How about that?
I'm surprised my birthday letter so soon, Mom. I'm just very happy that it arrived before
your birthday. I'll be be sure to wish
you Happy Birthday again . . . in a couple weeks. ;) haha. Well, our week wasn't quite to the level as
last week, but it was still a pretty awesome.
It went by quickly. It has rained
almost every day here, so I always come home with wet shoes, socks, pants,
shirt, and everything once we get home.
All in a day’s work, right? I
like the rain, though (most of the time).
It keeps things very cool here, which I much prefer than the humid
heat.
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| Jordan's favorite spider made another visit to the apartment this week. They may have to add it to their list of investigators. |
I'll begin with some details of our awesome lesson gone
wrong with Hay Jhea on Tuesday night. We
had just taught her the entire Plan of Salvation and were about to end on a
great note, with a prayer. The Spirit
had been strong throughout our discussion.
However, before we could do that, Hay Jhea's drunk step-father entered
the room and began sharing his "testimony." The Spirit said bye-bye at about that
time. We were teaching Hay Jhea outside
and her step-father was around the corner drinking with his friends. He was rambling on about how God only cares
about Israel, that there are no prophets on the earth, and that there is no
reason for God to give new revelation to mankind prior to the Second
Coming. (That summary actually wraps up
all the man’s drunken words in a little nutshell. It makes no sense. But, then again, people never make sense when
their drunk.) None of us said a word
during the drunken rant. Hay Jhea was
really embarrassed and apologized for his behavior. We told her that we would come back some day
and try to talk to him when he’s sober.
It would be really sad to lose her as an investigator, because she has a
testimony of the Savior, the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, but the gospel
is about bring families together. We do
not wish to create contention within the family. So, we can't progress until Tatay will either
agree to listen to us, or give his blessing for us to teach Hay Jhea.
I actually had a couple other experiences talking with
drunks this week, but they weren't like this one. The other times were when we spoke with
drunks on the street they didn't even know where their own house was. At least they were in a cheerful mood. The men who work in the bukids tell us that
they have to drink to "relax" from their day's work. And that seems to be the only way to relax
for them. That's pretty much their life
every day. Pretty sad.
We also had several encounters with Jehovah's Witnesses
this week. There some kind of convention
or something here for them, so that was interesting. We walked past a group of them and they
called us over to speak with us. They
handed us their magazine called, "Awake!" and wanted to share
more. We agreed to listen if they would
listen to us. We tried to give them one
of our pamphlets, but they wouldn't even touch it. They said it was "forbidden"
for them to take it. Bastos talaga
sila. So, that was about the end of our
sharing time together. Anyway, moving
on.
Because of the all day rain yesterday, we went from the
highest attendance I'd seen at church to the lowest attendance I have
seen. The rain comes down hard and tends
to keep people in their homes and away from travel (even to church). The good news is that we had four investigators
at church today. One of our
investigators, Bessie, is really progressing well and is starting to feel the
influence of the Spirit in her life. She
is learning quickly. Her boyfriend is a
member in the ward. I don't know if I
talked about her last week, but if I didn’t, here's a little review. She lives near Tarlac and only visits on
Fridays and Sundays, so those are the only days we can teach her. I think we're going to challenge her to be
baptized next week, so hopefully that'll go well. (Oh no. Ahhh!
We just had a brown-out and I thought I lost this email. Whew.
Still there. That would've been
very frustrating.)
I guess I'll do a couple of shout-outs right now. We had interviews with President Martino on
Thursday, which was awesome, and I received all of the Dear Elders. I also received a surprise package from Al
Librojo. Al, you’re right. I do not really remember you visiting us that
one time, but I'm very grateful for your package! The hot chocolate and stuff came at a good time
(haha). That was such a nice, thoughtful
thing for you to do!!! Thank you! Thank you!
Also, congrats Kai and Isaiah Nacua for your commitment to play football
at BYU! I know that announcement was
about a month ago, but I just received a letter from Dad telling me about
it. That's awesome!
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| Let the Pop-Tart grilling begin |
Oh, I almost forgot.
We don't have a toaster in our house that works, so I haven't really
been eating the Pop-Tarts you sent me.
But, I solved that little problem.
I came up with the best thing ever!
I am grilling 'em. That actually
works great! Grilled Pop-Tarts. (Get ‘em while they’re hot!) Guess what we’re going to be having for
breakfast every day this week? haha.
I think that'll do for me right now. Mahal ko kayo! We're halfway done with our transfers
already! And I'll be hitting my 10th
month mark this Saturday! Fast! I will no longer be a "single digit
missionary." There is something
special about that. It represents
experience, confidence and increased ability to do the Lord’s work! I am happily engaged - loving it all. Ingatzzz.
Elder Jordan "Pop-Tart Griller" Royal
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| This is what a grilled Pop-Tart looks like (although it seems Jordan could not resist taking a bit or two in the process). |
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