Sweet is the Work

This week has been pretty great!

Big news is that the 4 Nabong kids passed their interviews. They all attended the baptism of the STLs' investigators and then were interviewed. The week after their baptism there will be another baptism so there's going to be weekly baptisms for Calbayog branch which is awesome!

Our Branch President, President Dawisan is the best! He and our Elders' Quorum President, Bro Joeboy came to us and shared with us their goals to get 4 families to the temple in December. 3 of the fathers need to be ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood so they are goaling for September for that. 3 of those 4 families are in our area. It's going to be really exciting to work even closer with the branch members and leaders to achieve this goal.

We were unable to visit Judge Sermense this week because I went on exchanges in Catbalogan with Elder Rivas. Hopefully we can set up a time this week with Bro. Nikki to share with him and his family. Exchanges went really well. Elder Rivas is the District Leader and he is awesome! He is very diligent. I didn't think he was serious when he put dinner as a backup plan but sure enough we had appointments and lessons up until 9 and so we got home and did planning then he cooked me some Adobo. He is very humble and very charitable.

Krystel still doesn't have an answer to her prayers if the Book of Mormon is true or not. I'm not really sure what else to teach her. We've shared about the Holy Ghost and Personal Revelation and Prayer. We've explained finding a quiet place and praying aloud. Nothing yet. She's such a smart girl but I didn't think getting a testimony would be this hard. She comes to church every week. She reads the Book of Mormon daily. Maybe just a little more time and a little more prayer and fasting.

I'm doing really well. My personal study has been in Alma this past while. I've been reading about all the missionary stories from Alma 5-35. I find it so interesting to see that their converts never fell away and that the sincerity of their conversion was made manifest in their love towards God and their fellowmen. (charity) For example in Alma 27 the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were driven out of their land. They were received by the Nephites who, instead of bringing up past offences and murders, gave them the land of Jershon and promised to defend them. It says that this was a cause of great joy. I can really relate to this. After being driven from the land of my mission field I was received with loving arms and taken care of. What is impressive to me though, is that the People of Ammon aren't just all talk. When the Zoramites are cast out of their land in Alma 35, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies receive them and give the Land of Jershon to the Zoramites for their inheritance. I think the lesson we can all learn is that when we have the pure love of Christ, we are willing to give anything to our fellowmen, even if it be our own lives.

I am in love with the work! I love Calbayog. I love Waray. I love Tagalog. I love my companion. I love the members. I love my investigators. I love my converts. I love the Lord and that He has called me to be an instrument in His hands. Life is so wonderful.

It's crazy that the end is coming for President and Sister Andaya. We're having a Mission Service Project the first week of June. We're going to clean up MacArthur Park where the Leyte Landing Memorial is. I'm so stoked! Then we're going to have one last Mission Conference. I'm going to miss them so much!

Rick I'm super excited for you! You're about to start on the hardest journey of your life. Stay super close to heaven these next 2 months. You go work your hardest and be exactly obedient. You're about to experience a life within a life. It's a good thing typhoons don't really hit Canada :) (or do they? I wouldn't really know haha) You just remember that the Lord needs you there and that He will send His angels to prepare your way. Pray for miracles. Believe in Miracles. They happen everyday for those who are looking for and asking for them. Our God is a God of Miracles. Remember that Miracles Never Cease for those who keep on believing.

I love you all! Go share the Gospel. Or better yet, go make a new friend who is a nonmember and fellowship them. Then refer them to the missionaries and work with the missionaries. Go and do!

Keep the Stone Rolling

This past week has been pretty great!

Our investigators are progressing towards baptism! The plan is to baptize the 4 Nabong kids on the 31st. Their interview is this Friday and we still have a lot to teach them so we will be going their everyday this week and making sure that they are good to go. The oldest son Earl went to the District Youth Conference this week and had a great time! It was a great conference and we actually got invited to attend one morning and train a bit on Preach My Gospel and then the youth came and worked with us. 

Our investigator Herald worked with me and shared a great thought about obedience. He is so ready to be baptized. We talked with his Mom, Lisa. She still won't give her permission or consent to a date. She wants him to be more responsible i.e. turning off the electric fan when he leaves the room or cleaning up after himself. We are so close! We have asked the Relief Society to visit her and fellowship her. I'm really hoping that her heart will be softened. I'm praying and fasting for her still. Herald has the faith to wait until he turns 18 in September but he is ready now. His mom isn't too interested in listening to the missionaries. I kinda think she might be affected by some trauma a few years ago. She showed us a picture of herself and she had lost a lot of weight since then.

Krystel is doing well also. We are still working on her getting a testimony of the Book of Mormon and answers to her prayers. She went to Youth Conference as well. I'm hoping that she will keep having spiritual experiences.

