BIRTHDAY BAPTISM!

December 30, 2019

My birthday wish came true.

Saturday was my second birthday in the field! WHAAAA??? I remember being in the MTC and thinking it was going to be so weird going home as a 20 year old...and now I'm 20! That's so old! #rip the teenager days. Second birthday in the mission was definitely better than the first! A huge reason is because I can actually speak the language, and another was because I was able to make it someone else's special day rather than mine.

We were able to baptize Tatay (older male) Bacli. He is so tiny and so funny! He has been taught for 6 years by the missionaries and his family are all members. They have been waiting so long for him to enter the waters of baptism. I have no idea why, but we were the first missionaries that he actually likes. Every time at church he would save us a spot and then stand up and say, "ELDERS, RIGHT HERE!". One day he told us to not bring any members to his house and that he only wanted it to be him, Elder Smith and me. We were nervous that he was going to confess something, but nope, turns out he just wanted to invite us to come back when we finish our missions and go fishing with him! Then he said that when he gets a lot of good catches and gets some money, he'll make us a nice dinner! He is so nice and funny! When he got baptized he shared his testimony and then ended it by saying, "Thank you, Russell M Nelson!" 

For Christmas here in Rosario, everyone celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ with a little (okay a lot) of alcohol. We must have been offered a shot of alcohol over 50 times. The better offer was when people offered us food, we actually did take them up on the offer a couple times haha. It felt good to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, even though a lot of people's vision was blurred and couldn't see CHRIST in CHRISTmas. Second Christmas on the mission was definitely better than the first, mostly because I got over myself and tried to spread the spirit of Christ as much as I could. 

We were introduced to an awesome referral by a member that we recently activated. We didn't even ask her if she knew someone who needed the gospel, but out of the blue, she asked if she could take us somewhere. We met this girl who had a huge smile, but we later learned that on the inside she was hiding some really challenging hardships in her life. Just to mention a couple, both of her parents have died; a couple of her siblings have also died; she's anemic; she has serious heart problems and has had 2 valves replaced; and she battles with severe depression. We testified to her that God lives and loves her personally, and although we can't even come close to relating to her problems, there is peace and comfort in knowing that Christ has suffered all for her and so much more, and we can always rely on Him. We shared a little lesson with her and scheduled a return appointment. When we came back last night, she told us an amazing experience. She said when she was in bed the night we first taught her, she heard a voice. At first she thought it was her deceased dad's voice, but then she realized it wasn't a voice she had heard on earth. It simply said, "I'm here for you". "At that moment", she said with a smile, "I knew that God is real and loves me". Super powerful.

Last quick thought. Yesterday while the sacrament was being passed by the little deacons in our ward, I imagined that it was Jesus Christ Himself passing the bread and water to me. I imagined Him saying, "And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body." When I was passed the water I imagined The Master saying, "And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you." I felt the spirit strongly and it gave the sacrament new personal meaning for me.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! 

Talk to ya next year!

-Elder Wolferts

It's beginning to look a lot like... Summer??

December 23, 2019

This last week the weather got hotter for CHRISTmas! That was nice of the Philippines!

This past week was a good one!

I'll hit ya'll with the highlight reel:

1. Had our CHRISTmas zone conference. It lasted until 8 at night and we got to be in regular clothes!! It was a fun opportunity to see some of the people I've grown so close to on the mission!

