2017-10-2 Family Day Parade

2017-10-2 Family Day Parade

Whooo! 

Another week down the drain... but we are making progress! I enjoy most teaching souls who are searching, and people with faith willing to act for themselves. There is nothing sweeter than feeling through the Holy Ghost what you should share with someone, especially when they are struggling. In the beginning of my mission if someone brought up a concern, I got worried about what I would say... but now it's so simple. It's never the same, but the words are always there.

Our ward had a Family Day parade, which ended with a Boodle Fight, which is where everyone eats with their hands off of banana leaves, and it's delicious. It was fun to have a bunch of little kids giving out the Family, a Proclamation to the World to people in front of their homes.

We are working with a member named O'neal who just put his own papers in to serve, and he's one of the only Filipinos I know who knows soccer stuff. Just this morning we played futsal at the church, which is the first time I've been able to play my sport in over a year, not since the MTC. That was a blast. Work hard, play hard!

My assignment to serve in Caloocan right now is great. The wards and chapels here are very densely concentrated because it's all city, so we are going to start a cool project. In Utah they have 2 missionaries for 9+ units because they work purely from referrals. What we are doing right now here in Caloocan is Seal Team 8, 8 missionaries for 8 units. The very best teachers are going to be assigned here, and work purely off of member referrals. Finding can be done, I've seen miracles happen from knocking on doors, but it's very very tough. The Palangoy family was baptized last September 2016, and we had a family of 4 come to church yesterday that we met by knocking on their house, so finding works in the Philippines because so many are prepared, but we will become more efficient with our time and commodities as we apply this new program in the stake and coordinate with members. In my meager experience of not even a full mission, I know that member missionary work is the most important, valuable work.

The way it works is one companionship has a very broad area, which is not workable by the normal standards. But Elder Yates and I tried it the other day. We had a referral of a couple that has come to church 4 times now in a ward that hasn't had missionaries for about month. We got their address, checked out a map, and found their house in under 30 minutes (if we're late, the lesson is free! But the only other alternative is a free lesson anyways) We got to a maze of houses and alleys and asked some kids to show us the way. It was a great use of time, we were in and out and had a great lesson and now they know more about coming closer to Christ and what it means to be baptized and have eternal families! 

Thanks for reading, Iove you all! I know the work is true!

Elder Fish