A Retrospective of My Mission

I have had to stretch and grow on my mission and learn to do hard things.  I immediately went from a full-time homemaker to Mission Secretary.  I had never been a secretary at church or in the workplace.   

When I arrived in the Philippines 14 months ago, I was seriously lacking in secretarial skills. I felt overwhelmed and inadequate for my assignment.  I tried not to be discouraged and would tell myself that the Lord had confidence in me and that he would make me equal to the task. Still, it was hard!

Elder Rusch sneaking a 'selfie' with my phone

 My trainer, Elder Rusch, was a young missionary who had been serving as the mission secretary for eight months.  He was so patient and kind to me during the eight days he had to train me before he was transferred.  He taught me a few things at a time and tried not to overwhelm me.  He made me a booklet with detailed instructions of each task that I was to perform.  I still use those instructions on occasion.

I learned how to prepare letters for departing missionaries, how to mail merge, make travel arrangements, and print Release Certificates.  I’ve learned to arrange for catering and physical facilities for Zone Conferences, to make monthly calendars with important events and birthdays to send out to 196 missionaries.  I learned how to send out an emergency mass email to all of the missionaries’ parents and Priesthood Leaders updating them on Typhoon conditions.  I’ve learned much about teaching the gospel with opportunities we’ve had to spend time with the young missionaries.

When Stephen was called to be 2^nd Counselor to the Mission President last July, he received some new responsibilities.  One of those responsibilities was to speak in District Conferences and branches in the five districts throughout our mission.  I am usually his companion speaker.  It frightened me to speak in public.  Whenever I had to speak in church, I could feel my legs quivering as I stood behind the pulpit.  I wondered if the bishopric were secretly laughing at me.  As a child, I remember being terrified to stand in Primary and give a 2 ½ minute talk.  My mom would write it for me and have me memorize it.  I would complain to her and tell her how frightened I was.  She would always comfort me by saying, “Don’t worry Luann, I’ll be sitting where you can see me and I’ll be praying for you.”   It still brings me comfort to think of my mother praying for me.

Stephen and I have been speaking in church almost every other Sunday for the past few months.  This weekend, I had to speak at the Saturday adult session of conference and the Sunday Session.  I have never had to speak two days in a row.  Stephen gave three talks, one was at the leadership session.  We only had a couple of days to prepare and were not assigned a topic.  We have many times been asked to speak just a few minutes before the meeting starts.  I have learned to not worry about what others might think of my speaking abilities, but to strive to please the Lord and trust that he will help me.  I pray always to be guided by the Spirit in the things I do and say. 

Being a missionary is hard work.  I never thought I would say this, but I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be pushed out of my comfort zone and to learn that I can do hard things.

Pictures before the Cauayan District Conference:

Photos after the Conference:

My Naguilian Branch Family gathers for a photo after the conference.

Caves & Cake

Sunday we attended Sacrament Meeting in the Mallig Branch.  The Mallig chapel is built on stilts and was dedicated last June. 

We both gave talks and Steve did some temple recommend interviews.  After church, we drove until we found a shady spot where we could stop and eat our picnic lunch of roast beef sandwiches, chips and grapes.  We drove to Tuguegarao, the largest city in our mission and checked into the Mango Suites.  As we got our luggage out of the car, two young missionaries spotted us and stopped to say hello.  We invited them to go to the Callao Caves with us the next day.

The last time we visited Tuguegarao, we got lost in the maze of busy streets.  This time we were prepared with data on our smartphone, so we could use Google Maps to find our way. The data cost 750 pesos for a month, which is the equivalent of about $15 US dollars.  So worth it!  It was much easier than stopping and asking for directions.  In Tuguegarao it is not uncommon to see horse-drawn carts riding on the congested streets with cars, motorcycles, and tricycles. 

Monday, we packed up and headed out for the caves.  We had planned to meet the Elders at Robinson’s Mall.  They ran out of load on their phone, borrowed a phone and called to say they were at Mcdo (the Filipino term for McDonald's).  In the Philippines, if you don’t have a phone or your phone is dead, you can walk up to most any stranger and they will let you use their phone.  Filipinos love to be helpful.

It cost 20 pesos to enter the cave, but we got a discount for Senior Citizens and paid 15 pesos.  Our guide was a beautiful young woman who was a senior in high school.  The guides earn money through voluntary donations for their service.  

She not only provided us with details about the seven chamber cave, but she also took many pictures of us.  We ascended 184 steps to reach the cave entrance.  There is a chapel in the second chamber, where they hold a mass the first Saturday of every month.

Fun Photos are taken in the cave under a sky-light, by our guide.

When we arrived back at the office, the other Senior Missionaries surprised me with a birthday cake.

One of our recently returned missionaries sent me this sketch for my birthday.  She said it was a "quick sketch".  I think it's great!

