Rain, rain, stay, stay!!

Ayo Family and Friends!

Someone told me that the dry (HOT) season ended the last week of May and right on time, last Sunday just after we had published the blog, the heavens opened up and we had a good rain for the first time in many weeks.  It has not stopped raining every day or sometimes at night for 2 or 3 hours since.  It rained all but one day this week and now all the dry rice fields and all of the 'chocolate hills' are greening up again and it is looking more like the Philippines to me now.  With the rain comes the 'muggy' but I have decided I would rather have the muggy than the dry heat.  It was pretty unbearable for me.  And now all of our good farmers are out plowing and planting the fields again.  You have never seen such hard working people.  They do all of the farming the way our grandparents did a couple of generations ago.  It is a wondrous thing to experience.

Plowing the field with the Caribou to grow vegetables. And two people seeding the field a few rows behind the plow.

We always start our week off with a missionary breakfast as Monday's are P-Day (preparation day) for our missionaries.  It is the one day of the week that they can email home, do their laundry, buy their groceries for the week and other such tasks.  It is a really full day for them and passes much too fast.  We host the sisters one week and the next week we host the elders for breakfast and they love to come for pancakes!  Well, this week was sisters breakfast and so all of those beautiful women came to share a few pancakes with us.  We love to have them in our home and to share this time with them.  They are silly and fun and serious and capable all wrapped up in one beautiful package. We love our missionaries so very much!!

The Calape Zone Sisters

It is hard to remember at the end of the week what we did all week.  So I use my pictures to remind me of what all went on this week.  But, some weeks I forget to take pictures and then I am in trouble but this next picture did remind me of the events of Thursday.  We traveled up to Ubay to take an investigator to Talibon so that she could get a birth certificate, so that she can get married, so that she can get baptized!  Many adults have never had a birth certificate probably because their parents could not afford to register their birth or some such thing.  And so as adults they have to come up with the money to get the certificate and it can be pretty overwhelming for the budget that barely puts food on the table. So, we always will offer to help them with the finances to get these documents.  The cost of these range from about 350-500 Pesos.  In US dollars that is only about 10 bucks.  It does not seem like much to you and I but to them it is something they can never save for.  It is such a little thing that helps them make big changes in their lives that have eternal consequences.  How can we not help?  Anyway, Thursday was just such a day as we tried to help Maribel to get her birth certificate.  But that is not what this picture is about…As we were driving, Elders Head and Borrego scooted up to the window of the cab and Elder Borrego said, "Sister and Elder Bell, can I ask you some questions?"  "Sure Elder. What's on your mind?"  "Well, before my mission I never really appreciated the advise of old people but now I really think you have some wisdom to share." ('Old people' he called us) So he proceeded to ask us all about dating and marriage and how to find the right partner.  We had no sooner started sharing our vast amount of knowledge and wisdom on the topic when Elder Head said, "Wait, this is good stuff we should take notes."  Out come the trusty notebooks and they scribbled away frantically as we talked.  Well Elders, I hope it all works out in the end but right now you are missionaries….Stay focused!!!  (It was a pretty funny moment) But, in true missionary fashion, they took notes so as not to forget anything important that was said.

Elder Head and Elder Borrego taking copious notes. 

For some reason I have had a rough week.  I never really expected to struggle with missionary work but my humanness takes over once in awhile and I lose sight of the eternal perspective of this work.  As I sat in sacrament meeting today it all came back in to focus for me and I remembered once again that He, who loves us so much, already suffered for all the pain and anguish my soul has or ever will experience.  He knows my heart.  He knows my struggles.  He knows my weaknesses and He knows my strengths.  And so once again, I relearned the same lesson I have before learned….turn it all over to Him.  He will carry the burden.  He is in all the details of our lives and so today I have remembered that  and I rededicate my life and my service to Him and to this great work!  He has blessed and will continue to bless me and my good husband and our great kids and grandkids for the few months we offer to this work.  Whew…I am so glad to remember this great truth that I know but had lost sight of for just a little while.  I love my Heavenly Father and His son.  How thankful I am for His plan of happiness for me.  How thankful I am for the redeeming love of my Savior that lifts a weak soul as mine and makes me better than I was before.

Please know that I love all of you.  Your love and support is felt in many ways as the days and weeks go by.  The letters, emails, prayers and thoughts are all felt right here in my overflowing heart!
Love you forever,
Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)


Maayo Kaayo simana Pamilya & Amigos.

