Well, That Week Went Super Fast

Well, this week went by super fast. I feel like I was just sitting here at the computer writing my last email. Thanks again for all the birthday thoughts and prayers. Sorry, I couldn't respond to them all. But, they are much appreciated. 

This week was pretty good. We had the awesome opportunity to go and give a handful of blessings to members and less active members this week. It was awesome. Priesthood blessings are incredible. My testimony of them grew like crazy this week. We were able to give one to a 89 year old sister, a 65 year old man, a 24 year old girl, and a 4 year old boy. They were all super different, but the spirit was the same. I know that we really do have the power of God here on the earth. The same power through which Christ was able to perform miracles when he was here on the earth. It is incredible. Before we gave every blessing, we had a mini lesson on faith. Of course, things happen according to God's timing, which might be different than what we want. That is hard for a lot of people. But, I know that God's plan is perfect. He has a plan for us and he wants nothing more than for us to return to him. 

This week, we also had a service project. We went out for a couple of hours on Saturday morning with a bunch of members. We painted curbs and railings. Lets just say... If curbs were painted like that in America, a lot of people would get fired. It did not look very professional, but it made the whole road actually look a lot better overall. And it was an awesome opportunity to find people to teach. We were all wearing vests with the church logo on it. People would stop and ask us what we were doing. We were able to share a quick message about what we were doing and about the church. It was awesome. 

I have just 2 more weeks before my comp should transfer. I am about to finish my 4th transfer in the mission. It has been kind of a rough one. My comp hit his year mark last week and it made him not really want to work. It was pretty hard for me because I knew that all the time that we were not working, we were missing the opportunity to share the message of the gospel with others. I had a pretty good talk with my comp and I think that we turned things around a little bit. 

No one ever said that the mission was easy. If someone says that, then they did something wrong. It is by far the hardest thing that I have done, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I am able to see the blessings every day and it makes all of the hard days soo worth it. "Challenges are at times an indication of the Lord's trust in you." This really is the most important work that we can be a part of and I am so grateful for the chance that I have to spend a short 2 years to make it my focus. 

I love you all and send lots of prayers back your way. 

-Elder Thomas

 

19 Years on Planet Earth

Well... I made it another year here on earth. I turned 19 like 15 hours before my sisters this year, so that is kind of cool :) Thank you all for the birthday wishes. Sorry I could not respond to all of them. Our email time is really limited. But, I read them all and am grateful for the thoughts.

This week was pretty good. We had an awesome lesson with a sister that we are teaching. She told us a story that happened to her about a year ago. She told us that she had just delivered her first child when her boyfriend left her. She was only 19 years old and was left alone with a new child. She hit a low in here life and told us that she had plans to end her life. She had bought enough medication to overdose and take her life. That very day, a young pair of missionaries came up and knocked on her door. She told us that she immediately felt peace and has had missionaries come and teach her every week since then. She is not quite ready to get baptized because she does not feel like she has forgiven herself for things that she has done in her life. That is one of Satans greatest tactics. He wants us to believe that we are past the point of no return. That we have gone to far. That we cant be saved. BUT... we are children of a God. Who is infinitely more powerful that Satan. I love the quote by Elder Holland that says something to the effect of "you have not gone to far or sinned to much. I testify that no one has gone farther than the infinite light of Christ's atonement shines." That is not exact. But I love the point of it. We all make mistakes and all far short of the mark. But, the perfect plan of our loving Father in Heaven allows us to repent and become better each day. 

We also had kind of a sad lesson with our most progressing investigator. He is a man in his late 60's. We showed up to his house to teach him and he really did not seem to be doing well. We asked him what happened and he told us that his son (40 years old) had recently been killed in Mexico. He found out only that morning. His son had moved out there when he was 18 and had not yet been back to the Philippines visit. He was supposed to come back to visit this year. It was super hard for him. But then, we had an amazing lesson on the Plan of Salvation. We testified that his son was in a better place and that without a doubt, he would be able to see him again. The spirit was sooo strong and I know that there were lots of people in that room from beyond the veil. 

I love the gospel and the chance that I have to share it out here for a short 2 years. The peace that it can bring to even the most broken on lives is amazing. 

