Another month has flown by, and we have now been in the Philippines for just over four months. We’ve been working hard in the temple, and every day brings something new to experience. In some ways, it’s quite different from what I imagined a mission would be like. We don’t have meetings, zone conferences, or reports to fill out. We still haven’t even received our name tags and continue wearing the ones the Elders made for us using a label maker with black tape!
Outside of our temple shifts, we’re mostly free to do whatever we like, as long as we stay within the temple district—which is actually quite large and includes several islands. We plan to visit a couple of them when the temple closes for maintenance in August.
This month, our assistant temple recorder kindly took us on a tour of Cebu. He’s incredibly busy—he has a family and serves as a stake president in a neighboring stake—so it was very generous of him.
Later that night, we attended a farewell party for Elder Dumas, the temple recorder, who was an area authority and member of the Eighth Quorum of the Seventy. He’s been called to serve as mission president in the Philippines Cagayan de Oro Mission. He’s such a kind man, and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. The party, of course, included karaoke, games, and lots of food! This week it was announced that the assistant temple recorder will take his place.
One special highlight this month was a fireside about the translation of the hymnbook into the Cebuano language. The process is called a “transcreation” because a direct translation from English to Cebuano isn’t possible. The translators seek words and phrases that convey the original meaning while matching the musical meter. They formed a choir and sang a verse of each hymn, and then we joined in using a slideshow to follow along. It was one of the most spiritual events I’ve ever been part of. I had no idea how monumental a task it is to translate the hymns into the many languages of the Church. Realizing the time, effort, and cost involved filled me with an overwhelming sense of our Heavenly Father’s love for all His children. This same effort is happening worldwide to bring hymns to everyone in their native language. The joy and excitement on the members’ faces as they sang in Cebuano was unforgettable.
At our recent stake conference, Dad sang in the choir, and it was so fun to see him among all the tiny Filipino choir members! There was also a Primary choir, and they sang a couple of numbers together. The Spirit was so strong when they sang “Gethsemane”—those sweet Primary kids sang their hearts out. The members go all out for choirs here—the women have a collection of dresses to choose from, and the men wear matching ties. The Primary girls all wore white dresses, and the boys wore white shirts.
We had a little excitement recently. About a week ago, Dad tripped and fell while walking from the baptismal chapel to the office to turn in names. He hit his head on a chair and got a big goose egg on the back of his head. He thinks he may have blacked out briefly. He also got a huge bruise on his arm, a cut on his ankle, and some very purple toes. He’s doing well now, but he gave everyone a good scare! Shortly after we got home, the temple president and matron came by to check on him, and later she brought arnica extract to help with healing. He’s recovering well and hopes the bruises fade soon.
We also got exciting news—Elder Kearon will be visiting our temple this Friday with his wife, along with Elder and Sister Nash. I’m not sure if I’ll get to meet them, but I really hope so! Elder Kearon has become one of my favorites, and it would be wonderful to see him in person.
We are truly enjoying our service here and feel so loved by those we serve with. Recently, for our temple matron’s birthday, the U.S. missionaries brought her a cake and sang “Happy Birthday.” The next day, the temple president invited us all to their home at 7 p.m. because she had forgotten to take a picture. When we arrived, she had made dinner for all of us—so sweet! We love them so much!
One especially touching moment happened while I was getting dressed for my shift. I sat down to put on my socks and shoes, and one of the sweet sisters knelt down and put them on for me. I felt awkward and tried to stop her, but she insisted, and the others around us encouraged me to let her serve me. It was such a humbling and tender moment.
We miss you all so much and treasure our FaceTime calls and emails. Please keep them coming! Sending all our love and warmest wishes your way.
