December 25 - Merry Christmas

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope you all have a very nice Christmas.

We we've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks so we haven't written. Because our work in ICS is light right now, I've (Sister Tucker) started working in the dental clinic at the MTC a few hours each morning. It's nice to find more ways to contribute here.

Elder Tucker and I were blessed to be able to go to the MTC to do some caroling on Friday night. The new group of missionaries arrived on Tuesday instead of Friday last week. It was nice they could arrive a few days early and get settled before Christmas Day. The MTC president and his wife have planned some great activities this weekend to bring the spirit of Christmas to the elders and sisters. They have had special decorations in the cafeteria and special meals are planned. While caroling, we took a little gift and a special personal reading list for the missionaries. For Christmas Eve they had a special devotional with the Area Presidency and included music the elders and sisters prepared. Today, Christmas Day, they have arranged a service project (assembling hygiene kits) that we get to help with and a fun program and each missionary got a filled stocking. It has been sweet to be invited to help with the missionaries at this special time of year. Their light and enthusiasm warms our hearts.

During this past week there has been an increase in the number of children and families in the street (literally in the streets) asking for money. They come into the street between the lines of cars at stop lights and when traffic is heavy. We have been told that they are brought in from the country areas the week before Christmas and the ones who bring them get a cut of the money they bring in. We have also been cautioned not to give them money. We decided to do something a little different. We packed some ziploc bags with food - a drink, chips, vienna sausages, small pouches of cheez whiz, cookies and crackers - and we handed those out. It is fun to see their faces when they get food, we think they get to keep the food they get. One little boy did a happy dance as he left our car with his bag. It didn't feel right to take their pictures so I don't have a picture of that but I am including a picture of a stop light. If you look closely, you will see it is in the shape of a star. The green light is in the shape of a Christmas Tree but when the light is green, we do not slow down so no pic of that.

I've also included a picture of a nativity in a display in one of the shop windows near us. I thought the sign was sweet. you may have to enlarge the picture to read the sign.

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7. Like you, we have been reading more about Christ in the scriptures this month. It is hard to grasp the enormity of who our Savior is and all he has done for us. His time on earth began like all of our lives, as a baby. He was born in very humble circumstances. He learned line upon line. He loved and healed and served and taught. He felt our pains and our joys. He died that we might all live again. He is our light, our Redeemer, our brother, our friend. He made it possible for us to return to our heavenly home. Now it is up to us to do our part. May we each determine to become more like our Savior during the coming year. That will be our gift to Him...and to ourselves for we will be better for it.

Love,
The Tuckers

December 10 - Light the World

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope you are well and finding the joy this season can bring. "Light the World" is such a great way to help us remember Christ and all he is and was as well as encourage us to follow His example. I love the short videos and challenges on Mormon.org. The lights on the Philippine Temple grounds were lit on Friday (picture) - they are another light in our world this Christmas season.

We had a special Christmas devotional last week. The Area Presidency did a program with many beautiful musical numbers and Pres. Bowan shared an inspirational Christmas message. Each department was asked to prepare a song for the second part of the program. Our manager chose one that I love called,"Christmas in Our Hearts" I had never heard it before. It is a beautiful song with a beautiful message. Listen to it here:

Our assistant in Davao invited us to come and help with a training he had last week. Davao is in an area which hasn’t had non-native missionaries there for quite some time. The members there treated us so kindly. We could feel the power and responsibility that wearing the missionary name tag represents. The meetings there went well with a great turnout. 30 were expected and about 60 actually came. It was great to have so many there. Afterward we were able to drive around Davao with a driver and a few of our new friends. We stopped and had a drink of fresh young coconut water called “buko”. After the liquid is gone, the man cuts open the coconut and we ate some of the young coconut meat which is nothing like the dried coconut we get in the U. S. The next day we went to church and again were so warmly received. We both were able to teach and bear our testimonies at the training and in Sacrament meeting. The Lord truely does help us beyond our natural abilities when we are in His service. A member family invited us to their house for dinner after church. I have to say they served the best Filipino food I've tasted! The sister made a pork roast called Hamonada that was amazing - so good! She also served a chicken and vegetable dish called Afritada that was delicious. She had a lovely fresh salad and fresh fruit and of course there was rice. Everyone we met was so very kind - it is easy to love these wonderful people.

