Couples Rescue Efforts . . . . in Pictures . . . Day 1

Dingalan Bay - on the east side of our mission

Friday March 2, 2012

Our Couple's Retreat in pictures.  For more details go back to my previous post 4-1-2012

 

Senior couples with Sister Garcia and Grannie Annie.  It started to rain so we all bought and umbrella to stay dry . . . and it helped protect us from the sun.

Sister & Elder Jewkes

Sisters Bowcutt, Martino, Roberts and Jewkes on the boat dock

Patti and me on the boat dock

The boat that would sail us to the less-active family

President & Sister Martino

Looking up the hill from the beach to the home of the less-active family

Looking towards the beach from the home of the less-active family

A boat they are building on the side of their home

The children in the door way of their home

President & Sister Martino with the Branch President - He came along to invite the family to come back to church

Patti enjoyed the kids and they loved her

Looking into the home from the doorway.  Notice the cement floor

The families that live here - there are actually 3 families in all - the parents and their adult children and families.  Several of these family members have been to church since our visit!

Elder & Sister Bowcutt.  They arranged all of our trip.

Using a machete to cut open a young coconut

The father giving President Martino with his coconut

Drinking the coconut milk right from the coconut

Sister Martino taking her turn

Elder Jewkes drinking the coconut milk with the president watching

Patti's turn

Pouring the milk into a pictures so they can pour it into glasses for us to drink

The children enjoying the cookies that we brought for the family

Elder Jewkes and President Martino getting ready for our voyage back to the dock.

Granny Annie in the blue with her daughter who made our lunch

Enjoying a Filipino lunch ~ Elder & Sister Bowcutt, Patti, Sister Roberts and Sister Garcia

The huts where we ate our lunch

Walking through the jungle to meet another less-active family

Sister Martino, President Martino, Elder Bowcutt, Patti and Elder Jewkes

This is the home that this family lived in before the termites ate it!

Patti found a place to relax for a few minutes

Elder & Sister Bowcutt with the father and mother in front of the home they now live in. (They have been to church since our visit)

The husband showing us how they open the coconuts

This is the tool he uses to open the coconuts

Elder Jewkes trying his hand at opening a coconut

This is a member who went with us to visit the family in the jungle. He was showing us how to climb the coconut tree. 

Elder Jewkes didn't get very far

Sister Martino climbing the coconut tree

Sister Martino started her climb up and was rescued by the President

Patti with these cute kids

Orchids were growing everywhere!

A less-active member with her week old baby

Elder Jewkes with the water pump they use to get water for their house

Getting ready to leave these wonderful families

More Orchids - aren't they beautiful!

Our picnic dinner at the resort ~ Elder & Sister Bowcutt, Sister & Elder Roberts, President Martino and Elder Jewkes

Levy Lance Resort where we spent the night - looking at room from across the swimming pool

Elder Roberts in front of the rooms where we stayed

Some of the people who attended the Friday evening member devotional in Gabaldon

Sacrifices . . .

Recently Sister Cathy Larsen from our home Relief Society Presidency, wrote and asked me to write something for the RS monthly newsletter on Sacrifice.  Since this IS my journal, I am going to include my thoughts here as well.  I am also elaborating on my thoughts . . . . . . .

In the scriptures we read about the many sacrifices made by many of the old prophets.  The story of Abraham always comes to my mind.  For a father to take a young son, gather the wood and then travel 3 days to make a sacrifice of his son showed me a great sacrifice made becasue the Lord told him to do this.  We all have heard the story and an angel came to Abraham to stop him from the ultimate sacrifice.  Recently after we had discussed this in a conference, one of the other senior missionaries pointed out one similarity in Abraham's sacrifice and the Lord's sacrifice of his own son, Jesus Christ.  Both carried the wood (cross) to the place where they were to be sacrificed.     

We read and hear stories of the sacrifices made by those who came to American to enjoy a free life.  Those who became sick as they crossed the ocean in ships.  those who fought the British in the Revolutionary War so that we could enjoy our freedom in America.  We read about the sacrifices made by the pioneers who left almost everything to go to Zion, many losing their lives along the way. One of those stories is about the Willie Handcart Company. The sacrifice of many was so great  so that they could come to Zion.  Those who have fought for our freedom in other nations to preserve our rights and freedoms in America as well as helping those in other countries to have freedoms as well.  We also see many who are in the military who have made the ultimate sacrifice, of giving up their own life for our freedoms.

