Happy Memorial Day, everyone! We had a poignant experience this weekend which made me realize that we don’t stop and reflect often enough on the freedoms we enjoy, the truth we have, the blessings that our ours…because of the sacrifices of so many who have gone before. We found out about a service opportunity at the American Cemetery here to go and place flags next to the headstones on Saturday. There are more than 17,000 graves here. 17,000!!! When we have come here in the past, I have tended to look at them as a whole. This weekend, though, as we put the digger tool in and pushed the two flags in next to EACH grave, we had time to look at the names of the young men who sacrificed their lives for their country and for freedom. I wondered what their stories were. I could imagine the deep sorrow their families experienced when they learned their sons, their husbands, their friends, were killed. We saw a few graves of men who almost made it to the end of the war. Like the soldier who died on June 3, 1945. The war ended here in the Pacific in July, 1945. One month!!! Then on Sunday, we returned for the ceremony. It was so moving! I was so touched by the opening prayer by a Catholic Father: ” let their sacrifice be etched in our memory…….and bless our leaders that they will be motivated by the needs of the people and not by their own egos or greed…” So that’s a challenge I have to myself, that their sacrifices will be etched in my memory and that I won’t forget the blessings I have because of them. My dad served here in the Philippines during World War II, so I reflected on him and his service. So many lives were lost, others have lived with the awful memory of things they experienced during war. Thank you for sacrificing! Not only those who fought in war, but those who sacrificed that we have truth on the Earth. The early Saints sacrificed so much for their religious freedom and for their beliefs. And of course, our Savior, who came to Earth to show us a better way to live and paid the price for our salvation. After we left the cemetery on Saturday, we were all so very hot, thirsty and hungry, so we decided to stop at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) to find some breakfast. This area is so unique and so beautiful! Green spaces, wide plazas, beautiful shopping and eating areas. The other missionary couples had never been here and they were amazed! Then we went to the “bag store”. This is a foundation that helps women have a little income from making bags from recycled plastic- usually juice containers. The missionary sisters here all have at least one bag. They are pretty cool, actually.

Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly

Earlier in the week the Paradas, a wonderful senior service missionary couple, met us at this facility so we could see about doing a project for them. I expected a rather bleak and somewhat depressing situation, but I was wrong! It was very nice, actually. Clean, no bad smell, happy women, and a super energetic sister who runs the place. Like Lennie said, “how can we not do a project for a place that has such a great name!” As we toured the facility, we were surprised at how many of the elderly women could speak English- and speak it well. As Elder Huff has said in the past, people spoke better English when he was here 50 years ago. They taught English in the schools and everyone was encouraged to use English back then. We found a group of women who were sitting in a gathering area singing together with music on their phones. Since there was a piano right there (albeit a very out of tune piano), Elder Huff couldn’t resist playing for them. They were thrilled! He promised he would come back and play for them with some music. He can’t wait!