Wednesday, December 14, 2016

2016-11-13 Coron Branch Says Goodbye to President & Sister Nepomuceno

 In November, we got to fly to Coron.  It is the smallest airport we fly to.  It feels like we are landing on a landing strip in the middle of a cow pasture....maybe because we are!  Its a beautuful place.

Caleb took this panoramic picture of the runway...it's not this large, but basically shows all directions.



 We flew there with Elder and Sister Adduru who have been serving in Puerto Princessa on Palawan.


 It's a beautiful drive from the airport with occasional waiting for the motorcycle herding the cows.  :)


We were blessed to attend the baptism of a very special sister.  It was so great to see our sister missionaries.  They are such a great team of sisters!


                           We have two sets of sisters serving there.  They are amazing!



                                    Baptism in a plastic tank, but it was a beautiful experience.



                One of the member brought some kind of snack for everyone afterwards.



     After the baptism, it was time for a celebration for the outgoing branch president, President Nepomuceno.  His son, Lyle showed us how to roast a pig.
 


     Even Caleb gave it a try.  It's amazing that the family was doing this inside their house....for hours. 


                                             The finished product.




















After faithfully serving five years in Coron as the branch president, President Arnold Nepomuceno, his wife Susie and their sons, Josh and Lyle are moving to Manila.  Only Heavenly Father and they know the sacrifices they have willingly made to help build the Kingdom of God in Coron.


They have become like family to us!


The Coron Branch


The new branch president is President Cipriano Adduru.  He has been serving as a senior missionary with his wife in Puerto Princesa.  We enjoyed a wonderful celebration dinner and opportunity to get to know the branch members better as well as a wonderful sacrament meeting where President Nepomuceno was released and President Adduru was sustained.

Just a side note:  It is an amazing experience to witness true consecration in action.  Both of these couples love the Lord more than life itself.  They would sacrifice anything...and have sacrificed much so that their brothers and sisters in Coron can have the joys and blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  Oh, how we love them!