Missionaries in Exile!

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, I don't know where to begin…..you all remember the whole terrorists story right?  Well, the week started off just like so many other weeks with a great P-day breakfast with our Sagbayan missionaries and all the other activities that accompany P-day (laundry, cleaning, shopping, etc).  Monday night we all got a call to tell us that they were evacuating all eight of us out of Sagbayan due to the movement of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist.  They believed they were in our general area.  So early Tuesday morning we evacuated, us with a bag that would get us through 5 days and the other missionaries with all of their belongings.

The younger missionaries were assigned to double up with missionaries in the Tagbilaran area apartments.  We senior missionaries were instructed to find a safe place to stay!  We were able to connect with the other senior couple, the Shamrells (who had been out of their apartment since Sunday last week) and together found a small hotel on Panglao Island that had two available rooms for a couple of days. It was infinitely better than sleeping in the multi-cab and so we took it.  The hotel folks were very accommodating and eventually moved people around to allow us to stay for 4 nights.  The Shamrells were able to return to their Calape apartment Friday morning but we are still in exile at the time of this writing.

We are currently back at our old stomping grounds, The Isla Hayahay, who have graciously found us room for four nights also.  It is frustrating to be in exile and to not be able to go back to Sagbayan and our little branch.  Elder/President Bell had to get a little creative today to get everything done that needed his attention.  He was able to call upon branch members and President Nueva, who was going to visit the branch today anyway, to get interviewing done and lists made for the upcoming youth conference.  People have been very good to step up and help and so things are rolling along fairly well. (President Maughan, we were obedient and did not go to Sagbayan today!)

We firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and so we are looking for the lessons and blessings that will come because of this detour in our mission journey.  We are sure in hind sight it will be a little more apparent than it is today, but eventually we will see what has come of this.  I wish we could report that we are enjoying the resort life and relaxing at the beach and paddling around in the beautiful blue water, but in our swift departure the snorkel gear was not on our radar and so here we sit just worrying about everything that is not getting done!

We also did not remember the cord to the camera that allows us to upload pictures from our devices..ah well…no pictures this week….so sorry.  There was not so much happening to take pictures anyway!  Please know that we are safe and being careful and trying to keep a low profile.  There has not been much new news on the terrorist for the last week.  It is believed that there are still 3 of them on the run.  The church is very cautious and likes for no missionaries to be injured, held hostage, or otherwise be in harms way so they take precautions to keep us all safe.  We are grateful, (but antsy) for their decisions that keep us safe.

One sweet story before we sign off….all of us missionaries have been out of Sagbayan for most of the week now and a few days ago we got a call from John Mark, who is 16 years old, and he told us that he and Roneil (17 year old new member) decided to go visit all the investigators they could last week because they knew that the missionaries have not been able to be out teaching them.  Isn't that amazing?  No one asked them to do this!  No one even suggested it would be nice for them to do this…..of their own accord they knew they should do this!  What amazing young men.  Today they organized the rest of the youth to go out and visit all the other people that they did not get to last week.  And so the work goes forth in Sagbayan because these people really understand that 'every member is a missionary'!

Have a great week!  Be grateful that you live in a place that is safe and sane!

Love you forever,
Elder and Sister Bell

Terrorist….week two!

Maayong Gabii Pamilya & Amigos

Well another roller coaster week in paradise. So we spent the first of the week helping our prospective missionaries finish interviews and mission papers.  I think we have all 3 papers and pictures finished so now it is just a waiting game to see when the calls shows up.

On Friday we had a Branch Party in Tubigon at a resort by the ocean, It was quite an event as we rented a bus and transported 88 people to the party.  There was a lot of food and fun for all.

Tatay Viodor cooks pork and fish for at the party.

The kids had a blast in the water.

The water was the place for old and young alike.

Sister Bell with her baby (only I couldn't snuggle her because I was wet!)

Well on another front.  The military had a second run in with the Abu Sayyaf (terrorist) on Saturday.  There were 7 remaining members of the group hiding on Bohol from the encounter they had a week and half ago.  They had been hiding in cave (hole in the ground that opened into a cave) and were spotted in Saturday. Four of the remaining 7 were killed and there are still 3 running and hiding in the jungle.  Life is getting very hard for them as air force and army troops have the whole area surrounded. We are hoping this is brought to close in next day or two. It restricts our activities very much and we just stay out of all areas we could possibly encounter them. So we have spent a lot of time in the apartment.

