Fa,la,la,la….PLOP!

Maayong Buntag Pamilya & Amigos

Well another week in Paradise doing what we love to do most "Teach the Gospel" and work with and help the missionaries.

We had transfers this week and we assisted the the Zone Leaders to execute their plans.  Things went very well and they really have this one under control.  By 4:00 pm all missionary were in their areas and ready to work.  No accidents and much more organized.

Unloading Multi Cab at ICM bus terminal.

Elder Pagotaisidro (Zone Leader) executing transfers in Tagb 

Every transfer we loose a few special missionaries and then we gain a few more special ones to take their place.

Another fantastic event is Sister Bell made her first batch of whole wheat bread since we came here.  This a shot of it right out of the oven.  

Anyone who has had some of this bread knows what I am talking about when I say it is pinaka lami! (very most delicious)

Next adventure is teaching in Danao with the Sagbayan 'Army of God' and the missionaries. We went with Elders to teach in Danao where a couple of members live. They live about an hour drive away from the Sagbayan Church and they attend very often.  As we walk up the road with one of the members that live there and 5 other members from Sagbayan we taught at every house we stopped at. It is great to see the members testify and teach with such power.  This area would be prime area to open in the future for missionary work.  There are many people with open hearts and humble souls that live in Danao.

Missionaries and members testifying of the truth.

I am going to let Sister Bell tell you about the children in Danao.  That is her specialty and she does a great job with them.

We got word this week Jason and Aly are coming next week to visit.  We are so excited to see them and know we will have a great time and have many great experiences with them.

We love the work we are engaged in. Not alway easy but sure worth it.  We thank the Lord each and every day for these experiences we are having and the great people that we work with.

Love you always

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo)

Dear Family and Friends,

I know this will be posted a little later than usual but don't worry.  We have a good excuse for the tardiness.  We were coming home from church yesterday when we got a call that one of our Elders had been in a bike accident and they were on the way to the hospital with him.  So instead of heading home to finish our day working on the blog, we headed to Tagbilaran to see how Elder Celada was.  They had just finished examining him and he was ready to be released.  He only had bruising and road rash.  Fortunately he was wearing his helmet and so the injuries were much more manageable than they would have been otherwise.  We brought he and his companion home so we could monitor him and he is doing pretty good this morning.

Elder Celada resting on the hide-a-bed no worse for wear.

This next story is for Karen Green and all other accompanist out there….

I have to tell you the story of the Ubay Branch and the clumsy organist yesterday….I think I have told you all before that I am the only person in most branches that plays the piano at all.  So, sadly I am the only excuse for an accompanist that they have.  We don't have real pianos or organs in any of the places we go to church, just really wobbly keyboards that only work partially.  But, I try to do my best with what we have to work with and the members are really patient with my stumbling for the right keys. We stood up to sing the intermediate rest hymn that was listed as 264. I did not understand that they had announced at the pulpit the song would be 246 and so I played this long 3-line introduction and plunged right in to the song when finally someone came over to the keyboard and told me I was playing the wrong song..ooops!  Well, I smiled and flipped the page and carried on.  So then, we are singing the closing song and I am using the Simpified Hymn book that I had scrounged up during week.  I had never used this book before and so did not realize that because it has a paper back cover it would not stay on the little wire music stand.  About half way through the second verse the book slipped right through the back of the wire music stand and plopped on the floor!  Kevin sits right on the front row next to the keyboard and so he quickly picked up the book and put it back on the stand for me.  I joined in playing for the next verse and got about half way through that verse when the book once again slipped through and plopped on the floor!  At this point I am giggling so bad that I have tears in my eyes and so can't even see the page to try to finish playing the song….instead I just joined in with the loudest voice possible singing the rest of the song through burst of giggles!!! Oh, the life of an old woman.  You have to laugh so you don't cry!

While we were visiting in Danao we taught in a home that had twin baby boys just a month old.  Oh my!  They were so cute. I have been trying for months now to capture a picture of the hammocks that the Filipinos sleep their babies in.  They tie a bed sheet up to the rafters on either end of the sheet and make hammocks for the babies.  They sleep in them way after they become toddlers and they are so cute and cozy looking.  It is such a great idea because there is no way for the babies to fall out of the hammock and they are snuggled just like when they are in the womb.  We can learn a lot for these smart people.

Babies Zion and his brother, Zionell.