2. When there's like 10 days until CHRISTmas, all the kids go caroling, but they ask for money! They're everywhere! 

3. That guy from Africa is starting to creep some of the members out, but we still don't know a whole lot about him.

4. There's a huge church here in the Philippines called Iglesia ni Cristo (church of Christ). Probably a 97% reject rate when we run into one of them. They never wanna listen. Anyway, we were sitting at a bench, while one of our investigators was being interviewed for baptism, and then a group of 9 of the church of Christ members showed up, including the minister. We talked to them for awhile and I introduced the BOM. The minister asked me where in the Bible it talks about Jesus going to a different place other than Jerusalem. I told him John 10:16, which is when Jesus said, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." Then I supported it with the BOM verse in 3 Nephi 15:21 which is when Christ fulfilled His own prophecy by saying, "And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." Then the minister talked forever about his take on the scripture and used different verses and invited us to attend their church as their "special guest". I saw that our knowledge of the Bible would get us nowhere, so I just testified to him about how I have no doubt that this is the true Church, I told him how I see his dedication to his religion and respect that, but I don't have any more searching to do because I know I'm in the Living Church of the Living Christ. Long story short he accepted a BOM and we walked away laughing and took some pictures together. I thank my Heavenly Father every night that I have the opportunity to testify of Christ.

5. I finished the BOM again! (10/10 would recommend) Seriously love it so much and have come to know who my Savior is through it. I set the goal to finish it two more times before I come home! 

I hope everyone has an amazing CHRISTmas! Last week my mom (love you mom) was telling me about her lesson she gave in gospel doctrine class about the condescension of Christ. How he went from his heavenly throne, the creator of the whole universe, to a baby of the most humblest of births. On top of that, He had to rely on the flesh that He created and was literally helpless like any other new born child, He relied on His parents for the necessities of life. Just thought it was a cool thought. I invite you to ponder that this CHRISTmas season :)

Remember this verse!

"And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."

Merry CHRISTmas!

SOBRANG MARAMING BATA!

December 16, 2019

Solid week, thanks for asking!

Quick update on the sketchy guy from Ghana: He was texting us throughout the week and he told us that, "By God's grace, I found an apartment, but now I need you to put your heads together and come up with 5k pesos." Smells like a scam...

The Muyot kids got baptized on Saturday, and the mom attended and had a good time! She's our next target! Elder Smith and I celebrated with some pancakes at McDo. We ordered and sat down because the place was packed. Then these missionaries from a different religion, or I guess they were just "missionaries" because they didn't have any religious affiliation, came and sat next to us. They actually spoke super good English. We started talking for a bit while we ate pancakes, as they were saying a lot of stuff that was in agreement with the Church's beliefs. But then they started going a little crazy, talking about how we have to allow God to literally enter our bodies, by preparing our systems to breathe him in?? Then they told us we have to say "LORD JESUS, I BELIEVE!" to let him in. Then they started shouting it over and over again so loud, while trying to get us to join in. *Takes a big bite of pancake*, "Sorry mouth is full..." They pulled out their phone and tried to record us saying it personally, and that was where I drew the line. I politely chimed in and gave them props for what they're doing and their beliefs, and then I asked if I could share a little about our church in return. 

At that moment the Muyot family, that just got baptized, happened to walk into McDo's, so I talked to our new missionary friends about how the spirit confirmed the truthfulness of what I'm doing, while I baptized the members of the Muyot family, and told them about how close I've been able to draw to the Savior, especially through the Book of Mormon. I continued my testimony by sharing that I have no doubt that this is Jesus Christ's church. After I said that they stopped teaching us, asked to take a selfie with us, and then left haha.

Okay, so something funny happened the other day. We went to a return appointment with this lady that a member told us about and when we got there, she was having a one lady party. She was booming some videoke, which is simply, karaoke in the streets. After she finished, she invited us in and told us to wait a second, because she was gonna get the kids. She then proceeds to invite everyone in the whole area! Lines of people and kids just filed in and packed into her house. One member counted 33, but more kept coming. We then turned to King Benjamin and 
preached some sermons haha! We stood up, and just hit these kids with the truth about the gospel. The lady we were trying to teach wasn't even there!! We got a pretty funny laugh out of it.

Other than that, pretty normal stuff. Area is progressing well! We were able to extend baptismal invitations to 2 different families last night :))

CRAZY WEEK!

December 9, 2019

This was a crazy week.

First of all, we're all safe here after the typhoon! It didn't hit our area that hard, just some strong winds, rains and mild flooding, but besides that everything was fine. We spent the whole time in the apartment, which meant extra studies, exercise and relaxation. It's never as good as you would think though, it always just ends up with you wanting to go outside of the apartment.

