Picture A Day

Day 32 - Sunday, July 31, 2016 Today we celebrate our oldest son.  Preston loves to laugh.  We have a family texting thread that keeps us in touch with our children across the miles.  Often we generate an audible laugh from comments he makes.  He is a great dad to his two sons and just found out a little girl will enter the family by the end of the year.  Happy 29th Birthday to a wonderful son that is loved!

Day 31 - Saturday, July 30, 2016 I was asked to speak to the Relief Society of San Jose Stake.  The topic requested was visiting teaching.  I must admit that I have missed having a visiting teacher the past two years.  Two hours of presentation on my own was a daunting thought.  I asked Sister Whiting to share the program with me.  It was a perfect fit.  The sisters were so attentive. They want to succeed at visiting teaching but lack a culture of watch care.  One sisters said, "We are making history today."  What a marvelous organization to which we belong.    

Day 30 - Friday, July 29, 2016 President Clark and I have wanted to get to know our Stake and District leaders better.  We have invited the leaders for dinner at the mission home.  Some of the areas are too far away and difficult for the leaders to travel.  When that is the case, we go to them! Tonight was the Bongabon District gathering held in Cabanatuan.  Authentic Filipino food was on the menu tonight.  Squid balls and fish headlined the entrees.  As you can see, President Clark enjoyed plenty of rice.  We enjoyed our time together. 

Day 29 - Thursday, July 28, 2016 Welcome to Elder and Sister Dansie from Murray, Utah!  The Dansie's arrived excited and ready to go to work.  After a few days of orientation, they will begin their work as Member Leadership Support Missionaries assigned in Cabanatuan.  The Dansie's have been married for five months after both lost their spouses of 50 years.  The newlyweds bring great energy and missionary zeal to our mission.  We are thrilled to welcome them and look forward to serving alongside them. We are giddy with joy to have the mission home filled with Senior Missionary love!  We now have three senior couples to assist our missionaries.  We can't wait until October when Elder and Sister Spung will join the ranks.  We loved our time together tonight getting to know each other a little better!    

Day 28 - Wednesday, July 27, 2016 Today was our last day of interviews!  Twelve different zones and 200+ missionaries were seen in the past 3 weeks.  Guimba zone was last and the power company threw us a curve ball.  Each month there is one day that the power is turned off for up to 9 hours throughout the community.  These are to facilitate annual maintenance and testing of the power stations.  Our Guimba interviews were unforgettable as the sweat dripped freely.  We didn't let that affect our pleasure of seeing all of the Guimba missionaries. The missionaries are very used to this.  It is just the Mission President and wife that needed hand fans or sweat rags throughout the process.  Rain or shine, fans or no power - we love experiencing the joys of meeting with our missionaries.   Education is important to Filipinos.  Each barangay builds a school building.  The students wear uniforms.  There is a fairly large court just beyond the fence area where the youth have their ope

Day 27 - Tuesday, July 26, 2016 Today is a "Pick 2" day.  Of course our San Jose Zone Leaders and their Purple Palace had to be the first choice.  This was our second to last Zone Interview for this month.  It went so smoothly.  It's difficult to get pictures of all of the missionaries during interviews because we are constantly in a room with missionaries during interviews.  The San Jose Zone Leaders lead and organized the day so well. They have many missionaries in their zone doing weekly baptisms! Although the traffic was par for the course today, President Clark turned around to backtrack so that I could get this gem of a picture.  I love so many things about this.  The classic countryside basketball court with one cow and without a rim.  The haystack background also adds ambiance.    

Day 26 - Monday, July 25, 2016 This is one of the beautiful sites we are grateful to view as we travel around our mission. Mount Arayat is an extinct volcano that rises to 3,366 feet.  There is no recorded eruption. Mount Arayat stands in the middle of the flat lands where many rice paddies are planted. We are told that it is a magnificent hike.  We look forward to a day when we can ascend Mt. Arayat.      

Day 25 - Sunday, July 24, 2016 Happy Pioneer Day!  A pioneer is someone who goes before showing others the way to follow.  There are many examples of wonderful pioneers in our lives.   The picture today is this hymnal that brought a smile to my face.  For church today we went to Tarlac Ward 5.  Books like this sat proudly on many of the chairs.  The books were donated by a senior couple who came and donated 4 months of their lives for the Angeles Mission but also spent many hours with the saints in Tarlac Ward 5. Ron and Diana Williamson's memory still lives here as the members sing words of praise out of these hymnals each week.  Before this donation, the number of books were few and they were tattered and torn.  Music is huge in the Filipino culture.  Sometimes it is with piano accompaniment and sometimes not.  Their voices are loud and full of spirit.  It reminds me of the quote, "We get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps through any other thing except prayer

Day 24 - Saturday, July 23, 2016 Saturday marks our 10th Zone Interview. We met with Gapan Zone.  Just 2 more to go. We love our time to meet with each missionary individually.  President Clark wrote a great article in "Words from the President" regarding these interviews. When you think about it, there are some missionaries in our mission who never meet one another.  If they are always on opposite sides of the mission, there is no opportunity to meet. That shows you just how spread out our mission is.  That's why we love each and every opportunity to meet with and enjoy our time to share with each missionary individually.   This Jeepney!  Just down the hall from our interviews was a beautiful baptism of a sister from San Leonardo.  Although it was quite a distance from their home, there was much support from the members and family.  They all huddled together in this jeepney to attend this beautiful ceremony.  As I hugged the sister, she had the largest smil

Day 23 - Friday, July 22, 2016 Doctrine & Covenants 42:6 "And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God."  ---These Sisters are leaving Zone Interviews armed with 72-hour kits, area book and proselyting bags.  They are full of faith and ready to go and do!