What a difference a few day can make.  Most of the time in the Peens it is like living in the Uintah Mountains.  It rains for 2 or 3 hours every day or some times at night. It lowers the temperature all day and makes this garden we live in come alive.

Well, we moved the Panglao Sisters to a new apartment on Saturday with the help of the Zone leaders from Tagb and our trusted friend Claudius.

 Moving new refrigerator for the Sisters

We also sent off two missionaries that have grown very near to our hearts.  They are returning home this week and I will sure miss these two missionaries.  We have worked beside both of these missionaries as they served in the mission home. Elder Bermoy, taking care for all the apartments in the mission and being our Zone Leader. Elder Saluta serving as assistant to the President and being our Zone Leader. All of these young men are courageous in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and have great stories of scarifies in serving the Lord.

Elder Saluta and Elder Bermoy

Today we attended Branch Conference in Inabanga.  The Sagbayan Group we attend and are working with is part of the Inabanga Branch.  We took half of the members of Sagbayan to the conference in Inabanga and sang in the Branch Choir. We love serving with these people.  They truly are our friends.

Inabanga Branch Conference with Sagbayan Group

Last of all we taught with the Calape Sisters on Friday afternoon. We went to Pangangan Island right off the shore of Calape.  It is connected by a causeway so you drive to the Island.  It was a delightful experience.  We taught lessons to two referrals they had contacted one time previous and visited Brother Ferdie who has been a long standing member in Calape for years.  Then we tried to find a lady we had talked with a couple of months ago and said we could stop by her house.  We did not find her but we found another lady who gladly invited us into her sitting porch.  We started teaching her a lesson about families and it brought tears to her eyes.  Special moments like these are what you come on a mission to do.  When the spirit touched their hearts and you feel that it one of the best experiences you can have in this life.

Sister Delos Reyes and Sister Varias teaching a humble woman how to be with her family after this life.

When you see these young missionaries in action you can see the hand of the Lord as he directs this work.  They bless the lives of so many people with great sacrifice on their part.  Many of the missionaries work for 2 to 5 years to earn money to even have a chance to serve a mission.  The amount they save is just a small portion of the cost of their mission.  The amount that is donated to the general missionary fund of the church and the amount left over from the cost of US missionaries make it possible for them to serve.  But in the Lord's eye they sometimes give all that they have and the sacrifice is accepted by the Lord.  

Next time you wonder rather you should donate some money to the general missionary fund of the church, do it.  You may be helping one of the future General Authorities or Church Leaders in a third world country gain the foundation they need to be a valiant leader of the Church in the future.

I will close by letting you know or if possible feel the joy I receive from serving the Lord with such a wonderful companion.  We feel his love each day from the missionaries, members and investigators we work with.  He is truly directing our lives as we serve.  I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the way for all of us to return back to our Father in Heaven.

May the Lord bless all of you with the righteous desires of your hearts.

Nahi Gugma always,

Elder Bell (Tatay, Lolo and Amigo)

On the road again!

Maayong Gabii from the Beautiful Island of Bohol.

Well we started off with whirlwind 3 day tour of the Island.  We checked 40 apartments for 80 missionaries in three days. This time we installed smoke detectors in all the apartments. We stayed in Tagbilaran the first night and stayed in Talibon on the second night.  On these days we carry a lot for things for apartments and circle the Island and also catch all the interiors areas also. The multi cab is a great blessing at these times. It make our job so much easier.

Multi Cab stuffed with every thing under the sun.

We met up with 2 special sisters that helped train us when we entered the mission field.  They lived in the apartment right behind ours.  Sister Lappay started teaching us the language and introduced me to Balut.  Sister Stanley was new and we went through adjusting to a new land together.  We road our first tricycle with these sister and some of the first teaching experiences we enjoyed.

Reunion Sister Lappay & Sister Stanley

We also attended Stake Conference in Tagbilaran Saturday afternoon and Sunday.  President Bowen was the visiting authority.  He is the Area President for the entire Philippines.  He and his wife were pleasant to meet with.  Friday night we had dinner with the Bowen's and the Tanner's.  It was great to sit at the feet of one the General Authorities and learn the gospel from them. We had a special meeting with the missionaries after Stake Conference and he is terrific missionary.  He even got a referral for the waitress at our table while we were eating.  He gave that to the sister and told them to visit her with a marked Book of Mormon.   

President Shane Bowen the Area President for the Philippines 

This is one of the Beauties of Bohol

Well I am going to wrap this up for tonight and let Sister Bell take her turn.

