Sunday Jeepnee ride home from Church

Here is the Jeepnee we rode in today home from Church. Very Colorful.

Our prospective Supervisor Lott next to me and looking out the back of the Jeepnee

This is shot is of us all riding in the Jeepnee. From left to right, Lott, Me, Brother Alan Pratt from Salt Lake City and Elder Burningham (Dad/Al)

The ride is safer to me than driving ourselves.

All in a weeks work.

I know I promised pictures and they will come soon but we have been extraordinarily busy with interviewing 6 security agencies here in Cebu. We narrowed it down to one agency with another as back up. We gave each agency our folder with Church overview materials in it with a video and other things. Everyone except one agency was excited to receive it. All wanted to go through the open house when open house is available. Here in Cebu Elder Burningham and myself and Brother Pratt from Salt Lake City and our prospective supervisor Lott Revilla revisited the one agency we think can supply us with 6 guards with 4 of our own from Manila. Yesterday we took a representative from the one agency and the rest of us to the Cebu Temple Complex to walk around to find out where camera were and where the guards should be etc. During our tour of the complex we went inside the nearly completed temple. A lot of furniture is in place along with pictures. It is very elegant and above standard from anything we have seen around here. Both Lott and our rep from the Agency both said that they have NEVER seen anything like it. Lott said...whew this is expensive. Lorenzo our rep from the agency said he is just amazed at the fine workmanship and the feeling it has. There was no music from radios inside or trash or food. All food is eaten outside and trash is immediately taken out.

Today Sunday we went to Church here in Cebu and we enjoyed it more as English was mostly spoken. We took a Taxi there and then a Jeepney back. All of us wanted to ride in a Jeepney at least once. And for the record. They drive better than Elder Burningham. I would ride in one any day over Elder Burningham. Brother Pratt took a picture of us in the Jeepney and he will email me a picture of it so I can post on the blog here.

I am starting to feel more comfortable with being here. I admit that I felt pretty strange being the only white person here but now finding it much more comfortable and people friendly.

I hope pictures will be on here in the next week or so..
Love, E/S Burningham

Corregidor, Philippines

We had the most interesting experience yesterday. Our Security Specialist of Asia Pacific from Salt Lake City is Alan Pratt and is here in Manila training our guards here at the Manila Complex. Also we will all be in Cebu this week for interviewing and identifying a security company His one personal special request was to visit the island of Corregidor 26 miles off the coast of Manila where his step father served in the Navy during World War II. While there his step father was captured and stayed as a POW for a two and a half years then in Japan for another year. We all traveled together to Corregidor and took a tour of the many ruins there left by Japanese bombings. The island of Corregidor was once an amazing complex of several huge housing areas for military personnel, recreation buildings, housing for officers, married officers, you name it. It was once a very well built and very well maintained facility. It would be more like a small city on the island. I HAVE PICTURES AND WILL POST THEM SOON.

We had an American guide that is now living on the island of Corregidor with his wife. The guides own father was a POW also, so his guide presentation was not only informative but personal. Brother Pratt thought the whole experience was awesome and heart warming. We learned alot for this experience. Glad we did it. Look for the pictures soon.
Sister B

Sunday March 13, 2010

These cute kids are all siblings waiting before church while their parents went to a Temple Preparation class. They knew exactly what their parents were doing and talked about being sealed in the temple. From left to right, Erica, Angel, Angelica sitting on my lap and Marco. We sang Primary songs, "I am a child of God" and "Teach me to walk in the light of his Love" in English. They know the songs in English really well and English is their second language. Very well behaved and loved to play games with me and sing.

More Pictures

This is the Missionary Training Center right next to our office building. Both are really nice buildings. Next to the MTC is the Temple apartments where a couple of Senior Missionary couples live. The one most important to have next to us is the Medical Senior Missionary Couple.

Friday March 12 2010, pictures of our complex

This is a picture of the Manila Philippines Area Office. We are on the main floor with three floors below us and two above of us.

Thursday March 11, 2010

Al found out the other night while at the hardware store the other night at about the time of closing that a closing prayer was said over the intercom. He said it was very nicely done. We noticed also that restaurants and places of businesses start their employee meetings with prayer and with a closing prayer. How interesting. We are glad to see it here in this land.

Manila Temple

This the view of the Manila Temple from our office window. Right now the maintenance crew is outside cleaning the stained glass windows and outside building. Because there are no emission controls here, the air is polluted and dust builds up very quickly. Beautiful view of the temple and we are pleased to be here.

Our experience.

