Conference, Conference and more Conference

Maayong Buntag Pamilya & Amigo's

Well another fun filled week in Paradise. To start off the week my Branch Clerk and I went around to a lot of the member and gave their children under 8 a name and a blessing.  Most of our members are new in the church (less than 1 or 2 years).  Their children were not blessed in the church when born so to create a record for each of them we gave them a name and a blessing.  It was a great experience and we fell closer to all the member and their families by doing so.

Next I met with a representative from the area real estate department to find property to lease - rent or build and lease for a new chapel. We were able to get them in touch with the owner of a large house that is 2/3 built and been sitting unfinished for 2 or 3 years. They are presenting the property to the committee for approval.  They would build a chapel next to the house and tie them together.  We feel very good about  this option and are praying for it to be be approved speedily.

This is our existing meeting house we are using. 

We are meeting in the room behind the garage doors. And we though you might like to see our new sign that makes us kind of legit!

Last week we had 89 in attendance and this week we transported 75 to district conference in Calape. It was great conference and many investigators and members attended.

Bus we hired to bring member to District Conference

It hauled 55 people and we hauled 20 in our Multi Cab.

We also had a movie night in Sagbayan with the members and any one at the market that came by.  We held it out in the street in front of the chapel.  We showed 'Meet the Mormons' and it was very successful.  Most of the members and investigators came and the missionaries were talking with people in the street walking by and some stayed to watch.  The sister obtained new family to follow up on and also a few single people.  That was a great success and fun was had by all.

A shot of a real street meeting in the Peens.

Some motors would stop and go around the block and some would just pass thru.

Well I am going to wind up for this week with another beautiful shot from the Island of Bohol.  This is sunset from Tagbilaran.

Beautiful sunset Philippino style

Their is plenty left for Sister Bell to tell so I will turn it over to her.

I will close with some heart felt feeling.  I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and He loves each and ever one of us. I know he sent his son to bless our lives and to make it possible for us to return to live with him.  Central to Gods plan for our happiness is our family.  He blesses his children thru families by learning and caring for others.  I testify the Lord will bless you if you stay true to your family commitments in this life and the life to come.  My prayer is that we will all stand worthy to be called his children at the last day.  I love the Lord and I love his work

Nahi Gugma ko kaninyo (My love to all of you)

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo & Amigo) 

Ayo Family and Friends,

We had lots of conferences this week!  We were able to spend time with the missionaries from all around Bohol as we attended Zone Conference in Tagbilaran with the Tagbilaran and Valencia zones on Thursday.  We had Calape Zone Conference on Friday.  It is so nice to spend time with our mission leaders, President and Sister Maughan and our AP's.  We were well taught from each of them.

Tagbilaran and Valencia Zones

Calape Zone

Tonight we are staying in a really nice resort on Panglao Island.  The McNett's are also here and so the Maughan's, McNett's, and us are enjoying a short little get-together.  

The view off our balcony!  Nice place!

They have lots of pools and we are right by the white sand beach!  This place is beautiful!

Today was our District Conference.  Just one year ago, we had District Conference just about the second week we were here and I remember feeling like a stranger amongst the saints as we did not know too many of them yet.  What a difference a year makes.  We have made really good friends all over this island and so today as we attended District Conference we were greeted so warmly by so many people.  When I walked through the door about a dozen kids ran up to me to give me a hug.  They were all the primary kids from the Ubay Branch that we had attended for many months until Elder Bell got the call to be Branch President of Sagbayan.  They really missed us and we them.  We were greeted by members from every branch in the District and it was so great to see them all.  As I looked out over the sea of dark haired people, I felt such love and compassion for them.  It is so true that you love whom you serve!  We have had just small interactions with so many of them but we love them so much.  They are so humble and so faithful.  We learn so much from them.  We gain so much from them.  They fill our hearts with joy when we get to see them.

I keep forgetting to tell you all that the Christmas Holidays have already started here.  Christmas season starts September 1!  All of the stores have up the holiday decor and play the music.  Some folks string lights outside.  They countdown the days until Christmas "91".  So my point is that if you, like my brother Jay, like Christmas music, it is time to start playing it….in fact you are nearly a month late!  Put up that tree, turn on those lights…..Merry Christmas!

