Philippines Mission/Week 23--I then grabbed the Book of Mormon and asked if he'd read and pray a

Kamustaaa!!

I hope you've been having an awesome week so far! This week's letter is a little short but it's all good. I still hope you enjoy my letter home!

September 9th, Wednesday, Sister Canar and I went and visited an investigator to teach her, but instead her daughter was there so we asked if we could share, and she said 'yes.' We shared about Heavenly Father and how this gospel can bless families. She's married to a foreigner from Poland, and is pregnant with her first child. We thought it was perfect to share because she is about to have a baby! She seemed really into the lesson, and let us set a return appointment to teach her again.

On September 10th, Thursday, Sister Canar and I had received a referral from a member, Sister Marina, so we decided to go and visit her friend, Sister Irene. Sister Irene was very welcoming and let us share with her. She has 3 little children and so it was perfect to talk about families with her and how this gospel can bless our families. She was a little confused at first because she thought Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were one person, so we shared some scriptures in the Bible to help her understand that they're separate beings. At the end of the lesson, we asked her to pray for us, and she was very scared. It took us about 10 minutes to explain prayer, and another 10-15 minutes to get her to pray. Sister Canar had to go over and kind of "help" her with her prayer so she didn't feel so awkward. She finally prayed and said afterwards she felt pretty good inside. She then let us set a return appointment to come back and share with her.

Then after we taught Sister Irene, Sister Canar and I went and visited a less active who hasn't been to church in about 20 years. Today was pretty rainy and so it was really hard walking to her house because the path is just dirt, and it's on a slanted hill next to a lake. It was really muddy and Sister Canar and I kept slipping. The only thing we had to hold on to so we didn't fall in the lake were some little palm trees. It was probably the funniest moment we had that day. The whole time we were slipping and sliding and screaming out loud for help, that when we finally made it to some safe land, there were some little kids just staring at us. It was so funny. But don't worry, I survived.

Then on September 13th, Sunday, Sister Canar and I visited the Rosales family that had told us they'd return to church but ended up not going. We didn't schedule to go and visit them this day, but I had a feeling we needed to and I really wanted to know why they didn't go to church. It was so funny but so sad, because when we showed up, the look on their face was just plain guilt. You could tell they felt a little ashamed because they didn't go to church when they said they would. They let us share with them and so we all got together in a little room. Sister Canar and I just looked at each other because we had NO idea what we were going to share with them. We had followed up their prayers and reading, and right away the father was telling us why they didn't go to church. To tell you the truth we were pretty frustrated with the family; but once we got started on the lesson, all of that kind of melted away because we could see a family that was falling apart and needed our help. You could look into the father's eyes and see pain because his family wasn't going to church together anymore.

We shared Alma 32:19 and some verses from Alma chapter 5. At first it was hard to feel the Spirit and know what to say, but once we started talking, the Spirit just helped us to bear our testimonies. We committed them to go to church and to have an FHE with us so we can get to know them a little better and make them feel a little more comfortable with us.

After teaching the Rosales family, Sister Canar and I visited a family of investigators. The whole family; mother, daughter and son want to be baptized, but the father refuses to be baptized. We ended up just sharing with the father and mother about prayer. We started off by following up their prayers and reading. The father's response was that he didn't read or pray about our message. I think the one thing that frustrates me the most about investigators, is when they don't read to find out for themselves the truth, or when they don't pray and ask Heavenly Father if our message is true. I asked the father if he wanted to know if our messages were true, and he said "yes," and then I asked, "How are you going to find out the truth if you don't read or pray??"

I then grabbed the Book of Mormon and asked if he'd read and pray about it. He said, "No. It's your bible." I then told him, "This book is comparable to the Bible. It's another Testament of Jesus Christ, Brother. And if you read it, and pray about it, you can find out that what we are sharing is true." I opened my Bible to Matthew 7:7-8 and asked him to read. Sister Canar had opened her Book of Mormon to 3rd Nephi 14:7-8 and I turned to the Brother and said, "If it's easier, you can read it in Bisaya. The same verses are in The Book of Mormon." He started to read it and stopped and said, "They're the same." He then pointed at my scriptures and asked, "That's the Bible? And this is The Book of Mormon? They're the same thing."

We told him, "The Bible and The Book of Mormon are companions to each other, and we promise you that if you read The Book of Mormon and pray about it, you can find out for yourself why it's necessary to be baptized in this church." Oh man, the Spirit was pretty strong. I know that he felt the Spirit, and I know that he knew what we're saying was true. He's just scared...

This week has kind of been a little slow. We've had new investigators... but also dropped some because they weren't progressing. It's kind of been a mad house this week. Especially since we only have 1 more week until transfer day. Crazy how time flies by.

Shout out moment: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I HOPE IT'S AN AWESOME BIRTHDAY! Don't miss your amazing daughter too much on your birthday ;)

I love you all! Have an awesome week.

Love,

Sister Johnson