In and Out of the Temple

September 24, 2010

Another amazing day in the temple! The members from Dumaguete on Negros came in force to the temple yesterday; five sisters and some brothers received their own endowments in the morning, returned for an afternoon session and then came to do family baptisms last night. Today three of the couples returned to be sealed together and have their children sealed to them. I had the opportunity to assist one of the families with 4 young children: Joshua 9, a daughter Liahona 6, Ezra 4, and Lehi 3. What beautiful children. The girl’s eyes danced with anticipation as I took her from the recommend desk into the youth center. Her little brothers came readily with me and stood patiently as I got their white clothes from the clothing desk and then helped them change into them. The 3 year old stripped his yellow Sponge Bob shirt and shorts off, standing stark naked , excited for the white briefs and shirt and pants, shoes and slippers to be put on. (I often wonder if these children think the clothes are going to be given to them, and I really wish they could be, when I see what some of them have—although they always come neat and clean.) Ezra was more hesitant to let me help him so I turned him over to his big brother who sweetly helped him dress. While we were waiting I showed the video of the young family going to the temple to be sealed which is in each temple youth center, but this time it was in Cebuano. When it finished, I sang songs with actions to keep them occupied. Liahona tried singing and doing the actions along with me but Ezra and Lehi just did the actions. The boys loved the cars and trucks to play with, but they also played with the rag dolls. When we walked into the sealing room, their mother and several of the women in the room started crying. The children did look like angels. I love the feelings at sealings with little children. Or big children, for that matter. Later in the day, I assisted 4 older children as they were sealed to their parents: an 18 year old girl, a 16 year old girl, a 14 year old boy and a 9 year old brother. I also showed the video to them and told them it was geared to younger children but that they might get something out of it. When it finished, the two girls were in tears. Perhaps they understood the significance of what was happening more than the young children—and they had been waiting longer for their family to be sealed. Their family would now be together forever! What a tremendous blessing. Working in a new, small temple gives me the opportunity to do all kinds of things that I never had the chance to do in the Provo Temple. WE have so many more own endowments than Provo Temple had.

September 26, 2010

On Thursday last week I assisted Jefferlyn Vence as she received her endowments. She was to be married the next morning. When she finished the session, she asked if I would be there for her wedding, and could I please do her hair for her when she went outside for pictures wearing one of the veils… As it turned out, her wedding/sealing was postponed until Saturday because her parents had not arrived from Mindanao on Friday. I went earlier than my regular shift time so I could do her hair; however two of the groom’s young relatives wanted to help her so I thankfully became a spectator in the bride’s room; I hadn’t been sure what she wanted in the first place. When they got her hair done, the two pulled out their make-up bags, opened up a powder compact and proceeded to splash liberal quantities of WHITE powder on Jefferlyn’s face. She looked sick. I wanted to call out, “Brown is beautiful!” but just then one relative took a tissue and rubbed the excess powder off leaving a rather pale, but much nicer looking bride. (The shelves in the cosmetic section of the grocery stores are loaded with whitening solutions and light powders. When I looked for new make-up they didn’t have anything as dark as I have been using!) This was a different situation from the bride and groom who had only seen each other one time before they were married. These two knew each other well, were very comfortable with each other and were even holding hands! I was delighted to see the groom taking charge; his mother was in a wheel chair with Parkinson’s disease (we see so many more people with physical disabilities because they don’t have money to have them taken care of); he was very attentive to hi mother’s needs and assigned others to take care of her so he could be with his bride. Elder and Sister Peck had been transferred to the area where the mother lived and brought her to the temple in their car. I visited with them before the sealing. Elder Peck told me about a family in their branch on the north end of Cebu. The father walked out on the mother last year, leaving her to care for 9 children ranging in ages from 1 to 20 (the oldest is away at college). She has no means of steady income and lives in an 8 X 8 woven hut. She lives 9 miles from the Church which is two jeepney rides but if she doesn’t have money to pay for transportation, she gets up earlier and walks to Church. She is there every Sunday with her children, all clean and pressed!

