Dear Family & Friends,

We are going on near to a month in the Humanitarian Department (of LDS Charities) and we are just beginning to understand all of the complexity of both managing existing and seeking approval of new projects. We were told, early in our service here, that the Church has a whole variety of pre-packages solutions looking for projects to marry up with, but we have found in reality - that was only the simplest of descriptions of a huge magnitude of complexity, of doing these responsibilities. Generally Projects and/or Initiatives are divided into two main considerations. (1) Major Projects or Initiatives that are overseen and begun by Salt Lake (Headquarters); generally these types are larger in scope and represent much large amount of funds. These projects have in the past been divided among the following areas; Benson Institute/Food Production; Dental Care; Emergency/Disaster Relief; Immunization; Neonatal Resuscitation Training; Other Medical Projects; Vision Care; Clean Water; & lastly Wheelchairs. We oversee all of these categories except for Wheelchairs (and because of the complexity and never ending issues of import and distribution - we have one senior missionary couple and an entire team of service missionary couples to overseeing this important, ongoing area). The second division for projects are at the (2) Area Level of Projects/Initiatives. In the past these projects have generally following the same pattern, as the major variety but the newest direction from headquarters (Salt Lake) is the adjust, customize and mold them at the area level (or the country level - in most cases) to follow the same focus and direction as the Federal Government (in our case the President). This allows the Church structure its’ projects and initiatives to compliment and further the same efforts as the government agencies, the NGO community, and others charitable organizations within that country - working hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder for a common goal. 

The President of the Philippines recently indicated in his “State of the Union” remarks - that he wanted to focus on three key areas, namely (1) educational improvement, (2) agricultural improvement/
vocational opportunities, and (3) the improvement of the environment. As a result we are currently reviewing, carefully looking over and detailed screening - a whole host of potential projects that would suit these same objectives and compliment the country’s focus of funding and their positive support.
As we work through the screening process the thought repeatedly comes to mind – teach them to fish, don’t just give them fish. Real change and improvement in this life takes sincere effort, commitment, and desire – as well as often a lot of time. Our purpose is to do the most with little and magnify our resources by having successful partnerships. 

Not only are we attempting to leverage the goodwill of government but recognize our limited efforts will help only a few and far more can be accomplish as we team. Therefore, in additional to our best personal efforts, Sister Morello and I have been tasked to select, train, and manage a team of service, senior missionary couples (native Filipinos) who will be either specialists in one of the standing initiatives (as listed above) or serve in one of the twenty-one missions as generalists of all LDS Charities projects. This team of volunteers will develop, manage, monitor, oversee, suggest, and close-out projects and built long-term relationships in either their area of expertise or in their home region where they live and thus sustain everyone’s efforts long after ourselves or others who may follow us have served and gone home. Our goal is build a culture of service to our follow Filipinos by the LDS Charities projects selected.
This lofty objective can only be accomplished with the blessing and help of the Lord, after all it is He to whom - we attempt to serve and model our lives. May the Lord bless, protect, and guide each of us - in all of our righteous endeavors and may the focus of our lives be eternal and of the highest time valued nature.

