Hello. How are you all? I'll answer that question for myself. I have been quite excellent. This morning I woke up, ate breakfast and returned upstairs. I saw Elder Adams ironing his clothes, while he was wearing them. It was weird. My other housemate, Elder Perez told me a story about how one time he was teaching a preacher and the preacher was being hard. So Elder Perez said to him, "You think you know the bible, well if you do, which prophet in the bible was bald?!" I don't know if that was the best way to handle that situation, but I guess it worked. (by the way, do YOU know which prophet is bald?) I was also pondering this week why the Lord has given my Elder McClellan as a companion, and I found my answer in the scriptures in 1 Nephi 4:12. hehe
Okay, that's enough of those weird jokes. I guess I'll tell you how my week was this week. To tell you the truth, I really enjoyed it, especially at the beginning of the week. So on Monday night we didn't get a FHE scheduled but we did get an appointment with one of our investigators, John and Mercy Patria. They are way good. I love them. They are way cool and nice and I love meeting with their family. Their little kids are way cute too. But anyway, John works every day but Monday right now so it's hard to see them and get them to church. But we went to their house on Monday night and started talking with them. We opened the lesson with a prayer and reviewed his scripture reading. He had read and he even marked his scriptures up which was way cool. (That's not something we see too often!) He said he prayed about it too and had a really good feeling. Then it turns out his wife had read the whole chapter too (2 Nephi 31) and had a really good feeling too. They had written down a couple questions, like words they didn't understand (Ilonggo BOM is way deep) and we explained some to them and then and the end where it says if we do these things, we shall have eternal life. John asked us if that was really possible, and we testified to them that it really was. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and their family was really excited about it. I was really happy and it was a really good start to the week. After it they fed us dinner. They live in a really small house like they have 1 single bed and that takes up half the house. I was shy to eat their food but they insisted in sharing to us. While we ate we talked and it was really cool. Then after a little while John's Mom came over from next door I guess and said to us that John and Mercy are really poor. They don't have too much. But then she said, "But they are still happy!" I was way happy and we talked a little about that's what God wants for us. Wherever we are and whoever we are, whatever is our circumstances, God loves us, and he wants us to be happy, and the best way to find happiness and joy in this life and in the life to come is through the gospel of Jesus Christ and following God's plan for us.
My companion, Elder McClellan, is doing way good. It seems he's learning the language like twice as fast as I am. Maybe because it's because I make him talk so much. I don't think that has anything to do as my effectiveness as a trainer, but because I am a man of little words, but he seems to be learning way fast. I'm happy for him, he's pretty good at wanting to open his mouth.
Tuesday was a way good day. We really focused on trying to find this week and add to our pool of investigators. I actually had a really good day. I was extra happy that day and I'm not sure why, but I had a lot of fun trying to talk to people and find and meet new people, and understand their needs. We had kind of a cool experience. We had been praying to try to find a new family to teach so with that in our hearts we went out finding. Our first four teachings that we found that day were pretty good, but we still wanted to find a full family. So we went out and just started talking to everyone. We walked down this street I had been down a ton, but I saw this tiny little path I never really noticed before. Outside was a man who was pumping water and we talked to him and he said their were a lot of houses inside of there. So we went to the first house in there and talked to some people, we didn't say to much but they just told us to come in before we really told them anything about us. So then I started talking to them and the kids would talk back but the mom was way shy. I wasn't sure why so we just tried to keep getting to know them. She wouldn't say much so I told them a little about our message and the blessings of the gospel for families and the mom finally said she was Iglesia ni Cristo, and I guess they aren't allowed to listen to us. But then she just told us to follow her and took us to her neighbors house and told her neighbor who we were and said we were going to share a message to her. haha. So we sat down with the sister and after like 5 minutes the guy who was outside getting water walked in and we taught them. They had 5 kids too! So we taught them the Restoration of the Gospel and it was way good. Brother Einstein shared with us an experience about how he was catholic but he visited the baptist church and he was wondering why it was so different since both of them use the bible. It was way perfect his question and the answer we had for them, how God, through his love, has always worked among his children, through his prophets, and how he has called a prophet to guide us in these days and restore his gospel to the earth. It was way cool how it happened and how they were found.
The rest of the week was pretty good. We continued finding and we studied out our area map and found there was a baranggay we had never been to before called Poblacion Molo. We tried going there but it was kind of hard to find the entrance to it. It was like in the middle of all these stores but we found a way in through this graveyard, which is a pretty weird entrance to a neighborhood, but that's okay. There was a basketball court in the middle of the graveyard. So we went in their and talked to some people and we talked to this police man, he told us he really wanted his family to learn about Jesus Christ so he told us to come back on Friday and teach his whole family. We did that but he had ended up inviting like all his neighbors and their kids to listen too. So I somehow had to figure out how to teach a lesson to like 30 kids and like 10 adults. It was intense. But it was good, we shared about Jesus Christ, what he did on the earth, and about his gospel. We gave them all pamphlets about the Restoration and they said they would read it. I think it should be good. It will be better if we could teach them individually as a family but next time we'll try to show them the Restoration video.
All in all, it was a good week. I see eternal potential in each of these investigators so I hope and pray they continue to progress. Next week is leadership training. I'm way excited to learn some new things there and even better, this leadership training they are doing something cool. They are going to end leadership training in the afternoon and send leaders to go work in our areas. In the Iloilo areas. So I'll be going on exchanges and so will Elder McClellan in the afternoon and we'll be able to learn from the District Leaders and Zone leaders in the mission. I'm way excited to learn some more. Sometimes I wonder why I'm already a senior. I don't really know that much and I'm not even too good of a teacher, but I know it's what God has asked me to do. So I'll do my best, and just trust in him. I am excited for this learning opportunity again and excited to see the miracles that happen in this upcoming week.
Well, you all take care and have a good life. I found out yesterday it was already my 6 month mark in the field. That was crazy. I can't believe how fast it's going by. Well, I still have a lot of work to do here.
So, take care. Love you!
Elder Joshua Burton
P.S. This week I got my shirts tailored. So I look real gwapo. Joke. Anyway, I was wondering.. i mean, on some of my shirts I have these weird stains. Like just spots of yellow. I think it could be bleach but I'm not sure. So if you have any really good stain removers let me know, I could use it. I don't want to have to buy new shirts, at least for a while, but it might be inevitable.
No comments:
Post a Comment