The "Wave" of Missionaries!!

Tri-zone conference with President and Sister Schmutz.  We have 3 zones on our island with 42 missionaries.

 This is our Dumaguete zone after our first transfer.  It is amazing and wonderful to have as many sisters as elders.  I worried some before we came about the sister drama but there is really very little - they are all hard workers, obedient to the rules of the mission and focused on inviting others to Come Unto Christ.  Truly a Miracle of Mormonism to see this level of commitment and sacrifice in so many young people.

A district activity at our home for one of our dictricts.  We made sloppy joes, chips, pop, and a Filipino dessert, mango float.  The elder at bottom right ate 4 sloppy joes - the others all ate 2, including the girls.  Three of them, the 2 Filipinos and the sister from India had never eaten a sloppy joe.

 I love watching the different cultures come together and love each other immediately as they are so focused on serving.  Here we are at Pulang Bato (red rock) Falls near where we live in Valencia on a zone activity which the zone leaders schedule one time per transfer.  We had a wonderful time enjoying the marvelous creation in this part of the world.  The threesome of sisters below are incredible.  The sister on the left is one of our senior sisters which means she is a traveling trainer much like the zone leaders but only has responsibility for the sisters.  This has become much more important with the increase in the number of sisters serving.                       

 

We are beginning to have more opportunity to go out with the missionaries to teach.  When we arrived at this home the daughter that we were to teach was not home and she had told us that her mom did not like the church but this lovely woman committed to come to church on Sunday and wants to be taught the gospel.  She is 78 and works in her banana fields each day.  She also speaks no English so we could only communicate through our smiles. 

Elder Anderson and I met Jerry soon after we arrived here to purchase furniture (double decker beds) from him for all of the new apartments we were furnishing for the new missionaries coming to this island.  He is a character and agreed to wear his Elvis wig when we took another of the senior couples there to purchase furniture their first time.  We have purchased from him on several occasions but on this day Elder Anderson discussed the church and the gospel with him and he and his family are starting the discussions.  He divides his time between Dumaguete and a town on Cebu island.

Jerry's Furniture store where they mill some of their lumber in the back and build and stain their furniture.