NO LETTER?

VOLCANO CATASTROPHE

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

To get you all updated in just a few words, everyone is still safe and recovering so no complaints on our side. However, I did have the opportunity to go back to Lemery Batangas in order to grab a few items. The Assistants to the President drove us to Lemery and as we approached the city we went past a group of soldiers with large guns wearing camouflage. However, they didn't stop us to ask questions. The city itself was covered in ash and hundreds of government employees were rapidly working to clean the highways. Aside from cleaners and soldiers there was NOT A SINGLE PERSON, so we aren't sure how we got through. Roads were cracked from the intense earthquakes, and many homes are no longer safe places to live due to broken walls and cracked foundations. Fortunately for us, our apartment is still strong, but there was one issue. Last Sunday when we evacuated we did not have time to go home, so the windows were left wide open. Well, now the inside is covered with ash! That will be quite fun to clean when we finally go home! All of the people and members have evacuated to distant cities and many have found shelter inside the many Church buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Check out the website I have added in order to see what I am talking about (I know about one-third of the people!).

For now my entire zone of Batangas has been temporarily reassigned to different areas of the mission. I am currently in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila.

Quentin L. Cook visits evacuees:https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-cook-makes-unannounced-visit-to-taal-volcano-evacuees

Elder Hemmert

Lemery, Batangas (temporarily in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila)

VOLCANO ERUPTION!!!

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

WELL, HERE IS HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN!!!

Sunday afternoon we were only 3 Kilometers away from the Taal Volcano when it erupted. Smoke and ash immediately poured out of the top of the volcano. Not long after the eruption a storm began to break out from the smoke in the air. Lightning struck from the middle of the smoke cloud, and not long after earthquakes began rolling through. Originally we weren't too worried, and we continued visiting with people. However, as the sun went down the earthquakes became more frequent and were no more than a few minutes between each other. On top of that, the lightning was at this point without stop. Although the sun was gone it was not fully dark because of the constant lightning. Most of this occurred in only about an hour of time. With the sun now gone and everything seeming worse we began receiving texts that everyone in our area and everyone near it must evacuate immediately. I began calling the other missionaries near us and told them all to grab a few days of clothes and to immediately head to Nasugbu where I planned to meet them. We were the furthest away and had no time to get home, so with none of our clothes or stuff we hitched a ride in the back of two pick-up trucks in order to get to Nasugbu. When we finally got there we were just barely able to catch the final bus at 8:00PM with the other 8 missionaries. After about an hour of driving, the bus driver told us that roads were now closed and the bus would have to go back to Batangas (the place we are trying to get away from). I told him we would just get off the bus right there, and although he was very against it he allowed us to get off. Imagine, we are in the middle of nowhere, it is pitch black, and we are a group of foreigners that jumped off a bus in the middle of the highway. From there we waited as a few other missionaries brought a van to pick us all up. We were wearing masks as ash fell over us. After waiting for quite some time, we got picked up and headed to Cavite. The roads were covered in thick mud and the sky rained what seemed like muddy ash. One of the elders had to jump off every 10 minutes to clean the windshield because the windshield wipers could not handle the thickness of the mud. At midnight we rolled into cavite and headed in for bed. The following day we couldn't leave the apartment, so we pulled out a radio to listen to the news. As we listened they asked if anyone had died, and the man responded by saying no one had died, but there were reports of 10 foreigners that were abandoned in Tagaytay last night, and no one knew what happened to them. HAHAH!! We were all huddled around the radio and we just started yelling, "THAT WAS US!!!!"

Ultimately, we are all safe, but much damage has been done to places near the volcano (my area especially), and prayers for those people that live there is much needed. Most of them have escaped, but they don't have a great home to come back to when all of this is over.

Elder Hemmert

Lemery, Batangas (But in Molino, Cavite)

PRAYER WILL GIVE YOU HUSBAND

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• News came in that we will be getting an extra 2 missionaries here in Lemery which will make us 4 in our branch! We have been awaiting this for a very long time, because our area is way too big for only 2 missionaries.
• It's a new year and I can tell it is going to be a good one. Just like Russel M Nelson said, "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. WHEN THE FOCUS OF OUR LIVES IS IN GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION... AND JESUS CHRIST AND HIS GOSPEL, WE CAN FEEL JOY REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS HAPPENING OR NOT HAPPENING IN OUR LIVES."

BAPTISM: Genevive Hardy (Bebs) was baptized on December 4, 2020. Sister Bebs has been prepared for baptism since last October, but she needed to first marry her husband that was working abroad. Her husband is from England and their relationship always makes us laugh. We love them both so much. When Bob, Beb's husband, came home in December their marriage was rushed before Bob would have to head abroad again. Due to problems with their paperwork the marriage was seemingly less and less possible in such a short time frame. After rejection multiple times, Bebs called us on the verge of tears. She didn't know what to do and neither did we. The City Hall would not accept their paperwork. After that phone call we knelt in prayer. Conlcuding that heartfelt prayer we texted Bebs, "We know you need more than just prayers right now, but we want you to know that we just finished kneeling in prayer for you and Bob." Not long after sending that text Bebs called us with excitement in her voice that they got approved and the wedding would occur on December 29. With that the two of them were married and the following week Bebs was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Each time we see her she has a huge smile on her face and is so happy that she was baptized and her husband was even here to witness it. (Also, she bore her testimony at fast sunday!)

Elder Hemmert

Lemery, Batangas