February 10, 2014

This week was really good. Despite the difficulties in my areas, and numbers wise we had a bad week. In terms of spiritual lessons and great progress in our 1 investigator it was the best. This week we have been just really focusing on our investigator because he has been truly prepared of God. I knew that God was waiting for me to earn this one and after 2 transfers of going through investigators and not seeing progress, this week was great. Bro. Joaquin is his name and he is just so willing to do what we ask him to and to keep his commitments. We had a special experience this week with him as our focus seemed to be in the Plan of Salvation. We taught him the Plan and he had so many questions. But the spirit always directed his thoughts and our answers. He worked out all of his concerns and we fixed so many doctrine points. Also when we explained how everyone gets a fair chance, and in the spirit world, those who didn't receive the gospel will receive a chance, he was way excited. He thought his friends and family were damned, but the spirt testified to him the God is just and the plan is perfect. I was so happy when he shared to us his hopes that he could see his family again. I just want to testify today that this week I saw the true value of the Plan of Salvation. It gives hope and comfort to all. I know that God has prepared a perfect plan for us and when we truly understand the plan and live by it, we do not need to worry about losing lost ones. We can be bound together as a family forever and enter into God's Kingdom. I know that the Saviors atonement is important, and vital to the plan. Without it we could never return to live with God clean, we would not receive the mercy we need to repent, we could not recieve a resurrection, and we would have no way of getting through this life without it. I know the Plan of Salvation is true. I leave this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

February 3, 2014

Anyways this week was super good. We have been just talking and talking to so many people and it seems like everytime we come back they just aren't interested or are really good at avoiding us cause when we show up at their door when they tell us to come back they aren't home! Crazy right? Anyways, Heavenly Father has really been preparing people for us. As we were following up with a person, who wasn't home.. hmm..., we decided to talk to two people. We had talked to this lady before, but her friend was new to us. As we were talking to her, I noticed that this guy seemed kind of interested. We were just asking her about the pamphlet we gave her and so we gave him one too. Than he just started hosing us with questions and we asked him if he had time at that moment so we could teach him. We taught him about how God is our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how they help us and our lives. He was way excited to hear that we believed in Christ too and that he thought we didn't. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he was even more excited to hear that there might be other scriptures. He is way cool. Our second lessons with him he accepted a baptismal date and I think at this rate he will be ready by next week! he is like a sponge just absorbing! We had many other experiences this week where we thought we might be able to teach one person and ended up finding someone else. This week we found 5 new investigators and out of all that the one I talked about earlier just seems so ready to accept our message. I am so blessed to be the instrument in God's hand this week. The work here has been hard, but I have seen so many blessings! Our Sacrament attendance was I think the highest since about 1 year. We had so many people come to church less actives and investigators. I have truly seen God's blessing poured out upon this area and in my ward in Caloocan. I pray these things continue and I hope all are praying for the missionaries and this work. I had a great week and I hope all goes better next week! 

January 26, 2014

This week was good. We have been just searching and searching and searching. All our less actives and investigators we are working with always just seem sooo busy that in 1 week we teach them maybe 2 times. So we are really looking for some new places to go. We have been looking through the ward records and finding people. Addresses in the Philippines is way unreliable they are either incomplete or inaccurate so we sometimes search for 1 house for hours. But the Lord has really strengthened us and we found a lot of the houses. Sadly, most of them are dead or have moved out. We were able to find through our searching a sister of one of the less actives. Her name is Sherna and she was really nice and hopefully we can rescue her! Besides that, we found other ones... who were ... a bit hard hearted. This was probably the 3rd time somebody yelled at me on my mission. I understood everything this inactive that we found told me and I hope she knows she is lucky I am trying to be more christlike! Haha Anyways are tracting efforts are slow. I came to know that all the big houses in our area that we thought are houses are actually factories and warehouses. But like sometimes they look like houses and people answer the door like its a house... so yeah ... that was a bit awkward! Anyways we had a fun experience this week to. Me and my comp were walking in a market! Some guy stopped us and asked us if we were Mormon. We said yes, than he asked us where our church was so we told him and than we introduced ourselves. Yep this guy ... was an active members but he just had the worst questions cause we totally thought he was some sort of golden investigator. So yeah whatever! but right after we took a right turn, and some lady called out to us. We almost ignored her because it happens all the time and we thought she was just trying to sell us stuff. Turns out though as she talked she said she remembers missionaries like us when she was a young girl. They gave her a pamphlet and she liked it. So she wants us to come teach her. Yep what a coincidence right? Crazy! The Lord is always helping and preparing people! Anyways it was good week, I guess in a way ... I lost sight of what I should really be thankful for. The little things. 

Just celebrating my 1 year in the field... Korean food! and Looking good! MOM! and my gross area!

