FAMILY!
How's it going. My fingers are way cold right now. The aircon in this internet shop is always pretty solid .. it's hard to adjust. Sorry for being on so late , we've had a pretty good day. After studies the 4 of us in the house headed to the church and played ping pong with a member and me and Elder Hyatt played soccer for a while. I can't believe how long it's been since I actually played soccer ... almost two years now. Also this is only the second time I've been able to play ping pong my entire time in the Philippines .. ha. Despite almost every church having a table not many of my companions ever wanted to play. So we've had a really good morning and despite all the rain lately we had a really sunny morning. So I've had an insane week but I'll go slow I suppose.
Tuesday- Me and Elder Hyatt felt really inspired with the new zone vision we had. Regularly at the beginning of every transfer the zone leaders present a list of a few "focuses" which are usually just reminders that they want the zone to work on for that transfer in hopes that it will boost the work. Some focuses are good and okay but normally they're just that .. a list of reminders and never much comes from it. So Friday , Saturday , Sunday , and Monday we talked [me and E. Hyatt] for a long time about how we can fix those things that don't work as well and what we came up with felt so good. We presented it in a totally different way and it's not the regular thing but about finding and preparing people and at the same time a big focus on personal growth as a missionary and for the elders as priesthood holders. We were really excited to present it and it did go really well. President Monahan even attended with the assistants and he enjoyed it. Also our main point was "maging ganap" which comes from the 3 nephi 12:43 scripture or matthew 5:43 about be ye therefore perfect ... We preferred it in Tagalog because ganap means more completed than perfect so it ties in perfection through the atonement and so forth ... we expounded but it was a success. So that was a big highlight for us.
Work was pretty normal for Tuesday and Wednesday [accept teaching an incredibly spiritual lesson on Wednesday to this woman who was active for like 30 years then has just gone inactive for the past two. We really need her to come back to help save her other siblings and so it was a super powerful lesson. We expect good things soon]. But when we got to Thursday we just had a sudden crazy few days.
Thursday- we just spent going to a few appointments we had and tracking down a bunch of less active in this one barangay. So we visit our first appointment , a less active , and ask her for a referral ... she actually gives one and mentions it's an RLDS! What! They have Reorganized Latter Day Saints in Binalonan , haha , and a church! I never would have imagined. So later we track down that family and they're actually amazing! We talk to the husband outside and introduce the book of mormon [the family is now methodist] and talk to him for a little while about it and he was actually really interested. His wife was the referral and she was really kind as well but kept coming and going , then randomly mentions "our churches used to be the same" ... we acted surprised when she told us she was RLDS , but she was really nice. We set up a return appointment and are going back in a couple hours. Then we were walking back towards the high way and said hi to this guy at a gate who was smiling at us so we just decide to stop and talk to him so he lets us in and we taught him a really good short lesson about family and what not. Then later we found like 3 less active in a row really easily and just had a really really good day. We felt like missionaries again , haha. We were joking about it but honestly with all this less active work we sometimes feel like home teachers [we love the work , but investigators are still investigators]. So then Friday we just walked forrreevverrr going through appointments and ended the day with a lesson with Bishop and his wife .. kind of effective. Hopefully something comes from it.
