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Finished in September

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Well, for the longest time I kept thinking that September 21 was our final day as full time missionaries, but I actually think it was September 22. Either way, our last day serving in the temple was Saturday, September 20. So, yes, we have finished our Manila Philippines Temple Mission. I am writing this post as I am sitting in my den in Ridgefield, Washington, USA. It is October now. The final days of our mission in Manila, Philippines were quite different than the final days of our mission in Montreal, Canada. We didn't really get to see any of our friends when we left Montreal because of being quickly "thrown out" in March 2020 because of Covid-19. We were not sure what to expect in finishing a mission as a missionary couple, and we had some emotional times as we neared the end. Since this is my last blog post regarding our Manila Philippines Temple Mission, I am going to spend a little extra time sharing some pictures and events of our wrapping up and coming home. Tem...
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August - Winding Down?

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OK, I am way off the mark. This post started a week ago "As I write this blog Laurie and I have under two weeks left to serve as full time missionaries in the Manila Philippines Temple." but I am just getting back to it. Things just seem to be going crazy right now. We are struggling with our departure but we know it is time. I titled this as "Winding Down" with a "?". There is nothing going slow right now, I can assure you :). Nevertheless, let me share with you a few bits of our life in the month of August that might shed a little understanding on why we will miss the Philippines. Two Weeks Off In August Yes, the first two full weeks in August finds the Manila temple shutting down for routine maintenance, as it does pretty much every 6 months. During that shutdown, we spent some time working, exploring, and getting sick. For those who might have forgotten, I still have a small business and I saved up a few things to do work-wise, during the maintenance s...
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Waterworld

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Wow, there has been so much rain this past month of July. For comparison's sake I am going to use an image right up front here. We have Elder McAllister, an avid amateur meteorologist who put up his own "weather station" outside his apartment close by us in the Eastwood Mall. Last week, during one of the two monsoons that we went through, it showed about 18.52 inches of rain in a 7 day period. For context, the average annual rainfall for Vancouver, Washington is about 42 inches. From July 1 through July 28 there was 48 inches of rainfall in Quezon City (Metro Manila) per the Pagasa weather company (the US equivalent to the "National Weather Service"). Although, if I use this good Elder's additional post, he would say that his weather machine calculated about 30 inches. That's in just one month. The average rainfall in Metro Manila in July is just over 15 inches. It has been extremely wet this past month. This rainy weather causes lots of flooding in the ...
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June Deux

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Well, this is our second June in Manila and the start of the rainy season is upon us. I have only had to use an umbrella a couple of times so far. We are mostly in the temple or our apartment. Since we don't get out much, we don't experience the rain as much as the rest of Manila city dwellers. The temple department traded out their older van for a new Hyundai Staria van. Hey, it has cooled seats in the front and second row. Pretty big deal here in Manila. Laurie has gone from being "a person with a strong desire" for heated seats, and has switched her story to the whole cooling seat concept. The gift of "not being hot all the time here" has not come to her yet. She has a little less than three months left now and she would sure love to have that gift soon. Laurie and I feel like our pace of living here continues to pick up. There is always so much to do. I am still "connected" to our small business, so there always seems to be something going on t...
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45th in May

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May went by quickly and at the end of it, on May 30th, we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary. I thought I would start out this blog post with the a tribute to my wife, Laurie. She had the courage to say "yes" to my marriage proposal in late January 1980. We were married about 4 months later on May 30, 1980. What a blessing to have the opportunity to be married to her, and to have 45 years on this earth together these last 45 years. I have had a few moments to ponder our life together and have found myself lacking. I want to be a better husband and father. Laurie patiently awaits my hopeful arrival of being that better person she has always known "is in there". Nevertheless, together we have been pretty darn happy all these years and have found a lot of joy in being with each other. Our children, grandchildren, faith, and friends are central to that happiness. Here are just a couple of pictures of the past and the present to celebrate that joy. I will get to the...
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