[MUSIC PLAYING - SUMNER MAHAFFEY, "MY MORENA GIRL"] (SINGING) [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

I'd go and travel halfway round the world for my morena girl. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Forever because I have someone just like her, my morena girl. My morena, my morena girl, my morena. I know [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] but whenever you say, "Hey, Joe," I feel like saying, [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

Whenever my blue eyes see you, [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Wishing you could love me, too. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

I'd go and travel halfway round the world for my morena girl. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

Forever 'cause I have someone just like her. Ay ay ay kay in love. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

I'd go and travel halfway round the world for my morena girl. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

Forever 'cause I have someone just like her. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] In the world. Yes, I'm so lucky I've got her. My morena girl. My morena, my morena girl. My morena, oooh, my morena girl. My morena, my morena girl. My morena, I love my morena girl.

Welcome back to Mormon Channel Studio, and I'm your host, Paul [INAUDIBLE].. That was "My Morena Girl" by Sumner Mahaffey. So, Sumner, amazing song, that song. Thank you, thank you. So I understand it was sung in the Cebuano language. Yeah. Now, I don't speak Cebuano; I speak Tagalog. Right. I picked up a couple of words here and there, but I didn't really understand the whole thing. So tell me about it. What does it mean? So "My Morena Girl" is a love song, basically, to the Philippines and the Filipinos that speak Cebuano. And it mentions a couple of different places in Cebu, places that I've been like Colon and Fuente Circle, and just saying how much we love them, basically. That's awesome. Yeah. That's awesome. So, forgive me, but you don't really look Filipino. So where did you learn to speak Cebuano? So I served in the Philippines Cebu Mission, and I served on Cebu Island and Negros Oriental. And they speak Cebuano there. That's awesome. Yeah. So I know, being an American in the Philippines, what was usually the reaction of other people when you spoke, like, really good Cebuano to them? They were shocked every single time we said anything in Cebuano. They're just the kindest people and appreciate it so much that you're taking time to learn their native language that not a lot of people know about. Yeah, I understand it's not the most common language. Yeah. Because Tagalog is the main language in the Philippines. Yeah, that's the official language, yeah. So I understand you guys--you love the Philippines a lot. It's pretty obvious. Yeah. I understand that you and four friends, you guys created this group together. What made you guys start that group? So, obviously, when we were on our missions, we fell in love with the people and the culture, and we didn't want it to end when we came home. And so we just started making videos in the Cebuano language, and it allowed us to keep that connection with the Filipinos and especially with Cebuano. And it's been the greatest blessing. It's been an incredible experience. So did that love of the Filipino people and that love of the language, did that start on your mission? Yeah, I went to BYU-Hawaii, actually, before I went on my mission, and there were some Filipinos there. But I had no idea how amazing the culture was until we were living among them and we were walking the streets and eating the food and speaking the language and just being with the people. And so it is the greatest country. I feel like Filipinos are the nicest people in the world. I just feel really blessed to-- It's one of my favorite countries. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

So how was--when you were in the Philippines, how was Christmas different there than here? Christmas in the Philippines is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. That's like the Christmas nation. They start in September and go till January, basically. Yeah. The [INAUDIBLE]. And so I loved that. I loved that they listen to Christmas music in September and October and are setting up their Christmas trees and-- Playing Christmas music on the radio. Yeah, exactly. And the food-- Definitely the food. --is one of the best parts of their holiday. Like the [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]. The [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]-- Chicken adobo. Adobo, and-- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] I miss it so much. But I feel like everybody should spend a Christmas in the Philippines. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Definitely my favorite Christmas that I've ever had was the Christmas I had in the Philippines during my mission. It was just a time that I was able to serve a lot of people, and it was just really fun. I didn't get a crazy amount of presents or anything. Yeah, and that's the cool thing about the Philippines, is that their culture isn't around presents. It's all about the family and about the season, and they actually remember the real meaning of Christmas. And that was such a cool blessing to be there at that time because it taught me that this is what it's about, because they're just so grateful, even with little. And they just love being with their family and celebrating Christ and God, anywhere you are in the Philippines. I know. It's awesome. I love the Philippines. So what's the next song you have for us? So this is [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH],, and this is one of the songs I learned from [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] on my mission, [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH].. And I remember sitting in his house, and he taught me how to pluck out the little notes. It's a traditional-- On the uke? On the ukulele, and it's a traditional Cebuano song that's been around for ages. And kids will go up and carol during Christmastime and sing this song, and then the people at the house give them treats or snacks or money. It's just a really fun part of their Christmas experience. All right, well, take it away, Sumner. Thank you. And this is [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] by Sumner Mahaffey, which is a popular Christmas song in Cebu. I'm excited to hear it.

[UKULELE MUSIC PLAYING] (SINGING) [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]