a brief hiatus ...

as sister epperson mentioned last week, i have temporarily left the philippines and my duties there to be with my daughter, lauren, and her beautiful family in norway while she begins her recovery from a huge medical scare.  on her 34th birthday she suffered a cerebellar stroke.  as far as strokes go, cerebellar ones are somewhat rare and the fact that she is under 60, makes it even more so.  when i received the phone call, all i wanted was to run to her side.  after taking care of as many end-of-the-month financial duties as i possibly could, i hopped on a plane and made my way to norway.  lauren was in the hospital for just over a week while they ran multiple tests and evaluated her.  what she shared with me about her condition on the phone before she knew i was coming was a little rosier picture than she shared once she knew i was on my way (more tears throughout the brain, temporary blindness, etc).  however, i am so happy to report that the prognosis for a complete recovery was given!  she has amazed the doctors with her rapid recovery and lack of significant language and vision issues.  she will have to make some changes, of course ... removing some things from her overcrowded calendar and slowing the pace of her everyday life.  she will add physical therapy to her schedule to help with the balance issue but the doctors assure her there should be very few, if any, long-term physical effects.  the lifestyle changes need to be permanent though.  she is a type-A superwoman who is busier than just about anyone i know, who excels at anything she commits to, including job, friends, masters program, community, but most importantly, family.  some may call her lucky; i choose to believe she and her young family have been blessed beyond belief.

daughter extraordinaire

madeleine is one of the world's greatest huggers! just what i needed after 24 hours of travel!

madeleine and stella

grocery sack races and lego building with besta the babysitter! 

this trip is all about helping her, her amazing husband, christian, and the two most adorable granddaughters any besta could hope for get through this time of healing and adjustment.  it has done my heart good to be here, to see that all will be well with them.  

sometimes a mom just needs to be with her children.

Am I correct??

One of our favorite people says "am I correct? or am I right??!!!!!"  It took me a minute to figure out his jest!  He made me laugh!  That is always good!

I continue to marvel at the miracles and tender mercies around me.  I grew up knowing that I was very blessed, but I don't think I realized the magnitude of those blessings.  I am trying to better recognize those blessings and thank my Father in Heaven each day for the daily miracles.  I realized in these few sentences I used miracle, tender mercy, and blessings all to mean the same thing and often they do.

Today, I saw a certain beautiful young woman for the first time in over 6 months!  She just radiated.  Her name is Jehda, and she was one of the first Filipinas we came to love.  She was baptized about a year ago and was a part of our lives.  She has come back to this area for awhile, and I am thrilled!  I am afraid that there are so many of these wonderful people of the Philippines that I am never going to see again.  I will always have them in my heart.  

Below are some of my favorite sights as I travel around the mission.  I call them the traveling vendors, and they come in all sorts and sizes.  I keep getting surprised at what I see and how they are traveling.  It is never a boring drive for me.  I wish I was better at capturing scenes on camera.  I miss so many of them.

Traveling Vendors

Donna, Sister Hays, isn't with me today.  She traveled to Manila yesterday to catch a plane for Norway to be with her daughter and family.  Lauren has had a health crisis that needed her mother by her side.  Donna will catch us all up next week.

Good-bye sister companion!!

Good-bye my sister companion!  She is Financial Secretary of the Mission. We are going to do our best to not leave a horrible mess for her to repair when she returns.  My first big hurdle is tomorrow with the departing missionaries.  We love them and want them to be free of any hassles in their travels.  

A side note about our departing missionaries...our two elder trainers, Elder Kresge and Elder Hollis, are going home tomorrow!!  They were our rocks!  There were four Elders in the office when we arrived last year.  They were running the whole office by themselves.  The senior couple that we replaced had been gone for over a month!!  It is going to be a very hard departing devotional for me tomorrow.

Our first Office Elders

This is a throwback to our first week.  One of the mother's sent matching ties for them to wear to our first training...Elders Daquero, Hollis, Heta, and Kresge.  Elder Hollis was my trainer and Elder Kresge was the trainer for Sister Hays.  How we love these Elders! 

