Here I Am
Sitting here in the early quiet of the morning, I have already written a complete blog post. It was witty, it was intelligent, it talked about the Philippines, and...I deleted it. I don't think that's what I'm supposed to write about at this moment, so I'll try again.
In a jet-lag fueled early morning, I have decided there must be something going on in my busy brain that could be put to use, so here I am. After months of absence, I'm back to write something here that may or may not be inspirational to someone else or even myself. We'll see what happens.
In our recent trip to the Philippines, my sweet husband and I were blessed beyond measure to find and see so many of our dearest friends from areas in our mission. It was made very clear that there is no expiration date on love, and no limit of distance. I have never had so many hugs, nor taken so many pictures in the space of a week, than I did while visiting the greatest island nation in the world. We made promises to return, ate Filipino food like we had been starving for the past six to seven years, bought souvenirs, and wept at the thought of leaving. What a whirlwind.
Granted, it wasn't all positive. In our quest to find people who were so important to us, it became clear that our memories didn't really extend to locations as much as they did to people. Luckily, we did happen on most of them, but there were a few we couldn't find, and we were sad. We were especially dismayed to find out that some were gone altogether, that people had passed away, and lives were completely changed. We had this hope that it would all be the exact same as when we had left, and that everything would have just paused while we were away. Naturally, it didn't and life, as it so often does, happened. We did what we could to accept it, and moved on in our adventure.
There is one particular experience that we will never forget, and that is such a perfect illustration of the Filipino people as we know them. We were on our tiny island of Marinduque. As the Lord planned, Preston and I were assigned to this most beautiful island in the world. We both had glorious memories of this place, and seeing the outline of it fade into sharpness as we approached on the boat was like coming home. For both of us. We quickly made new memories, as being married and no longer on a full-time mission affords a little greater freedom regarding things we could actually do. Yes, we definitely went swimming. Yes, it was better than I imagined. The water was so clear and perfect, we could see the fish swimming by our feet. Gorgeous.
We went to Preston's area and I got to meet the people who helped shape his early mission experiences, and the people he was most desperate to see. They are incredible. You will not find more loving, happy, funny, helpful, hard-working people in the entire world. They love the Lord, the Gospel, and the missionaries. And they were so excited to see Elder Trebas back at home. Many of them even remembered me from the one day I spent in that area when I was assigned to the island! We had what they called a, "Half-day Mission," where all the missionaries from one zone go and work in one area. It's basically to help find investigators when the missionaries there aren't having a ton of luck. It is only effective if the ward helps by taking the missionaries around the area. I had done this one time-ONE TIME, and there were so many who remembered me from that day! I believe they have this capacity to remember people because people are what's important to them. People are their number one priority. Not money, clothes, jobs, cars, whatever. It's people. You will never feel more loved or important than you are in the Philippines.
When we got to this area of Preston's, we had decided to do a branch Family Home Evening. Honestly, almost the entire branch was there. It was fantastic! We met at the church, which is the second story of a building in town. It was hot; they had about 5 electric fans in the chapel, but we were all a little sweaty. The heat didn't keep us from absolutely enjoying each other. We caught up with everyone, took a million pictures, and had FHE, Filipino style. We had an opening prayer, a spiritual thought, and then the real reason for FHE: a game. We played Fruit Basket, which is basically a different version of Do You Love Your Neighbor, and it was a RIOT. Even the old grandmas and grandpas played with us, and there were several of the older ladies who could. not. handle it. They were laughing so hysterically, I really thought they might not be able to breathe. The best part though, is that about 2 minutes into the game, the power went out. This is a very common occurrence on the island. At least twice a week. For the entire island. I love it. Anyway, as soon as the lights went out, everyone pulled out their phones, turned on their lights, and the game went on as if nothing had happened. We kept playing until we were all out of breath and entirely sweaty. It was a blast! I couldn't help but sit back a little bit and just watch as this group of people who shared a common faith, had so much joy in one room that they couldn't be stopped. They enjoyed the game, they enjoyed the food afterward, but mostly, they enjoyed each other. We were all dying just watching the older ladies laugh so hard they couldn't talk. There was so much love. So much. I wanted to bottle up the feeling and take it home with me, because I know that it's harder to find experiences like that here. There's so much getting in the way. But even the memory of it warms my heart, and makes me want to share it, in the hopes that I can keep feeling it from far away.
And now I think that might be the purpose behind this post. Especially during this Christmas season, I hope I can spread the love. Preston and I have had a special focus this year on the church's initiative to Light the World, and it is a very cool experience to do service for other people. Especially when they don't expect it, and they don't know who's done it. It's such a good way to spread the love, and the Lord really sends His love when you've done it, so much so that the feeling just multiplies. Truly, there is happiness and love
to be found in service.
