Bogo and San Remegio Visit

Young Women in San Remegio are taking keyboard lessons so they can play at Church meetings




Gloria with San Remegio Branch Primary Leaders. The young sister is the Bogo District Primary Leader.

February 5, 2006

On Saturday we drove two hours - well it took us three hours due to funeral processions (3) that take up one side of the highway and slow traffic to a standstill. The people walk, about four abreast, behind the hearse. Some carry flowers; most just walk along for quite some distance. We also encountered very heavy traffic in the city and took almost an hour just to get out of Cebu. We went up to the north end of our island to talk at a Missionary Fireside. It was a wonderful experience. We have visited and taugth in that area - Bogo- several times and feel like we have friends there. Bob talked about signs of the true Church, and I read and talked about Alma 5. We ate dinner with Anne and Fleming Hansen and saw the end of a baptism that Elder Little and Morales were conducting for their new convert as well. Then on Sunday we went to San Remegio Branch, a small - 28 people - branch nearby where Bob taught Sunday School and I helped with the Primary. They have a new young returned missionary as Branch President and he is eager to follow his manuals and to do things 'right.' The two sisters in charge of Primary were both in their 70's and obviously love, and are loved by the children. The third sister in the photo is the District Primary President. We were happy to be able to help a bit. We drove the Bogo District Primary President and her 6 year old son Jonas back to Bogo as they were visiting the little San Remegio Branch as well. On the way we talked about teaching people how to do their callings. One problem here is the people out in the bukid - country - don't read English. Church manuals are available in their language - Cebuano - but were translated by very well educated people and many of the words used are unknown to the country people so, in effect, they can't read those manuals either! It is a challenge. Their public schools remind me of those in Nigeria and are based on rote memory and recitation, which really hinders them when it comes to problem solving. The children are especially bright and eager to learn and it is a great pleasure to help in Primary. I am also doing Relief Society trainings at District and Stake Conference Auxiliary meetings and that is also quite interesting.