July 21 - Out and About

Greetings from Manila,

We are late with our letter this week because we've been out of Manila visiting an assistant on Panay and then 3 stake presidents in Cebu. It was nice to get out of the office and interact with members. We loved being able to bear our testimonies at each of the meetings we attended.

Saturday we went to a training on the island of Guimaras (this island is known for its delicious mangoes but unfortunately, they aren't in season just now). To get there, we took a taxi, a jeepney and then a pump boat (the vehicle we were to ride in was already on the island). The assistant technology specialist who did the training did a great job. The people there are wonderful. It is a challenge to teach the members about using church media when for most of them, their only access is at the meetinghouse. They need to download whatever media they want to use onto their phones to use for the next week. Internet connection is one of the big challenges throughout most of the Philippines. After our meeting, we stopped for lunch on the island and had mango pizza. It was delicious!

On Sunday we attended the San Jose, Antique branch on the island of Panay. We were asked to bear our testimonies in Sacrament meeting, which wasn't too surprising. Relief Society brought a surprise opportunity for me. As I was sitting in the Relief Society room before the meeting started, the Relief Society President got up and speaking in a mix of Tagolog and English, I understood that the teacher for today was sick. She asked if anyone wanted to teach the lesson. No one raised their hand. Then she asked if I would teach the lesson, she said I could teach anything I wanted to. I really couldn't decided if she was joking or not. During the opening song I opened my ipad to the Pres. Hinckley lessons. I glanced through them realizing I didn't want to teach something that had already been taught nor did I want to teach something ahead of where they were. I closed my book during the prayer, hoping she was kidding and I really wouldn't have to worry about it. As you've probably guessed, after the song and prayer, the RS president announced that I was teaching the lesson. I figured, they knew this was a spur of the moment assignment so I just did my best. I asked what lesson was scheduled and that was the lesson I taught. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost to help me remember, to help me even speak! So often I get nervous when I have to speak or teach and my mind goes blank but I was calm. I know the Holy Ghost helped me think of questions to ask and stories to share. There was an investigator that was very good with answers and it was her first time at church! Being able to teach that lesson on such short notice was a sweet and tender mercy and blessing for me.

We are grateful for the gift of meeting with members of the church. They have such a love for the gospel. We are often touched by knowing that these people face challenges so similar to ours. One sister I talked to on Guimaras talked about the challenge she has with getting her children to help with the work in their home and trying her best to keep her home clean and organized. As she spoke, I thought about how we try to do the same things in our country in our circumstances. We truly do have a fellowship with people all around the world!

Our best to you,
The Tuckers

July 21 - A Bit More

Hello family!

We traveled to Iloilo with Felvir, the manager of the Family History Center at the area office. He is from the Philippines, is well traveled and speaks at least 4 languages so he's good to have around as we travel to new places. I think we will travel with him often so if I mention him, you'll know who he is. We arrived in the early afternoon and our meetings weren't until the next morning. Felvir got a taxi and showed us around the city a little. We went to a small museum, to the city esplanade along the river, to get Batchoy for dinner, and to a fish spa, Yes,Dad and I (as well as Felvir), went to the fish spa. I've heard about them before and have seen some small fish but this place had a variety of sizes of fish. It took some getting used to and I'm not convinced it was all that, but it was fun to try once.

Felvir tells us what foods each place we go to is known for. In Guimaras it is the mangoes, in Iloilo it it the batchoy, and in Cebu it is the Lechon. He tries to make sure we get to taste the famous local food in each area. I must say that we have liked some of it better than others. :) First of all, what's not to like about a sweet ripe mango? -we can't say too much about that deliciousness. Batchoy is a soup with noodles and meat, a bit like Japanese ramen. The kind we had had some kind of fish broth. Our favorite is still the Japanese ramen. Finally, the lechon is roasted pig and it is delicious. I say roast pig because they literally roast and eat the whole pig (we could have even ordered the pig feet!) - the meat is much like pulled pork in the US. Today at the office, our friends gave us pain de coco - a small roll with a sweetened coconut filling. It was pretty good. So that was your food tour for this week.

We love you all, think of you often and pray for you always.