Well, I will leave you for now.  We love you so much and so appreciate your love and support.  We are working hard and trying to make you proud.

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala)

As the Truth Goes Marching On

Maayong Buntag Pamilya ug mga Amigo!

Well the truth really does go marching on in Sagbayan, Bohol.  We had an amazing week this week with many activities, and many new experiences.

I will start with church today. Well, we had 89 in attendance in our covered garage meeting house!  It is about the same size as 3 class rooms with the curtains drawn in our Hooper 3rd Ward Chapel. The space fits about 60 nicely, but when you cram 89 bodies in to it….it gets down right tight!  We had 3 complete new families attend today and they all are seriously investigating the church. The four Sisters we have working currently in Sagbayan are the best!  They really work hard and diligently and the miracles are beginning to happen.

We had the homecoming talk for Sister Joan Racoma. She is the first missionary returning to the new Sagbayan Branch. Their were maybe five extra people for that event.

So in the near further we will have 80 to 85 per week attend church.  The Lord sure is putting forth his hand bringing so many new people into the church.  The young missionaries find new people all the time and we try to maintain them as active members as they enter the church. It is amazing to be part of it.

I am meeting with a representative from the Physical Facilities division of the church from Manila on Wednesday this week to discuss either purchasing a building in Sagbayan that is still under construction or starting the construction of a new building to handle the growth.  It is a amazing to be part of this process.

This week we went with our missionaries to Danao to visit members and teach some investigators.  This is an area that is being considered for starting a new group off the Sagbayan Branch.

Marjonilo, John Mark, Sister Bertoldo, Sister Ross

Great Members and missionaries from Sabayan working in Danao with us

Teaching the investigators in Danao

(We saw these babies six months ago when they were newborns)

Well on other activity we had this week was Hump Day party with the Zone Leaders and Sisters in Sagbayan.  They planned a surprise party for us knowing that one year of our mission had passed.  They brought some tasty treats and some ice cream.  It was great time with some missionaries we really have grown to love.

Really Good Selfie taken by Sister Bell

(These are our sisters that live next door and our zone leaders, Elders Santos & Clark)

Today we also had our first YSA Devotional in our living room after church.  It is great to get together with these future leaders of the church.

YSA Group watching the World Wide Devotional

On Saturday I also able to attend a Baptism for the Inabanga Sisters. These Sister work so hard all over the mission and bring many people into the church.  In the past we have seen the pattern of the brethren joining the church after the sister join and they see the positive influence it has on their family.

Sister Delos Reyes, Sister  Flordilona Mar, Sister Larabelle Lantafe, Sister Lovenelle Latafe, 

Sister Jhenjhel Daguplo, Sister Calagui 

Well it seems like we have a months worth of activities to tell about every week.  But when we look back it is only a week every time.

I am so blessed to be part of the Lords work in this part of his vineyard at this special time.  And also to spend my time with such a beautiful and loving companion.  I know this is the work of the Lord.

Love to all

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo, Amigo) 

Ayo Family and Friends!

It has been a busy week!  There are so many events that happened this week it is hard to remember them all.  I will back up to earlier in the week….We were invited to a YSA activity in Tubigon for all of the Young Single Adults in the district.  It was a sweet party for two sisters that are leaving on missions and for a couple who got married Saturday.  The two sisters you already have met as we escorted them through the Cebu Temple a couple of weeks ago.

Sister Sefuentes, Me, and Sister Cerbas.

I also made a new friend at the activity…..

The girl on my right is my new friend, Kathleen (common name around here but hardly anyone spells it the same as me so I was instantly drawn to her)  and my old friend, Cristal who you met many months ago.  She is from Talibon and she is deaf but has always been a good friend to me.

They have a very active YSA group here.  These young adults are busy going to school and working but always make time for Institute and activities together.  They are a lot of fun to hang out with.

So just a couple of days after this activity we had the opportunity to take Sister Sefuentes to the airport to depart for her mission.

