July 20th - August 3rd

 This GROUP of Departing missionaries!!!  They have been powerful missionaries and we know that they will be powerful disciples of Jesus Christ for the rest of their lives - and into the eternities.  It has been a choice blessing to welcome each of them into our mission, watch them grow and change, and now to send them home confident and so loved.

It was a see-you-later for Sister Gibby.  Her "no-regrets" attitude have helped her become the fantastic missionary she is.  Her love of her mission was demonstrated as she sobbed tears of happiness as she prepared to leave.  Her focus on Jesus Christ brought her great joy as He became the WHY of her service.  We are both so proud of her.

Sister Tufui, from Tonga, overcame hardship and trials to serve as a missionary.  Her parents divorced when she was young and her father passed away right before she left on her mission.  As she gained a greater understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ it gave her strength when she struggled as a missionary.  This is a wonderful missionary scripture that meant so much to Sister Tufui - Alma 26:27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

I am really going to miss Sister Ordejan.  She has so many scriptures memorized - what a smart missionary.  It was amazing to watch her strive for and develop Christlike attributes over the course of 18 months.  It is amazing to watch young missionaries strive and grow.

Oh my heart Sister Dasolbo. She is the only member of the church in her immediate family, of 11 children.  She joined the church when she was 14.  She has not had family support her entire mission.  She came timid and shy but continued on learning and growing each cycle as she would "remember her missionary purpose".  She shared a beautiful testimony of the Savior helping her in her ups and downs.  Oh my heart, I thought that she wouldn't stop hugging me before getting in the van to return home.  We are so proud of Sister Dasolbo!

When Sister Olayao came she couldn't stop talking about how much she loved my cookies - after serving for the past 18 months she couldn't stop talking about how much she loved serving as a missionary for the Savior Jesus Christ.  What a good missionary she became as she was focused on learning all she could from Preach My Gospel.

Elder Barbosa came with the very first group of missionaries we ever welcomed!  He is one of our fastest Tagalog speakers! He shared in his departing testimony, "I can be better every day because I know where I can turn for blessings."  It is a sacred privilege to witness the change of heart of missionaries daily.

Oh my heart - Elder Lorejo!  He is the only member in his family.  He was originally assigned to a Ghana mission but was reassigned to our mission about a year ago.   He had a major bike crash while serving in the Burgos area - but feels like his life was spared so that he could find his eternal companion and make one last covenant on the covenant path.  That crash changed his perspective on being a missionary.  He is excited to take home the Christlike attributes that he has attained - who he became as he served.  We are hoping that he will be successful in his RM life. It's inspiring know his background and his family situation to see who he has become.

Elder Lequigan!  He made it!  2 years.  He loved being a missionary.  He shared that it was the highlight of his life so far.  He is going home a happy missionary.

Elder Divinagracia - another amazing missionary that served as the only member of his family.  We are so proud of him.

Elder Tabaquirao - Oh my heart he is a fantastic missionary.  He has served the past 3 cycles as an assistant. He is so excited to return home to his family.  His mother will enter the temple and receive her temple endowment in the next month.  We love hearing about the miracles that happen in the lives of our missionaries.  When he talked about returning home he said that it felt like torture - now there is a missionary that has loved serving!

Elder Ellis from Kansas!  Our mission is going to miss him - we are both going to miss him! In his departing testimony he shared that he knows "Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior, the Redeemer, with his whole heart."  You could tell by the way he served that he knows.  He will return home having endured dengue and without his appendix.  It was such a tender moment for us to witness his parents coming to the mission home Tuesday night after our departing missionary testimony meeting - oh the joy of hugging your parents (especially his mom - that I know because I am one and I have had that tender experience myself).  Oh the JOY!

Elder Peterson from Eastern Idaho.  I know I keep talking about the transformation that happens between the time a new missionary arrives and the time they depart for home - but it is truly nothing less than miraculous!  These missionaries are so inspiring.  They are a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ - and also that this is truly the Church of Jesus Christ.

Elder Allen.  He has loved being a "mouthpiece for the Lord."  I am excited for him to get home and eat!  He lost so much weight on this mission.

Elder Briggs!  One of the BEST.  His mom also served in the Angeles Mission. We have loved serving with him.  Being a witness of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in another person's life is a sacred, choice experience.  As Elder Briggs witnessed that in the people he taught, his trust in the Savior grew - that has meant every to him.  (me too!)

Elder Rasmussen from Holladay UT.  Also one of our amazing assistants.  He always wanted to serve a missionary as a young boy.  He put his heart into the work and it showed!  Watching the doctrine of Christ work in the lives of our missionaries is a choice experience.  He LOVES the Philippines.  He loved the miracles that he experienced here.  His parents also picked him up at the mission home.  Oh the joy of hugging his mom!

Oh Elder Mitchell from Pleasant Grove, UT.  I loved listening to his departing testimony.  He shared about working hard and about the Redeeming Love of Jesus Christ.  Great joy just is radiating from him.  He LOVED serving here in the Philippines.  He loves the Filipino people.

A Canadian missionary - Elder Miller!  He was an excited assistant full of enthusiasm for the work!  His uncle also served in our mission, but passed away.  It is amazing to hear of ministering angels that serve with our missionaries.  I know that Michael & I have felt that as well.  We are not in this work alone.  He has such a love of the Lord.  

