3-12-19

This year we have greatly enjoyed studying studying the New Testament as part of “Come Follow Me” .The Bible is the Word of God as is the The Book of Mormon and is a testament that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Saviour and Redeemer.

2 Corinthians 4 :18
“ While we look not at the things which are seen but the things which are not seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

We partake of the Sacrament which is temporal and seen,but we make covenants that have eternal significance and are not seen.
For example baptism is an outward expression of an internal commitment to be obedient.

Our life long challenge is to acquire the attributes of Christ.
Our prophet Russell M Nelson has recently invited us to ask our Heavenly Father
“What can I do to become more like Jesus Christ?”
The internal work we do which is not seen has eternal consequences.

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From Elder A -Some time ago we were driving with the missionaries within a mountainous region, where the concrete road was only about 4 meters across. As I came down a very steep portion, trying to stay close to the edge, my front wheel slipped off the concrete. This left the vehicle sitting on the subframe and the wheel suspended about 500 mm over a very steep slippery slope.
Within about 10 minutes, 15 men arrived from the houses scattered in the jungle. It was a thrill to see them discuss the problem- in Hiligaynon- and work out what to do to get me back on the road. They eventually built a support with rocks and planks under the wheel and I eventually drove the car back onto the road. They just drifted back into the jungle but left a great impression of the joy that comes from service.
They were happy, excited, enthusiastic as they worked as a team to bless the life of a total stranger. Service is a guarantee of happiness.

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The Philippines is the only Asian country that is mostly Christian.
There are Christian messages in buildings, placards, on vehicles, in supermarkets and in commercial buildings.We note that many people are happy to offer prayers even on the first visit from the missionaries.While mentioning prayers, I’m reminded of 2 incidents that’s how the poignancy of the poverty of the people.

While the missionaries were inviting a man to pray, he remarked “ The only thing I know how to pray for is food for my family.”

In a Sunday school class ,the teacher asked “ What are you most afraid of ? “
One brother with family responsibilities said “ Hunger. “
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One branch here on Guimaras has had multiple baptisms every week for the last 6 weeks. The attendance at Sacrament has risen steadily to a maximin of 177 and is often around the 170s. It is exciting to see returning members, new people and larger family units coming along.The other 2 units are improving slowly.
It is gratifying to see an improved attitude towards the Baptismal Service.

It was frustrating to us to experience casual Filipino culture displayed in a disorganised informal manner, disrespectful to the sacredness of the ordinance. I attended a District Meeting and said that I would be totally embarrassed to welcome participants to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Now the officiators are wearing Sunday best,prelude music 🎶 is playing and everything is organized 5 minutes before the start. We have achieved sacred reverence similar to a sacrament

A few weeks ago Elder Dale G Renland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited our mission! It was an historical occasion that we won’t forget, to have a living apostle of Jesus Christ speaking to us and sharing his wisdom and love. While we were waiting for him and his wife to walk from the Mission Home to the Chapel, we started singing spontaneously, “ Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?”  When he walked in he was very touched and stood there watching and listening to us. Oh my it was special, not many dry eyes and it sounded beautiful. We all shook hands with him, he thanked Elder Arvidson and me and wanted to know where we were from. He gave us all an apostolic blessings as he left, which we are feeling the benefits from. 

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Once you pay for an airfare it’s a lot cheaper to be here. Most things are cheaper- food, accommodation, transport. On Guimaras there are some resorts: one is quite classy- Andana , at Nueva Valencia. Others are more simple, eg Raymen resort where we swim in the lovely clear ocean for 40 P each on P Day (our day off).

Most people are paid poorly here. We talked to a young worker named Mark, who worked 12 hour shifts a day at Raymens for equivalent of $10 AU a day.That day’s wage would buy 2 kilos of chicken or 6 kilos of the cheapest rice. And rice is the most common meal eaten 3 times a day often.
He had started to study to be a teacher but his parents couldn’t support him. He asked what he would earn in Australia, we said about $240, which shocked him of course. But we told him that everything in Australia cost a lot more anyway. Education and the Gospel is the only way to improve the Filipino people’s standard of living.

