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