I love serving with my eternal companion Sister Bell. She is the most Nindot Kaayo Gwapa Kauban I could ever ask for. She is special in so many ways and makes the journey we are on more enjoyable than I could ever imagine.

I love Lord and love his Gospel.  I know from the bottom of my heart it is true.

Nahii Gugma ako Pamily ug mga Amigo.

Elder Bell  (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo) 

Ayo!

It is pretty late so you may not get too much of a coherent letter from me tonight but here goes…

We spent a lot of time on the road this week and I don't know why but those days are really tiring for us.  We sleep well at night.  So, I kind of thought there would not be much to tell you about this week but I was wrong…there is always something to share with you.

Saturday we were in Ubay, yet again, for another baptism.  This one was awesome.  We had Sister Espera Abay-abay, who is 80 years old, baptized and a young man who is nine years old, Jubel Sabroso. We are going this week to try and help his mother get a birth certificate so that she and Jubel's father can get married so that they can get baptized.  It is all so complicated here.  There are so many little issues that prevent baptism and sometimes it takes a long time to clear up all of the road-blocks.

L-R: Elder Kuhn, Elder Tuai, Elder Gacad, Sister Espera, Elder Head, Jubel, Elder Borrego, Us

Waiting House

So this is the little waiting house that we gathered in to have our baptismal service.  As we were just about to start the first talk, a young mother jumps up and tears across the beach a break-neck speed, dives in the water and pulls her baby, who is floating face down in the water, out of the ocean!  It scared me to death.  It could have been the worst day ever.  But that mama was so fast the baby had hardly even swallowed any water.  We paused for a brief moment and continued on with the meeting. Never a dull moment here!

This weekend was wonderful!  It was so amazing to be taught by President and Sister Bowen.  They are our age and have been serving continuously for 16 years!! And they had served as mission president for three year before that.  (Fowers, you will be interested to note he was mission president of Barcelona, Spain Mission.  They said you will love your mission).  Anyway, it is inspiring to hear all of their counsel.  We got to spend a significant amount of time with them privately over meals and such and I am just amazed by how long they have served and lived outside of the USA.  It makes my 23 months not seem quite so long or hard.  I can do this!  

We love what we do…even on the hard weeks.  We know we make a difference and do the things that we have been sent here to do.  There are times in my life when I just think about how blessed I have been to have been born to goodly parents, who taught me gospel principles all of my young life.  I was just given all this goodness and never really had to work too hard at it.  I listen to the stories of our missionaries that have come to serve after just one year a member and whose families are not members and they make great sacrifices to be here and to serve so well.  I wonder if I would have gone out searching for truth if I had not just been given it?….Who knows.  I do know that I have been blessed beyond measure to live in a time when the gospel has been restored in it's fullness on the earth.  I know that I have been blessed to be born to wonderful parents that lived and served all of their lives the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that I have a loving Father in Heaven who wants me to return to Him some day.  I know that I am blessed beyond reason and beyond measure to have the wonderful family I have and true and faithful friends.  Life is good folks!  Count your blessings and feel joy!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Good Byes, & Great Week in Paradise

Hello to all from the top of the Chocolate Hills of Bohol!

Well another whirlwind week in paradise. We had to send Jason and Aly off Wednesday on the ferry to Cebu.  The ferry lines were so long Jason had to buy his tickets from a scalper.  May is fiesta month in Bohol.  There is a saying among the residents that in May the island of Bohol sinks lower in the ocean because so many people come for fiesta.  These celebrations can rival any hometown celebration you have ever attended.  In fact they announced that there would be 'dancing in the streets' on one of the posters.  Little did we know that the dance lasted from sunset to sunup!  With a live band and very loud amplified music….they danced and danced and danced…until 4:30 AM!  These people love to party!

A shot form Tubigon town square during fiesta.  All separate towns each have fiesta scatter throughout the month of May.

Jason and Aly had one last snorkeling trip with us and Tanners on Monday.  It was Nindot Jud (the greatest)!  We then visited the Danao Adventure Park and went on the zip line and took a cable car across the canyon you zip across.

 From the Cable Car in Danao

Another shot from the Cable Car. 

Tuesday night we had a family home evening in the bukit (the hills).  Jason gave the lesson in a humble home and several of the members shared testimonies. We played some games and shared some cookies.    A fun time for all.

It was a fantastic experience to have Jason and Aly for a visit. Jason also gave us some insights into learning how to speak the language.  We may never get it but at least we leave this place knowing we gave it our best shot. 