We were also approached by this man who is from Ghana Africa. He told us that he felt like he should talk to us, and that he had been baptized a member in Japan. At the time we met him, he said he was busy, but we got his contact information and a couple days later we met up with him at the church, with the 1st counselor. He doesn't speak any Tagalog, and his English is sometimes hard to understand, but Elder Smith was sure loving speaking in English haha. For a while, it was just the three of us talking, and I was only half engaged in the conversation, also talking to the 1st counselor, but then I heard him say, "Us foreigners need to stick together and hustle these Filipinos…" When I heard him say this, it caused me to rejoin the conversation, as I thought to myself, "What is this guy doing here??" We found out that he had done some business in Japan and then moved to the Philippines, where he somehow got hurt by the laws and ended up losing pretty much everything. After he went on and on for a while, I jumped in and asked for his information so we can look him up and have his records transferred. He was pretty hesitant, but gave us an ID and said, "Be careful with that information." The ID showed him to be 55 years old, but he only looked to be around 40, so we were kind of skeptical. He then let us know that he had an obligation to attend to, but he would see us at church on Sunday. Fast forward to Sunday, and sure enough he shows up. The person conducting welcomed him to the ward, and then he promptly stood up and walked to the front of the congregation, gave a three-minute speech, bowed and then walked back to his seat. We were all like, "uhh... alright, welcome". Elder Smith and I are wondering at this point, if he's actually a member. After church, the clerk called us in and said he had no records. We then went to talk with this guy about it and then he pulled us aside and said that we have to keep this a secret, but that's not his real birthday, it's fake. We think the name is fake also. He said that he's willing to be rebaptized if they don't have his records. Later that night, I called the mission president about him. President said to investigate a little more, but to be careful, and if he really does need to be rebaptized, that the mission president will be the one to meet and interview with him. So, we'll see how that goes.

We were also super blessed to have 15 of those that we're teaching right now, come to church! That's a personal best! The Lord is definitely guiding Elder Smith and me in His work! All credit to Him!

Also, 15 minutes before sacrament meeting, we were asked to be the speakers. I was completely fine with it and not stressing about it, but I felt bad for Elder Smith. This was his first talk in Tagalog, and on top of that, it was on the spot. He was freaking out. I went first and shared the story of the birth of Christ, his appearance to the Nephite multitude, and his eventual Second Coming. Elder Smith followed and actually did pretty well for the circumstances! 

Today is also Elder Smith's birthday, so shout out to him!! 

Elder Smith going tourist mode, feat. Ward Mission Leader, BRYAN.

Sunday Squad

KIDS

McDo Miracle

December 2, 2019

McDo=McDonald's. For some reason if you see McDonald's here no one understands, they all refer to it as McDo.

Anyways, about a week and a half ago, Elder Smith and I were hitting our typical McDo Friday lunch, when all of the sudden this family sits right next to us. After a little bit, they start asking questions about our church, which they had noticed had a lot of activities for kids. They had also noticed the kids at our church were for the most part, well-behaved. They then talked about how crazy their kids were, and asked if we could teach them and have them come to our church. We got a return appointment, and when the appointment came, we of course focused on the whole family and how the church is family centered. We had a really good lesson, and the father of the home was super knowledgeable in the bible and had some super good questions. These are my favorite kind of people to teach, because it gives purpose to why I read the whole bible and it's just more fun! We were able to answer all of his questions and got him started on the Book of Mormon, which he's now read quite a bit. This family is doing really well financially, which is much needed in the Philippines in the Church. Elder Smith and I have talked about how we see brother becoming a future leader in the church! We're excited to see them progress! We also had 11 people we're teaching come to church, so the area is progressing super well!

On Thursday, we had exchanges, with 2 Filipino Elders. The one I was with had no money (so I thought). I was paying for everything, because he told me he was out of his monthly support, and then at the very end of the day he pulls out his money to buy a snack... I was like "whaaaat you have money?" Then he just laughed. Clever guy. Elder Smith was happy to be back with an American, he says he doesn't know what he's gonna do once he has a Filipino comp haha.

