Called to Serve: From Kiribati to Legazpi

Kumusta,      So this week was Christmas and everyone are been busy for the Christmas parties.  One of the Filipino Christmas traditions is a long line marching in the road and drummer mens beating drums with songs about Christmas.  They carry a statue of Mama Mary that they decorate it.  They all wear Santa Claus.  This January 8th we are gonna have a mission conference and celebrate Christmas.  President wanted us to sent the pictures at our service time helping others after the typhoon.  We are still looking forward to conference because I am gonna meet and see two Kiribati Sisters who are going back in January to return with honor.       There have been so many rains in my area.  I just got my first baptism last Saturday.  I am so blessed to have this opportunity to baptize Sister Mary Jovielyn.  I know that God will prepare those who are in thirst of His words if I live worthy and keeping His commandments...

Kumusta,     WELL!! About my last week, it's getting slowly that I am getting to my 5th month.  You know that we welcome the Christmas season by walking down the streets, standing in the peoples front doors, and in the jungle.  So a little about the people we been working with - it is so awesome to see the peoples attending church again.  This are peoples who are been members but then become less active.  As well, we have new investigators attending church.           I just wanted to share my testimony about the Book of Mormon.  I know that the Book of Mormon is a tool for missionary work.  Without it, we cannot do the missionary work as well as the Preach My Gospel and other tools.  The word of God has the power to change each and everyone's life if we pray for it.  It will be meaningful to our Heavenly Father if we keep His commandments and being worthy in his sight.  I am looking forward this week...

Marai na aga po (Good morning) Brothers and Sisters,      The highlight of my last 2 weeks - Two weeks ago we have a new investigator.  Her name is Maricel.  She's 30 and she is amazing.  Throughout our prayers we pray that she will choose to attend the sacrament meeting last week and she came.  This week she didn't come to church because he granddad past away yesterday hapon (pm).  So we keep visiting her each week and she does read the Book of Mormon.  Besides that she does pray when we ask her to close us with a prayer.  She has a husband and has been married for more than 5 years but never get a child.  So we have been praying for them.      Last Sunday, we get a new investigator.  She is 12 years old.  Her name is Mary and she is attending church for 3 times and we didn't even know.  So she give us her name yesterday morning and we visited her for a lesson.  So right now, we are so happy th...

Kumusta,      The highlight of my week - It was 11:30 am and we began our work to visit some of our investigators at the coast of Malilipot very close with the running waters.  We needed to visit the Bilda family.  It been a week and we never visit them because to get there you have to cross the muddy water.  I remembered my young days back in Kiribati.  We used to cross to play on the mangrove trees by jumping one to each mangrove tree to make sure our feet didn't get by the sea water.  Crossing the muddy water was so challenging to us but I thought I am so curious to meet this family.  Immediately I jump on the rocks step by step on each rock to get to the other side just like I did on the mangrove trees as a child.  I make it to the other side so my companion followed what I had done.  Yay!!  Our shoes touch the water but it didn't get wet inside our shoes.      As we get to this family, we share some impor...

Kumusta,      So I was transferred to Malilipo and my first area is Daraga.  The people here are so nice and I am gaining weight.  They feed us and even they given us food also.  I always buy some vegetables nearby our apartment.  It is so close with the internet shop and the market shop.  It just only a 2 minute walk.  There's a bakery shop too which is good to me.  Everyday when we come back from work, we get many kinds of bread to eat.  At the back of us, our apartment is nearby the crater of Mountain Mayon.  My area is close to the coast of the province.  It is a small province and there are many trees here.  It is much better than my first area.  As we walk to the church, we could see the sea and I could taste the sea breezes.  As we walk, aahahha I am dreaming of Kiribati ahahha but the beach is dark brown.  Yes I love it!!  More ahahha!!  But the thing here at Sunday the people and th...

