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