Week 34: Mazel Tov

This week was a rewarding week for the Elders in Gosi, Tuguegarao. We had a wedding! Not a Jewish wedding or anything, but it was still a wedding, and it was for one of our investigators named Marizza, who the missionaries first contacted on March 30th of last year, and the one thing that has been keeping her from baptism is the fact that she wasn't married. But she is now. It's great. We're excited. Mazel tov.

This week has also been a week of going back to those who weren't ready for the gospel before. We got to teach this young adult named Ramil, who was super close to baptism before, when Elder Adams was here with his last companion, but he sorta fell off the deep end, for lack of a better term. He fell back into some old habits that he had tried to break, and was ashamed. Too ashamed to meet with the missionaries, or go to church. We've been able to start teaching him again, and I told him that if we want to return to live in god's presence with our families, we need to be perfect. I read in 3 Nephi 12:48, which says:
48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.
I explained to him that this is a commandment coming right from Jesus Christ, to be perfect. All of us have sinned. All of us fall short of God's glory, but that's why God gave us a way. God gave us The Way.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Those loyal readers of these letters have probably figured out by now that I really like this scripture. Through Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to change, to be born again, to become perfect. There is no commandment from God that we can't follow, which, for me, makes this the most hopeful commandment ever.

Tagalog commin' at'cha freestyle:
imakisali -- partake

Mazel Tov.
Love,
Elder Menzie

Pictures: The Pictures: Get ready for em:

Fellowshippers in a Lesson 

At the Wedding

Us and Marizza

Week 33: The Isog Elders of Gosi

This week has been a week of changes and blessings. Last Monday, we found out that Elder Adams was transferring, and that I would have to go down to Cauayan (a 3 hour bus ride) to pick up my new companion. While we were in Cauayan for a couple days, I worked with Elder Raine (one of my roommates in the MTC) and his companion, Elder Mclellen. They're both great. Elder Raine thought he was going to be transferring though, so he told all the members that's probably what was going to happen. It was also Elder Raine's birthday on the 17th, so the members, all thinking he was going to be gone, threw him a big ole surprise party. There were balloons and everything. It was great. There were also mangoes, which were delicious, if you can believe it.

The next day,  I picked up Elder Pino in the afternoon, and we made the long trip back to Tuguegarao, which was made a little bit longer by the fact that I stopped the bus late, so we had to walk a little distance to get to the apartment. with his bags. Also it wasn't actually a little distance.

It's okay though, because Elder Pino's a trooper. I love this guy. He's my first Filipino companion if you don't count the one I had for three days, but I still remember Elder Guancia.

This Saturday, we had 2 baptisms, for John Paul and Francis. They're great. The baptism was great,  but if I'm being honest, I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get ready for it. I swear, trying to get things done (like printing baptismal programs) even in the city, is like pulling teeth with 2 spoons.The baptisms went great though. John Paul and Francis both shared great testimonies, and it really made me think about how faith turns our bad experiences into testimony builders.

Love,
Elder Menzie

Dude, Where's My Tagalog (it's gone, this is cebuano baybee)
Isog -- Brave

Elder Adams, John Paul and I

Elder Adams, Francis and I

Elder Pino, Elder Santillian and I

At the baptism

Week 32: The Little Old Lady from Gosi Norte

Before I even start, I just gotta let y'all know that this week was pretty great. We've really been starting to see the fruits of our labors from the past six weeks and it's super exciting.

The biggest examples of this were on Saturday, when we had the baptism of the titular "Little Old Lady From Gosi Norte," Sister Adoracion Macarubbo. She is well into her 80's, got married when she was 14 to a 25 year old who saw her at a beauty pageant, can't remember her marriage date, or any of her kids birthdays, and is all around probably one of the darndest old ladies I've ever met in my life, and I've met some pretty darnded old ladies, I tell you what.

Anyway, she got baptized on Saturday, and the baptism started about half an hour late because we were waiting for the 17 year-old recent convert who was speaking about the holy ghost. when she finally got there she said she was shy, to which I replied, that's fine, because there's only 5 people here. She gave her talk, it was great, and then Elder Adams took sister Adoracion into the font to baptize her. I was one of the witnesses, so I got a front row seat to what I'm about to describe to you: Elder Adams says the ordinance just fine, and then he takes this woman who has been alive since 1936, and used a form of baptism I thought was lost to the ages, as he dunks this bona fide great grandma into the water and then lifts her out again with such precision and such ferocity I was surprised this woman could walk out of the font by herself. Holy smokes it was something else.

Later that day, we had two baptismal interviews from our district leader, Elder Inoc, who's leaving this Tuesday to go back home. It was great to see that guy one last time, and it was also great to get two people who we've been working with for the past six weeks to pass a baptismal interview.

Lastly, in a less traditionally happy go-lucky sort of situation, while we were eating lunch at a member's house, and the member (and also a youth who strolled in) asked us what happened to a certain young adult in our branch. I'm not going to go into a lot of details, but from what they said, it was pretty clear he was going through some form of depression pretty publicly, and they were scared for him, and asked us to drop in on him. We did, and we were just talking to him about what he was going through, and how he might be able to receive comfort. I shared one of my favorite scriptures with him, which is found in Isaiah 49: 14-16, and is quoted in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 21:14-16.

14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.

15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

I explained to him that we are Zion; we are the Lord's people, and sometimes it feels like he's forgotten us and left us alone in our trials. Even a mother could forget her child, but the powerful testimony here is that the Lord CANNOT forget us. It is IMPOSSIBLE. Through his atoning sacrifice, Jesus Christ wrote every single one of our names on the palms of his hands, and Roman nails were his pen. For God so LOVED the world ... God so LOVED us ... God so LOVED you ... God so LOVED me, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Love,
Elder Menzie

Elder Adams and I right after the baptism

Everybody after the baptism

Elder Adams and I got one last picture with Elder Inoc before he left

Week 31: "Too Ra Loo Rye Aye"

This week has been its own special beast. I'm not really sure what direction this email is gonna end up taking, but I promise that now more than ever I'm convinced of the importance of this work, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be right now.

One of the things that made this week interesting was the fact that we had Zone Conference, so we had to head over to Alicia to go to that. We got to Zone Conference, but it was a little weird, because President and Sister Hiatt's van was there, but they were not. The AP's informed us that the Hiatts were in Manila, because Sister Hiatt had some sort of health complication that they couldn't get proper treatment for out in the province. Zone Conference went well though, for lunch we got actual normal tasting baked ziti, which made my tummy very happy, and some chimichangas, which are always nice.

We've been hard at work teaching that little old lady who can't really understand us (with a translator) and we just finished her lessons and got her a baptismal interview this week! I'm so excited for her baptism next week. She really is the darndest old lady.

Saturday we got a call from President Hiatt, and he let me know that my grandma Illene died. I knew she was sick, but I just kinda figured I would be able to see her right after my mission. I guess it's just gonna take a little longer. Anybody who knew Illene would know that she's just a trooper. When my sister and I moved out to Utah to go to college, she and Grandpa Tom graciously opened their house to us whenever we needed a place to stay. She always had her face towards Zion, going to the temple whenever she got the chance, and the opportunity I had to go through the Timpanogos temple with her is a memory that I'll cherish.

I've got my fair share of people watching over me from the other side, and I am so blessed to have such a strong woman watching over me until we get to meet again.

Love,
Elder Menzie

The Deathly Tagalogs: Part 2:
walang iba -- no other

the Pics:

Me trying hard not to get too close to Sister Despain, my friend from the MTC 

Elder Adams and I riding on a vehicle my mom would not want us riding on