Time to bring this full circle, and end where we started. McDo! I hope everyone had a good turkey day, Elder Smith and I treated ourselves to some big macs from McDonald's! I never thought I would be excited to eat McDonald's on Thanksgiving!

Also tomorrow typhoon Kammuri is hitting our mission. Please keep the Filipino people in your prayers! :))

Here's a pic of my breakfast! Mango, pears, peanut butter banana sandwich and a protein shake. Enjoy!

don't take things for GRANTed

November 25, 2018

Wellll this week flew by fast and I'm having a hard time remembering what even happened! 

For starters we had Elder Clayton of the seventy come and speak to our mission, so that meant spiritual enlightenment. AND... I got to see Elder Grant and Sanders!! We still take it for GRANTed that we get to see each other all the time! We also have a plan to try and become companions, but oddly enough time is starting to run out, so we'll see if it will work out!

Also, something that has never happened to me on my mission happened this past week. We were walking fast to one of our appointments that we were late to and I had a feeling to go talk to and shake this lady's hand that I had talked to once before. After talking to her for a little bit she said that she was getting married in December. I told her congrats and that I was excited for her and then she said, "I'm getting married because I want you to baptize me into your church!" WOAH! Alright lady, sure we'll do that haha... Thanks for making our job easy! She left for a business appointment thing and won't get back until Christmas Eve, but we have a return appointment for December 27th! Super cool!

RANDOM: So I finally broke my electric toothbrush that I've been rockin' for the whole mission and for a year or two before the mish. I decided to try out the new charcoal colgate toothbrush, if you're familiar. Such a great decision. Would definitely recommend. 

Brush your teeth, and read your scriptures.

-Elder Wolferts <3

One Week Blowup...

November 18, 2019

Area blew up on us... hey it was the Lord's fault.

Wellllll, things are going good! Elder Smith and I set some goals to progress the area, specifically in this one portion, called Isla Bonita, that we both felt had some potential, but hasn't really been progressing. Ten days ago, we set the goal about to have six new investigators attend church, and with the ward's help and some inspired finding, we were so excited to have five show up at church yesterday! And then the Muyot family also came again, as well as a couple others! We have also started receiving referrals like crazy. SO MANY! A member told us that someone saw us walking around and was wondering why we were so happy and what we had that they didn't have. They asked the members if we could teach them on Wednesday! Last night we had a feeling to go to this one member's house for the last appointment, and we gave a powerful lesson. When we were just about to close it, the woman cut me off and said, "Before you close, I have a family I want you to meet on Friday!" So we're excited to have the opportunity to contact two different referral families next week!! It's looking like we are going to have a white Christmas, this year in Rosario, if you know what I mean!

This really is the Lord's work. I can't take any credit.

Trust in Him and He will mold you into your true potential. The work is demanding, but the blessings are everlasting.

-Elder Wolferts

Pics:

We were walking down the street last pday and saw a "buy on get one free" sign at Dominos. We both ate a family size...

Just a man, an umbrella, and the gospel.

Elder Smith and I posing next to a boat and some... trash...

What Are You Willing to Give Up?

November 11, 2019

This week the Muyot family came to church again! The dad worked from 10am to 10pm on Saturday so that he would have time to go to church on Sunday. Thank you for keeping them in your prayers.

Tuesday was zone conference and that meant I got to see Elder Grant and Sanders!! Davis High pride haha! Still crazy when I think about Elder Grant's and my mission story! Same mission, same day; then we roomed together; then we both end up changing to the same mission? Seriously though, what are the odds? Only thing lacking is the two of us becoming companions! Which there's still time for that haha...

One night, we got punted (appointments fell through) so we said a quick prayer to find a family. After our prayer, we walked and tried to listen to any prompting coming from the spirit, and by the end of the night we were able to teach two awesome new families!

