Cebuano words and sayings:
Put the emphasis on the 2nd syllable
Salamat Thank
you sa la mat
Hinay, Hinay Go
slow, go slow He ni, He ni
Basta basta
Kanunay just
don’t stop Kanu ni
Gamaylang a little bit
ga mai lang
Happy Birthday Happy
Birthday
Maayo Kaayo That’s
great ma a I o
Kumusta Ka How
are you? Ka moo
sti Ki
Naghinumdom Remember
nag hi num dom
Expressions of Christmas
Shangri-la Hotel
Ayala Mall
Over the mountain
Ayala Mall
Christmas Trees and Stars are everywhere!
A tree made with shells.
Stars decorating the balcony outside of our apartment.
Stars and Nutcrackers!
Marco Polo Hotel
Cebu East Mission Office
The tree and star are made of corn husks.
These stars are made with glossy paper from catalogues or magazines. A type of recycling. The paper is twisted together firmly, and then the star is formed.
The wood for this Nativity is acacia wood.
This Nativity is made from shells.
And of course, this is our favorite nativity - the beautiful one on the temple grounds.
Elder and Sister Sommerfeldt wish to bear testimony that Jesus Christ - the babe born in Bethlehem - is our Savior and Redeemer. His mission, ordained by the Father, was to come to earth and live a perfect life, thus setting an example for us, that we might desire to return and live in his presence eternally.
Because of His tender love for each of us, and His amazing grace, we are blessed with the knowledge we need to live his commandments. Repentance, baptism by the proper authority, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, are the first steps in heeding the words of our Savior. The blessing of temple ordinances allow us to be sealed to our families forever.
The mission we are presently serving allows us to be involved in "the hastening" of the work of our Lord as we prepare for His second coming.
Of this we testify. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Today we were in Balamban for church. That is our assigned branch on Sundays, and the sister missionaries there are Sister Hutchings and Sister Sawyer. Sister Hutchings FINALLY received the package from home that her mom sent when she left the MTC. Working in the office, we were aware it arrived this week, and it was our pleasure to take it to her. She was very excited!
These two sisters are both so sweet, talented, and focused on their missionary work. They are the missionaries who are teaching Cherry and Myann. We plan on attending those two baptisms on December 21st in Balamban.
We are receiving about 20-30 packages a week at this time of year for our missionaries. Occasionally the package will have a rat hole chewed into the cardboard. The rats especially like the smell of nuts and trail mix. Elder Sommerfeldt and Elder Ernstrom are always hoping the rat has moved on before they bring the package back to the office from the Post Office. Sister Hutchings' package had NO rat holes! Yeah!
A couple of weeks ago, Elder Sommerfeldt brought a package into the office which had a rat hole. He carefully took it into Sister Ernstrom, and while showing her the rat hole, he secretly started scratching the bottom of the package. She about died. Boy, was he in trouble - again. Just another day at the office with Elder Sommerfeldt!
Our drive back to Cebu from Balamban today was leisurely and enjoyable. We literally drive up and over the tops of two mountains.
