Tapos na ang Simana Duha diri Sa Mina!
Well another week has come and gone! The work here in Mina is great! Elder Orlanda is not scared to open his mouth to anyone and to share or teach anything! So we don't struggle to find teachings! We have quite a few investigators so w\our numbers this week in lessons with a member present again was above 20! However our attendance here again got lower since last week, so that's no good! But we have people to be baptized here in Mina! We have a baptism this next week on Saturday and then we should have 3 more on the 15th, and hopefully another one on the 22nd!
So last monday after our p-day we had a Family Home Evening at Sister Laporo's house and about 20+ people attended. Here house is not very big it was kinda packed! But it was so awesome to see so much enthusiasm for Family Home Evening. I taught the lesson! I always get nervous speaking Ilonggo in front of a ton of people, but I didn't do too bad! I had a nice object lesson using a flashlight teaching how we are the light of the world and we need to lift our light which is Christ so that everyone can see. We shut off all the lights so it was pitch black and we put the flashlight upside down on the ground so it's still pitch black and then I ask how we can raise our light and with each thing that was good we raised the flashlight until the room was light. The higher the light the more light in the room! It was fun and then we played some games and had some food! The people here in Mina are so awesome!
So the other night I think I taught the best lesson I have yet on my mission. As missionaries we're told that we should try to involve the people in the lesson, ask them good questions to make them think but not to make them feel like an idiot rather than just preaching at them. And I think for the first time yet I had a good lesson. I had questions that were good questions, I spoke great Ilonggo and it was pretty awesome!
We also had a Mission President's Training Meeting on Tuesday! We went through the Commandments and ways that we can improve our teachings of them! Once again I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to teach the Law of Chastity in front of President and this time the Zone, it was great! Always a fun one to teach! Then after the training we had lunch and I'm pretty sure President bought us the biggest sandwiches I have ever seen! They had 4 pieces of bread and 3 layers of stuff, it was insane! I couldn't finish it! Then after that he interviewed each of us individually. My interview lasted all of like 3 minutes because he had just interview me like 2 weeks ago. So he just told me to continue to get the trust of the members here in mina because I'm only the 3rd missionary to be assigned there and we're making history! So that's no pressure!! haha Then apparently he told Elder Orlanda that Mina is a training area. And Elder Orlanda goes home in April, so maybe that means that he's training me to become a trainer! Scary news! But I know that I can do whatever is asked of me!
Well we are off to have lunch and then play some basketball with the Elders of the Zone! I'm so excited, it's been so long since I've been able to play some basketball! I love and miss you all! Hope you all have a wonderful week. And if I had to say, I'm going to say "Go Seahawks!" ;)
-Elder Walters
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
1.20.14
Nagsilo Ako!
Well I finally transferred. Not that I was waiting for it, but It finally happened. Of course I miss Valladolid and the people there, but I'm adapted pretty quickly to the change and the people here are just as loving and friendly and great!
It was rough leaving Valladolid. Apparently one of the members there, when she found out that I was transferring she started crying and told her mom that she wasn't going to go the rest of the day of school and she stayed home. What can I do, I guess people just love me ;) haha Just kidding, but she really did stay home from school and cry. Ha
So I transferred to Mina, which is a group of the Sipalay Branch, which is part of the Sipalay District. We are the southern most Area of the Mission and yes it is BEAUTIFUL. This is the resort land of the Island. My area is more up in the mountains, but we have one are that is super close to the ocean and it's beautiful because it's ocean and mountain all at the same time!
So when I say that I am assigned to a group that means that we are technically still part of the Sipalay Branch but we have our own meeting house in Mina. We meet on Sunday and we have a Presiding Member of the Branch Presidency who runs our Sunday Services. We currently meet in his shop and they are also working on Building a place for us to meet behind their home. It's crazy. This group was opened in October and the attendance has been 35 or higher every week! They've had quite a few baptisms in the last 2 transfers and have a lot of investigators since I feel as though missionaries never really made it out here because we're about 20-30 minutes from Sipalay City. I am only the third missionary to be assigned here in Mina, and of those three I am the first American. So literally everyone is amazed to see me walking down the street, and even more amazed when they ask my companion if I know how to speak Ilonggo, and I reply saying "Indi ko intiende, kag indi ko kabalo kung paano nga maghambal man." Which means I don't understand and I don't know how to speak either. They always gasp in amazement haha! It's great! It's so much easier to adapt here than in Valladolid because when I arrived there I didn't know how to speak so I pretty much didn't, but here I can speak and laugh and joke with everyone!
