-I could very well get mail this week
-I'll write Brother Tenny that e-mail next week and write the Davis Family as well
-What about the new computer Mom??
We had a pretty good week here, and were very busy! We have some good progressing investigators and are seeing some good things happen in our area. If we could just get all of our investigators married and living the Law of Chastity we would have so many baptisms!! We have two couples in particular that if they can get married, they'll get baptized. As I've said before, there's no divorce here in the Philippines, and the process to get married is expensive and long. One couple just needs the signatures of their parents, and the other one is at the beginning of the process.
Well, I'm officially one year!!! To celebrate, I went on exchanges. I would have rather have been in my area, but when my companion and I met up again, we were able to go to the only fast food place in the whole Zone! It's called Jollibee's, and it's a Filipino chain which has a few places in the states. That was a treat! As far as balancing the ZL and DL responsibilities it's not as hard as I thought! I gave a workshop this week in District Meeting on the importance of extending commitments. As missionaries, every lesson we teach has a commitment, or an invitation to act. These invitations are the way people manifest that they're repenting and keeping the commandments. All of our commandments start as "Will you..."Even though this is a missionary concept, it's important for all of us. This Gospel is a Doing Gospel. We were teaching a Less-Active this week about the Plan of Salvation, and focus on our purpose here on Earth. We talked about how this is the time to prepare to meet God, to repent, to keep the commandments, while everything else is secondary. After we taught, we asked, "Sister, will you show your obedience to God's commandments and go to church this Sunday?" And she said, "I'm busy, no promises, if I have time." What! ?!? I wanted to ask what part of "Keep the Commandments" did you not understand? :) While she intellectually understood the Plan of Salvation, she didn't understand it with her heart.
In the Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith taught that we need three things to draw down the power of faith into our lives, 1) The idea that God exists, 2) A correct knowledge of his traits and characteristics, and 3) A knowledge that the path we are taking is in accordance to God's will. That is true faith, not just a belief. Anyone can say that they have faith, but is it true faith?,Is it enduring faith? That's what we're trying to do here, teach people who God is, what he's like, and teach them all that they must do to know that the path they are taking is in accordance with God's will.
One our our recent converts that I baptized, Reymark, is a perfect example of this. When we first met him, he didn't know much about Christ, and had no real religious background. For our first five visits or so, we couldn't get him to read, because he only had a 3rd grade education. As we've taught him, he's really started to read the Book of Mormon. As of last night, he's almost done with 1st Nephi, which in the Tagalog copy of the book of Mormon is page 71! His mother tells us that he sits there for hours reading. It's been truly a miracle to see his reading improve, and his comprehension as well. His faith is growing so incredibly much!
I know that this is the Lord's work. As I look back, I truly see the miracles here. The Lord truly works wonders. As we press forward with faith, he will lighten our load. We have his promise that he will never leave us. We are told to endure to the end, but he has said that he is with us to the end. May we exercise true faith, and be doers, not hearers. Remember that video Pure and Simple Faith? That's all we need, pure yet simple faith, and the Lord will work everyday miracles.
Love,
Elder Yost
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