This week is FULL of activities/work.  I will pray for a clear mind so that I don't forget any of the many details of my responsibilities while Donna is gone! 


Love to you!
Diane 

summertime ... it happens once a year!

well, summer is back in the philippines.  that means traffic is even slower and crazier than usual and it also means more frequent brown-outs (which also means no water since it is supplied by an electric pump).  it also means rainy season is just around the corner and i couldn't be more excited about that!  we had our first long brown-out of the season last sunday so i wasn't able to post.  10 hours with no air-conditioning is hard but i think being without water is harder.  we were notified of a scheduled 12-hour power outage last thursday so we were able to make plans to be away.  talk about desperate ... we went to a movie that was anime ... in japanese ... with subtitles!  when it was over, diane said 'at least it was air-conditioned!' and i had to agree!  plus it was only $5 for the movie, popcorn, bottled water and a DQ blizzard!  the movie choices may be extremely limited here but you can't beat the price!  

don't mind me trying to drive here on this one lane road!  talk about road hazards!

our apartment was being painted last week so we were kicked out for a couple of nights.  we made the most of it though and stayed overnight at the nearby camayan resort (we still attended our meetings during the day so it wasn't a vacation ... but it WAS a very nice respite!).  it was so calming to relax in the shade of a beautiful tree and enjoy the beauty of the country that is the philippines.

we just finished a week of zone conferences.  we love it because we get to see every single missionary serving here in the olongapo mission.  they are remarkable young people ... devoting 18-24 months of their young lives to serving the Lord all day, every single day.  two of my favorite missionaries are in these pictures.  one of them is going home next week and it will not be the same here without them!  i'm excited for them to reunite with their family though so it's all good!  the little girl is chloe.  she is such a light!  when we go to baptisms for the castillejos branch, she sings primary songs while we wait for the people to get dressed.  she sings with such joy and fearlessness!  she just makes me smile so much!  

this mission has helped me grow in ways i hoped for and in ways i never imagined.  i will be forever grateful for the opportunity i've had to be here among the filipino people and the dedicated missionaries serving here.  

We LOVE the Philippines

Yes, we do love the Philippines...and the end of our time here keeps getting shorter!  Our half-way mark has come and gone!

I shouldn't always show the fun outings with the senior missionaries, but we sure enjoy being with them.  Last week we went to a secluded cove for the day. We had to travel by boat and the scenery was beautiful...wearing the required life jacket.  Vendors came on shore and Donna found the Tahitian black pearl necklace she has wanted for years.  He made it right on the spot!

Transfer week comes every six weeks.  Many missionaries are transferred to new areas and new companions, beloved, faithful missionaries leave and return home, and new missionaries arrive!  New trainers are called and matched up with their new missionary for a 12 week training.  President Dahle chooses his best missionaries to be the trainers.  He prayerfully matches those trainers with a new missionary after interviewing the new batch.  This transfer was small...we had 9 new Elders!  It was perfect for a picture collage page. 

New Missionaries and their Trainers

Baptisms are wonderful events.  At a recent baptism, I just had to take pictures of all the cute children.  Most of these live close to us and play at the church.  The basketball hoops in the parking lot are constantly being used.  Surprising to me, basketball is a big sport for the Filipinos.  I am amazed when I watch these small children throw a perfect basket!

The cutest FACES...found at a baptism

Missionaries in Action

The pictures above are some of our everyday occurrences...missionaries singing at a baptism, baptisms with pictures taken for remembrance, and teaching and learning and inspiration going on at MLC (mission leadership council).

I wanted to start taking more pictures of the things we see as we travel the mission.  Below are just a few of the pictures I will always have in my heart and mind when I think about the Philippines.

Our Olongapo District (like a Stake) Relief Society had a celebration and everyone got involved.  Each Branch chose a country.  They performed a dance and brought food representing their country.  One representative from the Branch came to the front and told some history, culture, and stories about their country.  It was like a "Miss Universe" pageant with questions and talent.  It was such a fun afternoon with the sisters!

District (Stake) Relief Society Activity...done right!!!

