Another Good Week!

Week 78

23rd May 2016

Well this week was great with our work. Once again we had a lot of help from the members working with us. Things are moving along fairly nicely here in Nasugbu, and I hope I can stay a little bit longer here.

Thursday was my highlight day, with the office elders and the Batangas 1st Ward elders coming out to visit. We had some supplies, and I finally got a decent haircut (I had Elder Hapi cut my hair). It was good to catch up, and hopefully it will be better next time they come around.

Our week overall was a really good week. We were able to teach a lot of investigator lessons, and to help people progress. We have a few potential baptisms coming up hopefully in June, at least 3, and hopefully many more in July. The work is really good here, and we have a lot of support from the branch, especially the Branch Council, so things run a lot easier when everyone is on board.

Sunday was another good attendance, with a few families who have been less-active for a bit coming back to church, and another 6 investigators at church too, so it really was a good week for us. Our Elders Quorum was pretty full too, with 25 Elders Quorum in attendance in class. Things are going good, and hopefully we can continue to work re-activation and conversion all together, and push for a good attendance. My goal is to fill up the chapel so much, that they have to open up to the back.

Just finished playing basketball earlier this morning. Good to get a sweat on again, and enjoy myself playing basketball. Me and my companion are going to play early in the morning again next week, and I will continue it on every week until I leave. We play at around 5 in the morning, haha.

This week we have a baptism, and everyone is excited. We also have a lot of work to do, so we will be full on with everything. Transfer calls will be later this week, either Sunday or Saturday, so we're pretty nervous about who will be transferred.

Zone PDay and a great Catch Up!

Week  77

16th May 2016

This week was weird. We didn't have much success at all, as we were punted time after time after time. It was rough, and I was getting discouraged by people's rudeness. When we would tract we were getting rejection after rejection, and the worst part was people wouldn't even get outside to talk to us, they would just yell to us to go away, because they don't want to go outside because it's too hot. 

All of the things we suffered this week though with rejection and broken appointments was all made up for when we had 10, I repeat 10 investigators at church!! I was so surprised, because our week wasn't successful, but it just goes to show that God works in mysterious ways. All of them thoroughly enjoyed their time at church, and 4 of the people that attended church have baptism goal dates over the next month and a bit.

Zone Training Meeting this week was great - learnt so much.

Jacob Richards came around and visited me on Saturday, and man has he put the weight back on! I saw him, and was shocked at how big he had gotten!!  It was a good catch up though, we had lunch and hung out for a bit before he headed back to Lemery, to travel to Batangas City later that afternoon. He's travelling with a few from his batch - they're all from the same place.

We just got back from Zone P-day, and that was good! We went to a beach, and man it was super hot! We had fun though, as we ate, chilled, and played some games. The sisters got me to play jump rope with a huge rope, and that game ended when the roped clobbered me on the side of my head. Of course I dramatized the hit, and fell down with a huge thud, and screamed a little, just for extra spice.

It has been so hot - temperatures have been 40-42 degrees for the last two weeks!

This week should be a busy week. We are preparing for a baptism on May 27, so we have to finish the lessons with this child, and set the baptism interview. We also have baptisms coming up on June 4 and June 11. All of these baptisms are for children of part-member families...hopefully all goes well.

Elder Crichton with Jacob Richards (Elder Richards was his trainer)

Best Week of my Mission!

Week 76

09th May 2016

This week was to-date, the best week of my entire mission! I was able to experience for the first time, the effect of hard working members who are willing to work with the missionaries. The difference is huge, and I definitely noticed it, and not just in the numbers, although the numbers went through the roof too. Having a fellowshipper for the investigators, and a friend for the less-active members really helps the work progress a lot faster. I am aware though, things do not happen in just one week, so the true success won't come for a little while, but keeping at the work, and being DILIGENT will definitely help the area here, and bring success to us all.

When I was a newer missionary, I expected results and success from hard work straight away, but it definitely is not how things work. I have learned to accept the Lord's timing, and to be happy about anything, and not let myself get down about little things that don't have much importance in the long term. Whether I am a planter or harvester, as long the glory is to our Heavenly Father, I can't complain about anything. I really have learned to rely on the Lord in the last couple of weeks, and it's bringing me great joy! Where I slip and fall, the Atonement helps me get up and keep going, because like an analogy that my Mission President likes to use, even if I'm 30 points down with a minute to go, as long as I'm on the Lord's side, the win is ours.

I'm looking forward to the ZTM this week. I'm probably most excited to learn what the Zone Leaders have in store for us in their workshop about whatever it is. I cherish time in ZTM, because of the things I learn, and it helps rejuvenate me in the missionary work, I have my trials, but that isn't any different for anyone else here.

It was really good to see you all on Saturday for our Mothers Day Skype. I actually had a little moment yesterday at church to be honest. I looked around seeing all the youth sitting with their mothers and grandmothers, giving them stuff, and well I was sitting their holding my scriptures.  I missed home, but it went away quickly I have a lot of things to do. 

This week should be cool. We have Zone Training Meeting, and my first trainer, Elder Richards, is back in the Philippines, so he's coming to visit me on Wednesday once we've finished with Zone Training Meeting. Excited to see him again, it's been a long time. 

Miss some of the Missionaries that have already gone home. Elder Richards was my trainer. Elder Fa'asavalu was my mentor. My first 8 months of my mission was spent with him.

Four of us in the apartment tonight as we have exchanges tomorrow.  Elder Mesias will be cooking for us - he's our Master Chef!

Busy Week Teaching!

Week 75

02nd May 2016

This week was great! We went out with a determination that no matter what, me and my companion would teach 30 lessons. We had high hopes on Thursday, but things happened on Saturday and we feared we wouldn't reach that goal this week. On Sunday, we were determined to reach it, and thank goodness, we were blessed to visit 4 homes and share.

One thing I haven't really experienced in my mission, is constantly having members working with us. In most instances, we could go half a transfer without any members working with us. This last week was the first time I experienced it. Our Branch Mission Leader, who is newly called, worked with us for 3 straight nights, and while he was working with us, we were able to talk about things we could do to help motivate the branch missionaries to work again.

The miracle came yesterday in MCM. We had almost all of our branch missionaries in the meeting. Our Branch Mission Leader did a schedule up on the black board, and asked the branch missionaries for times they could work with us. To our amazement, all the branch missionaries said they were available to work with us, and set a schedule. If this all follows through, we could be on splits nearly every day this week, which will help us in moving the work forward  here in Nasugbu, inviting more people back from in-activity, and bringing more souls into the fold of the loving shepherd, Jesus Christ. We have every hour of every day filled with the branch missionaries working with us, most with specific investigators that they will be fellowshipping for us.

Another first for me, was finding a family who is really searching for truth. We first tracted into the mother of the family a couple of weeks back, and got around to visiting them on Wednesday. They said to us in our last visit that they haven't yet been baptized into the church they're currently attending due to the fact that they still aren't sure if that's the right place for them. When me and my companion heard that, we almost jumped through the roof with excitement! They specifically said when they get an answer to their prayers, they will be baptized for sure. So for now we will continue visiting with them and teaching them.

I was blessed with finding out the truth for myself, and now with a firm faith that this is Christ's true church, hearing our investigators say things like that make me excited!

We're off to Family Home Evening a bit later with a family that I met while I was serving in Gumaca, they moved here in Jan, and I followed them here a month later.... we're there every Monday.

This week will be super busy with us working with the branch missionaries, but I'm looking forward to it.