Mission Tour with Elder and Sister Schmutz

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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.  We had a fantastic lunch prepared by Brother Pete and his family, which is always a treat.  After lunch, we had a special musical number that the missionaries had prepared.  I introduced the song and we had a first practice at the last Zone Conference, and then they had practiced in small groups in their District Councils in the time since then.  It turned out so good!  When we were requested to provide a musical number, I envisioned the whole mission standing to sing to Elder and Sister Schmutz, and it turned out just like I had hoped.  It was so cool to have the entire congregation stand and sing to them on the stand.  We sang the words to "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" to the tune of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". 

Tuguegarao North and South, Ilagan, Roxas-Burgos and Cauayan Zones

Cauayan Zone Leaders and Assistants went out teaching with Elder Schmutz and President Craig on Tuesday evening
Wednesday we drove to Santiago early in the morning, and had Zone Conference with the Zones south of Cauayan.  We did basically the same thing, but our lunch was provided by Sister and Brother Lamoglia.  We were fed, physically and spiritually.  It was a real treat to be taught by a master teacher, filled with the Spirit.  After the main conference was over, we had dinner with the MLC, prepared by Sister Uy, and then had MLC.  

Alicia, Santiago North and South, Solano and Bambang Zones
Elder and Sister Schmutz have been in the Philippines for 7 years, and have never had the opportunity to see the Banaue Rice Terraces, so Thursday was a fun day.  We slept overnight in Santiago on Wednesday, and drove to Banaue on Thursday morning.  We experienced our own little miracle.  It had rained overnight, and started again as we started to head home, but there was only a few drops as we saw the sights.  It was a highlight of the trip to spend the day with them and visit and get to know them better.  We have gained some new friends!  I was interested to see how different it looked in Banaue a month after our first visit.  The rice was now getting close to be ripe, so the yellow color of the ripe rice made the terraces stand out more. 








Upon our return to Cauayan that evening, we held a special fireside for members of the Cauayan District.  It was a whirlwind few days, but days never to be forgotten.  




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