Birthday wishes granted

Ever since we arrived in the Philippines, Elder Koontz has wanted to go to the ocean.

Our mission borders the Pacific Ocean on the eastern side, but there are no roads that go over the mountains to get to the ocean. Yet, one could drive out of mission boundaries to the north (5hrs), or to the south (3hrs) to walk on the beautiful beaches where ocean waves lap.

Saturday, August 31, 2019, we left Cauayan at 5:30am heading south through the town of Maddela (which is in our mission) and over the Sierra Madre Mountains (which is not). The skies were overcast that day, temperatures in the high 80's.

These kids were playing in the water. One young boy was fishing, using line wrapped around a plastic pop bottle. Others were swimming. I enjoyed watching a two-year-old as he giggled each time he came up from the water and wiped his eyes.

We decided to join them... kind of. The water was nice and warm.

This blue sea snake washed up on shore. It was dead.

 Fun, relaxing day. Happy birthday, Elder Koontz!

Shiny and beautiful

Many of you know I am not an animal lover. And I especially don’t like bugs. My kids missed out on a ‘normal’ childhood because I would not permit pets in the house that could: 1) get out of their cages, 2) slither or crawl, and 3) had fur that I was ‘allergic’ to (in other words, everything else 😅).

We did have a ten-gallon fish tank until someone played with the tank. We came home after church to find the hose hanging out the tank, siphoning water onto the carpet, leaving only two inches of water in the tank. We kept the tank until all the fish died. (Oh, and after I had the dream of the plecostomus [suckermouth catfish] chasing me!)

Well, today I took a few pictures during sacrament meeting. I know I shouldn’t be taking pictures in the chapel, but, I had to show proof that “It’s more fun in the Philippines”!

We’ve become friends with some of the young children. I bring coloring pages and crayons for them to color; otherwise, some of them like to run around the pews, and sometimes up behind the pulpit.

This little three-year-old crawled under the bench from two rows back to show me what he had in his handkerchief.  It was a beautiful iridescent green and blue BEETLE!

Then, his older brother threw HIS beetle over (from two rows back) so there were TWO!

He would lay his handkerchief flat on the bench, place the beetles on the hanky, neatly fold the hanky, then PUSH and SMOOSH it into his pocket! Then he would unwrap it and set the beetles on the bench, sometimes headed in my direction. I did okay. I MAY have scooted closer to Jan... really close.

National Day of Service - Sillawit Elementary School

We had the privilege, with Cauayan Branch 3,  to help clean up the Sillawit Elementary School for the National Day of Service. It is school break until June 1st, so the place was empty and a little over- grown. The children should enjoy a clean school yard for play when they return back to school.

Above are Elders Blazzard, McClellan, and Koontz

 Taking a much needed "merienda break" for the senior sisters.

 The group of "Helping Hands"

Missionaries (Rusch, McClellan, Sister Koontz, Bleak, Koontz & Blazzard)

Family History Night in Cauayan Branch 3

Elder and sister Koontz have had a wonderful time helping members of the 2 branches that they attend in getting their family histories on familysearch.org

Banaue #2

On May 16th we drove back to Banaue again. This time with the missionaries departing on June 19th. We were also joined by a sister who served in this mission a year ago and was vacationing with her parents in the Philippines. 

At the Welcome sign

With President and Sister Hiatt

Group photo of the 10 Elders departing in May and June.

All the Elders in our van bought matching hats to protect them from the sun. Elder Koontz needed more protection with a bigger brim.

Elder Koontz had a copy of a photo taken 40 years ago when he visited Banaue while a young missionary. He wanted to find the same viewpoint and started asking the locals if they knew where that photo may have been taken. One of the shop vendors knew where... from behind her store!

Does this look like it could be the right spot?!

First try for the recreation... needs tweaking.

On the 3-hr drive back, after a long day in the sun.

Ready to get back to work...

Senior Couples' trip to Governor's Rapids

On Saturday, May 11th, all the senior couples took a drive south towards Madella to Governor's Rapids. It was an especially hot day so an activity in the water sounded refreshing and cool. We arrived at the boat rental and donned our life-jackets and sunscreen before boarding the 'banka'. 

Our 14-foot wooden boat had room for the eight of us and three guides/boat operators. With all on board, the water level outside the boat came to within two inches of the rim of the boat. An occasional wiggle would send water flowing into the boat. Water also leaked through the cracks between the planks of wood. Since dad and I were in the back, one of us had the job of scooping water out of the boat for fear that we would sink. 

The Cagayan River flows north and meanders through the Cagayan Valley of northern Luzon. The Philippines Cauayan Mission includes the valley and the mountain ranges to the east and west of the valley. The water is calm and an opaque brown. The hillsides along the river are green and lush with vegetation. We saw banana, coconut and tobacco farms.

As we arrived at the rapids, we all had to get out of the boat and walk over the rocks. The water was not deep enough for our heavy boat. We met the Allens on the other side.

The last stop was at a cave. The Roberts and Pres. Hiatt were the only brave ones to wade through knee-deep water, see a 20' waterfall, and climb down through a slot just wide enough for one person.

I don't know exactly how long we were out on the water, but it was enough time to heat up empanadas on the dash of the car. Yummy lunch after a relaxing day!

