This week was awesome! We had zone
conference so the Stucki's came over for a visit! Which was great for
them because Manila was still gross from the storm. The word on the
street is there is a storm coming our way, but I've seen no evidence of
it. It's seriously so hot here, even though these are supposed to be the
colder months. But it's great because when there's no rain, there are
so many new people to teach!
I don't have any great Philippines stories this week. So
let me tell you about what I have been thinking about a lot lately. I
was studying 2 Nephi 2 about how Lehi tells his son how his trials in
the wilderness will be for his good. I was pondering that, because we
have a lot of less active members here in the Philippines who stopped
coming to church for different reasons. In the Philippines Manila
mission, we are really focused on bringing these people back into full
activity, so usually half of all the lessons we teach each week are Less
Active lessons. I've heard every reason in the book for why people
don't come to church. But, Marion G. Romney said, "I have seen the
remorse and despair in the lives of men who, in the hour of trial, have
cursed God and died spiritually. And I have seen people rise to great
heights from what seemed to be unbearable burdens." Before we came to
this earth, we knew it wouldn't be easy. We knew that we would have
opposition - unbearable sadness and immense joy. We accepted the trials
we would have because we knew it would be worth it. But, now that we're
here, our test is if we'll continue to accept God's plan for us. Our
less active families took the first steps of the gospel to follow God's
plan. They had faith, repented, were baptized by someone holding the
authority from God, and received the Holy Ghost. But, somewhere along
the way, they allowed their mga hadlang...uhh... trials to hold them
back. But, (that's a lot of buts), that's what I love about serving my
mission here. The people here are just so great.
For example, Roselyn Vicentino. She was baptized
when she was a teenager and went less active when she married a
non-member. They had one million children together. Then, last year, she
became active again and her husband and all her children were baptized.
Shortly after that, her husband was lost at sea. LOST AT SEA. Like, he
works on a boat sa laot (which just means far out in the ocean). One
morning, he left for laot and never came home. The boat came home, they
said there was a storm and afterwards, he just wasn't on the boat
anymore. He was lost at sea. So, for the past year, she hasn't heard
from him. But, she still believes that he is alive somewhere and that he
is coming home. I can't believe how difficult and heartbreaking her
situation is, even though I see it firsthand. Most of her kids are still
little and she still has no real way to provide for them. But, all
during this time, she reads the scriptures daily. She comes to church
weekly and brings all her children. She is a pillar of strength even
when her situation seems seriously hopeless. And that's what I've been
thinking about. What do we do with our trials? Most of the trials the
Lord gives us are no where near the magnitude of Roselyn Vicentino's
experience. But do we allow our offense, laziness, or whatever happens
to us crush our faith? Do we allow the adversary to win? I say unto you,
NAY! Hah, okay, I got a little carried away there. But you see what I
mean. We need to always remember that we accepted these trials before we
came here and that God will give us the strength to overcome them -
which doesn't mean he will take them away. Mosiah 24.
Alright, I forgot my camera so no pictures for you
this week. How are all the things over there? Anything I can do to help
with anything? I'm feeling distressed slightly because of the impending
transfer. I'm destined to finally leave Palawan and I want to cry about
it. Pray for me! Hah.
Love you all! Sorry this email was somewhat of a bad
egg. Speaking of which, my breakfast this morning was eggs and rice.
I'm so totally filipino. Oh! Speaking of which, I seriously am Filipino
now. Our new less active member that we just met said I'm better at
speaking Tagalog than my Filipino companion! It's not true, but my head
grew slightly because of it. Brag brag braggy brag. Okay, that's really
all.
Sister Mecham
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