Truly, this week was beyond amazing. We had an interesting mix of things, which you will read about. It is almost like we could just go home after this week….but we actually still have many things to take care of before that happens. So let’s begin the rehash!

BOHOL: It was Sean’s turn to come and visit us this past week, so it was such a joy to have him here and to share the Philippines with him. We decided he needed to see something other than murky Manila, so we met him on the island of Bohol. We decided it was the best option (that we knew of) of a place that is easy to fly into and has a variety of things to see. It proved to be just that! We had an amazing first day with him, driving up the coast, taking a banka boat to a little island and spending the day snorkeling (we had the ocean to ourselves) and just relaxing in front of a nice resort there. We then drove up in the mountains to the lovely place we stayed for two days. It was so peaceful up there and we had a lovely outdoor bathroom where you could see thousands of bright stars when you had to get up to use the toilet in the middle of the night. The bad part of that was all the mosquitos that came into our room and attacked me! Otherwise, it couldn’t have been a better remedy for tired missionaries.

We even tasted durian (we cut it far away from our room since it is supposed to be very stinky). It wasn’t really very stinky and was such an interesting fruit. On Sunday, we attended church in a small branch near the Chocolate Hills. Of course it was in their local dialect, so we couldn’t understand much, but the people were very welcoming and it was great. Then we drove up to the Chocolate Hills. It rained for a bit, but then the weather cleared so we had two views of this amazing geological wonder. After our visit there, we continued driving over to an area where they have rice terraces. While there, we noticed lots and lots of stairs and ended up at the tallest waterfall in Bohol! It is always nice to be surprised by wonderous nature. After that, we drove over to the West coast to a town called Anda and walked along the beach there. I had read that there is a beach that is 3 km long, but maybe it was high tide or something. The beach was indeed nice, but it wasn’t that long. It was a long day of driving, but that was perfect for a relaxing Sunday and so much beauty! On Monday, the guys decided they didn’t want to swim with the whale sharks, so we went on two waterfall hikes and tried to go back to a wonderful snorkeling spot, but it was too wavy, so we went and snorkeled at Alona Beach, the popular beach there. The snorkeling was quite underwhelming, but the beach was nice and a good way to end our trip. Then it was back to the airport and back to the noise, traffic and pollution of Manila.

ELDER ANDERSON VISIT: This week was monopolized by all of the humanitarian projects that Elder Anderson was visiting. On Tuesday, we had to go to a church to get set up for the mom/baby kits that the youth were going to help assemble. Elder Anderson was scheduled to be there by 4:30, help with the assembly for a few minutes, hear a song the youth had prepared and give them a brief message. This was for some mom/baby kits for the moms at Jose Fabella Maternity Hospital. This hospital has about 100 births a day! We had 5 assembly lines going and they put together a total of 250 kits. Earlier, I had to orchestrate getting all the hats sewed (we already had the hats that had been cut out and ready to sew) and the flowers and buttons put on. I asked Beehive Clothing if they would consider sewing the hats as a service, which one woman did (after I got permission for them to do it–bureaucracy). I miscalculated how many hats we already had, so I ended up having to sew 50 of the hats myself. At least I learned how to use a serger! Then many Senior Missionaries sewed on the flowers and buttons. They look so cute! So, with the help of Elder Hayne, who was asked to come and help, we got all the assembly lines organized and ready.

Then we had to have the kids wait until he got closer to the church to actually start assembling them. He was just supposed to stay for 30 minutes, but it was closer to an hour I think. He and his wife were very gracious and they sort of helped with the assembly a bit, then he spoke to them. Afterwards, he went around and shook hands with everyone. I think it was a special time for the youth. When he left, they all got their Jollibee meal and we had them put all the kits in the boxes so we could have Lalamove come and pick them up to take to the hospital. We had to wait FOREVER for the Lalamove truck. It always said “32 minutes”. I think it took an hour and a half before they finally got there. The traffic through this area is really bad. But, while waiting, we had some wonderful conversations with the Stake President and other leaders. We found out the bishop is Diana Cruz’s brother, who I have been working with on the literacy things. We also learned about the wonderful foundation they started to help give scholarships to worthy students. This is something I want to get involved in when we get home. So it was worth it! I love and am amazed at the church leaders here! They are so full of faith and they put their faith into action. They really strive to help others. In this section I am also including the “handover of donation” for this project. On Saturday we went to the hospital to hand out the mom/baby kits. There were over 20 people from nearby wards who gave them to the moms. The church members were asking if we have any other projects coming up. They love to serve!

VISIT TO SMOKY MOUNTAIN: On Wednesday, we had an appointment with Project PEARLS in Tondo to go up the actual Smoky Mountain Dump site (the place that is actually a mountain formed by trash). This site was closed down after several fires and accidents that killed quite a few people, so we thought no one lived here. Wrong! Over 250 FAMILIES live up there. We thought we would be taking food to maybe 50 people, but we were in for a surprise. Once we hiked up the steep incline and reached the plateau at the top of the mount, we realized they have made pathways, garden areas, homes, shanties, sari-sari stores and even a video game/karaoke center! Our destination was a small structure that is a sort of church where over 100 kids were packed into, sitting on the floor. Pastor Jenny, from the Christ Power church, had this structure built and they hold feeding programs, tutoring sessions and other activities here (including church, I guess). You could tell the kids were soooo excited! Not only were they getting a meal, they were also getting belated Christmas presents! Most of the kids here truly did seem to be malnourished and very dirty. Much more so than down in Tondo. I think these are the saddest families we have seen here. It just breaks your heart.

