Thanks for the Sabbath Day

July 25, 2010

I wish I could cut a slice from today and give you even a portion of the spiritual feast we have enjoyed. I find myself dabbing at my eyes more and more often because of the emotional impact and spiritual witness we are experiencing.

At 5:30 this morning, Larry awakened me and said, “I’d like to go to the youth meeting this morning before the Stake Conference general session and it starts at 8. If you’re going to get your hair washed you need to get up.” After a few moans and groans, I agreed to go. We arrived at the Labongan Stake Center about 7:45 and were warmly greeted by Bishop Osumo of the Sikatuna Ward who was helping with the parking. We had attended his ward last week and were asked to speak on the spur of the moment when the sacrament meeting speaker did not show up. I talked about temple work and Larry talked about the faith of pioneers. (We thought we were the only speakers along with the two new elders in their ward who were asked to bear their testimonies, but when we got finished the counselor conducting got up and said, “After our rest hymn, our high councilman will speak to us”; we were so embarrassed because we had used almost all the time!) WE discovered that the youth meeting did not start until 8:30. WE were able to greet people as they arrived. Elder Michael Tey of the First Quorum of the Seventy and 2^nd Counselor in the Area Presidency was the visiting authority. He is quite young and identifies with the youth. He told them “ it is important to know where you want to go so you can make the choices that will get you there. The temple should be your destination.”

I am constantly amazed with the speaking ability of the Filipino people-especially the youth. The 2 youth speakers in stake conference did a wonderful job. The Stake president, President Montero talked on tithing. He said, “We don’t pay tithing with money, we pay it with faith”. He told about living on Mindanao with his family in a tiny one room house in a slum area. Even though they had next to nothing, he knew they had to pay their tithing. He told that over the years he has been blessed because he has paid tithing. Now he lives in a nice house and feels this is one of the promised blessings that has been showered down on him from heaven.

Sister Tey told how she had prayed for months when she was 19 to know the will of the Lord for her life. She had attended a stake conference where a visiting authority was in attendance. He got up in the middle of the meeting and walked out, coming back several minutes later. She thought this strange, but then he got up to speak and said he had been impressed to change his talk and needed to pray to find out what the Lord wanted him to say. He spoke right to Sister Teh, answering her prayers.

Elder Teh told about when they were first married and expecting their first son. He was Bishop plus was working full time and going to school part time in the evening. He was worried about how he would pay the hospital and doctor bills for the new baby and prayed for help. His uncle called and asked if he would be able to help oversee the sale of their family’s fruit harvest in Manila. He jumped at the chance even though it meant working his regular job from 7 until 4 every day, then going to school from 6 to 9:30 pm, working in the fruit sheds from 10 to 12, staying in the sheds to protect the fruit 12 to 2 (which is when he studied) and then getting the fruit to the market from 2 until 5. He did this for 2 months and was paid 7,300 pisos. Their hospital bill—7,300 pisos!

In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Tey said the building was to be a place of refuge for those forced from their homes from the ravages of storms and floods and that it would be protected from vandalism. I thought that very interesting. The youth choir sang the combined “AS Sisters in Zion” and “We are as the Armies of Helaman” beautifully. Again, after the meeting we were hugged and given so many handshakes. Even the children were anxious to greet us. I thought how much I have learned about showing love from these people. I hope I will never again avoid the “stranger” in our midst.

Elder and Sister GAnir asked if we’d like to share a taxi with them but when we got to the street there were so many trying to hail a taxi that Elder Ganir suggested we ride on the jeepney. We had to make a change to another after about 15 minutes but the air blowing through the open jeepneys kept them cool. WE were by far the most nicely dressed on the jeepney! Instead of costing $2 our jeepney ride cost 28 cents. We normally don’t ride jeepneys on Sunday but it was fun today.

WE had GAnirs come for pork chop and dressing Sunday dinner, took a short nap, washed dishes and then went across the parking lot to the Apas Ward fireside. They did a family history/temple production of “Do you have my name?” where someone read about a deceased person’s life and then asked if anyone in the audience had his name to have his work done. It was very effective but the most moving thing to me was their ward choir with 50 members! They sang hymns and songs that had been placed strategically throughout the program and did so beautifully, following their talented director perfectly. I thought, “How many American wards could get 50 people to come sing for a fireside?” These people give their whole hearts to the Church. I found myself in tears several times.

AS we talked to the proselyting elders afterwards, I found they had not eaten all day. One is a Tongan from Auckland, New Zealand. Larry and I dashed up to our apartment and made peanut butter sandwiches, cut orange bread, packaged cookies and washed grapes to take to them. (We had completely devoured our Sunday dinner food.) They were so grateful.

What a wonderful, fulfilling Sabbath!