June 27, 2011
Dear Family and Friends,
And the heavens wept. That is the only way we can describe the rain we have had over the past 7 days. We have never seen so much rain for sooo long! Everything and everyone was wet. We worried about the members and how they would stay dry but they are accustomed to this more so than we are. Still, some of them do not have have a roof overhead that does not leak. There was a tropical storm that was intensified by the monsoon flow and the result was constant rain from Monday through late Saturday afternoon. What a ride this has been. The red arrow (the area that looks like it is red penciled sketch...sorry, arrows wouldn't work) is where we are located. The green arrow on the map (top left hand corner, the white clouds over the islands) is the first part of the storm in the early part of the week that passed over us. Thursday we went to Manila to our last Zone Conference with President Howard. Many areas of Manila were flooded because of the rain – the city is mostly concrete and there is no place for the water to go so the streets were flooded. We were lucky to make it into Manila and back out without a problem. The Zone conference was very good. President Howard gave individual blessings to all of the missionaries, including the senior couples. It was a great experience. He brought Sister Howard over to the conference in order for her to bear her testimony and say goodbye to all of us. There were quite a few missionaries that have never met her since she has been sick for the past 3 months. It was nice to see the new missionaries crowd around her to meet her and express their love for her.
Our Elders had another baptism on Saturday morning. They have been teaching an older gentleman for about 3 months. They had asked me if they should baptize him because he was going to move away within the next few weeks. They were concerned that maybe it would be best to let him find the church in his next area and they asked us what we thought. We asked them if they felt that he would benefit from the Holy Ghost now or later and then asked them to pray about what would be best for this good brother. I have become good friends with him since he is a retired officer of the Philippine Air Force. I always ask about his wife since she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. His baptism was a great experience. His wife came to the service with him. She also came to church on Sunday with him for the first time. And then he asked the counselor in the Branch Presidency when he would be able to receive the Priesthood. I think he was very ready to be baptized. We have been blessed lately with our activation efforts. We take absolutely no credit for this but there were 120 members in attendance at Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday. We were excited when they almost ran out of bread for the Sacrament. The counselor in the Branch Presidency told me that he brought half of a loaf of bread and when he asked the young men where it was if they would need it, they said that they ate it! (teenage boys are the same all over the world). We love these people – even the Sacrament bread won’t go to waste.
We attended a Family History training session on Saturday evening that was exceptional. The new Family History Specialist for the District has worked hard to make this training possible. He made a book for each consultants and also had all of the forms, handouts, training sessions and other information downloaded on a CD for the consultants to use. It was every bit as good as some of the professional training sessions. This young man is so dedicated that he quit his job (he still lives at home) so he could spend the time he needed to get the Family History programs working in the district. Remarkable! Mom was asked at the spur of the moment to teach one of the points in the program. She did great and we have been asked to come to one of the branches next Thursday to help with their training for Relief Society Enrichment. Fun!
Monday night’s Family Home Evening went well. The storm held off long enough for us to have dinner and a lesson. As we took the Elders to the Jeepney Terminal the rain began again. Four of the six companionships ( 5 missionaries) were affected in this last transfer. We were able to talk about Priesthood keys again with all of the new missionaries in the Zone. We have felt that our Filipino elders need to understand more about the priesthood since they will become leaders in their branches and wards soon after they return home. There was a good spirit in our home. We had Sister Briones make some brownies for the dessert. When Mom brought out the brownies and then went and got some milk, the Elders began saying, “We can have milk too? Oh, Sister Morgan thank you, thank you!” We love to have the missionaries in our home.
Well, the work continues to move forward. We are excited to see the changes in peoples’ lives. It is so wonderful to work with these humble Filipinos. We will never be the same because of what we have experienced. Sometimes it just doesn’t seem real. July 1st we will begin our 11th month here in country. Where does the time go?
Hope this letter finds everyone healthy and happy. We love you and miss you. Write if you have time. We love to hear from you. We pray for each of you every day and hope that you are living to be happy. Remember to BE good, DO good, and BE a man or woman of Christ. And always remember to say your prayers.
Love,
Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Janene and Grant
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