We also taught a lesson on Friday night to some of our investigators and while we were teaching there were like 5 or 6 people just standing outside the window staring at me. We invited them in and they said no, but they stayed and stared still. Maybe next time I should be the one to get up and invite them in! Also my favorite thing is when people see me and they're walking in a big group and one sees me and then it's like a chain reaction. They turn back around say something to the group and then they all slowly turn around and look at me, it's hilarious haha.
Yesterday at church I had to teach Gospel Principles class for like an hour, which was great glad I had lots of participation and help from those in attendance even if I spoke quite a bit of English. I also had to give a talk in sacrament meeting and I also blessed the sacrament for the first time on my mission and it did it in Ilonggo. "O Dios, ang walay katapusan nga Amay....." it was fun!
I attached a picture of our meeting house! And a picture of our view!
-Elder Walters
Well I finally transferred. Not that I was waiting for it, but It finally happened. Of course I miss Valladolid and the people there, but I'm adapted pretty quickly to the change and the people here are just as loving and friendly and great!
It was rough leaving Valladolid. Apparently one of the members there, when she found out that I was transferring she started crying and told her mom that she wasn't going to go the rest of the day of school and she stayed home. What can I do, I guess people just love me ;) haha Just kidding, but she really did stay home from school and cry. Ha
So I transferred to Mina, which is a group of the Sipalay Branch, which is part of the Sipalay District. We are the southern most Area of the Mission and yes it is BEAUTIFUL. This is the resort land of the Island. My area is more up in the mountains, but we have one are that is super close to the ocean and it's beautiful because it's ocean and mountain all at the same time!
So when I say that I am assigned to a group that means that we are technically still part of the Sipalay Branch but we have our own meeting house in Mina. We meet on Sunday and we have a Presiding Member of the Branch Presidency who runs our Sunday Services. We currently meet in his shop and they are also working on Building a place for us to meet behind their home. It's crazy. This group was opened in October and the attendance has been 35 or higher every week! They've had quite a few baptisms in the last 2 transfers and have a lot of investigators since I feel as though missionaries never really made it out here because we're about 20-30 minutes from Sipalay City. I am only the third missionary to be assigned here in Mina, and of those three I am the first American. So literally everyone is amazed to see me walking down the street, and even more amazed when they ask my companion if I know how to speak Ilonggo, and I reply saying "Indi ko intiende, kag indi ko kabalo kung paano nga maghambal man." Which means I don't understand and I don't know how to speak either. They always gasp in amazement haha! It's great! It's so much easier to adapt here than in Valladolid because when I arrived there I didn't know how to speak so I pretty much didn't, but here I can speak and laugh and joke with everyone!
We also taught a lesson on Friday night to some of our investigators and while we were teaching there were like 5 or 6 people just standing outside the window staring at me. We invited them in and they said no, but they stayed and stared still. Maybe next time I should be the one to get up and invite them in! Also my favorite thing is when people see me and they're walking in a big group and one sees me and then it's like a chain reaction. They turn back around say something to the group and then they all slowly turn around and look at me, it's hilarious haha.
Yesterday at church I had to teach Gospel Principles class for like an hour, which was great glad I had lots of participation and help from those in attendance even if I spoke quite a bit of English. I also had to give a talk in sacrament meeting and I also blessed the sacrament for the first time on my mission and it did it in Ilonggo. "O Dios, ang walay katapusan nga Amay....." it was fun!
I attached a picture of our meeting house! And a picture of our view!
-Elder Walters
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
1.6.14
Malipayong 2014!
