More News from the Philippines: November 4 Monday A ten hour day has come to an end. Up at 5 am. Left apartment at 5:45 am on our way to pick up three exiting missionaries. Needed to get them picked up and returned to the mission office by 8:45 am. We returned at 8:30. Would have been sooner except for traffic congestion at one point. It took a long time to go thru two traffic lights. But to show you how motorcyclists deal with traffic congestion we witnessed a most unusual thing. As we were stopped in three lanes of traffic and moving only a few feet at a time, the motorcycles behind us found a way to get thru the traffic to the next light. Several of them would hop the curb and drive along the sidewalk to the next intersection passing people walking on the sidewalk. Yeah! Only in the Philippines. After returning to the office with the missionaries we picked up our mail run bin and drove out to deliver the mail and return. Then we had our meeting at 11 am with President Revillo and the Schlagers to discuss how we can divide up 14 apartments for them to service. It was decided we will continue to get the text orders from the missionaries and then we would forward their orders to the Schlagers for them to buy the items and deliver. It was decided the Schlagers will get their own working fund of 30,000 pesos to make purchases. I still need to show them how to find several more apartments and get copies of keys to give them. Im sure it will take awhile for us to work out a smooth system but it will help us and give them more exciting experiences I am sure. After the meeting we all had pizza for lunch and then we delivered fans and a new regulator to the missionaries and came home at 3:30 pm. It has been a long and tiring day. We get to do it again tomorrow for the exiting missionaries but not so early. We will have breakfast at the mission home, go to the cemetery come back to listen to testimonies, have lunch then go to the temple with the missionaries. It is always a fun day to be with them after they have served an honorable two year mission. November 5 Tuesday Arrived at the mission home for breakfast of pancakes, hotdogs, ham, mango and tang. Presented the War Memorial Cemetery Presentation and then we drove to visit the Cemetery. Returned for lunch and then went to the Temple with the exiting missionaries. Then we returned to the mission home for pizza. We did not stay for the testimony meeting. We needed to go back to the office and pick up 18 pillows we will issue the newly arriving missionaries tomorrow. Returned home at 8 pm after a 12 1/2 hour day. Get to do it again tomorrow. But this time with 18 newly arriving missionaries. It was fun being with the missionaries all day before they return home. November 6 Wednesday It is now 9 pm. The day started at 7 am. We are now home after a busy 14 hour day. We spent most of the day in the mission home with the new arriving missionaries. Much of the day for us was spent sitting and waiting. We gave our apartment couple orientation and the American War Memorial Cemetery presentation. We listened to testimonies of the new missionaries. The office elders asked to borrow our van and said we could use their van to drive to the cemetery because it had more seats to accommodate more missionaries. We agreed to exchange vans. I reminded them they needed to be back in time for us to distribute the 16 pillows to the missionaries. We had just filled up our van with gas yesterday because we would be driving missionaries to their apartments after the orientation meetings. When I got in the office elders van to drive to the cemetery the gas gauge showed EMPTY. The gas pump light was on and I was a bit ticked. So before driving to the cemetery with all the other vehicles, we needed to find a gas station to put 1000 pesos of gas in before the van ran completely out of gas. We were able to get to the gas station without running out of gas. After returning from the cemetery we sat for another 3 hours of orientation before finally distributing the pillows and learning who we would be driving back to their apartments. We were asked to drive two sister missionaries and two elders to their apartments at opposite ends of the mission. It took us 3 hours before we finally returned home at 9 pm. We are both very tired after a long day. November 10 Sunday Many of our family and friends have expressed concern for us as the news of the typhoon that hit the Philippines arrived on Friday. The typhoon entered the Philippines about 500 miles South of the greater Manila area. We received some wind and rain on Friday and Saturday but nothing serious that affected us. We are grateful for that but sad to learn of all the damage and lost of life that affected Leyete Island and Bohol and the other surrounding islands. It was a terrible storm. Today, Sunday it has been sunny and warm. Friday we were scheduled to have an office meeting at ten. We showed up for the meeting and waited around for 30 minutes. The office elders were busy and the mission president had not yet arrived. I decided to ask the office secretary if we are still having the meeting. He said, didnt elder Froude tell you the meeting has been cancelled and changed to Monday at 3pm. I walked over to Elder Froude to let him know we were here for the meeting. He was embarrassed when he realized he had forgotten to