The Brother of Jared

Jared and The Brother of Jared

Our office phone line was down this week and these two brothers from Facilities Management came to track down the problem. The one on the left is Jared which means that the one on the right is the 'Brother of Jared'. They both laughed when we told them that.  His name is Himni and he is one of a set of triplets with brothers Ammon and Omner. We didn't ask if their Father's name is Mosiah but maybe we will next time we see them. They were able to track down our phone problem to an area outside by the church building where rats had chewed on the wiring, got one of our lines working again and said they would be back to replace the bad wires.

Mandatory missionary group picture

Zone Conferences were this week. We have ten zones in the mission so President and Sister Tanner and the two Assistants met with two zones each day for five days. Considering that four of the zones are on another island about four hours away by ferry and that they also had to prepare for transfers next week, it was a pretty grueling schedule for them. Of course, their schedule gruels every week.

It is unthinkable to have missionaries meet without taking a group picture. The one above is of the Lilo-an and Consolacion Zones with President and Sister Tanner, the Assistants to the President and an unnamed senior couple. 

Sister X, Sister Espanola, Sister Palo

Speaking of pictures and the unnamed couple... One of them doesn't like having their picture taken and the other one takes most of the pictures which creates a little bit of tension from time to time. Sister Espanola and Sister Palo thought it was funny though.  We had the opportunity to take them to the local hospital for a check up and had some time to get to know them. Sister Espanola's brother also served in the Cebu East Mission. He was here when it split off from the Cebu Mission almost three years ago. Sister Palo's brother is currently serving in the Washington Federal Way Mission which includes the area in Washington where the unnamed senior couple grew up. An interesting bit of trivia is that the Federal Way Mission was created at the same time as the Cebu East Mission - in July of 2013.

Pediatrician's Office

Cardiologist's Office

Taking missionaries to the doctor here means either a trip to the emergency room, if it is after hours, or to the doctor's office at the hospital if it is during office hours. They do not make appointments but usually see patients in the order they arrive. An office visit will typically run around 400 pesos (about $9).

Technology is such a blessing and a curse. When it works it allows us to keep in touch with family and friends literally half a world away. When it doesn't it can be a trial of our patience and long suffering. On Wednesday (Thursday morning here) we had plans to watch as our grand daughter, Janica, received a proposal of marriage. We were given a heads-up about the planned time and place of proposal and were hoping to be there by Skype. Unfortunately, the internet service to the mission office has been up and down lately and Thursday morning was mostly down. We were able to connect just long enough to talk briefly with Janica and see the ring. Remember those rats and chewed phone lines that were mentioned earlier. We blame it on them.

Colton and Janica, witnessed by Joseph Smith

Even though we weren't there for the actual proposal we have been able to watch the video of the event and the two people who needed to be there were. We were able to meet Colton and had dinner with him and Janica just before we left in September. Obviously he has good taste in rings and fiances and we are happy and excited for both.