Well I will turn the rest over to my better half.

I Love the Lord and I Love his work.

Elder Bell  (Tatay, LoLo, Amigo)

Ayo Family and Friends!

It is an interesting set of circumstances to be in the middle of a terrorist situation.  It has made me ponder about how to be better prepared in the future for the unlikely events that will most likely happen as the last days roll forth.  I am taking mental notes and someday if you want my opinion on the matter please take the time to ask!  But for now I will just say that it is hard to be a missionary when you can not really be a missionary and you have to stay in so much of the time.  

We were able to accomplish a few things this week but as Elder Bell said it was a pretty slow week.  We were able to start a new class for the youth on Saturday morning.  They (and I) miss seminary so much in the summer break so I decided to have a six week missionary prep course.  This is not an official seminary course…just one I am making up as I go.  But, it was a fun kick off.  I invited all of the missionaries to sit on a panel and we had a panel discussion.  I had the full-time missionaries tell us all about how they prepared for their missions and what they wish they had done to prepare better.  

Our missionaries sharing what they know!

L to R: Elders Ramos, Gacad, Salazar, Birdiguil, Bell, Sisters Villaroya, Nacalaban

Then I taught a little lesson on how to study more effectively.  One of the points in this segment is to keep a study journal.  So, I had blank journals for each of them and had them prepare them with an alphabetized method that works so amazing well.  

Mission Prep study time

My plan is each week to study out of their 'Duty to God' and "Personal Progress' books for the first half of the class and then do some of the more practical stuff like teaching them to cook and iron and do laundry and budget…..Should be a fun class to keep us busy for the rest of the Summer break.  They are such great kids!  They love to be together and they love to learn!  I have enjoyed teaching seminary so very much these last two years. I am really going to miss them when we have to leave.

That is really about all that happened this week.  I want to take a minute and tell you some of my favorite Filipino phrases that we often hear.  Almost always when I am with the branch members and I am trying to carry something or do something that is requiring me to put forth any amount of effort…one of them will run to me and say, "Sister Bell, I will be the one".  The impact of that simple phrase has sent me pondering many a quiet moments.  "I will be the one", what if more of us approached life with that attitude.  If I did not hesitate or procrastinate and just simply jumped up and said 'I will be the one', think how much more productive my life would be.  And what if the Lord knew that He could always count on me to 'be the one' that would and could do anything that he needed done…think how this could change the work of the Lord on this earth.  I am going to try harder to 'be the one', that the Lord can always count on to do His will.  Perhaps in so doing a little more of that refining process can take place in me.

Another phrase that I just love is, "I am so much grateful for".  We hear this often in prayers and testimonies.  What a wonderful attitude to just be 'so much grateful' for their simple lives.  These wonderfully humble people do not have much by the worldly standards we so often judge success by, but in their hearts and minds, when they accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and became members of His true church….they had EVERYTHING!  From this sweet phrase I have learned to be aware of all that the Lord blesses me with and to feel and show that gratitude each day by feeling 'so much grateful' for all.  We are so abundantly blessed to live in a time when we have the fulness of the gospel, the blessings of the temple and hope of a grand reunion one day with the people we love.

I love the Lord and appreciate His love and grace in my life this week.

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala to all)

Terror attack on Bohol!

Ayo Family and Friends….

Wow!  We have had a week!  I don't think this is something that I ever expected to happen while we served here on Bohol…..but, right at the very beginning of a glorious week with the Hobbs we had a very scary situation unfold.  We had enjoyed a really fun Monday with a P-day breakfast with the missionaries and our company and a trip to the crazy Danao Adventure Park.  I might add at this point that Angie, Eli, Kelby, Elliann and Elder Lolo all did the Plunge.  It is an insane adrenalin/daredevil drop off of a very deep canyon rim that ends with you swinging on a 250 meter rope!  It was pretty insane if you ask me!  But they all had a really fun time!  (we would upload a video for you but it won't so we can't)!

The Plungers!

