More Jubilee in Cebu

May 15, 2011

Our usual Saturday afternoons and evenings are spent in the temple, but we were delighted when President Mortimer told us that because we had not been able to see the temple dedication celebration (we were assigned to be the cooks for the visiting authorities that night), we would have Saturday afternoon off so we could attend the Cebu City and Cebu Central Stakes combined Jubilee Celebration. We left the temple at 4pm, came home for a quick snack, caught a taxi, and 45 minutes later arrived at the San Jose College Coliseum in Pardo. The program was to start at 6 but people were streaming into the building before 5. We were enveloped in hugs and warm handshakes, then were ushered onto the main floor, second row, soft seats, 15 feet away from the giant fans that kept us cool throughout the evening while the majority of the audience sweltered in the humidity and heat. These people treat us like celebrities. They even brought us sandwiches and bottled cold water. We had loved the Manila Jubilee that was televised, but this production was being done by people we knew and loved—and it was live! The excited youth were milling about in their bright costumes. With their fancy makeup we hardly recognized them as the youth who come to the baptistry, but they recognized us! We had opportunities to take pictures before the production. Annicel (Annie) Reniva, a beautiful, tiny, very stylish, single Filipino, was the producer/director; she had been in charge of the temple dedication extravaganza and so was experienced in handling crowds. We had tried to contact some of the morning shift missionaries to see if they were going, but no one replied. President and Sister Cuyong came in with Elder and Sister Gale, but we were the only American temple missionaries to attend. Everyone asked if the others were coming and we could only shrug our shoulders. Elder and Sister Luke and Sister Kimber from the ERC did come and sit by us, and loved it as much as we did. We felt so sad that the others missed this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Special guests for the evening included the area president and his wife, President and Sister Edwards, and the Cebu City mayor. The Stake Presidencies and their wives were dressed in traditional formal Filipino clothing. The women’s clothing was gorgeous, long slim skirted dresses, the bodices either heavily embroidered or sequined with large, flat slightly puffed sleeves. A children’s choir was invited to sing the Filipino national anthem. Fronts of Filipino Nipa huts had been built on the stage with native greenery surrounding them. A Filipino canoe sat on the left front of the stage and a table laden with food was on the other side. An enactment of what Filipino village life had been like was done in song and dance, showing the fishermen leaving in their boat, the young men courting the girls, the women inviting visitors to partake of their food, etc. Some was done with flawless lip sync, some with actual voices. Many of the same folk dances that were done by the 17 stake Manila group were done by our much smaller group: the bench dances, the Spanish-inspired dances, the Latin chacha, rhumba, etc. The Filipinos are naturally graceful; I have never seen a group who can dance like these do. In one of the crowd pleasers, girls joined the boys in the martial arts display; they seemed to love the precision and the mock fighting. One delightful dance number had girls flitting away from the boys who were carrying hoops draped with nets that had paper fish attached to them—the girls were representing fish and the boys the fishermen. My personal favorite was the fan dancers wearing exotic purple and gold satin costumes with large, elegant sequined appliqués nearly covering the front of the skirts; their brilliantly colored, sparkling twin fans became extentions of their costumes when they froze in their measured steps to allow four boys to carry in their “queen” on heavy bamboo poles. Her “servant” protected her with a gorgeous hot pink jeweled parasol. After carefully lowering her to the ground, the “queen” performed a sophisticated tinikling dance moving deftly over the clapping bamboo poles. I was afraid they would break her ankle if she missed a beat, but she didn’t. Her servant joined her. Suddenly a suitor or protector appeared on the dance floor with his sword and shield, joining in the bamboo dance. The fan dancers came to life as the queen was carried from the gym; they all had kept poker straight faces the entire time they danced! It was an amazing spectacle. The choir finished the evening by singing the special Jubilee theme song. We couldn’t begin to express how much we had enjoyed the evening to all the participants afterwards. It will be one of the highlights of our time in the Philippines.

We went to “a Café” with Lukes and Sister Kimber afterwards where Larry had the best hamburger he’s had since we arrived in the Philippines. It was a little pricey (about $9), but delicious. Elder and Sister Bailey had taken us to lunch just last Monday to a Mexican restaurant where Larry and I ordered a GIANT hamburger to share that cost a little less!

Since we did not have an assigned ward to attend today, we decided to visit Cebu 1st Ward right here on the Temple compound at 9 am, and then went back for the Apas Ward meetings at 1:30. Larry and Elder Ganir had gone for a long walk Saturday morning and ran into a member who had moved here recently. Larry told him that he would be looking for him and his family at church and that is why we went to Apas Ward, just in case they came, which they did! I think Larry is inspired to walk where he does sometimes.

I was grateful we attended Cebu 1st Ward; the three speakers at Sacrament Meeting were so inspiring; Sister Ever Gabonada, a young single returned missionary, spoke on how important the sacrament is as a reminder of Christ’s great atoning sacrifice. Stake President Balledos shared his experiences in studying the scriptures, specifically gaining increased understanding about the incident where Christ told the blind man to put clay on his eyes then wash it off, symbolizing cleansing himself from “earthly” or worldly things so he could see spiritually. Area President Edwards was the main speaker. He asked us to think about what and where we would be if we had not been baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Jubilee was not just another celebration, but was a great opportunity to show appreciation and love for Heavenly Father and the Savior for opening up the Philippines to the Gospel and all its blessings. God is in charge! He illustrated this point with the stories of Gideon and his 300 men versus the 135,000 Midianites, and David and Goliath. God is constantly trying to lift us, to help us. He told of his son when he was 13 years old and didn’t come for scripture study with the family one morning. When President Edwards tried to rouse him the boy pulled the sheets over his head. Rather than cause contention, President Edwards decided to just leave his son there. When it was time for family prayer, the father went again to the sleeping son, and this time the boy pulled a pillow over his head. When President Edwards came home from work that night, his wife told him he needed to see his son who was downstairs crouched in a dark corner very upset. He had had a very bad day at school and it had continued when he got home to his mother. His father said, “Let’s see, you had a bad day. You didn’t come for scripture study or family prayer. You decided to do without God today…” The son realized immediately the reason for his problems! President Edwards said he never again had a hard time getting that son up for prayer and scripture study. We need to let God be in charge of our lives. Every Church meeting we attend should be a revelatory meeting; we should always be listening for what the Spirit tells our hearts and minds individually in each meeting. All the meeting throughout the day were inspiring.

Hope your week goes as well as ours did. We love talking to you on Skype and reading your emails!