Dear Ones,

While you were sleeping we became the interim Country Directors of the Philippines.  Our boss, Benson Misalucha, has taken another position in Seminaries and Institutes and is moving to Baguio for health purposes.  He will be greatly missed.  In the meantime, Elder Webb and I (mostly Elder Webb) have been asked to fill in until the new Country Director can move into the position. That is scheduled to be August depending on a number of things. We heard he may have another 2 months of training in SLC after that. We feel we are doing double time as we try to schedule our work as well as attend all the meetings of the Country Director plus about approving projects submitted by other missionaries.  Again we know that the Lord will make a way for us to get the things done he needs to have done.  It will make the time go very fast.  Elder Webb is doing a great job.  To him it feels like he is back in the saddle.

We were asked to take this assignment by the Director of Temporal Affairs (DTA), the head of the temporal side of the office here in the  Area Office, Daniel de Almeida.  He is an extraordinary man; a Brazilian from Uruguay.  His assignment seems to be one of cleaning up different Area's; literally.  I was looking for furniture for one of our Partners. There are several large storage areas packed to the gills.  One we happened to look in had furniture.  We saw several office chairs on top of other things.  We inquired about the furniture and made a request before I left for SLC for the birth of Kathryn’s baby.  While I was gone the DTA had the contents of that storage room auctioned off.  We got our chairs for MDH and it did not take the months that are often a part of business here in the Philippines.

Elder Benson Misalucha second from left, front row.  

Speaking of SLC, as I mentioned, I was so fortunate to be given permission to return for the birth of Kathryn's baby.   I was a little nervous because I was granted permission to attend the wonderful wedding of Elizabeth in February so I was holding my breath.  Never fear, I was given permission along with a blessing for Kathryn from the Area Presidency and the Missionary Committee in SLC.  It's nice not to feel guilty for doing what you want.

 

Kathryn with Anna just minutes after birth.

We have a new partner.  Gentle Hands, Inc. We heard about this organization when a woman was invited to our Ward evening Relief Society.  Charity Graff came to share information on how she started helping the poor street children of Manila.  She begins her story when she would bring street children to her home and feed them.  It has grown until now she has an impressive Gentle Hands program which was started to rescue children from dire situations and abuse.  Her reputation has spread and she receives calls from government, people or family members who have found children in terrible need.  She also received babies who are abandoned.  There are from 90 – 120 children and 30 workers.  The house is well organized, and on a wall in the home is painted this motto.

IN THIS HOUSE…

WE ARE FAMILY

WE ARE REAL

WE MAKE MISTAKES

WE SAY I'M SORRY

WE GIVE SECOND CHANCES

WE HAVE FUN

WE GIVE HUGS

WE LAUGH TOGETHER

Older children in Gentle Hands Orphanage.  They continue to heal, but are now functioning well in schools

WE FORGIVE....

WE ARE PATIENT

WE DO LOVE.

Younger Children having a snack

Play room with helpers.  Gentle hands is a very orderly place with plenty of loving people to help keep children safe.

The wives of the Area Presidency attended Relief Society; went home and told their husbands about the need and they all visited the next day.  A project was approved with LDS Charities immediately.  We will be providing Rice, food and medication.  Elder Webb was there and said they were all impressed with this amazing organization “they sure do a lot of things right” was his response. Talk about easy work.  

I spoke with Charity Graff, this great advocate of children, yesterday.  She said I would have my heart broken, were I to visit at that time.  She was receiving new children they had rescued.  There are two little boys who have been beaten and their poor battered bodies broken.  Charity said the 2 year old had cigarette burns in his head.  I wanted to cry as I listened to her describe these little fellows.  She told me step-children are not treated well in this county. After having studied her philosophy I am assured these little ones will heal physically and emotionally in a loving environment until they are pronounced well enough to be adoptable.  Google Gentle Hands, Inc.  Quezon City if you want to know more.  I will be hugging babies for the next 9 months as part of my work.

This is one of the schools to which we will take the solar lamps.

We are also ready to distribute solar lamps to un-energized schools.  The lamps arrived today.  Elder Soleta, who went to China to find the best deal for the dollar, picked them up at the port of entry. We sent 500 of them to Baguio with the McClures one of our missionary couples. All lamps will be distributed in May on the National Day of Service which is after the elections. We have 2800 solar lamps to distribute to remote schools.  It is actually a drop in the bucket compared to the need (estimated by DepEd to be 600,000) but we will establish a successful program and track the use of the lamps first. If we find they are holding up and are being used for the purpose we had hoped we can go back and see about helping more children who are unable to read and do their homework at night.  Elder Webb and I are hoping to deliver the lamps to the areas where we have some of our missionaries; Sister Gibbs in Bataan is one spot. Hopefully we will get to Mindoro Occidental before too long and catch a glimpse of Elder Smart’s marvelous success in spreading the gospel.  These are very remote areas and we have had to call on service missionaries to help with the delivery.  The service missionaries here are wonderful.  They love the Lord and are devoted to helping His work move forward in any way they can.  They are fearless.  We love them.

One of the initiatives of LDS Charities is Wheelchairs.  We have some amazing stories of lives that have been changed by the gift of a chair.  Freedom and independence for the first time is priceless.  In Palowan there are three men who were feeling rather desperate.  They had to depend on others for help, food and shelter and almost any movement at all.
With the gift of wheelchairs these men have started a business of their own. They make and repair chairs to help others.  One man was feeling suicidal, because he felt he had no value and was a burden to others. Then he was given a wheel chair and some training.  

The man on the left was the one who felt he had no value.  He now runs a business with his friend on the right to help others whose chairs are broken.

Men at work

There are no handicaps here, just hard working men.

                      

                           Dexter in his chair of freedom.  It gave him a new life and with that came a vision to help others.

 

Creating a custom chair

We are surrounded by people whose lives and example are changing us.  God is advancing our perspective of his children.  There are so many of our brothers and sister who are poor, hurt, starving or alone without resources.  We are being shown how to lend a hand to lift another by those who do it all the time,the poor themselves.  We are impressed by their capacity to change and adapt.  To see them make the the best of very difficult and devastating situations is humbling.  The people we meet and with whom we work are for the most part smart, resourceful, and helpful to one another.  How blessed we feel, that God has given us a chance to change, to expand our knowledge of who we are and what we want to be.  He does this by sending us to people and places we have only known from books.  They are much better in person.  

God Bless You and Keep You.

We love you and miss you but know you are being cared for by angels of light.

Mom and Dad

Gma and Gpa

Elder and Sister Webb

Norriss and Carol

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