Day 7 (Friday): Snorkeling and Calapacuan

This was a perfect morning to go snorkeling at the resort.  We didn't realize it but it is right on the beach of a major coral reef.

We snorkeled for 2 hours - enjoying the view, sights and weather.  IT was perfect.  We were able to swim all the way out in the bay, rest on the floating dock and then swim some more.  We saw tons of different fish.  Some swam right at us, or around us.

We enjoyed this time to relax and enjoy the beauty of the ocean.  IT was a perfect morning, but of course, we didn't take any photos ...

What was strange is that the Reef shop already had Typhoon warning posters up - WOW - is this really happening?  It's crazy.  Today the weather is beautiful, yet a storm (huge storm is brewing).

That afternoon ... we drove to the mission home and met the missionaries.  Elder Christiansen knew the location of a family that Jessica only knew through church, so she didn't know where they lived.  We followed them to the place - wow - talk about driving down small streets in a mini-van (CRAZY) but we made it.  We walked down these small alley ways to a house - they were there!  Jessica was so excited to see them, and visa-versa.  The mom was there with her daughter, but their son wasn't home.  (I need to get their names from Jessica)

From there we drove over to the town.  Jessica directed us to a place to park.  The next stop is down a side road with a huge market.  It was crazy though because as we were walking down the busy street to get there, we ran into two people that recognized Jessica and stopped to talk to her.

Not 20 feet further down the road, a man on a motorcycle pulls over and ... yep, you guessed it ... he knew Jessica.  He was in the bishopric of her ward.

WOW. she knows everyone!!!

Well, we finally make it through the market and to the Mercurcio's home.  They are so excited to see her!!!!  At first it is just the dad and the son home.  They show us a framed photo of them with Jessica that they keep in their family room!  She made such a difference in their lives.  Brother Mercurcio tells us the story of how persistent Jessica is with him, and Jessica had already told us her side of the story, so it was so cute to hear him tell it from his perspective.  "She would leave sticky notes on my TV remote telling me to read my scriptures before watching the fight on TV."  Jessica said he was one of the toughest people to help.  He was a member but had fallen away.  She would visit and challenge him but he just wouldn't commit.  So she got creative.  She made post-it  notes that said, "Before watching TV read the Book of Mormon" and "Have you read from the Book of Mormon today" and placed them strategically around the house.  He found it to be so thoughtful of her that he started reading the Book of Mormon again, and consequently it changed his life.  She was nervous that he would think she was too pushy, but followed the promptings of the spirit and went ahead with her plan.  Well, now it's several months later and he is eternally grateful to her.  He said she was the most determined missionary he had ever met, and the fact that she would NOT give up on him is what convinced him to follow her example.  She helped him make the gospel a priority in his life - he was so grateful.  The mom and daughter came home.

They had a photo of their family with Jessica up in the house when we arrived.  AMAZING!  One person can tough so many.  She has changed lives because she listened to the Holy Spirit and followed it's promptings.  I'm so full of joy and love because of all that she did.

The mother and daughter were so sweet.  After Jessica gave them Christmas presents they came out with Filipino jewelry for her and me - I felt so guilty I took the necklace off that I was wearing and gave it to her.  After a wonderful visit, they walked us through the market.

From there we drove over to Salvador's parent's house.  Jessica taught and baptized Salvador.  His parents are still inactive.  Saricris also came over and ate dinner with us.  She is another "must meet" person for me.  Jessica just loves her so much.  She had been through so much before Jessica met her and taught her about the Gospel.  She was baptized by Jessica.  Salvador's mom made us the most delicious Adobo dinner.  Mark and Jessica also had fish (I was too full).  We had a wonderful visit with them.  It was hard to leave, but we also wanted to see Haijie.

Jessica found a picture of her with Salvador and his parents at their house too!

Saricris and Salvador had YM and YW that night so we drove them tot he church and saw so many of the youth that Jessica new.  She passed out presents to everyone there and saw some special friends.

Betsy with Kim Hernandez

Betsy with Saricris

Mark with Saricris

Jessica with a special family (we gave them lots of presents)

After the youth activity at the church we walked over to Haijie's family home.  He lives at the very top of a very long set of stairs.  He has a very humble home.  His parents were so excited for us to come but he and his brother Paul Anthony were very shy and didn't want to talk while we were there.