Love,
Dad and Mom
XXXO

July 10

Dear Family and Friends,
Hello!

This week was more training and meetings for us. I think we are finally getting a big picture of our responsibilities so that is helpful. This week for our letter, I thought I'd try to describe what we are called to do as far as we understand.

I think the best way to explain is with an analogy. Elder Tucker and I are like the conductors of an orchestra - we keep the orchestra members in the Philippines technology callings on the same page and 'playing' together. We work with church Service Missionaries (those called to serve but live at home) throughout the Philippines. They are called Assistant Area Technologist Specialists and are each in charge of a designated area of stakes - these are our orchestra section leaders. Each stake and district is supposed to call a Stake Technology Specialist (there can also be assistants) - these are the ones who actually play the instruments in our orchestra. The stake specialists are to make sure all the technology in the meetinghouses are functioning properly and help with broadcasts and webcasts, etc. That's the big picture.

Right now in the Philippines we have only 11 assistants because of all the islands and distances, we need about 22. Kent and I will be visiting with Stake Presidents to see if we can get more assistants and to make sure they have stake specialists. We also support the assistants by attending and assisting with the training they do with the stake specialists, working with them to make sure equipment is working in their areas and whatever else we can do to help. We also work with the Facilities Managers in each area because they are the ones who install and also help with problems with the technology. We also have a yearly area meeting with the assistants to make sure they are trained in the technology and their responsibilities.

We work in an office most days with the Area Office technology people so we really don't HAVE to know all about technology because we have lots of people who can help us with that part. We need to meet our assistants and stake leaders to get technology functioning more smoothly in the many areas. We will be traveling to meet with these leaders and where we can't go, we will send letters, email, and communicate in other ways so that members throughout the Philippines can be connected to the church through broadcasts, webcasts, and other resources.

At first we thought it should be easy to do. On our first trip out of Manila, we realized there are many challenges. Internet connectivity is a big one. Travel is another. Many people don't have cars. Bus rides and train rides are long and crowded and usually require additional jeepney and tricycle rides. Many of our assistants are young with families and also have other callings such as YM presidents, Elders Quorum Presidents, and bishopric members. Some are working far from home because that's where they can get work. One assistant we finally contacted last Friday lives in Tacloban where they had an earthquake last week. He is working in Manila. When we asked about his family and the earthquake, he said his wife and son were fine. I asked if their home was damaged. He said no, it was already damaged and he didn't have money to fix it. He is also serving as Branch President so he will probably be released soon from being an AATS (Assistant Area Technology Specialist). Yet he and the others are all willing to serve. We learn so much from our 'orchestra' and we are grateful for each one.

Our theme for technology is "Hastening the Work Through Technology". There is much of the Lord's work that can be done through technology. Our work is to get everyone connected. There is a lot of work to do and we will need to travel to do it. Our first big trip is next week.

I have gained a deeper testimony of the divinity of the land of the restoration of the gospel. So much of what we take for granted in the U.S. is unknown to many other countries. Take, for example, the internet. The internet with glitches and problems was new when our children were little but now it is almost everywhere, usually goes smoothly, and almost as common as the air we breathe. We have been richly blessed. For this and so many other places in the world, it is not. Even though we know it is a huge part of the future, there is work to be done to get it where it needs to be to bring the church to the people. I think about how the church broadcasts and videos can bless lives if they can just access those things more easily. I've seen what a well planned church video can do for a YW lesson and hope that will be possible for these wonderful people too. The gospel can make such a huge difference in everyone's life. We are grateful to do whatever we can to help the gospel spread throughout the world.


Take care.
Love,
The Tuckers


The first 2 pictures are the kinds of technology hook ups we see. The first what we see more often, the second is from a stake center built just two years ago(the latest and greatest).
The other pictures are from the top of a hotel we went to in Old Manila. Another senior missionary couple took us to see the old walled city then to this hotel to take pictures. It had been raining so it's a bit misty. You'll see cranes on top of several buildings. Those are new high-rise apartment buildings being built.

July 7 - Metro Manila

Dear Family and Friends,
Magandong hapon (good afternoon)!

Our week was pretty quiet with more learning about our responsibilities so there isn't much to write about that. Instead I'll write a little about our weekend.

