Sabado and 2 Augusto

We went to the church this morning and opened the family history lab, but nobody showed up all day. I hope we will get more when word spreads. I worked on some indexing while Sister Sessions cleaned half the church.

We went to Guysano's for lunch so Sister Sessions could have some pizza. I had chicken and rice and some fries. I scraped the breading off the chicken as best I could and had a little of the rice. The fries were cold, but I ate them anyway.

Sister Sessions went visiting teaching this afternoon with a bunch of sisters. They had a great time and Sister Sessions was actually animated when she got home. It did her a world of good to do something to serve others. Home/visiting teaching ought to be like that. When we get home, we ought to be happy we went and happy with the things that were shared.

We went to the baptisms this evening. It was good, but we really need to put more emphasis on baptism in the branches. Hamtic goes a little over the top, but they are memorable for the baptizees. Leaders must put more into presiding. They ought to dress in their Sunday best and be prepared to speak and welcome and lead. We have got to put more emphasis on the ordinance of baptism. The service is to be simple and not dragged out, but it needs to be memorable and we need more respect for something so utterly important.

Porter Sessions will be baptized in a few hours. Michael just face timed us at 9:50 and we await the baptism at about midnight here in the Philippines. Exciting . . .  probably more so for us than for him.

I don't believe it is common knowledge, even among members, how important baptism is in our progression. We must faith in the Savior and his atonement, repentance, baptism by someone holding authority, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost; the gift of having God the Holy Ghost as our care taking companion (Bible Dictionary page 681, end of paragraph 2 under "God"). We will have to work on baptisms in Antique. They are getting better, but we are not there yet.

Talking about God the Holy Ghost brings to mind how the Godhead loves one another, a model for presidencies and bishoprics everywhere. I often tell in talks around here how much the Holy Ghost loves the Savior and how he testifies of the Savior and the Father. When our leaders emulate the Godhead and love one another, they work "as one" to shepherd their flocks. I see the pattern beginning to develop right here in Antique.

Young Sister Fritzee. Not sure of the spelling. Elder Lundgren and Elder Ortiz taught her and she has a great heart. The Young Women welcome her.

Sister Rappleye and Sister Dotillos with Tobias and Chorley. These kids were married last week and now Brother Tobias was able to baptize his new wife. I took three pictures of this group and Brother Tobias never changed his pose.

Cute Kids starting life in the right way. . . 

Sister Sessions made Chorley's dress for her wedding. She dawned the dress after she was baptized and I wanted to record it. Unfortunately, they made me get in the picture.

After baptism treats in the entrance way. Brother Olan holds two little admirers smack in the middle of the group. Fun evening.