We started this week with the
Sunday sessions of conference. They
were amazing. I have notes but I can’t
remember who said what. As a father and
grandfather of beautiful daughters, granddaughters and daughters-in-law I was
very impressed with the many references to the contributions and direction for
women in their many roles. We did
Sunday sessions in Iriga. We were told
they would be in Tagalog but they were all in English. The joke here is that if you have to listen
and respond in English too long you get a nosebleed. There were a lot of nosebleed jokes after conference.
Following conference we had a
reporting meeting…hey wait…this sounds familiar…yeah I just checked and I have
already reported on Sunday. They say
your mind is the second thing to go right after your hair!
I finally found a knee brace
and it seems to help. My left knee
feels like it did when we used to brand 500 calves a year and I would get
kicked repeatedly in the left knee. Without
a brace I can hardly walk. As long it
lasts so I can run in the mornings and gets me home, I will deal with it then.
Monday morning we ran but didn’t have to work
out on weights because President Botor brought his father, his son and Sister
Dy who helped us harvest bananas, guava, sugar cane and other fruits in our
yard. We have a coconut tree but it
must about 70 feet tall and no one wanted to climb it to get the coconuts. When they fall they will really hit the
ground with power. I hope we aren’t in
the yard when that happens. I only have
one picture and the rest are videos.
This is President Botor with Valerie and Sister Dy. Kevin is hiding behind his father. He is very shy.
On Tuesday morning we had to
meet the Buhi elders at the dock at 8:00 AM.
President Botor came with us and was a big help. We have had a most remarkable day in
Buhi. We crossed the lake early this morning and spent all morning with
the members and investigators in Ibayugan. There is internet service
over there but it was not reliable enough to use. We showed them a short
video clip we took on a flash drive. We then assigned them each a
user name and password and scanned their group sheets so we can input their
information on our computers using the Baao church’s internet. We plan to
return to Buhi branch on November 1, when Ibayugan returns for Fast and
Testimony meeting. We can then show each of them their information on
familysearch.org
The elders found an apartment in Ibayugan but it
is not in the least bit suitable for them. There is very little chance
that anything will be available for rent. It is a different lifestyle
over there. We have to walk along narrow, wet rice field borders, over
rocky ground and up cliff like climbs to get to the meeting house.
It was raining when we left and the path was
the drainage creek bed. It was a great day with them. The group
leader’s wife fed the whole group again.
They are so charitable. It is so
isolated over there that if you have any issues with mobility you couldn’t get out. There is an investigator just above the hut
we meet in and he is getting crippled.
There is no way he could walk out of there. You have to pull yourself up with trees to get there. If the missionaries did find a place it
would be impossible to get appliances up to it. These are the two groups we did FH with.
We met the other missionaries and President Olivaras at the church
at 2:00 PM for a training with the new missionaries and to plan a funeral for
tomorrow. We are doing a service for a family of less active members who
lost a 5 month old baby girl to crib death this week. The church is
expected to be filled with less active members and non-members.
Wednesday morning we went to the Buhi church
early to help clean the building to get it ready for the funeral. We were drenched with sweat before the
service started but the building was clean.
It was a most heart breaking funeral for a little 5 month old crib
death. Her name is May Tadeo Abordo. She was the youngest of four
children in the family. The oldest is about five. She had a pouty bottom lip and a pink
earring. It was so difficult to watch
her parents suffer. This is little May
at the service.
I
was asked to speak and I did ten minutes on the eternal plan of happiness.
Looking into the eyes of the young mother and father I told them about being
sealed as a family so husband, wife and children will always be together as one
family and not just part of large group who have no connection with each
other. This is May’s family at
the service.
Elder Cayago and President
Olivaras also spoke. We went to the burial where Elder Baker dedicated
the grave site. The sister missionaries have been to the people’s home
this week and have appointments to continue teaching. The young father is
a less active member as is his parents but the mother is not a member.
Her family are Catholic and did not want to come into our church so they
were not present. I know the family felt the spirit and the Sisters
are well equipped to prepare them for baptism.
It was a privilege to support the Abordo family today and tell them the
comforting news that they can be sealed as a family and still have the
opportunity to raise May as their daughter.
The missionaries have been there since the death and have appointments
to continue teaching them and preparing them for baptism and temple
ordinances. The father is a less active
member as is his parents but his wife is not a member. She couldn’t take her eyes off me when I
told her about the plan of happiness and that family and marriage ties do not
end “at death do we part.”
Buhi is an amazing district
and the branch is very supportive in the community. We are so blessed to
serve with them.
On Thursday we trained all
the new elders in Bato district. It
didn’t go well because the DL is leaving in three weeks and didn’t care to
listen or participate. There are some
good elders in the district that include Cotnogan, Bato and Nabua and several
new missionaries being trained.
I had another apostrophe this
week. We often quote that whom the Lord
calls the Lord qualifies. That truth is
so stark here it is amazing. The branch
presidents in this district are dynamic leaders of many members who have very
little experience in the gospel and in the workings of the church. They work tirelessly to help advance others
and try to make leaders out of new members.
Most active members have three or four calls in the district and their
home branches. These leaders are being
qualified every day for their calls.
On Friday the typhoon Landau
made landfall north of us in central and northern Luzon (the big island we live
on). It rained all day and cooled down
to a chilly 27 degrees Celsius. We
had an appointment in Baao with Sister Dy but she didn’t come because of the
rain and cold weather. Her house leaks
so she was busy at home. Sister Gloria
came with her son and granddaughter so they could use the church’s wifi to
Skype with the granddaughter’s mother who works in Dubuy. We texted Gloria in the morning but she is
out of phone load so she couldn’t answer us.
They all have phones but no one can afford to buy load so they aren’t
reliable as communication devises. We
filled our car, genny and Gerry can with gas; checked our 72 hour kit and made
extra water storage in case we had to stay in or get out in a hurry. We were on the outside of the high pressure
area so we only experienced about 12 inches of rain in 36 hours and winds of
only 60 kmh. It was not too serious
here but the areas and missions north of here are getting hit very hard and we
are praying for them.
We drove to Pili on Saturday and witnessed the
flooding from the mountain range behind our house. I am not used to a small car with no clearance. If I had my duramax we would have been more
brave in exploring the flooding but we have to be careful in the Corolla. Pili was still as busy as ever and all the
signs of a fiesta as well as the excitement of the typhoon.
This
is a picture of some huts that are between the highway and the rice
fields. You can see the kids inside out
of the rain but the flood water is up to the sleeping platform in their
huts.
The
water from the rice fields was almost up to the highway.
These
homes and huts are along the highway as well.
It is raining so we took the pictures from the car.
Today in Cotnogan I was asked
to speak as we walked through the door.
I spoke on the signs of the times in the last days and how blessed we
are to know that Father is warning us of the coming of his Son with these
typhoons.
We are preparing to finish
our training in Iriga zone and hope to meet with the zone leaders in Canaman
this week to teach them next week. We
wish we had more time!
This is it for another week. I hope you get this Tab so it can be
published. Thanks for making us look
good with all else you have to do. We
love you all!!
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