The ward we meet in on Sundays, the Makati ward, is the first chapel (Buenedia - part of metro Manila ) built in the Philippines. We were talking to a man who remembers that the first time he went there, the building was surrounded by green. Picture #1 was taken yesterday - The church is the low building in the front. This is what the neighborhood looks like now.

Saturday evening we took a drive into Manila City (Metro Manila is a combination of several cities that have grown together) with the couple who is here on a Humanitarian mission. They wanted to show us the original Manila that was a walled city built in the 1500's. They were going to take us on a walking tour but that didn't work out because it was raining - it is the rainy season after all. Instead they took us for a drive to see one of the projects they are working on: the Purple Center (Picture #2). It is a school started by a non-profit organization to help the people and children of Happyland (I'll explain that later). A shipping businessman donated 78 - 40 foot shipping containers and the time of an architect to build their school. To look at it, I would never guess that it was constructed out of shipping containers. You can learn more about what Purple Centers do at their website purplecenters.org. They do more to help the people of Happyland than just the school.

Happyland is a community that was started about 18 years ago by residents of Smoky Mountain. Smoky Mountain was a garbage dump and is really a mountain of garbage (vegetation has grown so it looks pretty good on the surface). After a particularly heavy rainy season, the government made the people move off the dump because they were afraid of mudslides. They gave them a group of 34 buildings that had been government low-income housing to live in "temporarily". The catch was that there had been a huge fire in the housing complex and all that was left of the buildings was burnt out concrete floors, ceilings, some walls, and support posts.18 years later, the people still live there. There are about 25,000 people living there now.I honestly can't bring myself to include anymore pictures of Happyland, I feel like I am intruding on their private lives.

I am so grateful for those who have the knowledge and ability to help these people. I am also humbled by all we have and take for granted. As I think about these people and about the good people who help them who are not part of our church, a scripture comes to mind: "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." ( Mosiah 2:17) Helping so many people will only happen by helping a few at a time or one. May we always be looking for the one we can help today.

Love,
The Tuckers

Picture #2 - Purple Center
Picture #3 - Children of Happyland (The couple in the pictures is the Strouds, the couple who are here on a Humanitarian mission
Picture#4 - Happyland welcome sign

July 6 - A Little Update

Dad got his first haircut here at a barbershop. He said it included a warm towel around his face, a shoulder rub, scalp massage, and a fresh blade for the strait edge razor they did his neck with. All that for 280 pesos (about $5.50). Dad gave him 350 ($7.00) pesos and he was a happy barber.

In other news - I drove to the office and back yesterday morning and we arrived without incident. Another small victory!!!

I'm also sending a couple of pictures of the children of Happyland - they are so cute! It was an arranged tour for the Humanitarian missionaries to see inside their village so I'm sure the children were prepared and the missionaries gave them treats so that brought extra big smiles but they are pretty charming. They like having their picture taken.

With the time difference between us and our working office hours, we aren't able to call as often as we thought. We would still love to hear from you and find out what's going on in your families. Would you please each write us an e-mail every week or two and send us pictures when you can? It would really help us keep in touch with you and to know that normal life is going on beyond what we are experiencing here. I know that the men who served missions know what we are experiencing and letters from loved ones help more than you know.

We loved seeing the pictures of the family that Aubry took and posted on Instagram. Hope a good time was had by all.

June 29

I just wanted to share more with you than I sent with my other email.

Our work here is beginning to come together. We have been training the past two weeks and will continue to train for a few more. We may be going to Cebu next week - we'll find out later today.
Evenings were getting hard because we really have nothing to do. Today I found a sister at the MTC whose husband is a doctor and she is not a nurse so she does humanitarian projects. She gave me a box of material to cut out infant hats that they take to the hospital where those without insurance go.

They give them blankets and hats for the babies.( The mothers of these babies are all sharing beds - 2 or 3 or 4 to a bed-I don't know how they do it!) I am so grateful to have something to do when I have nothing to do! I know it sounds great for you all to have nothing to do but honestly, it's only fun for about two days then it gets tough. I am relieved to be able to serve. Dad is cross-stitching Sophie's Christmas stocking so he has something to keep him busy. 