This last week, food took an exotic turn on Elder Smith... I don't think he was loving it too much haha. We had shark, jumbo shrimp—that you had to crack and eat with your hands—fermented shrimp paste, and all kinds of fried fish. I thought it was all pretty good for the most part—especially the shark—but then I ate a ton, and my stomach started aching and told me, "yo, that's enough!"

Other than that, this past week was pretty normal. Something from my personal study, a couple weeks ago, that hit me pretty hard is in Alma 22, when King Lamoni's father becomes converted. After Aaron expounds the doctrines of Christ and the absolute necessity of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, King Lamoni's father cries out "I will give away all my sins to know thee".

What "sins" are stopping you from truly knowing Jesus Christ?

-Elder Wolferts

I thought fortnite was dead... Until I met Elder Smith... 

                                                                                                                   

This little girl wedged her way between Elder Smith and me, during a lesson, and it was so cute.
Didn't want to smile for the picture though.

Zone Conference, feat. Elder Sanders.

Fasting for a Miracle

November 4, 2019

This week went by so fast! 

Training has been so fun, and even though I do almost all the talking, Elder Smith is improving! We've also had members work with us almost every day last week, so that has been super helpful. The ward here is seriously so strong and supportive of the missionaries. We've had sooo many dinner appointments and we're booked right now until next Friday haha! With all of our praying to increase our teaching pool, it seemed like all of the sudden we received a ton of referrals and the bishopric is going to work with us on Wednesday! 

Few things that happened this week;

-Flash flooded on us while we were in a small alleyway, and let’s just say sanitation wise, it was the worst place for a flash flood...

-November 1st is a holiday here where they remember the dead (kinda like Disney's Coco) and we scheduled a ward activity to go to a cemetery and hand out pamphlets about the plan of salvation. We were teaching this one lady under a tent, and then it started pouring like crazy. She told us to scoot over, as she was moving Elder Smith's chair on top of her dead husband's gravesite, and then she motioned for him to sit down. He looked at me and said, "Seriously?!" Haha... he then slowly sat down and we taught a lesson to her right there, over a dead body... There's a first for everything.

-The following miracle happened this week:

So, there's this family—the Muyots—that I've been working with pretty much since I got here. The father is a member, but has been inactive for a while, because he's been working every day for the same company for 20 years. He really wants to go to church, but he feels like he needs to work to support his family. Every time we teach, I feel something special about their family. This week, I decided to fast for a miracle, specifically for them. Saturday night, in the middle of my fast, we had a powerful lesson about Abinadi, which included Joseph Smith's testimony about him and putting the things of God above the things of the world. We had 3 members present and it was a super powerful lesson! The father told us he wanted to come to church super bad, but of course he had work. The next day at church, we were shaking hands with the members, as they were walking inside, and all of the sudden, my countenance just lit up! It was Wesley (the father) and his kids!! I was so confused and asked if he had work. He said he did have work, but earlier that morning he woke up and heard a voice telling him he needed to come to church, so he told his coworker to tell the boss that he wouldn't make it today. Such an example of trusting in God. Later, I bore my testimony, during fast and testimony meeting, and gave him a shoutout. As I looked over at him, I saw that he was crying. Such a miracle!! The mom wasn't able to make it, so we'll focus on her this upcoming week. Please pray for the Muyot family! 

Church is true

Training

October 28, 2016

During interviews with President, three weeks ago, I found out that I was going to be training a new missionary. But then time went by and I hadn't heard anything more so I was a little confused as to whether I was going to train or not. Then a couple days before transfers, the zone leaders called me and gave me some more details and instructions for training, so I was like, "Okay I guess it is happening."

Thursday morning, I went to the mission office and talked a little bit with the missionaries there, and there was only one guy that I was hoping to have the opportunity to train--Elder Smith from California. So President had each missionary stand up and then would announce who his trainer would be. When it came to be Elder Smith's turn to stand up, President announces that he will be trained by... Elder Wolferts! haha I was so happy! We instantly got along so well; he's super awesome.

