This week was transfer week and we spent 3 days on the road delivering missionaries to and from the ferrie.then Delivering them to and from apartments with their bags. Our zone is one end to the other is 50 or 60 miles and we travel that 3 or more times. The main objective is to keep the army of God's missionaries in his service. They are great Elders and Sister. About 80 percent are from the islands. They are fantastic and sacrifice much to serve the Lord.
We have a lot of Elder and Sister care. We realize that we rely 30 percent on medicine and 70 percent on Presthood Blessings. The Lord does hear and answers all of are prayers and blessings.
I am going to let Sister Bell tell you the story about one of the worthiest and purest sister I have ever meet. She is a inspiration to are lives.
Wel Love all of and We Love the Lord and his work.
Elder Bell. (Dad,Grandpa and Friend)
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| Special Sister Perez was transfered. |
Hi all!
Last Monday we had the chance to go out with Sisters Astilla and Perez teaching for an afternoon. We were amazed by the whole experience. Their area is some distance from where we all live and so they travel each day by bus or trike to get there and then they hike into the jungle and the hills to find these people. There is no such thing as addresses here. You go into a barangay (neighborhood) and just begin asking questions and usually everyone can direct you. So, we went first to see a Sister Segovia. She is an elderly woman in her 70's. She has an amazing story. Many years ago she had a dream. In the dream she saw Jesus Christ standing at the foot of her bed. She also saw two men in white shirts with ties and she notice they had a name tag that had the name of Jesus Christ on it. She awoke and never having seen missionaries before and was confused. Just 4 days later she saw missionaries walking down the street. She ran up to them and asked who they were and could they come to her house to speak to her! Well, she was the very first baptized member in her village. She raised five children and is very poor. She takes in washing to make money having to haul the water up the hill to her home. But she told us that every week she pays her tithing. She promised the Lord that as long as she could walk she would always attend church. She told us that twice she has been sick on Sunday but she said I could still walk and so I went to church and each time as she partook of the sacrament she was healed. Two years ago her daughter and grandson were killed when her home was destroyed by the earthquake but she was unharmed even though she too was in the house. She said she chose to not be angry at God because He knows what is best. She continues to build His kingdom as she promised to do. The day we met her she took us to visit a young man that she has befriended to teach him the gospel. But she never leaves home without her temple recommend which she carries in that little purse you can see across her torso. She was the most wonderful woman. A true example of a follower of Christ. She inspired us! We are better people for having been in her presence. This is a picture of her with our two sister missionaries, Sisters Astilla and Perez.
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| Sister Perez, Sister Segovia, and Sister Astilla |
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Carabou (car-a-bow) at work in Bohol
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| Rice Fields and unique hills of Bohol |
Well, I will let you all go. We are having internet problems so sometime you will get this. Please know that we are well and oh so happy! Miss you all!
Love you forever.....Sister Bell/Mom/Lola(gramma)/friend
You two are amazing at all you do! Ferrying these missionaries from one area to the next, what a job that must be ! They are so forgetful and will leave things behind which causes you to have to turn around an retrieve it! But you must be hearing some marvelous mission moments that they want to share. Just being around them brings the Spirit so close.
ReplyDeleteRalph and I talk about you often and discuss your experiences and we wish we were young enough to join you once more but we relive our missions through reading yours.
I hope you look for comments because I don't know how else to get in touch with you.
The story about the elderly lady who had that incredible dream was so touching. to think how she cherishes her temple recommend which she carries on her where ever she goes made me cry. I think of the hundreds of temple recommend holders in our mission area who only come to the temple once in a great while. There are so many who qualify for the recommend but don't have that precious testimony of temple work. It's hard for me to understand that. I look forward to every Friday we spend in the temple and relish the few minutes that I get once in a while to spend time in the great Celestial room. We always do a session after we have finished our shift. It is our culminating experience each week. Oh, how we love the temple!
Today we invited the missionaries to come to our home to watch conference. They were so thrilled! I'm looking forward to having them here. We have two sister missionaries for the first time in our ward. They are amazing girls! They have such awesome responsibility how they spend their time. I told them I would have lunch ready for them between sessions. They welcomed that but really wanted also some time to knock on doors in our area and then they would come back to see the second session of conference. They are so pure and so filled with the Spirit! Wow! It is a privilege to have them in our home.
Keep up the good work, you two. Your mission will help your own children to see the truth again and know where their peace and happiness can be found. We pray for our Father's choicest blessings to be yours.
We love you!
Ralph and Tina