So, this week has gone by so fast I really haven't even had time to think. Usually, by the time P-Day comes around I am SOOO ready for it!!! This week, I was still ready for P-Day, but it really hasn't felt like one, because things seem to be just as hectic--if not more so--than usual today.
I have still been working on my painting this past week and it is starting to look like an actual something, but despite that, the days only seem to be flying by faster and I am quickly running out of time to finish.
I can't wait for it to be finished so I will finally have some quality time to clean the house, update the area book, and start cooking real food again. This week, I didn't even have time to do my laundry and ended up bringing it to a laundry shop.
Besides that, all I can say about his week is that it was really fast and really busy. Sister Raneses is getting over lice, which actually hasn't been that bad. I remember I got lice a couple of years back, and I never thought I would be thankful for that, but surprisingly, I am. Because now I knew what to do in order to help Sister Raneses. The only thing is I just had to try my best throughout the week not to catch her lice.
Also, I think I have been eating too many donuts from the donut man because the mosquitoes have been eating me alive this week. Yesterday, I counted about 20 mosquito bites on my feet, and let me tell you. They ITCHED BAD!!!!
Oh well... I guess that's part of missionary life :)
Speaking of missionary life, it has been a good week of work. It has been fun watching each of our investigators grow and progress and being able to watch their countenance change as we help them. I remember last Friday, feeling so happy when we showed up to our investigator Francis's house to find that he had tried fasting and had a really good experience. He said he knew this church was true and wanted to be baptized. We were SOOO happy, until just a few minutes later, he told us that he would be moving to Manila the next day.
I was surprised by how hard the news hit me. Of course I know he will continue taking the discussions there, but I will miss getting to watch the change that the gospel has brought to his life.
There have been other times this week that I have seen set-backs and leap-forwards as some of our investigators have struggled to gain a testimony, quite smoking, or come to church. In particular, I remember feeling my heart leap for joy when one of our investigators (Junner) show up to church part way through the second hour.
So we started teaching Junner's father about a month ago after meeting him in a tricy (he's a tricy driver) and he agreed to let us come to his home and teach him and his family. When we got there, I remember being surprised to see that he was disabled, and had some type of blood disease in his leg that had caused it to stop working properly, so he has to use a crutch to get around.
After a few minutes of talking to tatay, it became apparent that his family has had a very rough past couple of years. Just in the past year he got the blood disease in his leg that caused it to stop working properly, their house was destroyed in the bagio, and his wife died of a heart attack, leaving him alone to take care of their two kids.
I remember Tatay crying as he asked us why this was happening to him? He hadn't done anything wrong!? So why? We did our best to share with him about the atonement and God's plan for him and his family, but it didn't seem to help much, and after a couple weeks, he stopped wanting to listen.
At about this time however, his 15 year old Daughter, Gemma, started listening to us. When we started teaching Gemma, I remember we would always invite Junner to listen as well, but he didn't want to and refused to even talk to us. Until one week, I remember we were over teaching Gemma when her neighbor came over and started treating her really disrespectfully during the lesson. As we taught, Junner came over to watch out for his little sister and actually listened!
Since then, he has really taken an interest in our message. It has been crazy to watch him change. It's crazy to think that just a few weeks ago, Junner seemed depressed and in a rut with his life. Since he stopped school when he was 14, he really hasn't had much direction and has gotten into things like drinking at a pretty young age. I think that he and his family have had a really rough life, and just seeing so many stories like his makes me so grateful for the life I have lived. You never realize how easy you have it until you see how hard it is for someone else.
Since I have been here, I have met kids whose siblings died of starvation, broken families, and people who have lost all hope for a better life. To be honest, Junner seemed kind of like that at first. And I never would have thought that he would be interested in our message, but since he has started listening, I have seen a huge change in his life.
He's happier now. Before, he didn't even know if there was a God, but now, we are so blessed to get to be a part of his conversion story as he has slowly started to develop a new light and hope in his eyes that wasn't there before.
And he isn't the first person I have watched the gospel change like that! Its crazy! You meet people everyday with all types of problems and I always just want to shout "WE HAVE THE CURE!!!! It's right here!!!! Just take it!" Yet ultimately, it is always up to them.
I know that if we choose to do our best and follow the Lord, all the impossible trials in our life will become bearable and easy. For as Christ himself said "My burden is light and my yoke is easy". I know that if we follow Him, it will be the same for us.
I hope you all have a great week :)
Sister Matheny
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