The Sefuentes Family.  Shajhin is the oldest of the 4 kids.  Setting a good example for the rest of her family.

And just moments later we greeted Sister Racoma home from her mission…..

Sister Joan Racoma greeted by her mother!

The Racoma Family have 13 kids!  Joan is the first missionary to be sent off and return.  She has three sisters that will follow over the next 4 years.

So that was the comings and goings of the week.  Saturday morning we had a Calape District Seminary Activity.  I filled up the multi-cab and took 15 kids from Sagbayan to the activity.  When we all got there and started I counted heads and we had a full half of the students in attendance from Sagbayan.  We had a good showing and they had a lot of fun.  We even had 3 kids that are investigators and they answered questions and won prizes with the best of them.

President Galotera teaching the district seminary class!

It is pretty fun to be me!  We are really have so much fun helping this branch grow.  We just shake our heads in disbelief every week at the astounding growth.  The challenge to all of this is to have the organization in place to help the new members mesh seamlessly in to the branch.  For instance, when you have brand new primary leaders and they have 25 kids that show up for primary instead of 9, well, it can be a little bit of a challenge for them.  That is where we come in and teach them how to roll with it and help everyone feel included.  The new leaders are really doing well.  We see a lot of 'firsts' every week as we watch people fill their callings for the very first time.  They are nervous but so willing to try.  The Lord does not ask for more than that, ever! 

When we think of the fledgling days of this branch a year ago when there were about 20 in attendance each week, we too are amazed at the growth.  There is something really special about Sagbayan.  The sisters agree.  The people in the community are so helpful, and kind.  They are friendly and always greet us and want to know who we are and what we are about.  Our four sisters ride bikes everywhere with their skirts just flying.  All of the people get a big kick out of that. Anyway, there is just a real sense of community in this place.  You don't get that feeling in every community on this island, but we are sure happy to have landed here in Sagbayan!  

Well, I will sign off for now.  We are really busy and trying hard to stay focused on what we have been sent here to do.  We are looking forward to zone conference and district conference this week.  We love spending time with President and Sister Maughan and our missionaries.  We will report next week on all of that!  Love you all madly.  Hope your week goes well and that you are happy and progressing forward.  Write if you have a minute!  We love hearing from you!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala)

The Hand of the Lord in all we do!

Maayong Gabii Pamilya & Amigo's

Well the work of the Lord is hastening and this week was not a break from that. There are so many good things going on all over that we just have to pick the high points and let the rest just happen.

First we told you about a family in Ubay that had their house burn down a couple of week ago and were living in a make-shift shelter until they could find some way to come close to recovering.

So when we heard of the disaster we contacted our son Jason from K Bell Plumbing and asked if they would be willing to donate to a family that were truly in need.  They responded very quickly and provided enough money to buy the materials to rebuild the home. So we made a trip to the top of one of the chocolate hills by Ubay and delivered the first portion of money that was needed.  We walked about 1/2 mile up a muddy slippery trail to their house.  We have walked this trail before but never in a driving rain.

The trail up the mountain.

When they meet us they had smiles on their faces and they greeted with such positive happy faces you could not help to see how humble these people really are. The father had been cutting down trees and making them into lumber with a chain saw he had borrowed.  So they took us to their humble abode.

The little hut the family of four lives in.

This was the only shelter from the driving rain.

It was built from a few pieces of burnt expanded metal from the burned structure.

  

This is what is left of their old home.

The couple and the group of us that climbed up the mountain.  The lady in the front in the blue shirt is Maribel and her husband is the face just to the right of Elder Bell, Julius (he is so shy)

We promptly gave them the first installment of money to buy materials to start the rebuild project.  One thing you need to understand, that a very small amount of money in the US will give them more than they ever dreamed of obtaining.  So they asked for a meager amount that we gave to them and told them when that ran out we could help with tables, beds, and other household items.

