Sunday, December 18, 2016

Preparing for Christmas Conference -December 11, 2016

Naimbag nga bigad, malim, o rabi!

That's right, that was Ilocano, the other crazy language in my mission that I'm supposed to learn even though I have no learning materials for it!  I'm picking it up little by little, hopefully I'll be able to speak it as well as Tagalog by the end of my mission.  

Anyway, this week was ok.  I had a great time working and my companion and I continue to strengthen our companionship, but none of our progressing investigators came to church yesterday.  I was pretty sad because they had been so excited to accept the gospel.  We weren't able to visit them yesterday either, so we have no idea why they suddenly stopped.  I was almost discouraged, but I remembered that we all have agency, and even though others may exercise it poorly, we are able to exercise our own by choosing how to react to setbacks.  I realized that the only thing I can do is my best. It's what the Lord expects of me and what I expect of myself. If I do that, then I know that I couldn't have done something better, because I did my best.

Sorry if that was a little confusing, there have been a lot of thoughts going through my head this week.  We had some trouble with our Zone Leaders getting along this week, and our District Leader is having trouble with his companion as well. I'm not sure why drama exists in the mission, its disappointing that missionaries can't be united in this work because of petty arguments. Oh well, like I said, we all have agency.

Next week is Christmas Conference for the whole mission, so my next email will be sent from Laoag! I'm so excited! The missionaries in my zone will be staying in a hotel for the duration of the conference! I'll actually have a comfortable bed!  Hopefully they'll have hot water too... We'll see.

Now for my spiritual thought.  In this Christmas season, we do tend to focus on material things, whether they be for ourselves or for others.  This time of year really should not be one of stress, but of joy, love, and peace. This is the time we celebrate the most important birth in the history of the whole world.  Jesus Christ, our Savior, is the reason we celebrate.  Remember Him. He is the reason why we can have peace in this life. Through Him, we can become worthy to live with God again.

Always remember Christ, and seek to represent Him.

Mahal ko kayo,
-Elder Anderson

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