Goodbye to Dear Friends
As I mentioned before, the Davao Philippines Temple is nearly completed. Excitingly, the 1st Counselor in our Cebu Temple Presidency and his wife have been called to serve as the new President and Matron of the Davao Temple. Along with them, two other couples who live on our floor in the patron housing have been called as counselors. Their service here in Cebu has now come to an end as they prepare for the upcoming open house and dedication in Davao, though the exact dates have not yet been announced.
These couples have become such dear friends. We have loved working side by side with them and getting to know them personally. Their kindness, dedication, and faith have been an inspiration to us, and we will surely miss them. At the same time, we are thrilled for this new chapter in their service and wish them all the best.
Each of them has warmly invited us to visit Davao during the open house, and we are hoping to do just that. Because Davao is outside of our current temple/mission district, we will need to receive permission from our Area Seventy to attend. Normally that is not a problem, but we’ve also been told that Americans are sometimes restricted from traveling to that part of the Philippines due to past incidents involving kidnappings for ransom. That said, we’ve been assured that the temple area in Davao is safe, and we feel good about making the trip.
We are looking forward to hopefully attending the Davao Temple open house—not only to see this beautiful new house of the Lord, but also to reunite with our treasured friends as they begin their sacred new assignment.
Not only did we say goodbye to our dear friends heading to Davao, but we also bid farewell to another wonderful missionary couple—Elder and Sister Lim from Singapore. They had originally planned to stay here in Cebu until spring, when their mission would be completed. However, Sister Lim’s mother became ill, and her family called her home to help provide care.
We have truly loved getting to know the Lims. We’ve shared dinners, outings, and many hours of temple service together. They are incredibly dedicated and hardworking, and their cheerful spirits have lifted those around them. Sister Lim, in particular, is full of energy—she rarely walks, but instead seems to move quickly (and reverently) from one part of the temple to another. Her enthusiasm is contagious!
With the recent groundbreaking of the Singapore Temple, we feel confident that their faith and experience will be a blessing to the Saints there. Though we will miss them dearly, we send them off with love and prayers for the best in this new chapter of their lives.
Changes at the Temple
With all the workers from Davao leaving, it will be interesting to see how the flow of the temple changes. The three missionary couples here have now been called to serve as trainers, along with one faithful Filipino couple. We are still figuring out how everything will work as we balance our training assignments with assisting the coordinators and serving in the baptistery.
Although we truly love working here, serving in this temple is very different from serving in our temple at home. Much of that difference comes from cultural style—things are a little more laid back here than we are used to. Yet the important things always happen: ordinances are completed, and the Spirit is felt.
We may not always know who is going to show up for a shift or how many will stay the full time, but one thing is certain—they serve with faith, love, and the Spirit.
I don’t usually think of myself as a “type A” personality, but I may be closer to it than I realized. Because of that, I’ve actually been looking forward to some time off to rest and refresh.
And Bye The Way…
Singing in the Choir
One last thing I’d like to share is my experience singing in the Cebu City Stake Choir. I’ve never really sung in a choir before, though it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. The challenge for me is that my voice falls in the alto range, but my ear naturally gravitates to the melody. When the invitation came to join the stake choir, all the other missionaries said yes—so I decided to give it a try too.
It has been such a wonderful experience. With two strong altos on either side of me, I’ve been able to hold my part and feel more confident. I’m definitely a novice, but I’m learning—and I want to keep trying.
One especially touching moment was singing in front of the temple with the stake children’s choir. Let me tell you, those children can sing—it brought me to tears. This was part of a video project where we sang different sections that will later be edited together. The dresses we wore belonged to the stake, and they have several beautiful colors for the choir.
We also had the opportunity to perform last Sunday at a fireside honoring the pioneers of the Church in the Cebu area. We sang a hymn called Welcome Home from the new hymnbook. It’s such a beautiful piece, and sharing it in that setting was a privilege I will never forget. There is a rich history here in Cebu and in the Philippines in General. We were surprised at how many of the people we knew that were among the first members in the area. In fact, most of the workers in the temple are first or second generation in the Church and it’s amazing how many are returned missionaries.
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