Going on a mission was somewhat of a sacrifice for me.  It meant leaving my nice home and furnishings.  It meant leaving my grand kids for 18 months and not being able to attend those special programs at their school.  It meant leaving my kids – even though they are scattered around the United States now.  It meant leaving my mother and Wade’s mother who are both in their mid 80s.  It meant leaving friends and family, some who have passed to the other side. It meant not being there to give support to those who lost those loved ones.  It meant leaving foods that we enjoyed.  But those sacrifices seem so minimal compared to some of the sacrifices we have seen here in the Philippines. 

Many of you have seen the movie “Only a Stonecutter”.  It tells of John Moyle who would travel 22 miles from Alpine Utah, on Monday morning, to go to the Salt Lake Temple to work on the temple during the week and then return back to Alpine after work on Friday evening.  After several years, he lost one of his legs.  He made himself a wooden leg to walk on.  When he could get along on the leg, he went back to the work on the temple.  He sacrificed to fulfill his church calling as a stonecutter on the temple.

We recently traveled with the other senior couples to visit some less active members who live in more remote places, who have a difficult time getting to church.  Many of these people just can not afford to go to church and walking would take them several hours.  Some of these members are returned missionaries.  Many would be strong active members if they could get to church more often. 

One man we visited was Rudy Grospee.  He lives in Bugnan which is across the river from the main town and roads of Gabaldon.  He pedals his bike to the river, puts his bike on his shoulder and carries it across the river and then pedals four miles to church.   He takes his church clothes with him and changes at the church.   During the typhoon season, the river is just too high to cross and many times the saints will hold sacrament meeting there in the village. He makes this sacrifice each week to attend his meetings.

Many of the Filipino missionaries sacrifice to earn the money needed to go on a mission.  Many of these missionaries are the only one in their family who are members.  One special young man, Elder Alcibor, is the youngest of 11 children.  He is the only member in his family.  He never received letters from home for 24 months.  I believe he talked to his mother once and she said it made her cry to write to him.  He sacrificed to spend the 24 months on his mission.  He now works at the MTC in Manila.

Our Heavenly Father loves each of us and through the trials we have and the sacrifices we make, He blesses us!  He won’t give us more than we can handle.  Recently a close friend of my family contracted cancer.  She had been in remission, but this awful evil came back.  This time after a round of chemo, she was told that her cancer was terminal.  They told her she could live possibly 3 months or maybe a little longer. She cried and then told her daughter that she would soon be with her mother and younger sister.  She spent the next few weeks spending time with her family and friends who went to visit her. She fought a good fight!  Her fight ended on March 19, 2012.  She lived a good life, but had many trials that she over came.  She made many sacrifices so that she could sty a little longer with her family.

I see many others in my home ward who make daily sacrifices for others . . . There are some many examples of sacrifice all around us.  I look at Vicki Dahn and all that she sacrifices for her family.  I think of the Newbold and the Fullmer families and the sacrifices they have made for the health of their children.  I think of the bishops, leaders of the organizations, and teachers we have had in our ward and the unselfish sacrifices that they make for each of us.  President Greg Dahl sacrificed to take care of the Stake when he was injured . . . the members of the stake were not far from his mind I'm sure.

Going on a mission is sacrifice, but what a wonderful way to sacrifice our time, talents and all that we have to serve the lord.  He has given us so much!  I know that this is where I am supposed to be and that it is part of the plan that my Heavenly Father has for me at this time in my life.  He has blessed our family and our mothers while we have been away.  I know that this is the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a living prophet today ~ Thomas S. Monson.  We can have the Holy Ghost to guide us and help us.  Our Heavenly Father loves each of us.

I feel truly blessed to be able to make a small sacrifice for him.  His son made the ultimate sacrifice for me.

Couples Rescue Efforts . . . .

March 2nd and 3rd, 2012

I will post pictures on another post . . . .

Instead of having our regular couples meeting this month, the senior couples and President and Sister Martino met up in Cabanatuan and headed to the Bongabon Zone to visit some less actives and enjoy one anther's company.  We called it a Couples Retreat!  Since Patti was here with us, she was invited to join us.

We left the mission home at 6:00am with the mission president and headed to Cabanatuan where the Bowcutts live.  They are actually the couple that works with the Bongabon Zone, so they planned the activities and made arrangements for our overnight accommodations.  The Roberts had traveled the day before so they wouldn't have to get up so early.  (This actually worked well, since Sister Roberts and I were in charge of getting chicken for our Friday evening picnic.  Since we left before KFC opened, she was able to get the chicken the evening before and keep it cold in the refrigerator.)

