Not too often we get a visit
of an Apostle and a President of the quorum of the Seventies and another
Seventy visiting the Philippines back to back. Elder Andersen and Elder Soares were
here for a week and just as they said good bye we said hello to Elder Arnold
and company so you can only imagine how busy Daniel has been and still is
working every detail of their visits. Today I will write you about what Elder
Arnold said because it is so fresh in my mind and some other time I will write
about the words from Elder and sister Andersen and company.
Yesterday we were at the
airport to greet Elder Arnold and later took him to Church and to our home for
dinner in the evening. He came with two
other fellows who are training people here for P.E.F. he wanted to go to a
regular meeting with the local members and not the expat ward we usually attend
so we went to the nearest chapel close to the hotel they are staying. As the
meeting was to start, I saw on the stand the new Stake President of the 100 Stake
just formed last weekend, there were no announcements because we were attending
a brand new ward. The overall theme of the talks were about the ordinances of
the gospel.
The Bishop gave Elder Arnold
the last ten minutes of the meeting and this is a summary of what he said: “We
once lived in Heaven with our Heavenly Parents and came down to earth to
receive those ordinances.... I grew up in a wonderful small home with 9
siblings several of us had to share the same bed and every morning at 5:45 a.m.
our parents would say to us ‘come to prayer’ and again at 5:45 p.m. ‘come to
prayer’ every day while growing up for 18 years before going to College, I
heard them say that. We would read the scriptures and my parents would hug us
and say: ‘I love you” so one day when my friends started drinking and wanted me
to taste some of the booze I only saw my mother’s face on front of that bottle
and had to immediately get away from there. I was called names and ridiculed
but my mother would say, ‘don’t worry, you’ll find nicer friends.’
He said: …The proclamation to
the family. Love our wives. Thou shall
love our wife with all our hearts. The only other part in the Bible that has
thou shall love is thou shall love our God the eternal father.” He once decided to hike a mountain with his
wife and as they went up and up, many other couples gave up and were returning
but they kept on going even when it started to rain and snow until they got to
the very top. He picked up a stone and has placed it in his bathroom to
remember that day when they made it to the top of the mountain and to help him
keep on going. Marriage is difficult but
it is wonderful to know you are making it to the very top into heaven. He ended by saying: “We all go through trials.
The atoning is for those who are suffering pain and afflictions and temptations
of every kind.” He ended baring his testimony and a special witness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. “I know Him” he said.
Tonight, he invited us to
have dinner and had our Family Home Evening with him, where we each shared our
favorite scripture. How cool is that! Elder Arnold is very humble and so
incredible! He knows Daniel very well because they work together in Brazil so I
was very touched by his genuine love for Daniel.
Love,
Vero
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