As usual, this week has been full of ups and downs but overall it was a great week! Sister Villa and I have been working our hardest to invite others to come unto Christ and it has been really cool to see some progression in our area.
There are still a lot of people here who are struggling to overcome the effects of the Typhoon but things are slowly getting back to normal.
(Check out the root ball of this fallen tree!)
This week, some of our areas have finally gotten back power so at night, everyone is gathering together in houses that have TVs to watch the news, because they haven't been able to for the past few weeks. That has made it a little hard for Sister Villa and I to teach in the evenings (everyone is too focused on the TV) but all is well, I'm just glad everyone is recovering alright :)
So one thing about the Philippines: it seems like everyone here likes to play with rubix cubes, and most of them are really good at it. So this week, I went out and bought one, which I have been messing around with ever since. I am so close to solving it! I just can't get the third layer. (And the only instructions I have are in Chinese, which doesn't help me at all).
At first--I will admit--it was a little bit of a distraction, but I have actually managed to start using my new rubix cube and inability to solve it as a finding tool. I started carrying it in my bag so that whenever I see someone solving a rubix cube, I can pull out mine and ask them to show me how to solve it. While they are showing me, I am able to share a little bit about the gospel. It has been working really well, and is actually kind of fun!
So this week, I experienced my first "earthquake"! Sister Villa and I were sitting in a lesson on Wednesday when I suddenly thought "something is different... why is my seat moving?" In the corner of my eye I could see the canopy was swaying as well, which really confused me! It took me a minute to realize that I had just experienced my first earthquake! It was kind of cool, but I can see how it would be scary if it were bigger, since there is not really much you could do for shelter.
Additionally, I got to try chicken face this week! It was alright, but I just couldn't get past the fact that I was literally eating a chickens brains and eyeballs, which took away from the mushy flavor a little bit :)
So... the people!!! As usual, they are amazing! I LOVE all of our investigators and getting to be a part of helping in this work.
Additionally, we have finally started getting some of our investigators coming to church. We have a couple who are really progressing, which we have loved getting to be a part of! But along with all the progress and the good times, we've also had a few heartbreaks this week as well. One that really stuck out to me was our lesson with Jobert.
To start, Jobert is AMAZING! He has the strongest, most beautiful testimony and just being around him you can tell how much he loves God. He has such a strong desire to chose the right, read the scriptures, and he knows the Church is true. Also, he really wants to be baptized. There is only one problem: his mom is not supportive of him being baptized.
It is so weird because every time we teach him I am reminded so much of my best friend Emily and her conversion story.
(Emily & I taken in October of 2015. Emily is currently serving a mission in Madrid, Spain!)
These past few weeks, he has been gathering the courage to tell his mom he wants to be baptized. When we went over this week, he had finally had the courage to ask. With tears in his eyes, he told us that the answer was no.
It was so heart-wrenching to see Jobert, who I have really come to care for, look so defeated. I didn't know what to do or say. So after a minute or so of painful silence, I just started talking. I shared with him Emily's story and how helpless her situation seemed when after all her efforts, prayers, and desire to be baptized her father was still dead-set against her being baptized. It took a year of diligence, patience and effort until Emily was able to be baptized. I finished by testifying that I know Heavenly Father really does know our hearts and intentions, and if we are willing to work for it, all of our righteous desires will be fulfilled. But not without real effort and diligence on our parts.
As Elder Holland said: "Salvation is not a cheap experience". So why would we think it would ever be easy for us when it was never easy for the Savior, who was perfect. Missionary work and conversion are supposed to be hard.
They are supposed to require something of us. We must have a real desire and exert real effort to put our faith and trust in the Lord. We must always be willing to put God first, no matter the circumstance.
From my few weeks here in the Philippines, I can honestly testify that the Lord will provide. Always. Whenever we are willing to trust him enough to allow him to.
I honestly believe that in order for a person to come unto Christ, they will need to learn to trust in the commandments and judgments of the Lord before anyone else on this earth.
I know that if we can learn to do that, the Lord will provide.
As it says in Matthew 14:30-31 on the occasion that Jesus calls his disciple Peter out to the water, it says "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him and said unto him, o thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"
Sister Villa and I will continue to teach, encourage and support Jobert as he continues on the happiest path in the world: the path to salvation. I felt so crushed going home from that lesson, but as I pondered what had happened I remembered that as long as we all just do our best, everything will always work out in the end.
I don't know when Jobert will be able to be baptized, or when things will work out. But I know that if he continues to do his best to follow the Lord and come closer to Christ, everything will work out for him eventually.
Because at the end of it all, we are all children of an all-knowing, all-powerful God who loves us more than we could even comprehend. I bear witness that He will never give us more than we can bear and that He will never desert us. Through him, anything is possible. So as it says in Mark 5:36 "Be not afraid, only believe."
I hope you all have a great week and never forget to rely on Christ when you feel like you are sinking! I love you all,
-Sincerely, Sister Matheny
P.S. I have added some pictures to last weeks post that I didn't have time to upload if you are interested! :)
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