June 18 - Intramuros

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings! We hope you are enjoying summer. Last year when we arrived, we were told it was rainy season but it really didn't rain that often. It has rained everyday for the past 2 weeks and I don't mean once a day and the clouds go away. It is cloudy most days and rains on and off throughout the day.

We were blessed to have Elder Christofferson here and to be able to hear him speak at a devotional for the MTC and the Area Office. He spoke of Pres. Nelson's recent talk about personal revelation. I had the impression that this talk is very important because the message was being repeated. We should all read it again. Within his talk were several nuggets of insights and some of his own experiences that personalized the message of our need to learn how to receive personal revelation. This was a special talk for me because he answered two questions that I have pondered off and on for several years. When apostles come to the Philippines, they have a very busy schedule that tires much younger men. The people we work with in ICS (Information and Communication Services) were all out of the office for a few days and some all of the days Elder Christofferson was here supporting him with all his technology needs ( microphones, computers, etc). These good people work very hard behind the scenes to facilitate all the work that apostles do while they are here in the Philippines.

This month for our senior missionary outing on Saturday, we went to the oldest part of the city of Manila called Intramuros which means "within the walls". The walls were built around the city around 1600. Unfortunately, this is also where the Japanese made their last stand near the end of WWII so much of it was destroyed in the fight for control of the Philippines. To begin our tour, we met at a non-profit school where they help the children in the area who are struggling with regular school. On Saturdays, they have a music class. We were there when it was time for the class to start so the children played and sang 3 songs for us. Their instrument is called an Angklung and the children shake them to make the sounds. I've included a picture of the instrument. The Pasig river borders one side of the walls of Intramuros and there is a nice golf course out side of other sides of the wall. I have included 2 pictures from the walls. Our guide told us that this golf course area is the only open space in Manila. There are very few parks in all of metro Manila and those are mostly in gated residential neighborhoods.

Kent's turn to write...

Our work has its ebbs and flows. At times we are crazy busy and then other times we want for things to do. This coming week we have some exciting meetings scheduled. We are helping with a training for all the stake and district presidents and their stake technology specialist in one setting, together. We’ve not had that opportunity before and hope the meetings will have a positive impact on their technology use. That gathering will occur in Cauayan, about an ten hour drive from Manila… (we’re flying not driving).

We are pleased to be serving and trying to make a difference. President Monson shared this thought years ago, ‘The Redeemer chose imperfect men to teach the way to perfection. He did so then; He does so now.’ CR, Apr 2004. In our own imperfect ways we’re trying to serve well.

President Nelson’s emphasis on the Holy Ghost and his critical role in keeping us safe now and in the future is ringing true in our lives. We pray that all our loved ones will live worthy of having the needed companionship of the Holy Ghost daily. Elder Oaks taught this, “The idea that scripture reading can lead to inspiration and revelation opens the door to the truth that a scripture is not limited to what it meant when it was written but may also include what that scripture means to a reader today. Even more, scripture reading may also lead to current revelation on whatever else the Lord wishes to communicate to the reader at that time. We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation.” Ensign, Jan 1995.

Read, ponder and pray every day.

We love you all,

The Tuckers

June 11 - Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Magandang gibi (Good evening)

Tuesday marks our completion of one year in the Philippines. We have learned so much in our first year here. We hope now that we are trained, we can serve even better than last year. Kent has refined our training plan and we have been blessed to have opportunities to teach in settings other than our Technology Area. I can't say we are technology experts but we sure know a lot more than we did when we arrived a year ago.

It's so interesting how things work out. Before we left, I went back to college to get my Associates degree. One of the required classes that had been added to the requirements since I left school almost 40 years earlier was a computer class. It was a fast paced class and I had to work hard to keep up with the teacher and the other students who grew up speaking "Computer". That class has turned out to be a great blessing to us in our work here. I learned some basics about power point presentations and excel. We are using both quite a bit in our work here. Power points (Kent actually makes most of those but I've made a couple too) for the training and teaching we do and excel in the dental clinic. At the time I was taking the class, I wondered if I would ever use that information again. It turns out that what I learned there has been more helpful than most of the other classes I took.

As things change in all of our lives, there are joyful times and difficult times.. The scripture that echos in our hearts at all of these times is Psalms 3:5-6:" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direst thy paths." We know our Heavenly Father is aware of each one of us and He will help us through the smooth and the rough places in our paths of life. We can depend on Him. We can trust Him. He loves us and wants us to come home to Him. He will help us.

Warmly,

The Tuckers

I am sharing some more pictures of our good memories here.
The pictures are:
1- a 32nd floor view of metro Manila
2- You may have to enlarge this pic to read the sign next to the street. It says "Beware of Snatchers"
3- Two sweet little girls we met at church while on the island of Cataduanes.
4- Love all the wires!

