Faith In The Philippines

[Music] The beautiful landscape and Rich culture of the Philippines a country made up of thousands of islands nestled in Southeast Asia but in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and the fight for survival is a humble and happy people with Incredible stories of Hope always know water but now have water no wonder they're so happy stories of Courage I just felt the desire very strong and he loves you and stories have coming together as one it's very amazing how music can actually make us feel closer to one another it's almost like music is a beine to the divine [Music] made them realize that we are really brothers and [Music] sisters I am just grateful that God enabled me to be of service to these people our Miracles Happening Here Miracles are happening you don't even have to say it there are almost a million Latter-Day Saints who live in Philippines and it's happened in just 63 years being called as a missionary something I've always dreamed of as a younger kid and so to be here right now is an honor there's something quite remarkable about the people of the Philippines the faith the resilience the optimism [Applause] [Music] unmatched [Music] about 2 and 1/2 hours outside of Manila in the heart of Tarlac City is San Sebastian Elementary School where every day meals are made for more than 120 kids in need of food uh we are feeding here more than 120 Learners Dr Christian Quinton is a School's principal and if you didn't have this food what would you do no nothing nothing this children will just be going home with empty stomach something Dr Quinton doesn't even want to think about when children are having this empty stomach they cannot really really learn they cannot comprehend or even they cannot hear the instruction of their teachers all this food these kids are eating comes from another part of town at this 25 Acre Farm where every day dozens of farmers pick a variety of produce for thousands of hungry children there's also chickens and goats for protein they call it the rise and rebuild Foundation the foundation runs four different farms in the Philippines employing more than 250 Farmers each Farm raises enough produce for about 24 different schools so these are the schools uh we are given the vegetables too the open and close parentheses are the numbers of children being fed Trixie espanosa is a director of farming for the organization and Trixie's husband Richard is a director of self-reliance for the foundation kilos both felt they were guided to work here I felt this is what our heavenly father wants me to do for Richard it became very personal emotionally very hard for me he knows exactly what it's like to go without food at just 5 years old his parents separated and left him and his brothers to beg for food on the streets sadly he lost both of his brothers because of it my life is hopeless it's like I will uh I will just die in this lamb just like what happened to my two brother he he is the lucky one yeah Richard says his life forever changed when he met with missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of latterday saints and and turn his life over to Christ when we follow him when we believe in him he will turn you into something miraculous is that what he's done with your life yeah it turned me into something miraculous at 27 he became a bishop a state president at 36 and a mission president along with his wife at 42 I I never imagine uh my life to become like this I think because of the Gospel uh uh he taught me to dream B he taught me to Hope and he taught me to have faith in him uh follow him and he will provide that's my motto in life but the esposas say they also owe their life-changing experience this is this morning's Harvest of beans to 86-year-old Ray Goodson and his wife Debbie it's the connection who happened to live in Sandy Utah our love for the people has not ever changed they are the founders of rise and rebuild you hungry we love them and admire them and are constantly amazed with what they do with so little it's um lifechanging for us you're still eating it was June of 1961 when Ray was called as a very first missionary of the Philippines he had just finished a three-year mission to Hong Kong had his back pack and was ready to go home when President Gordon B hinley extended his mission several more months and called him to the Philippines so I called my parents and said I won't be home yet Ry fell in love with the people and the country I thought I'd died and gone to heaven I had been laboring in Hong Kong for 3 years with little or you know very little success and then we come down here and no matter who we talk to they're willing to listen about 13 years later when Ry was just 35 years old he and Debbie were called as Mission leaders in the Philippines taking along with them their five young children it was a call and we felt it we really felt that call they returned again in 2013 to try and help the Filipinos rebuild from the deadly and destructive typhoon Yolanda the hson invited many of their missionaries to return to the country to help rebuild homes bathrooms and restore water from that they created the rise and rebuild Foundation last year rise and rebuild fed more than 20,000 kids this year they're hoping for over 25,000 their ultimate goal over a 100,000 kids fed every year [Applause] yay principal Quinton says he can't imagine life without the Program full stomachs means happy and productive kids there is a very very huge impact of this program to our school our absentismo plus there is a huge impact in their academic performances thank you thank you so much thank you so much rise and thank [Music] you just across the street from the Manila Temple is a Philippines Missionary Training [Music] Center what does it mean curtain curtain a place where young men and young women come from all across the world to be taught what language are you learning H and then sent to a variety of countries words in Japanese not just the Philippines face in Japanese that's why 13 different languages are taught here being called as a missionary is something I've always dreamed of as a younger kid I realized how happy the gospel makes me and I really wanted to share that happiness with all of the Lord's children today more than 40 years later a huge campus seven buildings 35 classrooms and a capacity to handle 320 missionaries how's breakfast president David de Lamar and his wife Kayla who are from Lehi Utah preside over the MTC they have been here for just over a year what we see here is dedicated hardworking missionaries that love the gospel my love for this country started back in 1975 I was a missionary here turns out Ray Goodson the founder of rise and rebuild was David's Mission president there were only two missions at that time and now of course there's 20 three missions and it will be 26 missions starting on July 1st your reaction to the growth just phenomenal included in that very first batch of missionaries to this MTC back in 1983 I felt the spirit every day was 60-year-old Rodrigo [Music] auro we caught up with him in his family at the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square's innerfaith concert at a historic Catholic University in [Music] Manila the choir came to the Philippines as part of its second stop of its World hope tour the very first time the choir has ever been to this country it's my M favorite team for the auro family it's a sign of the incredible growth the church has had in the Philippines I I think it's a miracle happening in the Philippines now Rodrigo also considers his own life a miracle he says it all started when he decided to serve a mission one day I just felt the desire very strong that I need to go on a mission