Day 21 - Wednesday, July 20, 2016 This might seem like a strange picture of the day but let me explain.  I must admit when finding out we were coming to the Philippines, I thought, "What about my hair?" Well there are still many days I say the same thing. Today when I announced I was getting my hair colored, one of the Elders said, "Sister Clark, I've been looking at pictures through the months.  Your hair has been many different colors from red to pretty white."  In the Philippines they have a lot of red, dark brown and black.  Not a lot in between.  One hairdresser used to mix 3 different colors together for me, then he left the salon.  After consulting with my hairdresser back home, she suggested a certain color.  With the help of a friend traveling here, I am finally medium blonde again!  The stylists were in awe of the color and the product.  Just another part of our  wonderful journey in the Philippines.  

Day 20 - Tuesday, July 19, 2016 A classic Philippines beautiful sunset.  Storm clouds give way for a last few rays of sunlight at the end of the day.  An almost every day occurrence but one we never grow tired of seeing.   

Day 19 - Monday, July 18, 2016 This is what a Boodle Fight looks like.   Boodle fight is a military style of eating where long tables are prepared and food are on top of the banana leaves. Fish, pork and rice ready to eat using your bare hands, jugs of water are prepared on the side to wash hands before the "eating combat". With the signal to start the boodle fight, everyone aims for his/her position.  Paniqui Zone invited us to their Preparation Day Boodle Fight.  We enjoyed "watching" and taking pictures.  Brownies topped off the meal.  A great feast and time was had by all.   Before, during and   After!

Day 18 - Sunday, July 17, 2016 Today we had the Sunday General Session of Baler District Conference.  President Go has been District President since 2009.  He functions under difficult conditions and performs his responsibilities very faithfully.  We love President Go!   

Day 17 - Saturday, July 16, 2016   This is an Area Book with a missionary who understands the importance of the contents within.  Area Books remind us that the Lord expects us to keep records of his children.  One of the missionaries I met with this past week told me the following story.  He was baptized in 2013.  He had two good missionaries that he loved and appreciated.  After he was baptized, he asked the missionaries if he could have a copy of his "Teaching Record" that the missionaries had used.  When he received the original form, he turned it over only to find that nothing had been written on it.  None of the experiences shared, questions asked or comments made had been written down.  This missionary was very sad to realize that nothing had been recorded.  He told me that helped him realize that he must update his area book every night so no detail will be lost.  What a testimony to me of the power of area books.  

Day 16 - Friday, July 15, 2016 Every 6 weeks missionaries transfer in and others go home.  It's the life cycle of a mission.  Occasionally, because of school schedules, a missionary needs to return home before the actual transfer date.  Behind the door below is an Elder having his final interview with his mission president.  It is a very tender time as reflection on his two year mission and instruction after his mission takes place.   Farewell Elder, until we meet again.

Day 15 - Thursday, July 14, 2016 Zone Interviews are underway.  When President Clark interviews with the missionary, I work with the companion.  We go through their Area Book and 72-Hour Kit.  This Sister went through a typhoon in Iloilo before coming to her mission.  Knowing what she and her family went through the filled the bag with not only 72 hours but 168 hours of supplies.

Day 14 - Wednesday, July 13, 2016 Driving in Manila is a scary task that you don't want to do everyday.  However, we can be persuaded.  Today was one of those days.  The American Women's Club of the Philippines has a Bazaar that they sponsor on one day a month.  Not often does our schedule allow us to travel this event.  Today Elders Whiting and Pugh sacrificed a preparation day and drove Sister Whiting, Sister Pugh and I to the Mall of Asia.  It was an enjoyable day of searching for just the perfect gift to take home with us one day when we return from our missions.  

Day 13 - Tuesday, July 12, 2016 It's Zone Interview time.  Sister Lopez is spoiling our wonderful missionaries again with her giant chocolate chip cookies!  We wouldn't know what to do without Sister Lopez!

Day 12 - Monday, July 11, 2016 Surprise visits and berry delight!  We love it when our returned missionaries return.  We especially love it when they return with a spouse!  It was great to see Bro. Angelo and Sister MaryAnn DeLeon.  This reminds us our Angeles family continues to grow! Strawberries are an unusual and limited fruit in the Philippines.  The berries in my fridge needed to be put to good use.  I think the Elders agreed this was a great way to provide berry  nourishment.  Dessert before lunch....YES!  

