April 14 - Miracles

Dear Friends and Family,

It seems like one of the themes of Conference was "...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6). Sometimes it is immediate that a small thing will bring about something great. Other times it is the small things repeatedly done over a long time that will bring a great change, even in ourselves.

It has been hard for us to explain what we do here but this week we received a sweet email from the technology specialist in Legazpi that helps put what we do in perspective. Elder Magno is a church service missionary serving as an Assistant Area Technology Specialist , AATS (they LOVE acronyms here). He is a great example of one who magnifies his calling. Besides working with us, he has another calling and has a young family. In his calling, he is responsible for technology in 6 stakes/districts.I am including a copy of his letter so you can get the full story. The letter is as we received it (unedited). As you will see, his English is very good - wish we could say the same for our Tagalog!

"Happy Sabbath 

I just want to share this with you. 

Today is the re-broadcast of the general conference in every stake and districts in the Philippines. This morning i was prompted to visit one of the district and in my mind i know it was Tabaco District. Early i arise and go to that district center. Once i got there i observed that there are lot of members eager to view the broadcast. The sunday morning session was very spiritual but the later part the audio and video coming from the satellite is starting to become static however the broadcast seems fine. Later in the afternoon when Elder Dieter Uchdorft turns to speak (not sure of the spelling) the satellite feed disconnects due to hard rain. It lasted for about 15 mins and i can see members feels dismayed. At first i was hesitant to approach the leaders to help but my body reacts and go derictly to the satellite facility room. I asked them if they had a downloaded copy which i thought they have but they are not sure. The DTS and the district president have ask me what would be the fast solution for these. I grab my laptop and hard drives that contains the downloaded broadcast and cast it out to the projector then resume the video. It was a success eventhough delayed however we recieved good feedbacks that the downloaded video is much clearer (720 pixel) than the satellite feed. It was a lesson for us that time to always have a back up and rely on the promptings of the spirit. 

Before i leave the chapel i met the dts and his assistants (4 of them). My efforts was appreciated by the leaders but back in my mind i asked myself "what would happen if i didnt follow the spirit to go there?". 

It was indeed the power of God that pushes me to go there eventhough it was not on my plans. This was a remarkable experience for me and my added testimony that God is hastening His work by means of Technology. 

I know that this Church is true. 

I love this calling and it shows me how the Lord performs miracles in a different angles. 

I feel so blessed 

Elder Ezra Dwayne Magno
AATS LEGAZPI

We can't say it any better than he did - the church is true! the Lord does perform miracles! and God is hastening His work by means of Technology.

Love,
The Tuckers

PS-Just for fun I am including pictures of ways our little neighborhood is decorated. They are very creative with road barriers (the planters), hiding utility spots with art, and cross-walks.

April 5

Dear Family and Friends,
Hello!

Wasn't General Conference great?! Some big changes happened that we have an opportunity to use to bless lives and serve more effectively We were especially happy to hear that a temple for Cagayan De Oro was announced! What a blessing it will be for the people who live on that island to be able to have a temple in their midst. These wonderful people take challenges in stride and don't waste time complaining about the difficulties they face. Cagayan De Oro is on an island that much conflict and unrest including militants trying to take over cities.

Kent and I were on an island called Siquijor (seek-i-hor) at the end of March. I thought you might like to see the beautiful beach and starfish we saw. The stand with Coke bottles is actually a "gas station". The woman and her daughter who run the stand will use the funnel to fill the tanks of motorcycles that need gas. There are 2 kinds of gas, red and green. The third picture is of a cemetery on the island-all graves are above-ground. I wish we had the time and means to submit info to Billiongraves (an app you can use to help record grave sites in cemeteries).

Our scriptural thought for the week has to do with general conference and what we experienced and now what each of our duties are… D&C 1: 14 “And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from the people.” Our challenge now is to do as instructed and move forward with faith. It is an exciting time to be alive and we are so grateful for living prophets and apostles. We’re blessed to be serving and trust all is well with each of you.

Thank you for your love and prayers.

Love,
The Tuckers

March 24 - It's been a while

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello!

Our biggest news for the month of March is that our daughter, Aubry, had twins (by c-section) on March 1st. Jude came to the world weighing 7 pounds 12 ounces. Two minutes later, Thea was born weighing 6 pounds 2 ounces. Mom and babies are all doing well. I guess with e-mail I have a captive audience to share pictures of our twins. 😀

My apologies for not sending emails for a few weeks this month. I hope no one thought I just skipped them - sadly I skipped everyone and I'll do my best not to let that happen again.

