August 11, 2011

We have been on our mission exactly three months today.  Other than my getting the bacterial infection, it has been a wonderful experience.  We have met most of the church leadership In Bacolod, except Sipilay, which is  a five hour drive and requires we stay a few days, and three of four leaders on the island of Panay, where we will have to stay an entire week to meet them all with the distance between them and necessitates taking the car across the channel on the ferry.  Both are scheduled though; Sipilay this month and Panay in September. 

One of the young men in  our first workshop has already completed his application process and is now waiting for his tuition check from Salt Lake City.  He is training to be a welder and will be completely licensed and earn his certificate in about six months.  We are so proud of him as he really jumped on the application the very afternoon he completed the workshop so he is on his way to financial security for himself and his family. 

I have started doing the new Young Women Personal Progress with the young women in our ward.  Part of that is rereading the Book of Mormon.  I was reading in Jacob, chapter 3 and was so impressed with the prophesying and instruction of Jacob to the Nephites.  He was chastising them and said that in that day the Laminites were more faithful because of three things they excelled in that the Nephites were lax in.  In Jacob 3:5-7, Jacob said that the Lamanites whom the Nephites hated because of the wars and great conflicts were a better people because they remembered the commandment to only have one wife and to be faithful to their wives.  Jacob said the Lamanites would not be destroyed because of the obedience to that great commandment and because the husbands loved their wives and their children and the wives love their husbands and children and that they are faithful to their families.  Jacob said that because of this obedience that the Lamanites would not be destroyed.  I thought how great is the importance of families, that so wicked a people whom sought to destroy the Lord's people (the Nephites) would be preserved solely because of their faithfulness and love for their families.  What a great lesson.

 I am so thankful for my family. Each of them are ambitious and hard working and work to be independent and self-reliant. Each of them are so tremendously supportive of their crazy parents running off to a third world country to serve a mission, even when they themselves do not have the same testimony of missionary service that we do.  They set such a great example for us their parents in their support and love for us and another of our crazy adventures. They could so easily be hurt or feel that we place the gospel before them.  They all know that we are not just doing this because it is asked of us by our prophet, but for the blessings it will bring to our entire family.  We are greatly blessed with seven wonderful children, their spouses and their children.  We love them greatly and rely on the Lord to bless them for our service. 

I am 100% well again and walking each morning prior to breakfast and going to work.  I feel great and so thankful to be recovered.  We are keeping a more realistic schedule now with work, teaching and traveling.  We have scheduled lighter days and go home a little earlier each day so that we remain healthy and able to work consistently and not end up down and out due to our foolishness of running faster than we are able.  We are enjoying great success with our workshops, training and contacting our participants and feel greatly blessed to be here among these wonderful, faithful, and humble people.