(Seriously, those are their names and their parents are not LDS.  I am thinking it is a sign).

This is another picture I captured while in Danao.  I loved the house and its' charm. I couldn't help but notice the satellite dish on the corner of the roof.  We don't see too many of those.

This picture did not capture the two little kids that kept peeking at us through that upstairs window.

Last week in Seminary I gave my students a blank piece of paper with a scripture reference on it for one of the Scripture Mastery scriptures.  I have been trying to think of ways to help them learn these 25 scriptures they are supposed to memorize from the Old Testament.  So I thought maybe a simple drawing would help.  I was stunned when Julius, a 15 year old young man who rarely speaks, turned in this drawing for the reference, Exodus 19:5-6.  It is a scripture about 'a peculiar treasure' and this is his interpretation of it…..

The most exquisite drawing of the Salt Lake Temple I have ever seen.

I am so humbled by these kids.  They are so new in the gospel, most less than one year of membership, and yet they value the temple and look forward with great anticipation to being sealed as a family there.  And this young man is so quiet in class and yet I read over his homework assignments and I see the depth of his conversion and conviction.  It is remarkable.

Well, this just about wraps up our week.  I have just finished feeding 8 elders pancakes and thought I had bettered finally get this posted so you don't think we have fallen off the edge of the earth or something.  We are good and busy.  We love you all so much and appreciate the prayers, calls, and emails we receive each week.  

Love you forever, 

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola and Amigo)

Whirlwind Week & HOT, HOT, HOT!

Maayong Buntag Pamilya & Amigo's

This was a whirlwind week. On Thursday we went on the 'Circle Bohol Tour'.  We visited all 35 or so apartments in one day on the Island of Bohol and took GPS locations and pictures of each apartment. Two of our Nindot Kaayo (very great) office Elders were with us.

The missionaries in Loon had a great missionary open house.  We are so privilege to be able experience the doings of so many missionaries.  They do all the hard work in the trenches each day and invite us to be part of there labors.

This is a object lesson given to show how we need to band together so the wind can not blow out our light.  While apart no body could keep their candle light going for more than a few seconds.  Together all were able to keep all of our lights glowing.

 The power of many working together!

A cute little girl watching her Branch work together from a great vantage point!

Sister Broughton and Elder Singsam, 2 new missionaries sharing a New Zealand song in the Peens.

Saturday was another special day in Ubay. We attended the Pagbuyagan of Say (Sie as in Lie) Boyles, a 14 year old boy who wants to serve a mission when he turns 18.  The faith and testimony of these young people is very amazing to witness.  They seem to understand and have the ability to know and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ after a short time in the church.

Elder Borrego, Elder Gacad, Say, & Elder Tyrell

April 16, 2016…Say Boyles baptism.

We realized a couple of months after we arrived in the mission field that many of these young missionaries we are working with lived in dirt floor huts and joined the church within 1 to 3 years before serving a mission. They saved their own personal money for years to even be able to contribute a small portion of the cost of their mission.  The spiritual depth of these young missionaries is amazing. They have pure hearts and open minds that allows the Spirit of the Holy Ghost to teach them the truth they so boldly testify of. They enter the mission field with not much in there bags and a heart filled with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They carry their free copy of the Book of Mormon that is marked beyond belief.  They testify of the truth and learn a language in a short length of time and testify of the boldly of the truth.  Each time they do, we have our own testimonies strengthened.

I love the Lord and his work we are engaged in. Some days are long and a little hard but worth every minute of it.  I always dreamed of living in a place where time was turned back.  Where most people had a sense of moral decency and respect for the Lord and other people.  Well I am living the dream.  That describes to a tee this land and the people who live in it.  Children have fun rolling an old tire down the road and pushing it with a stick.  They are also grateful for the food they have that day and many times helped to provide that food.  May we all learn to look at life with such humble and happy hearts.  They have so little but yet they have so much.

May the Lord Bless you with the Righteous Desires of Your Heart.

Nahi Gugma,
Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo)



Dear Family and Friends,

It has been, as Elder Bell stated, whirlwind week and a very HOT, HOT, HOT week.  The 'dry season' in the Peens is no laughing matter.  It is just plain hot and miserable.  We are so impressed that our young missionaries can be out working in it all day and then go home to their hot apartments to enjoy the hot air the oscillating fan pushes around. They really are amazing!  Hot makes me grumpy and I have an air-conditioned truck and apartment.

