Very Special Day

We spent the morning helping elders move, loading them and all their personal stuff into the van and driving them to their new apartment. We had planned on going-home activities with the two elders finishing their missions, which start with donuts and juice in the office in the morning while the president gives them an exit interview, early lunch of pizza, and then a trip to the temple. We were able to meet everyone at the temple, so only missed the food part.  We ate granola bars and yogurt in the car.

We had a lovely session in the temple with one other senior couple, the president and his wife, the Assistants to the President, the elders that were going home, and a sister whose father had passed away about two weeks ago. She is getting transferred to Palawan tomorrow, and wanted a chance to get to the temple for some peace.

After the temple, the tradition has been to visit the American Memorial Cemetery of the Philippines, where over 17,000 servicemen who died in the Pacific Theater are buried, and another many thousand whose bodies were never found are listed, engraved on the marble walls of the memorial.  Back in 1961, Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Philippines to the preaching of the gospel at that site, and one of the leaving missionaries read his dedicatory prayer.  It was beautiful, and it was especially interesting to think of what has transpired since that time and fulfilled many of the promises of the prayer, and what more is to come.

Following the cemetery we went to the Mission Home for a delicious meal, then had a testimony meeting. This is also customary, and we hear testimonies from the leaving missionaries.  This time that included President and Sister Stucki, who will go home June 29, I think. It was an especially meaningful meeting this time, as all four spoke of the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ, in helping us to achieve our potential as missionaries and as his children. We are so blessed that we found and joined His church, and for the growth we have been able to make because of His enabling power. I can't recapture the Spirit from the meeting, but it was powerful, and made us so glad to be here helping His Kingdom to go forth, and to help the young missionaries bring such joy to the people they teach.