Craigs in Cauayan

Our Area President, Elder Evan A. Schmutz and his wife came for a tour of our mission last week.  A mission tour is an annual event, and they come to meet and train the missionaries and also us.  Many hours go into preparing for the event. I am getting more comfortable cooking here, so that wasn't as stressful this time as it has been in the past.  They arrived early Tuesday morning.  We picked them up at the airport and brought them back to the mission home for a quick breakfast before the first Zone Conference.  We had been up most of the night with a sick missionary, so we were running mostly on adrenaline.  All of the missionaries that are in the areas in Cauayan and north attended the conference on Tuesday.  President Craig and I started the training, speaking together and talking about Joy.  After we spoke, the remainder of the day was Elder and Sister Schmutz, talking about missionary work, how to teach repentance, and the Book of Mormon....

September 11, we bid farewell to 7 well-seasoned and marvellous missionaries, and welcomed 15 fresh new missionaries!  The new missionaries arrived at 8:40 am, some having risen in the morning at 3 am.  It is a long day for them, and we try to make them feel comfortable and ease their jitters as we welcome them, orient them, interview them and feed them before they meet their new Trainers.  Sometimes there is downtime, and this is what I found... The orange backpacks are the 72 hour kits that each missionary is issued when they arrive in the field.  They will keep this with them for their entire mission. At around 3:30, when all of the interviews were complete, the new missionaries were introduced to their trainers, and then then set out to their areas.  We are excited to see the great things these new missionaries will do!

Corn drying on the road Naguilian is a little town about 15 minutes north of Cauayan.  The have a beautiful little chapel there, with an outdoor font.  We have been wanting to get out there for a baptism since we arrived, and Saturday, September 14, was the day! I was touched by the sweet and humble spirit of this young mother who was baptized.  He husband is a recently reactivated member.  She has a young toddler.  She showed up to her baptism, carrying her baby.  Her husband could not attend, because he had to work that day, but she carried on and went ahead.  Her  priorities were right.  It was more important to her that she receive the ordinance of baptism than to wait until here husband could be there. It made me think about my priorities in life.  Do I prioritize the things that have lasting significance? These frogs were camouflaged in the grass outside of the chapel, in an area where very f...

Our Batch.  President Kirk is to my right. Last week was a week of smiles and tears, as we went about in the service of the Lord.  In the early hours of Monday, President Bradley Kirk of the Naga mission suffered a massive stroke.  He passed away on Wednesday morning, with his beloved wife and one of his sons at his side.  The Kirks were in our batch (we came out at the same time).  We met at the MTC, so had only associated with the Kirks for those few days and as we travelled by plane to the Philippines.  But there was a connection, as there is with all of our batch.  We had a special connection, in that both President Kirk and President Craig had served missions in the Philippines as young men, and were both so excited to return with their wives to serve.  We mourn along with the Kirk family and the missionaries of the Philippines Naga Mission.  But in that mourning, we also have joy.  Joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that has br...

We attended the Cabatuan Branch of the Church today.  Cabatuan is a small city about 15 minutes from where we live in Cauayan City.  There is a wonderful branch of the Church in Cabatuan.  The Chapel was full and as the meeting progressed, they had to put out more and more chairs.  Being September, the opening hymn was Far, Far Away On Judea's Plains.  This makes perfect sense when one realizes that September 1st is the beginning of the Christmas season here in the Philippines!  In the United States, Christmas starts after Thanksgiving.  In my mother's home growing up, Christmas decorations could not come out until December 1st.  Filipinos love Christmas so much that they start celebrating Christmas September 1st.  The decorations, presents and feasts are more muted than in America.  The music and family celebrations are, however, more intense.  The joy of the season is really second to none.  When one from the cold of Canada...