A Special Visitor

Dear Mom and Dad,

-I got the box with the razor charger!!! Thank you so much!!

-Can you send my Tanya and Tai's address?

-Thanks so much for those great pictures! 

It was a busy week, and I don't have time to talk about everything! The meeting with Elder Bednar was of course the highlight. Leading up to it, I was really curious about what Elder Bednar would talk about! We got on a bus at 6:45 in the morning to make sure we wouldn't be late. Before us, Elder Bednar, Elder Teh, and Bishop Davies met with all the Stake and District President, Bishops, and Branch Presidents in the whole mission. Our meeting started at 2:00, and we had to be seated in the chapel by 1:30. It's really hard to describe the feeling to have an apostle or General Authority walk into a room. As I thought about it, almost exactly a year ago I heard Elder Holland speak in the MTC, and I still remeber exactly how I felt when he walked in. The first speaker Sister Bednar, and she spoke for about 5 minutes. And then they turned the remaining 2 hours and 45 minutes over to Elder Bednar. I think everyone was sitting there thinking what in the world he would do with that much time. One thing that really struck me about Elder Bednar is how incredible human he was, and I don't mean that in a bad way at all. He told us that he would not be speaking to us, but that we were going to work. He told us to get our scriptures, notepad, and pen ready. He then told us something that surprised me. He told us to not write down anything that he or someone else said. He called it one of the "foolish and false traditions of our fathers", that anytime we hear a General Authority speak we write down every single thing they say. He siad, "Don't do that, that's just goofy!!" Only write down what the Spirit tells you because that is what's personal to you.

The first half of his time was spent on us sharing what we learned from reading the two talks. It was a really interesting the pattern that he used. He would ask for volunteers, they'd share what they learned, and he would ask "May I ask you a question?", then he would ask a question that would make us think. He would occassionaly interject and talk, but it was really just like a socratic seminar! Then the second half. was where we had the opportunity to ask him questions. He prefaced it bying saying, "Don't ask me where the sword of Laban is, who really cares?" I really wanted to ask him a question, but I wasn't sure what. As the meeting went on, I wasn't sure at all! I finally worked up the guts to ask him what we needed to do to help Less-Active members to return and become fully active. When I asked my question he said, "Elder, I think you know what they need to feel." I said "Yes, the Spirit." He then asked if he could ask me a question and said "What have you been doing to help them?" If Elder Bednar wasn't staring into my soul I might have been able to answer a bit faster, but I just stood there and thought quietly for about 20 long seconds. I honestly wasn't sure, but then I just had the Book of Mormon come to mind. I explained that we needed to use the Book of Mormon better to really help them feel the Spirit. He shared some additional thoughts, and thanked me for my question. It wasn't until later as I thought about this experience, when I really realized how important the Book of Mormon is in our work. As I thought about it, I asked myself, "Who answered my question?" I did. That's what great teachers do, and that's what Elder Bednar did with us. He could have just spoken, and we would have learned some important things, but because we learned through the Spirit, the things I learned and felt will stay with me forever. That's really what teaching in the church should be. Helping people find their own answers, and really learn through the only real teacher the Spirit.

Just in closing, I'll explain what the Lacrosse ring ( Mary Ann:  We just recieved Alex's 2011 LAX National Championship ring and took pictures of it to send to him.  We inquired about an inscription on the side of the ring) means by, "This was not all". That was our team theme, and comes from Alma 53:20-21 (in the book of Mormon) about the Stripling Warriors. It says:

  20"And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.

 21 Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him."

They were strong, they were courageous, but this was not all. They were valiant in the Gospel, they were obedient and kept the commandments. We may be talented, good looking, or charming, but is that all? Let us strive to be as the Stripling Warriors, strong, brave, and courageous. However, this is not all, let us be true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love,

Elder Yost

A Funeral, A Wedding, a Bus Ride (see NEW PHOTOS)

Hi!

-No packages this week. I got some letters from Uncle Christopher and a 

  Dear Elder from Jared Houghton!!! Thanks! Has the baby come yet?? 

- I bought that watch about three months ago for 200 pesos. I love it!

- No drivers license, and I haven't opened up the new shoes yet because my other      ones are still great. This could last me a long long time.

-Elder Tamale is in San Pablo right now and is doing great!! Not sure what you could send him, but one thing I know he loves is nice quality corn beef!

Well it's been a crazy busy week and a ton has happened! Earlier this morning we finally moved the Elders into their new apartment!!! I'm glad that now my part is done and if they have anymore problems the ball is in their court! The new Elders should get here sometime towards the end of September so for the time being we have no one on the other side of the apartment. 