Larry and I went to the very exclusive, plush Shangri-La Resort last Monday, I to see the jewelry trade show and He to see the beach and ocean. WE rode from the Ayala Mall in a shuttle bus to the hotel. The young woman I sat next to had worked in New York for three years but decided there was more to life than making lots of money and returned to Cebu and her family where she is now a buyer for one of the two big department stores here and making considerably less but is close to family. The jewelry was fabulous, much of it was created from native woods, plants, shells and stones. It’s a good thing it could only be purchased in big lots; I probably would have spent a fortune. AS it was, I had a fun time looking. The center pavilion was decorated with sea mobiles suspended from the high ceiling: mermaids, jellyfish, fish—all made from recycled newspaper and partially spray painted with glitter paint. The others who came from the temple complex with us decided to return on the 11 o clock shuttle; the next was not until 5 in the afternoon. Larry talked me into staying and going down to the beach with him. He found a comfy, shaded spot where we plopped down in a rattan rocker to watch the people playing in the crystal clear water and on the beautiful white sand. This was paradise! WE had lunch in one of several hotel restaurants; I ordered a Hawaiian pizza,, Daddy ordered Beef Tartar, expecting from the description on the menu, a piece of juicy angus beef with the vegetables listed—avocado, carrot, asparagus, etc. What a surprise! The server placed a large plate with a 3” high and 3” in diameter circular stack of what looked like ground beef with two asparagus spears and a thin carrot curl laid on top “floating” in a puddle of tartar sauce. His first comment was “I’m glad your pizza is big enough to share!” (And it was). When Larry tasted the meat he whispered, “I think this is marinated, raw meat but it has vegetables and nuts ground in with it.” I tasted it. It didn’t taste bad but it had a decidedly raw feel to it. Larry ate all of it in three bites, sharing a little with me, and then we ate the pizza. WE walked back to the main hotel and watched the fashion show with very striking models wearing an international designers clothes created especially to show off the jewelry. The theme was “Earth, Water, Fire”. When the first models came out they had leaves and twigs effectively woven into their hair. The whole show was very sophisticated. It was a fun afternoon, but Larry overdid it—he had come down with a cold two days before, but insisted on going on the outing, only to waken Tuesday morning with the cold having settled in his chest. He stayed home from the Temple that day, sleeping all day. He is feeling much better, but still has a cough. Everyone on our floor was bringing him medicine and making suggestions of how he could knock his cold; he even tried the home-made cayenne pepper capsules he made a few weeks ago, hoping they would cut the swelling in his ankles. This time his ears burned! But his cough did stop for a while!

On Saturday morning. Larry and Elder GAnir took off on one of their exploratory adventure hikes. They were gone for three hours. In his words “We walked through a housing development to a main road that goes over the mountain. On the way we passed through banana, papaya and coconut trees growing along the road. The walk that far took abour 45 minutes up a steep hill. Farther on, we came to a look-out where we viewed the preparations for a wedding feast that would happen later that day with a pig on a big stick ready to be put on the fire, and big pans of meat being cooked. The tables were set into the hill side. We asked if the little trail and stairs went to Apas, and then proceeded down 200 plus old, broken stairs. When we came to an area and didn’t know which way to go, we asked a young girl which trail to take (there were several leading all directions). She was the only person we could see. She took us several yards and pointed to a trail. Elder Ganir gave her a piso, and within seconds, we were surrounded by a dozen children with their hands outstretched! WE went through thick underbrush seeing a tree that was so big around that it would have taken four or five men with their arms stretched out to encircle it. We heard someone call out, “Elders! Elder Ganir!” We turned to see a young, beautiful, single adult member girl. She lived in a house in this remote area and invited us to see her home that she had proudly purchased in May. She had started a business cooking and delivering food to 8 families, but has built it up so she now delivers food to 180 families and is doing well enough that she plans to send one of her two brothers who live with her on a mission soon. The house has a plain cement floor and cement walls, no electricity, no running water; there was one bed in one room, and a white plastic chair in the other—this is probably where she prepares the food. She is very ambitious and hard working. There are two other rooms on the house that she rents—one to a family of four and the other to someone else. This is the first real Filipino house that I have been inside. I’ve seen lots from the outside before. They have to walk up the river bed carrying food, charcoal, water about ¼ of a mile from the nearest road when they come from town. When the river is running they have to wait to get to their home because they can’t cross the river. When they don’t have the pisos to ride a jeepney, they walk to Church or town.” Their adventure took them over 5 miles. Larry came home dripping wet with perspiration, showered and went to the temple.

Today we visited the Pardo Ward whose youth were at the temple doing baptisms Saturday. We were warmly welcomed and invited to speak in Sacrament Meeting on the spur of the moment.

WE love you!Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Larry and Mary