The Flood Came

My kapatids in the faith, how is it hanging.  This was yet another great week even though it's been raining super hard lately and we've had to do some Indiana Jones maneuvers to make it home without getting soaked hahaha!

Tuesday: We went around checking all of the apartments in the zone to ensure their safety and cleanliness.  Elder Gifford, the senior missionary assigned in the office and my good friend, came with us and he's still the best.  I was actually really impressed with how well the missionaries take care of their apartments.  Their parents must have taught them well :)

Saturday: We went on exchanges with the brand new missionaries that are currently in the MTC.  I really love the fire that new missionaries bring to the field.  They are so motivated and eager to go out and preach the gospel.  It is my goal to become as excited about the work as they are at the beginning of their missions.  I worked with Elder Berger, who will actually be assigned here in our mission!  He's a powerhouse missionary and he'll be a great asset to us here in the Manila mission.

We received a text from Charlene, who was our investigator that we took to the fireside at the beginning of this transfer.  She told us that she wants to be baptized regardless of whether or not her parents will accept it.  She told us that she wants to please Heavenly Father more.  We had a very spiritual lesson with her yesterday and she's definitely ready to be baptized.  It's been such an incredible experience seeing the conversion in her and it's seeing her faith in all of the trials that she is going through is strengthening my faith.  I love being a missionary and being able to witness the conversion of those whom we serve here in this field.  We'll keep you updated on how she is.

Pics:

​​1- We attended a farewell dinner for Sister Long who went home on Wednesday!  She will be missed dearly.

2- Taken while doing apartment checks in our zone

3- Waiting for the missionaries from the MTC to arrive to start our exchanges.

4- Here's the Elder I went on exchanges with, Elder Berger!  We can't wait for him to get here in the field.

5- I carved Sister Versaga's face into this banana

6- For P-day today we played some fun Filipino games with the Manila West District.  We played a game involving knocking over a can with your sandals.  Doesn't sound fun but it was SUPER fun.  

This is a great time to be a missionary.  Transfers are this week already... Time is going fast and I'm going to make the most of it.\

Love you all have a good week!!

Elder Burdeos

IT'S GON' RAIN

What a fantastic week it has been here in Manila.  I've learned so much about the importance of diligence and working through hardships and I'm grateful for it.  I've become a sponge and tried to just soak up new information and ideas.  Also it's RAINY SEASON in the Philippines and I'm so happy!  I'm sleeping with a blanket every night :)  The only bad part is that when it's cold outside, the water that we use to shower gets even colder :(

We had our MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) on Thursday where we discussed a new vision for our mission and the necessary actions that we were going to take to fulfill that vision.  I learned a lot about the importance of realistic goal setting.  We also discussed the importance of matching the dignity of our callings as missionaries through our actions.  The thought of "are my actions accurately portraying the message of the gospel" should be filtering through our minds in every aspect of the work.  I had an amazing time and it was also nice to catch up with some of the missionaries that I haven't seen in quite some time now.  

We just got back from the temple and I had such a spiritually enlightening time there.  It's such a blessing to be able to visit the temple on a regular basis and I can truly testify with all of my heart that temples are indeed houses of God.  If you have not had the opportunity to visit or go through one, I would highly recommend that you take the appropriate steps in order to do so.  I have some sweet pictures to send but I think I'll wait until next week to fill you in on the awesome time we had earlier today. 

Pictures:

1- Elder Palmer and I hanging out during the lunch break at MLC

2- The legendary Sister Training Leaders in Puerto Princesa

3- We also had our ward conference on Saturday and Sunday.  This was taken after the meeting. 

4- We got rained in after the ward conference for a period of time.  The members were so bored while waiting that they actually started doing math problems...

5 & 6- Pictures after our ward conference on Sunday.  The Sister in the flower skirt in the front is Sister Cerbas who recently went home this last transfer and was previously assigned in this ward :)

I know that this church is true and there truly is no greater happiness than serving the Lord and living the principles of the gospel.  I love you guys, I will see you next week!

Out of thin air

Hello friends and family, this week was incredible.  It consisted of lots of walking and tests of patience but we had lots great experiences!!  We're starting to adjust well to this new area and we've had a lot of members work with us to help show us around.

We had a cool moment happen to us at sacrament meeting this week.  We struck up a conversation with a Sister in our ward whom we thought to be a member.  After furthering the conversation we later found out that she was actually not a member and it was her first time attending church in almost 2 years.  Her name is Sister Charlene and she was taught by the missionaries in her province of Zambales and now she's currently here in Manila studying for her board exam to be an accountant.  She lives far from the church in the province but was excited to see that there was a church within close proximity to where she is currently staying and decided to come attend church again.  WOW.   Miracles don't get any cooler than that.  A problem that we are currently trying to work out however is getting her parents to support her being baptized.  She created a deal with them that if she would pass her board exam she could then get baptized into the church!  I'll keep you updated on how that goes but just know she's amazing.

Pics:

1) Our area is the border of the Manila Mission and Quezon City mission.  The basketball marks that border.

2) Every Saturday evening the Manila YSA ward has a family home evening.

3) Taken at the fireside that is held monthly at the mission home

4)  The Sister next to President is Charlene.  We took her to the mission home fireside because we felt that she would benefit from the testimonies of others who were investigating the church and she also had the chance to speak 1 on 1 with President Fermanis.  She said that it was such an inspiring night for her and we're so happy she was able to attend.

The Lord has blessed us this week with new investigators that we are excited to start teaching!  3 of which were able to attend church yesterday and had a great time in doing so.  I'm super excited to see what else the Lord has planned for us here in this field. 

I've started to re-read the Doctrine and Covenants and it's had a giant impact on my perspective on what we are going through right now.  Every time I seem to open it I feel that I receive an answer specifically for what I am going through.  I encourage you to look to the scriptures every day to receive the guidance that you are searching for.  I also encourage you to share what you've learned with someone around you who you think would enjoy it.

I love you guys!  Have a good week!

Elder Burdeos