April 3, 2013

Well Happy Holy week!! If those of you who don't know what that is, that is when crazy die hard catholics whip themselves to repent of their sins. Also for the really legit die hards, they carry a cross around with them all day with a thorn crown. Than for the just plain crazies, they crucify themselves. Man it is crazy! If only they knew Christ atoned for their sins already so they don't have to do that. Anyways besides that the rest just have parades with candles and parade floats of Mother Mary and Jesus! Anyways This week has been going well. We have been working hard with our investigators this week. We have 3 who have had baptismal dates and they are scheduled for this coming April 20th!! I am super excited because that will be my first baptisms here in my first area!! It just makes me feel good that I am actually helping people change their lives and make progress. A big problem here in the Philippines, especially in the summer is laziness. People will believe the things you teach, they just don't want to change. It is hard for people to go to Church, we have heard so many excuses, but it can be done! Some people won't do stuff in the Summer saying it is too hot. Man I hate that excuse!! Anyways though Bro. Balosa the one who drank coffee the week before his baptism was scheduled... haha! ... has been doing good. He has quit and switched over to herbal tea which the President said was ok. Yeah so now we just visit him and lift him up spiritually! I can't wait to see him clothed in white and enter the waters of baptism! Man his conversion has been a great to watch. He really believes this is the True Church he tells us all the time. Anyways the other two are the Loyola Family. They have been eternal investigators, never really following through with their commitments and completing their baptism requirements. Well they have been to Church 3 times now and this next Sunday hopefully they make it! So I can't wait! It took them a year now, but with hard work from the past missionary and her fellow shipper  they both quit smoking and are now going to Church weekly. So I am excited to see them get baptized! They are actually really good with the lessons, they have been taught so much that they know it better than us it seems haha. Anyways their conversion story is awesome. It has been based upon Prayer! They used to have these punk for kids who I guess would abuse them and it was scary for them. The Missionaries came and taught them about Prayer. So They both prayed every night that their kids would become nice good people. I guess now they are way nice and I know for a fact that God answers prayers! From their experience, and from my own!! So it is cool that they progressed based on that one fact, God answers prayers, than the rest just followed. Anyways we have been working hard with Less actives this week too. Our mission has a strong emphasis on rescuing the Less Actives. So one of our Less Actives is Sister Daniela. It seems that since I have been here we have tried everything to get her to Church. Every time she just kind of ignored the fact that she wasn't going and was satisfied with her testimony. So I came to the conclusion she never had a goal so it was hard for her to aim for something and act if she had no Goal. So I asked Elder Hibbert if she was endowed yet. He said no.. So I then told him about making temples a goal. I know that I was inspired at this time because before we went and taught her about the temples, her visiting teachers had stopped by and shown here pictures of the temple and how beautiful it was inside. #1 I have never heard of or seen people doing home teaching or visiting teaching here... so that was strange to me when we stopped by to share the message about temples to her and she said, "My visiting teachers just stopped by the other day and showed me pictures" So than we shared to her about Saving Ordinances and how the temple allows us to obtain those saving ordinances and return to live with God. We finished our lesson and asked her to make that a goal and she said she really wanted to. So we gave her a blessing that her knees would allow her to make it to church, because that hid been the issue I guess for her. Since she is old it is hard for her to walk, but she walks some places so we know she can do it. But anyways after the blessing we asked her to pray. This was one of those sweet moments I had where I really felt the spirit surrounding us. She prayed so fervently and cried, she asked for forgiveness and repented for being so stubborn and not going to Church. This is one of those moments I will not forget in my mission either. But it was so cool. Anyways I just know this Church is true. I have felt the spirit confirming it in my heart. I have watched people change their lives. I know I have only been here for a short time, and maybe I don't know anything, but nobody can tell me what I am doing isn't right. I know this is true. I hope everyone in the world comes to feel the way I do. I know God loves us and Jesus is our Savior. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I hope I never forget that, and anyone who has ever known that and forgotten, I plead with them to not forget those things. 

Well anyways, after that spiritual note I would like to share the funny story of this week. We have been helping a Less Active come back to Church. Her name is Sister Figuerras. Anyways her story is long, but long story short, she is offended and doesn't want to go to Church because of it. Anyways though she is open to hearing the missionaries. So while I was at her house I sat on her Chair. I was trying to scoot over and make more room... than suddenly the leg of the chair like slipped or something, and now she has a broken chair and I was on the ground. She laughed and made fun of me the rest of the night! ... I am too big for the Philippines! haha I have broken a chair now, and given two Trikes (Public Motorcycle Transportation) flat tires!! Jeez time to lose weight!! 

Also my Investigators who we teach on a farm here and they literally have nothing but CORN!! and a home made little picnic area! Thanks a ton Callie!! oh and my housemates and me in a jungle! or just some plants that looked like a jungle in front of the temple haha!