A Dream Come True

 The Church in the Philippines is only 60 years old.  Because of this and the rapid growth of the Church here, many of our missionaries are the only member of the Church in their family or only part of the family are members of the Church.  This is hard on our young missionaries.  They teach the joy of the Gospel to others while wishing the same joy for their own family.  Their hearts ache, hoping that one day their families will understand their faith and join them in it because it is so important to them.  This is their dream.  

Such was the case of Elder Alvin Cruz from Cauayan City.  When he was 18, his mother's cousin invited their family to meet with the missionaries.  Only Alvin accepted the invitation.  At first he liked playing basketball with the members of the Church, but over time the fire of faith grew within his heart.  He was baptised into the Church in August 2018.  His parents were kind and supportive but had no interest in the Church for themselves.  His mother said, "I was born into another Church and I will die in that Church."  About two months after his baptism, Alvin's mother asked to meet with the missionaries.  She had watched closely and noticed how happy her son was and how he had improved as a person.  Mother was baptised January 2019.  Alvin's father loved his coffee and his friends. He had little interest in the Church.  He politely listened to the missionaries but declined their invitations.

Alvin applied to serve a mission for the Church, determined to share the happiness he had found.  I did his mission interviews.  His parents were supportive of this decision but feared that he would go far away.  This worried them.  When his call to serve in Indonesia came, his mother said that she would trust in God and let him go.  He never made it to Indonesia.  The pandemic made the travel impossible, so he was reassigned to serve in his home mission; here in Cauayan with us. While his mother was very relieved, he was less than thrilled at this development.  He swallowed hard and began to serve anyway.  Occasionally he would run into friends from high school who asked him what he was doing in a white shirt and tie in this heat.  A little shy by nature he found these encounters awkward.  Interestingly, however, he is now teaching one of these friends. 

Over time, Elder Cruz's father, Ramon, has slowly warmed up to the Church.  He has been drawn to the Church's teachings on the family and to the family ordinances found only within our temples.  Unbeknownst to Elder Cruz, his father began meeting with the missionaries.  Elder Cruz was only told about this when his father announced to him his baptism date.

Yesterday I woke up early and and drove to Elder Cruz's area in Solano and picked him up so he could baptise his father.  I ended up driving just over 9 hours yesterday, so Elder Cruz could participate in his father's baptism.  I was thrilled to do it and the drive is always beautiful in the mountains.  The service was small because of COVID restrictions but that did not damper the joy of the day.  One of those at the service was Brother Santillan, formerly Elder Santillan, who was one of the missionaries who taught Elder Cruz.  He was thrilled to be part of this story.  It is every missionary's dream that some of those he taught will one day serve a mission as well.

As we drove along, I pointed out to Elder Cruz that if he was in Indonesia he would not have been able to baptise his father.  Nothing about this pandemic or its effects upon the lives of people has surprised God.  He continues to do His work and bless His children one by one.  Almost half of our missionaries now come from homes here in the Cauayan Mission.  I tell each one of them that there is a reason God sent them here at this time and to find that reason.  Elder Cruz's reason was to baptise his father.  We agreed that this was for him a dream come true.  His dreams and prayers now turn to being in a temple with his parents after his mission and to other family members.

The very best part of this experience for Sister Craig and me is these young missionaries.  Their stories, their enthusiastic energy, their successes and failures, their hopes and dreams and their joy.

On February 14, 2021 I wrote about our two loved Sisters from Kiribati; Sister Teweia and Sister Taketi.  When we sent them home in February we never imagined that it could take over 2 months before they would actually walk through the front doors of their homes. After they quarantined 14 days in Fiji they were unable to obtain a flight to Kiribati, so they continued their missions in Fiji.  Sister Taketi found a Filipino family in Fiji who were thrilled to be taught in Tagalog.  Eventually a flight home was arranged.  Once in Kiribati, they were required to quarantine another 15 days.  On Sister Taketi's first day of freedom she went for a ride on a motorcycle.  Sister Teweia did not go riding on a motorcycle but she did get engaged!  Once we heard the news we excitedly asked: "Did he wait for you while you served?"  She said, "Yes" (yes to our question and yes to the boy).  That is one very patient young man who must adore her.  

Speaking of Polynesians, Sister Kaio's companion, Sister Celis, on April 1st phoned her Zone Leader (a young Elder in charge of a group of about 20 other missionaries) and told him she was very sick.  She then described every known symptom of COVID and said she had them all (she had none of them).  There were some panicked phone calls before the young Elder realised what day it was and that he had been pranked by one of the best. 

Speaking of wonderful sister missionaries, this week we sent 7 home (and 1 Elder) who finished their missions.  Most were required to undergo swab tests which involve a lab technician inserting a long Q-tip up the nose and collecting a sample from the back of the nasal cavity.  The first ones to get it agreed that it was not that bad but that is not what they told the other sisters.  They said it was so awful that it made them cry.  This terrified the other sisters.  One sat in the chair and every time the lab tech tried to insert the Q-tip she pulled her head back.  It took a very patient lab tech to get that job done.  Another had it done in Manila and was so scared that she called sister Craig and had her on the line for moral support while the procedure was done. 

Speaking of sisters undergoing medical care we had one sister who was excited to learn to ride a mission bicycle until she rapidly descended from the seat onto her knees into gravel on the road.  The predicable result was two very badly scraped knees and a bit of blood.  Her companion lovingly care for her.  I called the next morning after reviewing the pictures of her knees to see how she was doing.  She wryly responded, "It not too bad--the wounds are not near the heart! 

We love these young missionaries.