Easter season is over, but I had to include one more picture for our family.  The Epperson's have a tradition that we wanted to participate in even though we are far on the other side of the world.  We call it an "egg fight", but it is really harmless.  Our mother would make soft boiled eggs for part of our Easter breakfast.  We would then take our egg in hand with either the 'large' end or 'small' end out and challenge someone.  We hit the eggs together and the one that doesn't crack is the 'winner'.  We continue until we have a champion 'large' end and a champion 'small' end.  We then vie for the champion egg!!  It is a fun, silly tradition that brings our thoughts back to our childhood and our wonderful, loving family.

These are some of our favorite things!!  Life is good.  

I love serving.  I love that I have my sister with me in the Philippines.  We work in the Mission Office and get to be out with the missionaries and the people.  There is nothing better than that!

time flies ...

time flies when you ignore posting on your blog!  a week or two turns into two months surprisingly quickly!  the best possible thing happened to me while serving my mission here in the philippines ... five of my most favorite people in the whole world traveled halfway around the world to visit!  i started to post about the few precious days we had and was so overwhelmed with the amount of photos to go through that i gave up.  sister epperson wasn't keen on the idea of posting when it wasn't 'her turn' so the blog sat dormant for too long.  we experience so many interesting things here and there is much to catch up on but today ... it's all about my little family!  get ready for photo overload!

who's the happiest person in the photo? hint ... she's in the middle!
 christian, stella, madeleine, lauren and cameron land in my world ... photo cred: sister epperson

from the airport straight to the beach to release the sea turtle hatchlings.  it is at the tail end of the hatching season so i was thrilled i got to share this experience with my granddaughters.  madeleine was studying life cycles in school so she was very interested in it.  everyone released several hatchlings and just enjoyed seeing the south sea for the first time.

it was diane's birthday and we had a great day at ocean adventure.  we HAD to experience the fish spa.  i LOVE the faces of fish pedicure virgins ... some were cooler than others and some were so animated i had to show them twice!  stella abstained but loved looking at the fish.  

crocs, tigers, dolphins and my favorite monkeys!   madeleine and cameron had a dolphin training encounter.  they were masterful!  then lunch on the beach complete with buko juice (coconut water) ... stella really wants mommy to share (don't worry ... she did!)

everyone had their first-ever jeepney ride to the palengke (open-air market) and then a quick trike ride home. trikes are big enough to hold a family of five (or more!) and all their purchases ... also cozy enough for a companionship of two!  we ended the day with dinner on the beach.  when in the philippines, you should have as many meals as possible on the beach!

this last set is a hodgepodge ... 

~ it's always fun to bury your sister in the sand.

~ stella gets her fashion sense from her uncle cameron.

~ a banca boat ride to the beautiful island of bohol.

~ bedtime stories with poppi.

~ handmade lei and the reason i'm here.

it was a glorious few days and i will never forget the joy of sharing this land i've come to love with the people i love most.  i am so grateful every day that i have the privilege of serving a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints in such an amazing part of the world with such amazing people.  it is an experience i will hold in my heart forever.  i highly recommend it if you ever get the opportunity!  'come what may, and love it'!

The Week that Was...

A new van was delivered to the office yesterday!!  We have gotten along with older cars since we arrived...which is okay when you think about the traffic!  One of our senior couples has had so much trouble with their truck...so they brought it to the office parking lot and took our van.  Yesterday, the fleet department in our Area Office brought us a replacement and took the truck away.  We were told the used van they were bringing had over 100,000km on it.  We were crushed thinking that Donna and I would have car problems out on the road.  You don't want that!!!!!  We were ecstatic when they brought us a NEW car with 1000km on it!  NOW we have the fear of putting the first scratch or dent on the car...or dirtying the inside!

The van is perfect for hauling missionaries, luggage, or furniture and household items.  We need one at the office, and we felt crippled without it.  We had smiles on our faces all day...and so did the office elders.

New Office Van!!!

We spent hours one day with 10 foreign (that's USA and Islanders) elders while they got a Philippines Driver's License.  It was a zoo and all outside!  I wish I had taken a picture!!  Maybe I'll get another chance.  The Area Office has asked the missions to have the elders get licenses if they have a license in their home country.  Our missionaries don't use cars, but if an elder is assigned to serve in the office, they do have the opportunity to drive.