As we were reading the scriptures together last night in 2 Nephi 32:3- "....I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry." I felt a sweet witness from the spirit that what Nephi wrote was true. God does hear our all of our prayers. There are so many things in this world that we individually have no control over. We cannot control others-their attitudes or actions or words- only ourselves and we can choose to have faith that God will take care of all of our loved ones (and us) in ways we may not even be able to imagine. He is a loving Heavenly Father and knows how to help and comfort us perfectly. Sometimes I want to fix things in my human way yet find that if I wait, God has a much better plan than I could imagine - it isn't aslways without pain but it is always right and sometimes a lovely surprise!

Much Love,
Elder and Sister Tucker

November 28 - Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings! It seems so strange to be in a place so warm and green for the holidays - no freezing temperatures or snow. We love seeing all the decorations that are going up.

We have enjoyed being Pathway missionaries. There are gatherings every week that the students lead, we're just there to facilitate. This semester the lessons have all been about Life Skills. The students love having a religious basis to their learning. They have scriptures and a hymn that goes with every lesson and the lessons are filled with quotes from church leaders. It has been good to see how Pathway works. We recommend it to anyone who is considering it.

Thanksgiving was interesting this year. I think getting together with family on Thanksgiving has gotten into our DNA. :) It isn't a holiday they celebrate here so we were on our own. Actually the senior missionaries had a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday but we were due to be at a meeting about 3 1/2 hours away on that day so we had our Thanksgiving dinner at Outback on Thursday night. Kent had ribs and coconut shrimp and I had salmon. It just wasn't the same but it was a celebration.:) We had a really good experience at our meeting. Kent did the presentation and I was able to bear my testimony. One sweet sister made us a plate of food after the Senior Thanksgiving meal and gave it to us the next day. When I opened it and saw the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables and pie, I felt for a minute that we had been transported to the U.S for dinner. It was great.  Don't get me wrong, we have found food here that is really good but that holiday meal was special. 

On the last Senior Missionary outing, we went to a village south of Manila called Paete, where they are known for their many wood carvers. We saw some beautiful work. We were even able to see one family's workshop. It is an area outside their home that they have covered with tarps. They have only a couple of power tools that they use to cut the big logs, everything else is done by hand. (Pictures of his shop, him working and some finished products). We also had our first tricycle ride there (pic of me and the driver) - needless to say, they are made for smaller people than we are. We have seen 9 Filipinos on one of these but they also ride behind the driver so not all are inside. I've included a picture of a street corner church (there is a church inside the ironwork with an alter and benches) and a sarisari store (they have little stores here where the people go buy things they need that day. They don't go in the store, just buy what they need at the window. Most sarisari stores are about this size.)

While we were at our meeting on Saturday, the priesthood leader shared a thought about 1 Nephi 18:1. I've read it many times before but he pointed out the fact that Nephi was not a shipbuilder, he had been a hunter since leaving Jerusalem. The scripture says that'"the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship." When I've read that part in the past, I've thought about how the Lord can show us how to do things we don't know how to do but this leader emphasized "from time to time". Nephi didn't know everything all at once but received guidance a little at a time. So many times I have wanted to know how things were going to turn out, I wanted the whole picture before I began but often, we need to get started and receive inspiration and guidance as we go along. It was a good lesson for me and has been confirmed many times as we have learned what we are supposed to do on our mission.

We love you. Your prayers and support have strengthened us many times.

Love,
The Tuckers

November 17 - Hello

Dear Family,

Hello!

