OFFICE TRAINING IS DONE and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This week in the mission has been a busy one.  Transfers come early this week and we will lose the wonderful Elders who have been training us in our office duties.  We are also getting ready to receive 18 new Elders and Sisters. Thanks, to these young Elders for their patience and skill.

We attended church this morning in one of our assigned branches, the Naguilian Branch.  There were probably about 30 members there for Sacrament meeting and about half that many for Sunday School and Priesthood/Relief Society.  We laughed that they probably wanted to start the new reduced meeting schedule a week early.  The Branch President ask us to teach the combined Priesthood / Relief Society lesson on serving in a "Higher and Holier Way".  Sister Roberts did a great job, with only a few minutes to prepare.  After church, the Elders assigned to that area took us to visit a woman and her daughter who was recently baptized.  We drove our car as far as we could and then got out to hoof it through mud and meadow to find the home.  

We had to wait outside in light rain until she was ready to let us in. She was helping her daughter finish bathing.  Removing shoes is expected when entering a home even though the floor is dirt. 

 She was cooking something in a black pot over a small fire in the corner of her house.  Heavy steel cables were strapped across the roof to keep it in place during a typhoon.  We reviewed a reading assignment from Akalt Ni Mormon and then asked her to pray.  I don't know what she was saying but she wept as she prayed and we all felt the spirit. I know that the Lord loves these people and blesses them even when they have so little of comfort and security.

  

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a prosperous new year.  We love it here!  Something special for the parents of our two grandson's who are hoping to put dirty diapers behind them.  We found this item in one of the stores.  It attaches to the bathroom wall with suction cups and the boys can try and make the pinwheel spin.  I wish we could send it to you but perhaps you can find one at Amazon. I apologize that the image is sideways.  I couldn't figure out how to rotate it in the app.  Just look at it tilting your head. TeeHee - Elder Roberts

Roasted Pig and My First Tricee Ride

Roasted Pig

The people in the Philippines are warm, friendly and they make us feel very welcomed here. It has been a busy week being trained for our new assignments and attending three all day zone conferences/ Christmas parties.  Elder Roberts is in charge of all the finances which is right up his alley and I am being trained as the mission secretary.  As I have been a stay at home mom most of my life, I am a little out of my comfort zone.  My nineteen-year-old trainer, a young Elder, is very proficient with computers and all technology.  He is a good teacher and very patient with me.  I have a few more days before he gets transferred.

We stuffed stocking for all of the Elders & Sisters. About two-thirds of the missionaries are Elders, the other third are Sisters.  Several of the mothers made the stockings and sent them to us.  The mission President's wife taught us a little dance to entertain them after their training and lunch.  Local people from the wards and branches catered the lunches each day.  President ordered a roasted pig as a special treat.  I loved the way the Elders and Sisters sang their Thank yous to the cook.

Dancing to "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-YfjvUHWIc&list=PLBvT4mkzsAPNfzeIPUtjM2l3t9943eaZp

We meet Elder Montague and Elder West from our home town.  The "Cook of Mormon" apron that Elder West is wearing was given to each missionary in their Christmas stocking. I found out that Elder West's grandpa and my dad were lifelong friends!  I pulled up Family Search and showed him a picture of his grandpa and my dad as teenagers. Small World!



Elder Roberts (yes it is was really hard to get use to calling him that) drove in the Philippines for the first time yesterday.  It took us about one hour to get to the Zone Conference in Santiago and two hours to get home in the rush hour traffic.  He did a great job driving and staying calm.  I was proud of him!

 Today I had my first ride in a tricycle.  Here they call them a "Tricee".  It cost twelve pesos to ride which is the equivalent of about twenty-five cents.  I rode side-saddle behind the driver and Elder Roberts rode in the sidecar with our laundry.

There is a huge mall right behind us and I don't have time to do much shopping.  Yes! - this is an adjustment for me.

