Good Friday Parade in Manaoag

The Good Friday Parade is the first big event of Holy Week, which preceeds Easter Sunday. We spent most of our Good Friday at a youth conference in Baguio, where we were assigned to speak. It was a wonderful day at the youth conference (another posting) and a long drive through heavy traffic coming and going through the masses of people and vehicles coming to Manaoag where we live. The air was thick with excitement and anticipation of the big Good Friday Parade that was to start at 5:00 PM.

We got home from the youth conference before the big parade started, so we walked over to the main street in front of the Lady of Manaoag Shrine... 

...and took our spot on the hot pavement, in the growing crowd to watch the parade.

We waited in the intense sun for over an hour before the parade began, but we came to see the big parade and we were determined to wait it out with everyone else in town.

The priests led the procession, singing and clicking in cadance as they walked by us. It was not a typical parade crowd. They were relatively quiet and I could tell they reverenced the event.

There was no explanation of the images that moved past us, but I think this is Peter. When the statue passed many people joined the procession behind Peter.

There were several other statues that passed by us. I assume that this is Mary. Many more people joined the procession behind Mary and the other statues as they passed by them.

The final statue was that of Jesus in a glass coffin. As I said, the people were relatively quiet for a big event like this and you could tell that they were honoring and respecting the life of the Savior that was given for them.

The crowd was significantly depleated as they joined the procession to march through the town and then back to the Shrine again. Once they returned they were dismissed and purchased their dinner from a street vendor. There was no pushing, rudness or rush. Everyon was courteous and well behaved. People moved easily through the crowds to join the procession, get closer to see, or join friends and family. We enjoyed sharing our love of the Savior with the community in their Good Friday Parade.

This final group joined in the procession after the Saviors coffin passed by.

When the procession moved on through town and left us, we turned to walk back to our home. We passed the street vendors that were getting the food ready for the people when they returned from their march through the town.

Some families got their dinner and were on their way home before the big crowd returned and the streets filled up with traffic.

This is our street, only two blocks away from all the crowds. There are always a few dogs along the way to bark a greeting to us. The flowers are always in bloom and since this is the summer there is no rain and the deep gutters are dry.

You can see the joy of the people in their faces. They may not have many things of the world, but they are kind to each other and happy in their faith in Jesus Christ.

He is Risen!

We share this precious gift from the Church to the world this Easter season.

We know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He lives today. He came to earth to fulfill the plan of the Father and the words of the prophets. We are so grateful for His sacrifice. We have felt the power of His infinite Atonement throughout our lives, especially now as we share His love and our witness as missionaries. There are no heartaches that He cannot heal, no sorrow that He does not understand. He invites us all to come unto Him and partake of His love.

Our greatest desire is that those we love might have this same witness that He lives... that we can be made whole through Him and that it is only through His merits, mercy and grace that we can have true happiness now and forever.

My Sisters in Zion

The Relief Society sisters in Mapandan gather for a Saturday activity. It is to help us learn to dress more attractively, get a manicure and a pedicure and watch a makeover haircut.  The sisters are excited.

 Here is the "Before" picture of the Relief Society president.  If she reflected on the outside what is in her soul, she would be stunningly beautiful.  She's pretty cute now.

The transformation in progress.  The great work of the Philippines now is rescue work.  The sister giving the haircut is a less active sister who is returning to Church.

The "After" picture.   I was a little nervous about how Sister Datuin might feel about her new look, but when she looked in the mirror she said, "Oh, I look like a movie star!"

 John Melchizedek looks handsome in cake crumbs and red juice.  No makeover needed for him.

 

 Sister Ellen gets a manicure.

  

 Once the instruction was given, daughters could give their moms pedicures.

We had Ube ice cream for refreshments.  It is a root vegetable used in desserts here.  I love the purple color and was anxious to see what it tasted like.  Not offensive, but I'll take good old chocolate and vanilla.

Young and old, they are my beautiful sisters!

Pure and Simple Faith

We were moved by this church video because it is the story of a Filipino Young Woman like those we work with each day. She lives in a humble home in a neighborhood (barangay) like many homes we see everyday.