This group of missionaries all challenged each other to share the gospel with those around them as they flew home. They each grabbed one last Book of Mormon from the supply closet before leaving.  Here is the story that Elder Miller shared with us after he returned:

I just wanted to share a miracle. During my plane ride to Canada I sat beside someone that I thought I recognized. It turns out he lives in a place I would have never been to, so there is no possible way for me to have met him. He said that he also recognized me. I believe that we must have known each other in the Premortal life because all he wanted to do was learn. We read PMG together, we read stories from the Book of Mormon and I helped him find answers to some of his deepest questions. His father passed away 10 years ago and he sparked quite an interest in temples and baptism for the dead. We talked and I taught him for over 5 hours on the plane ride. I ended up giving him my personal Book of Mormon. He is studying in Calgary which is close to where I am studying. I invited him to an upcoming YSA activity and he is super excited to go !! I am so happy that Heavenly Father let me teach one more lesson before I got released!!

Oh my heart!  What a blessing it has been to serve with these 17.

Dinner with the El Ellis' parents & brother Ethan AND the mother & step-dad of El Rasmussen.  These are fun times!

17 of some of our finest missionaries left us on Wednesday morning, but 15 arrived on Thursday morning to strengthen our mission and be a blessing to us.  Oh my heart that is a lot of good-byes & hellos.

Welcome Elder Abriol from Tacaloban PH.  He was assigned to the Ghana Cape Coast Mission and is waiting for his visa here with us.  He comes from a family of missionaries.

Welcome Elder Aloc. He is from Bicol. His family was sealed in the Cebu temple in 2005.  He is the 2nd missionary in his family.

Welcome Elder Aton!  His family was sealed in 2023 in the Cebu temple.  He is good at the rubix cube.  He loved the devotionals in the Manila MTC.

Welcome Elder Bucog.  He loved the MTC where he learned how to preach and teach the Gospel.  His mother works in the Middle East and he doesn't know where his father is at this time.  He shared that his family life is complicated.

Welcome Elder Garduce.  He is the 1st missionary in his family.  He loves the language of the Spirit - (I love that he shared that.  We have so many missionaries speaking so many languages, but we can all speak and feel the language of the Spirit.  It is the most powerful language of all.)

Welcome Elder Lawther from Las Vegas.  He is also the first missionary from his family.  He GMA is a Chinese/Hawaiian.  He is so excited to be a missionary here in the Philippines.

Welcome Elder Mwale from Zimbabwe.  His mother joined the church & then so did he. Attending FSY as a youth helped his desire to serve a mission. He loved the MTC as it gave him a clearer understanding of repentance and that the Savior's Grace is fo all of us.

Welcome Elder Sadulang.  He joined the church in October 2023.  He and his sister are the only members and he is the first missionary to serve from his family.  He is from Laoag.

Welcome Elder Tipace.  From Australia.  His mom is an Aussie and his dad is a Filipino.  His dad owns a boxing gym.  He is the first missionary to serve from his family.  His favorite scripture is found in D&C 6:24

Welcome Sister Elsner from Australia.  She comes from a missionary family!  In the MTC she realized how much the Savior loves each of us.  She also loves to look for miracles and sees them daily.

Welcome Sister Familar.  Her father passed away 3 years ago.  She has excellent English as she taught ESL for the past 4 years.  She loved realizing that this is the Savior's work as she was in the MTC.

Welcome Sister Finau from Samoa - but has also lived in new Zealand. She is a great piano player.  She grew up living with her grandmother.  She has a strong testimony and will be such a strength to our mission.

Welcome Sister Herbalario.  She loved what she learned in the MTC about the Savior's Atonement.  She is a Hiligayon speaker (we just like saying the word - Hiligayon)

Meet Sister Nelson from Fresno California.  Her mother is from the Philippines and her father served a mission in the Philippines.  She has always had a strong desire to serve here.  (By the way, her first name is Tsunami).  She loves the ocean, playing the cello and swimming.

Sister Valdez is from Cabanatuan  (another Filipino word that I love to say) - not far from our mission.  She is waiting for her visa as her original assignment is Utah, Salt Lake City East.  (she is 30 years old) She is the first missionary in her family.

After the assignments were made and new missionaries and their trainers were loading their luggage into the vans to head to their areas, Sister Aranguren (on the right) shared with us that her cousin, Sister Ledesma (who also formerly served in our mission) who is an MTC teacher in Provo told her about Sister Nelson (on the left). As her cousin shared about this new missionary coming to our mission - Sister Aranguren had the distinct impression that she would be the trainer of Sister Nelson - well look how it all worked out!  Revelation is real.  I have been a witness to it every time we work on the transfer board or when your dad assigns new missionaries with their trainers.

One more baptism for our mission.  One more precious soul getting on the covenant path.

MLC.  What a privilege to work with such great missionaries

We always enjoy visiting with our returned missionaries that come back for a visit to the Philippines.  Nice to see Joshua Roberts & his friend from Bountiful UT.

The picture is from a missionary apartment in the southern part of our mission.  We have had flooding in a few places but nothing like the church news showed in other areas of the Philippines.  It has been raining for at least month!