Another Week of Baptisms (3/24)

Maayong Udto!!

What a great week this was as we witnessed two of our members be baptized into this true church! I was so honored as I witnessed them from the beginning to the end. They have such a strong testimony of the gospel and know that they will grow strong in this gospel. J gave up his position in the Iglesia ni Cristo church that is equivelant to Stake President with a large pay. It just shows the sacrifice that people in this day and age are willing to give up for the true church! Then we had JM baptized after Bro. D  was reactivated to an active member of the church again! It was a great stretch and took time, but they are such a blessing to have witnessed them come back! They went to church as a family for a month now and watching Bro. D take that opportunity to baptize JM reminded me of how I felt about dad baptizing me! I wouldn't have had it any other way!!

I really enjoyed the Zone conference this week as I realized how to better help our work! We were able to find even more investigators and Sis. P and I are really focusing on the vision of the mission and baptizing every week! We have so many investigators ready to enter into the waters of baptism and we are working on our goals one day at a time and ready to give it even more this week! Right now we have baptisms every week from last week until April 13th!

President came and interviewed JB and H and after he expressed to us how strong their testimonies were of this gospel! But, only two were baptized on Saturday!
Sister H is in such a great position right now where she sees where her life needs to go! She is being abused that we found out by the LA that referred us to her who is her "Live in" partner right now. She cried to us about her problems and expressed that she wants to be baptized so that she can leave him and she can continue going to church when she goes home. She will be baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. I"ve grown so close to her as she's confided in me. She's opened up to me about her plans and how she is ready to be happy happy. She expressed her thanks to me and told me she'll be forever grateful for the role I played in her life and she'll never forget me. I sit back and reflect on those saying each day and realize just HOW truly grateful I am for this opportunity to be here. The journey of being a missionary wasn't easy by any means, but it's when you love the people and forget yourself and your worries/problems that you feel TRULY happy!
I love this wonderful work! The work is going like crazy here in the Philippines. WIth the 4 additional missions, we won't be getting a huge increase in missionaries just yet because all those missionaries that would've been added to our missions are being sent to the new 4 missions! So, for right now as far as my release date, I asked President about it if it'd be earlier release like other missions regardless, but right now we'll just plan on it being the same :)
Sister P. is so great! We're hoping for three transfers together and then you'll all be able to meet her on Skype :) Then, after our three companionships, it'll be just two transfers left. weird. But, still going strong! You only have 18 months to be on a mission and the rest of my life to look back on it! I love you all and have a great week!

Mid March (3/17)

Well, we're super stoked for it being mid march because our fruits are finally being harvested! We have baptisms the next four weeks!!!!!! And more than one candidate almost every week!

This week was super crazy as we have 3 candidates being baptized this weekend and having to make sure they were ready for their interviews, etc.. Well, the sad news was that our 3 candidates went to 2 candidates.  I am glad you all are as happy for Sister H as we are! President is interviewing her tomorrow and we will see how it goes and give her a date!!

Brother J is super excited about his baptism and he passed his interview! He asked one of the members of the bishopric to baptize his and he was super honored!  The D family, this was hard as they opened up to me about ALL their problems and having to see the trials they were going through in their life, but brother will be baptizing JM Saturday at their baptism. It's great to see the work we have put in, pay off and see true changes! We're excited to see them progress!! :)

As for our other investigators, they are all progressing nd we have 13 with a date right now to be baptized in the following weeks!

Things are going great with my companion. Her language is improving, she's not shy anymore to talk to the members and we see the relationships she has developed with them! We are continuing to receive referrals and we are just having such a blast together! We're hoping to be together for three transfers so that she'll be my companion when I call home and you can meet her! She is great and we have been very successful as a companionship!

There was a broadcast that was shown from Utah that was our "stake conference" in the Philippines where Robert D. Hales, Jeffrey R. Holland, David F. Evans, and Mary Cook? spoke! I loved Elder Holland's talk where he talked about the trials and tribulations that the people in the Philippines go through and how the Lord comforted Joseph Smith in his hardest of trials in Liberty Jail that is found in DC 121, 122, 123. He challenged us to study it and compare the Liberty Jail to a temple and even in our darkest of times, we can seek and receive revelation for our lives like Joseph smith received in the Jail. Then, he said one thing that stuck out to me was "Do everything you can and enjoy it!".

