The Adventure has Ended!

   

     It's difficult to believe our adventure in the Philippines San Pablo Mission has ended. When we began this adventure three years ago it was with much apprehension on my part mingled with excitement of course. Bart was very excited but I felt unprepared and nervous about leaving our family and traveling across the world for three years. I knew we would enjoy the experience and love the missionaries but I truly had no idea how much we would love the experience and especially love the missionaries as well as the members. We love the beautiful Philippines and the kind and friendly Filipino people. I will forever be grateful to our Heavenly Father for allowing us to have this great privilege even with our weaknesses. It has been a time of spiritual growth as we have been pushed to do things beyond our comfort zones (especially me--my comfort zone is smaller than Bart's) and experience things we would never have imagined. We have learned to truly rely on the enabling power of the Savior's Atonement. We have a better understanding of our Heavenly Father's love for each of His children as we have personally felt His love and felt the love He has for all of the missionaries, members, and all the people we have met. We have prayed constantly that the missionaries and others will feel our love as well as our Heavenly Father's love through us. We have felt the Holy Ghost as He has brought things to our remembrance and guided us as to what we should teach the missionaries, say in meetings or visits. We have had incredible experiences that have strengthened our faith and testimonies of the Savior and His Atonement and we know that the fullness of His gospel has been restored on the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. Our love and testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon has increased as we have studied it daily and read it with a focus on the Savior, His teachings, and attributes. We have been blessed to be taught by Apostles, Seventies, and general Church leaders. We have been strengthened by the faith of our dear missionaries. Many of them are first generation members of the Church and some have given up family and friends as they joined the Church and chose to serve a mission. All of our missionaries chose to consecrate 18-24 months to be full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and represent the Savior. Although they are young and not perfect they are incredible examples of faith and service. We have been blessed to serve with 18 amazing senior couples who have changed our lives as we have watched their willingness to leave their families and the conveniences of home to serve a mission. They bless the missionaries and members with their examples of charity and discipleship.
     It has been an emotional roller coaster the past few weeks as we have said our good-byes to many people. The last two weeks we went to each of the nine zones and had a short conference with them and shared our last messages as well as our love and appreciation for them. Of course, we took many photos too. It was incredibly fun as well as a tender experience.
     On Wednesday we were asked to stay in a hotel for the last three nights so they could deep clean the mission home, replace linens, and do some changes in decor before President and Sister Davies arrived. It was strange to walk out the door on Wednesday morning knowing it was the end of our lives there in that beautiful home. We have so many sweet memories of greeting new missionaries and saying good-bye to missionaries going home as well as other meetings with missionaries, leaders, families, and fun senior couple get-togethers. We also have sweet memories of having each of our children and all but two of our grandchildren (technically they were there just still in the womb) spending a few fun filled days with us in the mission home. This beautiful home has a wonderful spirit as you walk in it. We will miss it!
    Yesterday, we drove back to the Mission Home/Mission Office and did some final preparations as we anxiously waited the arrival of President and Sister Davies. We had visited with them three times on Skype and it was nice to greet them in person. They are wonderful, energetic and fun. Everyone immediately felt comfortable in their presence. They will bless the Philippines San Pablo Mission with new vision and take it to the next level. We would loved to have served side by side these great people but we will always be connected through our love of the mission and missionaries.
    It was a tender experience as we greeted President and Sister Davies because we immediately felt the mantle leave and knew the baton had been passed. We watched their excitement, grace, and love as they greeted the Assistants, Office Elders, and Couple. Their adventure has begun while our's has ended and we are excited for them but sad that this incredible experience has ended. Bart loves a quote from Dr. Seuss that says, "Don't be sad that its over, be happy that it happened"; that is what we are striving to do. We will miss serving with our missionaries and the dear Filipino members and friends but they will forever be in our hearts. We will also miss the beautiful Philippines San Pablo mission and have left a piece of our hearts there. Once again I express our heartfelt gratitude for the great honor, privilege, and blessing of serving our Heavenly Father and Savior in our assignment in the Philippines San Pablo Mission. We will continue to press forward and strive to serve faithfully throughout out lives. We pray we will remain the new and improved Bart and Renae Mangum.

