How Old Do You Think I Am?

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Birthdays in the mission field are a treat.  We had cake three days this week, and President Craig felt very loved.  We have been chuckling all week, however, as one of the missionaries thought he was turning 70!  I remember the days in my early 20's when I thought that 50 was old... We quickly let him know that 70 was still a long ways off!

Delicious cake from the Sisters in Tuguegarao, complete with birthday hats!

Birthday wishes and treats from the Elders in Santiago
Cake and breakfast from the Sisters in Solano

Surprise birthday dinner and T-shirts!

LOL!
Everyone loves to get T-shirts made here.  There are shops everywhere that print whatever you want on a shirt, and they are relatively cheap as well.





It was good to drive around a bit this week and see the beauty of nature.  I love the green and the farms and the cycle of the crops.  It helps to see that life goes on, even though we feel like we are at a stand-still most days with the quarantine that seems like it will never end.






Other than his birthday, the highlight of Kipp's week was a haircut.  Haircuts here are not a simple procedure like they are in Canada.  In Canada, a haircut for Kipp takes 2 minutes, 3 if the barber is new (there isn't a lot of hair there).  Here, it is a 20 minute event (they are truly artists) that ends in a scalp, neck and back massage. The cost of this true experience is about $1.20 USD.  I think sometimes Kipp goes just for the massage.  

Most days it is about 100 degrees F with about 100 percent humidity, but in spite of the heat it is just great to be here and to be a part of this great work.

In our video conference Devotional this afternoon, we had some of the missionaries share what they have learned through this quarantine experience that will bless them for the rest of their lives.  I am so proud of them.  They are, for the most part, diligent and faithful to their call.  They have learned that although the work is different because they can't go out to work, they can still work.  They have found joy in teaching using new methods that they never would have thought possible before.  They have found joy in the extra time they have to study and learn.  They have learned patience, and to trust the will of God.  One Elder expressed his anger at first at the proselyting time he was losing.  He felt he could not fulfill his missionary purpose to the fullest; he could not go out and teach.  He prayed for help, and has come to realize that he needs to trust in the Lord's timetable, to get out of the way and watch for His arm to be revealed.  I, too, have stopped worrying over the things that might have been, and started to look for the good in what is.  I have come to know better than I did before that this truly is not about us.  We are just on the Lord's errand, and He will not fail.

I have come to love and more fully appreciate the scripture, "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." D&C 123:17

As we stand still, we are learning to watch for His work to be accomplished in our lives, in the lives of our children, and in the lives of the missionaries.  We are grateful for His goodness.

Yes, my legs are still so white, even after 11 months of wearing a dress every day in the tropics...
There really is no pigment in them.
The Filipinos all want their skin to be whiter, and I want mine to be darker.
Such a strange world.

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