Meeting in a humble home, teaching about our loving Heavenly Father, warms our hearts!  We are always grateful for the opportunity to teach with our young missionaries.

This blog is our missionary journal.

A little of this and that

Last week the Craigs hosted a dinner for all of the Stake and Branch Presidents and their wives at the Mission Home.  After dinner, we played some games and if you had three 'fails' in the game you had to do a talent.  Some sang love songs about their sweethearts, but Elder Roberts decided to tell a joke.  It was an old standby that I used to tell around the campfire at family reunions.  It's the story of Briar Bear and Briar Rabit.  The joke went over like a lead balloon.  I don't think the punch line of 'shortening' resonated with the locals.  

Nevertheless the less, it was a fun evening.

This week a new Senior Couple arrived from Payson, Utah.  The Becks are a wonderful couple and we are so happy to welcome them to the Cauayan Mission.

Luann and I were determined this week to take a little time for ourselves, so we traveled to a place not too far from the Mission Home.  It's a little roadside flower garden in Benito Soliven that was nice except for the fact that there were no flowers!  It must not be the right season.  This disappointment did not dampen our enthusiasm for the day however, because we got to stop and take pictures anytime we felt like it and enjoy the beautiful land.

The irony, however, was that the next Sunday as we traveled to meet with members of the Mabini Branch we encountered a beautiful flower-lined road.  There were lots of the locals giving their time working on the roadside in order to beautify their community.

We invited a few of the Missionary Sisters over for lunch on P-day.  Rice-a-Roni and chicken kabobs!

Elder Burleson is the new Assistant to the President.  He is a great Missionary and we look forward to working with him.

Christmas in the Philippines

In the Philippines, Christmas Carolers don’t take treats to their neighbors. Children and youth in the Philippines go Christmas caroling house to house with the expectation that they will be rewarded with the customary donation of pesos.  Many residents keep a jar of coins or a stack of 20 peso bills by their front door in preparation for the holiday carolers.  Others ignore them so they don’t feel obligated to pay.  Also in the Philippines, you don’t knock on doors.  Visitors stand on the street or path in front of the home and call ‘tao po’, until someone comes out and beckons you to approach or come in.

We live on a narrow two-lane street next to an entrance to the SM Mall, so we don’t have many neighbors.  There is one home directly across the street from us and two others on the other side of the mall entrance.  Prompted by the ‘Light The World’ initiative, I thought it would be a good idea to meet our neighbors.  Christmas caroling seem to be a natural way to do it.  We planned to go at 5:00 PM on the Monday before Christmas and invited the other Senior Missionary Couples to join us.  I baked brownies and put them in little containers decorated with ribbons, a small bag of chocolates, and a picture of the Savior that had a handwritten message on the back. 

View of Burgos Street from our second story kitchen window

As the appointed time was approaching, I noticed that the noise on the street was deafening with large trucks, cars, buses, motorcycles, and jeepneys all waiting in line to turn into the mall for last-minute shopping.  Negative thoughts were creeping in my mind.  Maybe our neighbors wouldn’t come out of their houses to meet us because they would not be able to hear us singing and if by chance they could hear us sing, they might think we wanted a donation.  I remembered praying that morning that our neighbors would be home and that we would be able to meet each one of them.  I decided to press forward in faith.  As we gathered together and crossed the street, I noticed that the traffic had eased up quite a bit.  That was the first little miracle.  We gathered at the gate and started singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem”.   I wondered if anyone was at home and if they would be able to hear us and then I looked into the house and caught the eye of a man walking into the front room and motioned to him to come out.  That was the second little miracle that he came into that room and saw me at that quick moment.  He opened the gate and warmly welcomed us in.  He told us that he had retired from teaching at the university two years before and was often lonely.  He also told us that he had watched the building of the mission home, office and church in 2002.  He told us about the first Mission President and the caretaker of the property.  We all made a new friend.

The next home we approached, a woman was inside the fenced yard watering her plants.  When we started to sing, she disappeared.  We thought she was avoiding us, but she soon reappeared offering us some money for our songs.  She was surprised that we had a gift for her and wanted nothing in return.

As we sang at the last home, we could see a man inside and finally coaxed him with our motioning hands to come out.  When we reached through his metal fence and tried to hand him the wrapped brownies, he refused to take them.  Fortunately, the two young missionaries could speak Tagalog and explained to him that we were his neighbors and wanted to wish him a Merry Christmas and give him a gift.  We only spent about 15 minutes caroling to our neighbors, but we made three new friends and left our testimonies of the Savior.  It wasn’t a big deal, but it left each of us with a warm feeling in our hearts.

Other Photos from the Week:

I borrowed one of Stephen's ties

My first time to be a witness for a baptism.
Sister Craig made us a delicious turkey dinner on Christmas


Delivering last-minute Christmas packages

Appreciation Dinner for our Gaurds, Caretaker and their families.  We love them!