With Love Dad & Mom Morello

Dear Family & Friends,
We had a rather light work week – this last week with having two holidays (one was a local one & one was a national one) these were on Tuesday and another on Thursday, it could NOT had come at a better time, since both Sister Morello and I had been fighting head colds and really needed a break.
One Monday we visited and turned over some 6,500 immunization carriers and 60,000 indelible ink pens (to mark each of the children as immunization is completed) at the weekly morning flag ceremony at the National Department of Heath headquarters. This was both a Public Affairs and LDS Charities event with the leadership of DOH. Our intention on the Measles/Polio Campaign is to build a better relationship with DOH Leadership and Other Local Government Leaders as we work to together to help the children (about 12M in the project countrywide.) These trips - took most of the morning going (about an hour and a half – starting at 5:45am), plus another hour and a half at the ceremonies, and lastly about another hour and a half returning back to our Area offices. Traffic in all of Manila is always very challenging - no matter the day or the hour of the day. Following our return to the office we were introduced to a potential senior service missionary couple (a retiring dentist and his sweet wife) who may oversee our dental care activities for us – here in Manila – with young missionaries or potential young missionaries needing dental care. Just by chance Dr. Jackson of Mabuhay Deseret (one of our NGO partner’s) happened to stop by the office, his organization has a dental clinic he is looking at having the Church expand, and the potential couple and we vanned over to see his facility. This took the better part of the afternoon, going, seeing, and returning – but the couple got a good idea of the responsibilities we are looking at having them oversee and manage. So Monday was made up of being mainly out-of-the-office, than Tuesday (off). We took one of the other senior couples to visit the American Military Cemetery and lunch – they serve as leaders over one of the Self-Reliance Centers and Trainers, which doesn’t give them much time for visit elsewhere in Manila. Since in both of our assignment here, we seem to travel all around, seeing both good and bad neighborhoods, I am reasonably comfortable taking others to see the various Manila sites. On Thursday, bright and early (about 5:30am) Pauli and I were off the Cavite (one of the provinces just south of Greater Manila) on meet, visit, and follow-up on one of our Benson Food Development Projects (at IIRR – a new partner NGO.) We visited out in the very, very rural area where learning about and practicing “personal garden” is a part of the regular elementary school curriculum. All of the 5th and 6th graders are tasked with keeping a personal garden at home and a collective one at school – to provide them fresh vegetables and fruits for their meal tables. This improves both them both good nutrients, better health, much better diets, and possibly some small opportunity for a little personal income. After making a few visits out in these rural areas, in the heat and humidity of the morning - we returned to their (IIRR) main offices, about a two hour drive away, ate lunch and viewed their demonstration garden – which they maintain at their educational complex. This was very educational and instructive, much of the same things we have learned over the years of maintaining personal garden in our own backyard, they teach to assist others and lift their lives. On Friday, after another holiday on Thursday, we had our Weekly Measles Campaign Update Meeting with Public Affairs. During these meetings we touch base with one another, making sure everything is getting completed and to check on any of the pending/outstanding budget expenditures. Watching the “checkbook” is one of the many and important tasks that we have been asked to oversee, as well as see that our Church monies are used for the tasked they were intended. LDS Charities is very diligent in using any of the approved funds wisely and for the intended/approved purposes SOLELY.

May the Lord bless, guide, instruct, and lead each of your righteous and positive actions.

With Love Mike & Pauli Morello,

Michael in his element

Currently your Michael is in his element.  LDS Charities is meeting with a radio salesman for emergency (disaster) communications.  Dad is making sure they get the coverage they want at the time they want it and asking hard questions of the radio rep.  He doesn't take standard answers.

Poor guy doesn't know what hit him!  I can hear all this from my office.

We had a major disaster in the Philippines last October and November. 

Our security guys are a little nervous.

Dear Family & Friends,

We had the most wonderful past weekend with having the opportunity to talk to each and every grandchild over Skype. After Kim’s coming home from the hospital with the delivery of Tressia, our newest granddaughter, all of the grandkids were at her home on Saturday evening, even now Julian, our previous Brooklyn NY kid, is in Utah as his parents are looking for new work opportunities and we networked with them. One by one – each family group at a time visited with us, then collectively - they all sang a couple of Primary songs and said goodbye. It’s a long way across the Pacific Ocean, but having Skype somewhat offsets the challenge of the distance. 

Sister Morello and I are a bit under the weather with both having head colds, sneezing and blowing our noses all of the time but with the air quality in Manila being full of sorts of pollutants/stuff, the having a head cold is a somewhat regular, quarterly event. I have been taking both a calcium and multi-vitamin pill each day and generally have NOT had any serious health problems but this occasional head cold and/or a small cough, seem natural to most senior missionaries. No matter, life goes on and we are doing very well overall.

We are beginning to build-out a schedule of visits for September (our first road trip in our new assignment.) Some of the outstanding projects here on Luzon need to be either re-energized or closed out. First we investigate the find out all of the challenges and disconnects both on the ground and in Salt Lake (with HQ) then we visit and dialogue with all of our partners to get things either re-stated and/or closed-out (ended). Every project has a beginning, middle and eventually an end; many of the Church projects seem to have a challenge with ending. 

Lastly our additional focus is to develop a network of senior, service missionaries (volunteers) throughout our entire region - to carry out the LDS Charities efforts and sustain the work- no matter or not - if there are senior full-time missionaries working in the office. This takes time and patience but is so much needed here to sustain and magnify the efforts. Filipinos helping Filipinos, speaking and understanding one another and doing good. A worthy and challenging goal, but this is our real objective.

Still learning more and more each day about our new responsibilities and duties – still a whole lot to learn – in a very short time frame. 

May each of you be blessed and granted your every righteous desire; we love and miss each of you.