We loved our trip to 100 Islands. The first day there we hired a boat for the day. The boatman would take us to different islands and wait for us while we explored. We ziplined between islands, snorkled, did a helmet dive, had a picnic (some places only sell Filipino food so we brought peanut butter and honey). The day was perfect! The water was just right for snorkeling - not cold at all! We saw a couple of giant fruit bats flying - they are as big as a good-sized hawk. There is a huge statue of Christ on one of the islands.

Our second day there, we went to a beautiful waterfall. The picture doesn't show all it's beauty. There were smaller pools cascading down the ravine that were so pretty but I wasn't able to get a picture of them. The really nice part was that the water is refreshing, not cold. The waterfall is on private land and was just opened to the public two weeks ago.

Now that our AATS Conference, we are settling into a schedule during our days.I am spending half of every day in the dental clinic while Dad works on our technology business. I have been organizing records and labeling/organizing the dental inventory. I'm learning about burs, paper points and all kinds of things. I help with panoramic x-rays on missionary intake days. Today I was asked if I would like to learn how to be a dental assistant. I figured I might as well, I enjoy all opportunities to learn. I just hope I can learn quickly and actually be of help to the dentists. I hear it's a pretty steep learning curve. :)

Just so you know, we won't be able to mail Christmas presents to you this year. We are buying some little treasures that we will bring for you when we come home. We have found a few things here that we haven't seen anywhere else so we have started a collection.

You are always in our thoughts. We hope you will call us on the holidays when you are available. Our Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here so it will just be another day in our schedule. I know we get Christmas and New Year's day off but we're not sure about any of the other days.

We love you and miss you.

Love,
Mom and Dad
XXXO

#1 Waterfall

#2 Zipline

#3Some islands

#4 The bat is flying above the tree

#5 that is Turtle Island on the left

November 16 - Thank You Pres. Trump

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello!

This past week the Area Office was closed for three days because of the ASEAN Summit (Association of South East Asian Nations). Almost all of Manila has the day off because of the traffic and security. There are really no "alternate routes" for some of the streets. So we went with two of the Area Office couples on an excursion to visit 100 Islands National Park. Our choices were to have an adventure outside Manila or sit in our apartments for 3 days. I couldn't decide whether I should admit that or just not write for two weeks. Not every missionary couple has this kind of opportunity and we are grateful to have a chance to see more of the Philippines. We have heard about how beautiful this country is but having spent most of our time in the city, we just haven't seen it. We saw some very beautiful places on this trip - the Philippines really is a land of many sights to inspire.

The beautiful things we saw reminded me of a truth that the world denies or tries to explain with a "Big Bang" theory or other theories. I am grateful to know that the heavens and earth were created by God and not a random happening. 3 Nephi 9:15 -"Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are..."

I will close with a scripture that I love and yet too often forget to heed. Philippians 4:8-"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." I love this reminder from Paul that we need to look at the good around us. I do not deny there are troubles and problems but I know if we focus on the good, we will be better, we will see the good in others and feel the peace of God.

Warmly,
The Tuckers

November 7 - Conference

Hello Family and Friends,

We had a really nice conference with 12 of our 15 AATS last week. We were very happy that so many could join us. It was great to have one of the Area Presidency as well as the DTA each give devotional talks for our conference. There were a few snafus but I learned a long time ago that when planning any activity from wedding receptions to conferences, if you plan on something going wrong, which it always does, you are better prepared to handle it because in your mind, you've allowed for it.

Pres. Haynie from the Area Presidency shared some statistics about the Philippines that I thought were very interesting. The Philippines ranks 4th in LDS population in the world. The U.S, Mexico and Brazil are 1,2,and 3. Out of 156 functioning temples, Manila is the 3rd highest for live sealings. 70% of the people in Asia who attend Sacrament Meeting are in the Philippines. That number does not include the Filipinos who are working in other countries (there are many families here whose primary income is from a family member working outside the Philippines). His main message however, was encouraging each of us to ask ourselves, "What can we do to help thr rising generation?" The younger generation today doesn't remember a time without electronic devices. He shared with us Elder Ballard's statement that we should "Make technology your servant, not your master." Technology is such a great blessing but it has many challenges associated with it. It can be both good and bad depending on how we use it but it seems to be the language of the rising generation so we need to help them to learn how to use it for good. The following quote was also shared with us. every time I hear it, I feel a witness that it is true and am grateful to live in such a time as this.

