So sad to see no email from my parents! 😪
I only got 4 months till i can see ya in person though so I can let this week slide 😉
This past week was pretty alright. We got a bunch of new faces in our zone now. Nearly every companionship had a change, the only exceptions are Elder Sudayon and I and the Elders in Pardo. So ya it's been cool to see how that's already started affecting stuff (especially since it's been good). We've seen a really big change in the efforts people have been putting into their areas.
Even in our area we've already seen a huge miracle. There was a sister we talked to on the side of the road once like over 2 months ago that had told us her son was serving a mission, but she herself was not a member. Well we werent quite able to find her again, but this last week her son had someone from his mission that just finished their mission contact us. So Sister Elkah (the RM) helped us get in contact with this Sister again. Sooo we were finally able to meet the Yap family! So in the Yap family the Father and the 2 oldest sons are members (with one on a mission). The mom had been taught by the missionaries about 20 years ago in a totally different part of the Philippines. Well on our first visit we talked with her about how she felt about her son being on a mission and explained to her what we, as missionaries, do to help others. She happily invited us to come back and ya it was awesome... Well she came to church on Sunday! And we went back again just a couple days later. When we went back we had probably only been there for a couple minutes when she told us she and her son (14yr) wanted to be baptized. She said that she had such a wonderful experience at Church, that the members were just so welcoming, that her Sunday School Class was just so inspiring, and she just loved it. She told us that after she had gone to church she remembered how her relatives told her that they always pray for her and hope that some day she would join the church. Well in the words of sister Yap, she said that, "...[her] family's prays have been answered! [Her] heart has been softened and she is ready to become a member." I've never seen such a quick conversion.
It's honestly been so inspiring to be a part of her story. There were so many things that just stuck out to me: the power of prayer and love, the influence of members at church, and the example of her son living righteously. I think things like that are often times under appreciated or taken for granted, but they're the very reason sister Yap and her son, Kirt, were so ready to receive the Gospel! So ya I guess our week has been pretty awesome now that I think about it.
Love ya!
Elder Shirley
Love ya!
Elder Shirley