Malipayon Bag-ong Tuig! (Happy New Year!)

Malipayon Bag-ong Tuig!

Well, we finally completed all of our holiday parties. We attended seven in all and dressed as Elder and Sister Claus for six of the seven.  We were pretty ready to retire the outfits by the end of the party season.  But, we really enjoyed our time with all of the members in the Calape District.  They are so fun.  They really love to spend time together.  A branch Christmas Party is a big time commitment.  Most of the parties lasted about five hours.  There was lots of food, usually a roasted pig and rice side dishes.  A couple of them had 'dirty ice-cream". Which is the term they use for homemade ice cream.  It is so delicious usually a mango and/or banana flavor.  We really like dirty ice-cream!

Christmas alone in the Peens is a little different from home but we really enjoyed it.  Our favorite part was delivering 32 santa hats stuffed to the top with surprises for all of our missionaries.  They all loved it and were so appreciative of the little effort we put in to that project. No one even complained about the toothbrush I stuffed in there! (How could I not do that?)

 This is Sisters Mendoza, Reyes, Contago and Tomas enjoying their silly Santa hats.

At the end of Christmas Day we were able to share a dinner with our family here on Bohol, The Halladays.  We love them so much and wonder what we are going to do without them when they go home in a couple of months.  After our dinner together we attended the house blessing of the new house we are going to move in to in a couple of weeks.  It was blessed and sprinkled with Holy Water by the local Catholic Priest.  About two hundred people came and the owners of the home fed them an amazing feast.  Every tasty dish you could imagine and lots and lots of people!  The home is just behind our current apartment but will get us off of this busy, noisy street.  And, it has an extra bedroom and bathroom for all of our guests that will be coming.(hint, hint! we would really love to have guests!)

This is just one of the buffet lines for the night of the house blessing. 

This is just one of the buffet lines for the night of the house blessing.  There were others outside of the house. It is a beautiful home and we feel blessed (and spoiled) to be able to live in it.

When we were set apart as missionaries by President Jones, he blessed me that I would be an influence in the lives of children and through them their parents would be brought to the gospel truth.  I have the opportunity every single week to work with primaries in several different branches.  This is an area that really needs some training in most branches. But, I have grown to love this little group of primary kids in Sagbayan, our struggling little group, beyond words to express.  And every single week they use the paper and crayons the have in their quiet bags to draw me pictures and write me notes.  I feel so loved and needed by these children.  It makes every effort I put in to teaching them worth it.  I am reaping rewards in great abundance! This is a picture of one of the love notes I received today from Claudelyn, one of our new converts.

 I am getting all my rewards while still on earth….there may not be many in heaven for me!

John Rey

This little guy in the purple shirt is Jon Rey.  He is 5 years old and has never spoken a single word in his life.  He is so shy that the first week he attended primary he left in tears he was so afraid of me.  We had a break though a couple of weeks ago when I handed him the 'oatmeal carton drum' so he could beat the time to our Christmas song about Samuel the Lamanite.  He was the best drummer of the whole group.  He had great rhythm and a smile that stretched from ear to ear that day.  He comes now every week and is making some good progress.  That is a pay day folks!  It makes my heart sing.

We have lots more to tell this week and so I am going to sign off and turn this computer over to Elder Bell.  We really love you all and I gotta admit I was really homesick this week or all of you and for the snow and for the chaos of Christmas with family and friends.  But, we know that this experience is going to be over before we blink and so we are trying to soak in every emotion and every experience good and bad that we are having.  It is true that time and distance makes the heart grow fonder because I can hardly think of a single one of you and not get a lump in my throat thinking of the love and appreciation I have for you.  We could not do this without you.  All week long we make a list and take pictures of every experience we have because we are thinking about the blog on Sunday and what we want to share with you at weeks end.  It makes us feel accountable for our time because we don't want you to be disappointed in what we are doing here and we know that come Sunday night we will have to return and report our week.

I love you forever my family and friends,
Sister Bell (Nanay, Lola, Amigo)


Happy New Year!     (Malipayon Bag-ong Tuig!)

I have 2 amazing stories to share so here goes the first one.

Bro. Reylan and Sister Rosalia Batulat

The Branch in Calape and the missionaries have been working with this family for a year.  I will tell you our experiences with them in the last 4 months we have served in Calape.