Elder Smith definitely got hit hard with the language and culture shock, and realized right away that the MTC didn't prepare him as well for the field, as he had thought. It brings back so many memories of when I was new. People often try to talk to him and he always just looks over at me. He's in the stage where, everything they say is so fast and it all just sounds like one word to him. Another shock, the second night he went to shower and there were 6 dead cockroaches in the shower, haha he was so scared. I had to come in and clean them up. Also, every single member asks him how he's related to Joseph Smith, and then they crack up laughing when he explains... haha. 

One cool experience, over the past week, the bishopric came with us to share a powerful lesson with a family. The second councilor brought his computer and wanted to share Lehi's dream in Tagalog with them. The only problem was that the Internet was soooo slow. Like, we weren't getting anywhere. We decided to read all of 1 Nephi 8, and then it still was probably only 1/8 of the way loaded. So we just decided to go for it. I kept praying that Heavenly Father would speed up the Internet so that the message could invite the Spirit and pierce their hearts. AND HOLY COW, I watched that bar kick things into gear. I was literally so surprised. We were able to watch the whole video without any buffering interruptions. It was a little thing, but so cool!

I had to say goodbye to Elder Elan. He taught me a lot of things--just like every companion has. Just a couple things about him: 

-He's a part of the Judah tribe

-His dad died when he was 8

-He was a convert at the age of 16

-He is a great example to me!

Love you all! Keep being the light that you are 

                      Love, Elder Wolferts :))

 I'm humbled here everyday.

BAPTISMS

Ocotober 21, 2019

Not a lot of time today!

Lot of good things happened this past week, but for the sake of time, I'll just give a couple of the highlights!

We were blessed to have 5 baptisms!! The one who had the most powerful testimony was the cousin of the bishop's wife. Her name is Laiza, and she has had a couple cool dreams that strengthened her testimony. One dream, she recalled, was that her whole house burned down except for the Book of Mormon and to make a long story short, she realized it was true.

Also, funny thing after the baptisms, Joven (the chubby kid) quickly changed into his clothes and then disappeared. No one could find him! We thought he went home. Haha we were so confused. Then, finally we found him in this small dark room watching cartoons with a 4 year old. It definitely gave me a good laugh. That is the kid that prayed for potatoes, if you remember him.

We were at this place where we get our haircut and I saw this ukay ukay sign, which means surplus or used clothes. Then I saw this super sick Nike windbreaker for only 200 pesos ($4), an offer I couldn't refuse. If you zoom in on the picture you'll see that it says "Hong Kong marathon 2017". Definitely did not take part in that.

Love you all. 

The church is true, I seriously have no doubt. 

Mosiah 15:7

October 14, 2019

Alright, so I made this scripture my subject to try and get this scripture some more hype than it has at the moment. I read this scripture the other day and it hit me pretty hard, and I told myself I have to memorize that! It says: " Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the Will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father." Jesus Christ really is the example to us for everything! He was able to live and exemplify celestial laws in a telestial world. He is so perfect and committed to His pre-earth life covenant with the father to carry out the Atonement. This is something that the prophet Abinidai was able to know of a surety, even though it wouldn't happen for another 100 plus years.

This is the attitude that will help us accomplish what the prophet and leaders of the church have advised us to do--to become more holy and committed to our covenants and repent and get back on the covenant path when we slip up.Conference was such a great spiritual charge for me! I seriously love and sustain the leaders with all my heart, especially Prophet Russell M. Nelson. We also had a miracle happen. One of the people that is scheduled to be baptized next week went to visit her family and then didn't have enough money to get back. She was stuck, had no phone, and we were thinking she wouldn't be able to get back. We were praying for her and then she showed up Sunday morning! She was able to find the money and she went straight to the church to watch conference! We were so happy!

May we all allow our own wills to be swallowed up in the will of The Father :))

Also big plays coming up next week! Stay tuned!

Does your 4 month old look like this?

October 7, 2019

Pretty standard week out here in the Philippines. Lot of sweating and a lot of teaching.

