2016-10-25 Calloocan City Wildlife

Kumusta po!

And we're back! Sayong talaga because I forgot the cord for my camera, so there I'm missing the pictures from M's- birthday, so I'll write about that next week.

Week 2 with Elder R-, and we are really getting the ball rolling. You can't really make drastic changes week by week, it's like training for a marathon. You have to build up endurance, doing everything right, then the results will come in increments. So that's exactly what we are working on, to make every week better than the last, and I know if this continues we will have success.

So now, some miscellaneous pictures. The theme this week seems to be animals, which is mainly wild cats, dogs, and chickens since I'm in a very urban area. Dogs are either wild and roaming around picking at trash, always chained up and eager to bite, or imported and super cute. I've seen so many huskies here, which shocks me every time.

Here is the endangered roof dog. Some say they spend their whole life in the canopy of this concrete jungle.

 Now this was a treat, this beast looks ferocious, but is really quite lovable. King of the beetles. 

 Then there is this, the couch potato. Sleeps 25 hours a day, and if woken up, goes into a rage. Offerings of food can calm it down. 

This past Sunday was awesome. Last week we had so few because of the storms, even though it was really pretty mild weather, but this week we had every investigator show up, as well as many people I haven't seen in weeks, and the talks were great. 

Elder R- and I have been asked to give talks next Sunday, so I'm going to use you all as practice and share the prototype of my idea. I'm choosing to speak on Becoming Zion. 

Zion is a city that was established by a great prophet named Enoch. They prospered so much spiritually, that the whole city was taken up "into his own bosom" meaning all the people ascended. So less focused on that and more focused on how they prospered spiritually. 'Zion' means "the pure in heart" and the location Zion, outside of the initially established city, is the place where the "pure in heart" live. In Matthew 5:8 it says "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" which is the pinnacle goal we all share, we all want eternal life, because it's the only thing that endures past this life. The unique thing about Zion, is all of its members attained the goal! They helped each other, it was a group effort instead of individual struggle. No one can make the journey of life alone, we have to depend on Christ, and even other people. 

 Another ideal civilization can be found in 4 Nephi, after Christ's visit. There was no contention in the land, because of the "love of God" As Christ said, the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This love of God will lead to the second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as thyself. The Nephites and Lamanites after Christ's visit are a testament to the import and power of these two commandments. There was literally no contention, and everyone who lived in those times also lived the gospel of Jesus Christ, and although it is in a different manner than the city of Zion, they will have eternal life because of their works.

In the Second Coming Zion will be established, but before that we know that Zion is actually not one place. Zion is everywhere where the church of Jesus Christ is established. "Where one or two are gathered, there I am also" (paraphrased, I need to find the verse later) So Zion is a place for the pure in heart, it is the best way to attain eternal life, and it is everywhere. It is in Sydney and Cebu, Omaha and Ohio. Anywhere there are saints gathered in worship, holding each other up. This means it doesn't have to be a massive ward, the size doesn't matter so much as the quality. Of course as a missionary I'm trying to increase the size of my ward, but I'm realizing another, just as important task, is increasing the power of the ward. It is possible to fulfill the commandments about love, and become strong and closely-knit as a group. This is important for retention of new members, reactivation of wayward members, and just as important for the very active members, because we all should be able to rely on one another. We are literally a family through our Heavenly Father! 

So, I'll be fleshing it out since this is just some random thoughts, but I feel like this will be a benefit to my family out here in Panghulo ward, and could be a benefit to every member around the world, also remember that as Elder Holland says, this isn't some competition where we have to claw and scrape to the top, we are to help each other. So that's all, send some revisions, even if it's after i give the talk I'll appreciate it. Thanks for  reading, I love you all!

Elder Fish