Elder Wolferts in Cavite: 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!!