Hello once again! Nothing to crazy happened this week. Our work was a bit slow because we had to be home by 5pm on both the 31 and the 1st because of New Year celebrations. New Year is a bit different here. People go crazy with fireworks, something we can't do because of the temperature back home which I hear is quite low. Trying to sleep on the night of December 31 was fun. It had rained early in the evening so all of the fireworks had been postponed for awhile but then it stopped and dried up so everyone started up. I fell asleep at about 10:30 but then when midnight rolled around it was like a constant Thunderstorm. I had one ear smashed into my mattress and my pillow smashed into my other. We actually forgot that on the 1st we had to be home by 5 so we literally got nothing accomplished on either of those days. We had to go up to Bacolod on the 1st to withdraw money because we literally had nothing!
The fact that we didn't get us much accomplished this week showed in our numbers. We only had 1 investigator at church this Sunday which is depressing after having 5 and 6 for the past couple weeks. Makes me want to go out be much more productive.
There really isn't a whole lot to say about this week. Other than Happy 2014! I love all of you and hope you had a great Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!
-Elder Walters
Little Arwen Jover (5) wanted me to wear her headband and take a picture. So I did! I love seeing smiles on the little kids faces! :)
Hello once again! Nothing to crazy happened this week. Our work was a bit slow because we had to be home by 5pm on both the 31 and the 1st because of New Year celebrations. New Year is a bit different here. People go crazy with fireworks, something we can't do because of the temperature back home which I hear is quite low. Trying to sleep on the night of December 31 was fun. It had rained early in the evening so all of the fireworks had been postponed for awhile but then it stopped and dried up so everyone started up. I fell asleep at about 10:30 but then when midnight rolled around it was like a constant Thunderstorm. I had one ear smashed into my mattress and my pillow smashed into my other. We actually forgot that on the 1st we had to be home by 5 so we literally got nothing accomplished on either of those days. We had to go up to Bacolod on the 1st to withdraw money because we literally had nothing!
The fact that we didn't get us much accomplished this week showed in our numbers. We only had 1 investigator at church this Sunday which is depressing after having 5 and 6 for the past couple weeks. Makes me want to go out be much more productive.
There really isn't a whole lot to say about this week. Other than Happy 2014! I love all of you and hope you had a great Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!
-Elder Walters
12.30.13
Malipayong Bagong Tuig
Well Christmas was great this week! We had the Baptism for JellyAnn on Christmas day! Other than the fact that there was no program written and we started 40 minutes late everything went great! ;) That's just the Philippines for ya, we call that Filipino time. Everything starts late, except for mission events. After the Baptism we were able to go get some Siapao at Merci with the members from our ward who attended the baptism. It was a fun time. Siopao is like the bread thing with like a barbeque pork or chicken inside of it, it's really good! After that I got to see all the wonderful faces of my family. That was the best present I received this year! :)
So after Christmas, nothing too crazy happened. We did have Zone Conference on Thursday with President and Sister Lopez. President Lopez gave us an awesome training on the law of tithing. It really opened my eyes to the importance of tithing and why it's a command only for members of the church. There's 3 specific blessings stated in the scriptures that we will receive if we pay our tithing! The first is that we can enter the temple if we are a full tithe payer, second we are promised that we will always have food on our table, and third we are promised that we will not be burned at the second coming of Christ. Three pretty awesome blessings if you ask me. President said for those people who say "Oh, I don't have a job, I don't have to pay tithing." That if they think they're exempt from paying tithing, they're also exempt from the blessing of paying tithing. He told us that will be the first lesson that we will teach Less Active members and Recent Converts. He said there are always members who go to church every week and don't be tithing, but there are never members who pay their tithing and don't go to church. In short, tithing is the key to everything. If we have enough faith to pay our tithing we have enough faith to follow every other commandment. It was a pretty awesome training. After that we finally watched the Christmas Devotional, good thing Christmas was already over haha!
