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