Now that's…..a SPIDER!

Ayo Family and Friends!

I am not usually a jumpy person but I have to tell you this one got me!

I am not even exaggerating when I say this bad boy was the size of my hand!!

We learned a few months ago that only 7% of the senior couples that apply for missions are qualified to come here to the Philippines and now I know why.  Because if you had a little old person see a spider the size of this one and that little old person had a mild heart condition….that little old person would have died of a heart attack!  Thankfully this little old person did not, but it sure got my heart pumping for a few minutes as the thing crept out from behind the apron I just picked up and put on.  Elder Bell was not at home and so I had to collect myself enough to be able to kill it single-handedly with my spatula!

It was a sweet goodbye to our wonderful mission president and his sweet companion.  We have grown to love these people like family!  They have been serving continuously for over four years now and they certainly deserve some time at home with their family but we are really going to miss them.  President Tanner has been a fabulous mission president and Sister Tanner the 24 hour a day doctor that 200 missionaries need every single day.  Their love and kindness, wisdom and patience have taught us so much about what it means to live and treat others as Christ would.


We were able to meet with the Tanners as they bid farewell to all of us missionaries on Monday morning with a wonderful conference in Tagblilaran.  We had all 85 of our missionaries there and we were able to sing for them the most beautiful song to show our love and state our dedication to this work.  It is a medley from 2001 EFY called, 'We'll Bring the World His Truth".  It is the sisters singing 'As Sisters in Zion' and the elders singing 'Army of Helaman' at the same time.  When you join that many missionary voices together it is moving to say the least.  I couldn't see the faces of the Tanners as I was leading the song but I could see the faces of the missionaries and many of them, like me, had tears streaming down their cheeks.  It was a fitting tribute to the two people we all revere so much.

President and Sister Tanner

Then tonight we were able to meet with the Tanners again as they came to Bohol for the last time to say goodbye to the members in a fireside this afternoon.  We filled the Calape Chapel with people whom these people had touched in some way.  Remember they were here when the earthquake happened in 2013.  These are the people that pulled all of the members of Bohol through that really hard experience.  How they had the resources and wisdom to get through that as a new mission president is astounding.  Then just two months later the biggest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines blew through and they once again pulled together all of the members and missionaries on Cebu to get them through that tragedy.  The Tanners have really had some remarkable experiences in their three years leading this mission.  Oh, and they are the very first mission president (couple) of the Cebu East Mission.  So they have had some phenomenal  pioneering experiences.  They have helped the church grow in leaps and bounds here on Bohol and on Cebu.  They believed in their missionaries and in the members and most often everyone stepped it up because of their trust.

Tanners, if you are reading this, please know that we love you and we are so happy to have been able to serve with you here in the Cebu East Mission.  Go well my friends….go well!

Other events this week included a p-day activity with the Panglao District.  They talked us in to taking them to the beautiful Mag-aso Falls that we have already featured here a few times.  Little did we know that those beautiful turquoise waters turn all kinds of brown in the rainy season.  And the water was really high because we have had lots and lots of rain this week!  You have never experienced rain until you experience rain here in the Peens!

Magaso Falls

This is the Panglao District out for adventure!  A good time was had by all!

We also had some great baptisms this week but I am going to leave those stories for Elder Bell to share.  I just want you to know that I am so happy to be here.  The days are long and the work is not always easy but it sure is worth it.  I am so blessed to be able to be here with my good husband and feel like he is doing a great job.  He works so hard at learning Cebuano and puts his whole heart and soul in to the lives of all of these missionaries and all of the members.  He loves them without reservation as the Savior would and sees the great potential in each and every person.  I love being a witness to his life and learn from his example.  Me, I am just trying to keep up with him and occasionally cook a decent meal!  He is the work horse here….I am the hired help! But, I wouldn't want to have it any other way. Thank you for all of the prayers, letters, and thoughts you send our way.  It really helps sustain us through the tough days.