We started our week with a Zone Conference on Tuesday.  We always enjoy these because none of us missionaries ever has enough time with President and Sister Tanner so we really enjoy our time with them.  This trip they even stayed with us in our little apartment and I am so glad they did because it made feeding 30 elders breakfast before the meeting a lot easier with the help of this great lady.  I kinda think we were cut out of the same bolt of cloth.  We can both roll with it pretty easy when it comes to taking care of a crowd….

The cooks…and Elder Grey, the photo bomber!

Part of the gang of Elders (again Elder Grey)

The custom is to leave your shoes at the door of a home you visit.

By Wednesday we needed a little catch up time. So we were really happy to have a day at home.  We did many loads of laundry and had all the day to give to Seminary and Primary preparation for the end of the week.  So about 5:00 I asked Elder Bell if we could finish off the day with a date out to the Isla Hayahay to have some dinner and watch the sun set.  It was well worth the trip and did not disappoint.  We ordered the sweet and sour fish and it too did not disappoint!

You know, missions are hard!  Not every week is full of rewards and warm fuzzy feelings.  Some weeks are just plain hard and you are pretty glad when they are over.  But, we always have Sunday!  Sunday helps me recharge my batteries.  Sunday I get to go to church not once but twice and spend time with people I have grown to love.  Sunday I get to partake of the sacrament and spend just a minute thinking of Him, the one for whom we do all of this.  Sunday I get to take a couple of hours and work on this blog.  As I do that I think of you and that too recharges my batteries because I know that it is your love, support and prayers that gets us through weeks like this that are just a little bit hard and little bit discouraging.  But, now I am ready to start a new week with renewed hope, energy and refocus on what really counts.  Thanks for the time you give us.  It is appreciated!  I love you all and I miss you terribly.  I hope you are well and happy.

I love you forever,  

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Pagbunyagan Suba (river baptism) and Everything under the Sun

Maayong Gabii Pamilya & Amigos

So we had another whirlwind week in paradise. From one end of the Island to the other and ending off with fantastic General Conference.  We end up having General Conference a week later than Utah because we are 14 hours ahead of you and our Sunday is over before yours begins.  It was a great conference and had many inspired messages from the living Prophets.

We did apartment check on the other side of the island this week.  We stayed over on the other side of the island one night and we were able to get the whole mission accomplished in 2 days.  One of the thing that makes it so doable is the Halladays had that side of the island in such good shape when they left it makes our job much easier.

A shot of the coast by Jagna

It is a beautiful drive along the eastern coast of Bohol.

We also had Zone training meeting with a lot of our most special missionaries.  It seems like the missionaries that are with us seem always to be special even though there is normally a complete turn around every 4 months.

Great missionaries and very fun to be with.

Now on to Pagbunyagan Suba (river baptism) of Rani Boy.  Carman had a baptism this week and we attend it.  It was a great experience to witness our first river baptism.  We really just took over the responsibility of watching over Carmen a few weeks ago.  So we did not have much input on the teaching end of this baptism.  They invited us and we will see more of this Group in the future as they are on the way to becoming a Branch.

Rani Boy's Pamilya

And Elders Cantago and Jennings

Pagbunyagan sa Suba with Elder Cantago

This is actually the dry season on the island. During the rainy season it is greener and more pristine.  I was about 1/2 mile walk down a steep hill and along the river.  We enjoyed ever step of it.

 I am going to close now and turn it over my Gwapa Kaayo Wife.

As you work in the service of the Lord you really begin to see how his plan ties together from the beginning to the end. Each of us just plays a part to assist in his most precious work.  I love the Lord and I know his Gospel is True.

Salamat Jud (the most thanks) Pamilya and Amigos

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo)

Ayo Pamilya ug Mga Amigo!

We really did have a whirlwind week!  They all seems to be like that lately.  It seems our pace has just been slowly picking up speed.  Our only hope is that these two old bodies can keep the pace up and not be left behind.

Well, my week started off with P-Day breakfast with all of the Sisters from the zone and then a little early morning yoga at the church.  Elder Bell was kind enough to stay home and do the dishes while we girls did yoga.  The sisters really wanted him to come but he was adamant about staying home to be with the dishes.

Our beautiful, hard working Sister missionaries. 

