Bringing Out The Big Guns With A Smile

Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 12:55 AM

LIttle boys doing dishes in Sta Clara - MAR 2014

Megan's seaside view in Gonzaga - MAR 2014

So Thursday we were supposed to work with a couple from one of our areas, they are newly weds and they are both return missionaries, so they are basically awesome. But we got a text from them after District Meeting saying that they could not come work with us because they had not found food for lunch yet, as in, they did not have any food. Fast forward to the next day, we go to their barangay to work and we are walking with Sister, because her husband is shy to work in his neighborhood, and the first thing she says to us as we start walking on the main road away from the house is “Sisters, we had a blessing yesterday.” She proceeded to tell us how there had been a big catch of fish (they live right next to the beach) and when there is a big catch, everyone goes to the shore to help pull in the nets and when you help pull in the nets, you get some of the fish that were caught. So they had food to eat, and they even fed us later that night. That story struck me for many reasons. First being, God really does provide, second, the people here do not operate on blind faith, they see miracles in their lives every day and third, it really does take a village.

Next, we had District Conference this weekend and the missionaries were able to go to the Saturday and Sunday sessions because we had a visiting area authority. Elder Peres is a boss. He is this small, hilarious Filipino man who radiates the love of God. Seriously. I wish you could have watched his talks. It was all about member missionary work and basically the gist was, whatever your excuse is for not hastening the Work of Salvation, The Lord does not validate it. He just whipped out the big guns, but he did it in a way that you really could not get offended because he said it with so much love. Also, President Barrientos and Sister Barrientos are the cutest things ever. Their talks were amazing too and President Barrientos came up with the fool proof motto for happiness: Lets Do Missionary Work! Do you want a happy marriage? Do missionary work. Do you want to have safety from natural disasters? Do missionary work. Oh man, it was just so good. Just what everyone needed to hear. No excuses, no qualifications, lets do missionary work ya'll!

We also have some really amazing investigators. We have had some spectacular lessons and just, yeah. I am really excited for the coming weeks because I feel some miracles a comin'! We also have a baptism on Saturday. One of the Sta Clara peeps is getting baptized. She is 12 and a rock star. One of the APs was talking to her at Conference and we came to get her for her interview and he was all "wait, Alexis isn't a member? You're not a member?" it was priceless. She passed with flying colors and will be baptized with three other people this week! Melchor is still waiting for his baptism because he has not stopped smoking for a month yet and is always late to sacrament meeting. But he is soon to follow. He even came to the Saturday session of District Conference and stayed for the entire time, I can just see him becoming a missionary. I just love the gospel.

I decided to start doing my Personal Progress since I was a lazy sack and did not do it while I was a young woman. I finished the first Faith value experience and the first Divine Nature experience this week. Ya! I also learned from 2 Peter 1, its really great. But the last four verses talk about Christ's Church and how we do not believe in some make up story (it says it way better than that) but that Christ really did live, he really did atone for our sins and his gospel is the path back to him. I read that and was like "yeah!" This is not some ridiculous thing that someone made up, its real and the more you study it, the more you live it, the more real it becomes.

Mahal Kita! and Lets Do Missionary Work!

Sis Be