I Will Be The One....

In a nation-wide Special Conference held in June 2015 we were privileged to receive Philippines specific counsel from several General Authorities and officers of the Church, including Elder Neil L. Anderson. At the conference Elder Brent Nielsen told of an experience Sis. Nielsen had when they were serving in the Philippines.  Someone was at her apartment fixing a light where a ladder was needed.  After the repair, Sis. Nielsen tried putting the ladder away.  The workman quickly took the ladder from her and replied, "I Will Be the One!"  Elder Nielsen went on to say how wonderful the Filipino people are to come to serve others willingly and graciously.  "I Will Be the One!" is now a phrase that is widely and emphatically spoken on our mission.

Where did the months of May and June go?  They passed quickly here in the "Pearl of the Orient". The weather was very hot as the Philippines summer went by.  Pictured below are some of the big events of our mission lives over the past several months.

The Clarks and Woodruffs - End of April 2015

Our first Office Senior Couple - the Woodruff's - completed their 18 month mission and returned home to Canada.  They were huge contributors to our mission and great servants of the Lord.  The Woodruff's got us through our first 10 months of mission service for which we will be forever indebted.

As of the end of April we had four senior couples serving in the Angeles Mission.  These are invaluable and diligent missionaries.  They are extremely effective in their work including mission administration, leadership development, member self-reliance, family history and missionary support.  Oh how we love them.  We pray for more senior couples to come to the Angles Mission (any volunteers?).

In May we were part of District Conference in the Bongabon District.  This is a picture of Elder and Sis. Adduru.  It was a privilege for us to participate with them.  Each of us (Pres. and Sis. Clark), spoke in the Saturday evening and Sunday sessions of Conference.  The meetings were well attended and Elder Adduru of the Seventy was wonderful.  He is a major scriptorian.  His scriptures were well worn and he was a powerful teacher.  

The group of 5 photos above, are from our reactivation visits earlier this month.  We have many administrative duties to keep the mission running.  Those duties keep us in the mission office and in mission conferences for much of our time.  So....we love it when we are able to go out with our missionaries and go into the field.  We enjoyed an afternoon in Cabaluyan near Camiling visiting less active members and their neighbors.  We loved everything about our visit....especially the children!  The homes and surroundings you see in the pictures, are very typical of the rural areas of our mission.  To give some perspective, we made these visits in the late afternoon.  The temperature was in the mid nineties with high humidity.  Houses are not air conditioned so we received a "warm reception" everywhere we went.  

Mid Transfer Changes - There are times when companionships need to be changed mid-transfer.  Another reason why these missionaries are our heroes is that a phone call from the President can mean a big change in location and circumstance.  They are always willing to serve wherever they are assigned!  I'll go where you want me to go....

Our Missionaries - This is the transfer board that keeps us organized as to missionary assignments.  Sometimes we gaze at the pictures and marvel at what we have to work with.  We are grateful for each and every missionary who serves in Angeles.  They come with a vast diversity of cultural, economic and life experience.  The common thread through all of them is an unwavering loyalty to the Savior and this work.