11/04/13--Getting Into Details

November na! Mabalis ng oras! Sana malamig dito, pero sobrang mainit pa.

Kumusta po ang pamilya at kaibigan ko? Namimiss ko kayo palagi! Pero, maraming salamat po para yung support palagi!

So this week was not super eventful- actually most of the eventful things were not necessarily good things. Our investigators are slowly telling us basically that they will stay Catholic. Pero, okay lang- we keep tracting and talking to people and finding the people that the Lord is preparing! I know they are out there- I'm just not really sure where. So John- the golden lesson from last week, this week was not such a golden lesson. We asked if he got an answer to his prayer. He said yes and that he will stay Catholic. Pero, as we taught he opened up a little more again because we had awesome members with us that bore way awesome testimony! We are teaching the restoration to him again because that really is the foundation of testimony. I am super sad about him, but trying to have faith that he will be able to recognize the Holy Ghost! Stubborn talaga!

There were two super awesome things this week though! First, the Alanis Family. I have mentioned them before. They are a part member family- Omar, the dad, is less active, and Joann, the wife, is the most stubborn investigator in the Philippines. But they are sooo awesome! We went and visited them this week and it had been a while. Omar is a magician haha and so he showed us a bunch of majic tricks. His little girls love it, its so cute! The lesson was about keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. Omar told us how he really wants to become active in the Church again, he just doesn't know when it will happen. I told him NOW! If he doesn't decided now it may never happen. So we are walking to church yesterday and my companion goes oh my gosh look Sister Gardner- and there they were! Their whole family! We were so happy and the whole ward was too! I hope that is becomes a weekly thing!

The other super awesome thing is Erica Arsega. Our 12 year old investigator that might as well be 18. She is so smart it is insane. When we follow up on our last lesson she knows everything we taught her! Her answers to questions are amazing and she asks the deepest questions. And she is 12! Future leader in the church for sure! Now it just getting her family on board. Her parents are always so busy!

Let's just say this week there were many disappointments. I thought a lot about what can I say to help people see the truth. I thought about why the gospel means so much to me. The things that came to my mind were first the simplicity and beauty of the gospel. Life really becomes so simple and beautiful when you understand and accept the gospel completely because you know your purpose here and you know who you are. I want my investigators to understand that so badly! The next things I thought about were prophets, families, and the temple. I am so thankful for the comfort the words of the prophets bring, the knowledge that families can be together forever, and to be able to go to the temple. These things are true and they can only be found in the true Church of Jesus Christ. This week I am just thankful. Sometimes, well maybe more than sometimes missions are hard. They just are, but they are great and amazing because they are hard. Each day I think about what I learned that day and decide I would never take back the things I learn each day. Each day is preparing me for a bright future!

Oh one funny story.  So on the Jeepney you say "Bayad po" when you are passing your money up to the driver and then "Para po" when you want the driver to stop. I was super tired and I yelled "Bayad po" really loud for the driver to stop instead of "Para po." Me and my companion were laughing really hard along with everyone else in the Jeepney. White girl problems dito sa Philippines.

I love you all! I miss you all each day and hope you are happy and healthy!

-Sister Gardner