July 2011 - Transfer Week and More

 Wednesday we met with our Mangaldan Zone. One third of them were transferred to a new location and companion. There is a lot of anxiety about both, but within the next 48 hours Friday) they will all be settled into their new areas and engaged in the work once again.

Friday, the new mission office is finished and open, so this is the first time transfers take place here in Urdaneta. There were quite a few logistical changes that had to be made to make it all work. Thanks to the great mission office staff it all worked... on schedule.

 The rain poured down during the transfer meeting, but when it was over the rain stopped. The usual excitement filled the air as the missionaries left the chapel with their new assignments and moved their bags to the right Jeep that would take them to their new area.

 There was plenty of room at the Urdaneta stake center/mission office parking lot.

 We were in a hurry to get to our next appointment about 40 minutes away, so we didn't linger too long.

 Saturday, we attended a baptism of three at the Mapandan chapel.

 A few brave branch members got into the picture. As usual it was a rainy day, so everybody got wet... some even got immersed!

 Sunday after meetings we were out doing our member reactivation visits with umbrellas and scriptures in hand.

 We also stopped to visit the new 1st councilor in the Mapandan branch presidency today. Bro Castillo is a high school math teacher. He and his wife have six children from 17 to 6 years old. She has been a member for almost 20 years and he joined last October. They look forward to having their family sealed together forever during the coming November temple trip.

It was a nice evening, no rain and reasonably dry path so we had our member translator/guide take our picture as we walked along the path. We walk a lot of stony, muddy paths on our way to and from the most wonderful visits with our members. We greet a lot of people along the way and sometimes have to ask them where our member families live... there are no addresses here! The Spirit leads us and we always find them.

A Quick Look at Last Week

We haven't had Internet for almost a week, so this will get us caught up through last weekend. Last Saturday afternoon we held a Book of Mormon fireside and eventually had about sixty attend, including several investigators. We had a box wrapped in gold foil on the table in front and talked about the operating instructions and blessings of the Liahona. Then we invited an investigator to come up and unwrap the gold gift box to reveal the special personalized Liahona we had for each person in attendance. After carefully unwrapping the box and several layers of wrapping materials, he reached in and brought out a copy of the Book of Mormon. We made a comparison of how they work.

 It was a fun event that made the members and investigators really appreciate the Book of Mormon and the precious gift it is to us in our journey to our promised land of eternal life.

When the fireside was over, and refreshments were served, we were informed that there was a funeral for a branch member at his home. We were invited to come and speak at the funeral. Many of the members boarded a member's jeep for a free ride to the funeral. I gathered my thoughts and prepared a few remarks on the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation. Once we got there, the chairs were arranged for family, neighbors and the branch members. I powered up the keyboard with the extension cord I brought for the fireside presentation and held the hymnal while Sister Lindsay played the prelude and hymns. A member of the branch presidency spoke, a young missionary and then I spoke. I tried to personalize my message to his wife, children and parents that were in attendance. We felt the sweet peace the Spirit brings as we reflected on the gift of the Atonement, the Resurrection and the great Plan of Salvation.

When the funeral was over we extended our condolences and departed. I got one picture of the jeep loaded with members leaving the funeral. It was wonderful to see the great love and support the members show to one another. Kind love, support and consolation are more precious than anything else one could give at this time. 

Thursday we were out all day doing missionary apartment checks. We love doing these checks because we get to meet with the missionaries in their homes and share a little treat with them and a few words of encouragement and counsel. We visited 11 companionships living in 9 apartments in the Rosales Zone. It was a beautiful day... blue skies, clouds and no rain to dampen the spirits.

 

This is Mount Balungao, located just south of the village of Balungao on our way back to Rosales. The missionaries like to climb this big hill on their P-day and because everything else is so flat they can see everything for miles around. It is surrounded by rice fields and a lot of open area.

Friday we went out to do some training and make some reactivation visits. This is a picture of brother and sister Narsisa and their son. She gave us some vague directions and we relied on the Spirit and a few locals to give us directions. As we got closer to her home, we could see her standing by the road waving to us. Sister Lindsay trained sister Narsisa in her Relief society duties and I talked with the men.

