Office Supplies

This is our office. Looking at some of the items gives you a glimpse into some of the work we do--and maybe why we love it.

Here are some of Mom's supplies.  The Stop and Go signs were for Primary singing time, but she never could use them because none of the branches have a piano or keyboard in Primary.  If they stop singing, no one will know where to start again.  She made some humming signs and that worked better. Maybe she can use these when there is Road Rehabilitation.  They would be a nice gift for men who direct the traffic.

The colored fabric is for making and teaching how to make flowers.  All our Sister missionaries now have flowers and some Relief Society sisters learned how to make them to sell.

The orange dots are for children who bring their scriptures to Primary. Mom draws smiley faces on them.  Scriptures magically appeared when the children saw they could get a sticker.  One boy had a melt down because his scriptures were at home, but he brought them the next week.

On top of the bookcase are the books we use everyday.  We read "The Infinite Atonement" together and now we are reading it individually.  What a powerful book!Our Church Handbooks are well marked and used.  So is Preach My Gospel.
 Mom loves Daughters in My Kingdom.  It is so uplifting to read.  She takes it with her so if we are asked to speak she has some wonderful things to share with the sisters.  The women here are real pioneers and they are creating a beautiful history of faith in the Philippines.

Our $10 box of Honey Nut Cheerios became a good file box.  We had to search hard to find a three hole punch for our notebooks.  They are stored in the shelves of the bookcase.

There is the keyboard course and conducting course the Church provides.  They are so wonderful for effectively teaching music skills and developing talents that are so needed.  The women who take the keyboard course also develop greater self confidence that helps them in other areas of their lives.

There is also our list of Branches and Districts in our mission with maps so we can find our way to visit and strengthen.  We love to be with the saints.  It strengthens us!

Here are some things we use for family home evenings.  Making and leaving an assignment chart with the family gives them encouragement to keep having home evening.  They have never seen charts like this and everyone loves to turn the wheel.

The blue bean bags in front have rice in them.  We play a fast moving game of throwing them around until the music stops.  Dad provides the music by humming Yankee Doodle Dandy. When the music stops, the person who has a bean bag gets one strike.  When you have three strikes, you have to share a talent.  It's pretty wild when three bean bags are going at once.

The square in  front is a singing cube Mom made for Primary.  The children can roll it like dice and do the action.  It helps them practice a new song without getting too bored.

These are the handmade necklaces we get when we go to District Conferences.  They make one for each of us.  It is very touching.  The blue ones have little soaps in the shape of flowers in the middle.

This is a frog purse.  Dad got it to show the boys when we get home.  We see boys catching frogs all the time.  They are for dinner though, not purses.

This is our well-used map of Pangasinan.   The blue area is the South China Sea.  Dad has found many shortcuts looking at the map.  He has also found that they don't mark the places where the bridges are out over the rivers.

This is Mom's pencil holder that Elder Pestana gave her.  She loves nepa huts--and missionaries.

Our rechargeable bug zapper.  Waving this in the air in the house can look like fireworks and smell like a camp fire.  It makes us excited to see a fly in the house.  We call it our "fry baby".  This is our third one--we wore the other two out.

Mom's favorite thing in the office--Dad.