A 20 peso bill is worth about 47 cents. This family was down to their last dollar. They may live miles from the church building and the bus or jeep fare may be 15-20 pesos per person one way. The heat and humidity are intense and walking can be life threatening. They use a candle for light because electricity is too expensive. They sit on the floor because they have no furniture. They buy charcoal because they cook over an open fire. They hang their hand-washed clothes out to dry because they have no washer and dryer. If you have eyes to see, you can see the temporal poverty, but also sense the spiritual bounty in this young woman's life. She has a pure faith in Jesus Christ, like the other members here, that sustains them everyday.

We hope that through this video you can sense why we have a special love for these sweet and humble children of God.

Elder Holland Speaks at Harvard Law School

This is an uplifting 15 minute talk by Elder Holland, delivered at the Harvard Law School, March 20, 2012. It  defines the differences between our Restored Christianity and Reformed Christianity. This is a sample of what Elder Holland said.

“What brings me to you today is not a message of reformation but of restoration,” he said, “the restoration of that church Christ established by His hand in the meridian of time and which He has reestablished by His hand in this present time.”

Through this restoration, doctrines about the nature of God, Christ’s ministry and God’s plan for His children were reemphasized and clarified.

Elder Holland further explained the centrality of Christ to Church doctrine and the important distinctions between the teachings of some Christian traditions and the Christian doctrines and beliefs of the Latter-day Saints.

“We are not considered ‘Christian’ by some, I suppose because we are not fourth-century Christians, we are not Athanasian Christians, we are not creedal Christians of the brand that arose hundreds of years after Christ,” he said. “No, when we speak of ‘restored Christianity’ we speak of the Church as it was [before] ... great councils were called to debate and anguish over what it was they really believed.”

"I confess I did not believe I would live to see the day that taxi cabs in Times Square would be scurrying about with 'taxi toppers' saying, 'See the Book of Mormon,'" he said. "Of course our quick rejoinder has been, 'Now you have seen the show, read the book.'"

Faithful Saints and Open House in Aguilar

This weekend we met Elder and Sister Mondala from the Aguilar District in our mission. They were called to serve in the Manila Temple about a year ago and rejoice in their opportunity to serve there. They take a bus to Manila that leaves Tuesday morning at 1:00 AM and arrives near the temple four or five hours later. They are there at the temple on-time for the start of their 6:00 AM shift. They live in the patron housing Tuesday through Saturday and leave the temple after their Saturday shift and arrive home a little before midnight. They get a little rest and attend their branch Sunday block meetings that start at 8:30 AM and do all they can that day to strengthen the branch members. Monday they are with family, do the wash and have a Family Home Evening, pack their bags and leave for the temple again on the 1:00 AM bus. They are so dedicated to the work of the Lord and the happiest people we have met.

 The temple was closed for cleaning for two weeks so they took time to get their temple recommend renewed and spent a week to staff the district open house.

They were bubbling with excitement to tell us that they had just received a six month mission extension. That will make it a full two-year mission. I think they will sign up and go on another mission soon after this mission is completed. Don't you just love these people!

We had a ribbon cutting by the mayor and council members to officially start the Open House.

We joined in on the VIP tour and enjoyed our time and associations with guests and members. The mayor (center blue shirt) was a building contractor on one of the local church buildings and commented on the high building standards the Church has... "those buildings can with-stand a 10.0 earthquake", he said. He said it was his first time he had been in an operating chapel and was delighted with the friendly members and said he would come back. The councilwoman in the red checked top really enjoyed the people and the tour. She said she would definitely be back. All had a positive impression of the members and doctrines of the Church.

There were seven themed panels and the branches put up pictures and commentary about their branches on the back of the panels.

The Church was officially registered in the Philippines in 1961.

We had a Jubilee banner at the entrance of the open house and a video of the Jubilee celebration in Manila, featuring native dances by hundreds of brightly costumed dancers, church and national heritage, and church and traditional Philippine music. The Church has been in the Philippines for 50 years.

There were hundreds that toured the open house through the week. The members were excited to share the open house with their friends and brought them and hosted them through all the displays. The members also staffed the event all week and the missionaries were there to support them in between their teaching appointments. They received over 40 referrals from the weekday tours and expected that number to double with the biggest number of visitors expected on Saturday, the final day of the Open House. The displays will be transported to Urdaneta Stake Center (announced temple site) for their open house in two weeks.

Aguilar District Conference

We traveled to beautiful Aguilar about one and a half hours from us.  We had a wonderful weekend meeting with the Saints and participating in their District Conference.

