated by the "Third Chair".  The story behind this is that an investigator would always put up three chairs when preparing to be taught by the missionaries.  The "Third Chair" was for the Holy Ghost. It has become a symbol in our mission of the importance of teaching with the Holy Ghost.  Our missionaries strive to always have the "Divine Companionship" with them when they teach. We are putting together a collage of "Divine Companionships" in our mission and thought we would share ours, the Assistants, and the Office Elders' contributions.  We think they are pretty creative.

Office Elders' Fillmore and Branzuela let the Holy Ghost be in the Driver's Seat 

Elders Thacker and Amparado recreated the original "Third Chair" photo at the home of investigators now members

Elder and Sister Whiting strive to have the Divine Companionship in their office assignments.

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