Russell and Eileen's Church Missions: A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTMAS

It seemed kind of strange this week to celebrate Christmas without being around family, without Christmas decorations in our home, or any special events to attend. On our last two missions we had many wonderful get togethers during the Christmas season. While serving in the Church Office Building there was an abundance of beautiful lights and music on Temple Square, along with occasional Christmas parties with General Authorities. While serving in Germany there were many Christmas outings to attend with the other Area Office missionaries, including several visits to the beautiful German Christmas markets. One of our daughters came with her family to visit over Christmas. It all seemed rather special.

While the Filipinos love Christmas, it seems like life goes on as normal here on Christmas Day. The malls and stores are open. Traffic was a little lighter than usual. The temperature that day reached the low 90’s here - very different than the snow which was coming down in Utah. The pool at our apartment building was crowded with families enjoying the sun. It really didn’t seem much different than any other day of the year.

I (Eileen), have spent many hours on the phone this week with missionaries suffering from various physical ailments. In talking with them further it seems like many of their symptoms are related to stress. While celebrating Christmas should be very joyful, for some it can bring many emotions to the surface, some of which are manifest in physical symptoms.

In the midst of my trying to sort out these thoughts, our daughter Heather sent this quote to us by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone.

“Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s will never be the same again once you have celebrated them while serving a mission. Imagine a small Christmas tree with a few decorations, Christmas carols, a humble apartment, never more in love with your wife—a Christmas spirit that makes that little apartment seem as a sacred temple. You pack your white baptismal clothing and walk, hand in hand, to the chapel, where a little family waits patiently to enter God’s kingdom through the waters of baptism. You see the star of wonder, not hanging over Bethlehem, but in the eyes of the humble, sweet converts. You look at your wife, she looks at you; nothing need or can be said, both of you overcome with joy. The twelve or eighteen months will seem as a small moment, but the memories will last through the eternities.”

This quote was very touching to me, and made me think beyond the “normal” events of Christmas to the joy we have felt the last few months in observing the conversion process of our newly found friends, Lance and Grace. We invited Lance, Grace and their family along with Sister Gibson over for dinner on Christmas Eve. We had barely sat down at our tiny table when Lance announced he had decided to get baptized on January 11^th. I was overjoyed. He then said he was looking forward to going to the temple. When Shannon, the 13 year old daughter asked her mother what going to the temple meant, Grace told Shannon, “It means you will be my daughter forever!” At that moment I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the birth of our Savior than to have a small part in bringing souls to Him. I could more fully understand the scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 18:15-16. “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father.”

In all of our years in trying to share the gospel with others we have never had an experience like we have had with this family. It has seemed like what you would read in an Ensign article. Things like this don’t happen to us, yet it has. We have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Christmas Day we went to the Alders home for supper. With pooled funds from the other seniors, Russell and I went shopping a week ago and bought the food for Christmas dinner. We were concerned that if we waited until the last minute they might run out of turkeys. Our 12 pound turkey was 45 dollars, yet is sure tasted good! Potatoes were 50 cents each for small potatoes. The Bills made wonderful mashed potatoes. I guess if you are from Idaho you know how to do that. Sister Gibson made stuffing/dressing from scratch, and the Gordons brought a huge fruit platter. Things were starting to feel more like Christmas.

Before we started eating, President Alder read us a letter he received from a young sister missionary that put us all in tears. This sister and her companion visited a small family consisting of a widow and four small children on what was Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. There was one twin mattress for five people in the small one-room home, and no food to be had. The sisters excused themselves, ran home, got what had planned on being their own lunch and brought it back to this family. As there were not enough utensils or plates for the family to eat off of, they each used their hands to partake of this simple meal. This sister missionary said that it was the sweetest Thanksgiving dinner she has ever participated in, and one that she would remember for years to come.

Life here in the Philippines is simple and the people are very humble, working long hours to provide for their needs. We have been told that the average pay for unskilled laborers is equivalent to eight to ten US dollars per day. It is difficult to provide, yet the people here are friendly and kind. Last week an older sister proudly announced to me that she was a new member! I was a little confused. It turned out her baptism was today. We attended the baptism of her and her son this morning. The bishop told us there had been about 50 people baptized in just our individual Taytay ward in the last year. He spoke today in church requesting the faith of the members not only in coming to church but paying their tithes and fast offerings. His hope is that this ward will be divided by the end of next year. He extended an invitation to all of us to minister to our friends and neighbors so that every bench in the chapel can be full each Sunday.

During the second hour of church today there was a presentation on the self-reliance program. In two weeks they will start a class on building your own business after church. Grace quickly found the self-reliance booklets in the Gospel Library app and was explaining the class to another sister who rarely comes to church. I watched in wonder at seeing Grace who was only baptized two weeks ago share what she was learning with others around her.

My phone has been binging constantly this afternoon with messages regarding both housing and medical. It is good to be needed. We are where we are supposed to be this Christmas season. It is a blessing to be able to serve here in the Philippines. Even as I post this fireworks are going off outside our window. Hopefully nothing catches on fire!

Lance, Grace, Sister Gibson and Shannon as we read the Christmas story

Bree and Russell with some small gifts we purchased for her.

Christmas night at the Alders

President Alder cutting the turkey. We don't have an oven so turkey was a really special treat.

Sister Alder reading a Christmas book to us. It is a tradition in their family to get a new Christmas book every year and read it on Christmas.

Elder and Sister Gordon are 78 and 81 years old. They are serving as MLS missionaries in the province and keep a really positive attitude.

Russell returning from a housing inspection in Teresa. One of the recently released missionaries left his emergency backpack. We will fill it up and give it to someone else.