“I maintain that had there been no restoration of the gospel, and no organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there would have been no radio; there would have been no airplane, and there would not have been the wonderful discoveries in medicine, chemistry, electricity, and the many other things wherein the world has been benefited by such discoveries. Under such conditions these blessings would have been withheld, for they belong to the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times." 

Joseph Fielding Smith Oct 1926

This time I am including a pictures from our AATS who attended the conference as well as pictures from a zoo we visited with two other missionary couples on our day off. The zoo is built in an area where there are bunkers from WWII. They have used the bunkers for shelters, exhibits, shops and storage.

A little explanation about the bunker picture - it includes some locals in front of the bunker. Yes, the woman just has a cloth on her head - they wear cloths on their heads a lot. Often they will tuck a cloth (small towel or washcloth or bandanna or whatever) into the back collar of their shirts. All just evidence of how hot it is here, sweating is a problem and they want to protect themselves from the sun.

The crocodiles are being fed pieces of chicken. You can buy a piece of chicken for $4, they give it to you attached to a string on a pole, then you dangle the chicken until you get it low enough that one of those bad boys will jump up and get it. The walkway above the crocs is made of a heavy metal with high mesh fence sides. :)...just don't lean over too far!

All our best to you,
The Tuckers

October 29 - Visitors

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings!

We didn't write last week because we were blessed to have our daughter, Tiffani, and her family come to visit us. We spent all the time we could with them so our letter is delayed. All our pictures this week are taken during our time spent with them because those are the funnest things we did this week. We really enjoyed our visit to a place called "In Art Island" in Quezon City. I think that was our top rated activity, bowling was probably our next favorite. I won't label the pictures because you can tell the difference between the two. :)

This is the week we've been making final preparations for the conference we've been planning the past couple of months. Our AATS will be coming to the Area Office on Thursday and the conference will continues until Saturday. One of the things we've planned for them is a session at the temple. Most of them look forward to our conference so they can have time at the temple. Travel is so expensive that it prohibits them from attending very often. As we talked to our co-workers about some of the details for the conference, we found out that most Filipinos do not have temple clothes. The more I learn about life in the Philippines, the more I realize just how much I take for granted having lived in the U.S. all my life. Today I am especially grateful for temples within traveling distance, comfortable cars to travel in, and temple clothes that patrons can rent at the temple. Temple patron housing is across the street from the temple. What a blessing that is that the members can stay there during the time of their temple service. It provides a place to sleep, eat, change and bathe before going to the temple. It isn't air-conditioned but that doesn't matter at all to them.

2 Nephi 9:52 -"Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God: pray unto him continually by day and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.

Love, The Tuckers

ps. I just realized that I didn't send this last week as I planned - oops!

October 13 - Details

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello!

We've been busily working on details for our upcoming conference this week. I think by default, Kent got the teaching part and I got the details like: food, hotel, emails, making sure fights were scheduled and getting acquainted activities. Somehow when I type that list, it doesn't seem like I was very busy but the time seems to have been gobbled up with the details.

There really isn't a lot more to write this week so I won't drag this on. I do want to share a picture of some shoes I saw at the mall last week. I also want to express my gratitude for a wonderful General Conference this month. What a joy it is to hear from apostles and prophets speaking to us and the challenges we face today. Every talk carried such a sweet spirit of love for our Heavenly Father, our Savior and all of our brothers and sisters on this earth and beyond. What a grand spiritual feast we had and look forward to enjoying again and again. In honor of dear Elder Hales, I end with the 3 sentences Elder Anderson shared with us that would have been part of Elder Hales' talk:" When we choose to have faith, we are prepared to stand in the presence of God. ...After the Savior's Crucifixion, He appeared only to those 'who had been faithful in the testimony of (Him) while they lived in mortality.' Those 'who rejected the testimonies...of the...prophets (could not) behold (the Savior's) presence, nor look upon his face.'...Our faith prepares us to be in the presence of the Lord."

