Again it has been a while since we sent you an update. There are some good reasons for this: First, much of what we have been doing cannot or should not be discussed in an open forum like this. Trust me, there have been some some really special things happen lately that have renewed my faith in the the power of the gospel to change lives. We have also been really busy. We took a boat to Marinduque last week at 2:00 AM to take care of some business there and got home about 8:00 PM that night - short night and long day.

I went to Manila the day after a mall was bombed for some training for Stake Presidencies and Mission Presidencies. I went 6 months ago and I can't believe the difference 6 months makes. I knew more people this time and the training was great. I was still on a high from General Conference so this had a similar effect. There is a picture attached of your mom talking to one of you through our computer in the mission office while I was in Manila.

We just got some pictures from an Elder we worked with on Marinduque so I have attached them. The first one was taken just after we met with a man and his children. Just in case you think you aren't rich then examine this picture closely. These are very humble people we have learned to love more than I can express. We are so grateful for the experience of just meeting these people let alone helping them gain a testimony of their Savior and His plan for happiness.

Perhaps you have seen the butterflies we sent to Granny J and to my Mom. They came from the Island of Mendoro. There are some native people there that live very primitive lives called "Munions". These people catch the butterflies and sell them to a family who puts them in the frames you have seen them in for sale. The picture is hard to see because it taken from a moving car.

We have learned to love the missionaries, whether native or foreign (I say foreign because some come from the U.S. and some from other countries than the Philippines). Sometimes we get too attached to some of them and then it is heart breaking when they go home. Attached is a picture taken at Zone Conference on Marinduque - we call them the "Duque Elders". This picture is outdated because some have gone home and all of the others have been transfered since this picture was taken, each of the missionaries is special to us - partly because we spend so much time working with them on Marinduque and partly because we can't help ourselves.

We are truly blessed to associate with these missionareis.

Last Sunday we traveled to Lopez to Stake Conference. The Stake Presidency was being changed and the old Stake Pres. (Pres. Azaras) was being released. We love him a great deal - he has been really good to work with the missionaries. The presiding authority was Elder Teh (pronounced Tay). We have traveled some with him and his wife previously and have learned to love and respect them both a great deal. He is the 2nd Counclor in the Area Authority. Sister Teh is founder of the Deseret Mabuhy Foundation that helps children who have cleft lips and pallets, club feet, and some other problems. We recently sent a referal in for a child on Marinduque and we wanted to ask her to personally to reveiw this case.