We drove to Dingalan Bay where we were joined by Sister Garcia, who is in the District Relief Society Presidency.  We met a few of the members and the headed to the dock where we were taken by boat to visit 3 families who lived in the jungle by the white sand beach.  We visited with these families, had a short devotional ending by singing 'Families Can be Together Forever'.  We took pictures and then we were treated to Buka Juice (coconut milk).  One of the young men climbed a coconut tree to retrieve the green coconuts.  They then cut the top off with a machete and  we got to drink the milk right from the coconut. These families are members, but it is expensive for them to get to church each week and it is a long walk along the sea shore for them to get to church.  But the President gave them a challenge to attend their meetings.  We gave them a picture of the temple, asking them to set a date to have their entire family attend the temple.

We went back to the dock and then traveled to another dock close by where Granny Annie had prepared lunch for all us.  We ate in the little bamboo huts that we see along the road in Angeles.  The food was great even though it was hot outside.  We drove to Gabaldon to visit some more less active families who lived out in the jungle.  We parked our cars and walked on the path to meet them.  We visited one family whose house had been eaten by termites and they had to move out of it.  It was sad to see the larger home they had lived in and what they were living in now.  The husband was so cute and showed us how he cracks coconuts with a metal spike type thing. 

I will mention here that most of the Filipinos eat what we would call a green coconut.  After they take the Buka juice out, the use the soft, young coconut in many different dishes and eat it as well.  It is good, but it took me a while to enjoy it.  They think we are funny because we eat the hard white coconut that comes in the brown shell.  We have been told that this is not good . . . I guess it is just a preference of taste.

It was now time to check into our hotel which was nice.  (It was actually a Filipino Resort).  The room had air conditioning, but there was no hot water . . . hot water is not available in most places here.  We had two beds and Patti stayed in our room with us.  No television, which was okay since we were all tired and sunburned from our boat trip!  We were able to rest for about 30 minutes before we had our picnic dinner.  It was fun to visit and talk about the events of the day thus far . . .

Friday evening we held a member devotional and showed the movie "Only a Stone Cutter".  The President talked to the members about making a sacrifice, as John Moyle had done in the movie, and asked them to make their own sacrifice to attend their Sunday meetings.  So many of these people are so poor and just don't have the extra money to pay for their transportation to get to church. I would guess that there about 30 members who attended. Two of the senior missionaries bore their testimony about their own personal sacrifice to come on a mission.  The people are always excited to get to meet the Mission President and his wife and this visit was no exception!

Saturday morning we all enjoyed breakfast at the house where the President stayed at the resort.  We enjoyed waffles, ham, eggs, fruit and juice.  We were all assigned items to bring for this meal and our picnic the night before.  We all brought a batch of cookies so that we could share these with the member families that we visited.  We then checked out of out resort and we were off again . . . this time to Bugnon.

Before leaving Gabaldon, we first visited a few more less active members that Sister Garcia had arranged for us to visit.  Each of the members welcomed us to their homes.  Since there were so many of us, we would visit outside of their homes. 

We stopped at a small store where most of the men purchased hats to cover their sunburned heads.  Before we left, Sister Garcia ate a  Balut - an egg that has been cooked with the embryo of a chicken starting to develop inside.  I don't get sick watching things very often, but I had to turn away as Sister Garcia ate the entire thing.  It was gross to me!!!

Then we went to visit the saints in Bugnon.  We drove to the river where we rode a raft made from bamboo on top of blown up tire inner tubes, across the river.  Once on the other side of the river, some walked and some rode trikes from the river to the village, it was about 1/2 mile.  We visited several families and invited them to attend the member devotional later that afternoon.  Then we went to the home of the Rudy Grospe family.  Sister Grospe had prepared lunch for us.  We sat around their table and enjoyed another wonderful Filipino meal!  This family is still in the process of building/finishing their home.  The floors are dirt, they are awaiting money to put a window in and they will eventually put up a ceiling and make a room upstairs.  President Puzey, our first mission president, designed this home for them.

After lunch, we all walked to the the town center for another member devotional.  It was time to start and we only had a couple of people there.  Marivi, the sister who had set this meeting up, said that she had more people who were coming so we waited a little longer for them.  I would guess that we had about 50 people in attendance.  Again we watched "Only a Stone Cutter" and this time four of the senior missionaries bore their testimony.  There was a wonderful spirit with these wonderful people.  

After we finished the devotional, we all said good-bye and headed back to the river.  These wonderful saints walked back to the river's edge with us to say their good-byes.  We took pictures of those standing on the river's edge and they took pictures of us.  We all left with memories of the wonderful saints we had met the past two days. 

On the way back to Angeles, the President stopped by a baptism in Kalikid where 3 people were being baptized.  It is always a wonderful opportunity to attend a baptism here in the Philippines!