We are finding many yummy (masarap) things to eat...some new to our pallet and some very familiar.  

1. the biggest and best avocados 

2. kalamansi juice...it is like a tiny lime and used to flavor many foods in the Philippines.  I ordered kalamansi juice for breakfast at a restaurant.  It was served with its own small picture of 'simple syrup' so that I could make it as sweet as I wanted!  I like it sour ;)

3. lunch of special grilled cheese sandwich, soup, and a fresh fruit platter

4. banana split with (purple) ube ice cream

5. corn on the cob!

6. the best French fries ever from the Army Navy Restaurant (Liberty Fries)

7. banana chips...they are very thin slices lightly fried and so delicious to eat as a snack

8. mangos, of course!  Whether we eat them plain or in a mango shake, they are delicious!  This area of the Philippines is known for the sweetest mangos in the world.  We live on what is called the Mango Highway!

9. pancit canton, my favorite kind of pancit...usually with onion, garlic, other vegetables (cabbage, carrots, celery, etc.), and then meat--shrimp, pork, chicken.

Our favorite part of the mission is our experiences with the young missionaries! It is a daily happening with our office elders living next door to us.  Our office elders are hand-picked by the President.  They are elders that he is proud to have represent the mission in many capacities.  We are constantly learning from them.  Below are pictures from two weeks ago.

1. Sister Plowman and Sister Kesler found a cute little place to eat in their Area. They said they are having to limit themselves to going only on their 'preparation day' because they eat cheesecake every time they go!  It takes them a week to walk that off!  They started telling us about this place they found with cheesecake like in the states AND cinnamon rolls like mom!!  When they said it wasn't just a bakery, but also had lunch/dinner entrees, we made a lunch date!! What fun we had with them!!!  And yes, the cinnamon rolls and cheesecake (many different kinds!) are divine.  We have met them two weeks in a row now!

2. Our current office elders: Elder Tupou, Elder Cervantes, Elder Poulsen, and Elder Detera.  The elders only spend a few hours a week helping in the office.  Most of their time is spent with a normal missionary schedule.

Elder Poulsen and Elder Tupou are our newest addition.  Elder Poulsen wanted to cook dinner for President and Sister Dahle and us!!  He has learned how to cook several Philippine dishes.  The President's favorite is Bicol Express.  Elder Poulsen made that for us!  It was so good and our first time to eat it.  The Mission Home was the perfect setting for our dinner.

3.  President Dahle is showing us a book about his ancestors.  The stories he tells are fascinating.

 Well, it is Valentine's Day week and everywhere we go it is decorated with hearts.  Of course, I love it because I love hearts! This is the sign at the round-about in Olongapo City.  It is also the week we have been waiting for...the arrival of Donna's family!

HAPPY HEARTS DAY TO ALL!!

what thinks Christ of me? ...

i was reflecting today during the sacrament about what had i done in the past week that was Christlike.  there was plenty i had done that was not, but at this particular time, i was desperately trying to focus on the good!  the scripture in luke came to my mind and i was reminded that asking is praying sincerely, seeking is studying the scriptures so i can know His will, and knocking is the doing ... the intent to act when i the receive answers i seek.

i am serving a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints because i asked to know His will for me and He answered.  everyday i go forward with a leap of faith and hope that i am doing what i need to do to help build His kingdom here on earth.  i feel His love every day, even when i fail (probably more so!).  i am growing in ways i never expected, but at the same time, i feel i'm not doing all i can do to maximize my learning time here.  so the question i ask myself is 'what thinks Christ of me?'.  

am i serving my fellowman with a pure purpose?  am i working to develop Christlike attributes so i can show and feel more charity toward others?  what would He have be do today to help lift someone else?  

i am loving my time here in the philippines.  the people are fantastic!  and while life goes happily and busily on back home without us, i wouldn't trade this experience.  am so grateful i am here with diane.  it has been easier than i ever thought it would be and i'm sure she is a large part of making it seem that way.  it's impossible to comprehend but our eighteen months here is more than half over.  i want to make the most of every day we have left!  sending much love your way!  donna