Hello!
It's the middle of summer here and hot! It's also humid but it is humid every day so that's a given. School got out the first of April and will start again around the first of June. It's hard to think of April and May as summer, we are so used to these months being for showers and flowers. There are lots of bright, beautiful bougainvillea in bloom right now. We love seeing them line the streets in some areas.
This past weekend, we were able to attend a Coordinating Council meeting (A meeting of stake and district presidents, mission presidents and other invited church leaders, conducted and presided over by an area authority 70 ) in Tarlac, about a 3 hour drive northwest of Manila. Kent spoke to the Priesthood leaders about how having technology specialists can be a blessing to them and he encouraged them to call specialists for each of their units. He also made a great PowerPoint for them. He is getting really good at creating Power Points to teach with. He's made dozens of them by now and who knows how many more to come. Meeting with these leaders is a great experience. There was such a feeling of cooperation and willingness to help us help them. These leaders care so much about helping their members and fulfilling their responsibilities. It is wonderful to know there are leaders and members all over the world living the gospel and doing their best to further the work of the Lord.
After our meeting in the morning, we drove another 2 hours south to Olongapo which is near Subic Bay(a former U.S. naval base). There we were able to do training with a newly called AATS, Bro. Angel. We know the Lord prepares people to be able to serve in these callings. Bro. Angel works with computers for his job and knows a lot more than we do about them. He was humbly waiting for us to share with him what his purpose and parameters were before going out to serve. What a humble and good man!
When we meet new people, I like to find out about them and their families and get them to share stories with us. Bro. Angel said he has lived in Olongapo all his life. I asked him if he was around when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. He remembered it well. Clark Air Force Base was close to the volcano and he said they had 24 hours to evacuate the base before the volcano erupted. He had to help find housing for the Air Force people as they were moved to Olongapo and Subic. They had to be housed with the Navy people. He said the biggest challenge was finding the right places to put the different ranks of military personnel because a private couldn't be housed with an officer and officers of different ranks had to be housed with similar ranking officers. In spite of the volcano disaster, protocol had to be followed. I asked him how his family fared after the eruption. He said his house had wooden trusses so his roof didn't cave in when they got about 18 inches of ash that fell but most of the metal roofs fell in. I'm always amazed at how resilient the Filipinos are. They have had so many disasters here yet rely on themselves to carry on. The government here doesn't take care of the people like ours does and there aren't enough agencies to help with everything so they take care of themselves as best as they can.
Today in Sacrament meeting, the closing hymn was "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go". As we sang,"But if, by a still, small voice he calls To paths that I do not know, I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine: I'll go where you want me to go.", I was reminded that when we came here, we had no clue about what we were going to be doing. Yet, the Lord has led us along and bit by bit, he has guided and directed us. We have no idea what the coming months will bring to our calling but we do know that we are willing to do whatever needs to be done because with His help, we will be guided to be able to do His work. What a blessing it is to be here!
We are working hard and trying to make a difference through our service. It is amazing how the Lord will take us as we are and with His help and grace, use us to do His work. We miss you all but know we are doing what the Lord would have us do right now. Thanks for your prayers of support.
Love,
The Tuckers
Photos of a bougainvillea, a sari-sari store and a sunset in the city.
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