Then on Tuesday we had a great district meeting.  Sagbayan missionaries have always had to travel each week for a district meeting in Tubigon but they were recently formed in to their own district with Elder Ramos as our district leader.  He is a great teacher and we were so happy to be at his first district meeting training.

Elder Ramos teaching us how to 'Teach for Understanding'

We had received a call during the meeting that alerted us to some military action taking place in Inabanga, which is a neighboring community to Sagbayan.  We were instructed to not send the missionaries out teaching and to stay indoors all day.  The situation as we understand it was a failed attempt by some Islamic terrorist, who had come to the island by boat on Monday, to execute a planned kidnapping of foreigners.  Well we, being pretty foreign, were a little unsettled by that for sure.  There were helicopters and bombs being dropped, lots of shooting and other such war-like activities.  We did not hear all of it just the helicopters occasionally and a few bombs.  In the end several of the insurgents were killed and several military and law enforcement officers.  However, several of the insurgents have escaped and are not yet accounted for.  For this reason our two American missionaries from here in Sagbayan have been moved out of our area to areas further from the action.  We are still here but on high alert.  Our amazing little branch members are determined to keep us safe.  They are always checking to see where we are and offering to do things for us to keep us safely inside.  Rest assured we will use caution and try to keep a very low profile for the next little while.  And really, we trust that the Lord is very aware of us and all of His missionaries and will keep his hand over us for the time being!  Don't worry….we are safe and doing well.

The Hobbs family….now their vacation has been a series of unfortunate events for sure!  Everything from broken down ferries (2 of them), house arrest for two days, flooding in Cebu this morning that made them miss their flight, no flights out until Tuesday from Manila….they just can not get a break!  I am so thankful they had travel insurance. They were great company and rolled with all of this pretty well.  I felt terrible that their trip had been so derailed by the whole terrorist incident and they kept assuring me that they really just came to see us and they certainly got plenty of that being cooped up in the apartment for two days straight!  They were really good sports about the whole week, but their long delay is far from over so send a little prayer to heaven on their behalf….With any luck they will be safely home by Tuesday night!  (Next time I invite any of you over to visit….you might want to think twice about the offer!  It is risky business!)

I am going to let Elder Bell fill you in on the few fun happenings of the week.  We did eventually venture out, with caution, for a couple of days at the end of the week and hope the Hobbs can take a few happy moments home with them.

I sure love the Lord and I am very thankful for His ever protecting hand and loving care of his missionaries!  We certainly felt it this week!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala to all)

Hello to all!

We certainly had an event filled week from one end of the spectrum to the other. 

After picking up the Hobbs early in the morning on Saturday we had a pleasant day of watching General Conference.  In the Peens General Conference is always recorded and watched on the the following Saturday and Sunday.  It also allows for translation into Visayan.  My councilors took care of the showing on Saturday and we attended on Sunday.  It is always great to hear the words of the prophet and the counsel they give concerning the Lords' will upon the earth today.  We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet.

On monday night we hosted a Sagbayan Branch Family Home Evening.  The lesson was given by the Hobbs family as they shared how praying, reading scriptures and having Family Home Evening together as a family has blessed their lives.  It also impressed the Hobbs family how much fun these people can have with very simple games.  It is truly a great experience to always attend such events.

Kelby finished off with singing in her beautiful voice, 'I Have a Family Here on Earth'.  There was not a dry eye at the end of this one. 

Then on Thursday after the great lock down we spent 2 days at the Isla Hayahay.  It is always a great time there as we relax a very nice true Filipino resort doing the island hopping tour and snorkeling.  It is a must for  all and we never tire of it.  We are able to let the ocean breeze blow in our hair and go for a dip in the ocean.  Anyone that knows Sister Bell knows how much she likes that.

The Fam at Isla Hayahay

Then on the way home from Pangangan Island we stopped in Calape for the Self Reliance Graduation ceremony. Out of our 5 graduates for Sagbayan Branch they have already started 3 new businesses and expanded one already running. The fifth applicant has turned in her papers to serve a mission and will make a fantastic missionary. We will keep you up to date with the mission when the call arrives.

Graduates, Louie May Umbang, Fidel Jandayan, Claudia Enad & Zita Anober

Luisa Umbang could not attend.