After the visit Haijie walked us down to Salvador's house and there he and Jessica and Salvador had a wonderful time together.  He was much more open and playful.  We got several photos before heading back to the hotel.  What a great day!drove Salvador and Saricris back home and then went up the mountain to visit with Hajie.  I had wanted to meet him so much because he keeps a pretty private Facebook page.

Jessica with Hajie and his family

Hajie was very shy while we were there with his parents but then when he walked Jessica down to the car with Salvador, he and Salvador were very playful and talkative with Jessica.  It was soo good to see.

Jessica with Hajie

Jessica with Salvador

Salvador, Jessica and Hajie (three musketeers)

It was a great night!

Day 2 (Sunday) - Travel day - we make it to Cayaman Beach Resort

We left Tokyo at 9:30 in the morning and arrived in Manila after a 5 hour flight at 1:30 pm.  The weather there was hot and humid.  You could feel it immediately.  You could also notice so many cultural / economical things.  The airport was way run down compared to anything in America or even Tokyo.

As we were going through customs, the agent that was helping Jessica was so impressed by her language skill and accent; he asked if we were sisters!  How awesome is that for me.

We made it out with our luggage but then couldn't find the rental car place.  After being directed we found it - but they didn't have a car for us - they were expecting us yesterday (but should have still reserved it for us as I had a credit card on file).  Finally they got a car for us, then drove us over to the lot with the cars.  There we found out they didn't have a GPS for us.  This was KEY - we need a GPS.  What are we going to do.  We couldn't bring one from the states because they don't pick up the roads in the Philippines, and now we are here - and I reserved one - but it wasn't reserved for us.  UGH!!!  It was after 3:30 in the afternoon when we left the airport.

Mark was the designated driver!  He made his way, ever so slowly, through the very congested traffic around the Manila airport to the main roads.  We had no idea if we were going in the right direction or not.  Thank goodness all of us had a good attitude and it positive.  We would roll down the window about every 20 minutes and ask a jeepny driver if we were going the right way.  Early on we were told to take a right hand turn to get to the EDSA and from there, they always just said, "keep going!"  But they didn't say which way ... ugh!  It took over 2 hours to get through Manila.

At one point we stopped to get directions at a McDonalds.  Mark didn't see the curve in the concrete and slowly bumped it.  Ouch!  We will have to pay for that when we get back.  We will try to clean off the paint at the hotel, if we ever get there.  Moving on ... Somehow we made it to Quezon City and there we took the NLEX to Clark Airport.  At the exit from the NLEX we asked directions again, and a guard worker was so kind - he said he would get in our car and direct us to the next stop.  Wow, only in the Philippines.  He guided us to the STEC, we took it all the way into Olongapo.  It is now nearly 7:30 at night and we still have to find our way to the resort.  Since I like to be prepared, I had printed directions to the resort at home - (it just that they were from the Marriott) so they didn't start at the airport.  Everything changed when our plane didn't come in the night before.   I knew the general direction once were out of Manila because I had printed maps to the resort at home.  But now it is dark and hard to see.  Luckily there were signs along the way that said Camayan Beach Resort.  I guess we aren't the only ones that need help getting there.

It is a very secured beach.  We were so happy to see the signs announce we were getting closer 20K, 12K, 9K, 5K, 2K, 1K, YEAH!!!!  We made it.  We made it all by ourselves - and with an enormous amount of guidance and direction from our Heavenly Father.  We knew he was guiding us the whole way.  We didn't get into the resort until 9:30.

We were so happy to get checked into the resort, unpack and relax.  It was a very long day!

Day 1 (Friday & Saturday) - we make it to Tokyo

We are so excited!

We left for the airport at 8:10 am to be there by 8:45 am.  It was a good thing because we had some issues with our luggage.  We didn't realize they only allow one "free" check-in bag.  We were taking 5 - 2 filled with presents.  So we paid the $100 dollars to check one of the suitcases, but then took the other one as a carry on.  We also had seat assignment issues.  Cheap-O Air didn't reserve our seats as they had reported to me, so we had to get everything moved around.  UGH!  Thank goodness for wonderful flight attendants that helped us get seats together.  Our flight left Louisville at 10:45 am on schedule = here we go!!!  We had great flight - no problems.

We arrived in Chicago with plenty of time to get to our next gate and catch the flight to Tokyo.  Unfortunately, we sat on the tarmac for 1 hour so they could de-ice the plane.  BUMMER!  We weren't stressed about it at the time, but later on we realized that we might miss our connection ... it will be very close.  We travel in the air for nearly 15 hours, and made up some time, but not enough to catch our connecting flight.  On the good side.  We were all able to spread out on the plain and relax.  The flight wasn't full at all, so I had a whole row to myself.  Jessica took her Dramamine and slept most of the flight.  Mark and I read, watched movies and slept.

