Another beautiful morning
in the Philippines. You would never believe this, but it's actually getting
hotter here. We're approaching the "summer" season (even though
it's always summer here) and are headed into the warmest months of the
year. Yay. I'm so excited to sweat.
The beginning of the week
was great. Elder Hawkins and I spent our last few days together in a
state of bliss and joy. We went to the gym and running. Doesn't get better than
that. I'm sad to report Dad that the abs don't function like the
washboard they used to. I'm slowly moving into the
padded-ironing-board-cover stage. It's quite sad. Oh rice, why are
you so abundant in the Philippines? Anyway, Elder Hawkins and I made some cool
shirts for about 2 dollars, made cookie dough and played some epic Uno.
We spent Monday night and Tuesday visiting all of our favorite families in the
ward. It was sad to say goodbye. Especially, to the Borejon
family. The cutest part member family that the world has ever
produced. Their baptism is on the 29th and I’m hoping to get permission
from President Stucki to attend. They expressed to me that they want me to be
the one to baptize them so I sure hope I can go.
So my new area.... I am
already in love it. And my companion... he's the man. His name is Elder
Manares. He's the funniest, hard working Filipino missionary ever. He
rarely speaks English and when he does, he just quotes movies hahaha. I
love the guy. He's been in the mission for a while and heads home in
October. We're going to have a great time together. I'm excited for the
opportunity to improve my language ability. He also loves
basketball. We've played basketball 3 times so far. We play with some
of our neighbors. It's a good time.
So our area is kind of
tiny. It's composed of probably 10 streets or so. However, the people are
great. It’s a step up from the ghetto that was my last area. No one calls
me Joe and no one makes fun of us. It's great. I did however have some
little kids following me around pinching and slapping my butt. That was
weird. We have some great mga tinuturuan (people we're teaching). I
gotta tell you about our awesome investigator Jun Jun. He's 20 years old
and just loves the gospel. He works at a bakery and is just a happy
guy. We took him to a baptism on Saturday and he just ate it up. He
told us that he wishes it was him being baptized. (greatest comment
ever). He will be baptized on the 29th.
My first Sunday was just
great. I love the ward. I started getting to know the members the
first day I got here and they are the nicest people ever. They love
missionaries and they love missionary work. I had the opportunity to bear my
testimony in sacrament meeting and I felt like I was back in the states.
The building we meet in is quite amazing. It's three stories and 6 wards
meet in it every Sunday. The chapel looks almost identical to ours back
home except downsized. It has the exact same color scheme and everything.
The only difference was there weren’t any white people. I'm slowly
upgraded area-to-area. Cabar was a tiny shack hut, Manila was a small
tropical building and Bonifacio (the name of our ward) is a huge, architectural
feature. I wonder what my next area has in store. This ward just
has a different feeling. Everyone at church is happy and jolly. The
spirit is strong and I’m just stoked to be here. I was also asked to
speak next week. I will be the concluding speaker hahaha concluding
speakers here usually end up speaking for like 20 minutes. That will be
an adventure. The concluding speaker yesterday spoke for quite a while on
the importance of marriage and how teenagers shouldn’t hold hands even if
they're in a relationship. That's quite an opinion.
I got your package! It was
perfect timing. I got it on Wednesday (transfer day) so it was a nice
comfort. Plus, we didn't have any food at our house so I’ve been living
off of snacks. Yum. The shoes and shirts are great. I'm
lookin pretty dang fly. I've actually had some random people approach me
and tell me that only true representatives of Jesus Christ can look that good
hahah however, it did come at a price. These shoes gave me some gnarly
blisters on my heels. They're just about gone now though so we're all
good. Thanks so much for the package. I loved the pictures. I've
gone through them upwards of 20 times already. You guys are lookin
great.
So I found out where Mayday
Parade got the title, "Without the bitter, the sweet wouldn't be as
sweet." It turns out they got if from D&C 29:39
39 And it
must needs be that the devil should tempt
the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should
have bitter they could not know the sweet.
That about does it
for the week. It was a wonderful week and I feel extremely blessed to be a part
of the work in this area. I would just like to end with a scripture from
one of the best Book of Mormon missionaries, Ammon.
12 Yea, I know
that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will
not boast
of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I
can do all things.
Ammon was the
instrument that brought thousands of Lamanite souls into the fold of God. He
worked miracles and forever changed the course of an entire nation. He was a
man of mighty faith. However, he wasn't always the Ammon that chopped of arms
to save the kings flocks or converted kingdoms. He was also one of the
sons of Mosiah that sought to destroy the church of God in his youth. He
repented, he overcame his weaknesses, and grew into the man that the Lord
wanted him to be. We can also become as Ammon is, even if we are now who Ammon
used to be. We are so lucky to have the knowledge that we are all children of
our Heavenly Father and he loves us unconditionally. He is there for us always
and will help us become who he wants us to be. In his strength, we can do
all things.
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