Our beautiful, hard working Sister missionaries.  We love them and admire how hard they work.  Most of them have back pain because they walk and walk and walk carrying heavy bags, so they enjoyed learning a few moves to help relieve the back aches.

Elder Bell had a pretty good cold this week so it finally got the best of him by Thursday and by mid-afternoon he finally was down for the count and had a good long nap.  All the while he slept I baked cookies and prepared for a seminary lesson on Friday morning.  I try to keep my freezer full of cookies because they are always coming in handy for many different events and I don't always find the time to bake.  And for seminary we are doubling up on the lessons so that we can be finished by the end of May.  So the kids are having to complete eight lessons a week and I do all of the eight lessons they do plus the two that I present to them at the end of the week.  I really have to use every spare minute to get this much prep work done in a week.  I hope I can keep it up for just 6 more weeks!

Saturday afternoon we were able to be in Sagbayan for the afternoon viewing of General Conference and then we went to a teaching appointment to a family that is pretty active in the Sagbayan Group.  The mom is a new member and the dad and oldest boy, Joshua who is 8, are working toward baptism.  There is another little boy and little girl in the family.  JonRae is the little boy who is 4 or 5 years old and has never spoken a work to me or anyone else.  He has always been really nervous and shy around me so imagine my surprise when I was greeted with a big hug when we went out to visit him at his house.

My sweet little Jon Rae!

Jon Rae did not leave my side the entire visit.  He let me hold him, held my hand and fed me peanuts the whole visit.  And when we left….he said 'Goodbye'!  He actually spoke out loud!  I got all teary eyed.  He is the sweetest boy and his mom told me in very broken English as I left that he really loved me.  Well, the feeling is mutual.  I told my good husband that it is really sad that I will get no rewards in heaven for serving a mission because I am getting them all right here day by day as we go along.  And the rewards are oh so sweet!  I can not begin to tell you how wonderful it is to hear a group of kids sing 'Scripture Power' or sing and sign 'As I Have Loved You' with so much enthusiasm.  They go home and teach the songs they learn to their families and friends.  When we go out teaching we hear the songs floating up over the top of the palm trees and there I go again…another great big fat reward!  I love it.  I truly do.

Well, I am now rambling on and need to let you get back to more important work.  Thank you for taking the time to catch up on our lives and adventures.  We would love to hear about yours now!  Please know that I love my Heavenly Father.  I am so thankful to play a small part in His work here on Bohol.  It is a marvelous work to share the good news of the gospel and a privilege to be part of it.  He has sent wonderful young missionaries here and we love them and hope that we are doing enough to help them with their work.  They inspire us and teach us each day by their devotion and diligence to the work.  They restore my faith in the future.  We are going to be in good hands as they become the leaders of tomorrow.

I love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

PS…Remember the kites from last week.  Well this one is pretty cool…

Stairway to Heaven, Fun in the Sun & Rice 103

Maayong Buntag Pamilya & Amigos

Well another whirlwind week with fun in the sun.  I am going to start with Rice 103 because thats just what I do. I analyze all building, roads and processes that take place because thats just one of the jobs I do here is keep us from getting lost and that kind of thing.

RICE 103
So as I left you in Rice 102 with hand cut rice stalks that are put through portable thrashing machines and dried on plastic tarps on the side of the road for 1 or 2 days depending upon the drying process.

Then buyers purchases all the rice from the individuals that is for sale.  The rice then is put in large bags similar to 100 lbs potato bags but much stronger and placed on the side of the road.

Rice Truck

This is a loaded truck.  Each one of those bags weighs 100 to 150 pounds and there is mountain of them on the truck.  They make these trucks much sturdier than the truck in the states.  I would hate to even try and guess what that truck loaded weighs.

Some of the people just grow rice for there own use and and sell what is left over.  A regular Philippine house hold will eat 12 to 15 bags per year of rice.

From there the rice is taken to a mill for processing and preparing for the market.

Rice Mill

Rice Mill

After the rice is processed and cleaned it is sent to market. Some rice goes to local markets in each town and is sold according the area of the grower.  For example Sagbayan rice may sell for more than Ubay rice.  There is also red rice and white rice and both are grown on the same farm.  The local people store their rice throughout the year and take it a sack at a time to be processed at the mill.

All Philippine people eat rice 3 to 5 times a day.  They do not fell like they have had a full meal unless rice was part of it.

