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

2017-7-31 Flood Season Round 2

2017-7-31 Flood Season Round 2

Kamusta! Hello!

What a great week! It's been exhausting but so worth-while. I feel like hours don't slip by me, I'm wringing out the usefulness of life. That's a good feeling. I'm transferred and I feel settled in already! Maybe because I've been here before... It's been a year, but I recognize all the malls and roads and even some of the people here! I could walk to my first area, it's so close. The best part about being here again in July is it's flood season! Timing was perfect, the day I got here a storm hit so we had a 3-day rain. Pretty short actually, sometimes this season it will rain for over a week straight. Our house is nice and raised up and has no problems, but it's not the same for some of the people, I feel terrible for them. They were typically their happy selves though! I'm so excited to be back here in the city, the people are pretty desensitized, and there's so many of them, but I know there are also many that are waiting for the restored gospel.

Here's me and my new comp, Elder Y-. He's so great, we get along really well and we have no problem finding people to teach! I had some sort of reaction my first day in the area, so I look like a monkey. Well I always look like a monkey, so I looked more like a monkey.

 Here's my comp dunking it!

 Steph Curry!

 Here's a family that I was privileged to teach in my last area, I will really miss them, and their super rambunctious kids.

Here's a missionary family, that get close with pretty much every missionary that goes through the area. I was seriously privileged to be assigned in Pangarap ward for 6 months.

The weird thing with being with an American companion is I've immediately grown to miss the quirks of all my Filipino comps, and I have more desire now than ever before to become seriously fluent, indiscernible from Filipinos in my accent and mannerisms. I'm so blessed to be here, I feel time going at it's usually uncaring rate, and I want to make the most of it! Thanks for reading, I love you all!

Love, Elder Fish

2017-7-25 Transferring

2017-7-25 Transferring

Kamusta! Hello!

Transfer week! Looks like my dynasty here in Pangarap Ward is coming to an end! It's very heart-wrenching to transfer, and I don't like it but it's also easy to swallow, and say like many others "i'll go where you want me to go". I won't condemn the rest of my mission, but I can say I will have no other experience quite like what I had here, it was truly amazing.

Since I'm transferring, Bishop let me give the concluding talk on Sunday, which I took as an opportunity to teach the need for sharing the gospel and giving referrals. In the Philippines they often say "kain tayo" or "let's eat" as a greeting, as if they were just saying "hello". They are so giving with their physical possessions, it's just part of the nature here. I related that in my talk to being giving with our spiritual possessions, the knowledge of the restored gospel. To be like Lehi when he tasted of the tree of life, and say "kain tayo". I pray that the missionaries that follow in this ward will have a plethora of referrals to contact

The members were also so kind to me and we held sort of farewell-FHE. It was very enlightening for me. At the end some members stood and gave a sort of farewell, and said what they noticed from my service here. I feel like I actually understand now what it means to minister, or to have a ministry. Christ's ministry was only 3 years long, but it changed the course of society on a secular level, and was truly the meridian of time where the great Pillar of the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement happened. I learned that a ministry needs to be centered on Christ's ministry, and it needs to be following his example. Ministering, in a sense, is just demonstrating Christ-like attributes for an extended period of time, and blessing others because of the Christ-like actions and behavior. Being, in fact, an extension of Christ's ministry here in the latter-days.

My companions here have all been Filipino, and I've learned so much from them in how to teach, how to react, how to relate, everything essential in teaching and ministering. Being the English-speaker though can be tough, because sometimes you don't really know if you're making the right cultural choices, and you are surely not as entertaining, is how I'll put it. But it was humbling to have members I had worked with express that even though I was quiet, they noticed humility and Christ-like attributes, and appreciated my efforts to help build the ward. I was not the most fun missionary they have ever seen, but it was touching to me that I was considered Christ-like. That's the best compliment I think I have ever received. I hope I can really develop those attributes, and continue to minister in a Christ-like way. I don't have to really be a different person from myself, just minister how Christ would.

My new companion is American, Elder Yates! I have pretty much just been hanging out with the very tallest missionaries in the mission, maybe to keep my ego from getting too high thinking I'm actually tall here. The past few weeks I went on exchanges with someone who is 6'4" and another Elderwho is 6'3". My new companion is 6'4". Awesome. I'm actually super excited about that fact, I miss my very first area and companion, because putting two white guys together attracts a lot of attention here in the Philippines! We are going to share the gospel at large, literally. Another cool fact is I'm going back to my first zone, near my first area. I will be able to see the people I taught at stake conference in September! I don't know if that makes a whole lot of sense because all those words are kind of jargon, but basically I'm going to have a reunion I thought I would only have after my mission. Cheers! Thanks for reading, I love you all!

Elder Fish

2017-7-17 Kind of Short

2017-7-17 Kind of Short

Kamusta!

Another great week! Living life up, walking as Christ would, doing as he would do! What could be better than that? I'm kind of short on time, but I managed to upload a picture finally! Enjoy :) Love you all

Elder Fish

2017-7-10 Amazing Race

2017-7-10 Amazing Race

Kamusta!

This week will be short, and I can't upload pictures here, sorry! We had a good week, listening to the spirit to teach. It is very satisfying to teach confidently because the spirit is there. I've never been a confident person in any activity, but I'm beginning to recognize the spirit better in my life if I'm being open and happy and I don't feel doubt. The absence of the feelings that normally burden our lives is a signal to me that I am being helped by the spirit. Because I'm learning to recognize it quicker, I am also learning how to invite it back sooner.

The highlight of the week was our preparation day activity earlier, we had an Amazing Race activity with our zone. My companion and I put our heads together last night and came up with a pretty decent course, and it was fun to watch elders and sisters run around doing things like shooting 3 pointers, building lego sets, and balancing limes on some sporks. It was a great time! Pictures next week hopefully.

That's it for now, the work is still moving forward, I know it to be true. Thanks for reading, I love you all!

Elder Fish