June 3 - Looking Back

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! We've been in the Philippines for almost a year so I thought it would be fun to share some pictures from the past year. Hopefully I won't repeat very many of the ones I've already sent. It has been a wonderful year.

We've met so many nice people. It has been hard to say good-bye to some missionary couples who became great friends but have completed their missions and have gone home. But then we get to meet the new couples and realize how blessed we are to become friends with them.

Progress is slow in our assignment. Like so many areas of our lives, there is an ebb and flow to our work. We are trying to get AATS called in each of 29 areas that the Area Presidency helped to align for our assignment. We'll get someone in one area then someone else will finish their mission in another area. Most of those we work with in the different areas are Church Service Missionaries, meaning they serve while living at home and doing all the regular things they do. Some of the missionaries will request an extension of their missions so they can continue working with technology in their areas. It is better that they train the local people because they can speak the right language and the people can understand them. There are more than a hundred and fifty languages spoken in the Philippines - 8 -13 major ones (depending on which Google site you read) but only Tagolog and English are taught. We often help with training meetings and feel like the people understand most of what we say but they are reluctant to ask or answer questions. Most Filipinos understand English pretty well but are reluctant to speak it because they aren't very sure of how well they speak and don't want to embarrass themselves. Having local people called to teach and train technology is the best way to help every stake and district become self-reliant in technology. Our job is to encourage callings to be made and to train those who do receive callings. In a couple of weeks we will be going to Cauayan to what we hope will be the ideal meeting - Stake Presidents, and Stake Technology Specialists. We feel we can reach them better with smaller group meetings - we'll let you know how that goes.

In Sacrament meeting today, a sister shared a scripture that helped her through a very difficult time when she was afraid she was going to fail the exam that would let her go to school to become a doctor. 2 Timothy 1:7 " For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Too often I don't recognize my anxieties and frustrations as fear but when I finally do, I know that fear does not come from God. He can and will help all or us conquer what we fear.

All our Love,
The Tuckers

Now for the pictures...
1-The first is of a Primary room in Olongapo. All the church buildings we have been to in the Philippines have white tile floors. The chapels have benches but almost all other chairs are brown plastic.
2- Early in our mission we traveled to Guimaras, an island known for it's delicious mangoes. We had a mango pizza. It is the best pizza I've ever eaten.
3- This man (I think he has feather dusters and some kind of microfiber cloths to sell) is one of many people who come out into traffic to sell their wares. They will stand at the side of the road until a light turns red or traffic is heavy and slows then they will come out to sell whatever they have. We have seen them sell nearly everything you can imagine - water, chips, rolls, bread sticks, single cigarettes, coke, balloons, flowers, dusters, peanuts, really just anything.
4- I love seeing signs like this in different towns.
5- Our mall recently added this special place for pets - a dog park and cafe
6- Lastly - this man carries his hammock with him whenever he is with his truck. I guess you never know when you might get a chance for a nap. To be fair these people work very hard - often 10 to 12 hour a day, 6 days a week.

May 28 - Memorial Day

Dear Friends and Family,

Today (Sunday) we had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Memorial Day Ceremony that was held at the Manila American Cemetery. It is a beautiful place and there is such a sweet reverent feeling there. It must be a sacred place because it is the resting place for so many who gave their lives fighting for freedom for all. Many terrible battles were fought in the Philippines, many atrocities committed and here those sacrificed so much are laid to rest or honored. The walls in the monument buildings are inscribed with the names of those who were declared missing.

The program was so nice. The opening prayer was given by a senior missionary who is serving as legal counsel adviser here. Prayers were also given by a rabbi and a priest. Talks were given honoring the sacrifice and courage of the many soldiers from both the U.S. and Philippines who fought together to be free from the Japanese oppression. The Filipino military band played the national anthem for the Philippines and the U.S. It was an honor to sing the Star Spangled Banner in such a sacred spot.

From Elder Tucker:

While it is important to recall the heroic actions of so many brave souls it may be more important to not forget what they fought for, freedom. Because of these and other historic battles freedom is secured in this country and religious freedom enjoyed. The Philippines have become a seedbed for the gospel of Jesus Christ to spread throughout the Asian area. It is such a rich blessing for us to be. We are proud to be Americans, to wear our black name tags representing modern day religious soldiers of Christ.

Living away from home sure makes one respect the sacred symbol of the American flag. We were thrilled and chilled to see each and every grave of the more than 17,000 buried dead adorned with the United States and the Filipino flag, side by side, bound and bonded as companions.

We express to each of you our love. Thank you for being an important part of this experience with us. God bless and keep you…

Love,
Elder and Sister Tucker

D&C 98:16

"Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children."