Philippines Mission--Week 52--A "thousand" quotes.

Maayong buntag mga gwapa ug gwapo! The letter is kind of long, but I hope you all enjoy it!

April 4th, Monday, Sister McMaster and I went into Jollibee (a fast food restaraunt) to use the restroom. We noticed there's a white guy sitting at a table next to the restroom. We walk over and start talking to him and his name is Louis and he's from New Jersey! He's around mid 50's, he married a Filipina, and he's REALLY nice and open to talking about the gospel. But, as we were talking to him, his wife walked over with their food and sat down. She didn't look too happy. But we continued to talk to Louis and gave him and his wife some pass-along cards. His wife grabed them and said, "We don't have time to look up this stuff. We don't have the internet or cell phones so we can't do this." Sister McMaster then got into her bag and pulled out a random Book of Mormon in English. She handed it to Brother Louis and we started to testify of how it can help us in our lives. The wife grabbed it and said, "He doesn't have time to read. Take it back. He would put it on a shelf and never read it." It was so sad to see her say that because Brother Louis was REALLY interested! Sister McMaster wrote him a note on the inside and gave it to him anyway. Throughout the whole day, we were just thinking about him and hoping that she didn't make him throw it away. I'm really hoping that he reads it every day!

April 5th, Tuesday, Sister McMaster and I went over to our recent convert/investigators home, the Catalonia family. And we were planning on teaching Sister Jolina (our recent convert), but she wasn't at home. So we asked the older brother, Romel (investigator), and her father Romeo, where Sister Jolina was. They told us that she had left to buy some food, but the moment they said that, Sister Jolina's younger brother, Carlo, yelled out, "Nagtago siya!" or "She's hiding!" Little kids are such tattletales. But I love it because they're more honest than the older people here. We then texted her and said that we were waiting at her house but she never responded. We waited for about 20 more minutes until little Carlo came up to us and said, "Naa si Jolina!" or "There is Jolina!" So we headed over to her aunt's home because she was hiding there. When we got to the front yard, we saw her trying to hide behind her aunt. Her little siblings ran up to her and start yelling, "Naa si Jolina!" and start laughing/pointing at her. It was so funny. It took us like 10 minutes to try and get her to come over so we could teach/talk to her. We worked everything out and set up specific times to come over and teach her so she doesn't feel so bombarded.

After talking with Sister Jolina, we talked with her brother Johnathan (our other investigator) to see if he wants to continue taking lessons. He told us "No, I'm Catholic." My heart kind of felt like it was being squished. I then started thinking, "What? But you felt something when we taught you about Joseph Smith. I know you know that it's true! And you're not even Catholic. You don't even go to church." haha. But then he opened up and told us that he wants to continue taking lessons, but he's really shy and will only listen if Jolina/Romel sit in on the lessons (the two people that don't really want to listen anymore, and Jolina's a member). We're hoping that they'll sit in on the lessons because Johnathan really is a golden investigator! He wants to be baptized and knows that this church is true!

April 6th, Wednesday, Sister McMaster and I finally got to teach one of our investigators, Brother JunJun. We kind of just did a "get to know you" lesson and showed him pictures from this "Gospel Art Book." We mainly focused on Jesus Christ and who he is and that He loves us and will accept anyone into His arms. He started getting really teary-eyed and started crying! He opened up and told us that his past was pretty bad. He'd always party/drink/smoke and that's why he got diabetes and had a stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side. He told us that before the stroke, he forgot God and never worshipped Him, but then after the stroke, he really turned to God/Jesus Christ and wanted to really worship them. He remembered who they were and wanted to return back to them one day. That's when he started listening to the missionaries. He really wants to be baptized! He picked his own baptismal date and everything! He wants to be baptized May 17, 2016 because it's his birthday, and he told us that he wants to be a new person for his birthday! He's so awesome. I love him so much!