But SATURDAY was the best day , haha. We head first to Pozorrubio for a baptismal interview and then once we get back to the area head straight to work. Start first with this referral coming from Urdaneta that was hadn't yet had time to find. Finally we set the hours asside to find it and headed out. Turns out it is craaaazzyyy far away! We're back in bukid na bukid area and everyone is staring hahaha. I haven't had people stare that much in a long time. Anyways they were all really helpful in helping us find the referral. The first time we thought we found her this dalaga comes out [dalaga means like ... 16+ girl thats unmarried] so we were like ahhh what ... the referral is a 17 year old girl. Turns out it wasn't her , just sounded like her name. So we enlist the help of a couple little kids to show us to her house and finally meet her! She's like 28 or something , has a husband [he wasn't there] and incredibly elect. She should have been baptized by now but had to be baptized in her own area , so the referral came to us. She's a bit backwards on a few doctrines but loves the church and wants to get baptized really bad. She's been coming to church straight for months [but in Urdaneta apparently. So after that we were walking back [about 6 km's to get back to the highway] and as we're talking someone calls "hi elders" from like the woods ... we look over and see a guy and were about to just pass but then were like .. what .. why do you know who we are. Turns out that was her husband! Hahah what are the odds. He was like I recognized the name tags and figured you were coming from my house. Had I known you were coming I wouldn't have left! He's so so nice and will be there when we come back. We have high hopes for a family baptism soon. Thennnnn as we were walking again someone ELSE calls "elders" so we swing around and this kid on a bike rides up and goes 'hey I was taught in Bulacan [close to manila] and should have been baptized but I came up here for high school. I want to be an elder too.' We were speechless , haha , so we got his address and followed him back to his house [he's only about 16 but lives with his aunt and uncle hear. Apparently his parents got baptized down in Bulacan and he has a ton of family that are members] so as we're following him we're asking around where this guy whose a member here lives , his name is . So we get directions and 2 minutes later who pulls up in a car up to us ... ! He rolls down the window and goes are you looking for me , and we say uhh are you Brother ? He goes yep! Get in! So we tell the kid we'll come back in an hour and get in the car , haha , he takes us back to his house and then we get a chance to talk to him. Turns out he was baptized in 93 here in Binalonan and loved the church. Was super super active for so many years then read something by Brigham Young that he took as a challenge to find truth in other churches and since has been inactive. Says he doesn't denounce his baptism nor the church but is still searching in other places. Now let me just be honest , this guy is a bit of a loon. So nice , but crazy.
So eventually we're able to get out of there [after like an hour 1/2] and make it back to the kid we met. He was waiting for us and his aunt and uncle are totally cool with us teaching him. So we share a lesson then leave for another less active family. WHERE AGAIN we meet someone who came to church last week and has a desire to be baptized , haha , I have no idea where all these people are coming from!! Laoac [this part of our area] is amazing. LASTLY! We head to this guy whose been inactive for so long and just last week he told us he had read the whole BoM in a week! and now he wants to come back. We shared about the atonement and left for home.
SUNDAY!!! Possibly even crazier. It was pouring but our investigators showed up [the first woman went to church in Urdaneta again because her father picked her up she said] but the 16 year old came by himself! ALSO! That super long time less active man came for the first time in a super long time [not the american]. So the services were great , we head home and the front of our house was super flooded so we take off our socks and shoes to get in and out. We're out working for a little while [get surprised fed by a member family as we were walking by their house. I think they love us both being american , haha] then LATER! we walk through super deep water. It was raining alll day sunday and so so many places were flooded. We figure whatever and just walk through it. Later on , this is the funniest part, we get to a super deep part of the water and were like we have to take pictures. So I give him my camera [luckily so] and walk out to a part I think is deeper water a little. THEN SUDDENLY I FALL , ahahaha , and turns out I had just walked into a CANAL! The drainage for the water. But everything was so flooded that I couldn't see it at all [not to mention murky dirty water] so I just go down and my feet couldn't even touch the bottom of the canal with the water up to my neck but luckily [painfully] this cement thing in the middle drives ride up between my legs and catches me in the crotch ahahaha. It hurt so bad but it saved me from drowning. I get up [those are those couple pictures you see] and Elder Hyatt is literally dying laughing hahaha. Everything was so soaked but it was hysterical. So I take a damage assessment and realize everything in my bag is soacked as am I and I broke part of my umbrella. So so so lucky I had just given my camera to him. So we continue working and have a good rest of the day despite it being freezing and everything soaked.
So that was my week. So so so nuts but amazing. Things are really really good with an american companion , haha. I love love filipinos but it's just so much different and easier with someone just like you.
I'll answer your questions next week , mom , I gotta run!
I love you all. Time is flying. But this work is amazing and I cannot imagine not doing it forever. But eventually I guess the time will come to give it up. The philippines are beautiful and the people amazing. I might become one of them , haha.
Love you again,
-Elder A White
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