Jan 2: New year, more hope

Live without hope is no life at all. Another year has passed. And we are yet another year closer to the coming of our Lord. Many people are lifelessly living and walking each day and it is my responsibility right now to give all my time to spreading the greatest reason we all have to hope: Christ died so that we may live.

That last week was have celebrated the dawn of a new year, yet for so many people I have seen them begin again to waste another precious year of there life. Alcohol is one of the most painful to see. It is something destroying more than one of our investigators’ lives. The Palatino family is one such example.

Elder Batosin found them a couple weeks ago while we were on splits and so I was only recently able to teach them. When I first visited them we had to reschedule because the husband was so plastered with alcohol he could not walk straight. We returned the next day to find that he forgot about our visit and promise not to drink so we could teach; consequently, he had drunken again. Not so much this time so he actually remembered our conversation. The next day we visited early so remind him, but he had already drunken a bit. We returned later that day and taught the family after most of the alcohol had worn off. He works out in the fields to make money because he has no job. He has a small child with another on the way and wants to change. His wife who read a chunk of the Book of Mormon already is even more eager for him to change. We again visited him the other day after teaching him the inspired Word of Wisdom to find he had again abandoned his family to the horrid effects of alcohol. They do want to change, and they have so much potential for that new small family, but Satan’s tools are also cleverly crafty.

Whether it is drugs or the devil originating justification, we had only a few come to church. Those that did come brought so much joy because it was the effort of the newly baptized family, Francisco, which ensured their attendance or our investigators. We had taught a relative of Tatay Francisco after see attended our huge Christmas party. Nanay Francisco escorted her to church. And then Tatay Francisco came later with Bro. Tongal who is a neighbor we mention we taught. Bro. Tongal’s wife did not come but it was a joy to see that eccentric old man there anyway.

Church was filling because I made it such. That night for New Year’s Eve we retired home early to evade the dangers of the firework chaos in even a small town in the Philippines. Nanay Rose brought us some food and I spent the extra time reading. We celebrated the New Year by being woken up by the amazing amount of fireworks for such a small town. I have so much hope for this new year and am grateful for every blessing that has brought me here. I love you all more than ever as I am been filling my life with God’s love and sharing it. Press on and keep the faith. This will be a great year.