Called to Serve Him...: 2015-03-08

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been a hospital week, and lucky us, these rooms have glorious views!

Hospital room with a view.

President Dahle's latest hospital CTI. His daughter lives in Park City!

Another room with a great view!

Getting the companion/watcher out for a walk.

One sister needed additional care at the MRC in Manila. Since she leaves to go home next week, President Dahle arranged for us to stop by her Zone's Tuesday morning meeting on the way out to say goodbye, just in case she had to stay there through the whole weekend and not get back before her flight home. He had them greet her as she walked into the church house singing her favorite hymn, #60. The Battle Hymn of the Republic! Wow! It was powerful! All composure went out the window.

They were standing and singing Hymn #60 in greeting. AMAZING!

The up to the minute happy news is she is coming back today to be here for the last four days of her mission, and that will mean so much to her and to her batch mates that didn't have the chance to say goodbye.

The other up to the minute happy news is that the hospital is empty of missionaries and I have decided to become interested instead of horrified at this part of my calling. Time for the old dog to learn some new tricks it NEVER wanted to learn. Why do things like this keep happening?! Read D&C 121. :-D

Remember the four young men, best friends all with mission calls? President Dahle set the last one apart last week! His family was baptized ten years ago by our up the street neighbor from Lehi who was serving here then. How fun to see the stone rolling forth! Elder Villegas will be serving in California, so is preparing in the Provo MTC and learning about snow first hand! We will be watching these four young men and others we get to send out from here, all our days, right along with our own five hundred, give or take.

The Villegas Family sending off their first missionary.

President Dahle attended a Priesthood meeting Sunday where a new deacon was ordained by a young 17 year old priest, accompanied by two others, also priests. It was carried out with the maturity and decorum of a seasoned, mature priesthood holder. Often, the Young Women's president is an 18 year old sister, fulfilling her calling beautifully! When we were serving at the BYU stake we were continually amazed at the young Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents and their capabilities! It is worldwide and it is exciting!

No kidding!

If any of you were hoping to retire here and drive a jeepney for fun and supplemental income, here are a few tips on skills you should hone:

- accelerating from roadside into traffic quickly yet smoothly to avoid dumping your passengers at the back out the open rear door.

- 'merging' into thick lines of cars, trikes, buses, bikes, pedestrians and the occasional carabao bent on not letting you 'merge'.

- never making eye contact with surrounding drivers, which might give the mistaken idea that you are letting them 'merge'.

- all driving must be done within millimeters of other vehicle's mirrors, bumpers and car door handles.

- learn to listen to multiple murmured passenger's destination requests, calculate the cost, receive the cash coming hand to hand to your stretched backward hand, make change and pass it back, then stop at each of the desired destinations, all while doing all of the above.

- hold perfectly folded peso bills, arranged by denomination, between your left hand fingers, while using that hand to give subtle yet meaningful signals to other drivers on your left.

- receive and make change while driving with the right.

- manage a stick shift and clutch while doing all of the above.

Good luck, and have fun!!

We have seen the lizard with the loud and haunting voice...and the sticky feet that will cling to you and never come off! He was outside the cr window! And, we got a picture without getting jumped onto. When I say we, I mean President Dahle. My overdeveloped sense of self preservation kept me cowering at a safe distance, then streaking for the front door when it scrambled across the wall. He is the hero.