At one point in the flight we were over the tundra of Russia - it was amazing!  Beautiful and all white!

Once we arrived in Tokyo we were told we could not attempt to make our connecting flight to Manila, but rather that the airlines had reserved hotel rooms and reserved seats for us on another flight the next day.  It was amazing how well we took the news considering we left specifically so that we could attend church in the Hermosa ward on Sunday morning.

Mark and Jessica

Betsy

We made it through customs and to the bus - we stayed in a very  nice hotel in Tokyo but the fog was so thick that night that we couldn't see beyond the car beside us.

The next morning the fog had lifted and we could see the beautiful gardens.  We boarded the plane and headed for Manila.

view from our hotel window

view from breakfast

say good bye to Tokyo

Preparations for our trip to the Philippines

It's been a long time coming that I have been planning and preparing for our trip to the Philippines, and now it is finally here. 


I am so excited to be going to the Philippines.  I have been wanting to meet the people Jessica met and taught for almost every day of her mission.  I've wanted to see her living arrangements, cities, views, challenges, etc.  I just want to see what it was like for her while she lived there for nearly 18 months.


Checklist ready:


Vaccines
treat clothes with Permithene
Passport
Money
Airplane tickets
hotel reservations
car rental reservations
church clothes for 2 Sundays
traveling clothes
touring clothes
hiking clothes
swim suits
towels
cover ups
shoes / sandals
bug spray
sun screen
umbrella
hair curlers
toiletries
jewelry
gifts for friends
camera
books
laptop
cell phone
chargers
... holy cow ... and we aren't even done


I can't wait to go!!!!

2nd Shipment to the Philippines

Well, the clothes and donations kept pouring in so I knew I would be sending another shipment.  The first one cost $95 per box, but she did have to repack them.  I imagine the cost of the next shipment will be approximately the same (per box).

Just before Thanksgiving the Oldham ERA contacted me regarding my collection.  They ran an article in the paper.  Wow!  The donations started pouring in.  I had to tell Mark, that this would be my Christmas present.  I is going to cost more than I thought to ship all this over - I mean bags and bags - When I got to the school to pick up the donations, they were overflowing.  Actually they nearly didn't fit in my car - there were so many bags and boxes of donations. 

I got them all home, sorted and ready for shipment.  I contacted Rovi at LBC and we set up another date and time to deliver them to her.  This time I didn't box them so that I could just load them directly into the LBC boxes.  I'm so excited.

Sunday morning came and I drove a van load of bags to Columbus, IN (1 hour and 1/2 away).  Even though it is so far away, I didn't mind - even though I had to get up at 7:30 on Sunday morning I didn't mind.  I felt so good inside while driving there, knowing what I was about to do.

I arrived and wow, it took us over an hour to load up all the boxes with the items.  This time we filled another 3 HUGS meter size boxes for the Philippines!  Oh my gosh.  My heart is so full.  I just can't wait for these items to arrive there.

This is what life is all about - helping others.

Betsy makes the local paper

Local helping Philippines typhoon recovery

By Alix Mattingly

Thursday, November 28, 2013 at 6:00 am (Updated: November 28, 6:01 am)

Betsy Lowe never thought her daughter, Jessica, would be halfway around the world.

Jessica Lowe

A picture of the destruction in Hermosa, Philippines.

Buy this photo

Jessica is currently in Hermosa, Philippines on a mission trip through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A former track runner at North Oldham, Jessica was in her junior year of college at Brigham Young University in Utah when she received a letter saying she would be serving her mission trip in the Philippines.

“This is a test of faith, not only for us but for her,” she said.

Young adult members of the Mormon church are encouraged to take mission trips to develop their faith. While young men are strongly encouraged, the recent change in age minimum from 21 to 19 for women to go on a trip opened up doors for young women like Jessica.             

“Immediately my husband and I knew and we said ‘She’s going to want to go on a mission trip,’ ” Betsy said.

Soon after Jessica heard of the change, she called her parents who agreed that a mission trip would be a good opportunity.

“You don’t get the opportunity to do that much service again in your life,” Betsy said, noting family life quickly takes over for many young Mormon women.

During Jessica’s 18 month long mission trip she intends to meet with locals and share her faith and beliefs. Jessica received six weeks of language training in Tagalog and offers English training as part of her faith-sharing visits with locals.

