One Year in the Philippines!

      What a year this has been! This year has been full of many new adventures, learning experiences, challenges, spiritual insights, and most of all enjoyment. We have felt the love and support of our family even though we are across the world. We are so thankful for them and love them dearly. We have felt great love for and from the missionaries, Church members, and Philippine people in general. We are thankful for the blessings we have received this past year. The transition wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. For whatever reason we don't feel out of place here; the people are so kind and friendly. They may think we're out of place but they don't make us feel that way. Of course we miss our family, friends, neighbors, home, Utah, and the United States but we love this beautiful country. We feel overwhelmed with gratitude for the strength we have felt from the enabling power of the Savior's atonement. We have been blessed with the physical and spiritual strength to do more than we are capable of doing on our own. We have learned so much about mission life that I told Bart I wish I would have known a year ago what I know now and he told me that I will feel that way next year too. I'm sure he's right since we will continue to learn and hopefully improve. Thank you to all of the wonderful people that have blessed our lives this past year--those we knew before we came to the Philippines and those we have met this year. We love and appreciate you all!

1st Week of June--Baptism and Baby!!!

     On June 6 our cute grandson, Ammon, was baptized by his dad. Of course, we weren't there but we understand it was a wonderful experience. We're so thankful for Ammon and his great parents. We missed not being there but we are so thankful for the support and love of family for this special event.

He looks so happy! A very special day.

     A few hours later, now June 7,  darling Nolan was born to our dear Hayley. Ben was so sweet to keep us updated on the progress and we saw a photo of Nolan shortly after he was born. When we received the photo and news of his birth we were filled with excitement and gratitude. Then the tears came. It's hard to be away and not hold the baby and help Hayley. I'm so grateful for the goodness of family and friends to help since we're not there. We were able to Face Time a few hours later and had a nice visit with Hayley and Ben and saw Nolan sleeping. I love these adorable pictures of Peyton meeting his baby brother for the first time. They are priceless.

Beautiful family--look at the joy of a new baby!!!

May Transfers

     The last day of zone interviews were on May 1. After we finished interviews we enjoyed driving to a couple of the areas in Mindoro we had never been to. It was a beautiful drive. Saturday we met Elder and Sister Pjarro (he is an Area Seventy). We spent the afternoon in meetings for the Mindoro District Conference and again on Sunday. The Conference was really good and we loved the way that Elder and Sister Pjarro taught. They were so fun and easy to visit with and we feel like we have new friends.

The Mindoro District Conference was held in their beautiful new District building. It's quite a contrast to the little meetinghouse in the picture below. We saw a lot of beautiful scenery in our ride around Mindoro.

     May 3-5--Shortly after the Sunday meetings ended we headed to the port hoping to catch the Fast Cat boat but there wasn't room but fortunately we were able to get on another one that was only took two instead of three hours back. We made it to the port in Batangas and drove the hour and 15 minutes back to the mission home where we had 14 departing missionaries for dinner. This was a time I was very grateful for our House Help.  President Mangum had his interviews with the missionaries while others visited and worked on getting their luggage to the right weight.
    Monday morning after breakfast the departing group went to their Employment Training. That evening we had another nice Family Home Evening watching the departing video, sharing experiences and testimonies. Tuesday morning we said good-bye to another batch. Six weeks really goes by quickly.

This group had lots of energy! Several of the group earned their English certification.
It's always bittersweet to say good-bye to our missionaries.

     May 6-7--Wednesday morning we met the bus and our nine new missionaries. We had a good orientation with them on Wednesday and they had interviews with President Mangum as well as a proselyting experience. They get up very early to board the bus and leave from Manila so they're always tired and ready to go to bed early. On Thursday morning we enjoyed breakfast before some counsel and a testimony meeting. We then had a meeting with the new missionaries and their trainers. They ate lunch and left for their first areas.

A great new group of missionaries.

The first day of orientation and the meeting with their trainers before they left for their first areas.

The busy month of April!

