Philippines Iloilo Mission: 04/22/19

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Maayong hapon friends and fam!

[Sis. Gonzales and I have been jogging almost every morning]

This past week has been pretty good! We've had many miracles and many tender mercies this past week. Some miracles is that this past week we met a family as we were walking on our way home and they were speaking Tagalog to us which is normal because whenever people see Sister Gonzales people almost always speak Tagalog right away because they assume she only understands Tagalog which is funny because she can better understand Hiligaynon. So anyways we tell the family that it's okay that they can speak Visaya, but it turns out they only actually speak Tagalog! They aren't from here, they're from Luzon and are Tagalog gid. This has been interesting and it stretches me more in trying to speak Tagalog because I actually do want to speak Tagalog more. But good thing I understand! They are such a miracle because they went to church this past Sunday and our church members really welcomed them.

Also last Monday Sister Gonzales and I ukay-ukay'd and we were able to talk to some of the workers and we met this one worker that just shares with us how he missed going to to church and how he wants to go to church. We asked him if we can come back later in the week to share a message about Jesus Christ and how He can help him go to church and he seemed so excited. So later this week when we came to visit, he had the pamphlet we had given him out and he was so excited to listen to us. Our lesson with him was so spiritual and it was so awesome because he truly has a desire to follow the Savior's teachings.

However it was a bit of a challenge this week because he so badly wants to go to church but he works at the ukay ukay store like all the time. And so he said he would ask the owner if he could leave the store for at least one hour on Sunday to go to church with us. When he asked, the owner said he could if he makes sure he's back in time to open the store but that would mean he would only go to church for 1 hour and not the normal 2 hours of church.

So fast forward to Sunday we picked him up and his countenance was just glowing! We walked to church and he absolutely loved it. In the middle of Sacrament meeting he turns to me and says "Sister up until what time is church? because I want to stay the whole time." And i asked "are you sure it's okay with your boss if you stay longer?" He didn't answer but he was such a good example of someone who gave his whole heart faithfully to Jesus Christ. He didn't care if he would get in trouble with his boss, all he knew was that he went to church and he didn't want to leave. It's so amazing because he hasn't gone to church in many years because of some struggles he's had in the past. But I know that he will be truly blessed for his loyalty to the Savior over any else. He is such a miracle because we had also just given him the Book of Mormon only on Thursday and within 2 days he's read so much already and explained to us every single detail and has even applied it to his life. It's so amazing to me to see someone who has truly been faithfully prepared by Heavenly Father.

Another miracle this past week was that we started teaching a couple and we went back when only the sister was home because her partner works during the day. From the few times we have taught her, she is so respectful and so quiet. She really listens to us but she hasn't had much to say compared to other people we've been teaching lately. However this past week we taught her to pray to first call Heavenly Father, give thanks, ask for blessing, and close in the name of Jesus Christ. She was shy to at first but we convinced her to and it was so heartwarming.

As she prayed, there was one time where got really quiet and then she just starts crying and letting everything out. Sister Gonzales and I feel so blessed that this sister recognizes us as representatives of Jesus Christ. Because she recognized us, I know she felt comfortable enough to open up to us and to express to us how she is feeling. I know that for some it may be easy to open up and some it isn't but as long as we're doing our part of really listening to others, we can know how to help them.

Some days it's hard but as we lose ourselves and try to reach others, all our burdens will be lighter. That's what Jesus Christ did and I'm grateful for Him and His Resurrection that we're celebrating this time of year! Happy Easter! Never forget that no matter how hard it gets, there's someone willing to help and that Someone is just waiting for us to humble ourselves and speak to Him. He wants to know and I know He will give us rest from our challenges.