tell us of the change. It seems we are always the last to know. So we finished the day by doing our personal shopping since we would be working on Saturday with the Schlagers. On Saturday we drove out to pick up the Schlagers to show them how to drive to the remaining apartments they will service for us. I verified that the keys worked and got rid of the keys that no longer work. I will need to get copies made to give the Schlagers to use. I will do that on Monday. We got detained in one of the sister apartments. They needed us to do a few things for them. I replaced a light fixture and gave them a new light. I replaced their water filter that was leaking with a new one. It started to rain heavily while we were there. Got soaking wet as we carried things from the van into the apartment. The sink faucet needs to be replaced. The knob is broken off and the sisters use a rag to grip the handle to turn on the water. The landlord needs to replace it but he has been a problem to work with. I told the sister missionaries to ask him again to fix it. If we pay to have it fix we will need to deduct the cost from his rent. This is a nuisance to do however. One of the newly arrived sister missionaries this week is living in this apartment. It is not one of the best. I am sure she is experiencing culture shock. She seemed happy and had a smile as we were there. We finished the day driving to four other apartments and check the keys. Left at nine and returned at four pm. It will be nice to have the Schlagers help us service 14 apartments. At church today we met the Jensens. They came so Brother Jensen could bless a set of twin girls born to a young couple that had been baptized about 9 months ago. I was asked to assist with the blessing. They showed us a picture on their I-phone of the two house/shelters that are in process of completion that our familys contribution has made possible. They will send us more by e-mail soon. I will then post them on Facebook for the family to see. November 11 Monday Our day went mostly as planned. After delivering an order to missionaries in the Assistant apartment we saw the elders walking up the street to their apartment. We all had a nice visit and they helped carry things in. They are always so happy to see us stop by. We gave them treats which they enjoy getting. I left my key in their door when we left. Fortunately, they noticed it and called me before I had driven too far. I returned and got the key. Because I was in the van I did not get out to put it back in the key box. I chose to keep it on the seat between my legs until we got back to the office. I should have let Susan hold it for me. The key stayed between my legs on the seat all the way back to the office. My plan was to immediately put the key back in the key box but I completely forgot when I arrived at the office and immediately opened the door and got out of the van. Without knowing it the key fell out onto the parking lot without my knowing it. Later, after taking broken fans across the street to get repaired and loading up a fan from the storage room, I suddenly remembered I had not put the key back in the key box. I checked the box and it was not in it. I tried to think what I had done with the key. I realized I had not done anything with it and I did not know where it was. I looked on the parking lot where I had parked and on the walkway to the office and in the office. I could not see it anywhere. I was frustrated and very upset with myself. I told the office elders to keep their eyes opened for it because I could not find it anywhere. It was on my seat between my legs when we arrived so it had to be somewhere. I said a prayer and looked around again but could not find it. We left for the PAO to get fingerprinted for Immigration and to attend our FHE with the Senior Couples. I was still upset with myself for losing the key. Later, I received a text message from the APs. They said they found the key or that the guard of the building had found it on the ground where I thought it should have fallen. He had picked it up and was looking for the owner when he brought it to the mission office. If he had not already picked it up I would have seen it on the ground where we parked the van. I am relieved to know that the key is now in the office for me to get tomorrow. I can sleep better tonight. November 12 Tuesday The key was in the office when we went by today. It has now been securely put back in its box. My prayer was answered that the key would show up. It did. After doing our mail run we shopped and then picked up the two fans we left for repair yesterday. They were in bad shape. Both motors had stopped running. One of the fans had a fan blade bent out of shape. I wonder what do these missionaries do to abuse their fans. Fans are their best friend. No one could survive here without a good working fan. They were ready to pick up and cost only 400 pesos to repair both of them. I paid over 600 pesos to buy one desk fan today. I will continue getting fans repaired as much as possible to save our budget expenses. We drove out to the apartment and returned the two fans and two new ones they needed. The missionaries were still in the apartment getting ready to leave. They were very happy to get the fans. When I left they were trying to decide who gets the new fans. I told them to draw names or pick