Earthquakes in diverse places!

Dear Family and Friends!

The scriptures foretell earthquakes in diverse places, which in most minds means, "Anywhere but here! Not to me!" That, dear ones, has changed. At 3:30 am on Sunday morning we were jostled awake by a little tremor that lasted no more than about 20 seconds. 5.8 on the scale. When we checked on the internet, that site placed a star at the epicenter...right here! Probably so inconsequential that your news didn't even mention it. That's the way we like it! 

When we were set apart, Elder Oaks mentioned that the Philippines has a penchant for natural disasters, but that it had been awhile since there had been much in our part of the islands. 

"So you are probably due! Hahaha!" Shhhhh. Not in front of our mothers! :-) 

In other breaking news, our Christmas package and cards came! We were like kids! The package was full of photos of grandchildren, their original fine art, lovely letters written in variegated crayon complete with illustrations! There were kindest sentiments from their parents. And a stack of twelve envelopes, one to open each Fast Sunday for 2015. And presents! Spoiled much?! Thank you sweet family for remembering us in this way! What a lot of effort for you, and what joy it will give us all year.  Several others braved the spelling out of our ridiculously challenging address on Christmas cards. We inhaled your encouraging words and the news of your families. Not to forget the e-cards that came before Christmas, as well. Thank you all!

We spread it all out and feasted our hearts.

It has been a hospital week. Those are the hardest. We ended up taking this adorable Sister to the Missionary Recovery Center, which is located across the street from the temple in Manila. We were feeling bleak about her prospects of getting well enough to come back to us. Biking accident and some nerve trouble. But, today we had the news that her foot has awakened and has decided to serve as a foot again! We will have her back by the weekend! Rejoice! Miracle! Christmas continues!

The weather outside is delightful. High of 90, low of 72.

There is a tiny branch out in Bagoc that has been hanging on like the last leaf. President decided to put an ambitious pair of missionaries there and suggested to the Branch President that he call one as his counselor and the other as his clerk. They have been tearing it up and are having a blast! From the original active twenty or so, they report that last week there were over fifty at church and they separated during the third hour for the auxiliaries for the first time in years!  Best fun ever! We are in the business of building branches. Finding the less active who have once felt the fire of testimony and inviting their return. Teaching part member families. Looking for new investigators who are ready, and pointing all to the temple. 

We have also had the completely joyous news that another senior couple has been assigned to our mission! High kicks and high fives! We have been praying for this. We will have the Gardners and the Woods by the end of March! 

Can you sense that we are being blessed so greatly? He is doing His work!

With love,

President and Sister Dahle

Follow-up Training. Just look at them!

Anybody want to guess what they are doing?

RULDS2?

Fast Food. Pick a pot, any pot!

Traveling basket shop. We've heard a person can sleep inside there! 

Planning a shopping excursion! Don't they look fun?!

Double decker pig bus. I imagine they pay extra for the up top. 

Trip to Manila:

Safety factor? Minus 67!! Those are plates of glass he's steadying. 

Bet he'll be a little quicker to call shotgun next time. 

Another hazardous job!

Please pass the butter! Somehow we can  all fit, although it can be harrowing. 

The lane lines are more like guidelines!

Treated to an amazing sunset on the way home!

Under Construction

Dearest Family and Friends,

Christmas and New Years over! Check. And life is carrying on! A 2015 calendar is taking shape and we think we mostly know what kinds of things to put on there. One thing for certain...there are very few blank spaces. None, actually, because just like all of you, there really is more to do than 365 days can hold.

We finally succeeded on President Dahle's birthday, in getting an hour on the beach! We sat at a little thatch covered picnic table and held still. A breeze blew. There was no one at all to cti, so we watched the South China Sea roll in. President had downloaded a book, Ghost Soldiers, which is about the history of this very region after the Bataan Death March. We read some together! And walked in the surf! Happy Birthday for both of us! 

Happy Birthday President!

The assistants and office elders with Elder Gorringe.

Trick candles on Sister Gorringe's famous carrot cake!

