WITH THE OBVIOUS EXCEPTION OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS ---------

We have not missed too much over here.  Most anything we need is available, (providing we want it badly enough to find it and pay for it!)   

However, I DO miss Macaroni and Cheese. ' ( I am not talking about Kraft, which our family calls "yellow death")!!   
My mother made, and my daughter makes, the BEST Macaroni and Cheese.  That talent skipped a generation, because even with their recipes, I can't seem to get it right.  Today, I decided to try again, with a recipe for the crock pot that my friend put on Facebook.  Here it is, and we enjoyed it.  The texture was perfect, but the flavor was a little bland.  Elder ALWAYS tells me it needs onion.  It doesn't. But I will work on it a bit and try again!  We enjoyed the green beans from Baguio much more.  Sometimes, we eat steamed green beans and a baguette of french bread, and that is all we need.  Just FYI, the winter squash is fabulous here, too.  

And it is Singkamas Season again!   Last year, we saw these all over the streets, but we thought they were turnips or potatoes.  We finally met them at a branch party.  They are Jicama, and SO GOOD.   A little bit tricky to peel, but you just slice them and eat them like fruit.  Sweet.   The missionaries will nibble at a plate of them all day, just like my candy dish! 

And speaking of our missionaries:

 Here they are outside of the Mission Home Friday night. Once in every transfer, President and Sister host MLC (Mission Leadership Council) at the mission home.  All of the ZLs and STLs attend, with the APs and TAs.  (Okay, the Zone Leaders, 20, Sister Training Leaders, 8, Assistants to the President, 2, and Training Assistants, 2)   We have to arrange to bring the ZLs from Mindoro, and they stay two days. They begin at 10:00 am, finish at 5:00 pm.  Sister does a large and very fancy lunch for all of them.  Then, she feeds them again in the evening.  We had to run over last night with their mail and orders for their zones.  Boxes and boxes of literature, etc.  

Here is Sister Revillo with her STLs,   Sisters Ordakowski, Osumo, Dudas, Oyler, Anderson, Avila, Zollinger, and Verdeflor.

Then, they changed their clothes, and we all walked down to a neighborhood park to let off some steam.  

Ready to play!

And the Sisters, looking very different.  These women are athletes!  And, they planned the fun.

Choosing up the side, for a hotly contested game of Steal the Flag.  

Which went into the dark.

While that was happening, Jenny was preparing the evening meal for them. Cooking the tuna sauce for the pasta------This is the BACK kitchen.  Not the main kitchen.  Jenny had already cooked about 500  lbs of spaghetti.  

Cutting the brownies to go with Ice Cream.








Another table setting for 36 people.  And the dishes to do afterward.  All in a day's work for them.  In between, Sister Revillo ran into the kitchen to prepare the pasta sauces.  

What was I doing while all of this was going on?  Well, Immigration still plagues us.  Last week I was sent a list of 34 missionaries who had to go back for more fingerprinting.  We called all of them to tell them to get 6 photos ready, and wait for instructions.  They did that on their P Day Monday.  Then, on Thurs I was told to have them all at the Area Offices at 8:00 am on Saturday.  More phone calls.  Too late to get the Jardines up here from Mindoro.  Elder Yourglich had a very important baptism scheduled.  We worked hard to put them into two or fours  to travel, so their companions could stay home and work.  Ahh, gotta love the government!  And, in the end, they put all of ours LAST, because they are closer than other missions, and our Sampaloc Elders didn't get home until 10:00 last night.

News from Sampaloc Twig  Branch:

We continue to feel needed there, at least.  I prepared my Primary music and sharing time, and Elder prepared his Temple Preparation lesson.  WE packed a lunch. We arrived on time.  Things went okay until third hour, when Sister Tapiador asked me if I would teach Relief Society today.  And so, I did. 

  And, the auditors arrived for the financial audit and they needed Elder Schlager.  Immediately following the Block, we had another Baptism. In the swimming pool, of course.  Elder Schlager conducted it. Little people running all over the place.  Yikes!  

Pretty much the entire branch stayed and attended.  The small Elderly man with no tie is our new Brother Manuel.  

 

  This is Sister Roselyn.  The little boy in blue is her Gabriel.  She was baptized last Saturday, Confirmed on Sunday.  Today she was sustained as 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency.  She also did the talk on baptism at the baptism.  

