BINYAG!!

Monday, November 26, 2018

If for some weird reason you don't speak Tagalog, binyag means baptize or baptism. SO YES, I got my first baptism on Saturday! I was actually able to baptize two of the members of an AMAZING family. I'm not allowed to say last names, but the family's first names are Prudencio (Dad), Belgean (Mom), Crystal (Daughter), Heart Joy(Daughter). I had the honor of baptizing Crystal and Heart Joy! They are so so so awesome! The whole family turned around their life after hearing the gospel. They quit all word of wisdom habits immediately, and even stopped selling coffee and cigarettes at their little humble tindahan -- a very small store of little things you can buy at someones house -- even though coffee and cigarettes are really big sellers. They are super poor and the dad works really hard to provide for the family, but he stopped working on Sunday when we told them about keeping the Sabbath day holy. They truly are a golden family. The baptismal service was awesome, and afterwards, they bore their testimonies. POWERFUL! Holy cow the Spirit was there. The mom talked about how she and her daughter used to always fight and now they're best friends after hearing the gospel. The daughter talked about how at first she hated Church, but now she needs it her life. The father shared his testimony about how he knows his family can be together forever. This was definitely the best days of the mission. Elder Johnson and I walked back feeling so so happy! It was awesome! 

I have learned so much from this amazing family and I'm so blessed to have been able to be an instrument in the Lord's hand in testifying about the gospel. I honestly don't know if I will be able to top a baptism like this one, during the rest of my mission! 

Pics:

A happy Elder Wolferts and Elder Johnson

The family and me and Elder Johnson. Feat. Bishop and some random dog

THE AMAZING FAMILY

Zone Conference and Hospitals...

This week felt like it flew by! My comp was super sick this week and so our mission president told him to get tested for parasites. Wednesday, we only went to one appointment, and then he was looking terrible so we went back to the apartment. We played some chess and listened to some Christmas music, haha... it was awesome! Then at around 7 p.m. there was a brownout -- which is when there's no power. It was super dark so we decided to do what any teenage boys would do when there's no power... tell scary stories! Haha... so after a while, telling stories, Elder Johnson was in the middle of telling a really good one, and I was on the edge of the seat... when BOOM the power comes back! At our apartment we have something called a jetmatic, that pumps water so we can use our faucet, but when it's getting water for us it makes the LOUDEST sound. So...when the power came back on, the jetmatic made the sound right at the same time all the lights and fans came on. It scared us to death! We both jumped like crazy, hahaha! 

The next day we went to a hospital in Lopez to have Elder Johnson tested for parasites. The hospital we went to is not much of a hospital. When we went in the testing lab, it was super dirty and not very sanitary at all. It's crazy the things we take for granted in the states! When we got his test results back, we found out he had... nothing. Haha... they just told him to stop drinking soda and eating fatty foods. So we waited for like 4 hours for nothing.

We also had Zone Conference this week! It was good and it was super fun to see some of the Elder's from my batch. After zone con we went to a place called "Dadbod" with the whole zone. They have huge burgers and they're actually pretty good, for the Philippines, so that was fun! 

We also got zone jerseys for basketball! Haha...when we play, Elder Grant wrecks me, but it's still fun to play every Saturday morning! 

Book of Mormon

November 12, 2018

This week I completed the Book of Mormon! Wow, it was so awesome to read it in 3 months and actually study it with real intent, starting out my reading sessions with prayers! It's funny how everything makes sense and connects when you actually consistently read the BOM! I took Moroni's challenge, after reading it, and my heart just started pounding. When I finished my prayer, I didn't even realize that I was a little teary eyed hahaha! ITS TRUE PEOPLE... IT IS TRUE! 

That same heart pounding way, of feeling the spirit, has happened to me a lot. On Tuesday, I was reciting the first vision in Tagalog, like I've done dozens of times, but for some reason my heart just started pounding a lot, and not because I was nervous that I would forget it. Then, I started choking up a little bit, and I imagined Joseph Smith seeing God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ! After I finished, I looked at the person we were teaching and by the look on his face, he obviously felt something, and then I looked at my comp and he was CRYING! So awesome! If you don't have a testimony of Joseph Smith and the BOM, I strongly encourage you to pray about them because I KNOW they're true! 

LOVE YOU ALL

Pic of a district lunch we had! Tasty! 

Pictures of our apartment.

Elder Grant and I Were Companions!!!

November 5, 2018

Haha... Elder Grant and I were only companions for one day, but it's still crazy that it happened! Since my companion is the district leader, I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with everyone in the district and Elder Grant, of course, is in my district... So the last Tuesday of the cycle, we got to be companions! We were both a little nervous because of the language barrier, but we killed it! The day started out with a morning run around the super cool Philippines scenery, and then back to the apartment for some good studies, AND THEN the real challenge, proselyting! I did so much better with the language than I thought I would, and I understood a good amount! Elder Grant and I were able to find 7 new people to teach and we taught some really cool lessons! 

Halloween came around, and looking around here in San Pablo, I couldn't tell a difference haha... so that was kind of disappointing! But they have All Souls Day on Nov 1st which is when they go visit their dead ancestors and put lit up candles outside their doors, I guess one for each person they knew that died that year or something, and for me, it was a little sad to see all the candles everywhere! The next day, Nov 2nd, is All Saints Day, which is just an excuse for everyone to drink and get crazy, so we had a curfew at 6 pm. Luckily, we have a chess set at our house. I don't know if all of you are familiar with my chess skills, and I don't mean to brag or anything, but I was 6th grade chess champion! No big deal (it's actually kind of a big deal! Haha...) so it's fun seeing my comp, who's actually pretty good, get super frustrated with me when I play him. It's been years since I have played, but it's so fun! 

The language is getting there, People! Yesterday, I taught a whole lesson by myself after a dinner appointment. They are members, so they pretty much knew everything I was teaching, but HEY, it's improvement! 

Mahal ko kayo! Ang totoong simbahan ni Jesucristo ng mga banal sa mga huling araw!!