Wednesday, October 16, 2013

          Email messages from our senior missionary friends in the Cebu, Philippines said that they felt the 7.2 earthquake there and counted 16 aftershocks over 4.1 on the Richter scale within the last day.  They are all safe and described the blessing of having the buildings in their compound constructed to church standards which are much higher than the local ones.  The Angel Moroni on the temple spire was actually rotated from facing East to Southwest and some minor damage was done to an outside facing; but although somewhat shaken, all is well for them.  Many of the Saints gather to the church buildings for safety when there are emergencies.  They are provided with sleeping mats, food and water. 

On a side note, one couple shared what they learned on a tour of the underground structure of the Cebu Temple site.  

Quote from Sister Drapeau: 

“We actually have a fully functioning sewage treatment site, as well as water purification, back–up power generators and several huge air conditioning units.  It is a state of the art computer regulated system.  It is the only one anywhere in Cebu.  The engineering students come here to view and learn about this type of system.  They are able to track the electrical usage, temperature, and air moisture in each room of the temple and the buildings associated with it.  One section of the program tracks each electrical item – outlets and bulbs, etc.  There is a tunnel that leads from that complex to the temple.   We were even able to go to the upper sections of the temple and look out over the surrounding area. 

“Absolutely no water is wasted.  The water for dishes and showers is piped in from the city, processed through a reversed osmosis process to remove chemicals and minerals before it comes to our apartments.   Our drinking water is also from the city, but it is further processed to ensure even more impurities are removed.   All water, including the grey water and run-off is collected and processed.  That water is used for the toilets.   All of that water is processed through the sewage treatment plant and then used to water the grounds.”

          What an amazing system and I’m sure that the one here in Tegucigalpa is the similar.

          It was a great day full of temple work and rubbing shoulders with happy people.  Love to all of you--