 
Sunday we attended the block meetings in Manaoag, our home branch. We are always warmly greeted by the members and the missionaries and often see investigators we have taught in their homes. Today was no exception. We were pleased to see some of those investigators at church today. After the services it was time to checked calendars, make appointments, do a lot of listening, smiling and committing members to pray and read their scriptures everyday.

We went home (5 minutes away) and had a quick tuna sandwich and left to meet our member friends that would take us on the reactivation visits today. On the way to Mapandan, a nearby town, we stopped by the branch presidents home and talked for a few minutes and then went on to meet the sisters that would show us the way to our family visits.

We met with a wonderful young family and encouraged them to make the commitment to attend church regularly. I know they will. He is a returned missionary, high priest, married in the temple to his returned missionary wife and they have two sons; John Melchizedek and Amulek.

We went to another family but the parents were not home so we visited with the children and will come back next week to visit the whole family. As I was leaving the family pointed out that I had a very low rear tire. I got it inflated and after several days it is still inflated fine. I think one of the boys enjoyed playing with the air valve.

Sunday, after the reactivation visits, we stopped by the district president's home. As you might expect he was at meetings, but we met with his family anyway. Sister Aromin gave birth to little Tina a week ago and we had to stop by to see her and her mother. It is always a delight to be with our dear friends and share the joys of life together.

 There is a precious story behind the birth of this little girl. We will tell you when we get home.

We enjoyed another beautiful sunset as we drove home from a full day of missionary work... no a full day of blessing the lives of our friends with the gospel of Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is.

Some Local Sights

 Goats are everywhere. Sometimes we have to get out of the car and move them to get the car by them. You can see the size of the roads in town. There are lots of cement walls and iron gates. I parked behind the truck and we walked a ways to see the sisters and repair one of their fans. It's tough to turn around and go back. Than goodness I'm pretty good at backing up or moving rocks to back into a field to turn the car around.

 Cactus even in the tropics.

 Kids in their uniforms coming home from school. Girls carry sun umbrellas and boys wouldn't be caught dead with a sun umbrella... not cool!

 No orange cones or barriers here... rocks work just fine.

 Why buy bananas when you can get them free along the way. To me these little bananas have a sweet tang of a fresh peach.

 The fish market has anything you want and a lot of what you don't want.  Smells like fish! Now remember the heat and humidity... not a place to hang around all day. On our way out we were pulled aside by a woman that told us she was a member and we talked for a minute. It is stake conference and a general authority is visiting, so she wanted us to know that she was going to be there. We have several people call us over and talk with us along our way.

 Everyone wants their picture taken... I guess they want to be on our blog.

This fish market is part of what they call a "wet market". There is all kinds of meat, fish, poultry in the wet market. The dry market is filled with fruits and vegetables. We parked on the second floor and on the way out we were going to pay the parking fee when a young woman greeted us and called us elder and sister. She said there was no fee for us and she would see us at conference.

 The fish market. Sorry, I don't have smell-o-video. It;s a real olfactory experience!

Sticky rice patties wrapped in banana leaves and then you pour a sweet sugar sauce on it. It tastes a lot like super-thick tapioca with a molasses sauce. Not bad.

It;s amazing how many ways you can prepare rice.

The New Mission Office and Mission Home in Urdaneta

Monday, July 18, 2011 was the official opening of our mission office in Urdaneta Philippines. The office was relocated from Baguio to Urdaneta. It is a beautiful new mission home and mission office adjacent to it (not shown in picture). They are located in the back of the Urdaneta Stake Center in a wooded area. We are awaiting the official announcement from the Missionary Department that the name of the mission has been changed to the Urdaneta Philippines Mission. We anticipate that announcement will be made soon.

New mission home, same mission president, same mission boundaries.

Urdaneta Stake Center. You can see the mission office at the end of the road along side the stake center.

 The Baguio mission home and office have been used for many years and our hearts will always feel and attachment for its beauty and refuge from the world it provided.

The mission office and mission home sat a top a steep hill accessed by a steep driveway. We will always remember our treasured experiences here.