We love you all,
The Tuckers

October 6 - Clark

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Fall to you!!! No Fall here, still the rainy season.

This past weekend we went on an outing with the senior missionaries to what used to be Clark Air Force Base. The Philippines did not renew the lease with the U.S. military in 1992 so the military left and the land returned to the Filipino people. There is a lot of the original military housing but new buildings are being built too. One of the big businesses there is 'Call Centers'. There are 3 major ones there but I can only remember two - aol.com and T-mobile. There are 2 big hotels Hilton and Marriott being built there and a water park that is huge and looks like it will be tons of fun when it is finished. One of the missionaries in our group had been stationed at Clark during the Vietnam war and he said it looked nothing like when he was there. It was nice to be there and see the place where some of our friends has spent time while they were serving in the military and on missions.

While we were at Clark, we had a traditional Filipino meal. Some of the senior missionaries here have never had Filipino food so they were surprised by the menu. I'm including a picture of our meal. It actually looks pretty good. I'd tell you what everything is except the names of the dishes are all in Tagalog so that wouldn't help. Basically we had rice, talapia, pork stew, vegetables in sauce, mustard leaves, fermented rice and shrimp paste as condiments and for dessert ice cream with taro root and cheese. This was our fist time trying the fish. Mostly they cook them whole here and I have a hard time eating a fish that is looking at me but this one had been cooked with some kind of breading on it so I couldn't see the eyes. Most Filipinos think the head is the best part. It was pretty good once I got past the outside of the fish. :) I'm also sending a picture of the cute native Filipino server that we had at the restaurant with one of the other missionaries. She is a descendant of the Aetas, an indigenous Filipino group in the area.

Our Conference watching schedule is really different here. Our scheduled week to watch is this weekend. We can go to the church but most people have good enough internet connection to be able to watch it at home. We have been listening to talks one at a time but I miss the sweet spirit that seems to increase as the meetings go on so we are going to watch on the internet on Saturday and Sunday and pretend it is happening live. There is something about the full experience with announcements, music, talks, and prayers that enriches the experience that I don't feel when we listen to the talks separately.

I will close with something that touched my heart while I was reading in Moroni 8:3 today. Some of Moroni's parting words to his son are words I believe many parents pray for their own children. "I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end."

Love,
The Tuckers

I have also included a picture of the latest "activity" at our mall. We were not able to attend so I cannot explain. :)

September 25 - Planning

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! We hope you are all doing well. We have heard about fires and storms and earthquakes in our country and hope you are safe.

We have had a busy week. We are in charge of an area wide conference for the Assistant Area Technology Specialists in the Philippines. That sounds really big but there are only about 14 attending so it won't be a huge gathering but big or small, there are a lot of details to be taken care of. Besides figuring out the hotel, conference room, travel and meals, there are also the workshops and speakers to arrange and prepare for. The past few weeks we have been working on our proposal but things got put on hold for a couple of weeks while Elder Anderson was here. Most of the management of the area office were involved in meeting with him. So we finally got our approval and we can move forward. Besides the obvious things, there are cultural things to remember. For instance, I was trying to figure out meals with a nearby caterer and had a Filipino employee who had a lot of experience with that caterer helping me choose the menu. After I sent the list to the caterers, I realized that I had forgotten to list rice on one of the lunches. I got teased by the Filipinos in our office about that because no matter what you have for a meal here, if it doesn't include rice, it's just a snack. Fortunately I haven't sent in the final request so I can still fix my error.