Stairway to Heaven (or might I say the chicken coop):

We helped with a CSP (community service project) this week building a stairway to our precious Sister Segovia's chicken coop in Loon.  The missionaries all pitched in and it was great time for all.

Sister Segovia

   

These are our Loon missionaries, Sisters Broughton and Huxtable and Elders Singsam and Esconton helping us with the stairway.

Well I will wrap up my part with telling you how much we love the people we serve.  It is truly inspiring to see people have so few material possessions but yet they have such room in their hearts for the Lord and all people they meet.  It is truly humbling sometimes to be around such spiritual giants!   I love the Lord and I Love His work.

Salamat Gyud (very passionate thanks) to all my family and friends that I dearly Love.

Elder Bell  Tatay, LoLo and Amigo

Ayo Family and Friends!

It has been a busy work week!  Everyday was packed from morning until late at night with work.  But, most nights we fell into bed thinking, "Wow! We got a lot accomplished today."  I wish I could name all of those things for you but honestly, the days become a blur by the end of the week.  I try to make little notes on my calendar so I can remember what to tell you at weeks end but this week I was too tired at the end of the day to make a note and so here we are here at the blog and I can only remember what we did this weekend.  So, I will start there….

Saturday was a fun, fun, long but fun day.  We had promised our Seminary kids that when we got halfway through our course, (that is 16 weeks) that we would have a party.  So we planned a trip to Ubay at the northern most tip of the island.  This is where we go to watch the ocean baptisms.  So we told them to come ready to get wet and everything else was a surprise.  We headed out about 11:00 yesterday morning for Ubay.  None of the kids had ever been there!  Now, this is only a 90 minute drive for us and none of the kids had ever been there!  They all lack the means to pay for public transportation and none of their families have a vehicle, so this was a big deal for them.  We had a picnic of peanut butter sandwiches and cookies and then we all jumped in the 'bathtub warm' water.

Our Seminary kids enjoying lunch!

We had 16 Seminary kids come to the party!  What a great time.  Now here is something I wanted to talk about.  They had a little restroom that we could change in to our swimsuits.  So I wandered over to change in to my suit just as the girls were finishing up.  Every single one of them had on shorts that covered their knees and t-shirts that covered their shoulders.  One girl had shorts that were a couple of inches above her knee and asked me if they were modest enough!  Needless to say, I did not change into my swimming suit because by my standards it is a pretty modest old-lady suit but it was shameless next to these modest Filipinas.  There is no immodesty at the beach even among those not in our party.  Filipinos are very modest people in their dress and their actions.  Can I just tell you how refreshing and freeing that is.  We all had such a good time in the water and playing with each other and none of us had to tug a bottom up or down.  Wow!  I learn so much from these kids.

Floating Waiting House

I put this picture in because I want you to look at the floating 'waiting house' behind us.  There are little huts like this all along the roadways.  They are called 'waiting houses' and almost every purok of every barangay builds one.  They are a place to wait for buses or jeepneys.  They are also a gathering place for neighbors and friends.  They seem to be used as a place to take a mid-day nap.  Mind you, most of them are not floating, they are on solid ground but they look just like this one. Some are quite elaborate with second stories.  There are three of them in Gatafee that are built way up in big trees.  They are very unique to the Philippines.

So, I don't have a picture for my next story but I wish I did!  We went to the basement of the church in Ubay today to get primary started right after Sacrament Meeting (we don't get to see conference until next week via recorded DVD) and all of the children were squealing and chasing a big mouse!  We had heard the loud noises while we were in the meeting but did not go down to see what all the commotion was about.  But they had been chasing two mice for quite awhile.  The mice could hardly run any more as this had been going on for such a long time.  So when two priesthood brethren came down to help, they easily captured the mice by throwing a rug over them and picking them up and taking them outside!  The mice were squealing but I think they were saying "thank you for getting us away from these kids!"  They are very active!

Who Needs a Truck Anyway?

I have no story to go with this picture.  It just never ceases to amaze me to see how much and what Filipinos can carry on their trikes!  Who needs a truck anyway?

We are very anxiously engaged in the work here.  Every day is new. Every day is different.  Every day is rewarding and tiring and challenging and good!  We are so happy to be here at this time serving this mission.  We love you and appreciate every single word you write to us.  You have no idea how we love to hear from you.  I hope you are having a great Spring Conference Weekend!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)