This is my favorite picture ever, idk why, just look at the baby, its just dope...
This was a very amazing week, and I am extremely excited to see what
further transpires in the weeks to come. So last week, me and Elder
Roberto decided to stop doing straight up street contacting while
finding, and instead, start looking for members, less actives, and part member families. We want to find them, reactivate them, baptize
their family members that aren't members of the church, baptize their
friends, their neighbors, as well as their referrals. Cause street
finding is way harder and the stats (as well as my own experience) show
that the investigators we find randomly on the street or when we knock
on doors don't stick around long. SO that has been our plan this whole
week.
We have only found a couple members so far because while we were trying to find them, some other unexpected miracles happened.
So
we have these 2 families that we have been teaching that we have found
through our own efforts. Neither of them are the families I have previously mentioned in other emails. The first family is the Canglay
family.
So me and Elder Roberto found the
Canglay family back in February, back in our first week together as a
companionship. We found them by asking them where we could find the
house of the 2 Recent Converts we were going to teach. While we were asking them, we introduced ourselves and they let us in their house and
allowed us to share a brief message with them. There are 5 people in
their family. The Brother Sherwin (the dad), his wife and their 3 sons.
All three of their sons are very young. Brother Sherwin is just a humble
rice farmer. They are relatively poor, (like most people in the Laoag
mission) and their house is small and dark and the floor is just dirt.
Their family is so nice and their little sons love to run circles around
me and yell at me in Ilokano and mess with me and stuff. But anyways,
within the last 3 weeks we have gone back and taught them. Both me and
Elder Roberto didn't really expect much from them, they didn't seem to
have much potential and Brother Sherwin has struggle reading. Before
this week we had considered dropping them because nothing was really happening But this Tuesday was different. We were just passing by so we
figured that we might as well just stop by and see if they would let us
teach. Brother Sherwin was more than happy to let me in and he had a
different look about him. As we got into the lesson, we started by
following up with them about their reading and prayer, and to our great
astonishment, Sherwin told us that he read the first 3 chapters of the
Book of Mormon. We asked him what his experience was like. He told us
that before he read, he prayed to God first for understanding. While
reading he said he felt so happy and light inside. He also told us that
before, every night, he couldn't sleep until about 1 or 2 am.
He just physically couldn't. He would just lay awake all night until he
fell asleep. He said it really was hard for him because he was always so
tired during the day while working in the rice fields. But after he
read the book of Mormon, he fell asleep easy peezy, and had the best
sleep of his life. The when he awoke in the morning he was so happy and
energized. Me and Elder Roberto were shocked, and we had no idea how to
respond or what to say or teach after that. I finally spoke and
testified that this was a sign from God to him that the Book of Mormon
is true and that are message is true. We invited him and his wife to be
baptized and they accepted no complaints. They also said that they would
be coming to church next Sunday and every Sunday
after that. After the lesson, Brother Sherwin gave us all the names of
his family members that live near, and we still haven't been able to
contact them al yet. We have gone back to them a couple times and we can
see the new light that the gospel has brought into their lives. I have
thanked God for this miracle and am praying that everything will
continue to go smoothly for them.
We also have
another family, whom we came in first contact with last Saturday. We
found them also by asking them for directions. Ralph and Ruth Mabaggu.
They are a young couple and they have no children yet and they are even
poorer than Sherwins family. They are Corn farmers. We have gone back
to teach them 3 times after that and they soak in everything we teach
them. They understand everything we teach perfectly and are very
smart, and somewhat familiar with the stories in the Bible. They have
tons of questions and they are astonished by all of our answers. Last
night we went and taught them and we followed up with their reading, as
well as the Word of Wisdom which we felt inspired to share with them in
the 2nd visit, because they had heard about all the things that Mormons
cant do and they had questions. Because Ralph also has a smoking
problem. Ralph had read the first 3 chapters of the BOM, as well as the
introduction, the testimony of the 3 and 8 witnesses, and the testimony
of the prophet Joseph Smith, as well as the whole restoration pamphlet
and the word of wisdom pamphlet. He also read all of that out loud so
his wife could hear while she was doing stuff around the house. He told
us that he has less motivation to smoke and he wants to quit and also
that while he read the Book of Mormon, he felt so focused, and he felt
so light while he read, and while reading he forgot all his cares and
burdens and felt so happy. We went on to teach the first part of the
plan of Salvation, and we mostly focused on the fall of Adam, because we
wanted them to understand the premortal life and also the true nature
of the fall. I could see the light and the desire in their eyes as they
listened and they seemed so happy and bright. We read 2 Nephi 2:17-25
and they were so enlightened by what we read. They have also accepted to
be baptized.
These two families are very unexpected miracles and me and Elder Roberto are so so excited and
prayerful that they will continue to progress and hopefully be
baptized. The Canglay family in particular because their referrals have
created a chain reaction in their community and have opened some doors
for or work and many people that live out near them have become curious
about the missionaries because they see us out there all the time. We
hope to find many more people and families like these ones in the coming
days and weeks.
I have felt a need to be a
better and more consecrated missionary so I can be in the best condition
so the Lord can use me to help these people. The Spirit has also told
me that these miracles are happening because of the prayers of faith of
my family and friends back at home. Thank you all and God bless you for
your prayers and your faith concerning me and my companion and my area
here in Lasam. The Lord is also answering my prayers as well. Last week
I prayed specifically for New investigators who really are interested
that also will be willing to come to church. The Lord is answering my
prayers. I am trying not to get to excited though because their is still a
long period of time before they get baptized and a lot we need to teach
them. And that also is a lot of time for Satan to get in there and mess
things up. So I am hoping and praying that God will guide and protect
them.
Also we had a baptism this week! Sister
Joy Marie! Her husband is a member and he performed the baptism as well as
the conferring of the gift of the Holy Ghost. She is so solid and so
sincere and really is converted. It was really easy for me and Elder
Roberto to teach her, given we are just harvesting what Elder Whitrod
and Elder Abonitalla planted last transfer.
So
that was this week. There are other stuff I could have said but I have
been sitting here typing this for awhile so I think this all will
suffice for this week.
Thank you and I love you
all. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and it has the power to
change the hearts of men and point them back to their Creator. This is
the work of the Lord and He is working along side us. In the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.
-Elder Andersen
My District Leader. He is a small fellow...
This is what we get around town in most of the time...
This is what happens when your apartment has no front door...
Me and the wanderer...
We had a baptism! Sister Joymarie!
