Dear Ones,

The last couple of weeks have been filled with service opportunities manifested in many different ways.

Last week we were asked by GMA Kapuso Foundation if some volunteers from our church would be able to help them pack any amount of the 80,000 Christmas bags they put together annually for poor children.  We set up a meeting with our Public Affairs director Haidi Fajardo thinking we were making an introduction that would lead to future meetings and possible help with the project.  Well, we took Roger to Haidi's conference room where he explained his needs.  Then we watched as Haidi made phone calls, organized an event with 100 volunteers, arranged for the use of a church building and committed to have 30,000 kits put together by the weekend.  Our meeting was on Tuesday.  Product was delivered to the church by GMA Kapuso on Wednesday and the kits were started that afternoon.  Thursday, missionaries were called in by the Quezon City Mission President and along with the helping hands volunteers they put together 13,000 kits in one day. 

Then the Typhoon hit in Northern Luzon.  All GMA trucks were commissioned to take relief supplies to the north.  Our office sent two full time employees to assess the damage and begin food relief.  However, the kits for children continued to be filled by the volunteers working at the church.  With no trucks to haul the bags to a GMA storage unit the church began to fill.  The gym was so full of bags it made working to put them together difficult because there was no place for the assembly.  The bags were moved to class rooms downstairs.  Police from a local barangay were there helping the missionaries to move the bags. 

Finally, on Friday GMA began sending smaller trucks to transport the bags to another location. Again the police, missionaries and helping hands volunteers lined up and down the hallways and stairways and passed the sacks of bags down a line and into the truck.  Ten of the gift bags had been loaded into a large gunny-sack kind of bag. And those larger bags were stacked everywhere in the church.  One by one the large bags were loaded in truck after truck until Saturday afternoon the last bag was loaded.  Sister Webb was in the bag line moving the filled sacks along while Elder Webb tried to work out the logistics of the trucks.  It took nearly a week, but the good people volunteering did not complain or sit down on the job.  They were great.  And best of all, the church officials who had to deal with activities and such (around the bags!) were cooperative and willing to help!

The next week brought Family Day at the office.  The first ever.  The H.R. department had been given the assignment to bring some fun and unity into the Area Office.  So the idea of a Halloween spinoff showed up and the staff ran with it.  Such impressive displays of Disney themes!  It was great fun. 

Along with those two events we have two water projects we are just about ready to submit and another order of chairs that are to be delivered to several schools.  

Elder and Sister Webb are heading over to the warehouse to count out the screws and bolts that go to each school to assemble the chairs.  Two hundred chairs here, two hundred chairs there.  That’s a lot of screws and bolts.

Sister Webb is planning the Welfare Training Conference, and Elder Webb is getting ready for the new Senior Missionaries who will be here the first part of November.  They are experiencing some of the same anxiety most missionaries feel before they come here.  16 months seems like a life time ago in some respects, but we totally remember how we felt.  It is nice to be able to ease their minds, with information and truth, rather than rumor and imagination.   The missionaries we replaced were long gone when we arrived, so there was no one to answer our questions.  It took us longer than it needed too, to get things comfortable.  Heck, we are still learning new things but we know more than we did when we got here!

Halloween decorations made from cardboard boxes; very creative ideas came up during this week of fun.  WE loved seeing how simple material turned into wonderful  professional looking characters

We were in a meeting with the Area President the other day and he turned to Elder Webb and asked him if he was having a good time on his mission.  Some people struggle.  Elder Webb seems to have a good time no matter where he goes. Even in the Manila traffic.  He has a continuing conversation with the other drivers.  This seems to help him release stress and he arrive at his destination happy.  Sister Webb has finally realized that he is not expecting her to respond to his dialogue or even help in navigation.  He has his own way of surviving. For a long time she actually thought she was helping and then she realized he most likely had never heard her response.  

We had FHE potluck last week with the Senior Couples.  WE played Mormon Jeopardy with the Stewarts (MTC dental office couple) leading the game.  With the help of a handicapped computer connection the game took a humorous twist and we all laughed as Sister Stewart worked with the computer malfunctions and Elder Stewart responded like a straight man.  We laughed and laughed.  It was great therapy.  We look forward to playing the game with family when we get home. 

