Sunday, December 18, 2016

New Area, New Beginnings -November 27, 2016

Hello po kayo lahat!

I'm doing fine just so you all know.  It was a great week as usual, lot's of hard work and lots of spiritual thoughts. I'll be sharing two today because I forgot to share one last week.

However, first off I'll talk about my progressing investigators! That's right, I have two progressing investigators in my second week in the open area.  Their names are Brother and Sister Ancieta, they are a married couple with a one year old son. It's a pretty awesome experience how we met them, so I'll share it with you. Brother Ancieta was carrying wood to his house, but had stopped to take a break. We could tell the load was heavy and he was struggling, so we offered to help him.  At first, he turned us down, so we just introduced ourselves as missionaries and what our message was.  He asked us to share with him. We gave an overview of The Plan of Salvation and he was super interested and receptive. We closed with a prayer and insisted on carrying the wood to his house. He obliged, and we eventually came to his house, and his whole family was there!  We introduced ourselves to them and they were really happy to meet us.  They asked us to come back and we've met with them several times now.  They're scheduled for baptism on December 31.  They came to church yesterday and loved it, they are keeping our commitments, and asking how else they can prepare to be baptized.  They're amazing!  I can't wait to see them progress!

Spiritual thought time:
1. I was reading the Bible Dictionary, and I read about prayer.  I had never really realized how deep the connection prayer has with our Heavenly Father, my favorite thing the BD explained was this: "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."
I know it's long, but it's all true. Sometimes we take for granted the power of prayer and our true relationship with Heavenly Father.

2. I finished the Old Testament yesterday, so I've now read the entire Standard Works while on my mission. It was amazing to witness and connect all of the prophecies of the Savior to His life and ministry here on earth.  It just goes to show that the Lord really does reveal His will through His prophets, and even if we don't understand the true meaning behind their words, we need to follow them.  The Lord does not lie, and all things He has said will come to pass WILL come to pass in His own due time.

That's it for this week, until next time!
-Elder Anderson

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