Love you forever, 

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Kamusta Mo Amigo's,

Well the baptisms started on Friday this week. Sister Zita Anober and Sister Luisa Umbang along with a daughter from each family were baptized.  These families are both from Sagbayan and are sisters.  Their other Sister Claudia was baptized last October just after we arrived on Bohol.  Sister Claudia was one of our first teaching appointments shared with the elders after we arrived.  We have been working with these two families for about 4 to 5 months now and have shared posts in the blog about Family Home Evenings and other events at their homes.  It is great to see extended family units joining the church and preparing to go through the temple.  I am teaching a Temple Prep class to Sister Claudia now along with 3 other new members.  The gospel is really for families and we can see it open before our eyes the longer we serve.

 Zita Anober, Marina Anober, Luisa Umbang and Louie May Umbang (left to right front)

Elder Garcia, Elder Cirunay and Elder Malinao (left to right rear)

After church today we participated in teaching the remainder of Sister Zita and Sister Luisa's family.  There are 6 more member of the families and Sister Louie May's boyfriend being baptized on July 8th.

It is great to see families participate in the gospel together.

On Saturday we were off to the races again for a double header.  We attended a baptism in Carmen for Sunny Logrono Mejia.  We assisted Carmen with the baptism but were not involved with the teaching of Sunny.  All I can say after hearing his story he is very patient man and deserves a place in the Lord's kingdom.

Sunny Logrono Mejia & Elder Ludby at the Pilar Chapel

Then it was off to Ubay for the baptism of Eric Ignacio Mendoza.  We have worked with him at Ubay in church.  He is joining other members of his family in the church.

Eric Ignacio Mendoza and Elder Borrego

Many of these baptismal pictures from Ubay come as a result from Elder Borrego and his unconquerable spirit.  We call him Captain Moroni because if all missionaries were like Elder Borrego the Gate of Hell would shake at their coming.  He is truly a bold and great missionary.

Well I will close for this week as we embark upon a busy week next week.  Checking 38 apartments on Bohol. Also preparing for the new mission president to come to Bohol the week after.

What a Beautiful place that we serve in. 

I love the Lord and I love his work.  As we are in the last minutes of the last day before He comes again, may all of us be prepared for his coming.  Remember if we are prepared, we shall not fear.

Nahi Gugma Ako mga Amigo's,

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo) 

PS…If you have the thought, "I should really write to the Bells.", consider it personal revelation and act upon it!  Salamat!

Lapu Lapu - Temple of Leah and more

Kamusta Mo ang Nindot Kaayo Pamilya ug Amigo's,

Well this has been another whirlwind week with a lot of events and teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I will start with a flag ceremony and prayer.  That is the proper way to start all school days here in the Philippines.  So here are some shots of the flag ceremony in the morning.  I think it is so amazing to see a country still honor their flag and country in a way that long ago was hindered by so many people in our great USA.  It is refreshing to see this happening every morning and we do not even mind waiting on the road for all of this to happen.

Stopping traffic for the morning Flag Ceremony.

Children participating in Flag Ceremony before Prayer.

I have also been asked to give a spiritual message at the beginning of Barangay (Town) Council meeting twice month.  The Secretary (President Lorzono) of the Barangay Council is member and the other member are not.  Saturday was the second time teaching at the meeting.  The first meeting went very well and taught them about the nature of God the Father, his son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. Also that families are center Gods plan here on this earth. I also left them a list of 15 questions of the soul and asked them to pick some question for next time and we could study together to find out answers to the questions they have.

This time I and Sister Bell showed them the timeline in the Old Testament for the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon.  We then explained we could have discussion using the Bible and also the Book of Mormon.  Two people had questions they wanted answered; 1. Did we live before we came to Earth  2. Where do we go between death and resurrection.  That will be our topic for next meeting and they will study with us for the answers to the questions.  These are basic question that we all have and apparently the religion they are participating in has not answered those questions.  This is a great opportunity and these are great very humble people that just want to know the truth about their lives.

