Winter in Cebu

We had a spot of rain this past week. It actually rained almost continually over a three day period. We were starting to wonder if we should invest in a small boat. The standing water disappeared pretty quickly though when the sun came out again.

This was the week for MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) where all the zone leaders and sister training leaders meet for instruction from President and Sister Tanner. This meeting is on the first Tuesday of the month. The sisters actually arrive and meet by themselves with the Tanners on Monday evening.

Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders with the Tanners

On Thursday after MLC each zone holds a meeting to pass along information and training received at the MLC. Then on Friday President and Sister Tanner met with the local district leaders to provide additional training for them. Immediately after the Friday meeting Tanners left with the Assistants to the President to travel by ferry to Bohol in order to repeat the training for the district leaders on Bohol and so that President Tanner could do missionary interviews there next week.  We wonder if President and Sister Tanner ever sleep.

Mactan Doctors Hospital

Speaking of sleep, or lack thereof, this is what the entrance to Mactan Doctors Hospital in Lapu-Lapu looks like at about 3 A.M. Saturday morning. In addition to Mission Mom, Sister Tanner is also the designated Mission Nurse. We received a call from Sister Tanner at 11:30 Friday evening. There was a Sister Missionary in Lapu-Lapu who was experiencing a medical condition where she needed to go to the emergency room to be checked out. Since Tanners were on Bohol, she asked if we could go to assist. So off we went being reminded that if Sister Tanner were here she would be going and that this is her 'normal'. It seems that when she is not with missionaries helping them in person or on the phone, she is on the phone talking with doctors in Manila.

Hospital Main Entrance

Hospital Lobby/waiting area

We first met and picked up the two zone leaders in Lapu-Lapu, Elder Schnoor and Elder Racca, so that they could direct us to the sister's apartment. You may recall that last week we took the zone leaders from Lapu-Lapu to lunch at McDonalds - these are the ones. As it turned out, we met them at McDonalds because we knew where that was and we were not sure if we could find their apartment again. We then picked up the two sisters and a member from the ward in Lapu-Lapu named Marissa. Marissa was there with the sisters making sure they were cared for - she is an angel. 

Entrance to emergency room. Elder Schnoor is inside.

We proceeded to the hospital emergency room.  It turned out after a full night of testing and observation that the the sister missionary was all right.  She is recovering from having a wisdom tooth removed last week and had some difficulty related to that. She was released about 10:00 Saturday morning. By then we had taken the zone leaders back home and the two sister training leaders from Lapu-Lapu had come to assist.  The sisters were driven back to their apartment and we returned to our house - about an hour drive home due to traffic.  On our return trip we drove again past the point where one of us got the ticket for making an illegal U-Turn and saw that indeed there is a sign, although in the guilty party's defense it was hard to read. The guilty party would also like to take this opportunity to thank Elder Racca and Elder Schnoor for making sure the ticket was paid last week in a timely manner. All is well that ends well.

Elder Racca and Marissa

In the lobby of the Mactan Doctors Hospital is a sign above a desk written in Japanese Katakana (phonetic lettering) that reads Jiyapanisu Herupu Desuku. Roughly translated it is Japanese Help Desk. Apparently there are enough Japanese patients to warrant a help desk, although no one was at the desk the whole time we were there.  

Also, this prayer is posted on the hospital bulletin board. It made us wonder who Pedro Colungsod is. 

This is from the web site for the Embassy of the Philippines
"Blessed Pedro Calungsod also known as Pedro Calonsor was born in the year 1654 and died on April 2, 1672. He was a young Roman Catholic Filipino migrant, sacristan and missionary catechist, who along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, suffered religious persecution and martyrdom in Guam for their missionary work in 1672.

While in Guam, Calungsod preached Christianity to the Chamorro people through catechism, while baptizing both infants, children and adults at the risk of being persecuted and eventually murdered. Through Calungsod and San Vitores' missionary efforts, many native Chamorros converted to Roman Catholicism."

Blessed Pedro Calungsod

Pedro was from the Cebu area and is the second Filipino to be granted sainthood by the Catholic Church. It is also interesting that Joseph Smith was 14 when he had the first vision and Pedro was this same age when he left on the mission to Guam.