We also attended a baptism in Pilar this week.  It is a cool story…the father of the family was a missionary once.  He came home early from his mission because he need to clean up some wrong doings but he just fell away from the church and has been less active for many years.  He married and has a family of 4 boys.  The missionaries stumbled across him and his wife really wanted to learn about the church.  She progressed quite quickly and finally one day the elders suggested to the husband that he be the one to baptize his wife.  At first he declined and said he could never do it.  But with some gentle encouragement he finally decided he would clean up his life so that he would be worthy.  He went to visit with the branch president and yesterday he had the great privilege of baptizing his wife, Regie Carang.

The Carang Family.  They have 4 boys that are 7, 6, 4 and 2 years old! (7 year old missing)

Well I am going to turn the rest over to Sister Bell. 

I am grateful for the blessing of serving a mission in this beautiful land and amongst these beautiful people.  It is special to see so many enter the waters of baptism and set their feet upon the path the Lord has set to return back to his presence. We are truly blessed.

Love ya always,

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo) 

Ayo Family and Friends!

How are all of you doing?  We are doing well.  It is a little bit of a let-down to have family leave knowing it will be a really long time before you get to see them again.  But this one was particularly difficult because they will have a new baby boy before we get to see them again!  We are so happy to have had Jason and Aly visit.  The trip was a challenge for a woman six months pregnant in such extreme heat, but she really was such a good sport to go and do things with us.  We spent a lot of time at or in the ocean and that helped a lot to keep us all cool!  We had some great snorkeling trips.  And did we mention that while looking for dolphins one morning we got the most amazing whale watching trip ever!!!  It was pretty cool.

So last week we wrote on Saturday and so I just wanted to share with you this cute picture and the story behind it….

My Mothers Day present from Elder Kuhn

So, we went to church in Ubay on Mother's Day, as usual, and after sacrament meeting I was heading down to the primary room when Elder Kuhn approached me with something wrapped up in a hand towel.  He said, "Happy Mothers Day Sister Bell.  I didn't know what to get you so I decided to go with a classic….breakfast!"  He unwrapped the two hard-boiled eggs he had in the towel with the 'Happy Mothers Day" message written on the shell.  How cute is that?!  It really made my day!

These missionaries take good care of us and treat us with great love and respect.  It is really a joy to serve with them and we try hard to make their work and lives a little bit easier.

On Friday of this week we had to take a little mini-vacation we had planned many, many weeks ago with the Nueva Family.  We travel a lot with President Nueva and his family as we go to church in the branch way up on the north end of the island.  President will travel with us when he needs to visit the Ubay and Sagbayan Branches.  Well, as we have traveled with them we discovered that they had not seen many of the great places that we always get to see.  So, we asked them to plan a day that they could go with us to visit some of these places and May 13 was set as the date.  So we took President and Sister Nueva, Sariah, and Shakira and went to Sagbayan Peak to look at the Chocolate Hills, Tarzier Monkeys, and the Butterfly enclosure.  Then we drove to Carmen to also catch another view of the Chocolate Hills and then drove to Magaso Falls to finish out the day just before sunset.  It was pretty fun to help them explore the beautiful island they live on.

Beautiful 12 year-old Shakira with a butterfly on her hand!

All of us girls cooling off our feet in the river at Magaso Falls.

The Tarzier Monkeys are elusive little creatures.  I think you would never see them if they were not in a cage. They are only about 4 inches tall. This little guy was just waking up.

Well, that is a wrap for us this week!  We love you all madly and really miss you but have a great week!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Family Fun!!!

Ayo Family and Friends!

It is so much fun to have family (and friends) come and visit!  We just love having Jason and Aly here with us.  We have done lots of fun things and thankfully not had a very demanding week as far as missionary work goes.  But, I am going to let Elder Bell tell you all about the family fun we have had this week.  You may have noticed you got this blog a day early….because we are having yet more family fun early Monday morning and so will not have time to get this blog out tomorrow.  Now, in honor of Kevin's birthday/Mother's Day, which happen to fall on the same day, I made our very favorite treat for dinner tonight…homemade bread!  We gobbled nearly an entire loaf ourselves!  Between the constant rice and the hot bread there is no hope for a slim waistline.

So, I am going to start with today and share our great day that happened before we got to work on the homemade bread project.  We had another baptism in Carmen and if you recall that is a river baptism.  Carmen is about a 90 minute drive from where we live and is situated in the middle of the island, and so we headed out early to pick up the missionaries and the members and prospective baptismal candidate, and then we headed for the river.  The river is getting lower and lower in this dry season and so it runs very slow and fortunately is fairly deep in some spots.  The descent down to the river is very steep and in a dress can be a little tricky but it is well worth the effort to hike down.