Sounds in the Night

Last night I was sitting on the bed, reading my scriptures and rejoicing in the cool breeze from the fan.  Then I heard a sound that made my heart almost stop.  I’d never heard it before and I could tell it came from something living and it was in the room with me.  There is only enough room in our bedroom for the bed, chest and us—certainly no other living thing.  

When Dad came in I told him something was chirping in our room and it was loud.  Dad said it was probably a cricket and sure enough, he found one and took care of it.  I felt relieved and we turned out the lights and started to drift off to sleep.  Then it came again...  

 Click to listen to the gecko sound.

That was no cricket.  It was something at least two feet long, I was sure.  Dad got up and looked all over the room while I hid under the covers.  It was hot but safe under there—unless it was in the bed!  

Dad said nothing was in the room, but I didn’t believe it.  It was only prayer that got me to sleep.  No more noises though.

This morning I looked on the internet and found out it was our live-in geckos!   I wish they would just stick to eating mosquitoes.  They have been falling down on the job as far as I am concerned.  But apparently, they like beach music, so maybe…

Join in if you remember the words and can sing like a gecko!

A Day of Member Visits

We met Sister Dola and Sister Mamaril at 2:00 to go visiting.  They were going to take us to four families, but added three more.  At the end they said “When can we go again?”  They loved listening to Dad teach from the scriptures.  We didn’t get back until 8:00.  It was a very wonderful adventure and very eye opening.  We hadn’t seen so much poverty in seven homes in one day.  It helps us realize that the people in the Manaoag Branch, and probably the other two branches are very poor.

We drove a long time on dirt roads to get to Sister Beck.  Sister Mamaril had to move some baby goats out of the road and the cows were standing  almost in our path most times.  The road was just through the rice fields and the water was over the road sometimes.  Dad was worried the car wouldn’t make it, but he has a lot of faith and trusted it to the Lord who delivered us all again.  The people we saw were so grateful for the visits.

 Reeds, bushes, and tree branches lapped over the road like arms at a car wash, but the last thing I wanted was a deluge of water to wash the road away or create deep ponds that our little car can't ford...
 

 We drove on this little road hoping that we wouldn't meet another vehicle going the other way. There is no shoulder to move off the road. You just enter the rice field and lots of thick clay mud.

 We met a lot of friendly livestock along the road to our visits.

 The nanny goats of the kids that we had to get out and move off the road. Once we moved kids off the road they ran away, so I didn't get a picture of them.

 They were as curious about us as we were about them.

Sister Beck had polio when she was three years old and is limited in her ability to walk, but was able to get around her yard and home.  It was such a humble home—bamboo, but a cement floor.  It was so tidy and clean and made as lovely as she could.  Flowers and bushes had been planted around the edges.  They are very poor.  She has a sewing machine and contributes to the family support by doing sewing for others.  Her daughter is away at school.  Her husband was also away doing construction work.  She bore a very strong testimony of prayer, the scriptures and love for her Heavenly Father.  Sometimes she doesn’t have enough rice to eat and when she prays, someone will come with what she needs.  Sometimes she doesn’t have the money she needs and someone will bring her sewing to do and she knows it is an answer to her prayers.   She said that she has many afflictions in her life and there were times when she cried all the time, but when she was converted to the gospel she began to feel some peace about her trials. She reads the Book of Mormon daily and will get up at 5:00 am to make time to read before the work of the day.  She is not able to get to church unless her son or husband carry her there.  They walk through the river to get to church, but when the river is high like it is now, it is impossible to get to church.  She loves the Lord and is full of faith.

 Sister Beck, Sister and Elder Lindsay

 Sister Beck and her husband built this home. Her sister lives nearby.

Sister Concepcion had a stroke two weeks ago and can’t see out of her right eye.  She shed many tears and expressed her fear.  It was very touching to see Sis. Dola and Sister Mamaril comfort her and see the love and concern on their faces.  Sis. Concepcion shared her concern that she had the stroke because she was wicked. She was comforted and assured by Sister Dola and Sister Mamaril that it isn’t so.  Her husband was working in the nearby field, but it was too muddy for us to get to him for a visit.  We told her that coming to Church and partaking of the sacrament would strengthen and comfort her.  She was concerned that she didn’t have a dress to wear, but we and the sisters assured her that it wouldn’t matter.  She thought she might be able to borrow a dress to wear.  It is so humbling to see her poverty of temporal and spiritual things. 