It is hard describe the tears of joy that were shed by this young mother.  She kept telling us over and over to give thanks to our son and his company…..K Bell Plumbing, Spencer, Eric and Jason, thank you so much.  You have given hope back to a family that had little hope of being able to rebuild and provide a safe shelter for their children.  I wish you could have been here to see the pure joy we saw in their faces.

We start the rebuilding project on Thursday of this week.  We will keep you informed of the rest.

So I am going jump to today, Sunday, and what happened in Priesthood class.  So the Sisters brought and new investigators to church today.  It was a father, mother and 4 children.  So the Sisters said they were very receptive and when we went to priesthood I learned this first hand.

We are following the 'Come Follow Me' program for the entire priesthood because 90% of the members have been members for less than 1 year.  This month the topic is on Commandments.  So the lesson today was on the law of tithing.  I wondered about that because these investigators had only known the missionaries for less than a week.

We felt we should go ahead with the lesson on tithing. So my Branch Clerk, Marjonilo was giving the lesson and I was assisting.  After some testimonies and teaching on the principle of tithing, the investigator asked me a direct question, "Where do I pay this tithing and can I pay even if I am not a member of the church?"  I answered you pay it right here and yes you can pay if you are not a member.  He then told the whole group how the sister missionaries had been lead to their home. The sisters were looking for someone else and when they could not find them they asked the wife if they could share a message with them.  She promptly found her husband and they started their journey as a family.  The thing that impressed them most is the teaching on the family. They had never heard such profound things before.

I showed them a slide show of the Temple trip we took 2 weeks ago with the Gambi family. After brother Gambi shared his testimony about the Temple and about the law of tithing the brother was on the edge of his seat while the slide show played.

So after priesthood my Branch Clerk assisted him in paying his tithing and we saw the family off.  We will meet with them in a couple of days.

It never ceases to amaze me at how many deep spiritual experiences we have on our mission.  My cup runneth over. The harvest is great and the labors are few (even though we have no spare time). 

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

Nahi Gugma ko kaninyo kannunay (I Love you all always)

Elder Bell  (Elder Papalo)   

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, how did your week go?  With is being a holiday….certainly you have some news to report?!  Didn't hear from many of you last week so maybe this week you should make up for it….just a suggestion.

Let's start with last night.  We had an unusually good turn out for seminary, nineteen kids came!  It is so amazing to teach seminary here.  Mind you, this is held on Saturday evening and 19 kids show up. There is not a whole lot to do around here on the weekends.  Well, our new youth leaders decided that they wanted to start having mutual activities but the only time they can have them is Saturday night after seminary.  (Days here are long for the kids.  They go to school at 7:00 AM and school ends at 5:00 PM each day.  It gets dark at 5:30 and so no activities happen on the week nights.  Also, the cost of travel is too much for them to be able to come to town more than one extra time a week.) So this week we had our first mutual activity with our young men and young women.  

This is all of us playing silly games. 

This is all of us playing silly games.  They have so much fun when they get together and it does not take much to entertain.  They really know some fun games….remind us to teach you "Doggie, doggie, ow" when we come home.  The lady sitting just to the left of Elder President Bell is our young woman's president, Louie Mae.  She is 22 years old and has been a member for just a couple of months. 

Saturday morning we had a baptism. We had a young mother baptized and the youngest daughter of our primary president baptized.

Lhea Jane Anober (8 yrs old) and Jovilyn Castro with her 4 year old son, Ken

The really cool thing about this baptism is that the young men who got to baptize are brand new priesthood bearers and they got to do their first baptisms.  Marjonilo, on the left, baptized Jovilyn and Arc, on the right, got to baptize his cousin, Lhea Jane.  They did a great job.  We held the baptism in the ocean near Calape but it was a little to busy and public for my liking so I think next time we will encourage the missionaries to hold it in the chapel (where we actually have a font…just don't always have the water to fill the font).

As I was sitting in church today waiting for the members to gather….I got rather emotional as I kept seeing investigators come in.  We had the whole family of six that Elder Bell told you about.  We also had the oldest son of the Umbang family come, who up until now has wanted nothing to do with us.  We also had Jessa, who is 15, and her two young cousins come. They have come before but not for a long time, so it was so good to see them.  Our little house that we call a church is pretty maxed out for room.  We are hoping that we can get a real meeting house soon.  But, until then, not having enough room is a problem we don't mind dealing with.  It is just so fun to be a witness to what is happening here!  This little branch is growing like crazy!!