     April was a very busy month! We actually stayed in a hotel for two weeks of the month. The first three days we attended a District meeting, had a District Leader Training, and had Mission Leadership Council. Then on the 4th Bart had the privilege of baptizing two great men. Their wives are members and were so excited to have their husbands join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We went with two of our sisters to teach one of the men a couple of weeks earlier and had a sweet experience. When we were on our way to the baptism we received a call from the missionaries to inform President Mangum that they had scrubbed the font but the water was still brown. This area has problems with their water. The baptisms were very nice and weren't affected by the water (although I did wash Bart's baptism clothes as soon as we got home).

District Meeting in Lucena. MLC with our great Zone and Sister Training Leaders.
At District Leader Training we had 4 of the District Leaders teach workshops. They taught well and there was a lot of participation. 
The Assistants are not only great but great teachers too. 

      

           

Bart looked great in white. The water looked pretty gross but the Brothers didn't seem to mind.
It was a special baptism with happy families.

     April 5 was Easter and we had a nice dinner after attending two Sacrament meetings. On the 7th we began our fourth round of Zone Interviews. We spent two days with the Cabuyao zone and two days with the Santa Cruz zone. We also had a new couple arrive during the week and although they stayed at the mission home for a few nights we really only had the chance to visit for about an hour one night. They are great though and will be a wonderful blessing to the mission. That weekend we were able to go to the Stake Center and watch General Conference. Conference was wonderful! One of the benefits of seeing it a week later was we had the talks already downloaded on our iPads so we were able to just highlight the talks rather than take a lot of notes. We also had a fun surprise when we saw two of our former missionaries at the broadcast. One of them had been an Assistant so we knew him well and the other had left 2 weeks after we arrived so we didn't really know him. They came over later and had dinner with us and we had a great visit.

Some of our great missionaries at the interviews. Our nephew, Jeremy, was one of our elder's 4th grade teacher.
We said goodbye to one of our elders who went home the next day.

Our fun new couple. This round of zone interviews our two office elders came with us and taught a workshop on budgeting and planning.
While President Mangum was interviewing the missionaries I would visit with the companion.
I shared a thought from one of President Monson's talks and gave them this wallet sized card to remember
President Monson's formula for success.

    The next week we had three days of interviews, a new grandbaby, Bart's birthday, and a Mission Presidents seminar-- it was a busy and great week!!! We spent one day with interviews in Batangas and two days in Lipa.

Our sweet new grand baby! Missionaries at the interviews wishing "President Mangum" a Happy Birthday.
Can you believe I opened the door one evening and their stood a sister and we were dressed almost identical?
Of course, we had to get a picture.

The Mission Presidents Seminar was held in a beautiful hotel in Manila.
We had a picture with our great-niece, Aubrey's mission President and wife from the Urdaneta Mission.
For whatever reason I really didn't take photos for the 3 days. There were two group photos--One of "our batch" and one with many of the wives but I still haven't received copies.

     The Mission Presidents Seminar was wonderful. We met "our batch" on Thursday night and had a nice Italian dinner and a great visit. We love these dear friends. On Friday we spent the day being taught by Elder Ardern and Elder Bowen who are gifted teachers. That night we ate at PF Chang's and had gelato from a little shop (being in Manila is like being in a different country from our mission). Saturday was another wonderful day of training and visiting. We were taught so much and realized how much more we need to do. We were encouraged for the most part but a little overwhelmed and even discouraged for brief moments. Thankfully, Bart is good at realizing our strengths as well as our weaknesses. We spent time making plans for upcoming meetings with the missionaries and deciding what our priorities should be. Sunday morning we had a very spiritual Sacrament meeting. Afterwards the Presidents had a council with the Area Presidency and Area Seventies and the wives were able to have time visiting and sharing. It was great to be uplifted and encouraged by special women who understand the joys and challenges of our callings.

     The following week we took a boat to Marinduque and had interviews with the missionaries the following day and then took a boat back to Lucena. We spent two days there doing interviews then traveled to Lopez for interviews. Friday night we were able to go out with the Elders in Gumaca and visit a sweet part member family as well as a great, strong member couple. Saturday we attended the Adult session of the Lucena Stake Conference and then went out with the Lucena Zone Leaders to teach a wonderful family. It was a tender experience as we visited with the father of five beautiful children (the mom was at the market). Sunday we attended a ward in Lopez, stopped in Atimonan, and then headed back to the mission home after 6 nights away. We were happy to be back for a couple of days.