Then, we met with our four students for the Temple Class. Elder started to teach, but the President came to get him to help the Auditors.  So, I finished the lesson for him.  It was fun, and our darling Elders stick around and translate for us.  (Elder Hart and Elder Buhler, above.  As one famous line says, "Everybody works here!"  That is no joke in the Sampaloc Branch.

Then, we went to see Sister Almocera again.  Here is her son, and little granddaughter Guianne.

And here is her special wheel chair, provided by LDS Charities.  It has no wheels-----they are in our trunk,  on their way to the Haslems tomorrow for replacement.  She can not do anything for herself.  Even sit up, without support.  But her Daddy was so loving with her.  I was quite impressed with him.  

  

Then, we drove back to the office.  Elder had a Presidency Meeting with Presidents Revillo, Jose, and Barlow.  We got home about 7:00 pm.  

Tomorrow a new week begins!   

Who knows what that one will hold!!!

It is STILL so much fun in the Philippines!

FEBRUARY HAS BEEN SHORT AND SWEET......

On the 3rd, we were blessed with a Special Missionary Meeting", as Elder Durrant of the General Sunday School Presidency,  and Sister Durrant  came with Elder and Sister Echo Hawk to instruct us.  We were able to have all of our local missionaries, (excepting  the ones on Mindoro), with us.  They were wonderful and amazing and lots of fun to learn from.  

They taught our missionaries many things, but he was determined to spend some time on "Sisters are Amazing".  And, of course, they truly are.  We have about 40% Sisters in our mission, and they do so much to make our mission stronger and better.  

A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, told me that when he served his mission, the Sisters were his biggest headache.  He said he had to "separate them forcibly", or in other words, settle differences and problems for them.  

Interestingly, our Elders say such different things.  They often say, "I can't believe the Sisters."  Or "These women are the BEST missionaries".  

If you would like to watch something inspiring, there is a video from the church about the first Sister Missionaries.   They were asked for, by the Mission President in England, at the end of the 18th Century!

VALENTINE'S DAY

We actually had a date on Friday night, and went to dinner.  We ran into the Pecks, so we all had a very nice evening.   There are a LOT of good restaurants here, and Elder spoiled me and took me for Italian.  The next day, though, we had better things to do.  We met the Johnsons to see the project, and then they had us to dinner at their home.  We were invited to a Branch Party with them, but just sent cookies, instead, and drove home.

The Project!

Brother Rod Jensen came back from Canada with a work crew, to do some more building of houses in Maligaya, after the purchase of the new land was finalized.  They are building four new homes, two for our friends the Peraltas and the Candaris, which will be real homes, two stories, with real windows and doors, and a buried water supply.  Very exciting, but poor Jhun feels it is "too much", and says the money could have built homes for a lot more people.  (With us here is Alex, the teenage adopted daughter of Sister Josie.  She is the Sister we took to the temple last December.  They now live in Maligaya, with Beth, in a tiny house of their own built by Jhun.  That is what he likes to do--help others.)

In the meantime, though, it is providing work for a lot of hungry families.  As you see, the work is very manual, and simple.  But they will be lovely when finished.  

This one is for Vanessa and Dexter.  See the nice door and windows?

It is a long walk down there!   Advantage, no one around  them except each other, and the area is just gorgeous.   We were in the middle of transfer week, and so busy we barely got to see Rod, but we did make time to drive out and see the project on Saturday.  

THEN, we had a mission tour with Elder Bowen of our Area Presidency.   

Here are Elder and Sister Bowen with the Revillo family.   They flew to Mindoro on Friday, and stayed until Sunday morning, holding a conference and meetings down there with the APs.   

Then, they came back to Quezon City and Tuesday and Wednesday we held conferences for our missionaries here.   WE all had some interviews.  One of our APs was quite nervous.  He is wonderful, but he said, "Elder Bowen scares me!"   I just told him , "Me, too!"

Elder Bowen IS very direct and honest.  But he asked the missionaries to prepare by studying The Abrahamic Covenant, The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, The Gathering of Israel.  And, he taught them, powerfully, on those subjects.  WOW!  Did I learn a lot?   We all did.  Have you read D and C 84 lately?  