April 7th, Thursday, Sister McMaster and I went over to the Catalonia's home and taught Sister Jolina and Brother Johnathan (with our fellowshippers, Sister Babylyn and Brother Aldrin). We taught them all English! And it was such a fun lesson. They really enjoyed it and really wanted to learn English. Everyone here knows how to speak it and can understand it, but they're too shy to practice because of their broken English. But it was a pretty fun way to end the night.

April 8th, Friday, Sister McMaster and I went to Don Pedro and started looking for Sister Babylyn Olivar and Brother Aldrin Barrios because they were going to work with us when we taught that day. The thing with Don Pedro, is that a lot of people there have a problem with gambling, like every day. And a lot of those people are members that are less active. But when we got there and started looking for them, we noticed that Sister Babylyn was sitting down . . . and gambling! And we also noticed that Brother Aldrin was standing beside her watching it. Sister McMaster and I decided to get them and just sit down and talk with them. A lot of people, members don't understand why gambling isn't allowed, so we just wanted to sit down and have a casual talk with them. But once we started teaching, Babylyn opened up and started crying! I had the feeling to get up and sit next to her, so we both sat next to her and just hugged her. Earlier that day she was acting really weird/awkward because she knew that we saw her gambling. She told us that she didn't want to work with us because she felt unworthy. We then taught her about Jesus Christ and that through him, we can repent and be forgiven. That He will accept anyone, no matter what they've done in their life. I'm hoping that our message helped. She was pretty awkward afterward, but I know that she felt the Spirit and our love for her.

April 9th, Saturday, we got to watch General Conference! There were a lot of good talks! But the saddest part of the conference was when Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was asking us to sustain the leaders, and he said, "Any opposed?" and someone yelled out, "Opposed!" When I heard that, Sister McMaster and I just looked at each other and my heart just dropped. And it wasn't just once that it happened, it was like 3 times this conference AND it happened last time as well. But other than that part, the conference was good!

April 10th, Sunday, we got to watch the Sunday sessions of General Conference! My favorite talks were by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Their talks were just so inspiring and bold. Their talks really spoke to my heart. After the conference, we visited our investigator, Johnathan Catalonia, and had Sister Babylyn Olivar and Brother Aldrin Barrios come with us to fellowship Brother Johnathan. Before, Brother Johnathan was SO shy, and he told us that he didn't want to listen to us unless his siblings sat in on the lesson. But now he's so loud and open with us! Because of Brother Aldrin and Babylyn, he's more open and doesn't even notice if his siblings sit in on the lessons or not. It's so awesome. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and he really wants to read it. We gave him one a while ago and he keeps it in his little bag and always carries it around! It's so adorable. He's so ready for the gospel. After we taught him we started walking away but forgot to shake his hand. He then yelled over to us, "We're not shaking hands??" It was so cute! He's probably one of my favorite investigators that I've had in this mission. He's SO receptive and SO ready.

Quotes:

The Living House: by C.S. Lewis

Imagine yourself as a living house.

God comes in to rebuild that house.

At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing.

He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks on the roof and so on.

You knew that those jobs needed doing, and so you were not surprised.

But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts and does not seem to make sense.

What on earth is He up to?

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--

Throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there,

Running up towers, making courtyards.

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage;

But He is building a palace.

Footprints in the Sand: by Mary Stevenson

One night I dreamt I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene, I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints in the sand, other times, there was only one set of footprints. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat, I could only see one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, "You promised me, Lord, that if I followed you, you would always walk with me. But I have noticed that during the more trying periods in my life, there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you were not there for me?

The Lord replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you."

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help, and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come till Heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come." -Jeffrey R. Holland.

"We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever."

"Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for He sees us as glorious beings we are capable of becoming."

"Jesus said, 'Without me, ye can do nothing' . . . I testify, that that is God's truth. Christ is everything to us and we are to abide in Him permanantly, unyeildingly, steadfastly, forever . . . For the fruit of the gospel to blossom and bless our lives we must be firmly attached to Him." -Jeffrey R.Holland.

For some reason I felt like putting a thousand quotes in today's letter. But I love all of these quotes and I hope you all love them too and apply them into your lives!

I love you all! Amping kanunay!

Love,

Sister Johnson