Family and Friends,
Thanks for the letters/ packagaes/ love/ prayers and all. Love them all. Yeah so our schedule got all switched around because they are preparing for the giant influx of missonaries come June. So Pday and everything got switched, but its better actually. Wow! Its time for me to leave.. cant belive i am saying that. we leave monday. we fly from SLC to Seattle, then Seattle to Tokyo, Tokyo to Manila (then we stay the night i think?), then manila to Bacolod... my home for the next 23 months. I think its like a full day's worth of travel! plus you skip ahead 15 hours so its nuts. Boom! Getting our flight plans was so great! haha. it made it all seem real. I'm kinda sad to be leaving the MTC.. ive enjoyed my time here.
We had some hilarious moments this past week.. most during our lesson to our "investigators". At one point i mixed up pronouns and instead of saying, "we know we aren't the best teachers" i said, "you know we aren't the best teachers"... sounds not that funny but she had a difficult time not busting up laughing. Another good one was we were teaching someone who didnt know how to pray.. we convinced him to say the closing prayer though. So we are all 3 kneeling. He starts saying the prayer (in hiligaynon of course) and about 20 seconds in he keeps saying "wala na. wala na. wala na." i had no idea what he was saying.. wala na means "no more" (which i didnt know then... but sure do now! haha) ... we forgot to tell him how to finish praying. so we are sitting there and elder evans starts trying to figure out what is going on... i am still under the impression we are praying sort of.. so i just keep my arms folded and head bowed as elder evans tries to explain it to him. Most awkward teaching moment ever! hahahaha. Gosh it was bad. Gotta love it. On that note.. the lanugage is actually going very well. It helps when you teach twice a day for 30 minutes in the language. I love the language. Its hard to describe but its so fun... literally. Its known for being a "fun" language. Love it.
A few notes about the past week.. one of the sisters in our district got the Flu and had to be quarantined.. yes quarantined. In a room by herself off in some random wing of the MTC for 3 or 4 days straight! super bummer. we all have to take these anti-flu pills to not catch it. #
Spiritual notes for the week. God does love us. All of us. That being said... everyone deserves the knowledge of the gospel. We had a wonderful devotional about repentance. Here's my understanding of the talk. You MUST put forth the effort. People want to be cleansed and saved... but not put forth the effort. thats not how it works. you must ask god.. not tell him.. but ask! ask and ye shall receive! its the same with forgiveness. we must believe in his grace, then we will receive the mercy and he will make up for our shortcomings. Something that hit home for me this week... obedience. The last week you really see some of the missionaries start to taper off in their obedience. Elder Evans and I have been trying to avoid that like the Black Plague. I've already seen the fruits of it. That being said... it directly relates to obedience to commandments. God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are ALWAYS there... we ourselves choose to withdraw ourselves from their presence. if you feel alone, evaluate what you can change to be closer the God. Those of you reading this who are baptized members of our church.. remember you covenanted to take upon yourself Christ's name. Thats my kind way of saying, figure it out/shape up. haha. Satan knows all our "buttons" and he knows how to push them. Its a war. Constantly. Be on the attack. I've been doing some deep study of the Plan of Salvation, particularly the Atonement. It ALL hinges on that. Everthing before this life, everything in this life, everything after... hinges on the Atonement. Go buy a Preach my Gospel.. and study the Atonement like its your J-O-B. It will bless your life tremendously. One thing i loved learned... Christ came to earth to be like us (human/mortal) so that we can become like him (godly/immortal). what a beautiful gift and sacrifice. If you are looking to start fresh/ need to change something remember this. It all starts with Faith and Repentance. Start there, the Lord will help with the rest. I love this gospel. My knowledge and testimony of it grows everyday. Which i am super grateful for. I love the Lord and i love missionary work. Can't wait to get out there and get to work more fully. Scripture of the Week- D&C 130:20-21. OH and if you are struggling with church attendance and need a reason why to attend.. go read Mosiah 25:23,24. Love with all your heart and develop your Christlike attributes more fully.
Palangga ko kamo sa tanan nga akon tagipusuon,
Elder Stagg
ps--- might not write for like a week or 2, not sure how the whole pday situation is over there. Oh ya, i dont remember my new address so.... ask my parents. haha.
No comments:
Post a Comment