FIRST MISSIONARY FROM BANGLADESH

Elder Isaac Hawlader Points to His Hometown, Dhaka, in Bangladesh

Elder Hawlader Enjoys a Brief Moment in Front of the MTC

E/S Bird, Elder Hawlader, Sis. Farnsworth, and E/S DuPaix Pose in MTC Lobby

Recently, Randy received an email from the MTC President informing us that they had a new missionary that arrived from Bangladesh...the first missionary EVER from that country....we don't even send missionaries there yet!!  Public Affairs was given permission to interview him and do a story for the Philippine newsroom and Church News. Sister Farnsworth would do the interview...she actually did the interview with "first missionaries" from two other European countries and one Asian....Elder Bird would be the photographer...and I and Elder and Sister Dupaix would just observe. When we met him, I was surprised at what a handsome man he was!  I don't know what I expected, but he looked very Arab to me.  My first impression was that he looked like he came from a "well to do" family....he carried himself very well and was very friendly and easy to engage in conversation. We took a few photos and then sat down for the interview in the foyer area of the MTC. We all shed many tears as we listened to this humble young man share with us the very difficult life he had experienced. Below is the story that was published.

Elder Isaac Hawlader is the first missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Bangladesh. Born June 2, 1993, he comes from the capitol city of Dhaka and is 19 years old. He is assigned to the Philippine Cauayan Mission and arrived in this country without “purse or script.” He was a member of a small congregation, but he had never seen a missionary before coming to the Manila Missionary Training Center (MTC).

From July 2011 to June 2012, Mormon missionaries have arrived in the Philippines from 11 countries for 19 days of training at the MTC before returning to their home countries to serve their people for 18-24 months: India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia...and now from Bangladesh. Elder Hawlader is unique in that he will not be returning to his home country until after he serves for two years in the Cauayan area. He is learning Tagalog so that he will be able to donate his time and energy helping the Filipino people.

Isaac Hawlader joined the Church four years ago at the age of 15 through the influence of an email from a relative who was a member. He wanted Isaac to read the Book of Mormon.

Elder Hawlader has a sister who is 16 years old. She also wants to go on a mission when she is old enough. His parents are not members but they are very supportive of his being on a mission for the Savior. Both of them are also Christians. When asked, “Why did you decide to serve a mission?” Isaac responded, “Because Heavenly Father has a special plan for my life. I want to share my personal witness.”

Bangladesh has not yet recognized the Church, but members are allowed to meet. Isaac has been meeting in a congregation of about 43 members including Americans working at the U.S. Embassy. The former management officer of the Embassy, Adam Lamoraux, was the Church leader in Dhaka at the time Elder Hawlader joined the Church. He baptized him.

On his fourth day in the MTC, Elder Hawlader gave this interview and said that, “The MTC is really good for me. It is a blessing to me". He had already learned five sentences in Tagalog and his pronunciation was excellent. He spoke those sentences with joy and enthusiasm.

Elder Hawlader learned English in college before coming on his mission. At fifteen he was given the opportunity to participate in a work-study arrangement for his schooling. He had spent eleven years previously in an orphanage. His sister was also placed in the same orphanage but they were unaware of each other for many years. They had such a joyful reunion when they became re-aquainted.

Isaac’s parents had to place them in orphanage care because his father had been injured in an accident and his mother had mental problems before and after his birth which made it impossible for her to care for her children. All the years that he spent away from them, he longed to know about them and to see them. A friend kept encouraging Isaac to read in the Bible, but to him, Heavenly Father did not exist. “There was no God in the whole world.” Finally, one night, he was feeling so sad that he decided to read a single verse, but only one verse, and when he opened the Bible it fell open to Matthew 6:6: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Isaac received an answer that night in a dream that God lives and knew him personally. He awoke his friend in the wee hours of the morning to tell him of his experience. Later,when he heard from his Mormon relative he decided in his heart that, “God spoke to me in the Bible. If He says the same thing in the Book of Mormon I will know that God also speaks in that book and I will join the Church.” He opened the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi 13:6 and found the same scripture as in Matthew about praying in your closet and the Lord being there. Elder Isaac Hawlader became a baptized member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

One of the blessings he received was that he found his parents and although he realized he needed to be in school instead of home, he rejoices in his association with them. College was “so tough” and he had to study very hard but then he made the decision to go on his mission, thus, continuing on with more education.