Kumusta,      This is last weeks report.  It was around 3:00 pm and we started walking to those that we are going to teach.  The first one that we plan visit is Brother Gonzales bahay (house).  This man we just only visited him once and for our third and fifth visit he never allow us in.  So this time on Saturday, I pray hard for him and ask for the holy spirit the comforter to help us and him to be happy as we visited him.  As we get there, I do the knocking as shout with a humble voice "Taopo!"  At the third time of shouting, we could see him walking fast toward the gate.  He says, "What can I do for you?"  Then we begin our conversation with a warm greeting and that how he let us in.  We are so happy and we use that time sharing with him about the prophets.  He has many questions but at the end he says I know that there is someone above in heaven looking over us.  So we tell him that if he can pray about the Book ...

Kumusta,      This week seem to be different from the other past weeks.  We have 4 investigators that we teach.  They are live close to each other but they never knew each other that they all come from different religions.  Randy and Christen are the couple that we have been teach for more than three times with three small kids.  Sister Eula is one of the youngest.  She's 18 years old that we teach and her family are the Catholic members.  The other family Brother Labanda has one small young daughter.  They just started lessons with their family.      The explanation of this picture is when we have a door knocking and it was so rainy that time and the thunder roar.  It is lightening which is make it easy that the dogs are afraid of thunder.  Our shoes get wet and I can feel that it is getting heavier and heavier because it is filled with water.  So as we stop by a store and talk with one of our investigat...

Kumusta,      About my weeks, as I know that I have been struggling for 2 days but as I hear from President Abraham he told me that I need to pray and read my Book of Mormon.  After a counseling with them, I feel peace in my heart and I get to know that if I humble myself to the Lord I will become a valiant servant.  I was given a text from President Abraham. In Abraham, 3:22-23, it says, "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said, These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me:  Abraham, thou are one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born."  This really touch my heart.  Beside that I KEEP READING MY NOTEBOOK FROM THE LAST GENERAL CONFERENCE where I...

Kumusta,      The news for me this week is all about how we work to find members of the church.  We are so lucky that yesterday we had someone fellowship us in finding the members.  YAY!!  As we started on with our way, he knows all the short cuts to get to the other houses.  That is how he find one narrow way that we have to get through so that we can make our way to the other side of the transition.  So we started on one by one through the passage.  It was a funny experience that this Filipinos are so tiny that they could make their way out from this narrow part.  When you cross this way, you have to face the wall so that you can get through it.  Few people get to cross this way because it is difficult to get to it but the good thing is we make our way out and we could see the members house that we had been looking for.  That is how we get there and as we get there, they welcome us with a good smile.  That is how I feel...

Kumusta,       This week was going a little bit fast that the last week.  But not too fast as we keep continuing to walk finding the other members house that how I can tell how fast is it haha.  I can say here that each weeks has it own challenges because what I have to do as a missionary.  I have to go through all this waves.  hahaha but with the help of the Holy Spirit and God's Son Jesus Christ, I can get through all the days that God given me.      We had meet a family that are so nice to us.  The first time we knock at their door saying "taopo" we could feel how God had prepared this small family for us.   The mom and dad go to work or you will get nothing to eat or drink.  An old lady taken care of the four children.  The kids looks like they have the same ages.  It is like they were all born in a very close year.       To be honest the people of Legazpi city are all busy and t...

Kumasta,          I am just seeing that Iotua Tune from Kiribati was called as a new Area Seventy in General Conference.  What is the area seventy mean?  (I explained it to him and he is excited for President Tune).  I am so happy for the parcel that was offered me.  I mean my parcel with white shirts and ties with 3 pants.  It really fits me and I am so happy that I can wear them for my proselyting.  On Friday, we have a door knocking and it raining and I got wet.  I forgot about my rain jacket.  Right now I bring it wherever I go.  Thank you again for the shaver. I like it too.      The work here is very hard that my companion who is from the Philippines.  My kasarma (companions) name is Elder Vargas.  He's a hard working Elder and I am grateful for him that he can train me.  I was assign to work in the city Menas.  There are many people who don't want hear the message which is...