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
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