I posted some pictures and comments. I hope that you can see them all right. Our experience at all our meetings were wonderful. It was fast and testimony meeting today and the branch president's wife translated for me. Most of what is said is in Tagalog with a few words of English thrown in. I wanted to feel the spirit and I did. The mission's president wife asked me to share my testimony so I did. I relayed information forward to us in an email about how the Lord protects him missionaries in Chile during the earthquake. The Mission President of Chile had inspiration to have all his missionaries be prepared with 36 hour kits and met with each missionary and prayed with them all for their protection. Some of the missionaries asked "Do you know something we don't" All he could reply was, "If you are prepared you need not fear". And left it at that. When the quake hit it was very hard throwing people around from side to side and things falling off and buildings collapsing. Not one of our missionaries were hurt or lost. They did have to double up on their apartments as some apartments were distroyed. All were prepared and went about helping other people. I really feel the spirit of truth when I hear about how this mission president felt inspired to prepare his missionaries. He actually knew it would be an earthquake but did not want to relay that in particular to the Elders and Sister Missionaries, just helped to prepare them and pray with them. They are safe and still about the Lord's work.

Relief Society lesson was translated by an older woman in the ward (68) and she was wonderful to help me understand.

At the end of the block schedule, a young woman visited with me before she and her family loaded into a Trike (packed in I should say) and asked about the Salt Lake Temple and it was her dream to see it. I asked her how old she is as she looks to be about 16. She told me she will be 21 in April. I told her that when she is 21 she may receive her endowments and she replied "Really?" She didn't know that and will speak to the branch President about it. I told her I would be there if she elects to go to the temple. She was excited. She also bore her testimony in Relief Society. Really sweet girl. I can't believe how young these people look.

I found out that out of respect, a younger person calls an older person "mama". One young woman in RS was relating an experience that went to the temple to do ordinance work only to find out that the temple was closed for maintenance. But they were able to serve by repairing and cleaning temple clothing. She refered to our RS President as "Mama Calo", Her last name being Calo. It was done so with the upmost respect and love. I am very impressed with their love with each other. Sisters alway great their other sister with a handshake and cheek to cheek press and kiss. They treat me very warmly without knowing me. It is very impressive.

Many of the very young people who shake our hands, put our hand to their forehead as a way to show respect. In the United States we don't show that kind of emotion and would be difficult to experience it there. Interesting to experience here and we just love the Filipinos.

Sunday 3-7-10

This is a picture by the side of General MacArthur's academy on our way out to Sapang Palay. In our directions to get there I am the Navigator and reading to Elder the directions. I could not say the name out quick enough as we were driving out so it came out Gen Mac. So affectionately our landmark is called Gen Mac. The Jeepney is a sample of the thousands we see here on the road.

We couldn't believe our eyes when we say this ad on the side of a health clinic on our way to Sapang Palay. Elder had to stop and take a picture of it. Tuli ka na ba? Means "Have you been circumcised? Elder and I had to make jokes about this all the way to church and then back. In our Sunday School lesson today we were reading about Abraham having this done at 99 years old. If you look at the fine print in the sign it says 15 years old and under. Abraham could have used this service in his day and on sale at that.



















This is how a family will get to church. Three kids and the dad on a motorcycle

This is the inside of an internet cafe we found in the neighborhood of the members we visited.

This the ouside of the internet cafe that we visited. It is very nicely built and the kids love to be on the internet.

Ouside of the home we visited with many children.

Picture of outside of home and with the family/mostly grandchildren in the area of Sapang Palay

Family we visited with the

Branch President's wife.

This is the chapel they meet in. It is the nicest building around.

Explanation of the Manila Philippine Area Office

Just to give an idea of where we work from it is called the Manila Philippine Area Office or also known as MPAO There are 14 Senior Missionary couples in the office with other paid employees of the church to keep things running. The Senior Missionaries are volunteers but work is . Our pay is heavenly. There are 15 different missions in the Philippines with each having its own President and missionaries underneath them. There is an area general authority here President Edwards and he is also Mission President. There is a director of the Department of Temporal Affairs, A contractor that is over the expansion of the Missionary Training Center Complex exsiting on the MPAO premises. The MTC expansion is just getting underway. There is a Legal Counsel in the building. The facility is 5 stories high. Our office looks directly across the street at the temple. So pretty nice area to work in. We will be traveling to Cebu the end of the month to get security in place. In the course of the next year we will travel to all 15 missions to train in Security. We will see some nice places when we do that.

Some of the senior missionaries assignments are: Welfare, Family History, Perpetual Education Fund, Publics Affairs; Membership records; Real Estate and Ward alignments; Security (which is us) Assistants to the Mission President and Area President, Medical (yes there is a doctor in the house) Senior missionaries assigned to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) Thats just a few.

Friday March 5 - very busy

Without going into too much detail...we are as busy as we can be with many issues to sort out. Cebu Temple security staffing, who or what company will do that. Security issues with Dedication and celebration. Details of apartment...sorted out yesterday. Someone came into the office and stole a wallet. Someone was careless. And so on and so on. Details on the expansion of the Missionary Training center here at the Area Office. Where to put the cameras and card readers. Busy.

A Graffitti Picture sent to us

It happens everywhere people. This was sent to us from the Angeles Mission here in the Philippines. The Elder driving the van obviously thought it funny. Salt Lake might not. It is a church van.