My companion and I have been trying to see people not merely as they are, but as who they can become. Seeing people as Christ sees them. When Christ met Peter, he didn't see him as the poor, smelly (he had just come back from fishing all day and night), fisherman that he was, but he saw Peter "the rock" of the Church. He saw divine potential. We met this one guy, Bryan, who has a lot of problems with the Word of Wisdom and other things, but both my companion and I have the feeling that this is a future leader of the church. We're trying not to see him as a guy with a cigar or red eyes from drinking, but envision him in white and conducting a meeting at church. We're super excited to get the ward involved and to try and work through the knots, unlocking his divine potential.

Also, one day we were walking, when I saw this super cute baby with long hair, so of course that was the sign to open my mouth. I got talking with the lady and found out that her baby is only 4 months old, but has so much hair! Like seriously, the hair on the babies here mesmerizes me. We also found out that the lady just moved from a different region in the Philippines and has previously, been taught by the missionaries. We taught her a really good lesson and then, as we were about to leave, I was still in awe of this babies hair so I had to awkwardly ask if I could take a picture of her baby, which she kindly allowed me to do haha!

We're a week behind here in the Philippines, regarding General Conference, so I'm super excited to watch it next week! I've heard good things about it!

I encourage you all to not just follow the words of the Prophet and Apostles, but do so with a willing heart!

CHURCH IS TRUE :)

Attended a family week activity and got to go as the "elders family"

Me and my comp (I think his face is whiter than mine. He likes the face whitening products...)

The Living Water

September 30, 2019

This last week was a goody!

Earlier this morning I FINALLY FINISHED THE OLD TESTAMENT! For the last 8ish months I've been reading it whenever I have extra time. Holy cow, talk about enduring to the end! Haha just kidding, I loved reading the Bible and I had a super detailed study guide to help me understand it more, but I'm definitely looking forward to sticking to The Book of Mormon. Over the last year I've read all the standard works and of course the BOM multiple times! Crazy how much I've grown to love and need the scriptures in my life.

I also finished 2 Nephi the other day, but as I read the first 2 books of Nephi, I looked for all the ways Nephi exemplified the Christ-like attribute of obedience. How suiting that the very last words he wrote to end his record was, "I must obey". That is the foreshadowing attitude that Jesus Himself would live His whole life and seal with His Atoning sacrifice. In His words He describes it by saying "18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men." That is the "I must obey" attitude.

I also had such A CRAZY DREAM the other day that I woke up, quickly said a prayer, then ran right to my journal to record it. If there's one thing I've learned from the Old Testament, it's that God sometimes speaks to His children through dreams. This is what I wrote in my journal:

"The night of 9/27/19, my dream; One day my dad and I were discussing the doctrines and eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think I asked a question along the lines of, "Dad why do we need to repent?" He pondered this for awhile, and then wisely answered in this manner, "Well son, Christ identified Himself as the Living Water. As you know, water is absolutely necessary for the sustaining of life. In a gospel related way, Jesus Christ, the Living Water, is absolutely necessary for the obtaining, and sustaining of eternal life. Just like how, as humans, we all rely on water to live, in a spiritual sense, we all rely on the Living Water, Jesus Christ, to progress and become like Him and the Father. No matter what skills, knowledge, or talents we have, we all crave and are hopeless without the Living Water. When Christ completed His infinite Atonement, He put that water within our grasp, but the thing is He can't force us to drink it. That would take away our agency. However, through true repentance, coupled with a determination to improve, we reach out and drink the Living Water. We all have an inherent desire to drink this water and satisfy the quench, but Satan is hard at work in his lab of lies, testing and making solutions through different mixtures of worldly things and false hopes to numb us of our desire for Christ and our taste of His Living Water. We need to repent everyday to quench our thirst and know what the redeeming power of the Living Water really tastes like. If we do that throughout our life, and strive to live worthy for such a perfect gift, then the time will come when we leave this life and we will feel the full effects of the Living Water. We will be entirely encompassed in His love. We will be perfected through Jesus Christ, the Living Water."

I invite you all to partake of the Living Water :)

Mission President and his wife. They are seriously the nicest!!