We have been meeting with some area seventies to help encourage them to encourage the stake presidents in their area to call technology assistants. We met with one on Thursday afternoon and he invited us to his council meeting in Legazpi (in southern Luzon) on Saturday morning. We were able to make arrangements and left on Friday. Kent did a great job presenting our purposes and how we can help. It really helps to meet face to face with the leaders to enlist their assistance and help them understand that what we are asking really will benefit their stakes and be a big help to them. One of Legazpi's "claims to fame" is the Myon Volcano, a huge volcano that just rises up out of the ground - no other mountains around it. It is famous because it is a perfect cone - symmetrical from every angle. I'm including a picture we took from the airport as we were waiting for our flight back to Manila. There seemed to be a little smoke coming out of the top but nothing to be worried about.:) The other picture is of the city of Legazpi. Isn't this a beautiful city?

Lately I've been thinking about how important hope is in our lives. It brings us joy, sheds light on dark days, and leads us to rejoice in the goodness of a loving Heavenly Father who has blessed us with the Plan of Happiness that anchors us to Him and His Son. Ether 12:4:"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being let to glorify God." How very important it is to have this anchor to our souls! When our personal ships are tossed that anchor will hold us steady and keep us spiritually safe. I am so grateful for a loving God who watches over us, provides learning opportunities for us, helps us,cares for us, and blesses us.


Have a great week!

Love,
The Tuckers

September 15 - Philippines 100th Stake Celebration

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello!

Our news this week all centers around Elder Anderson's visit to the Philippines. It has been an honor to be here while he, Pres. Soares (President of the Seventies) and their wives have been here. They began their visit by attending the 100th Stake Celebration cultural performance on Saturday night. Elder Anderson gave closing remarks at the end of the performance. The next day, he presided at the multi stake conference where the 100th Stake was formed and the new stake presidency was sustained. We saw him again on Wednesday when both he and Pres. Soares spoke at a devotional for the Area Office Employees. Thursday night we were invited to a devotional for the missionaries at the MTC. Elder Anderson came to the meeting early and shook hands with every missionary. He spoke for a while,encouraging us to read the Book of Mormon (among other things). He then invited his wife to speak and he would address us again following her remarks. Usually the wives speak first then the apostle will speak last. It was so sweet to hear from his wife. She told us that she had heard him talk many times but this talk was different. She reviewed his talk and shared what she noticed that was different, what the spirit knew we needed to know, and she bore witness of her husband's apostolic calling. Elder Anderson followed with his witness of our Savior. It was such a great meeting. 

Elder Anderson was able to be more personal and relaxed with the missionaries and the area office. He has a fun way of relating to the crowd when it isn't a formal setting. We are amazed at his energy and ability to speak so many times in the course of his week here. Besides the meetings I already wrote about, he has had meetings with area managers,will dedicate the newly built addition to the MTC tomorrow, and preside at another stake conference on Sunday - and those are just the things we know about

Elder Anderson asked us all to make note and remember Alma 26:27" Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." He told us that when, not if, things happen that make us take a deep breath and cause us to say "what have I gotten myself into?", we need to go to God in prayer and petition his help and then carry on and patiently wait for Him to help - and He will help.He talked about being a mission president in France and seeing some of the challenges the missionaries there faced. He said he prayed for them often,asking how he could help solve the problems. His answer was that he could not but God could. No one else can give you comfort like God can. (He said this much better than I just did).

What a blessing to have prophets and apostles in our midst today! They are witnesses of our Savior in our day. We are so very much grateful for all our leaders for their love and dedication to the Lord's service and for all their service to minister to us.

We love you all,
The Tuckers

The cultural performance grand finale. The children in yellow on the front row did a dance called Itik Itik - the duck dance. It was so cute!

Elder Anderson greeting the crowd.

Elder Anderson with the missionaries at the MTC

September 8 - Kent Had a Birthday Shout Hooray!

Dear Family and Friends,

We stayed in Manila all week so we don't have news from more far away places. Most of our office has been working very hard preparing for the coming celebration of the creation of the 100th stake in the Philippines. They are responsible for all the broadcasts to other buildings that will be happening during the week that our visiting general authorities will be here. There will be several meetings and devotionals but I'll tell you about them next week. I think for security purposes we aren't supposed to share all we know - besides, by next week, I'll be able to include pictures.