Food

There many meat markets on the side of the road.

 It's best to buy the meat early in the morning because it hangs out in the heat all day.

My first experience buying pork with the skin and even some pig hair. So appetizing:)

This is a whole pig in the meat counter at the S & R which is a warehouse store like Costco.

You can get free pork blood with any meat purchase but we've never taken them up on the offer.
 The Filipinos like a dish called Dinuguan--gravy made of pig blood. I looked up how to spell it and found this description.
(Beware you make get sick just reading what this dish is made of.)
 A bowl of dinuguan and a plate of puto. Dinuguan is a Filipino savory stew of pork offal(typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart and snout) and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often siling mahaba), and vinegar.

Since we aren't fishermen I'm not used to seeing fish with eyes at the grocery store.
After eating my first with eyes I realized they taste good, it's just awkward to have your food look at you.

My shrimp looking at me as well as other random food. It was good food! 

I can't remember what kind of fruit this is.

Dragon Fruit--it is white or red violet inside with little black dots. It looks and tastes kind of like kiwi.

Black fungus by the cabbages. 

A delicious salad and cheesecake with beautiful presentations at our favorite

Italian restaurant, Arabela, in Lilu.

Umbrellas

     Umbrellas are used as often for shading people from the sun as they are from the rain.

Cute granddaughter with her new Frozen umbrella bought at the palengke.

Welcoming new missionaries. 

Transportation in the Philippines

     Our time in the Philippines is quickly coming to an end and I have folders of photos that I've never posted so I am going to share some of them to give a glimpse into life in the Philippines.

We watched as this man ran and jumped on the truck while it was driving up the road. 

The drivers of the pedicycles have strong legs. 

Traveling up the mountain road from the port we saw this line of tricycles;
it looked like a parade.

You will often see trucks full of pigs, chickens, and some times cattle. 

It's amazing how many people and how many things they can fit on a tricycle.

It's common to see families on motorcycles or scooters.
We've seen as many as five on a scooter and often a toddler in the front of the driver
and a baby in the middle. 

Tricycles and Jeepneys are the transportation for the missionaries and most Filipinos in our mission.

February Good-Byes and Greetings

     Every February we have said good-bye to a large group of wonderful sisters and only received a few new ones. This year we said goodbye to nine sisters and welcomed five new sisters but three of the new ones are visa waiters. We also said good-bye to four great elders. We enjoyed the time with this group and are thankful for the opportunity to serve with them. We had a very sweet testimony meeting with them and are thankful for the things we've learned together. They will be missed.

        The new missionaries arrived excited to serve. We had nine elders, seven from the Philippines, one from the U.S. and one from Sri Lanka. Four of the five sisters are Filipina and one from Tonga. The visa waiters are eventually going to the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission, Australia Sydney Mission, and the Dominican Republic. We are thankful for each of our new missionaries and their great faith.

Christmas Zone Conferences are the best!

December 20, 21, & 22—Christmas Zone Conferences

Tuesday in Lucena for Lopez, Lucena, and Marinduque Zones.

Wednesday in Lipa for Batangas, Lipa, and Mindoro Zones.

Thursday in San Pablo for Cabuyao, San Pablo, and Santa Cruz Zones.

            Christmas Zone Conferences are always a favorite for everyone. Each day we were able to have a wonderful experience as we taught along with the Assistants. There were great comments and participation. We had the missionaries write things they had done to Light the World and put them on our tarpaulin Christmas tree.

            We began with business including the change for Zone Conferences and Zone Interviews every transfer cycle. We had the missionaries leaving in December and February share their testimonies. There were wonderful musical numbers at each conference as well.