We love being missionaries and are grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord in the Beautiful Philippines!  "Totoo ang Simbahan"! (The Church is true) - Sister Roberts

Flyin to Cauayan

Arrival at Cauayan

Getting from SLC to Manila was an adventure.  We thought we had plenty of time until I got an e-mail that our flight from SLC to LAX was going to be 2 hours delayed.  HOLLY COW!  Our layover at LAX was only 2.5 hours to start.  There was no way we would make the international flight to Manila.  We rushed to the airport and changed to another flight that would get us to LAX in time to catch the flight to Manila.  The flight to Manila was uneventful but long.  I was amazed that the young children on that flight never seemed to get cranky or out of control even after 15 hours on the plane.

Manila Temple

It is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of traffic and congestion which was among the people of Manila.  (Mormon 4:11)  Even our driver, who sees this all the time, was getting frustrated.  If anyone reading this should ever decide to travel to the Philippines, heed my warning that you must never attempt to drive yourself anywhere in that city.  YOU MAY NOT SURVIVE!

We went straight to the Manila Temple and did some work and I was delighted to discover that the patron men do not wear ties.
How cool is that!

We had to sleep fast so that we would arise at 3:00AM to catch our flight to Cauayan.  Light rain was falling when we landed in Cauayan and I felt like shouting hurray that our time of traveling, packing and unpacking was finally at an end.  The missionaries who would be training us in our office duties met us at the airport.  We spent the next couple of days getting trained and settling into our apartment, which is small, but reasonably comfortable.  The best thing is that it sits on top of the Mission Offices and is very close to a large shopping mall.

Walking in Cauayan

There are 3 branches that meet in the church next to the Mission Home.  We attended one of them this morning and loved the spirit we felt, even though we could'nt understand much of what was said.  Sometimes they speak in English and sometimes in Tagalog.  They sing Hymns in English which makes it possible for us to join them. The people are so friendly but the children keep looking at me like I am a monster from outer space. - Elder Roberts

Cauayan Branch

Missionary Training Center - Week 2

View from our room at the MTC

Elder & Sister Roberts, and the Former Philippines Cauayan Mission President and his wife.

 This week we were moved from the MTC to the Courtyard by Marriott because they had a large new group of Senior Missionaries arriving.  I caught a bad head cold last Friday evening and missed 2 days of office training classes.  We had lunch yesterday with our amazing Tagalog tutor!  We also did sealings at the Provo temple.  The Missionary Training Center is an inspired place of learning.  The environment is happy, peaceful and a place of order. It's no small miracle that hundreds of young people and a few seniors are fed, housed and taught there each day.

We fly to Manila on Monday evening, leaving from SLC to LA where we have a 2-hour layover.  We leave LA at 11:30 pm and arrive in Manila on Wednesday morning.  We have been told that we will spend a couple of days there before flying to our mission. We are both so excited to be on our way to serve in the Philippines! -  Sister Roberts

We just completed our 1st week of training at the MTC.  The training was focused on Preach My Gospel (PMG in Missionary Lingo).  It was wonderful and filled with the spirit.  Sister Roberts thought there was nothing new that she could learn from PMG but she was wrong. HaHa.

Much of the time was spent learning to teach the Doctrine of Christ to others.  We were paired with the a wonderful couple from Utah, who will be serving in the Yukon.  We took turns teaching each other and inviting to take action. We believe we have made life-long friends.  A photo is attached.

Our teachers were young students attending BYU.  They were excellent! Below is a photo of our District.  

Food at the MTC gets 2 out of 5 stars.  We had to sneak out Wednesday and get a juicy hamburger at The Creamery.  We walked back to the MTC in a light rain to help us digest. - Elder Roberts

Packing for 18 Months

Fitting 18 months worth of clothing and supplies into 6 suitcases for 2 people was a challenge.  Going over the weight limit of 50 pounds was the biggest concern for me.  You know, all those heavy bottles of hair product, lotion and other things that women with curly hair need in a hummid climate like the Philippines.  My husband packed a few of my things in his bag.

I googled how to pack most efficiently.  I tried the clothes bundling method and found it really did work to keep your clothes from wrinkling. - Sister Roberts

After many weeks of planning and numerous doctor's visits, we submitted our mission papers the end of June.  Our call arrived 7 long weeks later on August 13, 2018.  We opened it that night at our daughter's home.  We are excited to serve in the Philippines Cauayan Mission.  Cauayan is pronounced like "Hawaiin", but with a C.