This week we had a District Leader exchange, which means Elder S- and I went to their area for 24 hours and worked with different companions. It was a great learning opportunity for me, and really fun too! I don't have mga kabahay (roomates) in my apartment so it was really different. I got to see how different foreigner missionaries are further along in the language, and how they approach it differently. Some of the Elders there sounded exactly like a Filipino, which is impressive. Hopefully I can see myself in their shoes!
When we went out to work that day I went with Elder B-, who is 27 years old. He is way way more experienced and mature than me, so I really took a lot of mental notes. He is a POWERFUL speaker, and the way he asks questions to teach is really effective. Also, there are 100's of languages and dialects here in the Philippines, and Elder B- actually had to learn Tagalog when he got out here, so it's even more impressive that he teaches so well. The gift of tongues is real :)
As of today, it's barely stopped raining for 4 days, which means we have had a good deal of flooding. The only dangerous part is how filthy the water is, but we take some medication for that and just scrub our feet really really well at night. We avoid floods, but sometimes you get some water in your shoes and then it's a 'might as well' moment.
This is some light flooding, it's worse in some areas and I feel really bad for some people whos homes actually flood quite a bit. We just say para po (stop) whenever the jeepney goes somewhere with less water.
This street is really bad, it was about 1.5-2 feet, and we were in a trike (a bicycle with a little cab attached) and the water was still right up to the cab. I actually saw a raft/boat made out of huge water barrels, that was pretty amusing.
This is J-! We have taught his dad a lot, but G-is still having smoking problems. However J- started taking the lessons with Elder S- and I and we just had his baptism interview! Aug 20th J- will be baptized, and hopefully G- soon after that! This kid is way funny, he's really good at basketball and he's super witty. I have really enjoyed teaching him, and later in our lessons he even started taking some notes. We turned the Plan of Salvation into a big basketball metaphor, and it's been some great times preparing him for baptism.
Here's the P- family again! They have been the best thing to happen to me my whole mission, and they have given me so much joy and happiness. I can't express it enough, it's unreal. They really know the Bible so I love teaching about that and sharing scriptures from there, and they have begun reading the Book of Mormon and they know it is true. Their testimonies are blossoming before my eyes. (popcorn popping...)
On Sunday it was really interesting when the only people at church at 9:10 were our investigators (9 people attended) and the Bishop. The flooding and Filipino time in general made sure we didn't start up until 9:30. I taught gospel doctrines in second hour, and we didn't have 3rd hour because of the storm. Also, it was really cool to teach gospel doctrines in Tagalog, because it was to all of our investigators, and they know I'm trying my best so they correct my bad grammar occasionally and they're really understanding.
Spiritual thought time! I'm plodding through Jesus the Christ and the New Testament, and I love James E. Talmage's writing style. There is so much information packed into every sentence. And the occasional word that I don't actually know...
Anyways to start it off, this is the point when the Pharisees are frustrated and angry with Jesus because he brought his friendly ministry to the publicans and sinners. They were very prideful and specific as to who should be received at dinner and even in specific places, especially the temple. Christ's reply to their murmuring was typically silencing and rebuking: a physician is needed most by them that are sick, and He had come to call sinners to repentance.
Jesus then proceeds to some famous parables about 'bringing the lost into the fold'. The shepherd who finds his lost sheep does not chastise it, but puts it on his shoulders. And although he does not rejoice for the 99 sheep that are still safe and sound, he loves them all and rejoices for the one that was found especially.
Next, and especially poignant for me, was the parable of the Prodigal Son. Almost everyone has heard this parable before. This time I read it though, it took on different meanings, and I was thinking with my investigators in mind, as well as my own conversion in mind.
James E. Talmage says how the son leaving is a deliberate severance of ties with family. By asking for his portion early, he leaves the family. Of course, he spends all of his fortune on riotous living. But "adversity came upon him, and proved to be a more effective minister for good than pleasure had been" "Suffering brought him back to himself". In Tagalog, conversion is pagbabalik-loob which has the roots balik and loob and translates to 'return to oneself'. Of course the son is remorseful that he is having to eat with pigs when he once dined near the head of a table in safety. But, in addition to being remorseful he is repentant. He realized his folly, and remembered his honorable heritage even as he fed swine and starved. When he thought of returning home, he thought not being reinstated as son, a privilege and honor that he discarded from his own volition, but as a servant only. He did not delay either. "Without a word of condemnation, the loving parent embraced and kissed the wayward but now penitent boy, who, overcome by this undeserved affection, humbly acknowledged his error, and sorrowfully confessed that he was not worthy to be known as the father's son" Something that struck me is how "when was still a great way off, his father saw him" and then came out to meet him. We don't have to be perfect or even close to completing our journey to conversion before we will feel the love of our Heavenly Father. Conversion is an ongoing process, and I know for me it's not done yet. But I know our Father rejoices for each and every person that, like the prodigal son, is repentant and humble enough to come back to the fold.
Thanks for reading, love you all and ingat po kayo!
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