Mahupat Na Gabi!!! Hey everyone! It’s been a crazy week full of so many good and bad moments. It’s been raining again, a lot, and so I've accepted the fact that I will spend most of the mission completely soaked. Even though the days are often hard, I have found so much joy here. The language is slowly getting better but it is still the most confusing thing ever created. An Elder brought up a very important point to me this week that I think is imperative that I share. He described how it’s hard to be a baby because when your back is itchy and you cry for help, everyone will just think you’re hungry. Can you imagine that you had an insatiable itch on your back and instead of helping you someone just shoved food down your throat? What a terrible thought. How awful it must be to exist as a baby. Also, my area just got bikes but so far that has been a double-edged sword. Before getting bikes, we would spend a third to a half of our funds on travel alone. To say the least, we save a good amount of money now. It is, however, a little sketchy when riding the bikes through the jungle or on the roads. Most nights when we bike back to our apartment it is pouring rain and so we get absolutely soaked. It's pretty precarious because we're biking on a highway with very little visibility, but it's always fun, nonetheless. I'm wearing a helmet so I should be fine... hopefully. This week I had a thought when I was riding through the jungle at night. Elder Ramos, my trainer, always takes the lead because he has the light. It’s not a very bright and so only the path directly around his bike is illuminated. I have found that it's essential that I focus on that small light. If I attempt to look right in front of my bike or too far ahead, I will probably fall or run into a tree. The jungle is nearly pitch black through most of the forest and so his light is the only way I am able to see. This is very alike to times in our life when the decisions we have made become hard. All around us is a pitch-black darkness and you can't even see where to turn. However, there is a light barely ahead of us. It leads us on through the darkness, guiding us in our choices no matter the terrain. We may not always understand why it’s turning, slowing down, or speeding up, but as we follow it, we will gain a testimony that it will not lead us astray. This leader is Jesus Christ and the light around him is his truth. Ether 4:12 says "I am the same that leadeth men to all good... I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world." As we follow Christ and his light, we will be led to make the right decisions. As I've strived to center my life on Christ, I've made so many better decisions, and when I make mistakes, I know I can always find my way back. I know he only leadeth men to do good and through him we will find the truth in all things. Again, thank you all for your emails I hope you have a great week. Hinay!!!!! Elder Wilhelm Praying Mantis on a flower Soaking wet after biking home (My helmet kept my hair dry) Kids playing on the beach Jungle at Night (very serious so we don't get scared of the dark) A member showed us their mission yearbook and I found John Bytheway in there!
Mahupay Nagabi everyone! It's been a crazy two weeks to say the least. We have spent most of our days indoors due to the intense rain we get here. It poured for basically two weeks straight and there was a lot of flooding and landslides, so we were required to stay indoors. There were a few days, however, that we were able to go out and proselyte and those were amazing! We've been preparing a lot of kids from part member families for baptism, and they are always so much fun to be around! They are so full of the spirit and have so many wonderful questions. They are truly examples to me on how to be a better student. The language is truly a beast to say the least. The Waray spoken here really is not a full language and people mix Tagalog, Cebuano, or Bicol sentence structure or words into their speech which makes it very hard to understand. The kids are truly the best teachers because they speak in simple sentences and act out what they mean when you don't understand. I have probably learned more from them than they have from me. I have 100% seen the gift of tongues in my life and I know with an assurity that I could not learn this language on my own and so I know every step I make to fluency is truly by the grace of God. This past week I was watching a chess game and one of the players talked about how each piece has a function and should be used to support the other pieces. I'm not very good at chess but from what he described, it is crucial that all of your pieces should be in positions where they are supported by other pieces. If you want to make a more advanced play it is crucial that you have a strong base and foundation rooted in your network of troops. If you don't, the enemy can easily take advantage of you and punish you for your overzealous behavior. I think this is a lot like our lives in the spiritual sense. We are to learn "line upon line, precept upon precept" even as the Lord, Jesus Christ, "continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness"(D&C 93). As we lay out these precepts that we have learned, it may prove difficult to create a connection between them in order to lay out a strong network. That is, without Christ. In chess, the queen is the best support piece because it can move in all directions and support pieces across the board. Similarly, Jesus Christ is the best way to find support in the gospel because through him, all principles across the board are connected and supported. In your scripture study I encourage all of you to ponder how the principles we learn are not tangentially, but directly related to Christ. If we center our tactic on any other piece or principle, the enemy will overtake us. Helaman 5:12 says "because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." There is a lot of complicated things in the gospel that I do not fully understand, but when I remember where my testimony should be centered, it powers me through my trials of faith. I know that the same principle applies to all of you. I really love getting all of your emails and I look forward to receiving them this week! Kita kites hinai kamp!!! Love, Elder Wilhelm WEEK 9WEEK 10My mission from above The amazing kids I talk about
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone! Sorry I didn't write last week I got very busy, a lot had happened in such a short time. The past two weeks have been pretty rough. I got fairly sick last week and adjusting to the Philippines has definitely been interesting, but by relying on the Savior and trying my best to improve I have found a lot of joy here. Most of the mission was able to attend a Christmas conference in Tacloban City and it was a blast! I was able to meet a ton of other missionaries, play basketball, and feel the spirit. Its always fun to go up to the big city because we get to buy things we usually can't get. After the conference I went on exchange with Elder Andrada down to Abuyog! Its a beautiful area and was a nice change of pace. It's a biking area and is made up of around 76 Borangay which is a whole lot (Borangay loosely translates to developments... kinda). To put it in perspective, the area I'm in only has two. Elder Andrada taught me to cook a whole bunch of food, we fought off a scorpion, went running on the beach, but the best part was the people there. They were so forgiving with my terrible Waray and I learned so much from them in such a short amount of time. Life is definitely different and challenging over here. Sometimes with the environment but also sometimes with my companion and other missionaries. I love what Paul wrote in Corinthians 13. It says that it is not just about being long suffering in your trials but enduring them well. It is necessary that you endure all things with charity in your heart lest they profiteth you nothing. The mission is definitely teaching me how to not only endure hard things but endure them happily and cheerfully. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of such an act. He submitted to the Father's will and drank from the cup of bitterness with a heart full of love for those he was about to save. By relying on His example and His atonement we too can find joy in our trials and the people around us. I know this to be true because I have experienced it here. Thank you all for the emails, it really means a lot to me! I'll see you all next week. Hinay, ngan kita kites! Elder Wilhelm CHRISTMAS ZONE CONFERENCE IN TACLOBANSPLITS IN ABUYOG |