The sunset reelection as we rode the boat. Great elders. The sweet families we were able to visit.
The Lucena Stake Center steeple from the hotel room.

      Monday and Tuesday we had interviews in San Pablo as well as a Train the Trainers meeting on Tuesday and a Missionary Check-up meeting on Wednesday. We then drove an hour and a half to catch a boat to Mindoro. Thursday we attended a Mindoro District Youth Conference where Bart had been asked to take some time to teach. The Youth Conference had about 100 impressive youth. When we arrived they were having a testimony meeting. Bart then taught them at a Devotional. He taught them about the importance of the Sacrament using the "How Will I Remember Him" video. He also had them watch the "Because He Lives" video and had them write their own statements. After the devotional the youth watched slides of the their conference.
    That afternoon we had some missionary interviews and a nice dinner and visit with the senior couple on the island. They are great and such a blessing to the missionaries.

Another pretty sunset from the boat. Our funny, little sister peeling a coconut with her teeth!
Our March batch or missionaries with their trainers--they had so much fun seeing each other.
The Mindoro Youth Conference was at a beautiful resort.

   

Birthdays!

     On April 13 our newest grandson was born. We received the call around 3:00 a.m. Brantley was only 1-1/2 hours old and it was so fun to see him and we loved watching Wes and Leah and how happy they were with their adorable baby. He was crying and it was sweet to hear the newborn cry and be part of the magic of a new baby. I have to admit I had tears of gratitude and sadness as I fell back to sleep. It's really hard for both of us not to be able to hold and snuggle this beautiful baby. We also got to Face Time the next day and watch cute Maddie and Grady with him. We're so thankful for modern technology! We're also thankful that Leah's great parents have been there to help and give grandparent hugs.

Darling Baby and Family! 

Sweet pictures of baby with great grandma and grandpa Mangum.

     On April 15 Bart had his first birthday in the Philippines. We were having zone interviews so the missionaries wished him Happy Birthday for a couple of days. Two sisters brought him the great cake. He also had a lot of texts with birthday greetings. That evening we went to Shakey's for dinner with the office couples, Assistants, and Office Elders. This waiter at Shakey's has become our friend and brought him the Sundae with the greetings on the plate. It was a nice day and even though he really doesn't like a lot of attention he handled it well. He also got Happy Birthday wishes, phone calls, texts, and songs from the kids and grandkids.

March Departing and Incoming

     March 22-24--Seriously 6 weeks pass so quickly it's hard to believe! On March 22 we had our 9 departing missionaries arrive. As always we enjoyed a nice dinner and visit with the missionaries. It's always fun to watch the interaction with the "batch" and also watch some of them try to fit everything in their suitcases and make the weight limits. Monday the departing missionaries spent the day at the ERC (Employment Resource Center) and then returned for dinner, FHE, and a testimony meeting. We love the time sharing mission experiences and testimonies. Another great group returned home!

Saying good-bye to another great group of missionaries.

(I didn't realize until we were ready for pictures that I forgot my name tag--oops!)

A fun group of missionaries!

    The Church has a program for all non-English speaking missionaries to learn English so that they will have better job opportunities after their missions. During the weekend we had five of the missionaries certify in the OPIc English Proficiency exam. We said good-bye to an Elder who had been one of the Office Elders when we arrived--he is a great young man and always took great care of us. One of the Elders had his mom and some of his family pick him up. We were able to have a nice visit with them. It was a sweet experience.


    March 25 & 26--As hard as it is to say good-bye we don't have much time to think about it as we welcome a new group the following morning. This group had only 2 elders and 9 sisters. Six of the sisters were from the Provo MTC and had become best friends and really had a difficult time saying good-bye to each other as they received their assignments.