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Maybe we should have had some orange cones on our doorstep this past six months to warn all that we are under construction! We have taken note as some old roads we travel regularly are demolished, huge concrete chunks slammed apart by heavy machinery. Occasionally it's done in smaller pieces, chiseled away by men with shovels and picks. Eventually the nice new road appears. Are you seeing a metaphor here? Then, of course, there are the more subtle signs of overhaul elsewhere, like the online version when you get the blank screen that just says 'sorry, this site is closed for maintenance.' (I actually used that trick for a couple of days last week! Pillows over my head! It worked great!) We really have had our road bed scraped out past what we thought was our bottom layer, and yet I know with certainty there will be plenty more where that came from! The cones are permanent! Maybe eternal. Hark! Growth! And we are being carried.

The Metaphor

A note about our Christmas. Many, many miraculous missionary mothers sent us packages loaded with essentials as well as fun to be given out to each and every missionary who hadn't yet received a Christmas package! We filled our big room with boxes and bags and wrappings and undertook a most exciting Santa task! Everyone close at hand helped out. We gathered in two different zones conferences on the 23rd and 24th, hauled along our little tree and piled the packages all around. Every missionary came prepared to give a short message on each of the 9 Christlike Attributes focused on in Preach My Gospel, then 9 names were drawn! We had hymns in between. There was the scriptural Christmas story and prepared musical numbers given by each zone. A big lunch, and a wild rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas finished off each day. The packages were given out to delighted Elders and Sisters amidst picture taking and happy visiting. Fun!!! So fun! A big THANKS to any of you who were involved! 

And thanks to all of you for support and prayers sent our way! 

We send our love to you,

President and Sister Dahle

Missionary Christmas:

 

Ho Ho Ho! 

Monogrammed face and fingers cloths for each missionary. 

Christmas Eve story for another time. 

Don't worry, President Dahle taught the first discussion to the nicest policeman ever!

Happy New Year 2015!

New Year's Social: Brother Barangan never disappoints.

District Presidents and 

Mission Presidency and Wives

Seen in passing:

Oh Christmas Tree

Dear Friends and Family,

This is the Christmas Letter! It's going to look like every other letter except we wish to refer you to our blog for a few pictures we have been collecting of the Philippine style Christmas trees and their creative bent! 

Road trips! Nearly to the top of the mission twice, and nearly to the bottom of the mission once. Quite a bit of driving around in the middle to boot. Deliveries! New missionaries and trainers, boatloads of Christmas packages, and setting apart six brand spanking new Elders and Sisters, then releasing one. It feels like the number of missionaries going out from the Olongapo Mission is rising! Two years down the road there will be a leadership explosion! It has certainly been going on all along to a good degree, but we have met the current outflow, and are excited for the missionary work they will do and the leadership they will provide when they come home! And we will still be here to see them! Wrap your head around that one...! I'm going to have to learn a few new Tagalog phrases in the next two years since I sort of told one I would be practically fluent by the time he came home. Joke lang. Magandang umaga po. (Spell checker is sending off alarms) 

Heading out: Elder Mongroban and soon to be Elder Villegas

Destination: Hong Kong and California

What will we do on Christmas Day? FaceTime. All of our children and grandchildren will be at our house in Lehi for Christmas Eve, which lines up perfectly with our Christmas morning!! It will be so fun to see every single one. This is at the top of the many good reasons Heavenly Father inspired great minds in technology! There will be a hospital visit to an Elder who's sickness timing is particularly unfortunate. He might get caroled. His neighbors might get caroled. We have some miniature candy canes to share with the neighbors, who may also get caroled. The Winters like to carol! We will be back up. Later, Christmas dinner with our senior couples and our Elders at the office.  I'm especially grateful that one of those senior couples is my amazing sister and her sweetheart, Elder and Sister Winters! The Gorringes, Whites, and Wrights have become like family, as have the Elders that do so much to keep our boat afloat. In other words, we plan to get through this first Christmas away with colors! And with any luck, they may even fly.

May your Christmas be full and happy, filled with the truest Spirit! Our gratitude for the Savior and the Plan of Happiness has quadrupled as we have engaged in new ways in His work. Testifying about and relying on the enabling power of the Atonement regularly has given new life to our own understanding and deepened our gratitude immeasurably. We have been so blessed!

We love you! Merry Christmas!

President and Sister Dahle 

Manila

Inside the lab... The 'weather' inside is frightful. 

At the window of the hospital lab

Emergency room. Please note the falling snow. 

At the beach