OPPOSITION IN ALL THINGS...........

This has been an emotional few days for us.

Some of the good:

Transfers meant saying goodbye to many friends, and a change in the office.  Elder Smith, my tutor, (in glasses) is back as a Training Assistant.  He is, just by the way, a very very exceptional musician, as well as a wonderful missionary.  Behind him is Elder Ballon, with Elders Houston and Martin in the front.  They make us laugh---and I am quite sure they laugh AT US, too.  

On Saturday, Sister Esponilla, Brother Marcellana, and Sister Nevares were at the temple to receive their endowments.  We met them there, but they traveled from Sampaloc in a Jeepney, with Sister Tapiador, RS President and mother to Sister Nevares, Sister Dolleti, and her husband  (Branch President), and their daughter, Eunice Ann, recently returned from her mission.  A few others came along, too, children and grandchildren of Sister Tapiador.  It was wonderful. 

 When Sister Esponilla was baptized last year, I hugged her and told her I would be there when she went to the temple.  She said, "Promise???"   Well, I was able to keep that promise.  I was so glad.

We got them back on the jeepney to go home, but I understand the traffic was TERRIBLE, (It is Holy Week here).  It took them over 4 hours just to the bottom of the mountain, and they did not get home until 9:30 pm.   

On Sunday,

 Little Jinjin Almocera was able to come to Primary.  They are still working on a way to get Guianne there in her wheelchair.  I think they will purchase a trike that it can be attached to.  Here is Jinjin,  a VERY TIRED little 3 year old.  But she was so good, sitting beside me, which is not the norm, believe me!   She did shed her shoes and socks about 10 minutes into Sacrament Meeting.  Her grandma kept trying to put them back on------NO WAY!

Rod Moroni came to help his parents clean for us today. 

He is finally catching up, I think, after his very premature birth.  He smiles at us now, and can hold his head up.  But it was a long way.  He should have been born about 6 weeks ago, not 3 1/2 months ago,   He is very much, now, like a 6-8 week old baby.  But so sweet.   I never want to put him down and go to work.    

AND the bad...........

There was a very funny missionary story circulating in the office today, among the Elders, of course.  

Apparently, there were two missionary Sisters in San Diego.  They drove out into the desert and ran out of gas.  So, they decided to put their drinking water in the gas tank, and pray for it to be turned into gasoline.   Sadly, they had to call the zone leaders and explain that their faith was just not strong enough to accomplish that miracle.   

Here is my broken (I think) toe.  I never bother to see a doctor about these, but it is swollen and black and blue and still screams at the sight of a shoe.  I can walk around fine, now, and it does go into a sandal, so all is well.  

And the truly ugly:

This is Sister Fuertes.  She completed her mission and went home to Cebu last year.  She has been dating another RM from our mission, Elder Bacad.  I did not know him, but we knew her  very well.  We used to go to Binangonan to church on Sunday, and then stop in Taytay on the way back to help her with her English Language study.  While she was serving there she had no American companion to check her workbook and score her lessons.  She did really well, and we got it all done and she scored very high on the exam before she went home.

I took this just before she left, as she needed to get a picture ID to fly home.  She had lost her wallet!

Well, she went home and got engaged, and they were planning a wedding next month in the Cebu Temple. 

Yesterday, Sunday, she and her fiance were traveling together by motorcycle and were hit by a big truck.  She was killed instantly, and we don't know yet whether he will survive.  President and Sister Revillo are so sad and shaken up.  (Well, we all are.)   How blessed we are to know the purpose of this life.   How grateful I am to know that she was keeping her covenants when she died.  

AND.......

There is another super typhoon circling out in the Ocean, and aimed at Manila.  They tell us it will lose strength and come in over the (Easter) Weekend.   
Unfortunately, our Mindoro Zone Conference is scheduled for next week.  We have 11 airline tickets booked for this weekend,, including President and Sister and Oliver to fly on Sunday Morning.  
We hope everyone can go where needed, but we have had to make major adjustments for weather in the past, and I am not too optimistic.  Instead of a Zone Conference, we may have flooding and house-guests!

Gotta Love the Philippines!