Betsy and her family had another surprise when Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines. The typhoon, also known by the name Yolanda, killed over 5,209 people according to the Philippines National Disaster Agency. This number is likely to rise as bodies are discovered in clean up.

An email from Jessica to her family notified them of her safety by saying, “despite the weather, we had a good week.”

Betsy continued to watch news coverage of the typhoon. Through all of the reporting, an interview with a woman who said she just wanted a clean shirt stuck with Betsy.

“I looked at my closet and said, I have twenty,” she said.

It was this realization that pushed Betsy to take up donations to send to the Philippines.

“They are families just like us, if we had gone through what they went through we would want a helping hand,” Betsy said, “This is a least we can do.”

Email us about this story at amattingly@oldhamera.com.

The following items can be donated at NOHS or OCHS.

1. Hygiene items like shampoo, conditioner, tooth brush, tooth paste,

    dental floss, comb, brush, deodorant and razors.

2. Clothing for warm weather climate, any size.

3. Dry foods, nothing that will melt.

4. Other items: batteries, sun screen, bug spray, lip balm.

Jessica in the Hospital in the Philippines

Tonight I received the phone call I didn't want to receive.  I received a call from the Philippines LDS doctor and in field representative saying that Jessica was in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in a hospital in Olongapo.  Oh my gosh - so I asked what had happened.

They told me she woke up with a rash on her arm, hand, foot and leg and didn't feel well.  That she passed out in her apartment and was driven to the hospital where the treated her in the emergency room for an hour and moved her to the ICU for a very low heart rate.  She has been in the ICU 3 days.  Her heart rate has improved and they have treated the rash with steroid and anti-histamines.

I let him know that she was an athlete and that she, her dad, mom and siblings all have low heart rates. He responded, "Well, I think 20 is a bit too low."  20 - I about fell out of my skin.  No one's heart rate is 20.  That is incredibly low.  Oh my gosh!!!  Then he followed up by saying, "she had been given Epinephrin - it would go up to 40 but then back down to 20.  It is now somewhere between 40 and 50 and we are hopeful she is improving every day."

Wow!  20 - what happened to my daughter?

I asked him if I could talk to her or her doctor and he said it was fine to talk to both.  We called later that night and talked to Jessica for about an hour (yes, I will have a huge phone bill next month - well worth it).  She sounded very good and told us a little more about what happened.

The next day we received an email from her Mission President.  This is what it said,
"Brother and Sister Lowe:

Your daughter is one of the best missionaries we have in Olongapo. She has only been here for two months but can speak Tagalog already. She is amazing! Her dedication to the work is very commendable. Her devotion to the Lord is such a great example to everyone. We had the chance to visit her today and happy to let you know that she is getting better and hopefully she can be transfered to the private room tomorrow from the ICU.

We pray for her recovery soon.

Best regards,

President Roberto Querido

PHILIPPINES OLONGAPO MISSION

Km 140 Mangan Vaca, Subic, Zambales

2209 Philippines

(+63)918-911-6857

---

We also received an email from the Mission Office AP's - this is their email.

From: Philippines Olongapo Mission
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 9:40 AM
To: betsy4kids@aol.com; Mark.Lowe@flextronics.com
Cc: Roberto (Bayobo) Querido
Subject: Sister Jessica Lowe

Brother and Sister Lowe,

We had a chance to visit your daughter earlier today in the hospital in Olongapo. 

We took  a picture of her (above) and wanted to let you know that she is doing quite well. While talking with her, her spirits are still high and she’s loving missionary work. She has even been talking to the nurses that are attending to her and inviting them to learn about the restored gospel. We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon in Tagalog so that she could give that out if she gets the chance. She has been an inspiration to us here in the Philippines Olongapo Mission that even though she’s confined to a hospital bed, her spirit is still striving to teach those around her. She’s improving every day and we expect to see a quick recovery. We asked her if she needed anything, and she told us that she was doing fine and that she would just like to go out and get back to work. 

Your daughter is doing amazing things in her area with Sister Calaunan and the members love and support her. She is anxious to get back to them and work. Some of the members from Hermosa have visited her in the hospital as well. They have all expressed their love for your daughter and they want the best for her. She has been in our constant prayers. We thank you for raising such a fine young daughter, and we are thankful for this chance to work with her here in the Philippines Olongapo Mission.

Sincerely,

Elder Howes

Elder Maraon

Assistants to the Mission President