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.
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A shot of the coast by Jagna
It is a beautiful drive along the eastern coast of Bohol.
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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.
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| 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.
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Rani Boy's Pamilya
And Elders Cantago and Jennings
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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…
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