A family with 5 children who are being taught by the Sisters told us that the father wasn’t home yet as he hadn’t met his quota. It was twilight. He sold tanapay- bread- on a mobile cart. If he sold 1000 pesos worth a day he received 200 pesos, anything less he received nothing. If the father was there I would have bought the rest of the bread so they could get paid that day. We’d give it away as we don’t eat their sugary bread for health reasons.They live in a shack on the outside of town, no running water or electricity, 2 chairs only.
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Electricity is expensive here- our monthly bill is about 6000 P , which includes the 2 Elders. We use more as we have an air conditioner. 
Western food like yogurt, almonds, dried fruit, cheese, butter, oranges 

 and more are expensive, so we do without them and use local alternatives. You can’t buy fresh milk anywhere so we use freshly produced coconut milk. 

We were out with the missionaries in Nueva Valencia in a very poor barangay – community- when we needed to ask for someone’s address at a very basic Health Clinic in the hills. People don’t have an address , you just need to ask others. I noticed a sign on the front door and asked about it. I’ll try to attach some related photos. 

It was a sign with boy’s  names who were soon to be circumcised – what confused me were their ages. 12 years and upwards! I was told they look forward to this event in their lives. I think they might wish they had it done as babies 

when the time arrives….

“Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass to the other side than when we realize how well we know our Father in Heaven and how familiar his face is to us.”- Ezra Taft Benson.

President Thomas S Monson said:

“ As we read and ponder the scriptures, we will experience the sweet whisperings of the Spirit to our souls. We can find answers to our questions. We learn of the blessings which come through keeping God’s commandments . We gain a sure testimony of our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ and of Their love for us. When scripture study is combined with our prayers, we can of a certainty know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true…….. As we remember prayer and take time to turn to the scriptures, our lives will be infinitely more blessed and our burdens will be made lighter.”

I know this is true for I have experienced it for myself.
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A few nights ago we were about to turn into our driveway on the right- we drive on the right here. A woman was standing near our driveway so she moved out of the way when she saw us. As we turned in, a speeding motor bike came up from behind and passed us on the right hand side. Neither he nor his female passenger had a helmet on. It was all so quick as these incidents are. The woman pedestrian stared after the bike in shock pointing down the road but he was long gone. We felt the shock for a long time after as we realized how close we were to being involved with a possible 3 person fatality. We would have been ok in our vehicle but the others would not have been. We felt very grateful to our Heavenly Father as it was only His intervention that stopped the crash.
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As we walk along the road most mornings we get to talk to many people and they are interested in who we are and why we are here on Guimaras. One person we’ve become friends with is Angie. I’ll try to include a photo with her. She had her 1st baby at 17 and lives very simply by the side of the road with husband and 3 little boys. She plans to leave to work in Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 in December when her youngest will only be 1 year old. We like to have time together as she shares some of her struggles and joys. We’ve been able to help her in some ways and enjoy our friendship.

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We’ve been part of some sweet baptisms here as we continue to work regularly with the missionaries and members. Kim baptised his younger sister Princess a few weeks ago, and great was the family’s joy. His mother and grandmother attended the baptism and come to church when they can get some time away from their busy farm. They have 88 piglets recently born, 300 chickens, goats, cashew nut ,mango trees, banana palm trees.
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Another missionary couple is arriving in October so we’re all happy to meet them.
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Halong !
Elder and Sister Arvidson

The thing I love to do best is to visit the homes of those wanting to be taught by the missionaries. We go with the elders to folk living in very basic circumstances, often on rocky hillsides, very small living areas with many people living in the homes.

A few weeks ago we travelled to Buena Vista with the elders; it’s my favourite experience here.
The house was a substantial concrete home set in the jungle, with other homes around. We enjoyed sitting on their open veranda, in the cool of the evening, watching the sun go down around us. So serene and tranquil, away from the ubiquitous poverty of the island. I loved looking at the animated faces of 5 beautiful children, with their open Books of Mormon,eager to hear the word of God and be taught by His authorised messengers. They are the nieces and nephews of the Primary councillor Joanne, who speaks very good English as she teaches English as second language online to Chinese people. She had to translate for us as we spoke of the blessings of being baptised into the Lord’s kingdom, by one who has authority. I felt a sweet spirit as I testified on God’s love for them.