straws. Traffic again was crazy. Vehicles are always cutting in front when there is just a little space. I am always anticipating it so there are no collisions. It is stressful, I murmur a lot about the crazy drivers. It gets real scary when the large buses try to cut you off. I just slow down and let them proceed. Did I mention before the drivers here are crazy but they are polite. There is no sense of road rage. Another crazy thing is when people get off the jeepney when it stops in the middle of the road. With vehicles all around on every side, people get off the jeepney and start walking through congested traffic to the side of the road. They will put up their hand to let you know they are walking in front of you. The other thing that I need to be alert to is when we approach a U-turn. U-turns are along the center of every road. I try to drive in the center lane of a three lane road because vehicles will be turning left at the U-turn but vehicles will also try to enter the U-turn from the middle or right lanes. Vehicles will just turn in front of you to enter the U-turn. The challenge of driving in the right lane is that jeepneys stop and pick up people. Then other times a vehicle is just parked in the right lane with its flashers on. But the craziest site is to see a jeepney or other vehicle parked in the right lane while they do repairs to the vehicle. The repairs shops are on the side of the road but there is no area to pull in the vehicle so the mechanic does the repairs on the side of the road. So driving in the right lane can be a problem. I try to drive in the middle lane or the left lane and move over to the middle or right lane when I notice several vehicle up ahead trying to make a U-turn. Driving in the elliptical circle is the scariest place. There are about eight streets that exit off the elliptical circle. At first, I thought I would never drive there but I have found the roads are less congested getting to the circle and to my destinations. It allows me to avoid EDSA Avenue and Aurora Avenue. Once inside the elliptical circle you enter one of several lanes that go in circles around the beautiful park. As you approach one of eight exit streets you get into the outside circles and exit off onto your desired street. The scary thing is there will be vehicles (including buses) moving in the inner circles that also want to exit off onto the same street but they did not plan ahead so they immediately cut through the circle of traffic heading for the exit moving directly in front of me. Then there are other drivers in the outer circle that want to be in the inner circle so they also cut in front of me. In the meantime I am trying to find room to get to my exit and get out of this circle of hell. The stressful event only lasts for about 3-4 minutes and I am exiting the circle of hell and on my way. I will endure 3-4 minutes of the elliptical circle any day to avoid driving EDSA and Aurora Avenues. Ended our day at 4:30. 13 November Wednesday Usually we receive lots of orders a week after transfer. This time only a few so far. Only made two deliveries today. The one to signal village is the fun one. By fun, I mean the scary drive as we leave the apartment. Up the steep hill and down the very steep hill. The missionaries were home and let us know that construction is still ongoing on the road we usually exit. So I continued down the very steep hill to the next street that was wide enough for me to turn around. Then after checking my map I was able to learn how to get out without needing to go out the way we came in. Our next stop I delivered a new fan and will get the broken one repaired. It was missing a fan blade and the motor had stopped. Why was it missing a fan blade? I was asked to fixed the water filter. I needed to replace it with a new one. It was a short day. This is a story of LDS missionaries surviving the typhoon that hit Tacloban, Philippines last week. Elizabeth Smiths daughter, Amanda, clung tightly onto the roof of her apartment last week when the typhoon struck in the Philippines. Amanda, along with seven other missionaries located in the Tacloban LDS Mission, gathered at what they assumed would be a safe house during the storm. According to Smith, this home was supposed to be in an area that would be impacted less than other areas by the typhoon, but the storm came anyway. Their home was built out of cement and bricks. It was supposed to be a safe place to ride out the storm, said Smith, who lives in Elk Ridge. Smith said her daughter told her that when the storm came, the basement of the building started to flood. The water then continued to rise, forcing the missionaries to head to a higher level in the building. By then, the missionaries started to wonder how they would be able to get out of the house if the water continued to rise. They couldnt reach the front door, and the windows were secured with rebar, but one sister had a plan. Smith said Amanda informed her that one of the sister missionaries went to the laundry room and was able to knock out a skylight so the group could climb out onto the roof of the building and avoid being caught in the rising water. The missionaries then climbed out onto the roof, and for three hours they held onto the building, and each other, while the storm continued to pass by. In their prayer, they just asked the Lord that