            President and I taught about the importance of using the Book of Mormon. We introduced a 90-day challenge to read the Book of Mormon as a mission and focus on Christ by marking His names and references to Him. We will also mark references to the cleansing/redeeming and enabling power of the Atonement. We also taught the importance of teaching the First Vision from the heart. We had a missionary in each conference share the First Vision and then committed the missionaries to memorize it if they hadn’t. They will share with me at the Zone Conference. The Assistants did practice teaching with some of the missionaries to demonstrate how they can teach from the Book of Mormon and address the needs of the investigator using the chapter where they are studying. It is very powerful (even done in Tagalog).

            We talked about the 1-1-1 program which is one active member bringing one convert into the Church in one year. We showed the infomercial done by a few of our missionaries as well as a beautiful song written by two of our sisters to help teach the importance of teaching the one.

            The missionaries always enjoy Christmas lunch which includes a lechon. We also had fun watching the Christmas DVD. The senior couples organized Christmas games by forming the missionaries in three groups and doing a rotation of the games. Afterwards there was a musical performance by some missionaries and the senior couples sang a little song, “All I Want for Christmas is a Baptism”. It wasn’t great but fun for the missionaries to see us. Then the Howards led them in a song with actions. We then had a gift game. The Philippines missions are blessed with a group of parents who send gifts for all of our missionaries. This year each missionary received a pocket set of scriptures donated by the group. It was a wonderful gift and very appreciated. President Mangum and I gave them a pocket size Gratitude Journal so they can follow President Eyring’s counsel to look back at the day and notice the hand of the Lord in their life.

            After the games we returned to the Chapel where I shared a brief Christmas message about lighting the world. President Mangum read the Nativity from both the Book of Mormon and New Testament while showing some pictures. It is always a sweet experience to hear this sacred story. We then knelt as a group and President Mangum offered a closing prayer. It was emotional every day as we thought about it being our last round of Christmas Zone Conferences.

Everyday Life as a Mission President and Wife in the Philippines San Pablo Mission

     I wrote this on my iPad about a year ago and I don't think I ever posted it on the blog so I decided to go ahead and add it now. It is a glimpse into what our schedule has been like for 2 1/2 years. The interesting thing is that the Missionary Department just changed our schedule so keep reading and I'll let you know at the end what has changed now.    