We attended a Senior Couples Training on Wed. & Thursday of this week in Cebu.  It was also a going away meeting for the Senior Couples and President and Sister Tanner.  They are returning home from their mission at the end of June. We are sad to see them go.  They are such great friends and brother and sister in the Lord.  They were called to be Mission President while serving a mission.  They have been away form home for 4 1/2 years so no doubt their kids and grandkids will be very excited to have them home.  I hope they get a little rest as they have worked so very hard for so many years now…but, we know them and we know that it is not likely!!

We also toured some of the sights of Cebu we have not seen before.  First was the Island of Lapu Lapu.

Lapu Lapu was the first leader in the Philippines to repel European aggression.

Elder Head is one the Nindot Kaayo Assistants that accompanied us on the trip. We thought he was a very good likeness to Lapu Lapu or as we like to think….Captain Moroni!

Second we visited a guitar factory. These guitars are sold all over the world.

This is where the guitars start.

The finished product.  They sound amazing.

Then off to Temple of Leah.  The richest man in Cebu is building this for his wife that passed away.

Not finished yet.  There are lower levels that will contain collections of art.

Over looking Cebu City form the Temple of Leah

Well I am going wrap up and let Sister Bell take over. 

It has been a great experience to serve with President and Sister Tanner.  To see their unwavering devotion to the missionaries and the members of the church in the Cebu East Mission in inspiring and also very humbling. Their service will be felt for decades to come as they were able organize a Stake on Cebu and also the first Stake on the Island of Bohol.  I know the people of Bohol have been blessed by their pioneering spirit that established the Church as we know it today on the Island of Bohol.

I love the Lord and I love his work.  It is the most fulfilling thing I have felt in my life.

Daghang Salamat to all my Family and Friends.

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo)

Ayo Family and Friends!

I hope you have had a great week!  Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there!  They actually celebrate Father's Day here as well.  So, in our typical fashion, we celebrated by attending two branches for church and driving a lot just like we do every Sunday.  But, I did get to spend that time with the fabulous father of our family and for that I am grateful.

We had the chance last Monday to attend a Family Home Evening at the Lupio's home here in Calape. They are such a nice couple and have been an active part of the church here for many years.  They had never hosted an FHE in their home before and so they were really excited to have the opportunity.  There are no words to describe Brother Lupio and his magical tree houses that he has been building for years….you just have to see it to believe it!

The Lupio Family!  They live in a very humble home but share all they have with others. 

President Perez and his daughters

This is President Perez (Calape Branch President) and two of his adorable daughters performing their talent! (You have to do a talent if you lose the game!) They are performing some silly childhood song together.  Elder Bell also lost the game and performed his famous "Little Bunny Foo Foo"

The mission home in Cebu that has been the home of Tanners for 3 years now is a really beautiful home and it sits right on the water.  The view from the front of their house is breathtaking morning and evening.

The sunset Wednesday night!  I never get tired of sunsets on the water!

We had the greatest missionary day Saturday!  It started with that teaching opportunity with the Barangay Captains in Clarin and then we headed up to Talibon to teach with some of the Elders there!

Elders (from left to right) Calumpang, Wilson, Gamolo, and Lockhart

We got there at noon and so we took all of the Talibon Elders out for lunch, our treat!  They love it when you take them to lunch!  There is a great restaurant in Talibon called, Chellannes where you can feed missionaries for pretty cheap.  After the lunch we headed out to teach with Elders Calumpang and Wilson for the rest of the afternoon.  They have two families that are getting ready for baptism on July 2.  They are dynamite missionaries and have certainly done some good missionary work in their area.  Talibon hasn't had a baptism for quite awhile now and they are about to change all of that and have 7 on the same day….look for photos soon!

We stayed in Talibon for the night as we were supposed to attend a very early baptism Sunday morning. That however was postponed and so we stayed the night anyway so that we would not have to turn around and drive back up there this morning (it is a two hour drive).  