And there is love to be found in the Philippines.
In a jet-lag fueled early morning, I have decided there must be something going on in my busy brain that could be put to use, so here I am. After months of absence, I'm back to write something here that may or may not be inspirational to someone else or even myself. We'll see what happens.
In our recent trip to the Philippines, my sweet husband and I were blessed beyond measure to find and see so many of our dearest friends from areas in our mission. It was made very clear that there is no expiration date on love, and no limit of distance. I have never had so many hugs, nor taken so many pictures in the space of a week, than I did while visiting the greatest island nation in the world. We made promises to return, ate Filipino food like we had been starving for the past six to seven years, bought souvenirs, and wept at the thought of leaving. What a whirlwind.
Granted, it wasn't all positive. In our quest to find people who were so important to us, it became clear that our memories didn't really extend to locations as much as they did to people. Luckily, we did happen on most of them, but there were a few we couldn't find, and we were sad. We were especially dismayed to find out that some were gone altogether, that people had passed away, and lives were completely changed. We had this hope that it would all be the exact same as when we had left, and that everything would have just paused while we were away. Naturally, it didn't and life, as it so often does, happened. We did what we could to accept it, and moved on in our adventure.
There is one particular experience that we will never forget, and that is such a perfect illustration of the Filipino people as we know them. We were on our tiny island of Marinduque. As the Lord planned, Preston and I were assigned to this most beautiful island in the world. We both had glorious memories of this place, and seeing the outline of it fade into sharpness as we approached on the boat was like coming home. For both of us. We quickly made new memories, as being married and no longer on a full-time mission affords a little greater freedom regarding things we could actually do. Yes, we definitely went swimming. Yes, it was better than I imagined. The water was so clear and perfect, we could see the fish swimming by our feet. Gorgeous.
We went to Preston's area and I got to meet the people who helped shape his early mission experiences, and the people he was most desperate to see. They are incredible. You will not find more loving, happy, funny, helpful, hard-working people in the entire world. They love the Lord, the Gospel, and the missionaries. And they were so excited to see Elder Trebas back at home. Many of them even remembered me from the one day I spent in that area when I was assigned to the island! We had what they called a, "Half-day Mission," where all the missionaries from one zone go and work in one area. It's basically to help find investigators when the missionaries there aren't having a ton of luck. It is only effective if the ward helps by taking the missionaries around the area. I had done this one time-ONE TIME, and there were so many who remembered me from that day! I believe they have this capacity to remember people because people are what's important to them. People are their number one priority. Not money, clothes, jobs, cars, whatever. It's people. You will never feel more loved or important than you are in the Philippines.
When we got to this area of Preston's, we had decided to do a branch Family Home Evening. Honestly, almost the entire branch was there. It was fantastic! We met at the church, which is the second story of a building in town. It was hot; they had about 5 electric fans in the chapel, but we were all a little sweaty. The heat didn't keep us from absolutely enjoying each other. We caught up with everyone, took a million pictures, and had FHE, Filipino style. We had an opening prayer, a spiritual thought, and then the real reason for FHE: a game. We played Fruit Basket, which is basically a different version of Do You Love Your Neighbor, and it was a RIOT. Even the old grandmas and grandpas played with us, and there were several of the older ladies who could. not. handle it. They were laughing so hysterically, I really thought they might not be able to breathe. The best part though, is that about 2 minutes into the game, the power went out. This is a very common occurrence on the island. At least twice a week. For the entire island. I love it. Anyway, as soon as the lights went out, everyone pulled out their phones, turned on their lights, and the game went on as if nothing had happened. We kept playing until we were all out of breath and entirely sweaty. It was a blast! I couldn't help but sit back a little bit and just watch as this group of people who shared a common faith, had so much joy in one room that they couldn't be stopped. They enjoyed the game, they enjoyed the food afterward, but mostly, they enjoyed each other. We were all dying just watching the older ladies laugh so hard they couldn't talk. There was so much love. So much. I wanted to bottle up the feeling and take it home with me, because I know that it's harder to find experiences like that here. There's so much getting in the way. But even the memory of it warms my heart, and makes me want to share it, in the hopes that I can keep feeling it from far away.
And now I think that might be the purpose behind this post. Especially during this Christmas season, I hope I can spread the love. Preston and I have had a special focus this year on the church's initiative to Light the World, and it is a very cool experience to do service for other people. Especially when they don't expect it, and they don't know who's done it. It's such a good way to spread the love, and the Lord really sends His love when you've done it, so much so that the feeling just multiplies. Truly, there is happiness and love
to be found in service.
And there is love to be found in the Philippines.
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