So yesterday Elder Cruz and I both had the privilege to speak at church. I remember the times as a kid when I would plan a talk for 30-45 minutes that would only last 5 minutes, adn usually not even. Now I don't really even need to plan and It's hard to only speak for 5 minutes. Sacrament started like 20 minutes late yesterday so the Bishop told us to only speak for 5 minutes. Pretty sure I went over and I cut out a lot of things that I had prepared. Weird how things like that happen. I spoke in only English and then after church we were at Nanay Advincula's house and I was telling them that I get nervous when I speak Ilonggo in front of large groups of people and she was like "What, why?!" She kinda raised her voice a little haha, it was funny!
After that we went on member exchanges, this is where our day got crazy. I went with Bonnie, and Elder Cruz went with Brother Crampatana. Pretty much right after we left it started raining. Elder Cruz and Brother Crampatana only had a motorcycle and no umbrellas. Bonnie and I were walking and had umbrellas but that didn't really make much of a difference. We were still drenched. Usually the hope is that when you split you can get more work done, but we didn't get much done at all because we couldn't go anywhere. It was raining so hard. We also had no communication because Brother Crampatanas phone wasn't working. They could receive our texts, but they couldn't text us back, and we couldn't call them because our phone can only call other phones with Globe Service, and he has Smart. It was crazy. We had a meeting place in town, but Bonnie and I couldn't get there because it was raining so hard. We were literally walking through the street with water up to ankle, it was crazy. And the wind was blowing the rain in on us so our umbrellas, like I said, didn't really do us much good. It was a crazy. Then come to find out Bishop found Elder Cruz and Brother Crampatana in town and he has a tricycle. Appaently Brother Crampatanas electric start on his motorcycle wasn't working so Bishop was just towing Brother Crampatana as he was trying to start his motorcycle, then Bro. Crampatana got his motorcycle started and lost control and balance and rammed into the back of Bishops tricycle and fell over. It was a crazy night to say the least. We aw Bro. Crampatana this morning and he said his knee was a bit sore, he was limping a little bit. He had 2 tiny scratches from the accident so it wasn't too bad. And of course all this time it's raining so everyone is just soaked. When he got to our apartment he said to me "Best Missionary Work Ever!" They still want to work next week even though yesterday was crazy! I can't wait to work again and actually get something done!
Well that's all I have for this week. I hope you're all having fun wherever you are at the moment. It was nice to talk to you this past week. Have a wonderful New Year! We were told we have to be home by 5 tomorrow to avoid all the crazy New Years events here. Brother Crampatana invited us to his house to Celebrate and when we said we can't be out he said alright I'll just bring you some food! The people here are so nice, I love it! :)
Palangga ko kamo!
-Elder Walters
Well Christmas was great this week! We had the Baptism for JellyAnn on Christmas day! Other than the fact that there was no program written and we started 40 minutes late everything went great! ;) That's just the Philippines for ya, we call that Filipino time. Everything starts late, except for mission events. After the Baptism we were able to go get some Siapao at Merci with the members from our ward who attended the baptism. It was a fun time. Siopao is like the bread thing with like a barbeque pork or chicken inside of it, it's really good! After that I got to see all the wonderful faces of my family. That was the best present I received this year! :)
So after Christmas, nothing too crazy happened. We did have Zone Conference on Thursday with President and Sister Lopez. President Lopez gave us an awesome training on the law of tithing. It really opened my eyes to the importance of tithing and why it's a command only for members of the church. There's 3 specific blessings stated in the scriptures that we will receive if we pay our tithing! The first is that we can enter the temple if we are a full tithe payer, second we are promised that we will always have food on our table, and third we are promised that we will not be burned at the second coming of Christ. Three pretty awesome blessings if you ask me. President said for those people who say "Oh, I don't have a job, I don't have to pay tithing." That if they think they're exempt from paying tithing, they're also exempt from the blessing of paying tithing. He told us that will be the first lesson that we will teach Less Active members and Recent Converts. He said there are always members who go to church every week and don't be tithing, but there are never members who pay their tithing and don't go to church. In short, tithing is the key to everything. If we have enough faith to pay our tithing we have enough faith to follow every other commandment. It was a pretty awesome training. After that we finally watched the Christmas Devotional, good thing Christmas was already over haha!