The young man in front is Jeimer Lagria, who was baptized today, with the missionaries and branch members who showed up to support him today.

Elder Jennings baptizing Jeimer!

It was a hot day today and so after the baptism was over it did not take too long for all of the kids, young and old alike, to jump in and cool off! (I kinda wanted to join them myself but refrained)

Elders Head, Ludbey, Giauque, and Lang singing 'How Firm a Foundation'

This week was the Calape District Youth Conference on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  They traveled to Talibon and stayed in a pretty nice resort for the event.  Elder Bell had been invited up to teach a workshop to all of the young men on Duty to God.  Jason and Aly went with us and we enjoyed lunch with the group and then just observed while the workshops were going on.  The boys got a gospel-based talk and activity to accomplish and the girls worked for the full two hours on a cool craft project….even in the far reaches of the Church we women work too hard at all of this sometimes!

Elder Bell presenting his workshop on 'Duty to God'

And…the fancy craft project of the young women!

Well, that is all for me this week.  I just want you all to know that I love the Lord and I love His work in this part of the vineyard.  It is a joy to serve with my husband. I learn to appreciate him more and more each week as he serves with all of his heart and soul these beautiful people.  It is a remarkable experience to stand by the side of a man who honors his priesthood and uses it to bless the lives of many people.  This is something I never take for granted.  Happy Birthday Dear 'Kauban' (companion).  I love you forever!

And to all of you, I love you too and appreciate your letters, prayers and fleeting thoughts each week.  Please keep hanging in there with us….we need you!  Missions are hard work and it really takes your love and support to keep us going.  Happy Mothers Day to all of the wonderful women in my life.  

Love all of you forever also,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Kamusta Family and Friends

Well another exciting fun filled week in Paradise, better known as the Island of Bohol.  We had a great time with Jason and Aly in both fun and testimony.

One thing that happened last week for testimony meeting is Jason stood up and bore his testimony in Tagalog.  Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines and everyone understands most of it even the we speak Visayan in this part of the Philippines.  The members were amazed when he started speaking and really enjoyed hearing his testimony.  The Branch President paid him a complement for still keeping fluent in the language for 11 years after serving in the Philippines.  I guess from talking with Jason and also our own experiences we are having, the Philippines will always own a special place in your heart after serving with the people here.  We know that just from the 8 months we have already served.

We went to the Isla Hayahay 2 times snorkeling this week. The first time we went to the pool there to swim and had supper that evening watching the sunset.  Then followed up we had a Nindot Kaayo (Awesome Very) snorkel the next morning.

Sunset in Paradise

The second day we went on a island hopping tour with a little snorkeling thrown in for fun.

We visited an Island off Calape that has a fishing village.  The residents only return to the mainland of Bohol once a year by boat.

Another day we visited Magaso (smokey) Falls that was Nidot Kaayo also.

Jason brought a Drone that can fly out 4 miles away and take video of the beauties of the Island of Bohol.  We went out on a pier at Inabanga and he was able to take some great videos of the coast.

 The children on the peer as Jason brings the Drone back home.

Visit to the Chocolate Hills at Sagbayan Peak.

Well, there is more planned for next week so we will fill you in on the rest of the visit from Jason and Aly next week.

I will close with my appreciation for my family and also the people we are privileged to serve with.  I love the Lord and all the great people in our lives.  We are truly blessed beyond any thing we could have ever asked for.

Nahi Gugma always,

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo) 

Jason and Aly!!!

Ayo Family and Friends!

We are so happy to report or favorite event of this week has been the arrival of Jason and Aly!  We so appreciate anyone who is willing to make the grueling trip halfway around the world to visit us in our humble home here on Bohol.  And Aly gets extra points for making the trip even though she is 6 months pregnant!  Her poor ankles may never be the same.

There is a beautiful outlook of the ocean from one point on the way home from Sagbayan and we stopped for this photo op. 

 They were even kind enough to let us drag them with us on our very long Sunday trip to Ubay and Sagbayan.  I think they were still a little jet-lagged and Aly really needed to be off her feet.  Jason amazed all of the people at church when he stood and bore his testimony in Tagalog.  This is considered the 'mother tongue' of the Philippines and so it is taught in school here even though everyone speaks Cebuano, and so they could understand his testimony and just loved that he spoke to them.  We were so happy to have them meet the people we have grown to love.

