Another Mishap For Sister Tye

Remember the story of me passing out in the heat? Well it's a new month and time for another mishap. President Tye and I drove to the GMA Chapel in the San Gabriel Zone to pick up a Sister and her Companion, one of them needed to go to the Emergency Room. It was a beautiful Sunday morning so we decided to wait on the emergency and stay for the Sacrament before starting the drive. 

 Lovely Meetinghouse and scene of the mishap.

 

As we were leaving the building, the sun was shining so brightly and I was singing and laughing with the Sisters. I looked up and closed my eyes to absorb the sunlight, and in doing so I missed the last step. (The yellow curb in the picture.) I have missed steps before but never have I fallen as hard as I did then. I know I heard my ankle snap and both President and I thought that for sure I had broken it. I also scratched a knee, bruised both hands, and landed right on my glasses. Amazingly my glasses were not even bent and knowing that scratches and bruises quickly heal, I was more worried about my ankle. President helped me balance and I hopped to the car. My ankle was swelling and the sweet, sweet Sisters were so worried about their Mission Mom. (And President Tye now had two emergencies)

 

I could make this an even longer story - but the short version is that I had an X-ray and ended up with a really bad sprain, and the Sister missionary is finally feeling better. She received a truck load of antibiotics and I got an ice pack and a Cankle.

 



Slug Bug

This snail is the winner of our 'Bug of the Month Award."

 

It was crawling up the wall outside of our kitchen and I found a soup can to set next to it so you can see how big he was. I think it came to haunt me because of all the snails I have killed in Utah for eating my Hostas and Marigolds.



Driving In The City

I have tried to get a picture of what the roads and traffic look like here in the Cavite area, but none of my pictures really give you a good idea of what it is really like. All I can relate it to is the huge gathering of cars, people, bikes, and motorcycles that follow right behind the end of a 4th of July Parade. It looks like mass confusion - but that is not true here. Going from point A to point B on a Filipino highway is actually very well orchestrated by the local people. To our amazement, we see very few car accidents, or projectile pedestrians. Even little children run in the streets and do not get hit. The drivers are very cautious and alert. If the United States had intersections and pileups like this, road rage would be rampant. But not here. They will nose in and push you out of the way with their Jeepney's and Tryke's, but everyone is good with it. The Filipinos are patient drivers and it really amazes me.

Notice the traffic lights that have been installed but are never used. And look at all the telephone and electrical wires.

This cute little lady would shake her umbrella right at the driver of an approaching car to let them know that in her opinion, she had the right-of-way. We were the recipients of one of her 'shakes.' I love her grey hair in a bun - she is so cute!

The only thing that really bothers me here is how people put their children and little babies on bikes and motorcycles, then weave through the traffic. Sometimes I have to look the other way and tell myself it's just a way of life and survival for them.

 

By the way, President Tye is a pro driver in the Philippines.



Speedy Riser

Note To Self:

 

The best place to make homemade bread and rolls is in the Philippines.

In this humidity, the dough is a 'speedy riser.'  

Hungry missionaries appreciate that!

What Does It Mean To Be Golden?

I looked up the word Golden in the dictionary and found the following definition:

 

 Of, relating to, made of, or containing gold.

 Having the color of gold or a yellow color suggestive of gold.

 Richness or splendor -  Lustrous; radiant.

 

The following pictures are examples of these definitions:

A room full of bullion or gold bars.

Two Golden Retriever puppies.

 And being a HP fan, I can't forget the Golden Snitch.
 

 

But for missionaries serving as companions, the next few definitions found in my dictionary are far better than any of the previous ones.
 

 Of the greatest value or importance; precious.

Very favorable or advantageous, excellent.

  Marked by peace, having a promising future; seemingly assured of success.

 

All of our missionaries are searching and hoping to find investigators that fall under these definitions of Golden. When they are found, the investigators have a deep desire to learn more, they want to please God no matter what sacrifice is needed. They are meek, they are teachable, and above all else - they want the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. They want it for their children, and their ultimate goal is to be sealed as a family for all eternity in the Temple. They are precious, they are of great value, and their countenance is filled with peace.

