December 5. 2010
Dearest Ones
Happy Birthday, Natalie! We celebrated Sister Debbie Byram’s birthday here today. Her husband had ordered three cakes and big tubs of ice cream that he served to our Family Home Evening Group and the Office Workers after our Temple Christmas Devotional tonight. All of the temple missionaries, ordinance workers, temple volunteers and paid workers (office, laundry, maintenance, etc.) were invited to bring their families to the Devotional. The Chapel at the STake Center was filled to capacity. It was a wonderful, spiritual, Christmasy evening. I have had a hard time feeling like it was Christmas with no snow, no family, and no big projects, but tonight I felt a love for the Savior as the choir sang a special lullaby coupled with Silent Night and then another beautiful song entitled “Emmanuel” and President Mortimer and Elder Perez, our area seventy, both spoke. President Mortimer tied the stories of Jacob’s dream of climbing the ladder with Christ at the top, Simeon’s recognition of Christ as the Savior, and the prophecy of Christ given in Mosiah 3: 5-11, in with the temple and being led by the spirit to find Christ. He told us there was a 5 step process: 1. Become ACQUAINTED with Christ 2. ADMIRE Christ 3. ACKNOWLEDGE Christ 4. ACCEPT Christ 5. ADORE Christ He very touchingly sang acapella “Oh come let us adore Him, Oh come let us adore Him, Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord” as he finished his talk. Elder Perez told us that when we see lights being hung and turned on, the Christmas season has really begun, but that if we really want to become illuminated or filled with light, we will come to the temple. He told us we need to spend more time on temple things rather than temporal things so that when what is needed to enter the Father’s presence is 100 watts, we will not find we are only ½ a watt.
Larry and I walked out in front of the temple after the devotional to see the lights that have been put up on the outer walls surrounding the temple. There are lighted tinsel swags with lighted circles every 15 or so feet. President Mortimer did not want to light the temple grounds, but the city sent a letter asking us to participate in the community lighting festival, so how could he refuse?
And so far, our lights are by far the nicest display.
Today we attended Pajo Ward on Mactan Island, about 45 minutes away. Again we were welcomed warmly. The Relief Society president, Sister Sy (who is also an ordinance worker at the temple) is a pillar of strength and has so much faith. She is probably about 70 years old, is a chubby, short—almost red-haired , cuddly teddy bear and the mother of eight children all of whom are living in the US. When she and her husband were introduced to the Church, she had four young children. The head of the Obstetrics Division who had been her OB told her she shouldn’t have any more children because she nearly died with each delivery, hemorrhaging so much. But the elder teaching her told her that there were so many choice spirits in heaven waiting for a good homes that she felt guilty, so when she was baptized she asked for a priesthood blessing, had four more children with no problems and no more hemorrhaging. The doctor could not believe her situation. But she knew it was the power of the priesthood that had healed her. She had faith like the woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of Christ’s robe and was healed.
When Sister Sy(pronounced see) was 55 she was recommended for a good paying hotel job in New York City with an international hotel chain. Her four youngest children were all in college and so she and Brother Sy decided to move to the US. After being there for just a short while, the Bishop called her as Relief Society president. She was shocked and said,” Bishop, I don’t know these sisters and I have a hard time speaking English so others understand me. Are you sure this call is right?” The Bishop replied, “Sister Sy, the Lord wants you to be Relief Society president.” And she accepted. For the next few weeks her work schedule required her to work Sundays. She went in to talk to the HR director, requesting that she not work on Sundays. She was told that there were a lot of others ahead of her who did not want to work on Sundays either and that she would have to wait her turn. Sister Sy thought and prayed and knew she had accepted a calling and that she had to be off on Sundays to fulfill that calling. She told the HR director that she would have to resign. Dumbfounded, the director said, “But this is a dream job for you. You have come such a long way to work, the pay is good, the benefits are good. How can you even consider resigning? You need the money.” But Sister Sy did resign since she could not have Sundays off. She was afraid to tell her husband when he got home from work; he had just bought her an expensive pair of nurse style shoes so she wouldn’t continue to have terrible back and leg aches, and they needed two salaries to finish their children’s educations as well as pay their own bills. When she did tell her husband he was totally astounded. “The Lord will provide”, Sister Sy told him. And then she prayed. Two days later a man called saying he had been given Sister Sy ‘s name as someone who could help with home health care. “Are you a nurse,” he asked? “No,” she replied. “I haven’t been able to locate a good nurse. Would you be willing to come for a few days until I can locate a qualified person.” At the end of five days, the man asked Sister Sy, “How much do I owe you.” This was a foreign concept to her but she figured how much her nurse daughter made and asked for less. “Are you sure?” the man asked. Sister Sy was afraid she had asked too much. Then he wrote her a check, put it in an envelope and handed it to her. When she was on the subway riding home, she opened the envelope and saw that the check was for double what she had asked. And a few days later the man called back and asked her to work permanently. She was with that family for 8 years, and she made more than she would have with the hotel, plus she had Saturdays and Sundays off. “The Lord provides when we are willing to sacrifice and obey.” She is such an example of faith.
I sat by a beautiful, TALL Filipino woman during Relief Society. She wore a very sophisticated black sleeveless dress with a black chiffon scarf draped over her shoulders. I asked her if she was a model. “No,” she replied, “I am a singer. I was baptized in June.” Sister Sy told me later that this sister is at every meeting 15 minutes early and that she hasn’t missed a meeting since her baptism. She came looking for the Church, the missionaries did not find her.
By the way, I talked to the Relief Society President in Mabolo Ward and she told me that the woman whose family did not think of her as their “Mother” had just been baptized; now she has a ward family and relief society sisters who will love her.
The Church is true. It is a blessing in our lives.
Love, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Mary and Larry
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