Day 11 - Sunday, July 10, 2016 This is Elder Raul Edgardo A. Vicencio.  He is one of the Area Seventy's in the Philippines. He is assigned to preside over many Stake or District Conferences around the Philippines during the year. President Clark and I have had the pleasure of working with him at a few District and Stake Conferences.  I always marvel when he opens his scriptures.  The worn and marked pages just fly open to whatever verse of scriptures he wishes to use.  He has such passion for the scriptures.  He speaks with enthusiasm and love.  I will cherish this picture of him and this well used holy writ.  It is one of his most valued possessions.                                              

Day 10 - Saturday, July 9, 2016 Today we have two pictures for the day.  We spent the time in Bongabon for a District Conference.  Since we are going back tomorrow, we're staying in Cabanatuan for the night.  Needing to do some business with our Cabanatuan Zone Leaders, we asked them to come over to the hotel for dessert. Wisely the didn't turn us down.  Chocolate and red velvet cake were the perfect choices for this pair.  I think the chef must have known President and my first names.  President's piece had both of our initials on the plate.  Sweet!  

Day 9 - Friday, July 8, 2016 These two missionaries are our office elders!  We work them pretty hard and they are always pleasant and smiling.  Today was Elder Lastierre's 25th birthday!  We weren't able to be in the office for the actual celebration because of Zone Interviews.  Apparently the brownies we sent were a hit!  The Whiting's added pistachio icecream.  What more could a 25-year-old missionary ask for?  When I sent him a birthday greeting today, he responded, "I want to be one of the great missionaries in the Angeles Mission.  #LEGEND".  That will be you, Elder Lastierre.  

Day 8 - Thursday, July 7, 2016 You may wonder why a memory stick would be the picture of the day.  It's a terrible thing to lose your memory.  Losing your memory stick is also very unpleasant.  Today was the first day of quarterly missionary interviews.  The contents of this little item was to play a primary role in our training.  When the memory stick went missing early this morning, it became a huge frustration and distraction.  But all was not lost.  Just when it looked like we would need to create alternative training material, a "mystery DVD" showed up in President's paperwork.  He doesn't know how it got there but it contained the video presentations that were needed for the training.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Coincidences are just miracles that God chooses not to take credit for.  After hours of searching when we returned home, I did one last sweep through the closet and found the memory stick right where we started searching for it.  Another miss

Day 7 - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 I LOVE THIS MAP!  It shows the boundaries of all 21 missions in the Philippines.  Better than that, the missionaries can now show me exactly where they live instead of just telling me. Our mission isn't the largest in land mass but it is in Stakes, Districts and units.  We have 8 stakes, 5 districts and 93 units.  It makes our 200+ missionaries work hard to try to cover them all. 

Day 6 - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 A revelatory experience was share by all who attended our Mission Leadership Counsel meeting!  It was truly a beautiful thing.  We sure love these missionaries!

Day 5 - Monday, July 4, 2016 Happy 4th of July!  Beside wearing red, white and blue today, I will be serving an American 4th of July meal tomorrow for the Mission Leadership Council.  (Wait for Day 6).  Today Elder Fillmore shared this picture with me.  I am either driving or late with the camera to capture a scene such as this.  Often times a young child will travel with a tatay (dad) or lolo (grandpa) on a trike.  They learn at a young age to hold on.   Putting them in the side car on their own can be even more dangerous.   My mommy heart always panics when I see this.  I'm glad to have never seen an accident of a child and a trike.  Sadly, accidents with motors or trikes are very common and oft times tragic.  

Day 4 - Sunday, July 3, 2016 Most Sunday's President Clark and I travel together to various areas in our mission. Occasionally we split up to double our efforts and attend to needs of missionaries.  Today was one such day.  I attended a Tarlac Ward Fast and Testimony Meeting.  The testimonies were sweet and I understood more than usual.  I was sandwiched between two very kind friends.  The hymns were sung with enthusiasm.  There were numerous testimonies borne one right after another.  The Spirit was present in abundance.  After the meeting, I went to another part of our mission so that an important phone call could be made by one of our missionaries.  I took a wrong turn on the SCTEX and ended up in a neighboring mission (sadly not the first time).  After making the necessary direction adjustments, I arrived at the Mabalacat Chapel.  The building was quiet and peaceful.  I reflected on the beautiful Chapels provided for the Saints to worship in the Philippines.  In many a

Day 3 - Saturday, July 2, 2016 Today on my walk I found these Filipino cows taking a little rest.  The owners move them around the pastures on the side of the road so they can feast on the grass that grows rapidly during the rainy season.  It is remarkable that the animals in the Philippines eat only the grasses that grow wild. 

Day 2 - Friday, July 1, 2016 Today marks our 2nd year anniversary in the Philippines.  Since it is also Friday night, we celebrated with dinner out at Italianni's.  Our hearts are knit together with the Philippines!