Last Saturday Kent and 2 other senior missionaries found a place to play a round of golf. It was a holiday weekend so the golf course was packed - 3 1/2 hours to play 9 holes! They had fun even though their clubs were made for Philipinos who are generally much shorter than Americans. And now they have a story to tell about their first round of golf in the Philippines. :)

One fun thing that we did this week was to attend the MTC Christmas Tree lighting on Wednesday. It was a day when almost all the missionaries in the MTC had gone to their missions and they were preparing for the next group to come in on Friday. We always enjoy opportunities to get together with the other senior missionaries so it was good. We even sang a few Christmas songs to kick off the season. Christmas decorations are showing up in more stores now and we think it's so cute that they decorate with snowmen even though it doesn't snow here.

It was Kent's birthday this week. I made a cake to share with our office-mates It was fun to hear them sing Happy Birthday with a Philippine accent - it is really sweet. We enjoyed having cake with them and they gave Kent the traditional empty box (an office joke) for his birthday. After work, some other couples joined us for dinner at a place that serves very delicious hamburgers and good fries - two of Kent's favorites (generally beef in the Philippines doesn't taste like beef we are used to eating but this hamburger is delicious - and from Australia).

I'm including a picture of one aisle in the a grocery store here. We generally have more choices of most thing, in U.S grocery stores. This is a picture of the noodle aisle. Their noodles are like our packs of ramen but there are different ways to cook them. I had no idea there even could be that many choices of ramen noodles nor that you could cook them in different ways. I guess I'll have to find out how to cook each kind and see if they taste different too.

This past week we have seen beautiful answers to prayers - not just our prayers but many prayers in behalf of a dear family member. We know those answers came from a loving Heavenly Father who loves us always. We also join with so many in praying for those suffering the effects of disasters happening. Galatians 1:3 "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,"

With Love,

The Tuckers

This past week anothre senior missionary had a birthday and his wife invited the rest of us to come bowling. One sister came but took pictures instead of bowling. We thought you would like these...

August 31 - Another Trip

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! We hope you are all having a happy day.

This past week we visited our assistant in Lingayen and the Facilities Manager in Dagupan (both on the west coast of this island of Luzon). It was a nice drive. There is an expressway most of the way there that even has rest stops with a gas station and restaurants. There are no jeepneys or tricycles on the expressway so driving is more 'normal' for us. Driving through the towns is like having bees swarm around you with all the tricycles and motorcycles. Most people in the provinces can't afford cars so they use the small vehicles. I realized I write about the traffic a lot but that's because it's so much 'fun'! Kent is becoming a pro at navigating in the traffic here.

We arrived for our meeting early so we were able to do a little sightseeing. Lingayen is the place where the U.S. launched its assault against the Japanese to retake the Philippines in 1945. There is a beautiful little park there to commemorate the action with an old tank, an old airplane, other memorabilia, pictures and history. The capital building is across the street and there are beautiful parks around the whole complex. Our photos this week are from this area except for one.

When we arrived, we were told that the Christmas begins in September here in the Philippines. During the 'ber' months (September, October, etc), Christmas decorations come out and Christmas songs are played on the radio and in the stores. I'm sending a photo of the beginning of the Christmas season that I took a week ago - Merry Christmas! :)

Kent and I have been reading the Pearl of Great Price. I have not read that book of scripture very often and have felt the Spirit testify of the truth of that book and especially certain verses we have read. Today I want to share a scripture about Christ that felt so good and true to me as we read. I hope it will do the same for you.

"...I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy." Moses 7:53

I am so grateful for our Savior who is steady and strong when I am not. In my mind I picture Christ offering His hand to help us climb up where he is and holding us so we do not slip or fall. I am grateful for a perfect older brother who, through the atonement, provided us with a way home. I hope we can each find the way to climb up by our Savior.

Love,
The Tuckers