The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Being a boy who grew up in cattle country in Alberta, Canada, I love cowboy movies. One of my favourite cowboy movies of all time is Sergio Leone's 1966 classic, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". One reason for the success of this movie is the unforgettable title and theme song. I am far from cattle country, but will borrow this title to share with you three experiences of this past week.
THE GOOD
Last Monday Sister Craig and I were up early so we could travel to Amulung, a town in the northern tip of our Mission. We participated in the hand over of three rescue boats, motors and related equipment to the Municipality by Latter-Day Saint Charities. Last November, the area was hit hard by the typhoon Ulisses, which put over 70% of the Municipality under water and placed many lives in danger. The equipment cost 2.7 million Pesos and will bless immeasurably the wonderful people of Amulung, who live next to the great Cagayan River. The local leaders of the Municipality were so gracious and kind to us. By nature Filipinos are gracious and kind but there was something special here. Everything that could be done to express gratitude and make us feel welcome was done. When we first arrived, we joined other Church leaders in visiting with the Mayor and other local leaders.
After meeting with the Mayor, there was a program set up with printed programs, speeches and the singing of the National Anthem and Municipal song. I was surprised but delighted to learn that I would be invited to give a message of inspiration as part of the program. I began by inviting our two young Missionaries who work in and around Amulung to stand up so local leaders would know that these fine young men in white shirts and ties belong to us. The white shirts and ties really do stand out. I then explained that these young men carry a message that brings great peace and joy in times of fear and uncertainty, like the times we currently endure because of COVID-19. I explained that we join all our Christian friends in worshipping a loving God who truly watches over and helps us, his children. We also worship Jesus Christ as the divine Son of the God of Heaven. He lived a perfect life and taught his Gospel to men. In a garden called Gethsemane he suffered for all of our sins, sorrows and weaknesses. Because of this we can be forgiven of our sins by God the Father if we repent and turn to Jesus Christ. This same Jesus was crucified, but burst the bands of death and rose again on the third day, allowing each of us to live again and to see again our dear loved ones lost to death. Because of His love for us, Jesus Christ speaks again to prophets. In days of old He spoke to prophets like Noah, Moses and Peter. He does so again today, which helps us find peace in these troubled times.
On Tuesday we will travel to Alfonso Lista in Ifugao Province to participate in the donation of medical equipment by Latter-Day Saints Charities to the local Rural Health Unit. It is wonderful to belong to a Church which blesses so many lives whether or not they belong to our Church.
THE BAD
Every Mission President is assisted by two young missionaries called Assistants. They are by nature leaders of men and assist in the training and development of other young missionaries. The best part of being a Mission President and Companion is being with and helping the young missionaries. At home, the best part of feeding the missionaries is being with and helping the young missionaries. We love all of our missionaries and are so proud of them. We become particularly attached to our Assistants because we see them almost every day and spend many hours with them. They become dear friends and fill our lives with many happy memories. When you arrive as new Mission Leaders and are trying to figure things out, it is the Assistants and Office Missionaries who save you from losing your minds or making a mess of things. It is said that taking over a Mission is like jumping out of a plane, on to a train doing 140 Kilometers per hour and landing on the last car of the train. You must then scramble to the front of the train and take control of it before it crashes. That is a fairly apt description. Without these great Assistants you would never get to the front of that train. Even now, they save our sanity and good humour. I love these young men. We have been blessed to serve with 11 Assistants here; 4 Americans and 7 Filipinos. They have so blessed our lives. Each has had a different character, each has different strengths and weaknesses, but each have been so faithful and have served so well in their particular time. Filipinos by nature, because of their native kindness, hate correcting other missionaries, but each of our Assistants have found the strength and wisdom to do it and still remain loving and kind. I admire that.
We got to keep them a little longer than expected because one of their batch mates was diagnosed as having COVID just before they left, and since he had been in close contact with them, they all had to quarantine. The infection was a surprise because currently, 1 week before a missionary travels home, they undergo COVID testing to ensure they are not infected. Then they are instructed not to teach or find people to teach in person, only virtually. They also cannot attend gatherings, such as Sacrament Meetings or Baptisms. It is kind of a tough way to finish a mission. They do it anyway and with good humour. I will miss them. It gets harder and harder to send missionaries home (all of them; not just our Assistants) because there are always more and more of them that you loved so much that now are gone. You are left feeling like a 5-year-old dropped at the curb on his first day of school. Sadly missionaries and Mission Leaders live in a world of goodbyes.
THE UGLY
Last Monday at 11:30 PM I was awoken by an urgent phone call from my District Leader in Santiago City. He reported that two of my beautiful sister missionaries in the city had just called him and fearfully reported that a drunk man was on the street in front of their house and they were worried. Santiago City is typically 1 hour from the Mission Home so I instructed him to tell them to lock their doors and barred windows, keep their lights on and and watch him. At 12:30 AM my Sister Training Leaders in the same city called and reported that the drunk was still out there. I became worried, but did not want them out in the dark of the third watch of the night traveling to another missionary apartment. At 1:30 AM they called again to say they thought the drunk was now trying to break into the house and my sisters had fled the house to a kindly friend's house across the street. I left immediately. I learned that if properly motivated and with so little traffic in the middle of the night, one can get to Santiago from Cauayan in 30 minutes. I found my sisters safe thanks to the neighbor and friend. To their great relief, I loaded them into the van and returned to Cauayan. We put them into a empty senior missionary apartment in the Mission Home/Mission Office compound with its 24-hour armed guard. They were tucked back into bed just before 3 AM. At 6:30 AM, Sister Craig and I were up to take Elder Alquisalas and Elder Ramos to the airport to fly home.
Some wonder if after 28 months any of this gets routine and predictable. The answer is, "NO"! It is the adventure of a lifetime. Full of many moments. Some good moments, some bad moments and some ugly moments but always worth the adventure. We love this adventure.
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