2017-6-12
Baptism E- Family
Hello!
We
have transfers today, which means there will be new areas and companions for
missionaries! I have a new companion, but I will be staying in this area, in
Pangarap Ward! I'm super excited and very very grateful I get to stay here to
plant the gospel seeds and continue the harvest as well. This will make my time
in this ward a nice round 6 months, which is the longest I will have spent in
any one area, but also the wish of my heart because it's tough to leave a place
where you have gotten close to people. I'm excited to meet my next companion,
Elder Mahinay! He is from the Philippines as well, so I will get to understand
another part of this awesome country from his story.
Last
week I didn't have time to email, but we had a baptism! The father of this
family was baptized a little over a year ago and just now was able to come home
from work so they moved in a few months back. His two kids didn't have any
exposure to the church, so we helped them make some friends and taught them everything
that one needs to understand in order to choose baptism. The boy is 15 and the
girl 13. The boy is super smart and fun to teach because he reads the Book of
Mormon avidly, and we caught him just in time because school started this week.
We got to teach him frequently and he just soaked up the gospel. His sister was
also great to teach, she is super kind, and it was a little different teaching
her, because she cannot read. I testify that reading the Book of Mormon is
something we need in our lives, and we need it to understand more about Christ.
And the Book of Mormon Stories book with all the pictures is a great way to
help someone learn how to read!
Last
Sunday I got to talk with someone and discuss their desire to be baptized, to
see if they were ready for that action. I'm so grateful for that discussion and
how it touched me, hopefully it can touch you too. I'll share his story without
his name:
The
missionaries taught him, helped him read the Book of Mormon, pray about it,
pray about Joseph Smith to know if he really is a prophet of God or not.
Through sincere prayer, this man and his wife received their answer. That was
the first step, that was planting the seed and having it root. Then the
missionaries taught them the plan of God. Why are we really here? Where do we
come from, and what's after death? That strengthened the roots in this couple,
strengthened their knowledge and faith and hope in Christ. Then, the
missionaries taught them the commandments of God, which can prove to do two things:
Shake the faith and test it beyond it's limit. Or, strengthen those roots even
further when they obey the commandments.
This
man shared with me how he stopped drinking as soon as the missionaries helped
him understand the God doesn't condone that lifestyle. It is not conducive for
raising a family, and it's not part of God's plan for him. He had to terminate
some of his relationships with his barkada (friends, close-group, gang) and had
to be brave enough to share why he suddenly wasn't going to drinking and
singing with them anymore. And he had to endure being called "holy"
for making such a lifestyle change.
This
man shared with me how he stopped working on Sunday because
missionaries helped him understand that God has commanded us to set that day aside
to remember Him, and to only do things that bring us closer to Him. The
promised blessing is that 6 days of work can get us by, even though we barely
get by on 7 days of work. This is something called Celestial Math, 6 days of
work with the Lord on your side is greater than 7 days of work without those
blessings. 90% of your income with the Lord on your side is greater than 100%
of your income without those blessings. It doesn't add up in our heads, but it
adds up when we put our faith into it. This man said (translated and
paraphrased) "I work odds and ends, selling/fixing watches, driving my
motor around selling floor mats and brooms, and I'm looking for a job that
has Sundayoff. I resigned from my last job because Sundays weren't sure
for me. Before, we had money, but we weren't happy. Now, we have just enough,
but me and the wife are happier, we understand each other better. She (their
disabled, adopted child) doesn't get to drink the premium milk any more, she
just has Bear Brand (a cheaper alternative) but she is making it"
I am
so impressed by this man for taking such a step. He literally quit his job, not
certain of how to put food on the table the next week, except through faith.
This man demonstrates to me how difficult it is to become "Mormon".
How difficult it is to follow Jesus Christ. The process requires we follow
faith over fear, hope over doubt, many many times over. This is the Church of
Jesus Christ though, and the promised blessings and the power of the
priesthood, and the grace of Christ is real. This person is so much happier now
because of those hard changes he made, and he will eternally be blessed because
of what he will continue to do.
John 8:12 "I
am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life"
This
man was once beaten, bludgeoned almost to death in a violent robbery of his
watch-repair stand. He gave his money immediately, but was still hospitalized
by strangers. That was several years ago, but a few weeks ago, this man
demonstrated his light, the light of Christ through him. In his neighborhood a
kid was being beaten and kicked and would have been killed, but this man
stepped in and got the assailants to leave. These experiences caused this man
shared caused us both to wonder, why are there such bad people? I don't know
why exactly, but I do know that there is a better way, that we don't have to
walk in darkness but walk in the light, and follow Christ.
Next
weekend this man and his wife will be baptized and start their new life in the
light, and I am truly excited for how the Lord will bless their family and that
sketchy neighborhood they live in because of how they are living now.
The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.
-Ezra Taft
Benson
That 30 minute interview has testified to me again why
missionary work is so paramount in our day. It's not to increase the numbers of
the church, it's so that Christ can change our natures, and the world. I
sometimes wonder how we can make a difference when there is so much poverty
here, so many vices and problems and crime and everything bad and ugly you can
think of. But I know that as we teach and help people, one by one, we are making
a difference that is eternal and holding up the light of Christ. I'm giving 2
years of my life, which when you think about it is not a sound idea, I'm behind
on schooling, I don't have a profession lined up, I'm failing in the world's
eyes. But I know that I will be all the more blessed, just like that Celestial
Math again, because I have been privileged to serve here for 2 years. I know
this is Christ's church and organization on the earth, there is nothing
comparable to it. It's not about how many buildings are how many members there
are, it's about how many natures have been changed for the better, how many
sons and daughters of God are achieving a greater potential. Thanks for
reading, I love you all!
Elder
Fish
Engo Family Baptism courtesy
of my comp's camera because mine is thinking it's mission is done
already!
a member made me and my
companion a "doodle"... or in other words a work of art!