     Every three months we hold 3 separate Zone Conferences with three of our zones at each meeting. We love the Zone Conferences and the chance it gives us to visit, interact with, and teach all of our missionaries. Every three months we have zone interviews where we travel to the different zones and President Mangum interviews each missionary. The Assistants, Zone Leaders, or Office Elders do a workshop and I visit with each of the missionaries and share a thought. We love this one on one time with the missionaries but it takes 3 weeks and we are tired by the time the interviews are over. Most of the time we have day trips but during one week we travel to one of our islands and some other farther locations so we are usually gone 5-7 days. We also travel to another island for a couple of nights on another week. Every six weeks we have Transfer Week where we say a bittersweet goodbye to a group of missionaries that we love and welcome a new group of excited and nervous missionaries. Each time it is amazing to feel the love we immediately have for the new missionaries. Every six weeks we also have a meeting to train the missionaries who will be training incoming missionaries. Four to five weeks after the missionaries arrive we have a meeting with them and their companions called the New Missionary Check up. It's always fun to meet with them and see how they're adjusting to missionary life as well as watch their excitement when they see their "batch". On our "off months" we always think we will have time to catch up but the days seem to fill up quickly with extra interviews, visits, specialized zone trainings, and working with the missionaries. Most weeks we are able to attend a Zone Training or District Meeting, and we also have monthly Mission Leadership Council; quarterly District Leader training; and occasional special Sister Training meetings. Along with the scheduled meetings President Mangum is always on call and so often our plans for the day changes with little notice.  
     On Sundays we attend different wards or branches so we can meet people and support the different areas and missionaries (we have 75 units in our mission). Often our weekends include attending and usually speaking at Stake and District Conferences. Our mission has four Districts that Bart presides over as well as six stakes so occasionally we attend Youth Conferences, Young Single Adult Conferences or other meetings.
     One of Bart's biggest responsibilities is the transfers. He spends many hours in thought and prayer as he seeks revelation to know who the trainers, leaders, and companionships should be. Bart also presides over the four Districts and so he also does some prospective missionary interviews, sometimes sets apart the missionary, and also does temple recommend interviews. Fortunately, he has two wonderful counselors that help him with these responsibilities. He has served with one since we arrived and the 2nd counselor has changed three times. The first time he was reassigned and moved to Manila. Bart went for a while with only one counselor and then called one of our senior missionaries to serve. After he returned home he called another Filipino who is a former mission president. We actually served with he and his wife our first year before they were released. We love the counselors and their wives (past and present).
     I have the responsibility of supervising the missionaries medical needs. This is not my favorite thing. The September after we arrived some friends from our stake came to serve and she was our mission nurse. Not only was she our mission nurse but she is also a Filipina so she could speak Tagalog and it was wonderful! I knew we were blessed to have her but after she left in March 2016 and I had the responsibility again I really knew how blessed I had been. Somedays it's not bad but other days I am on the phone and/or computer a lot trying to help missionaries with their medical concerns. Fortunately we have wonderful Area Medical Advisors who I bother a lot to help with knowing what to do. The healthcare system in the Philippines is a challenge. Often it is difficult to get a hospital or doctor's office to answer the phone. There is no such thing as a real appointment, just a time for the clinic. You go and wait or sometimes you can get a number ahead of time but you still go and wait. The missionaries are covered by insurance but the process to get their LOA (Letter of Authorization) is often time consuming and challenging. Some of the healthcare facilities leave a lot to be desired. Fortunately we do have certain doctors and hospitals that are good to work with. I also have the responsibility to write an annual history. It wouldn't be bad if I kept up with it but I keep up on it about as well as I do the blog. Enough said.
     Once a year a member of the Philippines Area Presidency and his wife come to the mission and stay for a couple of days. They teach at conferences with all of the missionaries, Mission Leadership Council, have a few interviews, and possibly visit apartments. They are all wonderful teachers and the missionaries love Mission Tour and so do we. They stay with us at the Mission Home and teach and train us both formally and informally. Although I thought it would be intimidating to host a General Authority and his wife, it's been an incredible experience to be taught by them and to get to know these wonderful, faithful, and fun people. They have all made us feel comfortable and we have loved the time with them. 
     Twice a year we have the wonderful opportunity to meet with the 21 Philippines Mission Presidents and Wives for a Mission Presidents Seminar. We have three days of inspiring training from the Area Presidency.  It's a wonderful time of renewal and we love the training as well as being able to visit with the other mission presidents and their wives especially the ones we came with. It's reassuring to know that there are others that understand our challenges as well as share our joys. Although we leave the conferences edified we also leave realizing how much more we need to do to teach our missionaries and strengthen our mission.

     Okay, now for the changes for 2017. The schedule for zone conferences and interviews has been changed to once a transfer cycle or every 6 weeks. This is the way it was until a few years ago. During our service we have often said two things: 1) We are glad we don't have to do zone conferences and zone interviews every 6 weeks. 2) We wish we had more opportunity to teach the missionaries. We now have the chance to teach more often and we are grateful for the opportunity. This change began this month so this coming week we will finish our last two zone conferences and our interviews for the first round. We have gone to each zone and so the conferences have been in smaller groups. We love this way of teaching because it's more personalized and you get more interaction and participation. We have also done the interviews before and after the conferences in most of the areas. In larger zones we have taken a second day as well. President Mangum has always spent 20-30 minutes in interviews but this time he has cut it to 10-15 minutes unless there's a special need. It's a change to have shorter interviews but with seeing the missionaries twice as often it balances out. 

     The change is keeping us busy and focused on strengthening the mission. We are grateful for the opportunity to spend more one on one time with the missionaries.