As he taught, I watched our missionaries.  They just kept leaning further and further forward.  They were hanging on his words, and I thought some of them would topple right off the benches in their effort to hear everything and understand.  It was wonderful.

Here are some thoughts for you:

Are you a member of one of the "lost tribes"?   (If you are not Levi, Benjamin, or Judah, YES!)

There WAS no "pre-existence".  We always existed.  We refer to the "pre-mortal life".

Do you believe in a "plurality of Gods"? 

Abraham is our rich grandfather--and there IS an inheritance!

So, on Tuesday, they held meetings in the morning, then interviews, and then a quick trip to Antipolo for the afternoon Conference.   Elder Schlager and I had to help a little bit with getting everybody fed.  What do you feed a general authority?  A Subway boxed lunch, in his lap in the car, on the way to his next meeting.   My dear Sister would have been appalled.  

The next day, though, Sister Revillo did her usual amazing trick, and we had a lovely, catered lunch with dressed and decorated tables and chairs, goblets,  and wonderful food. 

CHINESE NEW YEAR    

Although it is not a national holiday, there are a lot of Chinese Nationals here, so it is pretty widely celebrated.   The stores are full of it, and our neighborhood mall decorated and had a lot of fun things going on.   

And here is my "Dog".  If you look closely at this one, you will see that Elder Schlager has a bruised and swollen eye.  He actually was bitten by something, and reacted as some of our family does---badly.  He said, "everyone will think you hit me".  I said, "I will tell them that if I ever DO haul off and hit you, it will look a lot worse than THAT!"

One day, there was a band, and all these furry dragons dancing around.  Each one had two men/women in it, and they performed for about and hour.  

 See this one, pretending to be a giraffe?  

Serving in Sampaloc (AKA:  The Elder and Sister Schlager Variety Show)

1.  Elder Schlager has been called and sustained as the 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency.  They have never had one before.  

2.  I am teaching music and sharing time in Primary now. This is Pananampalataya (Faith)   She is 8 years old and always greets me with a big smile and a hug.  She has some challenges, and can't read.  But she has a phenomenal memory, and sings all the songs with us, with joy and every word correct.  She was baptized recently, although it was probably not necessary for her.  But she wanted it SO much~~~~~~~~

3.  We had a branch Temple Trip on Saturday, and were able to be in the temple with 13 youth to do baptisms.  Because we have so little Priesthood, and the branch is so young, we had to recruit help in the baptistry from the Senior Couples.  Four of them came to help.  So, we got to share the joy---or feel like Tom Sawyer, depending on your point of view! 

( 30 branch members came down early in a jeepney. They brought a big bowl of cold spaghetti and rice, to eat before the temple session.  We added pandesol, bananas, and drinks. They were really grateful--it's a long day.)

 Some of my Sampaloc Sisters.

4.  I spoke in Sacrament Meeting last week on "Self - Reliance".  Yes, I do recognize the irony!

5.  We have been asked to teach temple prep classes and have 3 people ready for the temple on the 28th of March.  We are doing the first one tonight. (Saturday). 
6.  After our class, there is a baptism.  I am the speaker. 

This is Sister Roselyn and Elder Hart and Elder Buhler.  His first baptism.  Done perfectly!

 We didn't want to drive down the mountain at 10:00 pm, and have to go back up tomorrow morning at 7:30 am.  So, we are staying the night in the guest house there.   This is the bathroom.  Huge, and complete with a bidet!  A country of contrasts.  

7. Our poor little primary still has hungry children, so now I do the snacks for them again.  Today, I am taking egg salad, as I will be up there early to put the sandwiches together.

8.  After, church, we will teach another class, and then go with the President or RS President to make visits.  

(Last week we saw a sister who just lost her husband.  She is the grandmother of a special needs 6 year old, and a three year old.  Parents work in Manila and come out on Saturday.  The 6 year old needs a wheel chair, and hers is broken.  I called the Haslems, our area humanitarian couple who do wheelchairs here, and she is arranging for a special one, that the child can not fall out of, so that they can come to church.)  
Sunday:
We actually went to visit with the Aguilar Family, Anthony's parents and siblings.  They have not been coming.  One daughter, three sons.  They want to come, but it costs P60 each to take a trike, and they just don't have it.  It is all they can do to get the boys into high school every day.  AJ, the older Sister, had to quit College--not enough money to send everyone in to town.  Brother Aguiler said, "P60 is a Kilo of rice."  I can't imagine having to choose between taking your children to church or feeding them.   Sometimes, he sends just the kids.  Please pray for them.
9.  One of the first things we noticed is that most of our Aaronic Priesthood comes in a white (ish) t-shirt.  They are new converts.  So, we asked Sister Dollete for a list of sizes, and stopped at the Palengke on the way out yesterday, to purchase white shirts.  Still had a few ties from our "tie drive" last year.  

