4.21.14

Reassignment?

I've told many of you already that I have been 'reassigned' to the
Mina BRANCH. It was a very exciting day yesterday as we changed from
the Mina Group to the Mina Branch. It's good to see a lot of hard work
pay off especially in the building of the kingdom of God! Two Branches
were created yesterday so it was pretty awesome!

So this week we had an opportunity to assist the Sipalay Elders with a
Service Project at a members home up in the mountains. We helped make
a roof for them out of these leave like things. Wrapped them around a
small piece of bamboo and overlapped them and tied them together using
some other plant leaf. It was pretty crazy. The whole time we were up
there it was raining and it would stop and we didn't have umbrellas.
We waited as long as possible before we just left and walked in the
pouring rain for nearly 45 mountains down the mountain and back to the
aparment of the Elders in Sipalay. It was crazy. We were sopping wet!
But it was kinda fun at the same time!

This week we saw a lot of progression in our work and in our
investigators. We had 11 investigators attend church this week which
is the highest I've seen in my mission. It was an awesome sunday as
well as many of our Recent Converts received callings! One as 2nd
Counselor in the Branch Presidency. Others serving in the Young Women,
Young Men, and Primary! It was a great week. I'm doing my best each
and every day to learn from my companion amongst the clash of our
personalties but we have seen progress here in Mina so I will push
through! The work always goes forward no matter what!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Easter isn't much of anything
here, so I almost even forgot that it even was Easter, but I didn't,
don't you worry ;) I'm thankful for the wonderful sacrifice that Jesus
Christ made for me in order for me to live again. No matter what pains
or struggles we may face, Christ felt and endured it all. He knows us,
he knows our problems and he knows how to help us! May we always turn
to his Gospel to find peace and direction to our lives! I love you
all! Have a great week! :)

4.14.14

General Conference Week

So this week was pretty eventful. After Elder Orlanda left I worked with Elder Mu and Elder Evans in Inayauan. It was actually really fun with 3 of us and on top of that 3 native English speakers! Although riding buses was not fun this past week. Elder Orlanda and I stood for an hour and a half on the way to Kabankalan, and then on the way back to Inayauan we stood for another hour and a half. And then after I got my new companion we stood all the Mina, a good 2 hours or more! It was so tiring. I will also not complain about the water situation in Mina again because the apartment in Inayauan doesn't have water like at all. The only time water comes out of their faucet is at 2am, talk about unfortunate!!

On Wednesday Morning Elder Mu and I stayed in Kabankalan at the church and waited for our new companions! We met this adorable 10 yr old girl who was not shy at all! Normally kids are super shy towards us especially foreign missionaries but she walked right up and started talking to us, it was cool! Elder Mu taught her how to play the piano and she was super fast at learning, it was really fun while we waiting for like 4 hours!

Elder Dela Cruz is my new companion, he is our District Leader here, which makes me the Junior Companion for the 7th transfer in a row! haha I'm going for a record! ;) He's a bit of an interesting character. Very touchy, so I have even more of a lack of personal space so that's unfortunate, but we'll work on that haha!

So one thing that I enjoyed from General Conference was the talk by Jeffrey R. Holland. He made a comment that in this world today people want a God that's too generous, and kind, and comfortable. They just want to hear what they want to hear which is so true. People take the truth to be too hard. If the truth is too hard for you that's because you're not doing something right and you need to fix it! Simple as that. The world is changing, morals are changing, but the gospel of Jesus Christ NEVER changes, but WE CAN CHANGE. "Who we are is not who we can become." If we're just sitting around waiting for the standards of the Church to change, we will never see it. But if we realize that we all have things to improve and if we set out to do them, we will see that we have changed, and that our perspective on the gospel has changed. That it is now easier to follow the commandments, that the truth doesn't hurt so much, and that the Standards of the church are our guidelines to return back to live in the presence of our loving Heavenly Father! Our life is short, but has eternal consequences. Each and every choice we make has an impact on the future. Let's make sure that we are making the right ones each and every day so that we don't have to look back with regret and wish we hadn't made the mistakes that we have! There were many other wonderful talks from General Conference as well but that was just one of my thoughts! I still haven't watched the Sunday Afternoon Session, hopefully later this afternoon! :)

I love you all! Have a wonderful week! :)

4.7.14

Last Week of Elder Orlanda

Well Elder Orlanda has now officially left me. I'm here with Elder Evans (Las Vegas) and Elder Mu (Sydney, Australia) until transfer day on Wednesday when we find out who our new companions will be! Should be fun with 3 native English speakers! It'll be a little different when we work because our Investigators will have no Filipino to speak too. So hopefully they bring things back down to our level of understanding! hah But we're all good, I've been here the shortest amount of time of the 3 of us so we'll be completely fine, I'm actually excited!

This week was weird knowing that it was the last week of Elder Orlanda. Church turned into a tear fest. Fast and Testimony Meeting turned into let's give thanks to Elder Orlanda Meeting! It was crazy. Elder Orlanda was one of the first 2 missionaries assigned in Mina and now he has left. Also weird because his first companion finished his mission in Mina as well, odds are I won't finish my mission hear, haha! That'd be like 18 months in one area!

I'm super excited to be able to watch General Conference this next weekend, we're always a week behind in Broadcasts here! We also have a baptism this weekend as well! So I'm excited for that and for my new companion, I only hope that he is nice and not disobedient!

This week I read in D&C 135, pretty crazy section. Verse 3 says:

Joseph Smith, the aProphet and bSeer of the Lord, has done more, csave Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the dfulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own eblood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not fseparated!

I'm super Thankful for Joseph Smith and all that he did for us. He truly has done more than any other person, save Christ Himself, for the salvation of our souls. He truly gave his life for the truth, same as Jesus Christ, but yet some people still don't see it. People fight so hard against the truth, no Church other than this one faces as much tribulation and criticism, why is that? Because this is the true Church of Jesus Christ on the Earth today. Christ gave his life for the Church and the Salvation of our Souls, and so did Joseph Smith. I am indeed grateful for both of these men and the great sacrifices they made for me. I only hope that I can do something here on this Earth to repay them. I'm certainly not the Savior of the World or the Prophet of the Restoration, but I know that You and I can make a difference in this world. Whether great or small, it's all the same! We can all help someone to realize the truth! That is the purpose of life.

I love you all and thank you for all your love and support! May our Heavenly Father continue to help you to recognize the many blessings you have in your life!