Week 5: Swells of sweetness

The joy of a mission is sweet. I doubt I will ever tire of the taste. There is just something to devoting all your energy to serving people and truly giving them something that will bring peace and joy to their life. There is so much to be done and I know that my time is short. Already a month has passed since I have arrived, but the progress is so hard to chart because it is constant and gradual. I wonder if I will ever be satisfied with my language skills or all the skills for that fact. I just know how lacking I am. On the other hand, I also know that I will be just as good as I need to be to complete my mission so long as I give my all and rely on the Lord.

The Lord has already blessed me immensely. Explaining earlier that I received that coolest companion ever – the Lord has answered my prayers. I will take this tangent for a bit. My companion, Elder Hogan, is so chill that I wonder if he pushes me enough. He never really points out things I could have done better unless I specifically ask. I wonder if the Lord answered my prayers to much after my awkward companionship in the MTC. Another prayer that has been answered and blessing I have received is that I am starting to care more for people I don’t know; I prayed for more charity. To clarify, it is not that I don’t care about others but I just did not have that sadness that Ammon and his brothers had when they thought about another creature perishing in unbelief. When someone would reject me I would say, “There lose”. While now I am starting of actually feel a little more. I don’t like being numb to emotion so this brings peace. When I see a great family that has problems, I now am starting to think, “This gospel could really help them, more than they know.” However, after they turn me down the emotion is intensified. This is by not means a large amount, it however is more than it was before which is a start for me. Now I just need to be able to speak my mind and heart to them so they can know and feel the same way. All it takes is just more prayer and hard work. I almost have it.

Brother Helido is the ‘no name man’ that has a name. I forgot what all I send about him, but I will speak of him more because I admire his craving and passion. He is willing and wants to believe but yet unable because he has not turned to the source that can clear his muddled mind.

Funny comments he has said: “So who would baptize me” (on the second visit); we said, “Gusto po ninyo” [What you want (politely).]; “ok”. Another was, “Is it true that Joseph Smith had 5 wifes?”, “yep”, “ok”. And the latest, “Your church would be so much easier to join (believe) if you did not have Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.”

He is a man in his 50s that only has one kidney. He yearns for the Holy Ghost in his life and knows that he does not yet have it. Yesterday when we talked to him, his preacher was there which did not pose much of a problem because we have the truth and other churches take a scripture that supports their cause and they build everything they have on it. Forget that every previous incident or example shows contrary. The LDS church has the same structure as Christ’s church, a great name for the church, recognizable prosperity, which is what appeals to Bro. Helido, yet also it is true and God Himself, through the Holy Ghost, will verify it so long as the person puts forth the effort in faith.

All the missionaries have finally received the new “Missionary Handbook”, aka “White Bible”. Daw, we have one of the strictest missions in the Philippines or world (daw is a great word that means that someone else said it, usually the person can be ascertained from the context, but as missionaries we use it to denote ‘hear-say’). I really have not found it much of a problem thus far, but it is quite funny and sometimes ridiculous. I know why I am here and will not let small stuff slow my pace. It is really nice living in an apartment with obedient elders. They have told me stories about what it was like before for them, or in certain areas. The island filters out most of the slacker elders so I am happy.

I do not want to end on a bad note although this was not indented to be so. It was intended to just explain my mission more. My companion is great and knows why he is here so the rules only help us, not hinder us. My time is flying by but well spent. I could not imagine doing a better thing. I pray.