WE decided to join Sheffers for dinner one night, at a buffet called "Something Fishy".  We had heard it was good, but not been there.  When we walked over, they had already ordered from the menu---Seafood platter.  Small crab, with eyes.  No way to crack the claws.  Mussels, clams, calamari, squid, and fabulous shrimps, still with head and legs!  We ate with our fingers and it was delicious.  We ordered another one!   Just fish and ice water, no rice, no bread, no veggies. (Elder Sheffer  has been dieting and doing great!  No carbohydrates.)

Goodbye, February.  Hello March---I understand it is coming in like a "lion" at home.  Hopefully, out like a lamb!  Just FYI, boy are we glad we did not go home last week, to move in ice and snow! 

Yes, they are still winning!

Or we are still having losses.  Sympathy for the Seahawks! 

Here is our sorry story for last week. 

 When we got the three new cars, about a million years ago, they had temporary licenses on them.  After about 6 months, the area office called us and told us to pick up the license plates and install them.  Elder Schlager put the ones on our car, and gave the others to the office elders for their car and Sister Revillo's car.  They came with a set of bolts to attach them to the car, but we already had bolts with the temporary ones. So, we all just used the ones already there, as no one told us to do otherwise.  (The new bolts were passed on to our apartment couple, as he does repairs daily)  

A few weeks ago, the Elders were driving Sister's car, and the plates were stolen.  

President was concerned.  It IS the Philippines. He is afraid the plates will be used in a crime, and traced back to the mission.   He told them to go to the fleet office and report it.  THEY said, the other bolts were special, designed to break the head off when you used them, so that no one could use a screw driver and remove the plates.  (Well, thanks for telling us NOW, guys!)  

So, our poor APs have spent most of their time for the past two weeks, running around the city, with notarized documents, affidavits, police reports, etc.  trying to get the plates number removed from OUR record and new plates for that car.  WE have been trying to find the kind of bolts you need, so that we can replace them on the other two cars before it happens AGAIN!  Yeah, that is not happening!  Maybe we can get them from the LTO (Land Travel Office, but don't hold your breath!)

And, the one for this week:

This is Elder Barreno.  He is a fairly new Elder in our mission, and a Filipino.  He and his companion stopped, about 5:00, at this tindehan to get a drink.  They are assigned in the city, and not one of our safer areas.  While they were there, a man no one knew, and who appeared to be high and perhaps waiting for them, pulled a knife and tried to stab Elder Barreno.  He missed, twice, but finally did manage to stab him in the right forearm  slightly, and then ran away.  Fortunately, the damage was minimal. A quick trip to the hospital, and he is back to work.  We are so grateful for the protection afforded him.   

AND, FINALLY,

Elder Schlager and I have been ill.  This is NOT a healthy environment, due to the smog and other things in the air. Some of our missionaries have been told that they can't work in the city---rashes and things. We finally got so drippy and disgusting that we gave up.  My first, ever, sinus infection.  So, we got advice from the medical practitioner, got some amoxycillan, and we are getting better.  Yuck, like really bad head colds, but never getting better.  Just worse and worse.

BUT, LIFE is still great!

Coming home from church last Sunday, we encountered a very strange parade.  Even the Filipinos aren't really sure what it was--some kind of Catholic celebration.  They were carrying dolls---in, fact, booths were SELLING dolls, in all sizes.  What I would call, 'graven images',  but what do I know?   

AND, 

I had a wonderful day on Friday.  We held our Sister's Conference.  

A Celebration of "God's Most Beautiful Creation"

I guess I was sort of the Key Note speaker---who knew?  President said, to me, at the last minute, "Can you go first, to introduce the theme?"  

Well, I had been asked to speak to the Sisters on Self-Esteem.  

So, I Did.  

Then we heard from President Revillo, and from Sister Revillo.  Then, we went to the cultural hall and they all changed to exercise clothes, and we worked!