As we walked down through the “village” afterwards, you could see the kids playing with their new toys and they seemed so happy. Also, on our way down the mountain, we stopped in to visit one the the Project PEARLS scholars. This is one that our church is sponsoring, actually. She had cancer and just finished her last chemo and radiation treatment. You could tell she has had a rough time, but still had a smile on her face. I asked if they thought it would be okay for Elder Huff to give her a blessing and they said, “of course”. So he and Sean gave her a blessing, right there on that dirty garbage mountain. And for just a minute, it did seem that the love of God came and rested on her and we felt such love for her and a bit of hope, even. Melissa Villa, founder of Project PEARLS, would like to get her out of that “toxic” place- her family is also not supportive at all and into a small studio apartment close to her college so she has a chance. I hope they can indeed get her out of there. I would be willing to sponsor her if need be! After Smoky Mountain, we played tourists and rented the Bamboo bikes in Intramuros. We actually saw the grim Fort Santiago where the Japanese housed prisoners during WWII. Over 600 bodies were found there and buried. We also took Sean to see the Manila Hotel and Rizal park with the dancing fountain. A good end to a day full of emotions!

CARDINAL SIN VILLAGE WATER PROJECT CELEBRATION: We consider this event a miracle. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work, creativity, relationship building, problem solving, patience and persistence. There were many times when we were encouraged to give up on this project, but there were too many reasons to persist. For example, 5,000 residents who didn’t have access to running water because the water tanks in their buildings were inoperable. How could we give up on them? We also knew that this project meant a lot to our predecessor, Elder Hill, who started the project in June 2022. After over 19 months of work, the water project was finished in early February, just in time for a completion ceremony with Elder Neil Andersen. We originally envisioned a big, loud, Filipino-style celebration in the village’s covered court. However, with Elder Andersen attending, we were asked to work with the staff at the Cardinal Sin Village Catholic parish to plan a simple, solemn ceremony. This was partly because of security reasons, and maybe because of Elder Andersen’s sacred calling.

The goal was for a very high-ranking Catholic official to attend and speak, preferably Cardinal Jose Advincula. He couldn’t attend, but two former priests of the Cardinal Sin Village parish were able to attend and speak. Elder Andersen was also scheduled to speak. We felt that our managers were trying too hard to control an event that was hosted by the Catholic parish. We were therefore surprised, but delighted, that at the last moment the parish staff decided to have a big, loud, Filipino-style celebration after all. A local drum band dressed in traditional fiesta costumes greeted guests when they came, including Elder Andersen. A long line of residents with “Welcome, Elder Andersen!” banners lined the entry way. A whole host of children greeted Elder Andersen as he got out of his car. He opened his arms wide and they all rushed to him and gave him a big hug. After the program, everyone went to witness a ribbon-cutting and ceremonial turning on a tap in a makeshift sink that was built just for the occasion. Throngs of people witnessed all of this from their balconies. KSL-TV was there to witness the whole thing and produced a news report that was shown on TV back in Utah. All in all, it was one of the most delightful highlights of our mission. And Sean got to witness it all.

Other Special Events this Week: In case I haven’t mentioned enough going on, there were some other wonderful things that happened: The Area Workforce Devotional with Elder and Sister Anderson being one of them. These devotionals are always nice- it is a time when the apostles or other visiting authorities get more personal and casual and usually great stories are shared. This one didn’t disappoint. Elder Huff played the piano for the choir and meeting and I sang with the choir. We sang a beautiful version of Nearer My God to Thee. I have loved singing with this choir! He invited anyone in the audience to come up and share experiences they had with Elder Oaks back when he was the area leader and lived here for 3 years (I think). Abe shared a wonderful experience about the miracle that occurred when Elder Oaks wanted to personally attend the calling of a new Stake President in an unsafe area of Mindanao. Later that evening, we were invited to attend the Light the World Dinner with those who were recipients of money from the Giving Machine. We got to be with foundations we have worked with : Caritas Manila, Mabuhay Deseret and UNICEF among others. Food was great, company was great, Shangri-la Hotel was great! Sean couldn’t come to the dinner, so he went across the street and went to the Mega-Mall, which was fun for him! He got to experience one of the largest malls here. Last but not least, was the Tabernacle Choir concert at Santo Tomas. This was a sacred concert and a smaller event (around 4,000) that we were able to invite our special guests to. We invited lots of people from all of our favorite Foundations. Many were able to attend and quite enjoyed it, I think. We were disappointed, though, that they didn’t get to sit in the VIP section, but had to sit on the top level with us, where the uncomfortable seats were. We most likely won’t be going to the big concert with Lea Solanga at the Mall of Asia Arena. We didn’t get tickets and are frankly too tired to try to stand in line as stand-bys. The choir did an “allelujah” number that was almost surreal. It was amazing! So glad we could be here during this time. So glad we extended our mission!!!