Kamusta sa lahat! ("Hello everyone" in Tagalog)
I'm still an English missionary, but since my companion is a tagalog speaker, and we are in a tagalog area, I figured I would get myself a tagalog name tag. I will probably only wear it to Zone Conferences, because then people may expect me to know how to speak it. I am trying to learn a little bit of basic words and phrases, but I don't know very much. However, some words like numbers and days of the week are the same as in Spanish.
We also had Zone Conference this week! It was a good time. We talked a lot about having confidence in Christ, and how that helps us be bold, and have courage as we go about our work. We also expounded a bit on the Faith Spectrum that I talked about from last week. First, we have desire, then we believe, then we trust, then we have confidence, then we have reliance. We talked about having unshaken and perfect faith and went over Jacob 4:6.
We have been working hard and doing our best. I still honestly feel like I have a personal cloud following me for a long time that makes it so we don't find people to teach. We have a couple of friends, but we just always have a hard time scheduling things with them. We had another good progressing friend that we passed off to the YSA sisters, named Joseph. So that is 2 for our friends that we passed off. But it is ok! We've still been knocking doors, visiting people, and inviting them to learn more.We've had a number of good interactions and good people we have met, but haven't started teaching any of them. Yet.
(We found some Sombreros)
We went to two different Baptisms on Saturday. One was for Shirley, who was being taught by the other Elders in our ward. She is a very nice and calm lady, and it was really cool to hear her testimony after her baptism. We are excited that she is in our ward.
We also went to a Baptism for the Spanish ward that covers this same area. We invited Anette (who is being taught by the YSA), to help her get an idea for what her baptism might be like on Wednesday. She had something come up unfortunately. She also hasn't gone to church for the second week in a row, and might have her baptism pushed back. She wants to be baptized, but she's been going through it with her family, and also got a new job and has been working crazy hours. We'll see and we pray for them. She is a very elect lady.
For my thought this week, I wanted to share this quote by Joseph Smith: "I see no faults in the Church, and therefore let me be resurrected with the Saints, whether I ascend to heaven or descend to hell, or go to any other place. And if we go to hell, we will turn the devils out of doors and make a heaven of it. Where this people are, there is good society". I really like that quote and I've thought a lot about it. I have met so many amazing members. Members in San Diego, at home, fellow missionaries and other leaders. I may be a little biased, especially since members treat the missionaries well, but I have never seen or heard of a more fine group of people than the Saints of this church. I do feel like I have some qualifications to make this claim because I meet a lot of random people every day. I also have the opportunity to get to know members on another level, by going into, and feeling the spirit in their homes and hearing their testimonies and experiences. Being able to do so is a very testimony building thing. Last night, I stayed up late, laying in bed, thinking of the hundreds, and hundreds, and possibly thousands of names and faces of people that I have met in my life that are members of the church. They are amazing people, and there's no other group that I would rather associate myself with.
There are so many good things happening. For the past little while, I have been struggling because I feel like I am forgetting so many things. I am very grateful that I have made a habit of journaling every day on my mission. Just this week, as I hit 18 months, I finished Journal III. I have 4 journals on my mission, and I have written enough, and it seems to be timed almost perfectly, for me to have 1 journal for each quarter of my mission. But I have also begun writing down small good things that have been happening in a smaller book. I use it to record spiritual promptings, times I have been an instrument in God's hand, and just little good or funny things. As I've taken the time to record it, I am realizing how good things are, and how blessed I am.
I feel so much love for you guys! Thank you for all your support over the past year and a half. I would not have made it far without it. Here is to the next 6 months!
- Elder Wride
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