Well another fast and furious week with blessings for all involved.
I will start with the mission call and the two that are coming soon; This week our dear friend Claudius receive his mission call. We have worked with him our entire mission trying to help him get a head start and put his feet on a productive path in life. His father died while he was young and his mother and his sisters and he have weathered all the storms on their own.
So on Tuesday he finally receive his mission call to the Cagayon de Oro Mission in Mindanao, Philippines. That is the island south of Bohol. He enters the MTC on July 28, 2017.
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| Claudius opening his mission call |
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| Waiting for Claudius to open his call |
The Shamrell's and the Calape Sisters were there with us to see him open his Mission Call
This is a shot of Sister Bell and Sister Nacalaban who started her mission in Sagbayan next to us. It is always great to reunite with our special missionaries we have served with.
As for the other two missionaries that have their papers submitted.....After the usual send back from the area for one thing or another, Sister Tis Racoma's paper are in SLC awaiting assignment. And Sister Louie May Umbang and in the Area and hopefully going to SLC this week. We now have 4 other missionaries to help get their paperwork going. We will help get them started but Elder & Sister Shamrell will see them through to receive their mission calls.
The second item is the school project. We were called on friday by Elder & Sister Zorn from Cebu to ask if we could attend a acceptance meeting at a school very close the where we live. Elder & Sister Zorn are Welfare Service Missionaries. LDS Charities had put together a project to supply 800 chair - desk combo unit to various different schools on Bohol. We attended a acceptance meeting for 200 of these chair-desk combos.
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| Calatrava Elementary School chairs |
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| Sagbayan Branch Presidency & Relief Society, GMA Foundation Rep and District and School Officials and Teachers |
The GMA Kapuso Foundation helps schools all over the Philippines by building new class rooms and facilities for struggling schools districts. LDS Charities provides many different items for schools like this one as partners to improve education and health to many people in the Philippines.
So if you have ever wondered what LDS Charities does with money that is left to them from people who want to make a difference in the world, this is a very small part of what that money is used for. They help the poorest of the poor raise their quality of life and give them a hand up. I am honored to assist in a small way as part of this work.
I am going to close with a great picture along the road over to Danao.
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| The beautiful land of Bohol we drive through daily. |
I will close by expressing to you, in a small way, the love I have for the Lord and His work. We have been blessed to meet such wonderful and humble people. We love the Land, we love the people, and we love the work of the Lord.
Nahi Gugma Ko Kaniyong Tanan (I Love all of You)
Elder Bell (Tatay, LoLo and Amigo)
Ayo Family and Friends!
It has been a busy week…as they all seem to be this entire mission! We took a quick trip to the dentist on Monday with a couple of folks from the branch…Oh that I had unlimited resources to help those with dental needs! On Tuesday we were able to do a few apartment checks in Tagbilaran but we hurried through them so that we could be ready for the week we had planned to spend with Elder and Sister Wilding. If you remember a few months ago…I discovered Elder Wilding and I are cousins (3rd) so we were excited to get to know them a little better and to show them the sights of Bohol. They live on Cebu and are assigned in Bogo (very northern end of Cebu). They traveled via ferry to us late Tuesday afternoon and we picked them up at the Tubigon Port. We headed out to our beloved Isla Hayahay for a couple of days.
On Wednesday we took them snorkeling and then on Thursday the Shamrells joined us and we did some sightseeing.
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| Shamrells, Wildings and us at Mag-aso Falls |
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| Elder Wilding zipping across the canyon! |
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| Sister and Elder Wilding at Hill Top |
It is so much fun to spend time away from the pressures of the mission and hang out with the other senior couples. Elder Wilding and I have the same blue eyes! Blue eyes are a strong gene!
We ended the week with a few visits and a glorious youth activity on Saturday night. It was movie night at the Bells! They love to gather at our apartment for any kind of activity but they especially love movie night. This time we watched "The Best Two Years". It is pretty fun to watch them giggle and scream at movies! We of course sat there all sappy and kept thinking about how this would likely be our last movie night with these incredible kids. I never knew a heart could love so many people so much as we love this Sagbayan Branch!
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| Chocolate cake after the movie with 20 of our closest friends! |
Elder Bell is keeping a running list of everything that we need to get done in the next two months. It is extensive and exhausting! But I am sure everything that needs to get done before we leave will get done! After all….whom the Lord calls, he qualifies! We have certainly felt that blessing come true in our own lives as we have traveled this journey through the last 21 months. We seem to be able to do things that seem beyond our abilities and somehow we have been able to accomplish them. It is a remarkable experience to serve a mission. I highly encourage anyone of any age that has a desire to give and serve to consider it. You will be amazed at how the Lord can use you!
Love you forever,
Sister Bell (Mamala to all)
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