March Zone Conferences

     On March 18, 19, and 20 we held Zone Conferences--three wonderful days of spiritual uplift and insights as well as laughter and fun interacting with all of our missionaries. This experience was a little different because the other Zone Conferences we've had were held for specific reasons--"Meet the President", Mission Tour with Elder Bowen, and celebrating Christmas.
     Our Conferences included a variety of instruction and activities. We began with a DVD highlighting activities from the past three months. It's always fun to see the photos that the missionaries send in; although sometimes I wonder if they do anything besides take selfies! Our office couple did a challenge where all of the missionaries began by standing up and then the couple asked questions that had to do with missionary life and following the White Handbook and if you could answer "yes" you remained standing. Here are examples of the questions: "Did you arrive with a smile on your face?" "Have you gotten up at 6:30 a.m. every morning for the last month?"; "Did you OYM (Open Your Mouth--share the gospel) on your way to Zone Conference?"; "Did you clean and mop the CR (bathroom) on Monday?" The last two standing got a treat. It is fun to watch who keeps standing and who sits down (and sometimes a little discouraging to see those that aren't obeying some of the White Handbook).

              After the fun of the DVD and Challenge we had the departing missionaries for March, April, May, and June bear their testimonies. As always, it was a sweet experience to hear the testimonies of these wonderful missionaries. I gave a talk/presentation on "Matching His Message" using M&Ms (the basic idea was from another mission). I had a missionary come up and I gave him some "M&M" out of a bag but they were actually Skittles. It was fun to watch the surprise as they chewed them and realized it wasn't chocolate. I found out after the first day that I couldn't ask if they were disappointed when it wasn't M&Ms because there are people who prefer Skittles. So I asked if they were surprised. Anyway, I taught the importance of Matching our Savior's Message through appearance, thoughts, words, and actions. It turned out to be effective and we have had some fun feedback from it. I also taught that once we are no longer set apart missionaries we are still disciples of Christ and have covenanted to be His witnesses so we may dress different and get to do different things but its important to always represent Him by keeping our covenants. When the conference was over we gave the missionaries a small bag of M&Ms with a quote attached.

              The Assistants did a great workshop and taught about how to testify and invite others to attend Sacrament Meeting. They taught the principles of how we start with Hope (Moroni 7:41-42) which leads to Faith (Mosiah 3:17) then to Testimony (Preach My Gospel, p. 198) and turns into Personal Witness (I neglected to write the reference). They are great teachers and had the missionaries involved in activities for each of these areas. 

              President Mangum (Bart) started by introducing the Because He Lives initiative that the Church is using. He gave a few personal Because He Lives statements and asked the missionaries to be thinking of some. He then went on to teach about the Sacrament. He began by showing the "Always Remember Him" video. He asked the missionaries to share the feelings they had as they watched the clip. It is always wonderful to listen to their comments and insights. Bart taught about Christ's suffering by having the missionaries imagine the greatest pain they had ever experienced and then multiply that by everyone in the room's greatest pain; then multiply by everyone ever born or who will be born. Then add not just your worst pain but every pain, heartache, weakness, sorrow, etc. and multiply. It's overwhelming to even start to comprehend the suffering of our Savior for each and every one of us!

              In preparation for Zone Conferences we asked each of the missionaries to study the sacrament and prepare a 5-7 minute talk on the sacrament and "How They Will Always Remember Him" (the Savior). During the meeting he chose two of the missionaries to share their talks. The missionaries at each conference gave great talks and it was interesting to see the difference in what they had studied, learned, and felt. One of the principles Bart taught was the difference between trying and striving. To try is to make an attempt or effort. To strive is to make great effort; struggle or fight vigorously. He used the example of swimming across a pool and "trying" to get to the other side when you know you can stand up and touch the bottom versus swimming in a lake or ocean to shore and how much effort you would exert in swimming to the safety of land. It is a great visual of the effort we need to be making to keep our covenants and return to our Heavenly Father. It was interesting because each day his talk had some different points he was inspired to talk about it. He ended his part with having missionaries volunteer to share their Because He Lives statements. It was amazing to here them and there was a great spirit as they shared and Bart concluded his talk. 

               We also had a nice lunch which the missionaries always enjoy and three rotating workshops on budgeting and taking care of your apartment; medical concerns, particularly rashes (we've had cases of chicken pox recently); companionship language study and preparing to take the English certification. They were taught by some of our wonderful senior couples.
                We ended the day by showing "Meet the Mormons". The missionaries enjoyed the movie and it was a fun way to end the day. We enjoyed each conference and love being with our missionaries!

