2017-8-9 Acacia/Panghulo

2017-8-9 Acacia/Panghulo

What a great week! Sometimes it's fascinating how much sheer experience and knowledge there is to learn. It used to kind of daunt me, but it helps to just look back and see how much progress we have made, and kind of pat yourself on the back for it. I had a great opportunity to do that because we worked in my very first area this week!

There was a brief shuffle of missionaries and the end result is for this month at least Elder Yates and I will go to 2 wards, and serve both of them. I was shocked at this because it's in general rare to see an old area again, but it was just like I had left it. I remembered all the closs-packed streets and mazes of small wood houses, I just had to take a few more steps in the right direction, and it would come back to me which direction to take at crossroads. I think that's a great object lesson for life, even if things seem dark and uncertain, take some faithful steps and things will clear up, and we will figure out God's map for us. 

Of course, we visited the Palangoy family! I forgot my camera but it was very nostalgic, just like old times. It was a blessing to be able to visit them again, I have probably never been deluged by so much love, my homecoming would have to be pretty special to match them! Their testimonies are still young, but it was amazing to see them still loving the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maja, the youngest, will be turning 8 this October so she will be baptized by her father! They are still one of the greatest boons of my mission. I had no camera but next week I'll have some pictures

Our schedule now is going to be pretty hectic, we will alternate wards on Sundays since they are at the same time, but then also try to make meetings in both, and then we are in a third chapel for a meeting the the Stake President and or High Councilors. Every Tuesday we will work in Panghulo, and we will be working with our missionaries in their areas for a few hours a few times a week to learn and to train. Whatever spare time will be given to our area, plus we are starting an English-class this Saturday which roughly 20 people have made soft commitments to. And we are excited as anything. 

Time has taken on a lot more significance to me, and has been something me and my companion thought a lot about. Every missionary has a teaching pool, which is pretty a number of people that when we plan, that's who we are going to visit the week. Sometimes we don't change the teaching pool very much because... well, change is scary right? So to teach the principle of refreshing our teaching pool, we were inspired to share the Parable of the Four Kinds of Soil, or the Parable of the Sower. This is Jesus Christ's very first parable, and it is amazing, especially how it holds true in our day. I would never have realized the truths in it without serving a mission. Here it is paraphrased; there are seeds being tossed against the wind and they land in a spread. The sower is not being indiscriminate in where he tosses, because the seeds land in all kinds of soil

1. Tough Soil (Matthew 13:4, 19) - the wayside, the seed does not grow but rather is eaten up by birds

2. Stony Soil (Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21) - the seed grows but because of a bedrock just below the soil, cannot root and gets scorched

3. Thorny Soil (Matthew 13:7, 22) - the seed would grow, obviously the soil is fertile because there are many thorns there, but because of the circumstance, the seed will be choked and won't grow

4. Good Soil (Matthew 13:8, 23) - the seed sprouts and grows and unlike any other soil, bears fruit of a variety of amounts

This parable is especially insightful because Jesus gives His own explanation in verses 18-23. The different soil is different levels of spiritual sensitivity among people, and in algebra terms there are constants and variables. The constant is the seed. The seed is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the same always and forever. The variables are us, the sower, and we need to be methodical and skilled. The other variable is the types of soil, which is something we cannot control with our own agency or ability to choose.

The lesson here for missionaries especially is that we don't control what type of soil people are in. Who knows if God will clear out the thorns someday, or break up that bedrock, or plow the wayside path. Our job is to spread the seed. And if we figure out it's not good soil, we don't have to stress, because especially here in the Philippines there are truly thousands of others waiting. Here are the type of people we teach, relating to the types of soils

1. Tough Soil - they were nice and listened but didn't understand

2. Stony Soil - they read a few verses but yet lack sincere desire to make tough changes and repent

3. Thorny Soil- they have school or work on sunday and cannot at this time, because of circumstance, accept the gospel

4. Good Soil - they make honest effort and have a strong commitment to Jesus Christ, they follow His commandments are blessed for it and eventually are baptized and continue to bear fruit by serving

Time is so important, 2 years is way too fast. So as sowers, we keep sowing until we realize we have planted in some good ground, then pursue that instead of mourning over the ground that is not yet ready. I'm so grateful for this chance to serve and I hope I can become a better sower! I love you, thanks for reading!

Elder Fish