- Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you so so so much! I sent you off a letter a earlier this morning, and it'll get to you in at least two weeks!!
- Also shout-out to Grandfather for Veteran’s Day!!! Love you so much!
- No packages or letters this week.
- With the new missionary age, they're changing our transfer day here in the field because they're making Tagalog MTC 6 weeks instead of nine. We don't know for sure, but our missions will probably be shortened by 3 weeks, or extended 3 weeks, which is less likely. We should be finding out very soon and I'll tell you as soon as we know. I'll answer more questions next week!!
- I sent you a picture of Charleton- a new convert but this is not his hair! These are some old dreadlocks he had that he tied to a hat!
- What happened in the elections?
- How did Congress turn out?
Well, it was a sad and disappointing week. As Natalie Portman says in Star Wars Episode III, "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause."
Summarizes my thoughts!! You guys heard the results probably late Tuesday night, but for us it was Wednesday afternoon. We were teaching a lesson on the porch of a house, and in the middle of the lesson they turned to TV on inside the house to Obama's victory speech, and that's how I found out!
Oh well...only two American Presidents have been ousted since I think FDR, so it usually doesn't happen. I was in a pretty pessimistic mood when I heard his speech but my first thought was, "Well that's the ugliest tie I've ever seen!" Well, the word that came to my mind when I heard a bit of his speech.....mayabang (means to be boastful).
I don't have many regrets so far from my mission, but I wish that I would have talked to more people and done more tracting. When I came to the Philippines the focus was on less active members. As a result I've worked a lot with Less-Actives, and haven't really tracted very much at all. The few times I've tracted have not been for but a few houses. Honestly, I can say that I was scared and didn't know how to do it. And of course, I avoided big houses at all costs!! Well this has been weighing on my mind for some time, and Elder Cook and I decided to change that and go tracting for a little this past week. We picked a subdivision with really nice and big houses and starting going door to door. Some people weren't happy to see us, and others just chose not to answer their door. I felt a little discouraged, but as we were walking out of the subdivision I saw a huge house and decided that we should give it a shot. When we knocked, a maid came up, and I think she was a bit shy and didn't know what to do and ran away! When she came back to the front door she welcomed us in, and led us to the side of the house. We then saw a man only a little smaller than Elder Tamale (Elder Tamale was Elder Yost’s first companion and a really big guy!) but with tattoos all over his chest and back. Part of my thought was we were going to get kidnapped or something, but for some reason I just kept on walking in. As I started to speak to the man in Tagalog, He said, "Hey bro, I'm just making some lunch, have a seat."
We were shocked that he spoke English, and with a non-Filipino accent. As we talked with him and his wife, we learned that he's from London and is part Filipino, and his wife is from Candelaria (a town in the Philippines). We asked him if he's read the Bible much and he said, "Bro, when you're incarcerated there isn't much more to do than read the Bible." Brother Jay and his wife Francis have been married for about 5 years, and have strong faith in Jesus Christ, but have yet to find one religion where they consider themselves members. We were able to teach them the Restoration, and they were very receptive and committed to read the Book of Mormon.
We have a return appointment with them and should be going back tomorrow. This was a great experience for me. The Lord is truly preparing people to hear the Gospel, and often they're not people we would expect. This Brother said he's had missionaries from multiple churches come to his house, but we were the first that didn't get scared and run away. I'm learning everyday to just trust in the Lord, and I'm seeing that as I do, the Lord blesses me more than I thought was possible.
The Lord has a mysterious way of doing things. I don't understand how he works, or even why he allows things to happen, such as earthquakes, crimes, murders, poverty, disasters, and so forth. Despite the world around us, despite the immense challenges that face us, we can take comfort in the fact that the Savior is in control. No matter what, his eternal purposes will be accomplished.
As the prophet Joseph Smith once said,"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
This is his work, and I'm honored to play a small role in it. We have no need to fear, as the Savior himself stated "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Love,
Elder Yost
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