But, I am jumping ahead of myself as they only arrived yesterday and there is so much more that happened this week.  Early in the week we had the grand opening of the first ever 'Self Reliance Resource Center' here in Calape.  We have local couple missionaries called to be over this program here in the Calape District and they are doing a really good job of spreading the news to members and nonmembers in the community about the program and what it can do for individuals.  So, now we have a center where people can come and have access to computers and experts to help them become more self-reliant.

This is President Nueva (Calape District President) and a representative of the local vocational tech school doing the honors of the ribbon cutting.

Friday we had the great adventure of going teaching with the Ubay Zone Leaders, Elder Borrego and Elder Head.  I should have been suspicious when the night before on the phone Elder Head called to confirm when we were going to be there.  As I started to end the call he said, "Oh, Sister Bell, you might want to bring you hiking boots".  We had a great adventure in Ubay.  First we were able to visit with a great family that they had just started teaching.  The father of this family had already read the Book of Mormon before he ever talked with the elders.  They are a nice, nice family and we were so happy to see them at church today also.

This is Alvin, Jovee and their three children, 9 year-old Kate, 8 year-old Marie, and 2 year-old Abraham.  They are a sweet family that have a baptism day not too far in the future!

Our second visit of the day was the part I needed my hiking boots for.  We had a nice little hike to the top of one of the Chocolate Hills to teach a very nice sister who's husband is a member.

Elders Borrego and Head teaching on the wonderful little sitting hut at the side of the house.  I love these little huts and think we should build one next to our house at home in Utah

.

The Bukid

There are times, usually when I am out walking through the bukid (mountains), that I have to pinch myself because I can't really believe that I am here having this amazing experience in this beautiful place. The farmer in this picture is tending a watermelon patch right up here in the mountain tops.

Okay so just two more pictures and then I am going to let Elder Bell take over.  I just could not resist these shots of the amazing Elders in Sagbayan that help me in Primary every week.  They love the kids and the kids love them.  And we have the added bonus of the most amazing bass section added to our primary choir.  You should hear what they can do to the "Wiseman Built His House Upon a Rock"! It really rocks!

Elder Tomakin, from New Zealand, helping Jason with his coloring project.

Elder Singsam, also from New Zealand, helping Jenaline with her coloring project.  This was her very first day in Primary and Elder S. made it really special for her. (He was drawing her princesses on her paper)!

Oh man!  I love what I do!  We are so blessed to be able be here on Bohol!  We work with some of the greatest missionaries and with some of the most wonderful people.  We love being missionaries (especially when we get to share it with family that come to visit us).  

We love you and so appreciate your love and support across the miles.  We feel every prayer and thought you send our way.  It all helps us through the rough times and helps us soar during the good times.  Thank you! Thank you!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Maayong Gabii Pamilya Amigos,

Malipayon Ko para sa akong anak, si Jason ug asawa si Aly. (I am happy for my son Jason and wife Ally). It was great to see Jason and Aly.  This week will be filled with much fun and adventure I will tell about next week.

Well this week was also filled with mga pagbunyagan (baptisms).  Saturday we attended baptisms in Ubay and Sagbayan.  Saturday started with a baptism in the ocean in Ubay at 9:00 am. After rounding up 20 investigators and members to witness the baptism we ended up at our favorite spot on the Ubay beach. 

Elaine Mae is the second of her family to be baptized. Remember Say from a couple of weeks ago?  That is her brother.

This is always a great sight for missionaries.

Then after delivering members and investigators in Ubay back to their homes by 11:30, we were off on whirlwind trip to Sagbayan to pick up members for a baptism at 3:00 in Tubigon.  These areas are on opposite sides of the island.  We attended the baptism of Joshua & Anjun Ucabat.  This is the second half of a family that has joined the church since we arrived in Bohol.

 Anjun is the tatay (father) and Joshua is the anak (son)

We have had the very special opportunity to work with this family as they progress in the gospel.  We are hoping to see them go through the Temple before we leave next year.

Well I will wrap it up for this week.

I am very grateful to serve the Lord in this part of his vineyard.  The harvest is great and the laborers are few.  He blesses us with His spirit and with His love each and every day to accomplish the tasks before us.  When the mountain of work seems very high the Lord always gives us the strength, patience and power to overcome the task at hand. The Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days is true.  I know that from the bottom of my heart.

Nahi-Gugma (Love) to all Pamilya and Amigos,

Elder Bell  (Tatay, LoLo, and Amigo)