However, it was another good week here.
On Tuesday we got some new investigators. The
brothers of a recent convert were over at his house and invited us in.
They had questions like who was Joseph Smith? so we jumped right in to
the message of the restoration. We gave them a Book of Mormon each and
committed them to read it. Unfortunately they were not there for the
return appointment on Friday because there was a huge fiesta over the
weekend. I hope they read it and have more questions and that we can
find them again. They live in a pretty bukid (out in the middle of
nowhere) area. Also the recent convert is less active now because he is
offended by someone or something that happened last year. That seems to
be the story with a lot of people.
On Wednesday morning, we got up at 3 and went to
Tacloban for a conference. We got to hear from the Mission President of
President Andaya, President Leishman. He gave a really good talk. There
is a big difference in Returning with Honor and just returning. He also
said that President Hinckley told him that the church would be well
known in the Philippines when his children's children were serving
missions. Which is now!
Because of the way transportation works here we
couldn't get a ride home that night so we stayed in the downtown
apartment. We couldn't leave until 11:45 the next morning. Which means
we got back at 4 in Villaba. We did weekly planning and didn't have an
opportunity to get out to work.
However Friday and Saturday were good. We taught a
few less actives and got a new investigator as well. He is the "husband"
of another member. That seems to be an issue here in that lots of
people aren't married yet living together. However, I would say it's
about the same in the US. Wildy was really interested in what his "wife"
believes. He accepted a Book of Mormon and said he would read 3 Nephi
11. He also said that if it's true he wants to be baptized! Only problem
is he is only in Villaba on the weekends. He lives in Ormoc during the
week as a delivery driver for Coca Cola. We gave his name to our Zone
Leaders and they're going to teach him while he's there and we'll teach
him while he's here.
Sunday was alright but there were a lot of absent
people. We averaged 70 for the month of January. That pretty good seeing
as it used to be around 40 or 50 but we need 80+ for February and
March. I wish everyone could recognize the bigger picture here and see
what blessings the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring.
The big news of this week is that we set up a time
to teach our neighbor's family tonight. He is a baranggay captain. They
know some English. they have their own business selling mineral water.
They have a car and a few motorcycles. They are very nice and offered
dinner to us this past week before we even knew them very well.
Hopefully they are prepared to receive the message. They received copies
of the Book of Mormon in both English and Cebuano a couple weeks back.
Hopes are very high for tonight.
Later today we are headed to Ormoc because it's
Elder Cottle's Birthday today. His grandparents serve in the Cebu temple
and got permission from both mission presidents to come visit us. I'm
pretty excited.
Life is great.
Keep on praying
Keep on being obedient to the commandments
Keep on exercising faith in our Savior Jesus Christ
This work is the work of the Lord
Love you all
Elder McGuire