Earlier this week on Tuesday we'd scheduled a meeting with the Stake President to coordinate. We went up to his chapel which is about 2 hours away, and waited there for an hour and he didn't show! We tried to get in touch with him but there was no response. He texted us two days later, and told us we could meet with him on Sunday! We did finally get to meet with him and had a pretty good meeting. We also got to go to the Zone Leaders' Council at the Mission Home on Thursday and Friday. It's so weird to be in air conditioning now. I was FREEZING cold all night, and I know it wasn't really that cold! We had a really good council and I think really came up with a good direction for the mission. 

My companion and I are doing well. It's always hard meshing styles together and really clicking in teaching, but we're getting there. He's very bold with people, and I'm a bit more sensitive when it comes to teaching, but that goes together well so we can balance each other out. He's also teaching me Ilongo and Cebuano!! I'm going to come home fluent in 4 languages! I wish...

Also we had a wedding this weekend for our recent convert! Here's the funny thing, I think they expected us to plan their wedding! They had said that they would just do a small office wedding, and then they showed up on Sunday and asked where the decorations were! So the Relief Society quickly threw some decorations and it looked pretty nice. They asked us to sing Love At Home as well as an opening number. On top of this, I also spoke at a funeral this past Friday night. Wow, I'm surprised I still have energy!

As for our actual work, it was a pretty good week. We had 8 investigators come to church, and four of them were from one family!! This is the married couple and their kids that we met about a month ago. The White Rabbit Investigator came as well!  

I had a good experience with talking to everyone on the way back from ZLC. More so before the mission, but even a bit now, I'm shy by nature. It's been a bit of a challenge for me talking to everyone and starting conversations with random people. I was sitting next to a woman on the bus, and I got a feeling that I should talk to her. She was busy texting, and I wasn't sure how I'd start the conversation. I said a prayer and felt like I should start reading my scriptures. As I read, I could tell she was curious and was looking over at my scriptures. She then asked me some questions and we were able to talk about her family, and I found out she was a former investigator. She still sounded interested, and she told me that she'd love to have the missionaries come into her home again! She lives in Malinao and we gave her information to the Elders. It was a good learning experience for me to see that there really are so many people prepared to hear the Gospel, and all we need to do is have faith and open our mouths.

I know that this is the Lord's work. If we will just open our mouths, and rely on the Spirit, they will always be filled, and we'll be given what the Lord would have us say. Trust in the promise!

Love,

Elder Yost

Staying Put - Transfer Week

Dear Mom and Dad;

-I did used the Solar shower once. Pretty cool!!
- No packages this transfer day, I'll be back up at the Mission Home for Zone Leaders Conference (ZLC) on Thursday and Friday so I'll hopefully get something then!
-I got the envelope from the Youth Conference with a bunch of letters from the Oakton Stake youth. Thank you!

Well, Elder D. got transferred this week! He went to Lipa, and is companions with Elder G.! (Elder G. and Elder Yost were in a three companionship for a week or so early in his mission) As for me, I got my new companion, Elder L.! This is his first area as a Zone Leader!! He's from Davao,Philippines and is fluent in Ilongo, Cebuano, and Tagalog. Wow!! 

He's a great missionary and a great teacher.  He has been out about  three  months longer than I have been out  and has been a senior companion for about 10 months now. He's used to doing things his way and kind of  takes over and does not think twice or ask questions before he does something. Example, I woke up in the morning and the complete set-up of our furniture was rearranged.  It looks nice and it's really not that big of a deal, but it is surprising to wake up to a whole new apartment!  

I saw Elder Tamale (Elder Yost first companion in the Mission Training Center in Provo) and he's doing great!!! 

There's bad flooding in Manila, and a few areas in the mission got affected but not a lot. It's hot here, no rain in the last few days. A lot of members closer to Manila are living in the churches because it's really flooded, but it's really far away, just the areas right outside of Manila.

I think Paul Ryan is a great choice. He will school Joe Biden in a debate! I still was hoping it'd be Condy Rice, but I think Paul Ryan is a great choice. Mitt went smart. He picked a conservative, and a fiscal genius. The Conservatives should be happy, and this will help appeal to the economic aspect of the campaign. 

This week wasn't as eventful because two days were travel too and from transfer day.  We're preparing for Elder Bednar to come to our mission and we're so excited! Elder Bednar has asked us to read and study two talks of his, one was "Ask in Faith" and "Seek Learning by Faith". It'll be interesting to see what approach he takes with us. 

