Nov 8: Head in sky, feet in mud

The week as been quite like the cliché analogy of a rollercoaster. My new companion is the best missionary I could have right now to learn from. Elder Masangcay’s skills compliment those skills of Elder Hogan. I am speaking more Tagalog and thus learning faster. My comprehension is better than I could have imagined it to be, but still quite bad. I am learning to plan better and be more effective. There is so much to internalize as a missionary.

We have a district goal to get six hundred baptisms by the end of next year so we can qualify to be a stake. This is quite a goal because this would require us to have ten baptisms in our branch a month. I know we can do it! It is exiting to stretch our limits. I am learning to be more effective in planning, teaching, and following up, and now we need to learn to involve the ward members more, which is always a tough part.

This week we had one of our great investigators come to church (and one more who will be baptized this Saturday, the house help of a member, Ann). We found him about a week or so ago after teaching him father. Unfortunately, his parents live quite far from any of the churches, while John, our investigator, is living in town while going to school. In addition, he too will be moving soon to another branches area, which is fine so long as he is near a church. I would like to revel in his virtues for a moment. He is only 18 years old so while so youth his area are living the repetition of life sprinkled with feigned fancies with the intent to appease there passions, Jon is open and in tuned to the peaceful promptings of the spirit. His desires are so pure and he seems almost naïve to the wickedness of the abusers around him. A quintessential sober child like Moroni or Mormon, I cannot remember. In any event, I am grateful to have met him.

Our mentioned beloved investigators, Bro. Gelido and Constanino, were both neither at church or available when we tried to visit them repeatedly throughout the week. Our token white investigator (with a Filipina wife) is starting to recover from his many family dilemmas – something close to three hospitalize family members within the last week. We teach him last night, and afterwards I felt so drained. The lesson went well accept the wife was still not completely with it after staying up again all night with her brother in the hospital. But Bro. Chambers is amazed at the clarity of the Book of Mormon and now believes Joseph Smith to be a prophet of God. We committed him to pray about it to receive a spiritual witness. The wife as neither read nor prayed. He was somewhat weird however. He is still strangely reluctant about baptism for reasons he could not verbalize, and he ask me an unexpected sincere question, “What do you think Christ’s greatest pain was on the cross”. He is grateful that we are teaching him, but has been taking it as a reawaking and rekindling of spirit and faith. We hope to cure him of that skewed misconception tonight, although helping people find greater faith in Christ is one of our first objectives.

My trials have unexpectedly come at me emotionally. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family and even friends that give me the support and courage I need to combat these simple road spikes of Satan. Thank you all so much for your love and prayer. I know I have been greatly blessed from them.