He recalled that Adam Lamoraux told him that he just needed to decide one way or another to go on a mission and the rest would be taken care of. That counsel came true. With many personal sacrifices, great faith, and a few miracles, Elder Hawlader made it through customs and was able to leave Bangladesh for his mission.

One of the other Philippine missionaries going to the Cauayan mission reported that Elder Hawlader is learning Tagalog more quickly than he can believe. There is no doubt that this young man has been chosen and called up by the Lord from his people in Bangladesh to represent Him in the Philippines. He joins with the other dedicated young missionaries whose greatest desire is to serve the Lord and share their witness of Him…that He lives and knows and loves each one of His children.

ELDER RUSSELL M. NELSON VISITS THE VICE PRESIDENT

President Michael John U. Teh, Area President and Elder Russell M. Nelson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the Coconut Palace, Home of Vice President Jejomar Binay

Emman Rama and His Wife, President Michael John U. Teh, V.P. Jejomar Binay, and Elder Russell M. Nelson With Gift of the Christus That Was Presented by The Church to V.P. Binay

Elder Russell M. Nelson Visits With Vice President Jejomar Binay

Below is the article written about Elder Nelson's visit with Vice President Binay.  Haidi (director of Public Affairs in the Philippines) set this meeting up and also accompanied Elder Nelson to the visit. We prepared the gift of the Christus for him! I kept thinking,"does V.P. Binay have any idea how privileged he is today???" It was a great day!

Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as Mormons) met with Vice President Jejomar Binay to renew and discuss their commitment to support the Philippines in its areas of mutual concern, particularly, family values and humanitarian initiatives. 

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Michael John U. Teh, Philippines Area President, paid a courtesy call to the Vice President at the heels of the Church’s successful celebration of its 50 years in the Philippines, and most recently, its observance of the National Day of Service held April 28 in which Church members provided 150,000 hours of volunteer service throughout the country.

In the Philippines, the Church was established in 1961, and counts to date more than half a million members. In their conversation, Binay expressed interest knowing about the origin of the term “Mormons” and spoke of appreciation of the Philippines Manila Temple.  He also expressed familiarity with missionaries walking in the streets in pairs wearing name tags under the heat of the sun.  In line with Binay’s housing initiatives for the marginalized sectors,  Elder Teh informed him of the construction of temporary shelters in Cagayan de Oro in partnership with Catholic Relief Services.  Elder Nelson further reinforced the Church’s desire to help the Filipinos and expressed to Binay the Church’s willingness to partner with his office for any worthwhile projects that will benefit the people. 

Elder Nelson, who prior to his becoming an Apostle, was an internationally renowned surgeon and medical researcher, said: “We were pleased to meet with the Vice President of the Philippines.  He is an ardent advocate of strong families and of helpful service to others. As Church leaders, we also support and uphold the Filipino family as a basic unit of this society.  We often participate with people of other faith groups in addressing humanitarian and other needs throughout the world.  We do this because we try to pattern our lives after the teachings of Jesus Christ.  We strive to follow his example."

AMERICAN MEMORIAL 2012

Wreath Placed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at American Memorial Cemetery

(pics l-r) 1. Lieutenant General Frederick M. Padilla (U.S. Marines) with Boy Scouts 2. Young Boy and Girl Place Wreath to Commemorate Fallen Soldiers 3. E/S Bird with Vice President of the Philippines, Jejomar Binay 4. Members of Area Presidency Pose with British Ambassador to the Philippines and His Son

Bugler Plays Taps at Conclusion of Memorial Services

For the second time on our mission, we attended this Memorial Day service...only this time, the Church contributed a wreath and members of our Area Presidency were present.  Like last year, it was a wonderful patriotic service.  Below is the article written by Randy, that was published in the Mormonnewsroom.ph website.

On Sunday, 27 May 2012 at 8:00 a.m. in the Manila American Military Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, a Memorial Day service was held to honor those fallen in World War II and on the battlefields of Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Vice President Jejomar Binay,  Congressman Isidro S. Rodriguez Jr., Lieutenant General Jessie Dellosa, chief staff of the Philippine armed forces, and Ambassadors from Canada, South Africa, and The United Kingdom were in attendance. President Michael John U. Teh and President Ian S. Ardern of the Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their wives were among those assembled to pay tribute to those who gave their lives to protect our freedom and liberty.