In other news, we contacted one of Brother Nikki's referrals, Noel. He is super professional. He is a judge. 50 years old. Has a car and huge house. Wife and 5 kids. Reads the Bible daily. He is super humble and kind. He invited us into his home and we introduced him to the Book of Mormon. He said he would read it. He has a love for reading. We testified of it's truthfulness and that we have a living prophet today. He asked who that was and I told him Thomas S Monson. Elder Parsons pulled out a small picture of him. I'm really hoping that he will become a progressing investigator. We talk in English to him. He would be such a great leader.

We're going to start teaching one of Brother Nikki's cousins. She lives in Orange County, CA but she's here in the Philippines for 6 months. We caught her Saturday night before she left for Manila for 2 weeks. She is super interested in the Book of Mormon. We gave her the assignment to read 3 Nephi 11. She comes back in June and I'm hoping that we'll be able to help her gain a testimony. We also teach her in English :)

I had quite a personal revelation this past week. Why does Charity never fail? Why does it endure forever? As a missionary in a foreign land I've been blessed to experience the reality of the gift of tongues. I can understand and speak in 2 languages. But what happens when I go home? Will I have charity? When we return to our Heavenly Father and we all speak a language that is pure and undefiled, what will we be like? Will we be like unto our Exemplar? When all is said and done, there will be no more need for the gift of tongues, no need for the gift of healing because we will have perfected incorruptible bodies. That is why that Charity remaineth and endureth forever. When we stand before the bar of God if we are found possessed with it, it will be well for us. Charity is the end of the law. That is why it is the greatest of all. Because faith will eventually become knowledge and our hope to obtain a better world even at the right hand of God will eventually be fulfilled. But Charity continueth forever because it is the love of God. It is the love He has for His children and it is the love we must develop if we are to become like Him and inherit a place with him.

I'm gonna try and set goals to improve in my charity. 

I hope you all do the same :)

Have a fantastic week and go share the Gospel :)

Love you!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

John Thomas McGuire

you were all waiting for the skype call and no one wrote me... That's ok though.

This past week has been so incredibly awesome. So after Elder Quinco and Elder James left, Elder Carlson and I were companions for a few days. We went to an FHE at a member's house whose husband lives in French Canada. It was really cool. He attended via Skype. On Tuesday, Elder Carlson gave the training for district meeting. He did a great job and trained on diligence. We worked in the afternoon in Calbayog. This is when I found out that the Nabong Family is not married. We're gonna go ahead and baptize the kids on the 31st but Brother and Sister Nabong need to get a CENOMAR first. Later that night we gave a blessing to the mother of one of the sister's investigators. She had heard that another person got a blessing from Elder James a few weeks ago and was healed. So I gave her a blessing. The sisters say she wants to get baptized now so hopefully she starts progressing.

Wednesday I prepared for transfer day by making sure the missionaries transferring out got on the vans and got out of there. Afterwards we had lunch at Mang Inasal. Then I was feeling sicker than a dog so we went home. I had a really bad migraine and the Past Tense made it worse and made me nauseous. So I texted Sister Andaya who told me to take Ibuprofen. Feeling much better now. Thursday morning we picked up Elder Agavale at the van terminal. He's my new DL and Elder Carlson's companion. Then Sis. Henshaw and I traveled together to Catbalogan to wait for our new companions. For whatever awkward reasons this is like the 3rd time in our missions that we've been "companions." We've even taught a lesson together to another van driver a few weeks ago. It was nice to be able to talk to a friend though. We got to the Catbalogan chapel and the other missionaries were there cleaning it so we waited with them until our companions showed up. 

I am now companions with Elder Parsons! He's the best! He's from Pleasant View, UT. We were both in the office when the storm hit. He was reassigned to QC North so he speaks mostly only Tagalog. I'm teaching him waray and he's teaching me tagalog. Also, we are finding like crazy! He opens his mouth to everyone! The field is so white. Our goal is to find and teach and baptize a professional this transfer. Elder Parsons inspires me to be more diligent and to be better. Our goal is to be exactly obedient this transfer. We have seen so many miracles in finding in just the 3 days we've been together. I'm super excited for the next 6+ weeks!

We just got the calendar for the rest of President Andaya's time here in Tacloban Mission. We're going to have 1 last Mission Conference and a Mission CSP. We have Zone Interviews in June which will probably be the last time I see him. I'm going to have him give me a temple recommend interview. Can you believe that my 1st recommend is about to expire this year.

Cristel is progressing slightly. I think she has a testimony but she needs to get her parents permission to get baptized. She's 12. She's living with her older sister Joy who is a recent convert. I'm hoping she can get baptized on the 24th or 31st. 

