Basketball and Brownies

Yes, you can fit four small Elders in the backseat of a Toyota

This week we were all caught up on our office work, which gave us more opportunity to spend time with the young Elders out in the field.  Walking with them to teach a lesson, we passed a group of young boys playing basketball in the street.  Elder Roberts gave them the universal sign for ‘pass the ball’ and made a basket.  I heard one of the boys exclaim, “Wow! – Elder Roberts made 3 points!” 

We met a retired Police Captain, his wife, and brother-in-law.  They had a beautiful farm with turkeys, chickens, pigs, carabao (domestic swamp type water buffalo) and dogs. I guess we made a good impression because they invited us to come to dinner next Sunday and on May 22nd for their Thanksgiving Feast. 

This missionary is good at teaching the doctrine of Christ and taking selfies!

Fun family night with neighbors and several members of our Naguilian Branch Family

We even had time to go see the new Avengers End Game movie.  There is a mall directly behind the mission complex with 6 theaters.  The Captain Marvel characters are very popular here in the Philippines; so much so, the new release was showing in all six theaters.  The movie tickets were a bargain at 250 pesos (approximately $5)

We are assigned to visit two branches (congregations) each month.  We attend the small Nagulian Branch the first three Sundays and the much larger, Cauayan 2nd Branch on the fourth Sunday.  I like spending my time with the Beautiful young women.

 The next two weeks are going to be very busy with Zone Conferences and Transfers.  I'm getting a head start making five large pans of brownies to celebrate birthdays at Zone Conference.  It's time to get out the roller skates!
 - Sister Roberts

More Photos:

On the trail to Family Home Evening

HOLY WEEK

Late Wednesday afternoon, I pulled out my planner and wrote down the list of things I needed to get done on Thursday.  It wasn’t a really long list, but I had some things I thought were important.  On Thursday morning, as usual,  I waited until 10:00AM to start my errands, making sure that the Banks and stores I needed to visit were open.  It didn’t take long to discover that something was very different about this day.  It was HOLY WEEK and almost everything was closed.  Traffic was nearly nonexistent.  In the Philippines, the 3 days prior to Easter Sunday are Holiday’s when everything closes and families get together for reunions, vacations, and meals together.  Sister Roberts and I had to rethink what we were going to do with this time.  We decided to try and visit some recently baptized members, those who were less active and find opportunities to teach with the Missionaries.  We had some great experiences!

This was our 3rd attempt to visit this Brother.  I think HOLY WEEK was one reason we finally found him at home.

We sang a hymn, invited him to pray and to come back to church.

The Missionaries taught this young man about Repentance.  Sister Roberts and I had the opportunity to bare Testimony.

These are some small children, who always seem curious about who we are and what we are doing.  We played catch with the pink teddybear.

Finding someone to teach.

Another young woman willing to be taught the principle of Tithing.

Good Friday is probably the High Point of HOLY WEEK.  Catholics make a large procession through the streets carrying crosses, and representations of the crucified Christ.  Several of the locals tell us that some voluntarily submit to whippings and other forms of abuse, even crucifixion (allowing a nail to be driven through the palm of their hands) as a sign of penance or penalty for their sins or those of loved ones.  We did not want to witness any of this first hand so, naturally, there are no pictures to share.  These are good people.  However, to me, it was ironic that as we drove to church on Sunday morning, all the commerce seemed to have returned to normal.  All this confirms to me that there is a great need to help people understand the true mission of Christ, his Atonement, and Resurrection.

We hope each of you had a Wonderful Easter Sunday.

Elder Roberts

Orchids & Conference in the Philippines

It has been steamy hot this week. While I sit working in the comfort of the air-conditioned office, I have been thinking of our 182 missionaries who live and work in the heat.  Most of them don’t have air conditioning in their apartments and if they do, it’s too expensive to use.  They carry water and hover under the shade of large, colorful umbrellas as they walk from home to home. They are dedicated to their service! On Thursday it was 99 degrees and we had no power from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Fortunately in the mission office and apartments we have a generator to keep our refrigerators cool and provide power for a few lights and fans. (but no power for air conditioning)  Relief came on Saturday with a beautiful, drenching rain that cooled us off and quenched our thirsty gardens.

One of the Bishops in our districts works many days each week cleaning our office and caring for our garden. 

the bare roots of the orchid are wrapped around the tree 

Even in the heat, he prefers to be in the garden where he trims and nurtures the wide variety of vegetation.  The orchids are particularly beautiful to me.  They grow all year round with bare roots, no soil!  When we have several days without rain, he painstakingly waters each plant as there is no sprinkler system. 

Jeepney - Missionaries are not allowed to ride on the top

General Conference is delayed for one week here in the Philippines because of the time difference.  The last two days, faithful members eagerly gathered to the air-cooled chapel next to the mission office to hear the words of the Prophet and Apostles.  It’s a full house and we sit very close together.  I first experienced this at an area-wide conference broadcast.  I said to the missionary squished next to my side, “This is a little awkward to me.  I don’t sit this close to my husband”.  He responded, “Welcome to the Philippines!  Have you traveled on a bus or Jeepney yet?”  - Sister Roberts

“Despite contention all around us, one’s home can become a heavenly place, where study, prayer, and faith can be merged with love”.  President Russell M. Nelson, General Conference, April 7, 2019

I want my home to be a Heavenly Place.

Sunday lunch between sessions in the Mission Home

I made a fruit salad for 40 people.

Tender Mercy

 Opportunities to break the routine in the Mission Office are usually welcome.  We had that opportunity this week when Sister Roberts exclaimed: “I’m done with BCR’s!”  
March was a record month for Baptisms in the Cauayan Mission and getting all the ordinances recorded is a time-consuming task for Sister Roberts.  

We decided to take a day out of the office and selected 5 Missionary Apartments for inspection.    We love the opportunity to see new places and visit the Missionaries where they live.  Sometimes we are a little surprised at the humble conditions, nevertheless, the Missionaries are expected to maintain their apartment in a clean and orderly manner no matter how rugged their surroundings.  It breaks our hearts when we have to issue a failing grade.  We try to be positive and give them hope but were not always sure we are successful.  Looking at these pictures, you might think that our Missionaries live in luxury homes.  I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.

One of the apartments on our list was new and far away from the mission office, so I had the added task to capture the GPS coordinates (Latitude / Longitude).  I stood at the front door and read the coordinates as Sister Roberts wrote them down.  When we arrived back at the Mission Office late that night, I could not find the paper she had written the coordinates on.  

I search the car, our files, the trash, over and over again with no success.  I was ticked that we had traveled all that way only to lose the paper.   I looked again on Saturday.  I even called the missionaries we had visited last, to see if I had left it in their apartment; “sorry Elder Roberts, we don’t see it anywhere"! 

Sunday Morning as we were preparing to travel to the tiny Naguilian Branch, I stepped in the office briefly and THERE IT WAS.  Hanging precariously on a shelf below the counter as though an angel had placed it there; in a position that I would be sure to notice.  Small Thing, I know, but I was very happy to find it.  Elder Roberts

Small Birthday celebration for one of our guards!

Avacodo swirl ice cream and delicious mini ube cakes.  Ube, pronounced oo-bae, is a bright purple yam used to make desserts.

One of our Elders received a 'care' package from home.  He shared his bounty with us.

No Seat Belt Law?