Hello dear friends and family,
We extend our love to you and want you to know how much we miss our regular association with you. As you report important events in your lives, and as you confront life's challenges, we cheer at word of your good news, ache when we hear of your pains and are delighted to share the "just plain routine" events you are experiencing with your families.
Here is a small photo essay of our lives in the Philippines:
We are sometimes referred to as a "Rescue Couple"...meaning we assist young students or college graduates who are struggling to stay in school or to make their loan payments or to find employment. But to help them we first must find them. Here we located Joanna at a youth campout, deep in a tropical setting, on the island of Marinduque. (In the center, to the right of the green flag).
The blue tarps are their shelters. One for the boys, one for the girls. Bamboo poles are cut down and sliced to create platforms on which they sleep.
We later headed for the beach to catch a "fishing boat" for a P-Day ride to an outlying island. A rare treat....we found a footbridge that could have been in an adventure movie -- missing slats, rickety, shakey, but not life-threatening. The drop to the water was only 8 feet.
Lunch with some wonderful friends in St. Luke's Hospital in Manila. Elder B had had a significant emergency operation and we were assisting him back to the doctor for a follow-up appointment. We are drinking coconut juice right from the source, trimmed up by a machete. This is a different type of coconut from those you normally see in the stores at home.
Our sweet neighbor harvested some bananas from across the street. She called on us to share the treat. We estimate the branch she is holding held 200-300 bananas before she started giving them away. 
After Stake Conference in Lipa, the kids like to play in the trees.
We recently traveled through tropical forests to a small ocean-side town, Mauban, to meet an outstanding young man who was challenged and needed encouragement. On this trip we were joined by one of our dearest friends, President B.
We have a garden! The lot across the road was vacant and trash-filled, so we hired our neighbor to clear it, plant it and tend it. This is one of our favorite flowers. It is on a bush that produces raspberry-looking buds that burst into a feathery blossom for a day or two and then shrivel and fall off. Maybe 30 or 40 such flowers appear on the bush at a time.
Stake Conference in Santa Cruz Laguna was on a rainy day. A covered portion of an outside courtyard provides the perfect place for an umbrella parking lot.
Sweet Carolyn is becoming noted for wearing a beautiful flower in her hair. Everyone wants to know if it is real. Of course we say..."certainly, if it were not real, you could not see it." (It's actually a foam flower). Elder Howell couldn't resist the opportunity to "one-up" Sister Howell at the Tayabas chapel. (He temporarily demolished the RS centerpiece.)
This lil piggy went to market...
Traveling to the town of Barra required assistance from President B. We never would have found it down narrow streets and alleys, sometimes hubcap deep in mud. But then, here is the branch building...a converted home.
There is not enough room for all the Sunday School classes, so this one has to convene out front, rain or shine. Careful though...sometimes a car or motorbike comes round the corner and has to swerve to miss the class.
We arrived, shook hands, took a seat, then a brother gestured for us to sit on the small stand, as we were the speakers, along with Pres. B. He read a letter from the area church leader announcing a new chapel. The congregation was in tears.
On the way to BARRA Branch. This two-lane stretch was the nicest road of the trip. 
More scenic travel. Note the dam and the house on the water. After meetings we were invited to a member's home for dinner. Afterwards we sang Christmas carols in a quartet. 
Home, sweet home. This is a good view of the balcony outside our "tree-house" bedroom. Frequently on a warm, breezy morning we will sit out on the balcony for study time or work. 
From the balcony, we "look down" on our humble neighbor. If you look closely, you can see her, in blue, washing her clothes in colorful tubs at the corner of her house. 
Recently we learned of a baptism for an extended family of converts. Of course the best font to use is the ocean. It is bathtub warm and always available. We were not in attendance, but got this picture from our senior missionary friends. 
Here we enjoy a Christmas party with friends at the apartment of Elder and Sister B in Manila. 
Bishop DG and family, of the Nagcarlan Ward is a painter. For Christmas we bought three of his paintings, including the one of the Savior. This is his front yard and porch and "studio". The Savior painting cost 5,000 pesos, or $115. He paints as he feels inspired, and make take a month to finish one. 
We invited the 8 senior missionaries in our area to a Christmas Eve "Shepherd's Dinner" and then a "King's Feast". Dressing for the occasion was encouraged. Elder Howell was a little sheepish about the whole thing. Note the little sheep (cotton balls) on the "hillside" on the table, made by Sister Howell. And note the wicker plates that held banana leaves on which we ate the dinner.
Christmas day found us on a short drive to Tanauan. A good day for a baptism.
K is beside Carolyn. We decided to make an appointment for our initial meeting in December at his "Junk Shop" to see if he needed help to keep his commitment. We discovered the Junk Shop was not a 2nd hand store, but rather a recycling drop-off. It had been our intent to buy something to help him earn some money. He greeted us happily and invited us to his open air "office" which was dripping wet. Half of the framework was uncovered, the other portion had canvas fabric draped across it. He told us he was short of cash to run his business since he had lent money to a new friend who needed some seed money to buy and sell vegetables on the street. The man then absconded with the money and disappeared. Without cash, K could not pay to obtain recycled material from his customers, and certainly not pay down his educational loan. But as we stood there, getting dripped on and discussing his situation, we suggested we could request a temporary deferral of his school loan. To our surprise, he insisted on paying his entire 6-months arrears of about 1,000 pesos ($24). We insisted that he NOT pay. He insisted back. And we forth. Finally he told us why he wanted to keep his commitment. He had sold the tin roof over his office earlier in the day so he could have cash to run his business and enough to keep his promise. Humbling.
Sister Howell snapped this early morning shot of the temple on a recent trip into Manila.
During World War II the Japanese invaded the Philippines. Guarding the bay that leads to Manila is an island known as Corregidor. It was the main defense position and the place from which General McArthur departed, saying "I shall return". On a P-Day we visited the island with 20 other senior missionaries from around the region. The fortifications were impressive. Since Sam and Greg are always comparing their "guns", I thought I would do the same, standing next to a REAL gun. The Japanese were successful in capturing the Philippines, and that led to the infamous Bataan Death March. McArthur DID return, with American troops a couple of years later to recapture the Philippines in a raging, bloody battle.
Finally, a fruit stand with round watermelons, stacked like cannon balls. Look at how they advertise the melons, with slices hung by strings. 
An unusual New Years Eve.
We love experiencing the culture, the beauty, and the simple life of the Philippines. Having experienced New Year's Eves in Trafalgar Square, London and Times Square, NY we thought we were ready for little San Pablo, a city of 250,000. Young missionaries had a 6 p.m. curfew. We had training in a neighboring stake so we were tucked safely inside by 10 p.m. We waited in our little treehouse and then sat on the balcony when it all started.
The. Noise. Would. Not. Stop!
And it began early. No waiting until midnight here. Rockets, cannons, firecrackers, roman candles, artillery shells, air bombs, and gunfire. (We used to jump away from our windows when we heard gunshots in the past. But now we just shrug and keep on working.)
It is hard to believe we have crossed our 25% mark. It seems like just yesterday we began this mission. And yet it also seems like we have been here forever. We are finding success reaching out to the many dedicated students and helping them to meet their commitments. More about that later...and more unusual stories about these amazing people. We love the work. We love being together. Sister Howell is an outstanding missionary, by any measure. I am lucky to be her companion. And lucky not to have had a transfer yet.
We are heading into the rural mission of Naga, to the south and east, in February. Things are in pretty good control here in San Pablo, so it is time for new adventures.
Lane & Carolyn Elder & Sister Howell
