Everything Happens in Two's

Everything here seems to be happening in two's ...

We have two "Rooms Where It Happens." Steve chose the home office for his work station and I've taken over the family room, just as I did in our house in the US. We've both settled into our work spaces, with our phones and computers connected to wifi and electricity, and we're within easy loud-voice distance of each other.

We each have two phones and two phone numbers (our new church phones & phone numbers and our original US phones & phone numbers). For anyone who would like to contact us, there is a plethora of ways to reach us, all of which are easy and immediate and free:  text on our US numbers, email to our usual email addresses, Messenger (text, audio call or video call), WhatsApp (text, audio call or video call) and Facetime (audio call or video call). I am especially grateful for video calls that keep us closely connected with our three little grandsons. 💙 

Two movers delivered our shipment from the US last Friday, unloading and unpacking the 35 boxes in just a few hours. By the end of the day, we were moved in and settled, complete with pictures on the shelves. 

   

We operate in two languages, English and Tagalog. Our mission is officially an English-speaking mission and all of our missionaries speak English, to varying abilities and levels of confidence, but we can definitely converse with all of them. We try to study Tagalog every day and Steve is especially good at making light conversation in Tagalog. 

We've had two days of baptisms in our first week, with one baptism on Friday and three on Saturday. We were able to attend by Zoom, which we're grateful for, but we do look forward to the end of quarantine when we can attend in person. The work our missionaries are able to accomplish with the significant Covid restrictions is remarkable.  

We have two amazing sets of young missionary leaders, our three office sisters (Sister Redondo, Sister Leduna and Sister Pallad) and our two assistants (Elder Presentacion and Elder Malacaman). They are the heart and the brains of this mission and have kept this mission running smoothly through three sets of mission leaders and constantly changing and intense Covid restrictions.

     

We have two new and wonderful senior missionaries serving in the Olongapo mission, Lori and Hunter Scott. Sister Scott is our mission nurse (hallelujah, really and truly, hallelujah). Elder Scott is our jack-of-all-trades, currently helping us get up to speed with technology and missionary work. The most remarkable part is that they are serving remotely from Utah. They are truly a blessing and we acknowledge the miracle of their service.

I've had two sweet reminders of my time in India, both of which warmed my heart and made me smile. The elephant is on our front porch and the goat went walking down the lane in front of our house. 

Each of the air conditioners in the mission home has two parts, the wall unit and the remote control. Essentially we can fully customize the air conditioning in each room in the house because each room has its own air conditioning unit.

We now have water filters in two of the bathrooms so we can now brush our teeth with tap water. A small but welcome convenience.

We've connected with two generous and kind Welfare Service Missionaries, Lya and Sonny Lucila, who drove up from Bataan on Saturday to meet us since we're still in quarantine. Sister Lucila is on the Board of Directors for the Philippines Red Cross and she is working to get us a two week travel pass so that we can drive to meet our missionaries ... another miracle. Because of Covid, there are roadblocks all over our mission, restricting travel. The two-week pass is a lifesaver compared to the daily pass we'd otherwise be required to get from the local police station.

And lastly, our two name tags. I love putting on my name tag every day, declaring my testimony that Jesus is our Savior, that He lives, that He loves us and that I am His disciple.