At one stage the children were asked to find a scripture and one boy was having trouble. I said “ Gusto mo bulig ?” , which means “Can I help you”?

The children were delighted that I could speak a little in Ilonggo. They have been coming to church often and their baptism is set for next Saturday. That will be the 4th we’ve attended ,mostly held in the ocean.
Elder A and I have listened to an audio book called “ A Case for The Book of Mormon”, by Tad Callister. It covers many of the critical arguments about the Book of Mormon, from the time Joseph Smith first received the plates. I encourage everyone to read this book. It’s available online or in hard copy.

We have been walking early in the morning, leaving home about 530. It’s cool and refreshing,before the heat of the day, and we see the world differently. Many people are up, commencing work, washing clothes,having breakfast,gathering in groups.

One time we came across a work crew, well into a job under flood light. One man this morning was gathering soft drink bottles to wash for money. Many folk have a chungi at the front of their house, a shop, which is manned at all hours.They sell snacks and drinks, non perishable food. If someone buys soft drink it’s poured into a plastic bag to take away, cost 15 pesos for the drink.

We came across a man whose father had died suddenly the night before. He took us to his mother’s house across the road, she was obviously in shock. We stayed a little while comforting them and said we’d return. We’ve seen the large coloured banner they put up when someone dies- on the front of the house, picture of the person,details of their life and the funeral.

I’ve been pondering the 3rd last verse of the Book of Mormon,the final words of the prophet Moroni before he buried the gold plates in the Hill Cumorah, as he was instructed by the Lord.

“Yeah, come unto Christ
and be perfected in him,
and deny yourselves of all ungodliness
……. love God with all your might, mind and strength.
then is his grace sufficient for you
..that by his grace you may be perfected in him” Moroni 10 verse 32.

Love from Sister Arvidson

14 April 2019 –

We have Sister missionaries on Guimaras! 3 are from USA and 1 from Negros Occidental, which is the neighbouring island. They share a newly renovated home in San Miguel,not far from us. Everyone is excited to have sisters here, me included. I go out with them every Friday which is the highlight of my week.

We separate into 2 companionships,walking and travelling by trike to various areas. They are hardworking and are committed to being consecrated missionaries, as they invite all to “ Come unto Christ”. We have a lot of fun together too as we get to know each other.

Last Friday we were in the countryside walking when we saw a sign for Halo halo, a Filipino dessert. The girl at the stall,Geraldine,said they didn’t have any ingredients; she was relaxing by a tree. Eventually we taught her about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, reading some of the Book of Mormon with her.Her mother whom I’ve met before, joined us and she too was taught. A less active man soon came over to us: he shared some of the challenges with alcohol he is having, bowing his head in sorrow. We comforted and encouraged him, sharing passages from the Book of Mormon and prayed and sang with him, as we did with the others. His non member friend arrived, wanting to know how he could prepare to meet God, a very good question. We taught him how to pray, and he prayed! His first vocal prayer. All of these people received a Book of Mormon in Tagalog- Hiligaynon is the language of this island and others, but Tagalog is more the written language. We caught up with the others after a few hours and we all had dinner at the District President’s home, with Elder A too. Rice, fried dried fish, baked fish, vegetable curry. We had a brownout, no electricity, so shared time via candlelight. Another unique day here in Guimaras as a full time missionary for the Lord.

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While I’m writing 3 precious children are playing near by, tickling us, massaging my hair, laughing crazily. One little girl winks at me every time I see her. The children here are so adorable: you can understand why our Father says we need to become like little children, trusting Him and being obedient.
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It’s very humid here now, even when we leave for our 5 am walk I need a cloth to wipe my face. We still don’t have water from our tap- we pump water sometimes twice daily from the community water pump for washing clothes, toilet and bucket washes. There are 4 of us we are providing water for so don’t want to run out. We buy water to drink and carry it home in the truck.We found a seamstress on our walk:early in the morning or late at night they are sitting at the sewing machine in little light. Elder A had his trousers taken in: she did it very well and only charged 60 pesos.
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Last Monday we had a zone activity at Tambuaggan beach near Nueva Valencia. It was a crazy ride to get there over boulders and uneven ground, but a little cooler as we spent time by the sea. The young missionaries aren’t allowed to swim-Elder A and I returned in the afternoon and jumped in ! Oh so good.

