There's no such thing as a
side of rice here. Rice is the main course and you have maybe meat or
vegetables on the side. Be careful though, because rice makes you fat!!
My belly is expanding daily (Don't worry though, the abs are still there. Not
too effective as a washboard anymore though). Just a little bit about Halloween
here in the Philippines. It's not exactly that same as Halloween is
celebrated in the states. No one really goes trick or treating and I saw
maybe 2 kids with costumes on. However, Nov 1 is a huge day here. It's
called All Saint's day and on this day everyone goes to the cemeteries and
everyone puts candles outside of their doors. It's supposed to guide the
spirits to heaven. It's a tradition that most everyone follows. There
were lit candles everywhere. Pretty crazy. We also saw a catholic march
going on. There were hundreds of people walking and caring statues of sto.
Nino and candles. That was an experience.
So a little about this
week. Johanna and Carmelino came to church yesterday!! It was the first
time in 13 years! They are such an amazing family. We visited them later
that night and the lesson was just amazing. They are keeping their
commitments and you can already see a change taking place in their countenances.
They told us a little story about their lives. Right after they got
married they had some serious financial problems. Carmelino decided to work abroad
in Malaysia. He was making 3 times as much money as he was here. After
three months, he left Malaysia and came back to the Philippines. He quit
his job in Malaysia because he couldn't stand being away from his wife and
kids. Sister told us that she prayed everyday for those three months just for
him to come back. She didn't pray for money, she prayed for her husband. They
put their family first. They haven't been separated since. They have
been prepared by the hand of the lord to accept his gospel. Not a doubt
in my mind. And thanks to the gospel, they won't even be separated by death.
We had two other
investigators at church as well, Marissa and Chrisanto. The day before, Saturday,
we commited Chrisanto to baptism again, but he told us that he needs to think
about it. He's not sure if it's the right time. We told him to pray about
it. Church was the answer to his prayer and ours. It was perfect because it was
fast and testimony meeting and the topic for both gospel principles and
priesthood was baptism. Coincidence? I think not. It worked out perfect. He's
definitely being prepared by the Lord.
After church was crazy. One
of our recently returned members was waiting for her child outside the primary
room. All the kids got out. Her son wasn't there. He wasn't
in the church and could not be found. We spent the next hour and a half running
up and down the streets near the church, asking everyone if they had seen this
boy. Imagine not knowing where your son went in the most densely
populated city in the world. Seriously, I was worried out of my mind. After
an hour and a half, we received word that he had walked all the way across the
city to his dad's work. Way far. Holy, it was crazy. I was extra
worried because her husband is actually one of our progressing investigators. If
his child was kidnapped or got lost while attending church, that would not be
good. Luckily, everything worked out ok.
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