Dear Ones,

We reported on the great time we had with Vic and Len, but there were other adventures we had during the month that we’d like to share.

We’ve had some interesting contacts.  We went to some screenings at Mabuhay Deseret House, owned by one of our partners, Mabuhay Deseret Foundation.  It was the first time the “House” was opened up to the neighborhood and people were invited to come right on in.  We met some delightful people who greet life with a smile even though their bodies are causing them difficulties.  Vision and eye care doctors removed cataracts, uncrossed eyes, and discovered cancers and referred patients for treatment that was life saving. 

Helping Hands are used to keep order during the screening.  This screening is actually in San Mateo.  Members are a wonderful help during these times.

One darling 5 year old named Jona Mae came to Mabuhay House from the far away island of Palawan.  During screening the doctors were concerned and sent her for a scan.  They discovered there was an aggressive cancer behind the troubled eye.  They said it is extremely fast growing and could move to the other eye and then the brain in a matter of days. The surgery needed to be done immediately.  So, surgery was performed that afternoon on Jona Mae.  She is a remarkable person with a charming personality.  She will recover at Mabuhay House.

The ladies from the Area Office go weekly to share crafts and a gospel message of love.  This week the lesson was on the Resurrection of Christ.  We handed out the little flyer that has a picture of Christ surrounded by children.  Jon Mae took the picture and exclaimed “is this for me”?  Then with squeals of delight she kissed the picture of Christ.  She talked about how much she loves him and then with the love of a child said, I AM A CHILD OF GOD!  She is precious.  I felt as if she truly remembered him and knew him personally.  Christ said we must be as a little child.  I saw and heard what he meant.

The darling on the right is Jona Mae, the darling on the left is Sofia.  Jona Mae no longer has the sight in her left eye
(your right)but she is alive and well and precious as can be.  The doctors are watching the healing process and will have more information about possibilities in the near future.  Sofia is waiting for surgery to continue the process of repairing the harelip.

Mabuhay has done other screenings and  LDS Charities plays a part.  We have some pretty amazing pictures that can help one see just exactly what kinds of birth defects they find here.  What a privilege it is to work with an organization that is helping to provide relief.

This is my friend Mirathan.  I took a picture of her before.  She is the 2 year old who was not able too use her limbs.  This corrective surgery will allow her to walk. This process will take 3 month.

This mother supervises Mirathan all day long

Your eyes are not deceiving you, his feet are on backwards.  Actually his feet are club.  This condition is more common than one might think.  We have seen 3 children this last year.  He was accepted to the Mabuhay Deseret Foundation program.  The process will take months to correct things but when it is done he will be able to walk and play like other children.

Screening in San Mateo.  This is the eye examination station.

screening at Mabuhay House

We love our association with Mabuhay Deseret Foundation. Their good work never stops.

TZU CHI FOUNDTATION

Our visit with Tzu Chi Foundation began with a greeting from Michael.
Left to right: Elder Webb, Sister Webb, Benson and Michael

This woman was the Guide for Sister Webb's group.  She was very gracious.  She was trained as an attorney but had a meeting with Master Cheng Len and was told that she would have to represent and defend people that would go contrary to the nature and morals of Tzu Chi.  The master told her she should be a teacher.  So, she quit her job and is now teaching.
Sister Webb enjoyed her time learning about this faithful follower of Dharma Cheng Len.

We also met a new group called Tzu Chi Foundation.  We were introduced to them by Kenneth Lee one of our project managers in Davao.  Tzu Chi Foundation was one of the first responders during typhoon Yolanda and has made quite a name for their organization.  We met with some of the leading local officials here in Manila and the more I hear and see what this organization is doing the more I realize they are doing a great work.  They are a Buddhist organization, but they say the motivation for their work is to fill the earth with love.  They are very well organized and receive their direction from a Buddhist Dharma named Master Cheng Len, a 78 year old monk whose teachings and direction are revered by its members.  She does seem inspired in some of the programs she espouses.  No work no food is her first directive. 

