Week 17 Santo Domingo Philippines

Transfer Cycle 2, Week 1 

Week 8 in the field?  Yah. Interesting week. My new Companion is Elder Legaspi from Cavite! He has been out about 7 months.  He knows even less English than my last companion Elder Tejada did! Hahahah but I can understand his Tagalog much easier than Elder Tejada's so it's better.  

First thing Elder Legaspi did was rearrange the entire apartment and deep clean everything.  Sometimes he even cleans rather than study haha. He loves to cook and also to bless the food haha. We have similar ideas and desires on how to improve the work here in Santo Domingo so hopefully we will see some fruits of our labors later this transfer cycle. We decided to focus on finding big time and we found 26 new investigators this week, soooooo yah. 

I've learned more and more about the mission here and I've been very surprised. So much disobedience and carelessness among many missionaries and I won't go into details, but man. Seriously. Crazy stuff going on.  Just another reminder that it comes down to individual commitment and desire to be a good missionary. The Mission won't change you if you don't let it.  So all you kids at home that plan on serving, don't tell yourself you will be righteous later or when it's time to serve. Just like when you die, your thoughts, desires, attitude, and everything else won't change. Same thing on a mission. It's not like you walk into the MTC and you are all of ta sudden a perfect, clean, and pure vessel of the Lord that can do no wrong.  Not true.  

Oh yah, the Baguio (typhoon) came. It just rained a lot for like two days and I got lost in some puddles while biking haha.  But other than that, no damage done really.

It's been an interesting week, and another hard one. I've found my self on my knees many times this week, praying for strength, comfort, peace, confidence, and success in the area.  The Atonement is real and prayer works.  I cried a couple times this week...hehe.  One of them was while reading in 3rd Nephi when Jesus gathered the children around and commanded the people to pray... And he wept, because of his joy, and then he wept again. As soon as I read the words, "And he wept" I began to feel the Saviors love, and his Atonement. I could picture the Savior weeping because of the joy he receives because of us, but also because of our afflictions and our sorrows and sufferings. I got on my knees and covenanted with God that I would recommit myself and do everything in my power to bring these people and to a true knowledge of their Savior.  I had more cool experiences this week as well, but yah. 

Oh, I locked my self in the bathroom somehow in the San Juan Elder's apartment this morning. I had to squeeze through this tiny vent thing to get out, I still don't know how I fit haha.

I love you all and thank you for your prayers.

-Elder Andersen