Touching Email We Received from the Mission President in Cavite

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Elder and sister Roxas,

I wanted you to see a bit of your apartment.  The Wrights and some missionaries and members have been working to get it in better shape.  I’m forwarding you the letter they sent us from Mindoro, read below. We LOVE you already and are so looking forward to you joining us!

Sister Stapley


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Hi President and Sister Stapley, 

We have had a busy week in Occidental Mindoro.  We have been working on Elder and Sister Roxas' apartment and have had quite the experience. There is a lot of excitement in anticipation of their arrival. 

Let me share with you a few thoughts and observations about preparing their apartment.  The apartment is large by Mindoro standards. It has a gate and an area to park their car off the street.  The main floor consists of a big, open living room, a large kitchen and a CR.  There are 3 bedrooms upstairs as well as an open area that leads to a charming balcony.  There are many built-in colorful cabinets in the bedrooms.  For example, the master bedroom built-ins are bright green. I've attached a photo.

A senior couple lived in this apartment prior to COVID.  Sisters have been living there for the past few years.  It's a large apartment for young missionaries to maintain and so it has fallen into disrepair.  It's rewarding to see it get cleaned up, repaired, and painted.  It will be an ongoing project for a little while and well worth the effort.

Here in lies the story.  Elder Wright and I brought our beloved office elders to help us clean and paint the apartment.  The elders from Rizal were also enlisted.  The branch president in Calintaan, President Tiosa and his wife,  have also been at our side.  A sweet returned missionary, Jilesa, has also helped.  In fact, she insisted on spending her 24th birthday painting.  She rode with the Tiosas from Calintaan on their family's trike. The journey takes over an hour each way. I've attached a picture of their trike in front of the apartment.  Elder Wright and I were blessed to work side by side with this small army of Helaman. 

The beauty of living on an island comes hand in hand with a few challenges.  Undeterred, the army set to work.  Things went much slower than anticipated.  It's hard to cook meals when the stove is out of order.  The air conditioners were not working and so we labored in an island sauna.  Elder Wright must have made 4 or 5 trips to City Hardware every day as each small repair project took on a life of its own.  The elders planned to stay up all night to finish painting and then the island had an unscheduled "brown out" that lasted more than 24 hours.  Apparently, the island didn't get their diesel fuel for the city generator.  No electricity equals no lights, equals no water, equals no fans.   

Early the next morning when Elder Wright and I arrived, we found the elders painting.  I must admit I became a bit tearful when we discovered their circumstances. "Don't worry about us Sister Wright! We're Filipino and we like to help."  That day they were happy and sang primary songs while they painted and sweated. They did their best to paint under less-than-ideal circumstances.  They were serving the Lord and that's what missions are all about.  Right?

 So, please let the Roxas' know that they are needed and wanted in San Jose, Occidental. They are already loved.  Their apartment is a work in progess.  The paint job may not be perfect, but they get to live in the home that was lovingly prepared by the Lord's army.  It's great stuff! 

Sincerely,

Sister Wright






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