Go forth with faith in all that we do, enjoy what we do, and we'll be blessed in all things! The Lord never leaves our side and will be there for us even in the darkest of times! I am grateful for my testimony of this gospel that I have been able to share with all those around my in the Philippines! I have felt his love for me on numerous of occasions and know there will be more in the future! :)

Blessings Continue 3/10

YES!! We are so excited here in 5th ward!!

Monday we had PDAY and went bowling with the Ward Missionaries and had lunch with the Elders in our District at Pizza Hut..Sister P and I are pretty much ....addicted! But, it was so much fun! The bowling here is ridiculously..fun? I'm horrible here.. You get three tries, the balls are half the size of american balls and it's manual/dark and random men just hanging out there. But, nonetheless, super fun! That night, we had FHE with a referral from a member and we were able to contact him with one of our great ward missionaries!  We did FHE first so that he could get comfortable with us, etc. before we began his teachings, etc. success. EXCEPT, we were offered water and we saw the jug for purified so we thought it was purified...jokelang! ha Sis. P and I looked at each other as we drank it at the same time...yeah, it wasn't filtered. My stomach is adjusted to the culture, but hers was upset all that night. poor thing!

 

Tuesday we had District meeting and we contacted another referral of ours! She is so elect. She is a girlfriend of another less active, but comes and is so strong even without her boyfriend. She took notes and everything when we gave her the Book of Mormon as a study journal, had so many questions and will be baptized March 30th! We also got a call from President because I had told him about my experience with H continuing in the gospel and he asked why she wasn't baptized. I told him that with President T, it had to be ten years that they were separated with no contact. But, he said that he should be making that decision.  He asked me a few questions about her and her background, if they were faithful, does the less active husband support her, etc. Well, he made the decision that SISTER H WILL BE BAPTIZED! Tender mercies and my heart was full..i may have danced around the house when I found out it was possible and I cant' wait to tell her! :) She'll be baptized March 30th as well!!!!

 

Wednesday we had companion exchanges so Sis. P stayed and led the area here and I went to Silay with Sister B who will be going home soon! I learned so much from her example and it was so fun to go see another area! Sister P was freaking about leading the area, but I helped her have a plan and scheduled the ward missionaries to work with her and she did AWESOME! I was so proud of her and we were ready to come back with new ideas, progression, etc.

 

Thursday we switched back and went to work! We committed brother J to baptism which he had some problems, for the past two years, but we helped him over come them. He is no longer living with a woman because they didnt get along very well and he too was married previously! He has a baptism date for March 23rd and he is super stoked! I am too! He says he's scared of me because I called him out on him drinking coffee way back before we saw him as potential again in a joke, but I really was serious! haha But, we all have the best relationships and joke around but he is super ready like Bro. C. He's been investigating the church for two years and now is his time!!

 

Friday-Saturday we worked like crazy teaching all our investigators/Less actives/Recent converts, etc! Friday we did Cleaning with the Missionaries and had such a great turn out! Saturday, we had a meeting with our ward missionaries, bishopric, etc and coordinated our efforts because we are having trouble balancing our work now because of all the appointments we have and with training we have 4 hours of studies everyday! But, they did great and we've been giving them daily assignments , working side by side with us making sure that we are all taken care of! I am so excited!

 

Sunday! WE HAD YET ANOTHER AMAZING SUNDAY!! WE had 13 investigators at church today and 9 have dates and the others will have dates this week! We are stoked to see the work flouristhing here! I am so excited to see the harvest of our efforts! Even the D family came and brother will return next Sunday and will baptize his son on the 23rd after years and years of this boy going to church, but not being baptized becase his family was inactive! I am so grateful for all the love the Lord has for his servants and we're seeing these people's lives change! I know many have mentioned my excitement for this work and I truly DO LOVE THIS WORK! Time is flying and i'm ready to give it what my all until the end! Many have asked about my relationship with Sis. P. in one word: perfect. I KNOW that is why we are seeing the success we are, BECAUSE the unity isn't there just 60% or 65%, but 100%%%%%!!!! I love her and she is so great, with ideas, her purpose, relationships with the ward members, etc! ...phew. I love it. Thank you for the prayers, I really appreciate them and know that I'm praying for you all! You are all my examples and I love you all!!!! :) The church is true!