 

Two of our Elders found their Golden investigators. They have been interviewed by President Tye and will be baptized next week. They were a little nervous about meeting with the President and admitted that they had been fasting and praying all day. They even showed up an hour early for their appointment and waited outside the closed, dark church building until we arrived . . . it was a privilege and honor to meet them. It was GOLDEN. 

 



The Last Of The Quarterly Interviews

Last but not least,

THE BACOOR ZONE

had their interviews with the President. Here are pictures of the missionaries that are currently serving in this zone, and the beautiful Imus Chapel.

 

I love the chapel. It's so clean and peaceful.

 

 

 

 

When we arrived, a man was painting the steeple. I was so amazed at the height and precarious position he was in that I took a picture.



July Interviews Continue

Naic Zone

 The Beautiful Naic Chapel. 

Our missionary interviews are scheduled to start at 11:00am and are held quarterly. The length of time we spend with each zone depends on how many missionaries are assigned there. Today we were in the Naic Chapel from 11:00 - 4:00 interviewing missionaries - we have 18 there. Then, because Naic is a district, President Tye also did baptism, temple recommend, and prospective missionary interviews from 4:00 - 7:00. It was a long day!

 

 

Cavite Zone

 This is the Rosario Chapel and basketball court/parking lot. I think the big white clouds behind it makes it look beautiful too. The white van belongs to the Assistants, and the two walking up to the ward are two of our sister missionaries - right on time for interviews. All the LDS churches have the basketball court outside. The weather is great all year, playing in the rain feels good, and it makes it possible to build smaller ward/branch buildings. Makes sense to me!
(plus you don't have to worry about the early morning basketball players moving the tables and decorations that are set up for a Relief Society luncheon or some other auxiliary meeting.)

 These are all of the Cavite Zone - minus one? I bet the other elder was having an interview with President Tye when I took this picture.

 President Tye is very tall.

This is a "Thank You" poster the missionaries are signing for President and Sister Stucki of the Manila Mission. Shhhh . . . it's a secret!



To Naic And Back

President Tye had a meeting in Naic on Sunday afternoon so I loaded up some reading material and off we went. Naic is about 32 miles from the mission home but takes about an hour and a half to get there. It is a little town, or province, away from the big city. I loved the farmland and driving around the cows and goats on the road.

 This little lady had just walked off the road and I seriously think she posed for the camera.

This is the scenery from our car. Very pretty and green.

On the way, we spotted another LDS church. Knowing that we were an hour ahead of schedule, we decided to stop and see if any of our missionaries were there. The meeting block at this chapel only had 10 minutes left when we walked in the door. Our decision to stop was completely an inspired one.

As soon as the Branch President saw us he got this big smile on his face and asked President Tye if he could stay for a few minutes and visit with three of his members who were preparing for a mission. One had not turned in his papers yet, but the other two had already received their calls and were waiting for the chance to go to the temple. A Branch President can do the first Temple Recommend interview, but only a Mission President has this authority to do the final interview. This only happens with Districts and not Stakes. In the Cavite mission, we have 2 Districts.

Because we made a last minute decision to pull into that chapel, the future missionaries have their temple recommends signed and they are ready to enter the temple and receive their endowments. President Tye would have taken care of this at a future date, but because we stopped, the families can plan their temple trip sooner than they thought. After that little detour was completed, we continued on our way to Naic. The unscheduled stop took us about 45 minutes. Now we were right ON schedule for the 2:00 appointment at the Naic chapel. 

 



Look Who Came To Dinner

We had 21 guests for dinner tonight . . . and just because they were a little crabby and kind of shrimpy . . . I cooked 'em up! 

I usually don't throw someone into a pot of boiling salt water just because of an attitude issue, (i.e., crabby), but this time it was necessary.

 

And calling these guys "shrimpy" is not an insult. 

 

 But just so you know, this Utah city girl cooked her first fresh crab and shrimp.

