Week 35: Part II, Sites in Old Manila and Corrigador Island

They haven’t yet buried the power lines in the old part of Manila!

The old walled city of Intramuros

Corregidor Island

These are the enlisted men’s barracks that housed thousands of soldiers at the beginning of the second world war but were vacated when McArthur surrendered the Philippines to Japan and then was bombed relentlessly. McAurthur made his great and promised “return” to retake the Islands near the end of the war.  Many thousands of Americans lost their lives on this tiny and strategic island right at the entrance of Manila bay.

Artillery used to target ships entering the harbor.

Cannon to “lob” shells over the lip of the island and onto the mainland.

A re-enactment of Japanese underground offices in tunnels that protected soldiers from bombs.

Week 35: The Millers go to Manilla

It’s hard to imagine but we are now technically half way through our 18-month mission. Sadly, we are not yet fluent in Bahasa Indonesian but we regularly add a few words to our vocabulary and find ourselves more and more often communicating basic ideas to the people that we meet. This past week we had a bit of a reality check when we took a trip with some of the members of our church to Manila. When we heard the people in the Philippines speaking Tagalog and we understood not a word, we were encouraged to realize just how much we do understand in our home Indonesian language.

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe it is essential for us to make and keep covenants with God that we will do our best to live lives like he taught us in the scriptures. These covenants are very sacred and we can receive two in special buildings we call temples and all for our ancestors who have already died. Unfortunately, the church in Indonesia is not yet large enough to have a temple so faithful members prepare themselves at least once in their lives to visit the closest temple, which is in Manila.

Sister Miller and I since arriving in Indonesia have helped prepare this years attendees to prepare for this deeply personal and spiritual experience. The following pictures capture some of the feelings these members for each other and the temple.

    

Manila Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Three wonderful older gentlemen that have become great friends and a young mother of 6 who lost her husband this past year.

This group is from a city about three hours from Solo called Magelang.

This man and his wife waited for many years to make this trip.

This young man and his wife have a young son who came with them to share in the experience

This couple was married the week before in the church and had a special ceremony that we believe sealed their marriage for eternity.

This young girl accompanied her family to Manila.