The One Year Anniversary of the Cebu Temple

June 14, 2011

The Cebu Temple has been in operation for one year today. One of the most profound miracles during this time is the number of ordinances performed. In April 2011, 55,000 individual ordinances were completed! That is mind boggling for such a small temple. Today was representative of how that could happen. I was initiatory coordinator for three hours and had ten sisters come all at once wanting to do stacks of family names. With one booth, I had to limit them to three names at a time and then rotate them, but we kept going for three solid hours and completed dozens of names before they wanted to do an endowment session.

We have finished our busy summer season when busloads of youth came from outlying islands for temple excursion trips. One group of fifty stands out in my mind. They rode a bus for 12 hours to get to the port and then were on a boat for 12 hours before arriving in Cebu. They stayed for three days and nights in the Patron House, doing two baptismal sessions each day—and they would have done more except we had two other youth groups here at the same time, and they had to take turns using the font. We kept the laundry going full speed, and then some, with so much washing and drying and sorting and folding and putting away of towels, floor mats, jump suits, underwear, and socks, not to mention all the laundry they did for the rest of the temple patrons.

Our dear friend, Lea Garcia, was in pain for over a month, but would not quit to see a doctor, saying she couldn’t stop when there was so much work to be done and that the work in the laundry would slow down after the summer and then she would see the doctor. But her plan backfired and she ended up in the hospital on a Sunday morning and was there a week and finally had her gall bladder out. She has gone to Manila to stay with her daughters to recuperate. Edmund Corderro who is the head of the laundry brought in two substitutes to fill Lea’s shoes. Just a week or so before Lea was taken to the hospital, the third member of the laundry team, our songbird Sosi Telmo, was transferred to the Patron House, so the work load was super heavy. We are glad things have slowed down for the laundry.

The temple youth center is about 10 feet by 15 feet with a CR (restroom) at one end and another small room which has a crib and a rocker and a basin at the other end. It is adequate for three to four children at a time. One afternoon I was assigned to the Youth Center and had 14 children from five different families waiting to be sealed. We had a traffic jam at the clothing issue which is right next to the youth center because regular patrons were coming to rent clothing while three of us were finding clothing for the children. Two of the children were seven and eight month old baby girls who were very upset; there was nothing wrong with their lungs—they could be heard all over the temple, crying for their mothers. I took one and rocked her and tried to feed her a bottle which she did not want, but finally she calmed down and took the bottle. Usually the Filipino sisters do a better job with the children because they speak the same language, but babies seem to respond to even a white grandma’s lullabies. Three of the other children were eight year old identical twin boys, Sim and Sam, and their older 16 year old sister Lordy Grace. (I am amazed and delighted with some of the names I have heard here.) Five beautiful girls belonged to the same family ranging from 17 down to 3; the three youngest came in to where I was rocking the baby and rubbed her cheeks and legs while I was trying to quiet her—maybe that is why she settled. That will probably be the last time we have wall to wall children; the temple has a new policy that only two families can be scheduled for sealings during the same time—even if they are from the same areas, as were the five families that day, and they all wanted to attend each other’s sealings! Sealings are such a beautiful, sacred experience and the children are angelic in white.

Occasionally we have the opportunity to get to know some of the patrons who come to the temple. A few weeks ago, Brother and Sister Wolf’s daughter who just returned from her mission and was on her way to apply for a position at the MTC in Manila, came to the temple with three girl friends. They were on the last session and we invited them to come to our apartment for fresh bread and jam and juice. (I didn’t have anything else to offer). They were beautiful, delightful girls. As they were leaving, one of them took a few things out of her purse and handed it to me saying, “Sister Ward, I want you to have this.” I was stunned. It is a darling purse made entirely from different colors of zippers.

Last Saturday, a young couple from Taipei, Taiwan came to the temple. Sister Ganir asked me to use the Chinese language card for the sister at the veil. It turned out that she works one night a week as an ordinance worker in the Taiwan temple and knew everything by heart, so I had a very easy time. Afterwards, Ganirs invited us to go with them and the Chou couple for dinner. Chous were married in the Taiwan Temple in February but had not had a honeymoon, and so decided to come to Cebu for their honeymoon. His name is Chou Chun-Chih; he has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering and is hoping to go to BYU in a few years to work on a doctorate, but feels he must improve his English first. Her name is Weng, Ching-Ping but she uses Michelle sometimes; she served a mission in 2002 in Taiwan. After dinner at The Moon (I ordered filet mignon for 288 pesos and Larry ordered steak for the same amount!), we dashed to the grocery store, getting there just minutes before they closed, so the Chous could shop for their next day trip to a tiny island resort just off Cebu; they were going to Church first then leaving for a two night stay and didn’t want to buy groceries on Sunday. I told them to be sure to look us up when they got to Utah. (His email is chingping1007@yahoo.com.tw or it might be chingping1009@yahoo.com.tw). What a lovely couple. Kjerstin would have had a fun time trying out her Chinese with them.

WE were shocked when President Mortimer told us last week that our release date is October 26. That cuts a whole week off our mission, and the time is flying by. We are excited to see family and be home again, but there is such a sad feeling in our hearts, knowing that we will likely never see these beautiful people of the Philippines again. I know we will see our missionary couple friends, but these sweet, humble Filipino Saints who have taught me so much I will miss. We have talked with the other two couples, Cummings and Ashers, who will be coming home with us and have decided that we would like to spend a few days in Hong Kong; it may be our only opportunity to see that part of the world. We have yet to see if that can be arranged. At any rate, we will probably be home for Halloween.

If you think of anything you would like us to bring you, please let us know right away. I bought three pieces of beautiful embroidered organza for girls’ dresses last week. It is 120 inches wide and cost 102 pesos a meter which is 3 inches more than a yard—so it was about $2.50 a yard. The lining was 29 pesos a meter but is only 60 inches wide—but it was still a great price. I am excited to make dresses for my granddaughters when I get home.

We love you and pray for you always. Mom and Dad/ Grandma and Grandpa/ Mary and Larry