We were divided into groups during the conference.  Elder Webb sat on the front row  Sister Webb was escorted to a section in the back of the large conference room.  This is her group.  The first response team for a fire department shared the same station.

This is a boat made out of recycled pop bottles.  It does float.

They work in first response, eye care and vision health, medical relief, housing for the poor, recycling and a healthy vegetarian life style;  many of the same areas in which we work.  It’s members are people dedicated to the message of love as directed by Master Cheng Len.  Members donate a lot of their income to the organization.  One does not need to be Buddhist to be a member of Tzu Chi Foundation, but they do preach a Buddhist message.  They were gracious and kind to us.  We were told that Master Cheng Len has told her people she wishes they would be more like the Mormon Missionaries in their dedication.  I have to admit, I heard many of the same slogans and verbiage we hear in Church culture.  It seemed to me she is promoting many of Brigham Young’s ideas. 

Master Cheng Len’s ideas on paying people to clean up their own cities after a disaster have caused many in the first response community to rethink their working prototype.   Their success was revolutionary.  It’s been very interesting to spend time with the leaders and hear them share their visions for the future.  There is a lot to learn from them.

Elder Webb is shown the emergency housing.  It had 3 bedrooms, a sitting area, a toilet, and an outdoor kitchen porch.  All windows are screened and there is a vent in the ceiling.  

 

This is a picture of the emergency housing Tzu Chi puts up.  It is pre fabricated and takes a day to put up.  That is very fast in this business.  Tzu Chi is located in Taiwan and is able to ship relief supplies in a few days.

This is the main room where we were served herbal tea and biscuits. This is the picture of Spiritual Enlightenment, and a place people come to chant and pay homage to Buddha. 

It was all very interesting.  I couldn't help but think they were sharing the message of Christ,

with out Christ.  

I really enjoyed hearing about what they are doing and while some of the things they did, the rituals, were strange to me I couldn't help but think that all good things come from the Father, and these people are doing many good things.

Dear Ones,

It’s been a while since we last reported.  We are very busy, which is great.  The Country Director of LDS Charities has taken a job in Seminaries and Institute and will be moving to Baguio.  The change is for health purposes and we are happy for him.  He has been preparing for this move for some time.  It is interesting to see the life come back into this great man who has been beaten down by health and the stress of the welfare assignment.  He is so happy.  No more Typhoon seasons for him!  We do not know who will take his place at this point and he will be mostly gone starting April 6.  He begins his new job on May 1, but has said he will need the time to move.  You know our feelings about Baguio.  It’s glorious.

He has also been giving us more and more of the work he was doing.  Lots of work makes the time go faster.  We are nearing the half way point.  I remember vividly that when we first got here we thought 18 months was forever.  Now we wonder what we were worried about.

We were blessed with a visit from our dear children Victoria and Len Rutherford.  They came for a short week and experienced many of the things that one cannot express or describe adequately in words.  We are so humbled to know they wanted to be with us enough to make that very long trip.  It was hard to let them go when the week was up. 

Victoria and Sister Webb preparing newborn kits

We took them with us as we visited our partners.  One of the trips was to Fabella Hospital where we had an appointment.  We were delivering some of the beautiful blankets and hats that were made by our dear friends from Willow Creek 7^th Ward.  Victoria and I put together newborn kits with the blankets, hats, diapers, wash, wipes and lotion which we loaded into an LDS Charities bags.  The contents have been donated by people we love and we took several bags with us.  When we presented them to Dr. Tumale and showed her what was in them she hugged the blankets and said, “Oh, this is what we need”.  She went on to say the babies lay on the same linens as the mothers and other babies that share the beds.  She said the blankets will give each baby a clean space of its own.  She was thrilled.  She asked if I wanted to give the gifts to the mothers.  Unfortunately, I did not have enough for every mother there so we thought it better if she quietly chose those who needed the blankets most.  Next trip I will take enough blankets to give one to each mother, thanks to the good work and kindness of R.S. sisters.