Most Amazing Sunday Yet

Happy MONDAY!! IT's MARCH ALREADY!! (March 3)

 

I know that as a missionary, we think that all our experiences and challenges are the best because we think our mission is the best mission in the world! Well, I just had one of the MOST AMAZING WEEKS!!! This week was hard as we filtered our investigators because of everything that was going on, some not progressing and as a trainer, I felt the pressure of seeing our numbers go down so low and wondering how to lead the area in finding new investigators, etc. It wasn't until Friday that we were just feeling overwhelmed with the one question in our mind: "How are we going to do this". I had another idea with it being March to do a Missionary March to get the members excited and involved. We planned cleaning the chapel with the missionaries to help the memebrs see our example because Bishop keeps pusHing them get helping clean the chapel because we don't have maintenance people here-it's the members job. So many people already are excited to join! We challenged the ward this March to hand out one Book of Mormon, one Family Proc to the World and one RESTORATION, PLAN OF SALVATION, and GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST pamphlet out to different people and if they had referrals who wanted to learn more, we were happy to schedule and teach them! We spent lots of visits with the members this week continuing to work with them and trying to get their trust. We encouraged the less actives to do it as well! We had Missionary Coordination Meeting with the Ward missionaries and they are all super excited to help us! We got to church, bishop announced our plans as well as having all musical numbers and topics missionary related every week and doing a one day mission! It was testimony meeting and it was such a touching experience. The referrals that had been given to us ALL went to church! The ones we had been working with like JB, is progressing so much and we had such a powerful lesson with them about repentance! The D's we kind of weren't able to visit as much this week and feared if they wouldn't attend church without us being there, but THEY WERE THERE! Our investigator H was there even though she can't be baptized because she had a former husband and here it's impossible or expensive to get divorced so the rule is 10 years being separated but for her, it had only been 2. It was a hard lesson to tell her she couldn't be baptized for a while, but as she walked out she said "Sister Arnold, even though I can't be baptized, I am still going to continue reading, going to church, etc. because I know it's true!" That hit me so hard and was such a testimony builder to me..how many people continue even though they are told they may not be baptized right away? I was grateful to have helped her become TRULY converted. I don't need a baptism to show for her conversion, but what she said was worth any of that and I can't wait to find out later in life that she was baptized! Her boyfriend now is a Less Active and accompanied her to church! His father bore testimony and the congregation was in tears! Bro. B gave us 2 referrals that were there and as he bore testimony about our help and seeing the change, the congregation was in tears! It was a missionary focused testimony meeting as we've worked hard to help those active members have a testimony about missionary work as we've helped them with their dear referrals. I felt the need to bear my testimony as my heart was full that the Lord blessed us with 11 investigators at church, 18 less actives when last week we had 2 and who are really progressing and not waiting on marriage, but will have a baptism date within the next week as we follow up! My heart was full and as they shared their testimonies about us helping us, I expressed my love for them for their examples to me! As I watch them, I become the better and stronger missionary that I need to be! The Lord gives us periods of "depression" in our work, where our numbers decline, but it's to see if we continue with faith! We moved and hit the ground running and the Lord blessed us! I know my companion was called of God to be here for a reason at this time! There are people waiting for us as a "companionship" and what we have to offer. We got out of church and received 4 referrals right away of more people who are wanting to share the gospel and want US as a companionship to teach them! I love this work! I know missionary work is so important and how we as members are the key to the success and growth in the church! I know that there are so many people waiting to be taught the gospel, even in our personal relationships, if we'd just have the courage to say something. I know before the mission, I was one of the "shy"est people to share the gospel before my mission, but it's just become apart of me and we truly feel the happiness and our testimony grow as we help others we're close to accept the gospel!! I love you all! I challenge you this march to give out one Book of Mormon to your family/friends and help them receive the blessings in their life that we're so lucky to enjoy! I pray for you all the time and thank your all for the prayers! Your prayers AND MINE are being answered!! :)