We also had a going away dinner at 8cuts (a burger joint) for the Hilliers.  They have served as the MTC nurses and have done a fabulous job.  It is hard to say good bye.

Elder and Sister Webb with the Gokeeloas

This beef and broccoli was so yummy.

Friday night we had dinner at the Lucky China Mall with our partner Iris from the Purple Centers Foundation. After finding a place to park our car we walked through an open market.  We asked directions to find the Lucky China Mall, our meeting place. There were no doors so we just continued to veer right.  WE found the Mall decorated for Christmas.  It looked like a wonderland.

Fabulous decoration every where.  

Christmas wreath

When we came out after dinner it was like the twilight zone.  Nothing looked the same.  All the shoppes were closed and the garage type doors pulled down and locked.  This is the open market not the Mall.  We had trouble locating our car because we had walked through the open market.  Fortunately Iris and her husband know their way around and together we were able to relocate our car. This after we walked down dark alley ways filled with garbage sacks and people curling up for the night. We took Iris and Vincent to a street close to their home and they pointed us in the direction of Aurora Blvd.  They texted us about 5 time to make sure we were on the right path home.  They are really great people.  We arrived home about 11:30 pm.  

As you can see we do have fun on our mission.  We love the variety the Lord has chosen as our mission experience.  We feel his guidance in all aspects of our work.  He gives us instruction.  He provides people to help us learn what we need to know so we can do the work that is waiting to be done.  We feel his love as he allows us to reach out and touch the lives of those in need.  He loves all his children and trust he is watching over and caring for you.

We love and miss you all,

Elder and Sister Webb
Mom and Dad
Gma and Gpa
Norriss and Carol 

October 10, 2016

Dear Ones,

We can't believe how fast the days are flying by and how the needs of the poor seem to be increasing at an alarming rate. Maybe it is just that we no longer search for them: they come to us.   I think I was feeling a little overwhelmed last week – the emotions of a single day still linger.  We visited the Smokey Mountain neighborhood again (the garbage dump).  

Family store front mentioned in this post.  

I saw a little family the children of which were playing in front of a caged space that was about 5 feet by 7 feet.  The street side of the cage was covered in metal fencing in 2 inch squares.  It looked a lot like Samson's kennel.  A small opening in the front was for the exchange of money.  The mother sat inside the cage (her make shift store) while her children played in the street in front of her home. She sold penny candy and other supplies to the neighbors. She had a set of triplets as well as other children but it was the triplets that grabbed my heart. It is a miracle they have survived. They were 3, maybe 4.  It's hard to tell because malnourished children are generally stunted in growth.  These boys were naked, just playing in the street.  They were beautiful children.  Their expressive eyes held my attention for the longest time, then they were back to the important stuff of play.  I looked but could not see what had captured their attention, what occupied their time.  There was nothing but dirt and rock but they were busy creating something .  .  .  out of nothing. 

Soup kitchen and training center for mothers of malnourished children

Just a couple of shacks away from this family's home I saw another mother cooking over a small fire.  She had a wok filled with boiling oil (which no doubt is never changed) and she was frying food that had been reclaimed from the garbage; food that other people had half eaten.  She was re frying chicken wrapped in KFC papers and boxes. I could see where other people had eaten what they wanted and left a few scraps.  There were several of these boxes with chicken pieces and left over rice. It would feed her children for that day. No fresh fruit, no veggie, no fresh anything.

Man carrying his bag of garbage treasure.

This scene has haunted me for the past week.  Up until last week the Lord has helped me see the good things that are happening in these communities.  I have not been overcome or shocked and repulsed by the smells and scenes from Dickens-style pictures of poverty.  This time my heart ached and I felt to cry for them.  Not with them because none of them were crying, but for them.  

River front property.

I wonder about these children what hope they have?  Then .  .  .  I remembered the Purple Center Foundation just down the street.  These good people are actually doing something. They are a Christian-based organization that has reached out to this community.  They will be one of our partners and LDS Charities will contribute to helping feed wasted school children. 