We were able to get a quick visit in to Sagbayan Peak with the Hobbs to view the Chocolate Hills and chase the butterflies.

The Hobbs at Sagbayan Peak

Elliann at the butterfly enclosure 

The we topped Saturday of with an FHE and movie with the youth of the Branch.  They are always amazing as you feel their strength and listen to there testimonies.

Well I will let you go for another week from the island that never has a dull moment.

Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo & Amigo)

More Family Fun!

Maayong Gabii Family & Freiends

Another fantastic week has passed with much going on all the time.  The mission had Zone Conferences this week.  It was great to see President & Sister Maughan and learn from them.  The Assistants to the President and the Zone Leaders also did a great job of nourishing our desire to share the gospel and give us more tools to learn and share the gospel.

Lunch at Zone Conference

This week was also our week to watch  General Conference.  We download conference a few day after in Cebuano and play all the sessions on Saturday and Sunday. We had a great group of 90 plus attended the Sunday sessions of Conference.

This is our Branch in our humble chapel watching General Conference

Also this week was crunch week for the Sagbayan Branch Welfare Project.  So I spent the first part of the week in front of the computer crunching numbers and preparing the application for the grant we are hoping to receive from LDS Charities. It reminded me of bidding large commercial  projects at K Bell Plumbing.  The team with Sister  Bell doing the writing (something I was never very good at) and me doing the cash projection and plan to make the business part work. We work very good as a team together.

A day and a half of number crunching and business planning.

We submitted the plan on Friday and will wait to see the outcome.  We also learned from the District President today that Calape wants to submit a welfare project.  We agreed to help with the application process.  We already have all the organization and flow sheet put together and can be easily adapted to work in Calape also.

Well I am going to let Sister Bell tell you about the family visiting now.  The Hobbs are here and we are having a good time with them.  Just as we have had with the rest of the family that visits.

I love the Lord and I Love his work. May we all feel the joy of his love as we prepare for the second coming of our Lord.

Elder Bell  (Tatay, LoLo & Amigo)

Ayo Family and Friends!

It was a week filled with book work….Haven't had to write a paper like that for many years.  We hope it impresses the powers that be so that we can get the funding we want for the welfare project.  If the plan works the way it has been planned we will be able to begin a program that will really help our Sagbayan members become very self-reliant.  

On early, early (2:00 AM) Saturday morning we were able to pick up Angie, Eli, Kelby and Elliann from the airport in Cebu.  That flight is so grueling that it moves me to tears when someone makes it to come and see me.  It helps that they do not realize ahead of time how difficult the trip is, otherwise they may not actually come.  We try really hard to make it worth the sacrifice once they get here.

Here we are at the Sagbayan look-out!  Let the party begin!

Pen-Pals

Many months ago I was able to get these two girls to begin a pen-pal correspondence.  My granddaughter, Elliann and youngest daughter of President and Sister Nueva, Shakira.  The girls are the same age and they are very similar to each other.  They are both extremely shy and it took a few minutes for them to be able to actually speak to each other.  They have been writing to each other for more than a year now and looked forward to actually meeting.  They are both 13 years old and have birthdays in July.  How fun is that to get to meet your pen-pal from across the world?

It has been a great joy for us to be able to share our experiences with some of our children and grandchildren.  They have been greatly impacted by their visits.  We love that they have come and now share our love for these wonderful people.

We will keep you posted on the week of fun with the Hobbs family next week….until then, have a glorious week and enjoy your journey.  We love and appreciate all of you and the impact you have had in our lives.  

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala to all)

The land of enchantment!  So very beautiful!

Busy Times are Best!

Hello Family and Friends

Another fantastic week in paradise. It seems like we have so many projects going at the same time it's hard to know when one stops and the other begins. So I will just give you an update on a few.

The welfare project is a great one.  Because I was call to be the Branch President in Sagbayan our calling is double fold.  We assist and help with the missionaries and we also oversee one of the fastest and finest growing church units in the Cebu East Mission (I may be a little partial but I am allowed to be these are our people.)