the waters would stop rising, Smith said. As soon as they finished praying the water stopped. Smith said the missionaries eventually met up with their mission president and now have been transported to the Manila Missionary Training Center in Quezon City. For the time being she expects Amanda, who has been serving her mission since June, will be reassigned to a new mission in the Philippines. She got out in her pajamas, said Smith. She was also able to salvage her journal, her wallet and her camera. The group of missionaries was located by an ABC News reporter at the airport in Tacloban before they boarded a U.S. Marines plane to get to Manila. Rebecca Guy, another missionary with the group, told ABC News the missionaries witnessed women and children gathered under tarps looking for food and clean water to drink. These people need help, said Guy. Smith said she was able to talk to Amanda early Tuesday morning and said it was a complete relief to hear her daughters voice, even though she had known since Saturday her daughter was safe. I was just overjoyed to hear her voice, she said. According to the LDS Church, the missionaries in the Tacloban mission were relocated to areas that were supposed to be less impacted by the storm than other areas. The missionaries were also provided with 72-hour kits to help them get through the storm. The church announced on Monday evening that all of the missionaries in the region were safe and accounted for. While the missionaries have been removed from the area for the time being, the church is still attempting to send aid to those affected by the storm in the Tacloban area. The church issued a statement Monday, saying the church is providing temporary shelter to over 14,000 displaced persons in 200 church buildings and is working with the Philippine government and other organizations to distribute food, water and other life-sustaining supplies to those in impacted areas. It is also working to send larger quantities of food and water along with blankets and tarps. November 16 Saturday Today after doing our personal shopping we were asked to buy 16 new fans, 16 pillows, and 16 bedsheets for 16 new missionaries that have been assigned to our mission from the Tacloban Mission that was closed after the typhoon devastated that area. Over 200 missionaries were sent to our MTC as refuges until they could be reassigned to other missions here in the Philippines. Our mission received 16 of them. We acquired all the items and delivered to the mission home today. There were just two sisters and 14 elders. They received orientation at the mission home then we had pizza and donuts. We passed out the pillows and bed sheets then they were all taken to the mall to buy things they might need. We were not needed then so we came home. We were invited to go with them to the mall but our better judgment said No Thanks. We are getting to old for that kind of fun. They will get their assignments and meet their companions on Monday. They seemed to be in good spirits and are eager to doing missionary work again. Our daughter, Lydia sent us this email from Elder Gordon who is currently in our MTC preparing to be sent to the Angeles Mission just North of us. He is our granddaughter, Arries best friend who was called to serve his mission in the Philippines. His email tells us of his experience meeting the exiled missionaries as they arrived at the MTC. This is what he said: So as you all have heard that typhoon wiped out everything. You all have probably seen more than I have on TV. Wednesday night they had the army bring the 26 missionaries that were in the eye of the storm up to the MTC, and then the rest of the 200 of them were able to get here on Thursday. So there are a ton of missionaries here right now. Those missionaries that were in the storm lost everything, and what they were wearing they had been wearing for the last 5 days. So they brought everyone at the MTC together and had us donate all that we could to help them. It was an awesome experience to be able to give and help them. As we came up from donating, those 26 missionaries walked out of the gym, and we all stood respectfully to the side of them as they were going to pass through us. As the first person came out a Filipino missionary who had arrived the Friday before ran up to the first elder that came out. He told him that he was from Tacloban and asked him if everything was alright. The missionary looked at him, and couldnt say anything. He pulled him in for a hug and they cried together. It was really hard to see what they had gone through, all of them burnt to a crisp from the sun and completely exhausted from all that they had done to help. They almost didnt make it out because the airports were so crowded but a American army man recognized the Americans out of the crowd and when he heard they were missionaries he personally made trips back and forth to get them up to Manila. Its an amazing story! I hope they release stuff back home on it! The stories we have heard from them are amazing. Out of 200 missonaries not one died. I can tell you that at least 50 of them should have. The Lord protects us, so dont be worried at any point that I wont be safe! Its amazing stuff were doing out here.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 13:50:42 +0000
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