The Fabulous, Not-so-typical Week of Missionary Work

   We as Senior Couple Missionaries are not the "teaching discussions" Missionaries.  We have the assignment from Pres. Monahan to visit and strengthen the active and inactive-members, to invite them to come back to Church to partake of the Sacrament and be active, pay their tithing, be worthy to hold a Temple Recommend, love family and hold Family Home Evening every Monday night, and strengthen the Priesthood leader of the home.

  We are so fortunate to visit the very happy people of the Philippines. 

A member family before let us feed their chickens 
 

We visited them again with no appointment, and the Lola (Grama) was walking to town.  She turned when she saw us and led us back to their beautiful wooded homes complex.  We met their very darling granddaughter. And here is more of the family at Church.
 

 Some like the Garins are very funny people and make us laugh... their son is leaving for a mission in one month.
 

On one week, it appeared everything just was the right day, the right time.  
   
 Elder Roberts said, Sister Roberts lets check out this baranguy (neighborhood), there are not very many members here.

   It was the day for harvesting rice and souls.  There was so much rice drying on the road, we had to drive on it, but they all just smiled as and waved as we passed.

One girl was separating rice by hand.

Workers were carrying rice bags to the trucks.

It makes me feel like I might see Moses in a basket in the bullrushes...

 
Hmmm... excuuuse us please....we and everyone else on the road just waited for this car squeeze in....

We stopped at a school.  We got out the list, not knowing where to go.  We prayed to God for guidance.  The children came up to our window.  We asked do you know where this lady lives?  A few of the children laughed, pointed to a boy and said its>his aunt! 

They ran in front of our slow moving car..  (And A Little Child Shall Lead Them...Isaiah 11:6)

 

At the neighborhood, the children ran into a home.  A sweet woman came out.  She said, I never speak with strangers. But the children said you were so nice..

She said her pregnant niece we were looking for did not live here any more, but in another neighborhood with her non-member husband.  She also told us about some of her other family, who were members of the Church. 

We said, you are a member?  She said no.  I said, (after I gave her a pass-a-long card, which the Prophet Joseph Smith tells what our Church believes, with the Articles of Faith). I said, would you like the Missionaries to tell you more? She agreed, and told us her husband had previously died.
   We saw a farmer and his cow across the street.



 We went down the street.  We met a woman, very comical and funny.  She said she was not a member, and she would like to be baptized in our Church, but  her husband said no.  

We gave her a pass-a-long card and she started to cry.  She said it is the same picture her Nanay (Mother in Tagalog language) had put on the wall when she was a child.  


We went to the baranguy where the pregnant woman lived. Neighborhood people were so kind and showed us her home, and her husband's family home.  She wasn't at home.  

So we drove down the street. A lady waved at us so hard, so we stopped.  She invited us into her home.  We found she was not a member, but said we looked so nice.  She had also lost her husband.  

As we talked, we learned he was a relative of the pregnant niece's father-in-law.  A man came up to her store to eat.  HE was the father-in-law!  He told us when to contact his daughter-in-law.  We gave out more pass-along-cards.
   We later did contact the pregnant niece, who did want to resume Church activity.  Her baby is due this month.
 
 To find more members, we stopped by a baranguy hall, with the Neighborhood Council . They kindly paused to help us.  Elder Roberts told them he used to be the Mayor of our hometown, Wales Ut. 

We spoke with the very hospitable Baranguy Captain, who was member of the Church. 

  Here is a Pic of our Wales Hall, back in our hometown of Wales, Utah, USA

A woman at the Baranguy Hall said I'll show you where these homes on your list are. She also received a pass-along-card.

   At one neighborhood, a non-member older woman and children crowded around our car.  After talking to her, she told Sister Roberts I love you so much!  I loved her too, and gave her a pass-a-long card. We told them we would be back in an hour. 

The member man we first visited had lost his wife and was very talented in beautiful plants, flowers. Many family members were there.  Our message was about repentance.  

His sister, (age 50) lovingly laughed and poked him and said you  belong to this Church, you should repent and go!!   We said, you are a member too?  She said no, we gave her a pass-a-long card and gave the Missionaries -- another referral-- in another town.  She has since accepted baptism and wants all her family to be baptized also.

 Here are the Missionaries that are now teaching her.

Then we went to the other neighborhood that we had met the older woman. Again the children led us.  Children, teens, and adults escorted us back to the lady member's home! She was quite embarrassed.


 The woman gave us a bench to sit under a porch with a wood roof that was the outdoor kitchen where they make a coconut-brown sugar candy

30+ people crowded around us.

We showed them our pictures of our family of combined 15 anak (children) and 30 apo-  (grandchildren). 
 

A single 25 yr old man said Why are you here? 
   I felt inspired to say,  "to visit this member of the Church and give her a Family Group record."   We gave out about 15 copies to the bystanders, and pass-along cards.

The Non-member Mother was wearing a black square pin.  She was mourning and had lost her husband a week ago.  She agreed to have Missionaries teach her.  Elder Roberts is amazed how many we met had lost asawa (spouses).

     We are grateful to be led by Jesus Christ to find those who are to be led back to his Gospel, or join His Church.  It is not us - it is Him. 

Naniniwala po ako kay Jesu Cristo.
(I believe in Jesus Christ.)

Love,
Elder and Sister Roberts