the mission changed me and I will not have this family as I have now without my mission as suro and his wife Carmela the G had made me what I am today have five children who have all served missions and still make the gospel a priority in their life everything I do it's it revolves around the gospel I am a child of God and know my purpose here is not just to play around I just happy to be part of this church just seeing the growth the growth of the Church of the Philippines and the Filipino love for the choir are the reasons why the choir chose to come [Music] here there are almost a million Latter-Day Saints who live in Philippines and it's happened in just 63 [Music] years the choir held four concerts the first at the Grand Ballroom of a hotel with an intimate group of dignitaries government and Business Leaders I feel like somewhere else happy and with a very light feeling this is a once in a lifetime experience the second was an Interfaith concert their voices really touched our hearts and lifted our Spirits we were really AED by their great and amazing performance the music itself expresses the hope that uh we need in order to survive in this world so I think it gives really hope for all of us you know that all of us could be one you know with with one another the last two concerts were held at the 9000 seat Arena at The Mall of Asia Broadway stor actress Leia songa who was born and raised in the Philippines was a featured guest artist it's almost like music is a beine to the Divine and I think every person of Faith recognizes that the lineup also included Isabelle quas a very popular Filipino social media influencer with millions of followers I know that the choir is already Global um but reaching the younger audience is definitely so important [Music] but this message of Hope is one that went far beyond the thousands in this arena there will be Millions who will actually consume this performance on a streamed signal the significance of having the choir here in the Philippines is almost as a new chapter for the [Music] church W beautiful you love [Applause] [Music] it about 5 hours outside of Manila is a province of zalis where traffic is constantly on the go but off the beaten path and up a dirt road is a step back in time a small indigenous Village full of friendly humble people in English this little village is called the promised land about 800 people live here many of them Farmers this is the home of Lester de la Cruz's family a family of five living in Humble circumstances yet grateful for God God's bounous blessings he was recently baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Jesus Christ is so good to us before my family we always fight but now because we know Jesus Christ we have peaceful life Lester is a farmer just like most of the people who live here in this Village the Farms are tucked high on the mountain and are not close by many use motorcycles or walk to get to their Farms this right here is a very popular form of travel we got the motorcycle driver there and we're sitting on a cart heading to a farm being a farmer can be long hot days and a lot of demanding work for little pay it's very difficult to be a farmer it's like we don't know if we will win or not it's really a hard work but for Lester and thousands of other farmers in this area help has come in a big way we are very thankful thanks to Elvin Letta and his rice up farming organization that teaches Farmers critical skills we learn how to budget our time our effort so they can significantly increase their income their income ranges from 7 to $75 a month and after they become part of the program they earn $250 to $300 a month because of our training and Loan program Lester was able to pay off his motorcycle rise up is designed to empower Farmers to be the best version of themselves and be lifted up out of poverty 29-year-old Elvin who was born and raised in the Philippines attended BYU why where he entered a great ideas competition and came up with the rice up program he won first place he used a prize money to put the program into practice graduate his inspiration behind it all his grandfather who was a hardworking farmer and fisherman he taught me that I can fight for the rights of the farmers in various ways helping the farmers have a voice and enable them to see that there is hope in the seven years since Elvin started the program he has helped 3,000 Farmers all we spoke with say it is changed their life for the better to improve our livelihood and make uh use of this uh fund for business we gain more money for our family and because we have four children it is strengthening our attitude it's different now my family is is happy now I have money that I can save so that I can use it in the future in the fight for survival in zalas Farmers used to be forgotten but all that is now changing thanks to one man's dream I feel it is my mission it is my vocation to help people to get out of poverty through agriculture development I am just grateful that God enabled me to be of service to these people [Music] Behind These City walls a huge celebration a small village on the outskirts of Manila with hundreds of joyous residents parading and dancing around the complex grateful for something most of us take for granted water after years without access they finally have it again oh it's good we have already a water every day in the morning at night well the greatest thing is these beautiful children that's why they are celebrating the arrival of Elder Neil L Anderson from the cormer of the 12 apostles this is the Filipino way of saying thanks the Church of Jesus Christ of latterday saints worked alongside the Catholic Community to build three new water tanks on top of the apartments the previous tanks were rusted old and couldn't hold water we are on the eighth floor of the building bnab Bay Mao's company built and replaced the new tanks so you could only feel the tank how high about oneir maybe up to here only the tanks now hold 7,500 gallons of water between the three of them it is fantastic this project we show our love to our neighborhood no matter what religion they are in Elder Anderson standing side by side with other religious leaders cut the ribbon and ceremoniously turned on the faucet 1 1200 families now have running water instead of having to load up water and carry it up to the third or fourth level or fifth level water will come out of their faucets no wonder they're so happy well I'm very overwhelmed and grateful of course sorry uh because um I've been here for 10 years and I know how difficult it is for them always know water but now have mot that means Virginia will no longer have to carry those heavy water jugs all those flights of stairs to her seventh floor apartment this very good it's plenty of water this is huge hug for Elder and sister Huff who are humanitarian missionaries here this is 2 years in the making this is a miracle there were so many obstacles we had to overcome to make this happen the faith the resilience the optimism unmatched truly a country of beauty and rich in culture but this is what makes this country so amazing the resilient loving people helping one another to press on we are helping those kids who are like me before and keep the faith it's much bigger than the choir and much bigger than us one of the beauties of this country is that almost everyone has faith and they're not afraid to talk about it this is the happiness that we feel together yeah I am so happy and that says to me the Lord is preparing great things for this [Music] [Music] country

Channel: KSL News

Views: 13,043

Keywords: today, Utah, Utah News

Id: qPy_YJV-ByA

Length: 22min 30sec (1350 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 07 2024