Zone Conferences, Ties, and ECCs

Last week was Zone Conference for the missionaries. The mission is divided into three conferences - four zones in the southern end meet in Santiago City, three central zones meet in Cauayan, and the northern zones meet in Ilagan. All the senior couples attend each day. It gives us a chance to see all the elders and sisters of the mission. We’ve got some great young people, all dedicated and enthusiastic.

Elder Koontz tried to get as many as he could signed up to Relative Finder. Many ARE related to each other - some fourth cousins, some fifteenth cousins. I still have not found anyone related to me. Most of the Filipino missionaries have only four generations or less in their family tree.

I spent most of the Conference doing mending for the missionaries: two skirts, one dress, five pants, four shirts, and twenty-two ties! Yes, twenty-two, 22, almost two dozen, eleven twice. Five were repairs, 17 were wide ties narrowed down. I don’t know where they find them, but, they add a little variety to the five or six ties they start their mission with.

Emigration Exit Clearance (ECC) are forms the missionaries need to sign before they can leave the Philippines and go home. The forms were changed from three-pages to five-pages. Four copies of 2x2" photos must also be included. With requirements being changed, three departing groups of missionaries (28 departing in May, June, and July) needed to sign forms and have photos retaken. I gathered the signatures while Elder Koontz took photos with his iPad. Within two days after Zone Conferences, all 140 pages and 112 copies of photos were mailed to Manila to be processed.

Following are just a few photos of the missionaries as they complete the conference and head to their teaching areas.

General Conference

General Conference occurs on the first weekend of April and October. Here in the Philippines, it is rebroadcast the following weekend.

We decided to watch it ‘live’ over the Internet. The only problem was that 10:00am MST in Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday morning translates to MIDNIGHT Sunday morning for us in the Philippines. We watched the afternoon session from 4:00 to 6:00am. It was Fast and Testimony Sunday that day so we attended the two branches assigned to us. It was hard to stay alert. Needless to say, we took a long nap before watching the next two Sunday sessions and are grateful that we can watch Conference repeatedly during waking hours.

Baptisms and Pen Pals

...still trying to catch up.

Sometime in the beginning of March, the full-time missionary Elders in the Cauayan Branch we attend came to us before Sacrament meeting. They had a question for Elder Koontz and hoped that he could help. There is this little family of five girls. We didn’t know for sure how they were all related, but we would sit by them in Sacrament Meeting. The eight year old was going to get baptized and wanted Elder Koontz to baptize her.
“Surely there a someone in the branch who could baptize her,” he asked.
“No, she would like you to do it,” they said.

March 23rd baptism of sisters (l-r) Joy, Carissa, and Joan.

A couple of weeks later, we went to the church to get ready for the baptism. Another  branch had a baptism in progress so we had to wait in the hall while they finished. Elder Koontz was dressed in his white baptismal clothes, and so were three of the girls in the family! Then we learned that he was baptizing all three of them!! They are sisters, and the oldest is the mother of the 1 and 3-year-old. Sweet family! So happy for them. Oh, and they each bore their testimonies in Sacrament meeting the next day.

We’ve since brought them an illustrated Book of Mormon (in Tagalog) because that is what the 8-yr-old Crissa prefers to read. She and Ellie have also become modern-day ‘pen pals’. Mail takes about three weeks between the states and the Philippines, and, they don’t really ‘deliver’ mail here. We email and print ‘letters’ between the girls.

Kaibigan for Primary friends

The Philippine equivalent to the Ensign magazine in the US is the Liahona. The monthly insert in the Liahona magazine is equivalent to the Friend magazine. It is called ‘Kaibigan’ which means ‘Friend’.

Aurora Primary children with their ‘Kaibigan’.

The front cover of the February issue is drawn by our son-in-law, Brandon. (Everyone who came in to the office learned what a talented artist he is!) I brought copies of the magazine for all the Primary kids in the two branches we attend. They were so happy to have their own copy.

Primary children in the Cauayan 3 Branch.

Career Workshop and Banaue

We have been assigned to teach the Career Workshop to the departing missionaries. It is a class to help them learn about their strengths and abilities, setting goals, and preparing them for further education or work prospects. Career Workshop is usually four or five weeks before they depart, but since Sis. Hiatt was in the hospital, it was postponed to a week before their departure.

After the class, the missionaries whose first language is not English take a test that gauges their knowledge of conversational English. They are asked questions about the weather, or are asked to describe a task, etc. They speak into headphones and use one of the office computers. Most of them are nervous but do just fine.

The next day, the departing missionaries meet at 5:45am to leave for Banaue, the famous rice terraces of the Philippines. Pres. And Sis. Hiatt have taken a group every six weeks for the last 27 months! All senior couples are invited, but not required, to join them. The other two couples declined, so Elder Koontz and I got to go. Besides, another vehicle was needed to transport the four elders, five sisters, and two of the Hiatts’ daughters. The last third of the three hour drive is on narrow, two-lane roads along the mountainside.

 The official marker.

 Panoramic View of Banaue in 2019

This view was taken when I was last here in 1980. I need to find this exact location next trip!

 Senior couple missionaries partying

 The sisters leaving to go home in a few days

 Another panoramic View of Banaue

 Best half of the Koontz senior couple at Banaue Rice Terraces.

Elder Koontz 40 years later and back again!