The Field is White and Ready to Harvest

What a weekend we've had in the Philippines Cauayan Mission. We were able to attend a number of baptisms. First on Friday night we witnessed the baptisms of four very special individuals. One was a couple in their late 70s. The brother was quite feeble and almost blind. He is an albino and so he has pure white skin and white hair but with filipino features. They live far from the church and since they didn't want to miss their baptisms they took a trycie in the middle of the afternoon. They showed up at the church at 4:00 p.m., three hours early! Since most filipinos run way late, that was very amazing. The missionaries organized it so a member drove them home afterwards. When Elder Murphy got in the font with the brother he was really gentle with him and helped ease him in. When it was time to baptize him, the brother simply sat down in the font and Elder Murhpy just had to ease his upper torso under the water. I've never seen anyone sit down in the font. There were two young men in their 20s also baptized. One is a young husband whose wife is a member. She is pregnant with their first child. On Saturday afternoon they were injured in a motorcycle accident and are now in the hospital. So they weren't able to be confirmed. Both are really banged up but luckily the doctors don't think it hurt the baby! We pray for a speedy recovery for them.

On Saturday we went to Tuguegarao where they had 43 individuals baptized. That zone has really be concentrating on working with the members and we witnessed the fruits of their labor. This represented 4 or 5 of their units. I saw a jeepney arrive that was stuffed with people from one of the branches and our missionaries that serve there. There was smoke billowing out from under the hood. It looked like a miracle that the jeepney made it to the baptism.

The chapel was a sea of white. It was so inspiring to witness! It was very organized and after an opening exercise with a couple of speakers (including President and I) they lined up to be baptized. All in all it took 2.5 hours total including the opening and closing exercises. What was truly inspiring was the fact that these folks were there and dressed on time! Believe me, that never happens in the Philippines. So I know that our missionaries and the bishops and branch presidents of these units worked hard to make sure everyone understood the importance of being on time.

I shall never forget this event for as long as I live! We believe that this was a mission record for the number of baptisms in one zone. There were many other baptisms throughout the mission this weekend we're excited to hear how many in all received this glorious gospel. Now the work begins as the members fellowship and nurture these precious souls into their gospel family.

We are so proud of all of our missionaries who work tirelessly to cultivate this part of the world. The field is white and our missionaries are eager to assist in the harvest!