Cian is doing awesome! He baptized Kyla, the STLs investigator on Saturday. Then he Went with another member of the Elder's Quorum to participate in the reactivation activity. Then he blessed the sacrament on Sunday. Then he came with me on member splits in the afternoon and shared 3 Nephi 18:25 with a less active sister. He is going to be such an awesome missionary. I got him a triple and a PMG today. He is always so happy and has so much desire to share the Gospel.

We are going to be so busy this week. I am praying that my capacity may be increased so that I can be a more effective instrument in the hands of the Lord. Isn't it great when you think you're going as hard as you can that the Lord steps in and decides to stretch you further. I think the Mountain that I'm going to climb is going to be trying to keep up with the work that is being hastened here.  There is so much work to do.

Prayer and Fasting are real. This is the Lord's work. He is hastening it, are you? Share the Gospel this week. You'll be glad you did :)

Pictures from Beach Activity

 Elder Quinco and Elder McGuire

Philippines Tacloban Mission!!!

Teach your fish how to fish

Teach your fish how to fish

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John Thomas McGuire

This has been an amazing week. Definitely a roller coaster with ups and downs and laughs and cries. So we got a call last night from the APs that Elder Quinco in emergency transferring. I'm so bummed. He has been probably my favorite companion my whole mission. I'm going to miss him a ton. Still not sure where he's going. I'm going to be with Elder Carlson for the next few days because his companion is going home. We get our new companions on Friday. If our revelation and promptings hold up, I'm probably going to be training a new zone leader. This is going to be the first time in my mission where I'll be the senior leading the area for an entire cycle. Perhaps this is the mountain I prayed to come into my life.

Sunday was great though. The whole Nabong Family came to church! All the kids were there early and we were worried that their parents weren't going to make it but then they showed up right before the opening hymn and we all sat together and it was great! The youth just got back from a temple trip so they all shared their testimonies. It was a great meeting. Cian blessed the sacrament. So proud of him. In the afternoon he went hometeaching with our BML, Bro. Nikki. Also, Cian is going to baptize the sisters' investigator this coming Saturday! He is seriously so amazing! Magnifying his priesthood right off the bat. 

Mission Tour was awesome! Elder Nielson met with all the ZLs and STLs and gave us leadership training. It really kinda freaks me out when he says that we're the bishops and stake president and relief society presidents in the future. I mean sure that's fine and dandy and all but I feel like I have a lot more polishing before I could have any calling like that. That's quite a ways away. Big news is that Elder Nielson is going to be reassigned to the states and be the assistant director of the missionary department or something like that. I'd say that he's fully qualified after quarterbacking the rescue effort of Tacloban Missionaries. Elder Ardern will be the new Area President and his counselors will be Elder Echo Hawk and Elder Bowen. 

Seeing everyone at mission tour was a blast! It's so crazy to hear everyones' stories and hear about their areas and just bond with them. For the combined meeting, Elder Nielson trained on Elder Eyring's talk Mountains to Climb. His opening remarks though were about the typhoon. He used John 9. It was straight from God. In verse 3 it says that neither this man did sin nor his parents but he was blind so that the power of God might be made manifest. I love that so much. When I was home that chapter helped me get my head on straight. Sometimes crazy things just happen in life and it's not because we sin, it's just so that we may see the power of God in our lives.

After Mission Tour we had MLC. We're creating the Tacloban Mission Culture. We are so blessed because no where else in the world has such an opportunity like we do. We were pulled out for 3 months and went to go experience the cultures of a bunch of other missions. Now we get to bring it all back and create something amazing using the best ideas from other places. A lot of the focus was on becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ and concentrating on Real Growth.

Thursday was mostly administering. Friday was Zone Training Meeting. I think I get better at giving trainings the more I do it. 

Everyday I wake up I feel so grateful. There have been so many miracles in my life. The hand of the Lord has guided me far more than I could have ever imagined. Sometimes His love is incomprehensible to me. So I just try to love Him back by following Him. I have been so tremendously blessed beyond measure. Life is so amazing! I'm so excited for this coming transfer. We hopefully will have a family baptism on the 31st for the Nabong Family. Please continue to pray that Herald's mom's heart will be softened. He is ready to be baptized but he doesn't turn 18 til September. 

We also have another awesome new investigator named Cristel. She is our Recent Convert, Joy's little sister. She is 12 and is pure Tagalog. So pray that I'll have the gift of tongues. Not sure if there are other missions that require missionaries to learn so many dialects but I absolutely love it! Cristel is progressing. We are working on her growing a testimony of the Book of Mormon. She has been coming to church for 3 weeks now though. This upcoming month is gonna be great!

Love you all and thanks for all the letters and love and support and prayers. Keep on praying for missionary opportunities. Alma 13:24

ps next week I'll try and skype at 10 am here so it will be 7 pm Sunday for y'all. Hopefully Rick's call will get there soon! I want him to go to Philippines Urdaneta Mission so he can meet the Andaya family :)