February ... blinked and it is gone.

A spectacular view out over the Cordillera Mountain range as
we traveled during one of our north bound adventures.

Sister Kristen Stroud and Elder Dave
Stroud (From North Ogden) brought
her sister & husband to Baguio so we
explored the neighborhood.

Me admiring a dress made completely from Packages of
food items.   We are at the Baguio Purple Center where the
livelihood women take the recyclable trash and turn it into
purses, jewelry, and even clothing.

Me at the entrance of the Cemetery of Negativism in
Camp John Hay ... just below our Baguio apartment.

This dear little woman works every day in the Irisian Dumpsite,
digging through the trash to separate out the recyclable items and
the biodegradable items that are turned into organic compost and
fertilizer.     We also met her daughter , granddaughter , and
great-granddaughter.    My heart breaks that these sweet Filipinos
continue to live in these conditions ... eeking out a living.

This sweet little Filipina girl was dancing to some jive music
as we passed her in the Irisian Dumpsite living quarters.  

A glimpse of Elder Bell as we travel on
our adventure to different homes and to the
school that serves part of the population
of school children living among the dumpsite
bags and bags and bags of garbage.  Many of it
is already separated ... just awaiting the truck
from Manila to come pick it up and pay for
its weight.

One of the women taking care of her grandson as they walk to
the roadway where they will 'catch a jeepney' and travel into
the market for some more rice and meat products.

I love the ingenuity and creativity the schools use to
decorate their courtyards and building area.   These are
2 liter bottles filled with shredded magazines and papers
which gives it a multi-colored effect.   Fun ideas ...
attempting to use what they have to improve and
beautify their living and school areas.

There they are utilizing plastic containers in
the side yard of their school to grow vegetables
that they use in the school lunches they
provide.

I continue to be impressed at the beautiful flowers that we
find here in the Philippines.   Someday I will learn more about
their names and if they are indigenous or have been carried
over here. 

Yes .... we had a clear night for the 'Red Blue Moon' on January
31st.   Beautiful site just outside of our apartment building.

We traveled to Davao City, on Mindanao to visit SPMC Hospital
and had an opportunity to visit this building in which
LDS Charities is donating school room equipment and
shelving for families to have places to keep their belongings
when they are here with their child who is undergoing
cancer treatments and must stay on site.    

While in Davao at SPMC (Southern Philippines Medical
Center) we were training staff members of our respective
hospitals to prepare them for their upcoming Partnerships
with LDS Charities as we bring them in line to have
Trained Wheelchair Assessors who will be assisting to provision
suitable wheelchairs for the indigent/severely poor Persons With
Disabilities (PWD). 

This little guy became extremely ill at 8 months and has
since developed a form of cerebral palsy and is currently
undergoing cancer treatment.   The staff of SPMC are teaching
our visiting staff members on how to properly measure and
prepare a wheelchair tailored specifically for his problems
and body size and structure.    It was an extremely long
day for this special little guy.

One of the students in the Bolog school in the Ifugao Province
who is involved in the LDS Charities Vegetable Garden project
in conjunction with EastWest Seed Foundation.   This is one
of the projects that we had researched, written up, and are working
closely with.    Love to see the children enjoying being outside and
learning good gardening skills.

This little guy is very small for his 10 years of age, and
cannot walk.   He was provisioned a wheelchair a year
ago, and his father has modified it with a tray for his
school work and a higher foot rest.    A bright smile warmed
our hearts.   He loves his wheelchair.  It makes it so that
he can attend school and have friends.  

This is a photo of the little guy who received a supportive
wheelchair to assist his parents in being able to transfer and
transport him back and forth to his area for treatments without
having to carry him everywhere.  He will probably
live, utilizing a wheelchair his entire life ... which
we pray will be a long one.     

More children working in the gardens.   They love getting outside
and being able to actually plant the seedlings into the ground
or container and see it grow.   Most of the schools have
grown their own seedlings, so the children have been involved
right from the first step.   

A mom and dad expressing their surprise and appreciation to be given a
receiving blanket from the many that has been sent to us from the
Brigham City and Box Elder Stake Relief Societies.   The thing the
baby is laying on is an opened rice sack.   This rice sack is what
 they were planning on taking the little sweet newborn home in.
We gave them 2 blankets ... no need for the rice sack.   They were
somewhat speechless ... 

This is the wheelchair that this little guy finally was fit
into and prepared to now go to the Cancer Center and
prepare for the next chemo treatment.  

Healthy plants in the school gardens.

They use had made trellises for their climbing plants like
squash and bitter gourd.   When you ask the children which
is their least favorite vegetable ... most of the time it is the
bitter gourd.   We have to admit, ours also.    Just don't like the
bitter flavor and texture of the large cucumber looking vegetable.

I would say a great looking school garden!    They were preparing
to plant more seedlings the next day.   It has not rained
as much as normal, so there is more work involved for the children
to assist with.

Here is a line of parents who are assisting the teachers and
students to clear out an area of football sized rocks and larger
to prepare another area for gardening.   The parents are very
involved at this school in assisting with the gardening and
other activities for the students.    Many of the schools are
not so fortunate, and we see that in the development and
cultivation of the garden area. 

This sweet 5th grade teacher was sharing with us the Valentine
that she received from one student who was thanking her
so much for teaching them more about gardening and allowing
them to actually do the planting and the watering and weeding
of the gardens.                   Hummmmm, I never received
a thank you from my children for having them assist me in
planting and weeding and watering the gardens.  :)

Another unusual cluster of flowers ... so beautiful!