So yesterday Elder Cruz and I both had the privilege to speak at church. I remember the times as a kid when I would plan a talk for 30-45 minutes that would only last 5 minutes, adn usually not even. Now I don't really even need to plan and It's hard to only speak for 5 minutes. Sacrament started like 20 minutes late yesterday so the Bishop told us to only speak for 5 minutes. Pretty sure I went over and I cut out a lot of things that I had prepared. Weird how things like that happen. I spoke in only English and then after church we were at Nanay Advincula's house and I was telling them that I get nervous when I speak Ilonggo in front of large groups of people and she was like "What, why?!" She kinda raised her voice a little haha, it was funny!
After that we went on member exchanges, this is where our day got crazy. I went with Bonnie, and Elder Cruz went with Brother Crampatana. Pretty much right after we left it started raining. Elder Cruz and Brother Crampatana only had a motorcycle and no umbrellas. Bonnie and I were walking and had umbrellas but that didn't really make much of a difference. We were still drenched. Usually the hope is that when you split you can get more work done, but we didn't get much done at all because we couldn't go anywhere. It was raining so hard. We also had no communication because Brother Crampatanas phone wasn't working. They could receive our texts, but they couldn't text us back, and we couldn't call them because our phone can only call other phones with Globe Service, and he has Smart. It was crazy. We had a meeting place in town, but Bonnie and I couldn't get there because it was raining so hard. We were literally walking through the street with water up to ankle, it was crazy. And the wind was blowing the rain in on us so our umbrellas, like I said, didn't really do us much good. It was a crazy. Then come to find out Bishop found Elder Cruz and Brother Crampatana in town and he has a tricycle. Appaently Brother Crampatanas electric start on his motorcycle wasn't working so Bishop was just towing Brother Crampatana as he was trying to start his motorcycle, then Bro. Crampatana got his motorcycle started and lost control and balance and rammed into the back of Bishops tricycle and fell over. It was a crazy night to say the least. We aw Bro. Crampatana this morning and he said his knee was a bit sore, he was limping a little bit. He had 2 tiny scratches from the accident so it wasn't too bad. And of course all this time it's raining so everyone is just soaked. When he got to our apartment he said to me "Best Missionary Work Ever!" They still want to work next week even though yesterday was crazy! I can't wait to work again and actually get something done!
Well that's all I have for this week. I hope you're all having fun wherever you are at the moment. It was nice to talk to you this past week. Have a wonderful New Year! We were told we have to be home by 5 tomorrow to avoid all the crazy New Years events here. Brother Crampatana invited us to his house to Celebrate and when we said we can't be out he said alright I'll just bring you some food! The people here are so nice, I love it! :)
Palangga ko kamo!
-Elder Walters
12.23.13
Maligayang Pasko! (Merry Christmas!)
Maayong gab-i sa inyo tanan!
As this week is Christmas I thought I would email as many people as I could and wish you all a Maligayang Pasko!
So this week was just as productive for us as last week was! I'm super excited for our Stake Baptism this week! And even more excited to speak with my family, and hopefully hear from many of you next week after receiving this email! :)
Christmas here in the Philippines is very different from back home! For one, there is no snow!! Weird enough I kind of miss snow, I never thought I would say that in my life! But it's just so darn hot here all the time! Most people are very poor so most don't have Christmas trees and for what I've seen most people don't have very many gifts, but the important thing is that they have each other! That's what is important on Christmas, being with our families and those we love and appreciating the wonderful gift our Heavenly Father gave us, his son Jesus Christ! Sure receiving gifts is great and fun and we can show our love and appreciation for each other through the gifts we give but more important is giving thanks to one another and to our Heavenly Father for the many gifts, talents, and blessings he has given us throughout our lives! The people here in the Philippines have nothing, but they all have a belief in our Savior Jesus Christ, which is more than a lot of people back home. For those of us who believe and have faith in our Savior Jesus Christ let's do more than just say it, let's SHOW IT, by living a life that would not only make our parents proud, but would make our Heavenly Father proud. We read in James 2:20,24 "... that faith without works is dead.... Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Christmas is a time to remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, let's do just that!