Members of the Boy Scouts of America, the United States Embassy and the Makati 4th Branch of the Church had placed a Filipino and an American flag on each of the 17,000 graves the morning before. The entire cemetery was reminiscent of the United States National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia or the World War II Memorial Cemetery in Normandy, France.

A row of beautiful wreaths flanked the side of a white tent where the ceremonies took place. The Church had presented one of the wreaths this year and was recognized for its gift. The security and quiet solemnity of the cemetery provided a moving backdrop to the program which included opening remarks and Memorial messages, and music provided by the Philippine Army Band. At the conclusion of the service, Taps was played at two positions in the Memorial preceded by a 21-gun salute. 

The cemetery site, 152 acres of gently rising ground which culminates at the memorial, contains the largest number of graves of our military dead of World War II. Soldiers from all of the then 48 States of the Union as well as the District of Columbia, Philippines, Panama, Guam, Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada, China, England, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Finland, Jamaica, Burma and Peru are buried at the site.

Both the service and the cemetery itself were reminders of the price of freedom paid by those willing to serve their country in time of war. As Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said at a Philippine Area Office devotional the previous Tuesday morning, “There will always be enmity, hatred, contention and dissention in the world because that is the adversary’s work, but the Lord will prevail. Where there was war in Korea and the Philippines, there are now wards, stakes and temples  (dioceses and cathedrals)."

ELDER RUSSELL M. NELSON AND BISHOP DEAN DAVIES VISIT PHILIPPINES

1. Elder Russell M. Nelson, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 2. Elder Russell M. Nelson Greets Sister Bird 3. Elder Nelson and Area Presidency (Pres. Teh, Elder Nielsen, and Elder Ardern) Greet People After Morning Devotional

E/S Bird with Bishop Dean and Darla Davies of the Presiding Bishopric...Visited the Philippines the Same Week as Elder Nelson

Sister Bird Greets Elder Russell M. Nelson

Elder Bird Greets Elder Russell M. Nelson and Pres. Michael John U. Teh 

Elders Muhlestein and Dariagan (Malaya Branch Missionaries) Greet Elder Nelson and Elder Nielsen of the Area Presidency

Elder Russell M. Nelson Greets Missionaries and Members on His Way to the Manila Temple

PHILIPPINE MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER DEDICATION

President George Taylor Speaks at MTC Dedication as Area Presidency and Elder Russell M. Nelson Look On

Teachers at MTC Sing Intermediate Hymn

New Missionaries Sing Hymn at the Beginning of the Dedication

Elder Russell M. Nelson Addresses Attendees Prior to Dedicating the MTC

  

What a privilege to be here for the dedication of the new Philippines Missionary Training Center. It was held on May 20, 2012 in the Joseph Smith Conference Room, and was scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m., however, many were already in their seats at 4:30! Randy and I were in charge of seating the first three rows of guests, many of which were not members of the Church, and then directing the other guests (Stake Presidents, Mission Presidents, Manila Temple Presidency, and Area Seventy along with spouses) to just fill in wherever they wanted to sit.  We loved it! We had met many of the Stake and Mission Presidents while traveling to Jubilee Exhibits, and we had such a great time visiting with them again.  Also, some of the others remembered Randy, from back in the 1990's, when he came to the Philippines to do CES training...they had been the teachers! It was so fun for us.

But the very best was when Elder Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, walked into the foyer with the Area Presidency...I had never met him...he was the kindest, friendliest, most gracious man ever!  He walked over to Randy and me and said (looking at our name tags), "How are my little Birdies"? We had a brief visit and then he moved into the chapel area for the dedication. As he sat on the stand, and the meeting began, the entire "batch" of new missionaries that had just arrived from many Asian countries (they all arrived the day before!) filed into the isles and filled the foyer and sang "Called to Serve" acapella. Oh, it was just so touching...all of the different faces and heights and degrees of skin color trying to pronounce those words in English. ALL hearts were touched.  The MTC President spoke and read many verses from Isaiah talking about the latter days and an ensign being raised to the nations and the restoration...it was excellent. He was followed by each of the Area Presidency....they spoke of their own missions and of learning to know their Savior and the power of the Atonement...each bore powerful testimonies of the reality of the Father and of Jesus Christ and how they know They live.  Then Elder Ardern gave a very brief introduction to Elder Nelson (for those guests not of our faith...among many other accomplishments,  he was a world renown heart surgeon prior to his call as an apostle) then Elder Nelson spoke to the group for only a short time...testifying of Jesus Christ...and then he smiled and said,"Well, I am not here to give a long speech, but I am here to give a long prayer, so we will start", and he asked all to bow their heads and he gave the most beautiful dedicatory prayer.  The blessings he pronounced upon this country and how he prayed for their leaders was just very touching, and he also prayed for every nation sending missionaries to this MTC. Then it ended with all of the congregation singing Battle Hymn of the Republic.  All were invited to come up one side of the conference room and meet Elder Nelson and the other leaders and then file down and out the other side.