And Played...............

Sister Revillo, giving them the instructions.  

Sister Johnson did a workshop on organizational skills.

Sister Sheffer did one on cooking, and added a lot of pages to their recipe books. (And did a fun game, where they won, as prizes, the ingredients for some of the recipes.)

Then, we watched "The Errand of Angels", about Sister Missionaries in Austria, while Sister Revillo and I handed them sandwiches, drinks, cookies, and later, popcorn.  

Finally, we did the "swap meet".  

They all brought clothes, bags, accessories, they were tired of , of we put them all out, like a sale table at an after-Christmas sale at Macy's.

They had a ball, picking through, trying on, taking pictures, and I think everyone took home some "new" things.  It was fun.  Our sisters range from childs' small to bigger than me.  They were all dressing each other.  "This one looks like you, Sis!"

Afterward, we packed up all the remainders, about 4 huge bags full, and Elder and I took it to the MTC.  They were really glad to receive it, as Sisters come there all the time with very few belongings.  They shop downstairs in a sort of thrift shop that the MTC provides for them.  

HAVE I MENTIONED LATELY....

That we need more seasoned missionaries?  Well, another couple returned home last week, and President is moving his men around on the board to defend the posts that need defending.  (Sort of!)  

Anyway, the Whittakers served for 18 months in the Sampaloc Branch, and did a heroic job.  

As I mentioned, President asked us if we would object to leaving Binangonan and supporting the Sampaloc Branch.  Well, NO!

I am sure no one was ever welcomed to church with more love and joy than we were on Sunday morning.  When we drove in, most came out to welcome us!

 Beautiful Sampaloc.  It was clear and cool and lovely. We did not use the fans, but opened all the windows.  It got so cold in Sunday School, we had to close the ones behind me.  

 Elder was handed a note from an older couple with health issues, the Besarios, asking us to come after church to see them.  We were both invited to bear our testimonies.  Elder has been asked to teach two classes next week.  They are planning a temple trip in three weeks and need help with that.  President Dollete told me to "bring your lunch", because from now on we will be doing visits with them in the afternoon, on Sunday.

After the meetings, they are holding piano classes for those who wish to learn to play.  The church provides up to 6 keyboards in each branch, and Sister Whittaker, Sister Johnson, and Sister Sheffer all ordered them and began teaching.  Here are Sister Dollete and their recent RM daughter, Eunice, teaching.  (Because Sister Whittaker is gone, now.) Elder Schlager was in a PEC meeting with the missionaries.

After that, we took our missionaries, and President Dollete, and went to hold a special Sacrament Meeting with Brother and Sister Besario, in their garden.  

Finally, we drove home in the late afternoon, back to the city.  

We are so blessed, to be able to spend our final months with these wonderful Saints, and on the 21st, three more will be endowed!  I promised Sister Esponilla I would be there when she went to the temple, and I WILL BE!

This is jackfruit, or jak, hanging on the tree up there.  They are all around.  

Know about jackfruit?  Look it up!  Sometimes they weigh about 100 pounds!

Here is another recipe for you:

Mango Float Ingredients:

• 2 cups of mangoes (thinly sliced)
• Graham crackers 1 box
• Crushed Graham 1 tbsp
• 1 can all purpose Nestle cream
• 1 can condensed milk

• Chill the Nestle for 30 minutes cream then whip the Cream in a bowl.
• Fold the whipped cream with condensed milk, then Mix well.
• Then on the layered crackers on the bottom, spread the milk and cream mixture.
• Then spread out the thin sliced mangoes evenly on top of the cream.
• Make another layer of graham crackers; spread the cream and mango slices. You can do lots of layers if you want.
• Garnish top layer with mango and sprinkle the crushed graham.
• Chill the Mango Float for at least 2 to 3 hours before serving.

We buy the cream in cans or in boxes on the shelf.  You will just want to use whipping cream.  Condensed milk is Condesada, or sweetened condensed milk, NOT evaporated milk.  That is where the sweetness comes from.  You can make this with bananas, also.  They call it Banana Float.  And, it is often served frozen, not just chilled.    Try it. Very Filipino.

Our daughter says, "No wonder they don't want to come home.  It is one continuous party over there!"  

She may be right!

So much beauty here!