The first time we met them was at a family home evening in their home.  Sister Rosalia was pregnant (7 month along), and Bro. Reylan was suffering from swollen eyes and had very hard time working.  There 2 young daughters also had swollen eyes.  Bro. Reylan had climbed the coconut trees by the hut to provide a treat for the family home evening.  They treated us with such gracious welcome (they were actually not just giving part of what they had but most of what they had) to thank us for coming to there home.

Sister Bell saw this pregnant Rosalia sleeping on a bamboo bed with no mattress  The next day we delivered the newly purchased softer mattress purchased for our bed to their house and dropped it off.  The other harder mattress we sleep on now was never softer or more comfortable than it is now.

Later we learned that they had not been able to baptized because they needed to get married.  They needed to get registered with the city and pay to them a large amount of pesos before that could happen.  Some members of the branch had given them some money to help but they found themselves in the position of either using the money to buy rice to live on or have no food for the family, and no medical care for the coming child.  They had to care for their family.

When we learned of there dire circumstance we asked what we could do to help.  It was too late to buy rice for the family and the baby was due in the next few days.  We decided to replace the money they had to use for rice and medical care.  That allowed the family to use the $20 in US money to get married and be baptized.  They had been working for a year to scrap up a extra $20 to complete the most important step in there life, Baptism.

Bro. Reylan & Sis. Rosalia Batulat Family at their wedding before the Mayor of Calape.

 (December 22, 2015)

Bro. Reylan & Sis. Rosalia Baptism

December 26, 2015

It was so nice to be able to see them finally, after such a long wait, get baptized!  Brother Reylan isn't one for much of a smile but if you look really close…he was actually almost smiling!

Second story, Family Home Evening in Sagbayan:

When we were set apart by President Jones for our mission he told me I would be called on bear testimony of the Saviors and his Gospel and the Atonement.  I find my self being called upon many times in week.  Many times with no warning.  We are trying very hard to learn the language of the people we serve so we can more effectively do this.  Many times the Elders and Sisters will call us to help with investigators and less actives when they feel they need strong witness to help with a problem that always arise in giving investigators the information so the Spirit can help them gain a testimony.

We were asked to attend a Family Home Evening in Sagbayan that has 10 investigators meeting together to hear lessons.  I told them I would present the lesson and planned to present a lesson I had worked on for couple of weeks about Families, Family Pray and Recognizing the truth by the Holy Ghost to bless and direct your family.  This was all prepared in Cebuano and required noted to follow to keep on course for the lesson.  The problem with these lessons is just this.  I can give the lesson OK but I do not know how to ask or answer questions, or sometimes give the heart felt words that are given to you by the spirit in Cebuano. 

After much consideration on this issue Sister Bell and I felt that when either of use gave lessons we would give as much as we possibly could in Cebuano and fill in the blanks with English and the Lord would bridge the gap and let them feel the Spirit of the entire message.  And that is what I decided to do.

On Saturday about 2 hours before going to the Family Home Evening we were talking with Sister Nueva and her daughter Sariaha from Calape.  They asked when we were going to Sagbayan next because they wanted to go with us.  We told them we were going in couple of hours and asked them if they wanted to go with us.  They accepted the offer and went with.

On the ride up to the Family Home Evening we worked out a plan to have them help with the lesson, give personal experiences and bear testimony.  The lesson went very well.  The lesson was presented in Cebuano along with testimonies from the mother and daughter. Some of my heart felt items were presented in English, and all understood and rejoiced together in feeling the Spirit of the Lord testify to the hearts of all.  The Lord really does give divine intervention when we do all that is in our power and ask for his help.   We felt that the Nueva's offering to go with us was one of those tender mercies of the Lord as He directs this work.

A snapshot of about 1/3 of people playing games at the Family Home Evening

(Elder Bell is always smack-dab in the middle of the silly games. And they love him for it.)

An unexpected visitor and the Family Home Evening

My heart if full as think of my family, friend and the people we work with and serve each day.  The Lord Blesses his missionaries with a special Spirit you have hard time capturing and maintaining at home.  We are thankful for all of you and the missionaries and people we have the privilege of serving.

Salamat Kaayo,

Elder Bell (Tatay, Lolo and Amigo)