IF you aren't making any mistakes, you probably aren't doing anything!

(or at least, it comforts us to think so!)

First Time we saw the President,  after our "Black Monday", he gave us the keys to the new car in the mission!   

We said, "President, are you SURE?"

He said, "Well, it's either you or the new couple. It probably has a better chance with you.  

WHAT HAPPENED? "

This is what we expected to be traveling in!!

So, now we are touring around in a classy little red number with about 400 miles on it. Our daughter said, "They rewarded you? " Guess so. 

 (Don't worry, we can't put the first scratch on it.  The APs did that!)

Our new job started bright and early Monday Morning. Elder Smith is training me, and Elder Masula is training Elder S. I will be the office secretary, he will be the mission recorder. We will continue to assist with Exit Days, and Transfer Days, but will also be doing all the travel arrangements, Visa battles, letters to EVERYONE, historical files, Baptismal Records, missionary referrals, mail, and etal.

                                                  This is Elder Smith.

We learned a lot in our MTC training, but that was 8 months ago, a lifetime for our poor aged brains.  And some of what Elder is doing was in my training, not his.  We will still have Elder Crowther to do the finance, and Elder Ballon to do the apartment contracts.  SO glad.  He speaks very good English, but he is Filipino and he can talk to the owners and be understood.

In looking at my computer to get acquainted with the documents, etc, I found:

So, When Elder Smith goes next week we will not be completely without support.  Someone very kindly wrote a book for us!  This is what it looks like:








We are learning as fast as we can, but at least I know where to go find the answers, (I hope!) when we hit a snag.  

DURING the week, we did have some fun times, too.  One night we went out to walk to the bookstore for office supplies, and they were renting cars to little people to drive around.  I tried to get some pictures, but they were moving too fast for my flash camera.  This is the best I got:  

As you see, he was speeding away from me!

We see people on cycles all the time, of course.  They call them MOTOSIKLO on the street signs, and have lanes marked for them.  Good luck with that!   And there are signs all over that say, "Motosiklo stay strictly on first (1st) lane."  Yeah, right.  They zip around between the cars and buses and taxis and go wherever they want to.  You often see entire families on them, with little ones tucked between the parents.  Sometimes, those are the only ones without a helmet!  

We followed this little guy for a long time, and it just sort of tickled me to see him hanging on behind Dad while the cycle went fast and slow, back and forth, finding the holes in the traffic.  He never flinched.  I DID!

WE are still missionaries.  And we still have the joy of seeing the work move forward with power.  This is Rocky!  (Or Akky).  She came into the office with the sister missionaries, and they asked her to wait, but asked me to "keep an eye on her, she is a flight risk"..   

Well, they have been teaching her.  She arrived in Quezon City to see her father, from her home down south with her mother 5 weeks ago.  She is 18.  As it turns out, her father was being baptized that day.  She is in training, hoping to be hired in a call center.  

That is the best of the best for these young people, if they can do it. They can earn enough to support themselves and their family.,

 Her English is remarkable, and she should be able to manage it.  Except, she needs glasses, and she broke hers.   No money to replace them.  The missionaries left her to go home and see if an extra pair they had would work.  

She was telling me about her life, and that she and her dad "need each other".  She left her mom, and her brother, back on the island.  

She has a baptism date.  April 19.  

I asked her about that, and she said she had been reading and studying with the missionaries since the day she came and saw her dad baptized.  She has read the Book of Mormon. 

I asked her, "and how do you like that?"  

She said, " I don't like it.  I absolutely LOVE it!"

I know for sure that another senior sister at the Employment Center offered to help her buy new glasses.  She would not take the money.  She says she can manage.

General Conference is a week late here, due of course, to the time difference.  So, we spent Saturday with the seniors, watching two sessions and having a pot luck lunch.  

Sunday we were invited to the mission home,  for the Sunday sessions and another lovely meal.  There were a lot of us.  I did not take pictures, but we only stayed for the morning and the lunch.  

Then we drove out to Taytay where we are tutoring three sister missionaries in their English language work.  This is Sister Fuertes.  She is from Cebu.  She goes home this next transfer, and is working really hard to finish her second book so she can take the test.  Her English is wonderful.  We spend time on trying to help her sound just like an American.  But the real problem is that her speech is TOO good.   Precise and perfect.  So I tell her, we don't say "morTal" we say "mordal".  She looks at me like I am crazy, and says "mordal" ?????  
Her name is Sheharrazad.  (Shouldn't tell you that, but it tickles me.  She is going home in 10 days, anyway.)  She is a tiny little thing, and lost her purse with all her ID several months ago.  Now, we have a problem.  Big mess, trying to get her on a plane to go home and she isn't even leaving the country!   Of course, we would have the same trouble in the US.  No ID, no ticket!  

Here is my General Conference Quote for this week:

A Thankful Heart is the Parent of all Virtues.

President Uchtdorf

Here are my words of wisdom for the week:

No matter what anyone tells you, Prune Juice is not your friend.