These men with Elder Webb are rebuilding the old school space.  They are floating the floor because the ground floods every time it rains.
Behind this gated door and wall is a maze the old space being resurrected .  Part of the space will be a new Christian church. The first in this neighborhood.

 Many of the children from this very neighborhood are going to the Purple Center school, and yes, it is a PURPLE four story building that stands out big time.  They get food two times a day and are in classes that would come close to reaching the quality of those in the talented and gifted program of Lake Oswego, Oregon.  Large corporations have stepped up to the plate and donated supplies and electronics (the latest styles or product line) to the school – including the ocean shipping containers that have become part of the classroom itself.  

The side of the Purple Center's School looking out on the sewer treatment plant

students from purple centers sitting on the edge of the basketball/ play area

The kids are dressed in uniforms and they play happily on the indoor basketball court just like kids from your neighborhood.  It is harder to get people to help with the feeding program, there is no flair, no pizzazz in food to attract sponsors.   Yet, the children cannot learn if their brains are not nourished. We are hoping LDS Charities will contribute and help solve part of this problem.  There are two ways to go about it.  One is just giving rice, which is a short term solution.  The other possibility is a community garden on the school property where they can grow fresh veggies for the school and community food program.  The garden could be part of the science curriculum as well as community outreach.  It is not a huge space but it is enough for a good sized garden. That will take time to develop but it would give them a sustainable source of food. It is the Lord that is guiding this process.  It is He who will heal these people and bring them out of poverty.

hugs from the school children

Of course there are many issues that come up in working in a community like this.  One problem is that not all parents will allow their children to go to school.  They do not see the importance of education because their whole lives have been spent on the garbage piles.  It's all they know.  Their children work beside them in the garbage.  Change is difficult and the fear that many people feel with change is real and can be a controlling factor. The woman with the children I mentioned earlier is going to allow the triplets to go to a preschool the Purple Centers Foundation has set up in their Barangay.  That is pretty big. The children who are allowed to go to school, will have a chance of breaking this cycle of poverty that is generations old.

scrap metal become a child's playground

So I find myself thinking about these people a lot. I try to see the good in these neighborhoods.  I know this is a dangerous place.  The garbage recycle industry is run by a mafia.  They set the prices for the recycled garbage and decide who will collect what. The average worker makes about $2.50 a day.  There are drug issues and incest abounds.  Killings are part of everyday life.  Still they are working, not just sitting around complaining, waiting for a hand out.  There are no entitlements.  They do have a code of ethics and they hold people accountable, but it is vigilante justice. It is their form of government.  It is the tradition of their fathers. A first world country would say they live in a state of chaos. They do, but is organized chaos.  It reminds me of scenes we read about in the Book of Mormon of secret combinations. 

This is home 

This is an adventure we never would have chosen, but I am grateful that my eyes have been opened to this kind of living –  worldwide this includes more people than live in the United States.  By the way, we have no poor in the U.S.  No one need starve to death in the U.S. There are soup kitchens and public aid that these Filipino people would think was first class living.   Here people go to bed and do not wake up because they have nothing to eat.   

With three months left we are looking forward to warm hugs, cool water from a faucet from which we can drink, fruit we can eat and beef that taste like beef.  We have learned ground beef, depending where one is shopping, is not always just beef; some also contain dog, goat or pig.  Elder Webb wants fish dinners that do not look back at the diner. I look forward to sleeping without ear plugs and blinders because of the noise and lights from C5; a major thorough-fare that runs in front of the complex in which we live.   These are simple pleasures for which we will be even more grateful.

We have committed to keeping full steam ahead until we leave, but home has begun to beckon us with stronger emotions.

The Philippines is a relatively young nation.  The Church here is also young, but it is growing at a fast pace with amazing people who love the Lord joining the ranks.  We feel grateful we have had a chance to work with some of them.  We are humbled by their dedication.  We too  love the Lord and can testify of His tender mercies in our loves and the lives of those with whom we work. 

May God bless and keep you.

Love,

Elder and Sister Webb

Mom and Dad

Gma and Gpa

Carol and Norriss