We met this week with Elder & Sister Zorn, welfare missionaries in Cebu, and Elder & Sister Villarete from LDS Family Services area office. We presented our summary of the welfare project we are applying for in Sagbayan. We were very encouraged learn that we are on the right track.  I think the thing that will work great is we have a lot of very good farmers in our branch and they just need a hand up to change their lives greatly.  This pig and goat project is not our project, we are just organizing the talents and abilities they already have.

A group of very devoted people work for the betterment of all.

The District Presidency even got involved... Pres. Nueva & Pres. Lorzono

It was a pleasure to meet Elder & Sister Villarete. He had served as a mission president, Area Seventy and a member the Area Presidency in the Philippines.  It is great to meet some of the true first Filipino pioneers in the church.  We are humbled by their sacrifice and dedication to the Lord and his work.

Just want to show you again a group of our own personal guardian angles that follow us around and help us ever day to do the work of the Lord.

 Angels loading chairs after the group meeting today in Danao.

  

A great group of youth who give their all for what they know to be true.

Well at the end of sunday I am just about give out. So we will hit the sack and start a new week tomorrow with renewed purpose and strength. It seems like the best calling in the Church are the most demanding.  It has alway been that way and I guess will continue to be so in the future.

May the Lord bless you with His choicest blessing as you serve him and bless your brothers and sisters.

Elder Bell  (Tatay, LoLo & Amigo)

Ayo Family and Friends!

Elder Bell is right….we are worn out by the end of a busy week.  I don't know how we find the energy to write this blog some weeks as we always do it on Sunday night and we are so exhausted by the end of Sunday that we just fall in to bed.  That being said…..here we go.

We always try to start our week with a little p-day breakfast with our Sagbayan missionaries.  We had not hardly met our new missionaries until last Monday.

Our Sagbayan missionaries this transfer;  Sisters Nacalaban and Goldthorpe.

Our Elders: Ramos, Johnson, Birdigiul and Salazar (left to right around the table).

We had a couple of other happenings this week. We attended an excellent zone training.  We are always so impressed with this young leaders and the amazing things they teach us at our trainings.  It further testifies that we are engaged in the Lord's work and that He certainly qualifies those whom He calls.

Enjoying a lunch with the Tagbilaran Zone after this weeks training!  Such great missionaries!

The number of missionaries serving in any mission goes up and down as the months go by.  Currently the number of missionaries in Cebu East is down quite a bit from this time last year so we are having to shut down several apartments on Bohol.  This week these two great zone leaders from Tagb helped us move and clean out an apartment on Panglao that had been sitting empty for several transfers.  Needless to say when an apartment sits empty, it soon is taken over by cockroaches!!

This is Elder Tamayo and Elder Wilson. We have worked with Elder Wilson for a long time now and appreciate the dedicated missionary and leader he is.  We were also very impressed with Elder Tamayo today!

I twisted Sister Shamrell's arm a little to come up to Sagbayan and give piano lessons to several of our young women who really have music in their souls.  So finally the lessons have begun.  Sister Shamrell is at the beginning of her mission so the girls should get a good nearly two years of lessons by the time she goes home.  I hope they take this gift seriously and learn well and fast!

Sister Shamrell teaching Angel Viodor and Jamiaca Jandayan how to count and lead music.

We got to help this new little one finally come home on Tuesday night and I snuck over to the Viodor house and loved on her for a little while!  Those cheeks are hard to resist.  She had an extended stay in the hospital but is doing well now that she is home.

MaeKyla Seliote Viodor

GIANT cockroach!

And just for fun…this cockroach was so giant!  The key fob is 4 inches long just for a little comparison.    He fortunately was missing a wing and could not fly away as I took this picture.  Ahh…ya gotta love the Peens!!

Well, that was our whirlwind week and we are so thankful to be serving this mission at this time.  It has been very rewarding and challenging and wonderful.  We have grown in ways we never thought possible.  We have learned to appreciate each others strengths and learned to rely on each other and the Lord like never before.  We feel the tender mercies each and every day showered upon us in many ways.  Some so simple you hardly take note and others so profound it moves us to tears.  Throughout this journey we have grown to love a land and a people that we never knew existed.  We have learned so much from these, our beloved brothers and sister in the gospel.  And for that we are so very grateful!

Love you forever,

Sister Bell (Mamala to all)