Well, that covers the highlights of our week.  We just get so busy we can hardly believe another week has flown by.  It is such a blessing to be serving here.  We are so inspired by the sacrifice of these young missionaries who put their lives on hold for eighteen months to two years and go out to serve where ever they are called.  It is hard work and it takes monumental dedication to see it through.  But, the miracles happen and through the efforts of this amazing young people, the good news of the gospel is spread one person at a time.  It really is miraculous to be a small part of it and we feel blessed to be here.  Thank you from the depths of our hearts for supporting us in this adventure! 

I love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Snow Bears and Blackout!

Ayo Family and Friends!

Well, I hardly know where to begin!  We have had some nasty colds for going on two weeks now and we are pretty tired of coughing!  We thought we were just getting over them about three days ago and we both developed sinus infections and coughs.  We really miss Nyquil and Dayquil at moments like these but we quite accidentally discovered these little babies…..

Snow Bears

These are candies sold in every tindahan (a corner store that is on every corner and several other places in between the corners).  They only cost a peso or less and everyone here loves them as candy.  But they have a very strong menthol flavor and they are really nasty!! But, they are fabulous cough drops!  We have consumed at least 50 of these nasty little Snow Bears this week in an effort to soothe our sore throats.  They are also very good at clearing the sinuses and if you ever don't have one and start coughing in church….10 of them come flying through the air to you because everyone carries them!

We started our week and ended our week with baptisms and I can't think of a better way to do either start or finish a week.  On Tuesday we had the very unique experience of witnessing the baptism on Panglao Island of Jessah who is deaf.  Elder Ludbey from Australia started teaching her about 6 months ago.  Now, Elder Ludbey did not know any sign language before he met Jessah so he taught himself the alphabet that first night and just started adding more and more signs to his teaching.  He was transfered a few months ago and Jessah had just been waiting for her mother to come visit so she could see her get baptized.  Since Elder Ludbey is the only Elder in the mission that knows how to sign he got permission to travel to Panglao to perform the baptism.  It was pretty cool.  He signed for Jessah the prayer and then repeated it audibly with his arm at the square for the rest of us in the room.  Jessah was so happy, she just kept hugging everyone and giggling.  But the really cool part was when she bore her testimony to us in sign language while Elder Ludbey interpreted. 

Sister Jessah Vales and Elder Ludbey

We had a few slower days this week and we were glad for that as we really were not feeling so well.  One day my good friends Annabelle Nueva and her daughters, Sariah and Shakira came over to teach me how to make my favorite Philippino dish, lumpia!  It is like a fried toastado.  It is a spicy pork mixture that you wrap in a very thin wrapper and then deep fat fry!  I really like them but them don't really like me so I must exercise a little self control when they are served.

Annabelle and Sariah frying Lumpia!

Another fairly regular event that we get to experience here on Bohol are scheduled blackouts.  They turn off the electrical power to the whole island for 14 hours!!! We have experienced this 3 times now.  Apparently they are trying to upgrade some of the power lines and transformers and such.  The islanders don't as much as blink at this inconvenience.  Most of them have minimal power if any in their homes anyway.  They nearly all cook on fires and none of them but us have air conditioning.  Well, we are pretty whiny with out our air-con so when we knew the black out was scheduled for Saturday we planned a long drive so that we could be in our truck most of the day.  We drove over to Garcia-Hernandez.  This is a little town on the opposite side of Bohol from where we live and we met a few weeks ago a wonderful family over there.

This is Emma and Bill Smalley.