January 22, 2014

Hmmm ... where to start.. This week was about the faith to find! So we decided that most of our investigators we have been working with are just not progressing and .. honestly most of them won't even give us the light of day. Also our less actives are just about the same way. So me and my companion are just DONE! We want new people who want to progress and we want them now. So we really thought about who we should teach, focus on, and who we should maybe give some time too. So that really hit our schedule hard. There were some days where all we did the whole day was tract and look for inactive members. To be honest, it was long and hard. Finding an address in the Philippines is like throwing a needle in a haystack. It is impossible! But we found some. They were either dead or moved out haha. Also all our tracting efforts had no outcome... yet. Overall we had a good week in the sense we worked and worked and worked. I think Heavenly Father is satisfied. We are tired and I have never felt like I couldn't walk one more step before, but we keep going! You know before I leave I am determined to make this a good area! Anyways, we had the chance to teach one of our investigators who, we thought just didn't care for us. It turns out that she has a testimony of the restored gospel but what is holding her back is church. She told us that people take church to lightly, kind of like a social gathering and not a time to worship God and remember him. It kind of touched me that what she said had some truth to it. I told her Sister you are right, and we want to fix that too. I remember a talk I read once about how we are losing our sense of sacred things. Too many times we really overlook how sacred scriptures are, church, prayer, all these things really are. I think every member can one way or another say they may overlook these things. I realized this week that I am truly lucky to have gained a testimony in the restored gospel. I am truly lucky that I know my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. I am truly lucky to have scriptures from prophets that teach me truth. Because I am truly lucky, maybe I can show it more too. I hope for a greater love for these things and I hope that all members will also show it too, especially in this case because we have no idea who is watching. I just want to leave this thought in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

January 12, 2014

We had a good week. A week for building faith, but a good week. We decided that we need to do more, we need to find new people, we need to stop teaching these people who aren't progressing. So we set out with good plans. We decided to stop focusing so much on people who were always busy and we were going to go find new people. We talked to everyone... Everyone I swear! Door to Door, people on the streets! Everyone! Man ... times have changed...people really don't care. But God is preparing and we had some success talking to people. We decided to find New Less Actives to teach.. yep they are all dead or gone. But God is preparing... In the end... we looked at the numbers and it was a little sad to see how we probably had the worst numbers. But I know that God is preparing. My point to all this is God comes in his own time. I think I had to learn this lesson this week that Faith sometimes takes a little bit of trials. But I feel like I have never worked this hard. Also I look back and think, God really is working with us. I looked back, we had our Less Actives starting to come to church... they missed sadly but that is just a funny story because why, but they really were like at the gates! The guard wouldn't let them in and they got in a fight with him... haha Also another one woke up late and went to another ward! So that was good. We found new investigators and opend up our teaching pool some more. We saw the Ward who seemed to be uninterested in helping us now giving us an hour after church to coordinate with us and help us. This truly was a good week and I am excited for next week. This church is true and this work is important. It takes time and patience and really in its not easy. But we all need to do our part. I am happy to be a missionary and this year is off to a good start!

January 5, 2014

Things are going better. We got 4 missionaries in the house and in the ward. We saw a lot of good things happen this week within the ward. We switched back over to 9 o'clock in the morning. I had a feeling our attendance was going to be low and when sacrament started and yep... there was like 20 of us. I remember giving a sigh and thinking.... man. Ten minutes passed and man everyone was late! We had a way high attendance and we even saw some of our less actives show up to church. That was good. We continued just feeling the energy of the new year. I asked Bishop if we could have a meeting earlier this week and so he gathered the whole ward council together and we set so many good goals! I am excited to just get going and go. We have been struggling but now is the time. I am feeling the call for a higher standard. I hope as the weeks go I can grab it! I am really excited to get going. I have been really thinking about it and yep my faith is coming back, for the first time in my mission I think I am going to tract for reals! Door to door. person to person, until I find that miracle I need. I know this Church is true and I know that Jesus Christ is at the head. I feel inspired and ready to follow. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

December 31, 2013

This week we had a fun time. People were so busy with the holidays, it was hard to get things done. But we went out and we tried our best. We actually didn't get many lessons in. But, I kind of had a good experience just thinking about myself in my mission. I feel like lately I have been in such a rut. Things aren't going right and I just felt like .. I was done I didn't want to go on anymore. But, I have been praying and it seems the Lord would do the opposite of what I asked. We couldn't get any investigators to Church, and we nobody we were working with were responding. I thought to myself as I reflected on the year saying what is making the difference why is it that right now is different the rest of my mission. I came to realize .. it's not, I have been going through the trials and hardships with my head held high and my faith as my strength. I guess my attitude changed and I kind of felt like maybe it is time for me to reflect change and adjust. I think Heavenly Father loves us, but as much as we pray and we try, we can't always see the blessings immediately. I don't know what is going to happen this next transfer, but I still have a good comp who is going to stay with me one more transfer. I also have a renewed attitude and I am going to do what I set out to do which is to bring souls unto Christ. To rescue the lost and to strengthen the church. I love the Gospel and I hope this year is just as good as last year! So here is to the new year with a new transfer! Also .. not be trunkie, but .. I come home this year... WOO HOO! haha!