I am learning a lot about many things though serving in the Dental Clinic. The sister who has been the front office manager, Sister Adams, and her husband will be finishing their mission and going home at the end of April so I am doing my best to learn all I can from her. One of my responsibilities is to set up the appointment schedules for the dentists. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when making the schedule. One of those things is the days the missionaries who come to the MTC who have not been endowed go to the temple. In the past that was just one day that they were not available for appointments. The Manila temple closed for remodeling for 4 months the first of January so the missionaries are going to the temple in Cebu to receive their endowments. That trip takes 2 days. I was told the wrong days and so scheduled several missionaries that didn't come for their appointments. I felt like my mistake had wasted much of the dentists day. But then, as sweet Sister Adams pointed out, miracles began to happen. That day we had 4 missionaries come in who didn't have appointments but needed to be seen and because of my error, they were able to get the help they needed. I am so grateful that Sister Adams was able to see what I missed, that the Lord can even turn mistakes into blessings. The Lord is in charge and knows all that is needed and when.

Today we helped with a training in Naga. It was delightful to meet with the saints there who have callings that deal with technology. I'm including a picture of the view outside our hotel room (Naga is about an 8 hour drive from Manila but we flew). It is so pretty and green there. About 7 am, I heard what sounded like a choir singing. I opened the window and realized it was a recording and then a man was speaking over a loud speaker. I heard the choir several times and the man's voice but I couldn't make out the words. My guess is that it was a morning mass. I saw a couple of men stop and listen. It's so nice that people here are able to share beliefs in God on a community level.

The group picture is of those who attended the technology training today.

Are you excited to hear from our new prophet, President Nelson, and our other leaders next week? We love General conference and the spiritual feast it offers. Whether we are at the Conference Center, at the church, or in our homes, we can feel the Spirit just as promised in D&C 6:32 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them-even so am I in the midst of you." We pray we will all feel His spirit as so many thousands will gather in His name to hear His word through His servants and as we sustain them in conference.

Thank you all for caring for us.

Love,
The Tuckers

February 15 - In Manilla

Dear Friends ad Family,

Magandaga Hapon! (Good Afternoon)!

We have been able to spend this week in the office but we've had plenty to do. Since I started working in the Dental Clinic, we get up at 4:30am. We need to be there at 6. We could leave at 3 in the afternoon but we usually stay later. I thought we would have more time in the evenings but it works out to be the same amount of time because we go to bed earlier. A new group of missionaries comes to the MTC every 3 weeks on Friday. They are each screened by a dentist. Sometime during their stay at the MTC, the dentists do the work on those missionaries who need it. The dental work is intended to be something that will help them so they don't have problems with their teeth while they are on their missions. There are some countries that have good dental care, like the U.S, that missionaries from there usually don't need any dental work. Missionaries from some other countries as well as the Philippines almost all need some work. I love meeting missionaries from so many countries - China, Mongolia, the Ukraine, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and others. They come with such a glow and enthusiasm to serve. It is an honor to be part of this work that blesses so many.

Since we've been in the Philippines, we've been so impressed with their ability to have prayer everywhere. We listen to the radio on our way to the office every day and at 6 am the station we listen to has a "Driver's Prayer" . It's all in Tagalog so we don't understand any of it but the tones are prayerful. The first time we heard it, we thought that it sounded like a prayer then at the end the announcer said it was the Driver's Prayer and she wished us safe driving for the day. Also, when we've ridden on ferries, they have a prayer. It comes on the video screen (They show movies or videos during the ride) as we leave the port. This week I have included a few photos of the prayer. I love that they do this here. I appreciate a prayer for our safety.

We are so grateful for the gift of prayer, for a loving Heavenly Father who communicates with us - He both listens and guides and blesses us. In D&C 112:10, we are encouraged with these words:"Be thou humble; and the Lord they God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to they prayers." Even more than ever, we depend on prayer as we strive to serve however the Lord might need us and to bless our family and friends We and have felt your prayers and they strengthen and sustain us. Thank you. May God bless each one of you.

Love,
The Tuckers

February 8 - Laoag, Baguio, Tarlac

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! It's hard to believe it's February already!

We've had some great experiences the past week. We were in Laoag for two days for training and got to see a dear friend, Elder Luke Anderson, who is serving in the Laoag mission and just happened to be within driving distance from where we had our meeting. The Facilities Manager was kind enough to arrange a meeting and we were able to meet with him and his companion for a little bit. It was so sweet to talk to him, to see that he still has that glow that is around a missionary who has fully given himself to the work of the Lord. I have included a picture of Elder Anderson and his companion. I've also included a picture of a basketball hoop. There is a place to play basketball in every city, town and village here. This one is in the church parking lot.

We happened to be in Bagio for the opening parade of their month long Flower Festival. It was a really fun parade. Most of the participants were children. The costumes were fun and each group had a small group of musicians with them and their instruments were lyres (looks like xylophones) and drums. Adults dressed in black pushed the cart things that held the lyres and the children marched along and played. Baguio is a beautiful city in the mountains with fresh air and pine tress. There are lots of buildings but also lots of trees. The parade and Baguio are our next 4 pictures.