Zone Conference in Lucena on Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Marinduque Zone

Lopez Zone

Lucena Zone

Zone Conference in Lipa on Thursday, March 19, 2015

Mindoro Zone

Batangas Zone

Lipa Zone

Zone Conference in San Pablo on Friday, March 20, 2015

Siniloan Zone

Santa Cruz Zone

Cabuyao Zone

San Pablo Zone

       

   

Happy Easter--Because He Lives

   We are a week away from Easter and Bart and I want to share this video with you. It is a powerful clip about our Savior. As I have thought about what is different, possible, and better Because He Lives I realize the answer is everything. Because He lives I can again see my daughter, my parents, my sister, my brother, nieces, nephew, grandparents, and other loved ones that have passed to the other side of the veil. Because He lives I know that families can be together forever and that gives me hope and joy. Because He lives I can feel comfort and peace when my heart is aching. Because He lives I can be forgiven of sins and shortcomings. Because He lives there is a purpose to my life. Because He lives I can do hard things through the enabling power of His atonement. Because He lives I am serving a mission in the Philippines San Pablo Mission being blessed by the wonderful missionaries, members, and people here. There are countless things I could list that are a result of the fact that He, My Savior and Redeemer, Lives. I hope you enjoy the clip and that you take the time to think about what is different, possible, and better in your lives BECAUSE HE LIVES!

                 

Thinking of my dad

    Today marks a year since my dear dad passed away and joined my sweet mom on the other side of the veil. It's been such a crazy year and since I've been gone for 9 months of it I'm not sure I have really adjusted to life without my dad; after all right now my life is so different and without any of my family except Bart, of course. Life here in the Philippines is quite different and there are so many interesting and unusual things to see as you drive around. The scenery is beautiful and there are many rice fields. There are different kinds of modes of transportation then we have in the United States and even the cows are different. I find myself often thinking about my dad and how fascinated he would be to see the surroundings and the Filipino lifestyle. He would love the people because they are so friendly and kind. I often say to Bart that I wish my dad was still alive so he could see these things or I could at least tell him about them. Bart assures me that he knows and sees these things. I find myself wondering aloud about the things I see and what people do that live in the big homes and then Bart just tells me I sound like my dad. I'm good with that. I also know that Dad would love to hear about our adventures and the "learning" and spiritual experiences we are having. Once again Bart assures me that my dad and mom are getting to participate in our mission experiences. I'm sure he's right. I'm thankful for all my dad taught me through word and example throughout his 87 years here on earth. I miss my dad's smile and funny sayings, his strong hands, his spiritual insights and wisdom, his goodness, and strong faith and testimony. I miss both my dad and mom because when I think of one I naturally think of the other. What a wonderful example of "true love" they set for me, our family, and everyone who knew them. We all loved watching their interaction and watching them hold hands and give each other a kiss. I'm sure I will never quit missing them but I am so thankful for their legacy. Love you forever dad and mom!

Cutest sweethearts!

This was taken about 3 weeks before he died--he looks so great!

February Departing and Incoming Missionaries

February 8-10, 2015/Departing Missionaries
     It's hard to believe how quickly 6 weeks pass by. Our February departing batch was a fantastic group of missionaries. Each time it gets a little harder to say good-bye as we know the missionaries better. This group had a lot of wonderful sisters who had blessed my life since we got to the mission. They had been cheerleaders encouraging and supporting me. I had also had the opportunity to go out and teach with a couple of the sisters and we had attended baptisms for many of this group. The good-byes were tearful but the time with the sisters and elders at the mission home was great. We had a wonderful Family Home Evening sharing favorite mission memories and testimonies.

Our Fantastic February Departing Batch
Saying Good-bye gets harder each time. We'll really miss them! 

A fun new sign for departing batches--thanks to Sister Moran.

February 11-12, 2015/Incoming Missionaries

     The cycle continues and a day after we said good-bye to our missionaries we welcomed new ones. This was a small batch and only one sister to replace 14! The smaller batch made the orientation and visiting very personal and we enjoyed it. They are a great group. As they got off the bus I thought one of them looked just like one of our other Elders. I looked at his name tag and realized why he looked so familiar, it was one of our elders returning. He had gone home for some medical concerns and we weren't told he was coming back with this group. It was fun to see him and great to have him well enough to return.

Our new great group of missionaries ready to serve.