I love you all and am grateful for the prayers and thoughts that you send this way. They are definitely felt of this side of the world. 

Love Elder Thomas

 

God Controls the Dogs

Well... another week down here in the beautiful city of Baguio. It is awesome here. This week was super fun. I was able to go on splits with one of the Elders that I live with. It was a super awesome day. We worked in their area and had plans to visit 7 of their investigators. But, all of them fell through and by like 3 in the afternoon, we had nothing planned.  Then, we had a pretty cool experience with some dogs here. The dogs here are super crazy and I am surprised that I have not been attacked yet. But, we were walking down a stairwell when the biggest dog that I have ever seen came out of this little cage and went nuts. I was pretty sure that both of us were going to get killed. We slowly backed down the stairs and went another direction. We were completely lost because we had never been in the area. So we just started knocking doors. We ended up teaching 3 new investigators. We found 4 part member families. And we extended a baptismal date to a guy that we found who used to be taught by the missionaries. It was awesome. I am pretty sure that God has control of all the dogs here. They took us in a direction that led us to a lot of success after a pretty rough start to the day.

Another highlight was yesterday at stake conference. It was a broadcast to the whole Philippines and the key speaker was Elder Holland. He is one of my favorites. He gave an awesome talk. He talked about how the second coming is sooo close now. We really have been chosen to prepare the world for the second coming of our Savior. He talked again about how we really have to make our home the center of our worship. We go to church for only 2 out of the 168 hours in the week. If that is all that we are doing then it is not nearly enough. The devil is constantly increasing his attacks in strength and variety and wants nothing more than for us to be miserable. For this reason, we need to make sure that we are doing the things (scriptures, prayer etc) every day that will give us the strength to endure. "The second coming is one day closer today than it was yesterday. And it will be one day closer tomorrow than it is today." None of us know when it will come, and we are soo blessed to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ, but, we must continue to do our part. 

I know that God has given us everything and that through Christ, it is possible to make it back to live with our Father and our families forever. This is what I try every day to teach the people of the Philippines. I love the mission, the ups and the downs. I have already finished 6 months out here and it is crazy. It is going wayy to fast. I love the time that I have now to really make Christ and his gospel my focus. This really is the most important thing that we can do in this life. 

I love you all and am grateful for the examples that you are to me. I know that I would not be where I am now if it were not for you. I send lots of prayers you way and think about you tons. 

w/love Elder Thomas

http://lifey.org/philippines-baguio-mission 

Maligayang bagong Taon

Well... A lot has happened in the last week. Last Monday, I sent a short email. I got transffered up here to Baguio city. I love it. The weather here is awesome. My white shirts might actually stand a chance. I was super sad to leave my last ward though. I loved the members in that little ward and I was really attached to a handful of investigators. But, I know that there must be work up here for me to do.

The ward up here is awesome. Last week, we had over 150 people attend sacrament meeting. Probably in part because of the new year. (Lots of new years resolutions to get back to church haha). 

It is awesome to see all of the changes from the Prophet being applied now. It is awesome to see how the work really is hastening even out here in relatively new wards and branches. The church is led my truly inspired men, and I love it. It is an awesome time to be on earth and be a part of this incredible work. 

This week, I met a bunch of our investigators. They are awesome. It is a little bit different than my last area. People up here in Baguio are a lot more educated. And lots of them actually speak really good English. It feels super weird to start teaching in English now. And Taglish is definitely a real language. It has become my favorite language. I am very conversational because if I don't know a word, I just try to say it with a filipino accent and they will understand what I am saying haha.

Our area up here is also super different. We walk everywhere (my last area was a biking area). But we basically just hike here. We walk up thousands of stairs a day. I counted one time just on our way home and lost count somewhere around 800 stairs that we climbed. But, I love it. Rumor has it that the more stairs we climb, the better looking our wife will be :)

Man I love all of you guys. I love the examples that you are to me and the help you have been in my life. I love the gospel and the chance that I have to share it here for a short 2 years. It really is the most important thing that we can be a part of here in this life. Love you all and I keep you all in my prayers. 

Love Elder Thomas

-I will send more pictures next week. The computers this week could not send them