Image taken from meridianmagazine.comOne reason why I was heavily drawn to come live in Cebu is its beauty. That sounds trivial don’t you think? There must be a more profound reason. It sounds literally simple to say that Cebu is beautiful and I want to live there. It is subjective, in a way that in like manner, the same can be said of any other place.
In the Book of Mormon, Alma was a prophet who taught about the Savior—his sacrifice, his promises, his divinity, and most importantly his role in our lives. The people then believed in the teachings of Alma. They have come to know the Savior and decided to follow him. "All this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever". (Mosiah 18:30).
If we think about it, we are inclined to look at places and associate them with events, particularly special/important events that transpired in our life. The place becomes beautiful. People in loved, for instance, consider a certain place beautiful because that’s where a proposal was made for engagement, or even marriage.
Cebu is where I was called by the Lord to serve Him, as a missionary. Here is where I had fully developed my testimony of the Savior and of a loving Heavenly Father. I had come to know them on a personal level because I was literally serving Them. Here is where I learned humility, love, and patience—among other good things. Here is where I made friendships, eternal in nature because of the bond of the Gospel. I can say, as the Nephites of old in Alma’s time, that Cebu is as beautiful as the place called Mormon.
I’ve always looked forward to returning to Cebu and experience afresh its beauty in relation to what occurred in my 2-yr mission. Now that I’m here, it’s different that I no longer find the primary link to my mission—my companions, missionary friends, and my mission president. However, the oasis remained the same. The member-friends I made continue in the friendships borne of my missionary beginnings. I find it conversely distressing that since I set foot in Cebu in October of last year, I have not fully recognized that I’m now in my mist which I deem as refuge. Every day I pass by the same road, & places which we use to traverse as “Elders” of Cebu 1st (my last area in the mission), yet I had not been able to stopover & see how it is now.
Regardless of how Cebu is literally placed in circumstances both good and bad, it is a place of beauty and serenity to me—my beautiful mist, my refuge, my Mormon. I feel good here. However, sooner or later I’d have to get revived & put to life my purpose as to why I’m here, the 2nd time around.
It’s good to imagine myself in a beautiful misty place, and that should be a source of strength as my Lord walks with me in it. Then again, I must reciprocate as I’ve been standing still for a long time.
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