leaving the hospital for the neighborhood square

Organizers show people where to stand with hand made signs on a regular piece of paper

Vic and Len with the street children, their new following

Mother carrying newborn under her gown

Mothers carrying new babies during fire drill

Fans of Elder Webbs at town square during fire drill

It was a wonderful trip, complete with a fire drill that was schedule for the same time as our appointment.  We were not allowed to enter the building.  The fire alarm blared in our ears and the authorities from the fire department shuffled people off to a village square away from the hospital, including some of the mothers with newborn babies.  The four of us were slow in moving because we were told someone was coming for us.  We finally received a phone call from Iris, our partner, telling us they would not let her leave the hospital, so we followed the crowd and when we turned the corner and entered the square, all the people stopped what they were doing and just looked at us.  There were smiles and waving of hands but there was also a quiet reverence as we walked through the crowd.  Victoria said she was not comfortable with the rock star greeting.  The recess lasted about 10 min and we were finally allowed to go into the building.  It was interesting to see.

Wlder Webb, Victoria, Len and Iris, receiving instructions from Dr. Tumale

Maternity Ward

We went to the maternity ward and then we left Vic and Len with Dr. Tumale.  She gave them the tour of the hospital complete with entrance to the NICU and every nook and cranny.  Len was especially taken by the numbers of babies and the care given by the staff.

Presenting the newborn kits.  Dr Tumale left, Sister Webb holding blanket and cap, Elder Webb holding stuffed bear
Victoria and Lenoard Rutherford with Iris holding the bear on front row.

In the evening we headed to Chinatown.  Manila’s Chinatown is the oldest in the world (outside China). We enjoyed maneuvering the traffic of the very small streets and the challenge of find a parking spot. It’s kind of like a live video game.  We had to pay twice for parking as the attendants changed shifts while we were gone from the car.   It was fun to visit the gem shop and learn from a master how to clean gems and semi-precious stones using tonal sounds and vibrations.  Fresh fruits and veggies are found up and down the streets in open air carts.  We enjoyed an authentic Chinese meal in one of the many restaurants and as we were leaving the place was filling with locals for some kind of political rally.  The town is alive with color, texture, sounds and aromas.

On another day we drove to Cavite to visit with one of our partners, IIRR, then on to Lake Taal for a day of relaxation and visual splendor.  Sunday was spent at church and at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial looking at the evidence of many family sacrifices.  It was humbling and beautiful at the same time.

Victoria and Elder Webb at out door market Chinatown

Looking good in the Philippines

Visiting with Irish at IIRR headquarters

Dinner at Club 100 roof top restaurant looking out on Manial

Visiting Lake Taal with the Rutherfords

As we have watched Victoria and Len experience Manila for the first time it has been kind of fun and certainly empowering to think back just 8 months ago.  We were traumatized by the sheer number of people and cars. I still suffer from a feeling of claustrophobia at times, but at least I can breathe.   The sight of people living on the street and under bridges with small children playing in areas where the traffic moves in unpredictable and erratic fashion caused my heart to ache and I found myself judging the parents.  I have different eyes today.  The Lord has expanded our capacity to work in many different environments and to see what we can do to help the people of the Philippines help themselves.  They know the problems they face far better than we do, and they also know many of the solutions but do not have the resources.  LDS Charities can help bridge that gap.

The Ruterfords and the Philippines Temple

It is Holy Week here.  We are reminded of how much these people love the Lord as we listen to the music of Mass as its melodies ascend nine stories to the windows of our apartment.  We watch as the people cross themselves when they pass the Cathedral morning and night.  We are grateful to know Christ lives and that he is leading His church for the good of all mankind.

We feel the Lord’s blessings daily.  We are trying to do what he asks of us and when we feel overwhelmed we just look back at all the things we have done that we never thought we could do and realize the Lord has helped us every step of the way.  He always does.  I think we need to make a list for posterity.  Thank you for your love and support.  We love and miss you, and trust the Lord is caring for you as he cares for us while we serve Him here. 

HAPPY EASTER! 

Love,