I like the ocean here as it’s calm, I guess since we are surrounded by islands there’s few waves. We had a Budol fight- banana leaves were laid on the table, wiped over with a cloth. Cooked rice placed down the centre, on either side were the meals we’d all cooked, Bicol Express, Adobe,Siniging.We asked a blessing then we all ate with our hands. Yummy.

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We watched General Conference with the members this weekend- how blessed we are to hear council and words of love from a living prophet Russell M Nelson, and from living Apostles.

The music is glorious to listen to, a spiritual feast. President Nelson encouraged these who don’t believe in God, to put yourself in a position to seek Him. Ask Him if He is there and ask how does he feel about you. You can know like I do that He lives.
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“ Behold I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people,that they might have everlasting life.”
3 Nephi 5:13
Love Elder and Sister A

We have two sources of water at our house -town water and a very deep well. Because the town water is intermittent it is held in a gravity tank on a stand.We get occasional input from the town water, but it’s only a trickle, so we often run out.
The well supplied most of our needs until about 2 weeks ago, when it ran dry. Elder A thought it was spring -fed but obviously it isn’t.
We are entering the hot dry season and don’t expect any rain till July. It hasn’t rained at all since we arrived which is unusual. We have ten 20 litre drums which are filled from a central location, so we will always have drinking water.

The gravity feed supply, when we have it,is insufficient to drive the washing machine or the shower heater, so we wash by hand and shower with a bucket and a dipper. We always have cold water showers which is ok. The locals gather around the village pump up the road to wash clothes- we thought we’d get some water there for drinking but it is discoloured. It tasted ok. We took a few photos which I’ll try to add. It was a novelty for them to see us there so there were a few curious stares.

Yesterday was the District Relief Society gathering to celebrate the beginning of Relief Society on March 17 th 1842,in Nauvoo, Illinois. It’s celebrated every year by the women of the church as we remember the early pioneers and the inspiration received by the Prophet Joseph Smith to formally organise the sisters.

Relief Society has been a great strength in my life from the time I joined the church 40 years ago.

Celebrating Filipino style was a lot of fun! Each unit dressed in traditional clothes and performed folk dances, with lots of laughter. The Young Single Adults danced to some modern music, which was followed by games for all.

I was asked to give opening prayer which was a poignant experience as I talked about all the similar celebrations throughout the world.
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This week we travelled to Iloilo for our first Zone meeting. We could have been picked up on the other side, but we want to be independent – so we left our car at home and travelled by trike down to the pump wharf which is close- 20 pesos.
30 pesos for our travel across the water, which we enjoy immensely. We walked past the many interesting fresh and cooked food stalls by the wharf and into the traffic at Iloilo. We needed to get to the other side to pick up the right jeepney , which was daunting for us. Pedestrian crossings have no meaning, there aren’t any traffic lights or signals and few rules.
A young man saw our hesitancy, and took us out into the 4 lane traffic, which luckily stopped for us. He then returned to the other side. That’s what people are like here, kind and willing to help.

We took a jeepney which was going in the general area we wanted , which is Arevalo and hoped we’d work out where to alight. We paid 14 pesos total for quite a long trip,which we think was senior’s concession. It’s fun how the money and change is passed back and forth along the passengers to the driver and assistant at the front. The jeepneys are good people movers and are well utilised by the population. A taxi to the mission office would have cost us 200 pesos, which is still not very much.
The driver indicated we needed to get off and that the church building was “didto,” “ over there”,which we hoped wasn’t too far away. We asked for some more directions along the way passing a large park, Molo Plaza,and caught up with some missionaries so we all walked together. One of them,a Filipino Elder, was hilarious and had us in stitches as tried to avoid the close traffic around us.
We made it !
We’ve also travelled same way to SM plaza so I could have my first hair cut. For 300 pesos my hair was washed,massaged, shoulder and upper back massage,cut and blow dried. A few people assisted and no one talked, which suited me fine. I could just totally relax.