This is Emma and Bill Smalley.  Emma is a convert to the church and Bill is a newly rebaptized member of the church.  They are wonderful people.  Bill is an American and Emma a Filipina.  They have built a beautiful home and they have an open door for nearly anyone who stops by.  You can never leave the house with out a good two hour visit, because Bill loves to talk or a fabulous meal, because Emma loves to cook.  We were also treated to one of Bill's famous homemade apple pies that he baked under great difficulty just for us!  We have come to love these people in short order.  Bill is a builder and we took a very tired, broken down desk to him and he fixed it all up and made it look like new.  I can testify that the trip to their home is worth it just for the great food and chatter!  And, it kept us away from the house for the whole day so we did not have to endure the black out without air-con!

Well, I think I have nearly storied you to death so I will turn the keyboard over to my husband to finish off the week.  I really missed being home this week when my baby brother got married.  I am so happy for you Scott and Amy!  Kevin and I are living proof the second time around can be wonderful.  

We love you all so much and really appreciate all of your support for us all of the time.  It is great to hear from you and we especially love photos even though it takes our computer a few hours or days to down load them.  It is worth the wait.  I love the Lord and I am so happy to be part of His Army just now.  The work of spreading the gospel to all of Bohol it wonderful.  We have remarkable experiences that strengthen our own testimonies of this great work.  Have a great week!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)

Kumusta mo mga Amigo's sa karin simana? (How are you doing this week all my friends)

Another whirlwind week coughing our heads off all the way through it.

Well I will start off with a great FHE at the Viador family.  They are the family we had the funeral with in February for baby Manoa.  Well, we met with the family and had a great time with a lot of the other members of the Sagbayan Group.  Bother Viador was there.  He is the only nonmember in the family now.  He is so gracious and inviting to all of us. We hope he will become a member soon to complete the family unit.  He always cooks the food for us and he makes the most lami kaayo (delicious very) fish that I really like.  He sells fish for a living and works very hard at it.

This is the way a typical Philippine meal looks for honored guests.

Next is Pagbuyagan si Sister Lordes sa Ubay Ocean (Sister Lordes Baptism in Ocean at Ubay).  This happens very often lately in this area.  Ubay is on fire as pertaining to missionary work.  Saturday was the baptism of Sister Lordes.  She is joining the church with a great testimony and a desire to help many people while in the Church of Jesus Christ.  

She was taught by Elder Borrego, Elder Head and Elder Laga'aia.

Sister Lordes being baptized by he fiancé President Mendez (Branch President in Ubay)

They plan to be married this next month and together lead and help the Ubay Branch to be a strong unit in the Church.

Just by way of information we broke the record for the number of people hauled in the Multi Cab.  On Saturday we had 31 people and 4 bikes.  That is a new record.  We will see how long that holds up.

Final story.  We learned on the way to church today in Sagbayan that there was a mix up by the power company on the power bill and they shut off the power to half of the building.  The half shut off was the garage converted to chapel and there are no window in the room.  So after the great fashion we love so much about these people, church was set up upstairs in the hall and the class rooms and 60 people had Sacrament Meeting and there was no complaints of any kind.  They are always thankful for what they have and never complain about things of this nature.

This is a good shot of a 60 person Sacrament Meeting setting up for services.

We had people in every room and the sacrament table and speakers in the common hallway (which of course was right next to the bathroom)!

I am very grateful for the great journey we are in the middle of.  The Lord really does direct his work and helps each of us to accomplish the tasks we are called upon to do.  He makes all men more than they could ever be by their own power and fills in all the gaps.  We and the missionaries are supported by him and your prayers each and every day.  The prayers for the missionaries in the Temples of the Lord each day buoy us up and give us the strength of the Lord to do his work.

I love the Lord and I love his work.

Salamat Kaayo Pamilya sa mga Amigo's!

Elder Bell  (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo's)  

It's a hard job but somebody has to do it!

Kamusta akong Amigos!

Well to start the whirlwind week off we had a Calape Zone transfer meeting combined with District Meeting from all the districts.  Transfers were handed out and everyone learned their new assignment for the next 6 weeks. Every 6 weeks these missionaries experience changes that some times include a new companions, a new area and sometimes both.  Some are changed every transfer and some stay for as long a 5 months in the same area with maybe 2 or 3 companion changes.  The only constant thing is that things will always change.  That is a good lesson to learn because it is that way in life.

