Area:
San Marcelino
Companion:
Sister Hynes
Kamusta po kayo lahat!!! (Hello love you all)
I have officially been on my mission over three
months now! Crazy! So this week has been awesome, I want to begin with giving a
little background on John-Mark S. and his conversion story, he is the 17 year
old boy that was baptized last Saturday. He was telling us this week that he
used to hang around with a really bad group of friends. His friends would
drink, do drugs, steal, and would even stab people. He talked about how one day
he decided he wanted to change his life around, so even though he didn't know
exactly how, he prayed to God that he would be able to change his habits. He
said the next week is when we showed up on his doorstep and asked him if we
could teach him. He was so excited and immediately recognized this as an answer
to his prayers. He is now the strongest recent convert ever, he came out and
worked with us three times this week, eight hour shifts at a time in the
pouring rain, and he had a smile on his face the entire time. He told us that
he wishes he was the oldest of the seven boys in his family so he could just
cry them all to repentance and get it into their heads that this is the true
church and they need to join. However, when we were teaching his aunt Wilma on
Monday, she told us that he had been teaching his 16 and 17 year old cousins
about the church, and that the cousins now wanted to be baptized too! He has
been a member a week now and is already being such an amazing missionary. We
taught his cousins this week, and they have baptismal goal dates for October
19, so exciting! John-Mark has a really hard time reading, he stumbles over his
words, and isn't very confident, but his mom said that every day she sees him
with his Aklat ni Mormon (Book of Mormon) open, reading it aloud to become
better, what a diligent example. He told us he really wants to go on a mission,
of course I want him to go to America! So I have been teaching him English this
week, I finally feel smart because I know a language! ha it's been a blast. He
is so incredible, and I learn so much from him each day.
We had two really spiritual experiences this
week. Our investigator Marvin has been struggling with the word of wisdom, it's
hard because you really come to love your investigators, and when they do bad
things I feel like a disappointed mother. This week we showed him a Faith in
Christ video, at the end the Spirit was extremely strong, I had so much I
wanted to say, but my vocabulary in Tagalog isn't quite where it needed to be
to really be able to express my testimony. So I said it in English, and I began
to cry, and so did he. He said he was able to somehow understand every word
that came out of my mouth, and of course, that was the Spirit testifying to
him. I called him to repentance, and made him realize that we as missionaries
can teach him all that we know, and tell him the things he should do with his
life to get closer to Christ, but at the end of the day, it's up to him to make
those decisions. We aren't going to be there every second of every day to help
him make good choices, it's up to him to choose the life he wants to lead. It
really hit home for him, and made him realize that now is the time to change. I
hope that somewhere in his heart he finds the desire to amidst the peer
pressure and mocking from his family, to stand strong and do what he knows is
right.
The last experience was with Nanay S. (Her name
is Carmelita, but here in the Philippines every older lady is Nanay and every
older guy is Tatay). We walked up to their home one day and Nanay is squatting
on the ground putting together her vegetables to sell later that afternoon and
is crying. At first it was a little bit awkward, we didn't know what was going
on or if we should stay. She is a very outspoken lady and isn't embarrassed, so
she of course welcomed us in. We went in and sat down, and immediately she just
pours her heart out to us of the things that were bothering her. She talked
about how she gives gives gives to her eight children all that she has and
works so hard to provide for them, and they are so ungrateful for all that she and
her husband Freddie do for them to the point that they just expect things. She
will sell vegetables all day, and then come home and give what little money she
made to her children to go play at the computer shops, or buy treats to eat.
She talked about how she is getting old now, her job is extremely hard on her
body, and she just can't keep doing this anymore. It really made me reflect
back on my mother, and how I know we as children are such a hassle to her, and
the experience just became really real to me. She said one day she was making
dinner, cleaning the house, and preparing vegetables to sell all at the same
time and a thought came into her head to just poison the food so they can all
die and all their problems will just go away. But then she said a voice came to
her, very subtle and soft, and said "My child, don't do that, you love
your family and your kids, you are their mother, and I your father, I am here
for you." She talked about how she does love her children so much, they
are her world, but she just doesn't know what to do, her quality of life isn't
good enough. She said I'm not saying I want a good job that pays a ton of money
so I can buy nice things, I just want to be able to put food on the table for
my family, and for them to do some things in return. Sister Hynes and I pulled
out scriptures, and tried giving her the advice that we could. Things began to
settle down as the Spirit was present. Her and Freddie were both crying at this
point, and I was overwhelmed with the Spirit. I could feel of their pain, and I
began to weep with them. I bore my testimony to them, and poured my heart out
to them. Their burdens instantly seemed to become light, their faces looked
younger, and they were smiling. They told us how much they love us, and how grateful
they are for us coming to their home to change their lives as well as the lives
of their children. They said we are their family, and they will cry the day we
are transferred.
It is little experiences like these that make
all the hard days here worth it. I absolutely love my mission. There is no
where else in the world I would rather be. I see the hands of Heavenly Father
in this work, and in the lives of my investigators every day. I have become so
grateful for all that I have, as I see these people struggle over the REAL
problems of the world. The problems I had back home are nothing compared to the
trials they face here. I am grateful for my testimony, and for the knowledge I
have of this gospel. I am grateful to be born into the covenant, and to know
that my family is FOREVER. I am grateful for the Atonement, and for a Savior
that loves us and knows all that we have been through. My new found testimony
of gratitude is that it inspires humility, humility encourages faith, and faith
brings miracles. I love you all and hope you have a blessed week.
Mahal Kita!
Sister Pilkington
P.S. Yes there is a crazy typhoon going on
right now, my neighbors metal roof was in our yard this morning, the flooding
is wild, but no need to worry, I've got awesome rain boots and a sweet snow
leopard print umbrella! Plus, I'm equipped with the protection of the Lord :)
Love ya!
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