We went over the bridges...

across the rivers and fish pens...

through the rice fields...

and past the harvest.

We saw the stick man on our way...

and the basket man...

and the giant caribou with his farmer and bundled rice...

to the Aguilar building.

The building had been carefully cleaned for the special weekend and evidence lingered by the fence.

This Lola (grandmother) had never seen a picture of herself and her granddaughter.  She had no idea they looked so much alike until she saw the picture of them together.  She had come with her daughter and granddaughter to partake of the spiritual feast.

The sisters gather for auxiliary training on Saturday.  The wonderful counselor in the district presidency joined them to deliver a message of love.  He has only been home from his mission for a couple of years. He just got engaged to be married. Return missionaries are very precious here.

The choir looked and sounded wonderful for all the sessions on Saturday and Sunday. 

The parents of this young family are both returned missionaries.  They want to begin early to instill a desire for missionary service in their sons so they named the oldest one DL (for district leader) and the youngest one ZL (zone leader).  Mom is expecting a baby and if it is a boy he will be AP (you guessed it--Assistant to the President).  They could handle one more boy they said.  He would be MP (Mission President). 

                                                                            

             DL doing a little landscaping.

 This is the line waiting for temple recommends after conference.  Even though Dad needs a Branch President to translate for him, it is one of the sweetest experiences he has to see into the hearts of the dear, faithful saints.

 One of the branches in the district, the Mangatarem Branch, will travel forty-five minutes in the Jeepney to return home.  It is full of three generations devoted saints in the Philippines.

Somehow they managed to get all these saints and the Elders into the already full jeep too!

Stuffed and ready to go home with the memories of a wonderful day of spiritual nourishment and direction.
We are always uplifted by being with the members and missionaries at conference and hearing the loving direction from their leaders.

Baguio Mission Song

We love to sing our mission song at zone conferences and anytime we need a lift. The the work is true and the challenges are real, but we focus on the Savior, Preach My Gospel and obedience and we march forward victorious everyday!

Baguio Mission Song, sung by the Baguio missionaries.

BAGUIO MISSION SONG

Oh, Baguio Missionaries we are faithful, strong and true.
We are building up the Kingdom as the Lord has asked us to.

We're united in our efforts working hard the whole day through

To share the gospel light

We are Baguio Missionaries!

Stalwart servants in the Kingdom!

Teaching people sweet and humble,

To feel the Savior's love.

Obedience is our watchword if the Spirit is to guide.

Study scriptures, pray and proselyte, the hours we must abide.

Preach My Gospel is our focus, to baptize we must convert.

And keep our members strong.

We are Baguio Missionaries!

Stalwart servants in the Kingdom!

Teaching people sweet and humble,

To know the Savior's plan.

We ask inspired questions, finding treasures day and night.

Finding fam'lies to convert and be eternal in His sight. 

 By the Spirit we can testify with all our mind and might.

Bring joy into their lives.

We are Baguio Missionaries!

Stalwart servants in the Kingdom!

Teaching people sweet and humble,

To know the gospel's true.

 The winds may blow and rains may come and typhoon signals rise.

Lights and water and the roads may disappear before our eyes.

But we'll find a jeep or trike or bus, whatever fits our size.

Commitments we will keep.

We are Baguio Missionaries!

Stalwart servants in the Kingdom!

Teaching people sweet and humble,

To join the Lord's true church.

There's Dagupan and Linguyan, Bayambang to name a few.

Urdaneta and Rosales both of them are down south too.

San Fernando and Mangaldan, Agoo -- we're almost through.

And Baguio on the hill.

We are Baguio Missionaries!

Stalwart servants in the Kingdom!

Teaching people sweet and humble,

To go back home again.

Welcome to Mortality Tate!

OH JOY!!! ANOTHER LINDSAY BOY!

We are all rejoicing!! Congratulations to Brett and Heather on their new son, Tate Harrison Lindsay. He arrived on his mother's birthday, February 22, at 3:50 AM. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 21 inches long. He's a keeper! He is our 14the grandchild and 12th grandson. Matt and Ellen are expecting our next grandson in July. That will make 15 grandchildren; 2 granddaughters and 13 grandsons!

 So tiny!

 Only two hands-full!

 Everyone is hoping he rests so peacefully when he gets home.

Parker's first look at his new brother.  Tate, we're going to have so many great adventures together! We can build a fort tonight and you can be my brother!