We've determined this week that the Philippines is the safest place in the world to live. No current cases of coronavirus! There are three possible explanations for this phenomenon:
1) most hospitals and doctors' offices have no kits to test,
2) eating at Jollibees makes one immune from the virus,
4) the virus is killed by carbon emissions.
Our area presidency did send out a letter to be read at church today that instructs that if you are sick, please don't go to church or to the temple. We continue to do fist bumps instead of hand shakes, which is quite effective since you can plausibly shake hands with someone two or three times in a conversation here --Filipinos love to shake hands! And it's customary for women to put their heads together side-by-side and kiss. I'm really happy we didn't do that this week because I found out Saturday about an STL that I normally would have touched-hair-with has serious lice. We are both healthy and taking every precaution to stay that way!
We finished zones interviews this week and met with the last two zones on Thursday. I am amazed at Stewart who met with missionaries from before 9am to after 5:30pm without a break except quick trips to the CR. In addition to their language study, I asked most missionaries about their personal Book of Mormon study. One was honest enough to tell me he had never finished the Book of Mormon when he came on his mission. He asked his American companion to help him, and was told, "That's something you'll have to do on your own." The next week companion got dengue, and he was seven days inside the apartment caring for him, unable to go out and work. He decided to finish the Book of Mormon. He started at the beginning and read all day, every day. He said some days he fasted to be able to focus. He started Monday morning and finished Sunday night. I asked him what he learned and he whipped out ten pages of notes, detailing the connections and doctrine from the Book of Mormon that he had found and recorded. I am so proud of him! (I took photos of the notes, but I should have taken one of him.) He is an intelligent Filipino convert who turned down a great university scholarship to serve a mission and is already reading again, this time looking for all the doctrine related to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Friday we had Mission Leadership Council which is usually just the STLs and ZLs but this time we invited all the DLs, 17 extra elders. I taught about respecting the sisters and their priesthood authority, the assistants led a great discussion about training and Stewart ended with powerful counsel to us on what our purpose is as a missionary. He reminded us that in the church, we don't step up or step down in callings -- "There is no 'up of down' in the service of the Lord." (Pres Oaks) He talked about how we all have different gifts and talents, and some missionaries possess the ones that are best suited to missionary work and some don't--but that doesn't mean they are any less valuable. He taught that as a leader you are to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." He recounted how pleased he is, as a father, to see his children being kind and reaching out to each other (which we've seen a lot the past 32 months) and testified that Heavenly Father loves it when we do the same, especially to those missionaries who are discouraged or socially awkward or lonely. I hope I never forget that teaching!
We've had our share of health challenges this week (sometimes "health challenges" for me are "health panics"--I would make a terrible nurse!), but one TB case was resolved and another one will return to pulmonologist tomorrow. We have an ongoing abdominally pained missionary and a few with respiratory problems (colds or coronavirus?) but we had a great blessing Monday. A missionary hesitatingly texted the mission nurse a couple of weeks that he had a red navel (infected, bleeding, pink lump) and sent her photos of a condition that sometimes happens with babies but is routinely fixed after birth. He's had it for 25 years and didn't realize it could be repaired--he just thought he'd have it his whole life. He's never played sports for fear someone would see it or it would be damaged and bleed heavily. We sent the photos to Chris Merkley, and he told us exactly what to do to resolve it. We sent him to a dermatologist who called in her plastic surgeon husband from the office next door and he spent an hour surgically repairing it and sent him home with antibiotics and a beautiful, normal navel. He felt so thankful and happy that he returned to his apartment, threw up, and went out to teach the rest of the afternoon/evening, extending baptismal invitations and showing the Lord his gratitude by doing His work.
We have zone conferences this week and look forward to seeing all 163 of our young missionaries. And we just found out we're getting extra sisters previously assigned to other Asian missions but reassigned to stay in the Philippines. And two Cambodian sisters. We really appreciate your prayers for us--it seems like we just get one thing under control and another one pops up.
Much love,
Mom
PS: A missionary thoughtfully texted Stewart at 1am to assure him his sick companion is feeling better so he shouldn't worry!
Photos
Elder Bejucos' notes
Mission Leadership Council
Missionary on left had navel repair
Signs in the Philippines are so interesting--our apartment manager spotted this one!
Mission home front gate
Saturday baptism at Deparo
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