Dear Family & Friends,

 Sorry for not updating everyone in a few weeks, but (as always) life has been very busy lately and I just haven’t taken the time. 

 

We went to Corregidor (the island at the head of Manila Bay) over the New Year’s Break with nearly thirty other Senior Missionary Couples. This is where our US Troop were stationed and fought during WWII in the Philippines. This is the same place that the famous words, “I should return” were offered by General MacArthur of our Allied Forces upon his forced leaving of the Philippines with the advancing of the invading Japanese troops. But he did return, although it was at an entirely different location on one of the other islands in the Filipino Chain. The island of Corregidor is at the mouth of the bay and was home for thousands of US troops with enlisted and officer’s dorms (two very large concrete building) that each run a distance of nearly a half mile in length. There are numerous other remaining structures on the island, and the island is honeycombed with hundreds of man tunnels used for both protection from invading enemies and the storage of our huge munitions. The various points on the island (at least on all four sides) had equipped outposts with very large and heavy gunnery armaments. We took a ferry to and from the island of about an hour (or sixty naval miles), had a tour bus around the island. Awaiting us was a very nice lunch around noon, and more visiting around the various monuments and old abandoned structures. We ended our wonderful day of touring with a visit to the US military memorial (built in the 1960’s) and then onto to the ferry for our ride home. You could look to the north and to the south in Manila Bay and the land was perfectly clear and unpolluted, but if you looked straight ahead to the Manila area there was a this huge cloud of air pollution, in part due to the night before with fireworks from 8pm until 3am (on the morning of our trip). As with our visit to Cebu and Bohol – just the week before - going back to Manila with the heavy (crazy) highway traffic and all of the associated water and air pollution is challenging and getting out-of-town is always very nice and unbelievably refreshing.
 

After the holiday break of Christmas and New Year, it was back to the bricks of visiting tours and preparing for Multi-Stake, Stake & District Public Affairs Directors and Staffs. We have divided the Philippines into two parts. One will be covered by the Pyles (the Other Senior PA Couple) and one by us. In the first quarter of 2014 we plan on visiting nearly every region throughout the country and conducting updated training. This is an annual event – to update and refresh the former staff and train newly called people in their various duties. Sister Morello and I will get to travel a bit outside Manila (which will be great) and see more of this beautiful island country. The beaches are soooooo beautiful and the temperature this time of year is great: 70s and 80s with low humidity. In fact with more than 100 inches of rain each year, we have miraculously had no rain in over a month, but we are to understand the weather will return (which we saw upon our coming) to the high 90s or low 100s and nearly 100% humidity. Hot and wet aren't words strong enough to explain the experience. 

Between the various travel, we entertain tours of the Area Office Complex (called the PAO = Philippines Area Offices) which consists of the Our Office Building, the Mission Training Center, the Missionary Recovery Center, the Temple Patron Housing, the Temple Missionary Housing, the Temple (itself) and the beautiful ground all around. Our tours take about 45 minutes to an hour with us beginning with a video of the Church in the Philippines or Missionary Service and ending with snacks or other food and drinks. Nearly every event we attend and/or conduct has food as a component of the activity. Eating is an important part of nearly everything we do. In the hot months drinking a lot of water is very important and critical, but the eating you have just got to watch yourself. Thankfully I have lost about twenty pounds, not nearly enough, but it is a start at the target I have set to lose fifty pound while I am here. We walk the four stories of the Office Building (from the basement to our offices) everyday several times from beginning each day and in between. With my responsibilities for all of the Exhibits being on the Upper Ground Level (in one of our Storage Rooms) and our Offices two stories above them, going up and down the stairs is a regular activity nearly every day.   As with everything else putting on the pounds is far easier than taking them off, but the twenty pounds I have lost, so far is feeling really good. Sister Morello has lost some inches as well (don’t know about the pounds), although as most of you know- she really thinks she is always fat, when all of us know she’s not. Getting fit is far easier when you run up and down stairs all day and/or walk with touring groups around several acres of this Area Office complex on a regular basis. There's no need to exercise more, if our days are normal. 

 

Our Area Public Affairs Director (Haidi) has said we can take Fridays off each week, but so far since the announcement of a couple of weeks ago we have needed to work every week. Last Monday after having lifted some far too heavy of items in our storage rooms, I had to stay home in bed to recover from a very hurt and aching back. On Tuesday, though, I was back at full pace with Sister Morello & the Pyles delivering our Family Calendars to Congress (hundreds of them), visiting several Interfaith Groups and travel all over Manila (all day long) at our normal activity level. 

 

The work is great, the people are outstanding, and the country is beautiful, but the work is always there to be accomplished. “No rest for the wicked and the righteous don’t need it” was a phrase I often shared with others – soooo the work moves on and we attempt do our part.

May the Lord bless, protect, and help each of us as we willingly serve and help one another. 

 

With Love, Elder Morello