Just one more picture……

Ubay Chicken Farm

This is a chicken farm that we drive by when we go to Ubay.  Every one of these little huts is a house for a rooster.  Chicken fighting is the main source of entertainment and gambling here.  And these roosters can not live peacefully together unless they have their own space.  So they each have a little teepee made out of cement and are tethered so they can not reach each other.  I don't know if you can really see, but the chicken huts go back farther than my eyes could see to the end and it was really a wide swath of ground.  There had to be thousands of roosters in this yard. As I said, chicken fighting is a REALLY big deal here.  They happen usually on Friday, Saturday and Sundays.  Each community has a great big arena where the fights are held and I have even seen the fights broadcast on television.  Kinda like BYU vs UofU back home!  By the way,  who won?

Well, I will let you go for yet another week.  We are so happy you follow our blog and take time to share in this remarkable experience.  This is one of the greatest experiences of my life and I am so happy we are able to serve here.  We have grown and learned so much.  I feel the refining process each day….chipping off the rough edges a little more each day.

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala)

Sagbayan Branch Marches Forth…..

Ayo Family and Friends!

We always sit and review the calendar and pictures to decide what we should write about each week and by all accounts this week was a little mundane…but still we were very busy and there are many great things happening that are moving our little branch forward and so we will share a few of those.

The week started off with us finally getting all of the things moved out of the Halladay's apartment on Panglao (yes we remembered the air conditioner and the water heater, Sister Halladay).  We got it all cleaned and handed over the keys to the owner.  It felt good to have accomplished that finally.  We also got an apartment cleaned out in Inabanga that sisters had moved out of…due to the infestation of RATS!  We are glad to be free of that apartment.  And finally, we got our new neighbors moved in to the apartment right next door to us.

Our new neighbors…Sisters Ross, Monteras, Bertoldo, & Cook

They are loving their new apartment!  It is probably the nicest missionary apartment in the whole mission. They are not used to such luxuries……

Sister Cook just chillin' on the sofa!

All of these Sisters are great, hard-working missionaries.  We are glad they have a comfortable place to rest at night.  It will be fun to have them as neighbors too.

We were able to attend a training on Friday with our new Self-Reliant Specialist, Rey Jay.  He is a very new member of the church and is currently studying to take his board exam in Political Science Education.  He is such a bright young man and is very excited to start the self-reliant program in our branch.  It will help the members so much to be able to get jobs, start businesses, or get an education and become truly able to support their families.  It is a great program that the church puts in place in countries where it would otherwise be very difficult to take care of your family.  We will keep you posted on our progress.

This is Rey Jay our new Self-Reliant Specialist.

We drove way out to a Barangay on the edge of town to get him and he showed us a short-cut to get back to the main road.  As we drove he showed us his grandfather's coconut farm and the area that he has just started 100 cacao seedlings as a business venture to produce chocolate!  

River across the road!

So on our little ride out through the bukid we came to this river that ran right across the road or maybe the road ran right across the river but either way it was pretty deep water and Rey Jay said, "Just drive through it Elder Bell.  You will be alright!"  So we did…and stopped to take a picture of the water with us sitting in the middle of the river.  The water was crystal clear and he said that it came from a spring on his grandfathers land.  I love the Peens!

Saturday I was able to attend a monthly Seminary/Institute Inservice meeting.  I don't often make it to this meeting but when I do I am always so impressed with the caliber of teaching and training we get.

President Galotera

This is President Galotera.  He is the director of Seminary and Institute here on Bohol.  He is also the Stake President of the Tagbilaran Stake, which is the only stake on Bohol.  He is a very good teacher and so loved and respected by everyone who knows him.  I have sure learned a lot from him.  I really have enjoyed my seminary class.  I know you have heard it all before…but it is true….they are just great kids!  The leaders of tomorrow in the Philippines.  The church will be in great hands in a few years!