This is a bit shorter of an email this week, but it was a less eventful week and I'm running out of time. I know this is the Lord's work, and he loves us. I'm so humbled to serve as his representative, and to bear his name. I love you all so much!!

Love,
Elder Yost

A Week in Lopez - see NEW PHOTOS too!

Hi Mom and Dad,  

The food here is the same it's been in my other areas. Elder DeYoung is a pretty good cook so he usually cooks and I've picked up some stuff. We usually make rice and then like a topping. For instance last night it was rice with cooked green beans and squash. You can get pretty creative with it.

-On P-Day we email, groceries, haircuts, clean the house,  wash clothes (that’s hand wash the clothes - no washing machines), and just kind of relax, nothing special!

-The beaches and shells....let me just say this isn't the Outer Banks!!! A lot of times there are just rocks, and really not many shells at all!

-I'd love some more G2 pens if you haven't sent more.

-Thanks for the pictures!! 

-Huge congrats to Casey Rich on the mission call!!! He's going to be so awesome!

-Seeeeeeeeer suuuuccckkkka. I'm so jealous!  (Chip sent a photo of himself in a seersucker summer suit)

Well it was a busy busy week! We were running around a ton. I'll start with the apartment saga...so we were feeling pretty good and thought we had the apartment in the bag! So we went to get the contract signed and they said they wanted to up the monthly rent from 6,000 to 8,000 pesos a month. That is just ridiculous. The highest the mission will go on an apartment is 6K, and all the other apartments we'd seen were 3,500 to 5,000. We were frustrated because they had originally told us 6K. If two Filipino elders were negotiating this instead of two Americans, this wouldn't have happened! So then we started negotiating to get the price down. Honestly, the apartment is worth about 5K. So we got him down to 7K, and then 6,500. We thought that would be as low as he'd go. I was praying that we'd know what to do, and we honestly thought we'd have to find a new apartment, which was a bit discouraging after looking for those few weeks. But I just had a feeling that everything would be ok. I didn't know how or what would happen, just that it would. We left. And then they texted and said they'd do 6K!! We were eating lunch when they texted but we just got up and got that contract signed and sent it off!

The White Rabbit investigator is doing well! She still needs to get married, and is now down to 3 cigarettes a day. Her husband said that they can get married, so she went all the way to Manila to get her birth certificate! She wasn't at church on Sunday because she was up there, but she's doing well!! We're having a Family Home Evening (FHE) with her tonight at our Branch President's (BP) house. Our BP is so awesome. Reymark our recent convert wants to get married, and the Stake President is the only one who has a license to marry and he says he can only do it at 1PM Sunday afternoon, but that's too late for the families, so they will have to work out another time.   There has to be something in the handbook about not doing a wedding at the church on Sunday...can you check?

We should find out about transfers on Wednesday morning. We think one of us will get transferred and that we will be going to the mission offices , but not 100% sure.

We had a really cool experience this week with a newly contacted less active. We went to teach her for the first time, and as we sat down and talked with her, it was clear she wasn't too excited to have us there. She was baptized about 10 years ago, and wasn't active for long.  As we sat there with her, I found myself wondering if she would ever open up. Then a question popped into my head, "Do you have faith?" I realized that my faith and my love for this Sister would have an impact on her, and could help her feel the Spirit and have the Lord open her heart. More than I have before, I just tried to show my love as we taught. We focused on the Savior and his incredible love for this Sister and his Atonement. We taught her the Restoration and really focused on God's love for her. As we taught, she started to sit up, smile, and even shared a spiritual experience about prayer. As we taught, it wasn't about convincing this Sister to come back to church, or to guilt trip her, but love was our motive. After our lesson she asked, "Can I go to church on Sunday?" The difference in that lesson was so clear in comparison to other lessons where love hasn't quite been our motive. I've really learned how important love is and how my faith can help others feel the Spirit and come unto Christ.

I've been reading and reflected on Charity this past week. I've been reading in 1 Corinthians 13 and in Moroni 7. Charity is truly the greatest characteristic we can develop. A true, pure, unfeigned love for all of God's children. As Mormon so eloquently said:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. (Moroni 7:48)"

May we seek for this love, pray for it, and work to develop it. I know that Jesus Christ has given us the personal example of how to love. May we become as he is, and seek to lift others and wear out our lives in the service of others.

Follow the prophet, don't go a “strange”!!  (This is a play on words, when Alex was little he would pronounce the word astray as strange)

Love,  Elder Yost