With Love,
Mike & Pauli

Unlike

Dear Family & Friends,

Our best news of this past week was – in addition to our wonderful new assignment - we added a wonderful new and beautiful soul to our family in the Davis Household. Her name is Tressia, she came on Tuesday night in the U.S. or on Wednesday morning (here in the Philippines.) Her mother (our oldest daughter Kim) was in labor for a very, very long time before delivery, but Mother and child are both doing very well. We had an opportunity to see and talk with them both and they both look wonderful. I think Kim is staying in the hospital a few days to totally recover, may be until last Saturday. Lindsey (our other daughter) has gone to Utah (from Colorado) to be with Kim and her family while Kim recovers, in much the same way of offering help - like what Sister Morello had done in the past, with other grandchildren births. Lindsey is assisting in providing caring for all of the children, helping with meals, and around the house – and in general keeping things afloat while the birthing mother - has a little time to adjust and focus on the new special one.

The adventure continues, now that we are in LDS Charities, all of the experience and training of Public affairs is becoming even more valuable. Most of the guests to the Area Offices are with one or another of our items so in fact we co-host these events now. This week we hosted an Admiral with the Navy over Disaster Responses, the Church had previously given him with our introductory meeting fifty filtered clean water bottles and invited him to come and become more acquainted with our operations and complex. We show guest a video on the Church in the Philippines, tour the several building here on our complex with explanatory dialogue, and feed them. This eating together gives us time to visit build friendships, and have them know us better and for us to better understand their lives. On the average we have two or three important guest to the Area Offices which we tour and the vast majority of them are with either one of the initiatives of LDS Charities or Wheelchairs Projects. Having hosted for our first year of missionary service in Public Affairs - we are very comfort in these settings and now feel we can actively contribute to building these important and critical relationships of trust and friendship. Having friends in government (at all levels), in education (especially with the universities) and in business among the communities we work is most helpful. You never know when a friend may be critically needed. Things just happen and having friends (outside of our Church) is most helpful and needed should you want to effectively reverse the tide of public opinion or decisions which would impede or hamper our efforts.

Specifically, we started the National Measles Campaign by hosting around 80 people (Public affairs Directors, Priesthood Leaders, & Other Members of the Church) last Friday afternoon/evening to training and orient them on the details of the commitment the Church has made to assists in immunizing about 14 million children – throughout all of the Philippines. The Campaign officially starts the first of September (and run all month long.) The greatest concern of coverage is among faraway places and the poorest neighborhoods of Manila. Almost half of all the immunizations are within an hour to an hour and half drive of Downtown Manila. Our Church has offered to allow DOH (National Department of Health) the use the near to 1000 church buildings/meetinghouses around the Philippines to reach-out to every child and everyone. This is a very important project of our work and there are a billion little details to cover, but we are beginning to cover all of the bases.

We are still learning more and more each day about our new responsibilities and duties – still a lot to learn – in a very short time frame.

May each of you be blessed and granted each and every righteous desire; we desire only the best for each of you.
With Love,
Mike & Pauli

New Assignment

Dear Family & Friends,

This past month has been most interesting and I totally apologize for having NOT written sooner about things but as I know most of you have already heard from Sister Morello, we have changed assignments in our missionary efforts. Our new focus for the balance of your service time - here in the Philippines (about a year) will be in LDS Charities (or Humanitarian Department) efforts. We have moved from Public Affairs to Humanitarian (Church LDS Charities) about two weeks ago today. We oversee the following type of work projects and/or efforts: Benson Institute Food Projects (helping people learn to manage personal gardens), Clean Water Projects (helping LGU’s install and develop potable water sources), Immunization Projects (we have a very active and large project here to immunize about 14M children between 6 months to 6 years old - all throughout the Philippines), NRT (Neonatal Recession Training) for new born children, Vision Services Projects, & Emergency Relief Projects (and everyone knows we never have any emergencies and/or disasters here in the Philippines.) We are just beginning anew to learn the procedures, policies, computer tracking programs, and generally learn all the ropes in this new assignment. We have a new great boss; he has served nearly everywhere in the Church and in Church Employment. Currently he is not only over Humanitarian Services, but is over all the Church Welfare issues throughout the country and his church calling is counselor in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) across the compound. There is one additional items which our humanitarian department covers and it is the custom wheelchairs distribution, but because of all of the time and effort that one, single item (ongoing project) takes we have a senior couples and numerous service missionary couples (these are locals members who give about 8 to 10 hours a week of their time in helping) working on that area. In fact they (the other senior couple), our Director (the boss) are on the road out-of-town right now developing a new partnership in Northern Luzon Region. As with them – we will be traveling around all of the Philippines - in this new assignment - to develop partners and oversee any ongoing projects and tasks to asset their progress towards completion. We have two full-time (church employees) which we work with, one in Cebu and another in Davao. Our assignment is to oversee both of their efforts and we have responsibility “first hand” over projects in Luzon (or the region/island – in which we live.)