Let's see, what exciting things did we do this week.......... hmmmm Oh well yesterday we were told we had to do a baptismal interview for the Elders in Pulupandan at 10:30 so after our Sacrament Meeting we left and went to Pulupandan just to find out that that's when the start their Sacrament Meeting, so we just went to theirs as well. Walay Claro Sila, ginhambal nila nga ang interview nila masugod a las 1030 pero nagsugod sila sa Sacarament Meeting, Ambot sa ila. Haha I hope you all had as much fun reading that as I did writing it! :) Now let's see who can tell me what it says!! What else........ hmmmmm... I'm not sure what else to share. Nothing else too exciting happened this week! We're still trucking along enjoying life and work in the service of the Lord.
Palangga gid ko kamo tanan, nahidlaw ako sa inyo! Makakita ako sa tanan nga inyong mga itsura sa diesiotso ka bulan! Halong kamo pirme kag Maligayang Pasko naman!
-Elder Walters
Maayong gab-i sa inyo tanan!
As this week is Christmas I thought I would email as many people as I could and wish you all a Maligayang Pasko!
So this week was just as productive for us as last week was! I'm super excited for our Stake Baptism this week! And even more excited to speak with my family, and hopefully hear from many of you next week after receiving this email! :)
Christmas here in the Philippines is very different from back home! For one, there is no snow!! Weird enough I kind of miss snow, I never thought I would say that in my life! But it's just so darn hot here all the time! Most people are very poor so most don't have Christmas trees and for what I've seen most people don't have very many gifts, but the important thing is that they have each other! That's what is important on Christmas, being with our families and those we love and appreciating the wonderful gift our Heavenly Father gave us, his son Jesus Christ! Sure receiving gifts is great and fun and we can show our love and appreciation for each other through the gifts we give but more important is giving thanks to one another and to our Heavenly Father for the many gifts, talents, and blessings he has given us throughout our lives! The people here in the Philippines have nothing, but they all have a belief in our Savior Jesus Christ, which is more than a lot of people back home. For those of us who believe and have faith in our Savior Jesus Christ let's do more than just say it, let's SHOW IT, by living a life that would not only make our parents proud, but would make our Heavenly Father proud. We read in James 2:20,24 "... that faith without works is dead.... Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Christmas is a time to remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, let's do just that!
Let's see, what exciting things did we do this week.......... hmmmm Oh well yesterday we were told we had to do a baptismal interview for the Elders in Pulupandan at 10:30 so after our Sacrament Meeting we left and went to Pulupandan just to find out that that's when the start their Sacrament Meeting, so we just went to theirs as well. Walay Claro Sila, ginhambal nila nga ang interview nila masugod a las 1030 pero nagsugod sila sa Sacarament Meeting, Ambot sa ila. Haha I hope you all had as much fun reading that as I did writing it! :) Now let's see who can tell me what it says!! What else........ hmmmmm... I'm not sure what else to share. Nothing else too exciting happened this week! We're still trucking along enjoying life and work in the service of the Lord.
Palangga gid ko kamo tanan, nahidlaw ako sa inyo! Makakita ako sa tanan nga inyong mga itsura sa diesiotso ka bulan! Halong kamo pirme kag Maligayang Pasko naman!
-Elder Walters
12.16.13
"Isang 'Cano kag Isang tao!"
So the title of this email just makes me laugh. When we walk down the streets or anywhere really for some reason people aren't really sure what Nationality Elder Cruz is. A lot of people ask him "where are you from in the US." His response is always I'm Filipino. A lot of little kids yell "Mga 'Cano" when we walk by, which means multiple americans and clearly I'm the only american in our companionship. But this last week we were walking back to our house after buying some eggs for lunch and a tricycle drove by with a little girl in it and she said "Isang 'Cano kag isang tao." Elder Cruz and I both started laughing as soon as she said it. It means "One American and one person." She wasn't sure what to call Elder Cruz so she just said person. One american and one other guy haha it was so funny!