On the road again! We didn't meet another vehicle until we got out of the rice fields.

 Some views along the road to visit Sister Concepcion. She was very self-conscious and fearful after her  stroke and I felt it was not appropriate to take a picture of her.

 Clumps of rice starts that will be separated and each start is hand planted in the mud under the water.

 We see small rice terraces all along the way.

This is a mango tree next to the rice field.

Sister Laguarta was home and had just finished the washing for her family of five children.  She is a tiny woman who works very hard.  We walked down a narrow, muddy path along a rusty barbed wire fence to a compound of shacks to see the family.  Marise is 8 and sang a beautiful Primary song for us.  It was like hearing an angel sing in a dark corner of the world.  Sister Laguarta bore a beautiful and powerful testimony of the gospel.  They have much illness in the family and her husband is a non-member, so it is difficult for them to come regularly.  Medicine and doctor visits are very expensive.  I have never seen such poverty up close, but there is love and faith and education there.

 We walked about a half Km downhill from the "road" to visit Sister Laguarta. This was the nice part of the trail with rocks to walk on. The other part was mud!

You don't knock on a door because often there is no door, but you shout "cowpo!" or "Hell-o". Chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, dogs and cats are in and out of the homes.

Marise is 8 and has a beautiful voice. She sang a Primary song for us.

Then we went to Brother and Sister Lim’s.  They work so hard to provide for their family.  They have ten children and live in a home with three small dark rooms, but they were so cheerful.   The ducks and dogs kept trying to come in the house.  They have thirteen pigs which is very good for providing income.  Bro. Lim is a construction worker.   He doesn’t have many teeth left and when I asked him the name of his little boy, he looked puzzled for a minute and then said with pride, “This is James Ferdinand.”  “James” sister who was sitting beside him said “It’s Marcos”.  Brother Lim looked a little sheepish and just laughed and gave Marcos a big, apologetic hug.  They were very attentive to our message and seemed willing to come back to church.  We will see on Sunday.

 The walk to the Lim and Calachan families was down a walled alley that ended into this open area where there were many small homes. We visited with the Lim family first. Sorry, no pictures of the family.

Brother and Sister Calachan were not home when we first came to their house.  So we talked with their beautiful daughter Sherrie.  She was working on a family project to make and sell baskets and she was trying  to meet a delivery deadline.  She told us right away that the family didn’t come to Church, but she seemed to long to come back.  She bore the most beautiful testimony of faith in Jesus Christ and the scriptures.  While we were talking her parents arrived and we read again from the Book of Mormon and challenged them to come back to Church, to partake of the sacrament.  Their family is proud that they have been sealed in the temple and the parents are endowed, but they don’t come to church.  It was dark by the time we were ready to leave, so Bro. Calachan drove us back to the car in his trike because it was dark and the path was so muddy and filled with "hazards". 

The Calachan family. The art work of the youngest daughter is on the wall and you can see one of the basket frames behind Sister Lindsay. They weave rope between frame sticks and create a very nice looking basket.

Sisters Mamaril, Lindsay, Dola and Brother Calachan, with clean dry feet.

Brother Calachan was very kind to give us a ride. We sat in the car and the other sisters climbed onto the back bumper of the sidecar and rode.

It was a wonderful experience to read from the Book of Mormon with each of these families and talk about the blessings that come from keeping the commandments and partaking of the sacrament.  It was wonderful to express love to them and to feel the Spirit in their very humble homes.  It was very humbling to bear testimony to them that Heavenly Father was mindful of them and loved them and to feel that our presence was a witness of that.  It was hard to hear about and see their afflictions and to not be able to change it for them, but then I was reminded that they have the promises and blessings of the gospel and they are rich.  I could picture them in glorious circumstances with their families around them and receiving the riches of eternity.  It seemed almost a glimpse of the future to see in those dark, poor homes a glorious eternal life.