Here we have one of the new Active Wheelchairs
just taken out of the box.   Assembly Required.
Elder Bell is assisting the assessors and technicians
in understanding the assembly of the new
wheelchair and the multiple number of adjustments
that can be accomplished with this chair.  

Here Elder Bell is right in the thick of the assembly, making sure that the connections
are fit in the proper holes and utilizing the assessment form to be a prescription on
how the chair needs to be adjusted as it is assembled.  

These are the assessors and assistant assessors for the
Provincial DSWDO (Department of Social Welfare and
Development Office) for Bataan.   They are currently
putting together a proposal of adding a Wheelchair Repair shop
to their services.  

Yup ... we are back out in the country.   This is in Lubao, in
Pampanga Province, Lubao Branch 1 has a Member Welfare
Project to have pigs on the individual family's property.   The
Branch constructed this piggery for this family, and they have
many neighborhood 'assistants' coming to see the piggery and
checking out the old foreigners who are visiting and taking
pictures.    

Picture of JackFruit up close while still on the tree.   It will continue
to grow and then is very sweet and tasty when ripe.   It has a
pungent odor, but good fruit and many, many look forward to
having some as soon as it hits its ripest stage.   If it happens
to get too ripe --- the smell is almost overpowering.   It is
related to the Duran Fruit (from Mindanao) ... which is smaller
and darker green, but bumpy like this.   People travel from
surrounding islands to purchase the Doran .... but it is so smelly
that the local Hotels will not allow it inside the hotel. 
I bought some one night while in Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao. I did
not read that we could not take it in hotel.    We opened the saran wrapped
package while in the hotel room .... and it smelt so bad that I could
not get it close enough to even think about eating it.   Gag  Gag  Then
I talk Tharon into hauling it to the kitchen area and let them
eat it.    (By the way, he wouldn't taste it either -- too gross of smell.)

Ducklings being raised along with pigs on this farm.   Family of
7 children, they are doing all that they can to provide for their
needs and to become self sustaining.

Healthy pigs with 2 that will become Sows.   The only way to
make Hog raising sustaining is to be raising Sows so that there
is a supply of piglets coming without having to go and purchase
more.   The raising of gabi and taro are important, as well as
good feeds.   This piggery is close to a creek bed and lots of
greenery and healthy plants for the pigs to eat.  Banana
Plants grow nearby.    Beautiful area.

Another photo of the Jack fruit.  They are
huge compared to our fruits in Utah.

This was a very happy day.    We finally had everything
 in order and had received word that the Wheelchair Project
with ITRMC (Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center)
was approved and the Memorandum of Agreement was signed
 this day.    Elder Bell and I have worked with Ilocos Training
Center for 1 full year getting them up and ready for this. 
 This MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) will provide for 300
standard wheelchairs and 100 mobility devices.  Then if all
goes well and their assessors are doing a good job, we
enter into another MOA with them for 1000 wheelchairs
 and  train their assessors to be able to provision the
supportive wheelchairs for the Cerebral Palsied and other
disfiguring disability problems.   It is a great opportunity
now for them to be able to provide quality wheelchairs for
those poor/indigent people along the west side of Luzon to
have  access to the wheelchairs without cost.

Brother Fababier is giving us some tamarind fruit.   The one
in his left hand has the brittle peel still on it, and the one in
his right hand is peeled and ready to munch down.   The seed
in the tamarind fruit is huge ... almost the whole size of the
fruit.   There are 3 seeds in the one he is holding.    The
fruit meat is good, not too sweet .... but almost barely worth
the effort of eating it.    HaHa .. you can tell that I am used
to having plenty to eat and not so hungry for special treats
like this out hanging on my trees. 

Branch President Omar Moises, Elder Bell (his back right in
front of pillar pole) and Brother Fababier inside the chicken
shelter.   The floor needs leveled and poured, and then on
March 1st they will get their first batch of 500 baby chicks
to put into the brooder and then get their wooden cages prepared
for when the chickens are ready for their growth period.    This
Member Welfare Project is a group project where all the
participants come here on site, help with the goats, the
vegetable garden and fruit orchard, and take turns on the shifts
of taking care of the broiler chickens.    Once the families can
become skilled in the activities needed to raise the goats and the
chickens, then they are encouraged to set up cages on their own
properties in which they will raise their own chickens and grow
them to market size and butcher and market them.   It is another
project to help the families become self-sustaining and give them
food for their own tables with opportunity to market and then
purchase other commodities.


It is wonderful to be a part of the many activies and blessings that are going on in the Philippines.   We appreciate the opportunity to work with these humble people and to see how little things can mean so much to them. 

We are realizing that our time is growing quickly to a close.   We will be training our replacement Senior Missionary Couple during the first and second week of June, and then traveling back to Utah just in time for Annie's wedding to Bryce Brasher - a special man that she has been fortunate to meet, to be courted by, and proposed to.    We strongly feel that their meeting and falling in love are one of the many 'tender mercies' that our dear Heavenly Father has given us as we have served His children here in the gateway to Asia.     We miss our family and friends dearly, but we have strong testimonies that our service is making a difference. 

Well, off to another month in 3 days.   Many kilometers before we get there.    Sending love and wishes for peace and good health in each of your lives.     Thank you for allowing us to share a few of our highlights for this month.
By the way ..... HAPPY LATE VALENTINES DAY!!