The malls are great in Iloilo, air conditioned,high security and massive.
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“ For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation”
Romans 1: 16.
Sister Arvidson

Last week we’ve travelled by trike to the wharf, caught the pump boat to Iloilo and were picked up by the Saunders. The next day we travelled 6 hours north to the wharf and caught the ferry to the much admired island of Boracay. It’s one of the top holiday destinations in the world and yes we went snorkeling! An unexpected treat.

We took a boat to the other side of the island and enjoyed perfect weather, with President and Sister Cruz and two other couples. President trained us each morning for a while, then we went on adventures.

Elder A and I were the only ones with swimmers and were we so glad we bought them. Every day in the calm beautiful ocean, so relaxing and invigorating, we loved it. Not too many people, a mix of different cultures and languages. The island was closed to tourists for 6 months to fix facilities, some places have been closed by the government to keep the standard higher. We talked to one lady who lives in Hawaii and comes to Boracay every year for a holiday. We wore our badges and had some interesting conversations. I saw a school of blue fish 🐟, some bigger yellow fish with black stripes and some medium grey ones.

On one of the training sessions we talked about “ mawwage,dat bwessed awwwangement”. I’ll send the script to some people to share with their spouses. Words from a living apostle Henry B Eyring.

One morning on Guimaras Elder A and I were walking near our home in Salagan, when a man came out of the jungle carrying a boy of about 12 years. His mother came next carrying his wheelchair. She said to me “ special son”. I reached to her with tears in my eyes and said “special mother”. We bonded as mothers as she told me he has terminal brain cancer and is deaf and blind. She was taking him over on the pump boat to Iloilo for his appointment with the Dr.
She said “ Don’t cry Sister. He is ok about it and so am I. God has lent him to me”.
I stood there overwhelmed with her faith and love with tears running down my face. We watched as they left on the trike , waving to them with a smile. Sacred experience.

This weekend it has been District Conference here at the stake centre in Jordan. There are 3 branches on this island, Jordan- the most organised one, Buena Vista where we are based – struggling with facilities and membership, and Nueva Valencia,which is now meeting at the Stake Centre until they get bigger premises. We had a member of the Quorum of the Seventies presiding, Elder Lee. He is a Chinese Filipino who has excellent English,based in Manila. He rides his push bike to work! Crazy traffic conditions. Elder A and I spent some time with him as he thanked us for our service and said we were appreciated. We told him some of our struggles and desires to do the work. He encouraged us to postpone helping members to do family history as it wasn’t working anyway and encouraged us to help them become more self reliant.
I sang in the Stake Relief Society choir, a lovely experience. I’m sure I didn’t stand out that much😉 hymn no 124, Be Still My Soul.🎶
Only one of the talks was in English, that was the Mission President talking to the YSA about dating and marriage, which seems to be a problem here.He apologised to Elder and Sister Arvidson on Sunday from the stand, as he said he needed to speak the Celestial language to the people!
So yeah we struggled trying to understand. A new District Presidency was organised which was lovely to witness. The previous President had been in that role for 13 years and before that one of the founding members of the island. It’s good to see his children strong in the faith. We ate lunch with the leaders, which consisted of noodles, pizza and sticky rice, with delicious mangoes of course!
Afterwards we walked down to the stalls to stock up on mangoes when we heard a terrible sound. Just up the road 2 motor bikes had collided with 2 young men on board. We rushed to see if we could help. Some people were already helping the most injured one: a first aid kit from the nearby fire station was in use. Due to serious head injuries there was a lot blood and carnage on the road. The ambulance quickly arrived as the hospital is on this road. I’ve already mentioned the terrible state of the local hospital – a member who is a RN there told me she had 44 patients to look after on her shift. There were 5 men in the ambulance including the driver. One started taking photos of the scene while the others put a splint on the bloody man’s broken leg. He was quickly taken away with the sirens flashing- sadly we heard the next day he had passed away.
Very few folk here wear helmets: I think a young life would have been saved if it was in place. We saw a somber parade the next day in his honour.
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This morning at 530 Elder A and I were out collecting cow manure with our hands and of course it had to rain.uggg
We spent the last hour helping a young man with his English so he can proceed in his career.
To finish “ God hath not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind”
2 Timothy 1:7
Maayong harpon!
Good afternoon!
Elder and Sister A