Hangin' out after seminary!  Love these kids!

Another week in the books!  The time is flying past.  We have officially been here for one year now.  Sometimes it seems like forever but most often it seems like we just got here.  There is so much left to do with only a few months to do it.  I am so happy to have had the opportunity to serve this mission.  It has helped me grow, and refined me in ways I didn't know needed refining.  It is a pleasure to serve with my good husband and to watch him work so hard.  We sat in a Family Home Evening last night with a family in our branch and I nearly had to pick my jaw up when I heard my husband telling this family (all in Cebuano) all about the blessings of the temple and challenged them to work toward being sealed as a family.  He has worked really hard to learn this very difficult language and he is able to communicate with his branch members in their native language!  It is amazing….I think if ever the gift of tongues has been earned…it is by my husband.  I am really proud of him.  

I love you all and pray for you each day.  Please know you are always in our thoughts and prayers.

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala)

Hello my Great Family and Friends (Maayon Buntag ang nindot pamilya ug mga amigo)

Well another week in paradise. We were able to send four of our youth along with Pres. Racoma to temple on Wednesday night to do baptisms for the dead.  The district sponsored the temple trip so only 4 of the youth could attend.  These youth wait their turn sometimes for a year or two to have the opportunity to attend the temple. My first councilor went the temple with them and that was great. We had much work to do with the missionaries and that makes it possible to be a Branch President and also a Full time Missionary.

Sagbayan Youth awaiting the Ferry ride to Cebu to attend Temple.

We decided that we are going to take the all of the Sagbayan Branch youth to the temple in November.  We are looking forward spending 2 day in the Temple of our Lord with such great youth. We will report on that after the event.

Well this is one Sister Bell would normally post but I am going to do it this week. We have such a amazing primary in this new Sagbayan Branch. The primary presidency is taking over teaching of lessons and the sharing time and doing such a Nindot Kaayo job.

Primary Children writing letters to their favorite Missionary.

These women are great teachers and they have pushed past a lot of fears and self doubt to get the courage to stand and teach.  Others have the natural born talent and are terrific teachers from the beginning. It is great to see that who the Lord calls he also qualifies when we put our trust in him.

Primary Presidency of Sagbayan Branch

Well Sister Bell mentioned the teaching appointment we attended at the Viodor family on Saturday night. This is one of the first homes we taught in at the beginning of our mission. Since then the wife and all the children have joined the church and are doing great.  There son is my Branch Clerk and literally is my translator to many of the peoples in Sagbayan. The only member of the family that is not a member is the father (tatay). 

So Tatay Viodor has listened to the missionaries and is a great friend to the missionaries and also us.  A few months ago we had one of the new missionaries serving in Bohol tell us that he was praying about Tatay Viodor and he was told that Elder Bell was the key to bringing him into the church.  We do share a special bond.  He is a hard working, very honest man.  He sells fish out of the back of his truck and travels over many miles of road each day to support his family and many others that live under their roof. I felt impressed to show him a slide show I prepared about the Temple trip the Gambi's went on to have their family sealed together.  Then I challenged him to take his family to the Temple and the Lord would bless his life in ways he can not imagine at this time. So he attended Church today and is softening up some.  We are going to have weekly appointments to teach him and help him gain a testimony for himself.  The sisters do a great job teaching and will testify kanunay (always) of the truth of their message.

Well today at testimony meeting we had 12 members stand and bear their testimonies about the Temple and the great blessings they feel in their lives.  It was touching to see so many with tears in their eyes tell of their feeling about serving in callings, attending the temple and just the great joy they feel in their lives.  Now keep in mind these people live on what we make in month for a entire year or more.  They look for their joy from within and not from what they have.  It does not get better than this for a missionary.  They literally race to the microphone and then we have to cut the meeting off before all of them a chance to bear testimony.  What a joy to witness each month.

Well enough for this week. I love Lord and I love all of his children.  May the Lord bless you with the righteous desires of your hearts.

Umping Kaayo

Elder Bell (Elder Papalo)

Cebu Temple