December 2014

     December came and went quickly and all of a sudden it's halfway through January!!!! Life continues to be busy here in the Philippines and occasionally we have some down time to try to relax and catch up on neglected items. Although December and the Christmas season were very different for us we enjoyed the month. We particularly had a busy last two weeks. This post is kind of scattered but I'm finally writing it so I hope it makes sense.

     On the first weekend in December a super typhoon was forecast. The Area Office was very concerned because it was supposed to be as bad as Yolanda in November 2013. Because they were so concerned they had the missions take precautions. We had several of our missionaries that were by the ocean or in other areas of high water or high wind danger move to either other missionary's apartments or stay in chapels. Fortunately as typhoon Ruby progressed it weakened and slowed down so that by the time it actually hit our area it was just a tropical storm. We know that many people all over the world had been praying for the Philippines and we feel like we were blessed to avoid any major damage. It turned out to be an interesting few days. I have to admit I didn't mind the day we had to stay in and relax while it stormed outside. In fact I was able to watch part of a Hallmark Christmas movie with Wes and Leah over Face Time.

My only Hallmark Christmas movie this year--over Face Time
on the iPad while I made soup and visited with Wes and Leah.

Thankfully prayers were answered and there was no major damage but plenty of rain water in some areas.

     On December 6 our dear grandson, Boston was baptized. It was one of our hardest days since we arrived. Boston's birth was a true miracle as he was born during Brittney's year of remission. We are so happy that he chose to be baptized but it was hard to miss this special day. We are thankful for his sweet 2nd mom, Wendy, who sent pictures and let us know what a special day it was (including that Brittney's presence was felt). The family that was there also shared about the experience.

So handsome! 

   

     On the 5 we had our MLC and it was a great meeting. We were able to attend three zone trainings as well. It was interesting to see how they had taken the information from MLC and used their own inspiration for their areas to teach the principles. We really enjoyed all of the meetings. We also attended district meetings, had Missionary Check-up, went to the Alaminos ward Christmas party, and the San Pablo stake Broadway night. We had wonderful experiences attending some baptisms. One of the baptisms we were able to see a dad baptize his son. What made it extra special was that we attended the dad, mom, brother, and sister's baptisms in August. The mom was so excited to have a "completed" family (everyone of age is baptized and can go to the temple in a year).

Mission Leadership Council--They're Wonderful Missionaries 

December District Meetings, Zone Meetings, Stake Conference, and Baptisms

Missionary Check up with the November Batch and their trainers. It's always a fun meeting.

Broadway night and Ward Party--some fun games we'll have to remember.

 
     On the 11 we were able to drive the PEF couple to Manila. We had a fun lunch and visit with them before we said good-bye. They are so much fun and are definitely missed. The couple parties won't be nearly as entertaining without them.

Good-bye to a great couple--we miss them!

     On the 15 we drove to Manila to pick up a new senior couple who serve as the PEF couple in San Pablo. They have already been a great addition to the mission. That evening we had all of the couples in our mission come for a nice dinner and Christmas party. We had fun sharing Christmas memories and exchanging gifts with each other. One gift per couple was supposed to be homemade and there were some creative gifts given. We also wrote our "Share the Gift" commitments.