Our final trip for the week was a short one to Tarlac which is a little more than 2 hours away. We had training there and came home the same day.

On Friday night we were home and able to go see "The Greatest Showman". We loved it! What a treat to see a movie that has morals and values, great music and dancing, and let us walk away happy and uplifted.

For our last picture, I just wanted to share with you a picture of the most amazing dessert we found. We buy it at a Korean dessert place called Hobing. It is a light dessert made out of milk that is like shaved ice only milk, and fresh strawberries with whipped cream on top. They have other flavors but so far, strawberry is our favorite.

We close with a scripture from Alma 32:37; "And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow we will say; Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit." It is so easy to get casual in or distracted from nourishing the gospel 'tree' within and this scripture reminds us that if the tree is going to grow, it must be nourished with "great care". All the care is what will bring forth the fruit. When studying the scriptures, there are so many gentle reminders from the Spirit about how to take better care of the gospel seed that grows in our hearts.

All our best to you,

Love,
The Tuckers

January 31 - A walk, a tour, and ashes

Dear Family and Friends,
Hello!

Last week some of the Senior Sister Missionaries went to visit a Purple Center - the school that a wrote about several months ago where some of the children from the poorest place in Manila can attend. We also visited the neighborhood where the children live. I am including a few pictures from our walk through the neighborhood (more photos on Facebook). One Sister took the pictures for the group of us so the photos aren't mine, thanks go to Sister Teri McIver for sharing her view of what we saw. My respect for these beautiful people has grown. They work so hard to live yet they smile and most don't appear to waste their efforts feeling sorry for themselves or feeling entitled. I admire their ability to survive and keep going.

The Seniors went on an outing to Corregidor on Saturday. It is an island in the mouth of Manila Bay that has been used to defend the Bay from intruders. The island is the biggest in the mouth of the Bay. After the U.S. helped the Filippinos gain their independence from Spain, the U. S. established 4 military bases on the scattered islands at the mouth of the Bay. The Japanese took the island during the early part of 1942. McArthur was ordered to leave the island several times before he finally left but he returned to re-take the island in 1945. I'm sending pictures of the island, a bombed barraks and a memorial to those who gave their lives there.

We continue to learn and our responsibilities better and some things have changed. I (Sister Tucker) have officially been asked to serve in the Dental Clinic at the MTC. I have been volunteering there for a few months. The two sisters in the front office are finishing their missions soon so they needed someone to Take their place. . A sister who just arrived and I will fill those positions. Elder Tucker will continue to work in ICS full time. I will join him for part of each day in that office and we will travel together. There really isn't enough to do in ICS for two people, maybe one and a half so I felt I should find something to do to serve more fully and Dental will be a good fit.

We've decided to make a better effort at posting pictures on Facebook so I will include a few of the same pictures in my letters that I put on Facebook. If you would rather just follow on Facebook and not get emails, just let me know or put in a friend request on Facebook if you would like to see more pictures, less words.

With all the people in all the nations there are in the world, we often hear stories of miracles in every place. We don’t know how it is done, but we know God watches over all His children everywhere as Ammon proclaims in Alma 26:37 ;”Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever.” We are grateful for our Father’s loving care for each of you, our family and friends. We are grateful for your prayers and we keep you in ours.

Love,
The Tuckers

January 18 - This and That

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings!

This week has been quiet. We've been making appointments and plans for upcoming travel. That's why I decided to give you a little journey through our days. In the past few months, we have collected pictures of unique things we see in the Philippines. I'll send more another time.

We were thrilled to see Pres. Nelson's announcement and press conference. Our love and trust in God were strengthened as we felt the assurance that this is God's chosen prophet today. We are ever grateful for Pres. Monson's life, teachings and example and know he is happy to be united with his wife and family again. What a blessed people we are to live in a day that we can hear and see God's chosen leaders speak all around the world. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7 We thank thee oh God for a prophet. Let us each prepare to listen and heed .

We love you,
The Tuckers

#1 getting our drivers license - this place has got two low buildings on either side of this covered center area that is open in the back. It is a chapel. While we were there they set up for the noon service.

#2 The man in the white tee shirt is standing in front of the medical office where we went to get our height and weight verified and our eyes tested before going to get our drivers license.

#3 A sign for the chapel that is in the mall. It is awesome that they have so many places to worship here. People can take a few minutes out of whatever they are doing and attend a short service. We were shopping in a mall and the noon mass was being broadcast over the speakers throughout the store.

#4 this is a sign is at the Cebu Airlines gate area - it made us smile, hope it does the same for you.

#5 We liked this sign at the ferry station

#6 These are used for cleaning. The broom with the short handle is called a Walis Tambo. Walis means broom. Tambo is a type of reed used to make this soft broom used for smooth floors like hardwood or tile, not carpet). The bundle is called a Walis Tingting (the midribs of palm leaves are used to make a tinting which is usually used outside on the ground. It is stiff.)