This week was by far THE BEST WEEK EVER. haha We had so many teachings, so many investigators who came to church and I just felt like a productive missionary this week. We didn't have a baptism but we're getting closer and closer to having many! Our normal number of lessons taught with a member present is ususally between 10-15. This last week at our zone training meeting the zone leaders set a goal of 25 a week. My first thought was yeah right, that's not going to happen. However we got to work this week and we had 22! It's amazing what happens when you put your faith into it!
So a couple weeks ago we were teaching a less-active sister when this drunk guy who was smoking a cigarette saw us and walked up to us and stuttered his way through "Brother, I am a member of your church. I was baptized in 2007 or maybe 2008" He said it in English even. Clearly he has a few issues he needs to work on, but he then sat with us through the lesson and then told us he wanted us to teach his two daughters. So this last week we went and found his two daughters Shaine Shane(10) and Glyssa Mae(12). They were so receptive. Their Dad is a drunk and has no job and I'm not sure what happened to their mom. They were so receptive and open with us it was amazing. During our first visit with them their dad sat down next to me and just started speaking half Ilonggo and half english. So while Elder Cruz was teaching the girls I was just left to handle the drunk guy who this time said he was baptized in the year 1986. So clearly he's a little confused about things, but he said multiple times that next year he will be back at church with his family! So we have work to do! One of the girls even came to church and then yesterday asked when he baptism is! She has friends and classmates at church and everything, it's so amazing! I'm so excited for them. They have nothing in this life, but this gift is the most precious thing they can receive and will bless them for eternity. And they are so excited about it! This work is great!
I hope you all have a great week. I love you all! :)
-Elder Walters
So the title of this email just makes me laugh. When we walk down the streets or anywhere really for some reason people aren't really sure what Nationality Elder Cruz is. A lot of people ask him "where are you from in the US." His response is always I'm Filipino. A lot of little kids yell "Mga 'Cano" when we walk by, which means multiple americans and clearly I'm the only american in our companionship. But this last week we were walking back to our house after buying some eggs for lunch and a tricycle drove by with a little girl in it and she said "Isang 'Cano kag isang tao." Elder Cruz and I both started laughing as soon as she said it. It means "One American and one person." She wasn't sure what to call Elder Cruz so she just said person. One american and one other guy haha it was so funny!
This week was by far THE BEST WEEK EVER. haha We had so many teachings, so many investigators who came to church and I just felt like a productive missionary this week. We didn't have a baptism but we're getting closer and closer to having many! Our normal number of lessons taught with a member present is ususally between 10-15. This last week at our zone training meeting the zone leaders set a goal of 25 a week. My first thought was yeah right, that's not going to happen. However we got to work this week and we had 22! It's amazing what happens when you put your faith into it!
So a couple weeks ago we were teaching a less-active sister when this drunk guy who was smoking a cigarette saw us and walked up to us and stuttered his way through "Brother, I am a member of your church. I was baptized in 2007 or maybe 2008" He said it in English even. Clearly he has a few issues he needs to work on, but he then sat with us through the lesson and then told us he wanted us to teach his two daughters. So this last week we went and found his two daughters Shaine Shane(10) and Glyssa Mae(12). They were so receptive. Their Dad is a drunk and has no job and I'm not sure what happened to their mom. They were so receptive and open with us it was amazing. During our first visit with them their dad sat down next to me and just started speaking half Ilonggo and half english. So while Elder Cruz was teaching the girls I was just left to handle the drunk guy who this time said he was baptized in the year 1986. So clearly he's a little confused about things, but he said multiple times that next year he will be back at church with his family! So we have work to do! One of the girls even came to church and then yesterday asked when he baptism is! She has friends and classmates at church and everything, it's so amazing! I'm so excited for them. They have nothing in this life, but this gift is the most precious thing they can receive and will bless them for eternity. And they are so excited about it! This work is great!
I hope you all have a great week. I love you all! :)
-Elder Walters
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