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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR SISTERS

Introduction by Cindy Butikofer

Education Counselor in the

Manhattan First Ward Relief Society

June 1994 to October 1995

In 1994, when Francesca Rebollo-Sborgi was called to be the Relief  Society President of the Manhattan First Ward, she asked for suggestions  from the sisters to improve the organization. Claudia Bushman suggested  that we hear from the women about themselves so we could get to know each  other. This was a great idea, and we eagerly set out to make this happen.  We decided to set aside one Sunday every two months for this purpose. The "lesson" was called "getting to Know Your Sisters."

Six or seven sisters were asked if they would take a few minutes to tell  us about themselves. We decided that the focal point of this autobiography   should be each sister's conversion story, whether she had joined the church  or had been a member all her life. The first time we did this, we didn't   know what to expect. What happened that first time, and every time since,   was an outpouring of the Spirit which touched everyone as testimonies have been given and lives shared. Sisters have been open and honest about their quests for conversion and truth. We have learned that there is no typical convert or typical life member. Each woman is unique, yet we have felt a greater bond between us as life stories are briefly shared. We hope that a portion of the Spirit felt on those Sundays will come through in the transcription of these testimonies.

LUCIA MAYOR

I am from the Philippines. I was born, raised, and educated there. I am a mother of four and a grandmother of nine. My husband and I planned to retire in the southern part of the Philippines in a city called Davao. There we were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I look back to our conversion as a most interesting chapter in our lives.

One day my husband went to visit a friend, but he was not home when he arrived there. The only person in the house was an elderly woman who felt quite embarrassed to have my husband wait so long, just sitting there. She picked up a book for him to read while waiting. My husband started reading and his interest knew no bounds as he kept on reading. The book was the Pearl of Great Price. He asked the woman where he could buy a copy, but she didn't know. Finally, his friend arrived. They talked awhile, then he took leave, having been told where the book could possibly be obtained.

My husband took a public vehicle and asked to be taken to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon arrival, he was told that books weren't sold there, but that he could go to the mission home, which was on the outskirs of the city, near the airport. So, taking another public vehicle, he headed for the mission home, where he was able to purchase a copy of the Pearl of Great Price. Before he left, they asked him if he was a Mormon, and he said no.

Day after day, he couldn't put down the book until he finsihed reading it, and every time we sat down to partake of our meals, he kept telling me everything he had just read. Three days later, there was a knock at our door, and two sister missionaries, one from New Zealand and the other from the Philippines, asked if they could come regularly to better acquaint us with the church. They came twice a week to give us lessons on the gospel and the Book of Mormon. My husband was most eager to be baptized and, three weeks later, he was. It took me several months to really feel the beauty and teachings of the church before I was baptized.

The most memorable thing about it was that my dear husband baptized me because he was already a holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood. He so wanted to be sealed to me, but at that time there was no temple in the Philippines. The nearest was in Hawaii and the United States, so we had to wait. Sad to say, my husband was taken ill, and he passed away just when the temple in the Philippines was being built. The first thing I did when I came to New York City was to attend to details to expedite our sealing by proxy in the Washington. DC temple. That has remained a landmark in my life, knowing that somewhere in the Spirit World my husband is most happy for our fulfilled dream.

[[Category:Personal_Histories]]