September 5, 2023 Email from Mom (Danielle)

 September 5, 2023

I’m just trying to think of some questions I could answer here.

The language - Tagalog:  Hmm.  I just haven’t taken the time to learn any more than what skill (close to nil) I brought with me here to the mission.  I do have a few phrases I like to use and I can bear a simple testimony in a TagLish sort of way.  I would LOVE to be able to speak like the “natives” especially when they really get talking fast!  Sometimes a missionary will help me out a bit on my pronunciation.  They are really good about correcting that - which is helpful.  It does crack me up when I say a couple of words and someone will tell me “You are so good in Tagalog Sister…”  hahaha  There is also a fair amount of Ilocono & Kapangang that is spoken in our mission, but I don’t even want to start that!!  I do feel like it is very important for our Filipino missionaries to learn English and I really do enjoy talking with them in their broken English.  Everyone of them is better at English than I am at Tagalog.  But it seems to work out ok.

The food:  We eat pretty normal because I can purchase things at S&R (a Costco type place) and we have a good grocery store nearby.  I do miss a lot of the fresh vegetables we enjoy at home, but we really can’t complain.  The fruit we can pick up at local fruit stands is plentiful!  We are looking forward to having pineapple & mangos back in season.   I like a local dish called - pancit if it has thin noodles and lots of vegetables.  Also Adobo is ok if there isn’t too much fat with it!  There are a couple restaurants that are great.  Wendy’s - has a great mango/peach salad.  Army-Navy restaurant has a good burrito. There is a Chicken Inasal that has great soup (a sweet & sour type) and delicious BBQ chicken.  JollyBees has a mango/peach turnover I love.  There is a BBQ place -Asuk - that has good food (we need to go back there).  Fortune Restaurant (Elder Oak’s personal favorite Chinese Food Restaurant) is great.  And of course we love Maudita for pizza & Italian food in the middle of a rice field - beautiful setting!   We celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary at the restaurant in the Marriott hotel near Clark AFB.  That was delicious - especially that chocolate cake!  But to be honest, I  make a sandwich most days and we carry a small ice chest wherever we go so that we can eat quickly and not worry about it too much!

The Weather:  We have had so much rain! It really hasn’t been that hot because of all of the rain.  Our security guard told us that we are on our 3rd typhoon since we arrived in July.  It can really rain!  When it rains I worry about our missionaries out there working in the weather.  AND I worry about all of the people who live with dirt floors in their houses.   I keep some croc-type shoes in the car so when we are out visiting I can slip them on.  But I think I need more of a rain boot. 

Exercise:  We have a wonderful neighborhood that is great to walk in or to bike in.  We feel very safe and there are even a few small hills to get our heart rate up a bit.  I do wish that I had more time to spend exercising, but it hasn’t really been much of a focus.  We have a good treadmill in an extra bedroom.  But the sad thing is my indoor bike wasn’t put together correctly - so it hasn’t been used much.

We try to keep a day ahead of the schedule, but that really isn’t much time to prepare for most things like we would really like to.  That has been a little stressful!  Almost every Sunday someone in the Bishoprick (well - pretty much EVERY Sunday) asks us to sit on the stand and share a message I think - WHY am I not totally prepared for this???  At those moments I wish I would have practiced Tagalog phrases more so that I don’t mess up!!! But sitting on the stand and looking out over these congregations of such beautiful Filipino people is truly amazing.  The faith and the resilience of the members is inspiring.  AND all of the youth that we meet also touch our hearts and give us such great hope.  We have spoken at 3 Stake Conferences so far with 3 more to go until the end of the year.  That always causes major butter-flys in my stomach!  Hopefully that will get easier…but I don’t know that it will.  We have the Tarlac Stake Conference this Sunday.  Hopefully we will hear what our topic is before we get there!!! But I guess it will be ok. I don't ever have much time so I can do ok with a few thoughts and testimony.

We have now been through 2 cycles of Zone Conferences.  That is so much fun!  We have been really blessed with amazing missionaries!  Our Assistants are really impressive!  That has been such a blessing.  

Tomorrow we meet with the MLC.  That will be our 3rd time for this meeting since arriving.  M&I have listened to a training podcast on the MLC a couple of times recently.  Tomorrow I think M is going to share about - Be ye not weary in well-doing.  And I am going to do some training with the example of Alma & Amulek as mission companions.  I also have a quiz that I want to try out on our MLC.  I am really looking forward to hearing what they have to say about tattoos, earrings and how that fits into the law of chastity…   So I will have to send you an update after our meeting.

Michael has now been through 2 cycles of interviewing the over 180 missionaries that are serving in our mission.  It’s great for me because as he interviews I get to visit with the missionaries.  Or this transfer cycle each p-day we have met a zone at their stake center to play 9 Square.  That’s been a great activity for the zones here!  AND Michael has the opportunity to get through the interview process.  We are really feeling good about knowing our missionaries!  It has been so good for us to get out with them and see where they live, where they do missionary work and how they are really doing.  It has been eye-opening for sure!

On Saturdays, we try to attend as many baptisms as we can.  WOW!  What a wonderful sacred experience that is.   There is something so beautiful about the covenant of baptism.  After baptism, the newly baptized member has the opportunity to share a testimony as part of the program.  Oh my heart  - that is so sweet!  The ordinances of the gospel are so physically beautiful.  There is so much symbolism that teaches us each week. We have pondered honestly and prayerfully about setting goals as individual missionaries and as an entire mission.  

We met a past mission president who asked us if we are more focused on baptisms or on missionaries.  I have really pondered that question.  I would truly hope that our focus is on our Savior, Jesus Christ and helping the missionaries as well as the people in the Angeles Philippines mIssion come unto Him.   As I reread Pres. Nelson’s closing remarks at October General Conference - The Answer is Always Jesus Christ.  Over and over again I truly feel along with our prophet - that the Answer is Always Jesus Chrits.  That is true for me and I know it is true for each of you.

Got to get back to work!  Please shoot me a question or two so I know what to write about next.  I absolutely adore each of YOU - my sons, my daughters, my son-in-laws, my daughter-in-laws, my grandchildren and my sweet dad.  This is a great work!  The greatest work of all!  I love you so much my heart hurts and my eyes water just writing the words.

MOM

Oh - I forgot to tell you - it's now a -ber month (as in SeptemBER). and Christmas in the Philippines is celebrated in the -ber months!  There are Christmas decorations in our neighborhood & on some of the streets.  We sang Silent Night as our opening hymn in Sacrament meeting and Joy to the World at the baptism Saturday.  MERRY CHRISTMAS Folks!