Overall our new assignment is both very challenging and most rewarding. The results are visible and very tangible. When you look into the eyes and hearts of people you are helping build for themselves a better quality of life, it is very gratifying. The other day at one of the vision screening, where we invite neighbors in an area to come and get us see if the vision services we offer of cataracts treatments or eyeglasses, or more extensive eye surgeries, might help we saw a little children about three, who had been nearly cribbed from birth who we could help, another was a man in his mid-fifths missing his leg below the calf, that we could give him - an artificial leg to restore his mobility and help him better work to provide for his family. He had tears in his eyes of thanks and the Filipino man is not inclined to cry at all. But both of us are most grateful, but what one really asked them is this: “if the Savior were to come today and visit among these people – what and who would He help?” This is truly the Lord work we are about and we are most grateful for this opportunity to but a small part to assist.

This past week and weekend we had a visiting eye doctor from Utah come on his own time and finances to lecture, assist, and generally help with our vision efforts. Our partner in this effort is Mabuhay Deseret, a Utah based NGO, working here in the Philippines for about twenty-five years and elsewhere around the world for about twenty years. Both ourselves, the Harris’ (the doctor and his wife), the Jackson’s (a retired medical doctor and founder of Mabuhay Deseret, former Mission President of about twenty-five years ago here) conducted training and screening both here in Manila and then in Cebu (about an hour flight south) before the Harris’ had to return home and back to normal life at work. We host all visiting medical professionals coming into the country under the Church’s sponsorship, while they are here to help and facilitate their visits/efforts. We visited several hospitals, clinics, screening locations, etc. and helped where ever and in whatever way we could, but we are still learning about our duties – and have a lot to yet understand. The time we spent in Public Affairs has given us a great understanding of the people, their leaders, and culture of the country to utilize while we transition into our time in LDS Charities.

As the weeks and months past I will share addition insights into our assignment and the joy it is bringing to us as we serve. In short we love the work, love the people, and stand ready to learn, serve, and contribute. We appreciate everyone’s prayers, support, and love – being away is both rewarding and full of challenge. But we would NOT change anything thus far. May the Lord continue to bless, protect, guide, and help each of you as you do your part.

With Love

Michael & Pauline Morello

Dear Family & Friends,
This week we continue learning in the vast amount of details of our new assignment and visited one of our partner NGO’s (Mabuhay Deseret) who have three homes for patients (with a guardian) for either corrective eye care or club feet treatments in Manila (for the Luzon Region), in Cebu (for Visayas Region), and in Davao (for Mindanao Region). The patients with their guardians live at these homes while they await and recover from various treatments, sometimes for weeks (but often only days) at the expenses of the foundation. This NGO has existing both here in the Philippines and elsewhere (in selected countries) around the World for about twenty-five years. They service hundreds (maybe thousands) of needy patients in these two medical disciplines each week, at a near to free service for the underprivileged. They offer opportunities for each of the families of the needy (in some way) to either help in maintaining, feeding, cleaning, etc. - while being housed or make small financial contributions of running their overall projects. The medical doctors who perform the surgeries and/or procedures - in these various countries offer their skills and help “free of charge” as a way of giving back and lifting their own peoples. The NGO works on a very, very small overhead and performs these services at near to nothing (at less than 25 US Dollars/per surgery/treatment) So much good for so little overhead and costs. The medical doctor, Doctor Jackson, who founded this organization often thought, was the enterprise really worth all the challenge and hard work, along the road (over these years) but every time he thought about stopping – some miracle would come along that would sustain and support their wonderful efforts. Just one the home for patients in Manila was donated by Nuskin Corporation, of Utah – they had monies one year they needed to give away (as a tax write-off) and the foundation needed a new home so they married one another. See the pictures, the little children as beautiful on the inside and we are helping them to be the same on the outside. In fact, not only are we helping with their appearance but improving the function and usefulness of their lives. Your heart goes out to want to help when you see smiling faces and loving hearts like these children. May the Lord bless these good people of the GNO and may this work continue for decades.
With Love and Support,
The Morello’s