There are so many stories I could tell about the guests experiences...really amazing, but I will share one about a guest invited by our Public Affairs Department.  He is in his early 50's, Catholic, and was hired by the Public Affairs Department to help develop relationships with the media in Metro-Manila. It is very difficult to get any media coverage here if you do not pay big bucks and have an "in" with certain people.  This man is a very successful media relations consultant who has been hired by many huge corporations to help them solve various problems...he is also a very good and honest person, and was highly recommended to Haidi. In his 20's he had decided to go into the "ministry" with the Catholic church, but after a year, he felt it just wasn't for him and changed to a different course of study, but decided he would never marry.  We have been meeting with him every week for a couple of months now.  Since we are now one of his "clients", he has done much study on his own to understand who the Church is (he had never even heard of the Church before this), what our stand is on many topics, and what things would be of particular interest to the media, etc.  He is a well respected man here in the Philippines. So, he wanted very much to be in this meeting for the MTC dedication....it would be one more help for him to understand the Church. Well, what happened was the most unexpected for him!  Right after the meeting ended, he came over to where Randy and I were standing and stood by us and just looked at the brethren on the stand.  We asked him how he liked the meeting.  He seriously could not find words to speak....I started to worry that something bad had happened...then he said, " I have been in many meetings in my life, but never in one like this....I have never, ever felt this way before...I don't know what it is...I can't even find words to explain it..." so then Randy said, "Perhaps it is the Holy Ghost"... He looked at Randy thoughtfully and said, "Perhaps it is."  Then Haidi came over and said they should go and meet Elder Nelson and he went with her. I watched him as his turn came and Elder Nelson was so kind and stood there visiting with him for a minute or two. I saw him visiting with President Teh for a while afterwards as they had refreshments.  

After the dedication, we also had the opportunity to take a group on a tour of the MTC...it was mostly those guests that had been seated in the first three rows and some Mission Presidents/wives that had not been here during the MTC Open House. All were such outstanding people among this group. Randy is such a good tour director, and made it so fun and relaxing for everyone.  One man asked how he might get a copy of the Book of Mormon....by then we had become such friends with him, that I was tempted to say "Hmm, we have no idea"...but I controlled my "silliness" and instead asked, "Would you like it in Tagalog or English?" What a great time to be in the Philippines!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE FAMILY

Banner Commemorating International Day of Families

"Ensuring Work--Family Balance"

Pictures (l-r)  1. NCFF Delegates 2. Elder Benson Misalucha Delivers Keynote 3. Little Girl Plays with Family Enrichment Book 4. NCFF Leaders with Haidi Fajardo, Our Director

The National Committee on the Filipino Family (NCFF), led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), conducted it's yearly forum in celebration of the International Day of Families on Saturday, May 19, 2012, with the theme, “Ensuring Work-Family Balance”.  Our former PA Director, Leni, served on this committee...and to our great surprise...Haidi learned 2 weeks prior to this event that SHE was the host for it this year! It was the same weekend as the MTC Dedication, and we were already very busy with that, but we did some fast scrambling...looking for a large enough venue, getting a keynote speaker, lunch for 200, drinking water, flowers, a banner, and all of the technical equipment we would need! 

About 200 family advocates, representing the different sub-committees of the NCFF, participated in this forum which was held in the cultural hall of one of the stake centers...the Marikina City Stake.  The former director of the DSWD, Ms.Lina Laigo, presented the theme. She is a wonderful woman that shares many of our same values.  She mentioned that the word, family, stands for “father and mother, I love you”.and that home is spelled t i m e.  Then she encouraged everyone there to tell parents and children, often, that they love them.

A little history: The International Day of Families is observed annually on the 15th of May as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in a 1993 resolution. This year’s theme emphasizes that “work-family balance lies at the core of the ability of the family to provide economically and emotionally for its members.”

