A Week Filled with Good ...

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August 15 through 20 was a week of goodness. Good things happened. Mostly it was because Elder David A. Bednar of the Council of Twelve Apostles came to visit the Philippines. He was accompanied by his wife.

They came first to Cebu, where the new temple is being built. He presided at a stake conference there on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday evening he flew to Manila. And that’s where the whirlwind of good things began.

Sunday evening was a leadership meeting for the Church leaders in Manila and nearby. On Monday was a meeting with members from three stakes. (We really wanted to have all the members in Metro-Manila come, but we couldn't find a meeting place large enough.) Monday afternoon he held a meeting with missionaries from two missions, Manila and Angeles. (One of his friends from BYU-Idaho is the president of the Angeles Mission.)

Monday early evening there was a meeting at the Manila Temple for all temple workers. This was followed by a dinner at the Edwards’ apartment. Because Elder and Sister Edwards were accompanying Elder and Sister Bednar at the temple, Sister Roundy and Sister Millett (wife of the Philippines Area Director of Temporal Affairs) and their lazy husbands went to the Edwards’ apartment to prepare the dinner. Sister Edwards had it all planned out and laid out. The women cooked the food that she had ready. Sister Roundy had prepared and brought a salad (one requested by Sister Edwards). Sister Millet brought vegetables. Sister Teh was bringing the deserts. About 6:30, the Edwards and Bednars came. So did the Kos. They brought their daughter. The Tehs brought their four children. So we had a large group at the table. Elder Roundy had been instructed to carefully study the etiquette for serving food (serve with the right hand over the diner’s right shoulder; remove from the left). It was a splendid, easy, and special dinner.

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Elder and Sister Bednar are easy to talk to, chatty and friendly. They told us some of the experiences they had as they traveled across the world. One particularly interesting report was about Slovakia. Elder Bednar’s grandparents came from there, and they met some of their relatives. He told us considerable and special information about this country, but he carefully asked us not to email it out (because, he said, most people who read it would think it should be spread out to their friends and family, and overnight it would be altogether a different version of the truth). So ... ask us when we come home.

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The Group. Back row left: Elder Teh, Elder Ko, Elder Edwards, Elder Bednar, Brother Millett, Elder Roundy, Adam Teh. Second row left: Sister Kim (Ko), Sister Edwards, Sister Bednar, Sister Millett, Sister Roundy. Front row left: Hy Wong Ko, Colisa Teh, Alysium Teh, Sister Teh.

On Tuesday we held another missionary meeting with the missionaries in the Quezon City Mission (where we are assigned). Elder Ko and Sister Kim (husband and wife) took them on a tour of some historical places in Manila. Then a meeting at the Missionary Training Center where all the new missionaries were being taught.

On Wednesday there was a meeting with all the employees at the Philippines Area Office. The Bednars then came up to our office and wished us all good-bye. Off they went to Korea.

What’s next? Wait until November ..., just you wait.