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. 

A Pioneer Passes On

Last week the man, who was known as the "Living Legend" of Mapandan, passed away. Brother Calixtro Castro was baptized in 1983. He was faithful and truly converted right from the start. He rode his bicycle 20 Km to the Dagupan branch to be baptized and he continued to ride his bike to church every Sunday to attend meetings. He became a stalwart in the branch and district as a leader and a shepherd extraordinaire. He would be seen riding his bike all over the area visiting the members of his branch and quorum. Up until just a few years ago he rode his bike to church with a few of his grandchildren on the handlebars.
  
We visited the family in their home last Sunday right after he passed away and learned that members and friends show their love and support by just being present at their home. When we arrived many of the family and friends surrounded this little shed with canopies of tin or canvas pieces laced together to shelter them from the sun and rain. The roof of the home was made of sheets of corrugated tin that was visible from the inside... hot in the sun and noisy in the rain. We greeted his wife who subdued her grief and expressed gratitude for our presence. 

The funeral was held in their home on Friday. The branch leaders brought the keyboard to the funeral and Sister Lindsay played the hymns... Oh, My Father, I Know That My Redeemer Lives.

Some branch members at the funeral. We shed our tears, but also found hope and smiles through our faith in Jesus Christ and his Resurrection.

The couple sitting next to Sister Lindsay were former members and branch president, now living in another town an hour away.

This woman is a member of the deceased's family, but she and her palsied daughter sat at her home watching the gathering. Sister Lindsay saw her and went over to greet her and her daughter. They talked and Sister Lindsay expressed words of comfort and hope.

The visiting took place on Sunday and the funeral was held on Friday. I was honored to be invited to speak at the funeral along with two members of the branch leadership. As I was about half way into my talk heavy rains started to beat down on the tin roof and created a deafening roar so that no matter how loud I yelled no one could hear me, so I concluded. The cloud burst subsided a few minutes later and the funeral was concluded with a hymn, I Know That My Redeemer Lives. I knew that the members of this family, indeed, knew that Jesus Christ lives and they have hope through his Atonement and Resurrection that they too will live beyond this veil of mortality. "Oh, what joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives."

Miscellaneous

The towns are divided into neighborhoods called barangy (ba rang guy). This barangy must be larger. It has a fancy entry gate over the highway.

Member trikes; note the "Liahona" and "LDS" signs.

The trees and vines are growing right before our eyes.

The government has posted signs all over the country that point the direction to the LDS chapels. I don't know the whole story, but our church is the only one that  has this signage. It sure helps us find the chapels as we drive into a new town.

They buy the rice plant starts in these clumps.

The clumps of starts are placed in rows in the fields and the workers separate the starts and plant them individually into the mud of the rice field. You can see the progress of the workers in this field. It's back-breaking work, you stand in mud and can get parasites under your skin. This is not fun work.

A view of the rice fields in different stages of growth. The land owners loan the farmers the money to buy the clumps of starts, fertilizer, pesticide and the money to pay the workers and gets 75% of the crop in return. The farmer gets the other 25%.

All in A Days Work

We start the day with a shower, personal scripture study, joint study, daily planning, breakfast and a little more study. Today we left the house at 9:00 am to meet the zone leaders an hour away. So at 10:00 we met the zone leaders and waded through traffic to review some apartments. We approved one that was newly re-painted and looked great... even had a toilet seat! The elders were concerned that others would beat them to the landlord and rent it before they got there, so we drove them directly to the landlord's home. While they were busy working arrangements out with the landlord, we went to the end of the block and took a peak at the South China Sea.

Driving through town this morning was a breeze!

 Fishermen coming in from a morning of fishing. 

 They hoped out of the boat and all lent a hand to get the boat out of the water and up on the sand. A few well placed logs and a lot of grunts and groans...

 ...and they got the boat out of the water and safely on the sand.

Other fishing boats have already come in and the fishermen are telling their stories of the day under a palm frond roof along the shore.

This man came in solo on a little raft. No big waves in sight, but if there was one he would be in for a swim.

The apartment agreement was finalized, so we returned to pickup the zone leaders and take them back to their apartment on the other side of town. We dropped them off and drove a half an hour to the next town to join the missionaries in their district meeting. The power is out, so no A/C or fans on this hot humid day. We shared a can of honey roasted peanuts with the elders during interviews and a couple of Hershey Kisses. It was a good training and the elders strengthen one another by just being together. We always enjoy being the investigators in the workshops.

After the district meeting we left the chapel with another set of zone leaders to review another apartment. the apartment looked great and we gave our hearty approval. While we were getting out of the car I saw the elders walking up the street and had to take a picture of the wonderful sight of these Sons of Helaman marching down the street on their way to proclaim the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world!

 After the apartment inspections, back in the car, through town, down the "highway" to home for a quick bite of dinner. Whoa! What was that? It was a big flash of light followed by a deafening clap of rolling thunder. The clouds burst with the moisture they have been gathering all day and pour it down for hours. But the work goes on. We got our dinner and left home to meet the Primary president who will accompany us to the less active families and our reactivation visits. We got to the meeting place and waited in the car while the rains poured down. Our sister from the branch arrive a little late because there were no trikes to hire for her ride due to the heavy rains. She was faithful and found a way to get to us. We traveled down the road to a turnoff onto a gravel road, with lots of holes and no shoulder. We traveled on this road in the pouring rain about 3 Km (1.8 miles) and there we found our families. We visited for a couple of hours, talked of their conversion and their missionaries, gave a lesson, bore testimony and invited them to come to church next Sunday.

The sister on the left is our primary president and the other sisters are those we are inviting back to church. We had a very sweet experience with them, felt the spirit and shed tears of joy together. They know the gospel is true and love the Lord, but travel is expensive and difficult. We think they have the faith to do it and we know the Lord will help them find the way. He certainly delivered us today and know that somehow we will make it back to the highway and to our cozy little home.

We dropped the sister off at her home and got back to our home by 9:00. It was a busy day... a rewarding day... a day of deliverance of the Lord. We approved apartments that were exceptionally good. We met with the missionaries and lifted their hearts and they lifted ours. We bore testimony and felt the spirit all day long. We forged some flooded roads to meet some wonderful saints and shared a spiritual experience together. We were filled with joy all day. What a wonderful work we are engaged in! Thank you dear Lord for letting us be a small part of thy great work and receive such a bountiful blessing of joy.

First Baptism in July

Sister Kalulu (on the left) was baptized in May and she has been actively working with the missionaries to teach many others in her family. The is her granddaughter that is getting baptized today.

First Fruits Experience

Jack fruit grows on trees and looks like a prickly watermelon hanging in a tree.

 We received this jack fruit from our landlord as a gift from the bountiful harvest in his backyard. We also got some small bananas that were very good.

 This jack fruit weighed about 12 pounds and was a little painful to hold with the pointy spines on the skin of the fruit.

 Sister Lindsay cut it open with a great deal of effort, to reveal a strange looking inside. The white sap that started to flow was like very sticky glue. The yellow part is the edible part and it is formed in pods with seeds.

Mmmmm... sweet, but not as sweet as a ripe jack fruit. We took this one to share with members after a baptism and they didn't want it because it was not ripe yet. They got us a ripe one and it got picked up by someone else that must have thought it was theirs.

The sticky sap required about an hour of work and a half a bottle of finger nail polish remover to clean the knife.

 

Now this is more like it! A yellow watermelon. It was labeled as a Dark Beauty melon.

It was very sweet and reminded us of our yellow melon experience in Egypt.

It's really sweet and good. Here is the proof. this is our way of celebrating the summer and its holidays.