District Activity

On Wednesday we had a District activity that started with pancake breakfast and included a trip to Mag-aso Falls. This is a beautiful place in the center of the Island most people never visit.  That is one reason why we like it so much.

A shot from the falls

Sister Bell's battle wounds from the activity.

(The rocks are very slippery and so when I was jumping from one rock to another, my foot shot right out from under me and I landed sitting on the rock like I was riding a horse but there were a few bumps on the way to the sitting position!)

Well needless to say transfers took place on Thursday and all went well.  The missionaries have really figured these transfers out so they go so smooth and we do not carry most of the burden as we did in the past.  We just hate saying goodbye to so many great missionaries on the same day.

Elder Tomakin and Elder Singsam, Sister Bell's Nindot Primary Missionaries.

(These two missionaries always helped me in Sagbayan Primary.  They sing beautiful bass together and I always teased them that we had the best bass section in the entire church as far as primary goes!) 

Well I am going to turn the most exciting portion of the week over to Sister Bell. She is alway better with words than I am.

Love Ya Always

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo & Amigo)

Ayo Family and Friends!

It has been a busy week!!  But it was also a very fun week even though we had to run from activity to activity with not much rest in-between.  So after transfers on Thursday we had Seminary on Friday morning.  Well, it was the last day of the Old Testament Course and so we had the last lesson on the last unit and then took the final assessment exam.  Everyone did pretty well especially considering that English is not their native tongue.  I am really proud of them. And so we decided to celebrate.  After class we brought them all (16 of them) to our house for a quick lunch and then we took them to Mag-aso Falls.  This was our second trip of the week but it was so much fun because unlike the missionaries these kids could go swimming!  None of them had ever seen the Falls and so they were really excited to go.

Our Seminary class!  We love these kids so much.  They sure do renew my hope for the future.  They are tomorrows leader of the church in this part of the world and they are remarkable young people.

More fun at Mag-aso Falls!

After we had dropped all of the kids off at their homes in Sagbayan it was just getting dark and so we headed up to Talibon to spend the night in the Wayside Inn, a little place we often stay at when we need to be way up north really early in the morning.  We pulled in just in time to go to bed and be up and at a baptism at 7:00 AM.  

Talibon had not had a baptism for quite awhile and so the missionaries were really excited about these baptisms.  They are two middle aged men who are not related but shared a baptismal service in the ocean.  As always it was just a wonderful experience.  The branch members came out in force as they planned a branch activity immediately following the service.

Elders Wilson and Calumpang with the baptismal candidates, Verulo Casquejo & Guillermo Barro

The humble home we picked up Brother Verulo from.  They don't have much but they are wonderful people who are humble and teachable.

There are times that what I see on the horizon just takes my breath away!  We sure live in a beautiful world!

Well, that is our week in a photo collage!  I know you are thinking that all we do is play….well, it is a hard job but somebody has got to do it!  We do occasionally have a play week but as with anything in life all those fun outings take planning and preparations.  I somehow didn't think you would enjoy the prep pictures as much as the play pictures……

Life is good!  We are still doing what we love and loving what we do.  We are happy to be serving here on Bohol.  It is a remarkable work that rolls forth and we are so happy to be a small part of it.  We are still working hard on our language.  Cebuano is not an easy language to learn but we will just keep trying.  We understand a little more each week and maybe someday will have the ability to really understand every word of a talk or testimony.  

It is hard to believe we have been out here nine months already!  The weeks really do fly past.  We are so busy every single week that we can hardly catch our breath.  We really look forward to our time with the missionaries and the members.  We have made some wonderful friends here.  We miss you all and sure do love hearing every detail of your week also.  You think it is boring but to us it is manna from heaven.  We want to hear about all of it!  Thank you for all the prayers and emails and pictures!  Keep 'em coming!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)