Just so you know...
Our mailing address (mail comes to the office. They suggest we don't use our local
mail that goes to our apartment)

13 Temple Dr.
Greenmeadows Subd.
1110 Quezon City, Philippines

Our schedule:
We usually work 7:30 to 4:30 each day unless we are traveling.


Pictures:

One is a picture of the temple after a storm.

The other is where our apartment building is from the office. Our building is the one right next to the street lamp that is on. We are on the 33rd floor.It is only about 3 km from the office. It takes 15 min. to get there in the mornings and 30+ minutes to get back in the evenings. Just for the record - traffic here is even more crazy than LA but your Dad is doing great driving.:)

The last is the beach at Subic (near Olongopo) where the US naval base used to be.

June 27

Dear family and friends,

It has been a great week in the Philippines!!!

We learned a saying that is very popular here: "There's always room for one more". I love that no matter where you are or what you are doing, there is always room for one more. That especially applies to the gospel and the kingdom of God! There are no limits to how many of us can return to our Father - He wants us all to come Home! There are no limits to how many can be baptized or join Primary or join our family in FamilySearch - all are invited, all are welcome! I love this gospel and the chance to serve in the Philippines!

Our department manager asked the FamilySearch manager to take Kent and I along on his trip this week. He was also taking his newly hired assistant. They were taking new computers and printers to various church buildings and doing training with each Family History specialist we visited.

We set off about 1 pm on Wednesday afternoon. Our fist stop was in Olongapo where we met a great couple in the family history center there. As JR ( the manager's assistant) set up their new computer, the manager did some training. The Stake President happened to be there so we were able to talk to him about his equipment and technology needs. That evening we ate dinner with the couple from the family history center. I love to hear stories people share about their conversion and their lives. They told us about their experience when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991 just about 40 miles from their town. It sounded frightening, to say the least, and tragic for so many! But the most impressive part of their story was their conversion and their faithful, dedicated service. That service began just a week after his baptism when the husband was called to be the branch president! He said the missionaries were very helpful as he learned to fulfill his new calling.

Our other stops were Lubau, Cabanatuan, and San Jose. Each place was a special experience. The family search manager was able to help the specialist in each place find someone they had been looking for in their family lines. We could feel the spirit each time a family member was located and the brother or sister would just glow with the spirit and excitement of finding their ancestors! In Cabanatuan the stake presidency came as well as other ward members. They had 17 people crammed in a tiny room for over an hour and a half to receive the training on FamilySearch. TOur other appointments had been during the day, this was the only appointment they had in the evening so more people were available but at each place those called to serve were there and ready to learn. In San Jose the power went out shortly after we got there. The manager did his best to train using his laptop and a hot spot. Finally a prayer was said and as soon as the request was made for the power to come back on, it did! I don't believe that was merely coincidence, it was a miracle! After the power was back on, they were able to locate a family member for one of the brothers who was there and he got so excited!

It was amazing to see the Lord's hand working in these people's lives. Their electricity goes out at random times throughout much of the Philippines. When they have internet, it is sometimes 1 mg at best and they just keep doing their best to serve.

Our travels took us through some very rural areas in the provinces (like our states). The people work hard and live very simply here. Their houses are simple, their yards are usually dirt or rocks. But they are clean and neatly dressed. We saw wash hanging on the line in front of several homes and their whites were so white! I wanted to stop and ask them how they did it.

As we drove (no, I actually didn't drive but Kent got to) we saw rice paddies in all the stages of growth. We saw them harvesting the rice and burning the chaff in the fields, We saw them plowing with their carabao (water buffalo), planting and even drying the rice. It was so interesting to watch. The people work so hard yet that is their way of life and they seem generally happy.

We'll close with a scripture I read today that reminded me of what our Savior does for us. "For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens." How blessed we are to know about our Savior and feel the light and hope He give us.

Love,

Kent and Karen

The first picture is of a tricycle. It is a motorcycle with a side car.

The second picture is a tricycle loaded with passengers. There are 7 - some inside and some out.

The third picture is the back of another tricycle. This one just parks and sells his wares.

Life here is an adventure every day!