Dear All-
Well, Monday started out with a miracle! We had 3 appointments and two back-ups, and
we were rejected from all of them in the space of a half hour. Not really knowing what else to do, we went
to the Planco family to ask if they knew any other less actives we could
visit. And in the Planco family all the
kids are active, but the mom works overseas and the dad, Jonathan, is inactive. We got there and it was just the right timing
that Jonathan was coming home from work (he’s like never around). We asked if we could share with him and his
family. He hastily said no, but if we
wanted to share with his kids he was ok with that. As he started to go inside, I asked when the
last time he listened to the missionaries was.
He said he hadn’t since he stopped coming to church. I asked him when that was. He said that had been a long time ago. Then (this is why I love my companion), Elder
Palabrica pipes up and asks “Why?” Boom. He opened up like a book. We stood in his
doorway for forty minutes listening to how he was wronged and offended. He talked about old callings and how the
Church “should” be. I noticed that he
had a lot of knowledge and ability and that he really could be a great leader
here. He started to soften and we
eventually started talking about scripture study, which he hadn’t done in 6
months. Eventually he said, “Well, I
guess we should have you guys share a message.
Kids, grab my triple.”
Miracle. As we shared a simple
verse, his whole demeanor changed. He was
happy, smiling and laughing with his kids.
The spirit was there. It was
beautiful and it would never have happened if we weren’t rejected by 5 people
earlier!
Tuesday was good. We
met and taught a man named Marlon who was really receptive. His big question is, “Which?” We’ve got answers! WE also were able to visit with Mia, who
committed to come to church, and the Solis family again. I love them!
Wednesday was awesome as President Clark came and spoke to our
zone. He talked about how it was ok if
we weren’t going to get 4 baptisms in our area by the end of the year. He said not to worry about it and just to
enjoy this great time to be a missionary and to pray that as a mission we’ll
still reach our goal of 1650 baptisms this year. The rest of that day was awesome! Even though we got rejected a bit, and we saw
Roby, not so discretely, run and hide from us.
It was all good! We were trying
hard and that’s what matters!
Thursday we had the trainers/trainees meeting, which was
super good! I was so happy to have Elder
Palabrica as my companion!
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| McDonalds after trainers/trainees meeting |
Saturday was
interesting. We were asked to speak at a
baptism here in the branch, so we helped out with that in the morning. In the
afternoon we just were super rejected, pretty much everywhere we went. It's
hard, because we make these plans that we think are good, and then we always
end up scratching our heads at some point thinking what's next. Also, the
family next door had their mom pass away (active members), and that was really
hard for them, and the funeral service was on Saturday so we went to
that. Afterwards we taught our favorite family, the Solis family, but they are
still just not living the word of wisdom, and not trying to hard quite frankly
(we visited with Brother Solis on Sunday and he was drinking, AGH I
HATE ALCOHOL!), so that was kind of a tough visit. Then I made a mistake that
night, in that I made my companion lead the nightly planning (which is a part
of the training program), but I just kind of said “You do it”, kind of like
throwing a kid into the deep end without knowing how to swim. Well, he did NOT
react well to that. He was upset with me pretty much all Sunday, but I was
able to apologize last night and we talked it out a bit, but I still feel like
we're not as good as we were before. I need to rebuild some bridges.
Only one investigator,
Mariel, came to church, but a miracle happened in that her less active husband
who hasn't been to church in years, as far as I understand it, came! White
shirt and tie and everything! He's still working on the word of wisdom problem,
but that was a HUGE step for him! So happy there. The highlights of the day was
teaching our investigator Mia, who finally accepted a baptismal date for January
31, once she's received a more sure answer and she's "Really ready."
Also, we're teaching this 11 year old recent convert of the past missionaries,
and to get him to pray and read every day, we promised if he would do it for a
week we would take him to get a snack and a soda. Well, news travels fast, and
now we teach five 10-13 year old members who have organized their own scripture
study class every day! So cool! I was inspired by the faith of these
youth.
This morning we went to Dingalan, the farthest area in this zone for a
zone activity, at the beach! It was like going back to Baler for a little bit!
And I got to sit on the beach and talk with Elder Armatage for a long time. I
love that guy. He seriously is my best
friend, and he really helps me out a lot!
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| Elder C. with his anak,, Elder Palabrica |
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| Beautiful rainbow at the beaach in Dingalan |
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| Elder C and Elder Armatage |
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| Mini Christmas tree in package from home |
As far as scriptures
go, this is what I'm hanging on to! 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 17-18 "...for the
things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are
eternal."
I love you all, and
let us catch the real spirit of the season this Christmas!
--Elder
Christensen
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| Mosquito net sent in package from awesome Aunt Jean! |
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