Elder Benson E. Misalucha, an Area Seventy for the church, gave the keynote  address. He gave a fantastic talk on balancing work and family life. He mentioned three ways to help achieve success in this balancing act: 

•      Commit to what matters most

•      Dedicate time and attention

•      Say “NO” as needed to things of lesser importance

As part of his explanations, Elder Misalucha encouraged those present to play with their families, have daily family prayer, regular scripture reading as a family, and hold weekly family home evenings. He referred to our church's Proclamation on the Family, and the special Philippine edition of the Family Enrichment Manual (a non-denominational Family Home Evening manual produced by BYU), both of which were offered to those in attendance. Every copy was taken.

We have had our attention brought to several parts of the Philippine Constitution, and it truly recognizes the family as the foundation of the nation, and this nation is known for giving importance to strong family ties....hopefully they will be vigilant in protecting the family!

2 Side Notes to this Event:

• In October 2009, one of the most devastating typhoons hit the Philippines...Typhoon Ondoy. The water level was up to the ceiling tiles in the cultural hall of the Marikina City Stake Center (see above photo)...and when you pull into the parking lot of this building you go up a steep incline from the street...so it gives you an idea of how deep the water was that covered this area of Manila.

• We ordered 200 boxed lunches...including drinks... from Kentucky Fried Chicken to feed this large group.  All of it had to be delivered on motorcycles by 3 employees.  It was very hot and they worked so hard!  A few people had left before eating, so when the last of the boxes was delivered, we offered a lunch to each of the deliverers.  I was really taken back by how excited and grateful they were that we would give them lunch..they were so happy....I didn't realize how hungry they were.  Haidi said these employees could never afford to eat the food where they work...it is too expensive!  I just love these humble happy Filipinos!  

NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE

National Day of Service at Quezon City Circle

On Saturday, April 28, Randy and I attended the kick-off event for the National Day of Service here in the Philippines. This is a yearly event sponsored by the Church. It takes lots of planning in each district/stake.  About 3 months prior to the event date, a project was chosen by each group and then had to be registered with the city government.  All details had to be cleared.  Then, depending on the service project, businesses in the area were approached to see if they would like to donate supplies needed. The one we attended involved about 1500 of our youth and their leaders from 6 stakes....and required 50 gallons of paint.  Randy had been asked to address all of the youth at the first of the kick-off...it really did take us back to our EFY days, and so he started with the “Bird Cheer” that we used to teach at all of the EFY sessions we directed. Yes, now the cheer has reached the Philippines! It was a success!  He then made a few short remarks, followed by Kim Antenorcruz, the Multi-stake Public Affairs Director, and then the youth were sent off to their assigned areas to begin their service...to paint the fence that surrounds the Quezon City Circle (an enormous roundabout with an amusement park and other things in the center of it)...plus a general cleanup of the entire area...yes, quite an undertaking! It was so so hot, but they showed up and did a great job. While we waited to get started, we visited with Atty. Ed Bellen, the Deputy Secretary for Legislation in the Philippines, along with Orly Ramas, a professional media consultant hired to work with our office. The four of us decided to follow one of the groups and take photos for a newspaper article.  As we were walking and talking with them, Elder Bird had just taken a photo, and suddenly he fell right into a storm drain, from which the protective steel grate had been removed! The hole was about 3 feet deep and half full of flowing water! It was quite painful and embarrassing for him....I assured him that he went in quite gracefully with both legs, without hitting his head or knocking out any teeth, AND held the very expensive Public Affairs camera up where it remained unharmed!! The three of us pulled him out of the drain...it was really quite alarming, knowing that many serious injuries are not noticed immediately, but he kept saying he was okay and we proceeded to walk to where the youth were painting. As we walked, he could feel lots of pain in the toes and ankle of his left leg. Ed and Orly went right to the guard station to complain about the open drain....the worst part was that the guard said they had noticed the night before that one of the grates had been stolen but had done nothing to cover it for safety purposes!!  We kept thinking of how grateful we were that a little child had not fallen in....they could have been swept away before anyone missed them!  We took more pictures and then knew we had better get back to our apartment to take a look at his foot.  He got by with one broken toe (the rest were sprained, swollen, and turned black and blue),  and a gash in the front of his ankle.  The doctor said it should feel better in about 6 weeks!!!  Nice! The "Day of Service " was a great success, in spite of our accident...over 150,000 hours of service were given throughout the country.....doing such things as:  planting mangroves (helps stop beach erosion), planting mango trees, clean-up projects of all kinds, painting schools and big fences, and all kinds of beautification projects.