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...