The crab was by far my favorite of the two. It was tender, flavorful, and tasted heavenly! And although I really like shrimp, cutting off the heads and seeing all the "green brain slime ooze" all over my paper towel seemed to take my appetite away. My son-in-law told me that people enjoy shaking a little salt on the head and sucking out the brain juice - now that's just plain SICK!

 

 

Thanks to the dear friend who supplied us with this tasty meal.

July Interviews Continue

Today we headed to the San Gabriel Zone to have interviews.

 Having a group hug with the Sister missionaries. One of my "girls" was in an interview with President Tye while this hugging thing was going on. She got a special picture all by herself.

Here are the Elders sorting and stacking mail.

 

We have 12 missionaries assigned to the San Gabriel Zone. They are all hard workers and love their companions. I love them all!

 

Oops, I just counted all my sheep and noticed I missed one. Sorry about that - I'll take two pictures of him next time.



July Interviews

Today we met and interviewed the missionaries in the Las Pinas Zone. My pictures only represent half of those serving in this area.

 

 I continue to be impressed with the faith and obedience of each of our missionaries. As of July 1st, these missionaries left behind the Manila Mission and became the Pioneers of the new Cavite Mission. With that change they gave up their opportunity to attend the Manila Temple. This has been, and continues to be a very difficult change for our missionaries. If the temple had been off limits to them from the beginning, this would be easier. But to take something so peaceful, comforting, and dear away from them is a very large obstacle to place in their path.

 

I AM SO IMPRESSED THAT THIS IS A WORRY TO THEM.

 

Can you imagine how touched I feel as I listen to these 18-21 year old missionaries tell me how much they miss going to the temple? I am truly humbled by their goodness - what an honor it is to work with them and be in their presence!

Visa Waiters

Two Elders from India came today and they will be with us for about a month while waiting for their Visa's to be reissued. Because they have not had an American meal for a year, I decided to make them hamburgers. I even grilled up some bacon to top 'em off. Welcome to Cavite!

 These are the 2 elders who serve in India.

I think we also had every cat in the neighborhood in our backyard while the hamburgers were on the barbecue. It smelled so good!

July Interviews

This week and next, we have interviews with our Marvelous Missionaries. Today we were with the Dasmarinas Zone and I took a couple of pictures.

If you drive into the main entrance of this chapel, you can not see the building until you come up a very steep hill. It is a beautiful sight to see as you reach the parking lot. Every time I go to this chapel I feel like singing, "High On A Mountain Top."

Good looking Elders! The Sisters had already left by the time I took out my camera - Sorry Sisters!

Funny Story: Before I left the mission home this morning I grabbed my name tag, quickly stuck it on, and ran out the door. President and I were greeted at the Dasmarinas Stake Center by the Zone Leaders. Then as missionaries arrived we started shaking hands and were lead to our interview rooms. It was then that one of the missionaries noticed my name tag. I had grabbed one of President Tye's name tags by mistake. President Tye made a comment about me being the boss - I was so embarrassed! I tried to think of all the places we had been that morning before someone noticed my name tag. From then on, the Elders were calling me President Tye. I don't think I will ever hear the end of this one!

San Gabriel District Conference

We had a great weekend with the members of the San Gabriel District at their District Conference. Priesthood and Adult Sessions were on Saturday, and the Youth and General Sessions on Sunday.

I believe my favorite part of the visit was not the 4 talks my husband gave, (sorry sweetheart), but it was the Youth and Young Single Adult choir - it was fantastic. There are no words to express how heavenly their singing was. I believe that angels were also singing with them, and you would have a very hard time convincing me otherwise. The Spirit was so strong as they sang.

 

After the meetings, President took care of temple recommends and I visited with some of the wives. As few of the young women kept peeking into the room we were sitting in. Finally one of them got the courage to ask if they could come in and ask me some questions. They were still a little shy, I think they wanted to know how old I am and other great facts. One of them even wanted to touch my hair. It never dawned on me that some have never seen hair a different color than their own. I loved being with these young women! I hope they will never feel afraid to asking me questions - I don't even care if they touch my hair!