I have so many things to share this week and so little time!! So I will just jump right in! :)
Last
Tuesday I learned a lesson/was reminded about how thoughtful and sweet
our loving Heavenly Father truly is. We were out proselyting in the
morning before lunch and the people we had planned to see weren't home.
So on the way to another potential investigator, a thought came to me
that we could stop on the way and try to see a less active that we had
met the week before and then were unable to make our follow-up
appointment with her. So we decided to stop by and see if she was
home/available. We got there and she was home! She invited us in and we
started talking and we found out that it was her birthday!! They have no
money so she wasn't able to prepare any food or anything, so she hadn't
advertised that it was her birthday. We explained that none of that was
important to us; we were just happy to be with her. We also testified
that Heavenly Father knows and loves her so much that, even though we
didn't know it was her birthday before coming, He did, and He sent us
there. It was such a small act of kindness by the Supreme and Almighty
God, and I can't help but smile every time I realize how important each
one of us are to Him, individually. :) He really is so sweet!
The
Sister Training Leaders were here for zone conference last week, so we
got to go on exchanges with them on Wednesday. I got to work with Sister
Tehei again and it was SO MUCH FUN!! We really just worked, the whole
day, but it was so great. I really just love her and we felt the spirit
in every lesson we taught. We even got to meet a former investigator,
Marilou, who had been given a Book of Mormon by a set of elders who
taught them before. They had gotten really busy and were unable to meet
with the elders anymore, until such time that the elders transferred or
they were dropped as investigators, but she told us that she still reads
the Book of Mormon whenever she gets time because it has helped her so
much through the trials she had to go through. She also said that she
cannot yet say when, but she knows the time will come when she will join
the Church. She just has to work some things out first. It really was
SO COOL to see how much of an impact those two elders had upon her,
through their simple act of teaching and sharing the Book of Mormon, and
though they may never know it (she doesn't remember their names now and
has no contact with them), they have changed this woman's life and
eternity. #smallandsimplethings
Thursday
brought a new learning experience. We had planned to go visit a family
that lives in one of our farthest areas. We forgot to text first though
and make sure they were home (they've always been around when we went),
and of course this day there was no answer when we got there. So we
started walking the long road back (mind you, we already walked a half
mile or more just to get to their house from the highway) to the rest of
our area. I had a prompting to go down a road we hadn't been down
before, which I thought was the shortcut one of the members had
mentioned before. We asked a woman who lives there and she said we could
get to our other area that way, so we started down the road. It was
still early and the sun was out so I wasn't worried about getting
lost--we could always turn back and go the "long way" on the highway if
we had to. As we walked though, the houses got fewer and fewer and the
people even more scarce. We even had to sit down a few times because
Sister Panugaling hadn't yet fully recovered from their several-mile
trek the night before. After about an hour, we sat on the edge of a hill
and looked around at a beautiful view of rice fields...in every
direction...and I started to repent. I didn't know why I had the feeling
to go down that road, and what I was supposed to learn. I didn't feel
unsafe, but I remembered what we had been counseled the night before by
our STLs to be wise and careful about our surroundings. I remembered the
promised protection of my patriarchal blessing and opted to exercise my
faith (instead of permitting fear) since I hadn't done anything
disobedient to get us there. I said a prayer for guidance and mustered
all the faith within me and we pressed on. Mercifully, just a few
hundred feet beyond, we saw the highway and we found our way. Tired and
exhausted, but grateful for deliverance, I reflected on what the Lord
had been trying to teach me. I thought about how kind Heavenly Father
was to use that opportunity to teach me about being safe, in a time and
place where we were never actually in danger. I promised to myself never
to allow us to get into a situation like that again. I also thought
about Lehi's experience in 1 Nephi 8. I have always asked myself in
verse 8 why it took him so long wandering before he thought to pray. Yet
I had experienced nearly the same thing, trusting in my own wisdom ("if
we just follow the road, we will get there eventually. we are still
going in the right direction!") rather than humbling myself and seeking
His. It was a very interesting experience, indeed.
(**don't
worry, Mom and Dad, I promise we were never actually in danger. we are
protected, but even if not, the people in Magsaysay are all super nice
and helpful. There are more than just angels looking out for us :) **)
Another
of the cutest experiences of my mission/life took place on Friday, and
was a huge blessing in disguise. The rest of our mission (the zones on
the mainland) all got to go to the mission office/aurora chapel on
Friday for a mission tour/conference with Elder Oaks. We in Mindoro were
the only ones who didn't get the chance to hear from or meet him. But
it was 100% worth it, because we had some of the most wonderful lessons
on Friday instead. We taught an 18 year old girl who is pregnant with
her first child, and was taught by the elders before but was never able
to be made a focus. We had a great lesson about the Restoration of the
Gospel and she accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon, pray
about it, and be baptized if she comes to know for herself that it is
true. That has been the focus of our mission, and especially our
companionship, this transfer and this week--teaching about the
Restoration and inviting people to find out for themselves and be
baptized when they come to know of the truthfulness of our message. We
also taught a woman who has been so incredibly prepared. She was never
before baptized in any church because, as she said, she has just been
searching and never really found anything. She wanted to be taught
before, when her "cousin-in-law" (not really a relative, but the
great-great-nephew of her husband's grandmother or something...basta
some distant relation that she is close friends with), our 14-year-old
recent convert, was taught by the elders. She was shy, though, to have
the elders teach her, so when we met her last week she was more than
receptive to being taught! We talked to her about the apostasy and the
Restoration of truth and authority and invited her to be baptized by
someone holding true Priesthood authority of God, and she said "of
course." Our recent convert, who was there for the lesson (we taught at
his house), couldn't contain his excitement. We were all surprised when,
upon hearing her response, he clapped and exclaimed, "YAY!!!! :) We
actually all started laughing. It was a cute ice breaker, but more than
anything, for me, a precious display of the true joy of sharing the
Gospel, especially with those we love. For brother Von, having this
close friend of his be able to experience the happiness that he
experienced when he joined the church was the most exciting thing! I
couldn't stop smiling the whole night, I was so filled with joy. Even
now, just thinking about it, I can't help but smile. Sharing the Gospel
truly is wonderful!
This week we have actually
seen a ton of miracles in our work and our area. Magsaysay really is
the most amazing area I have ever worked in, including exchanges. The
area truly is SO PREPARED and I can see how the Lord has been working
with people and opening and preparing their hearts to hear our message. I
am so grateful, also, to the Elders who were in our area before who did
so much as well to help our whitewash go so smoothly. The branch is so
excited, and we are already seeing the Lord's hand in the work here. Our
attendance at church yesterday was nearly double the week before, with
both investigators and less-active members in attendance. I can tell
that we missionaries are not the only ones excited about helping
Magsaysay become a ward when Mindoro becomes a stake. There really is
more going on here than I can even express. :) I just feel SO blessed to
be a part of it!!
There is even more that I
could say and share, but I am not feeling prompted at this time to
include it, so I will just move on to my spiritual thought for the week.
:)
The missionary handbook tells us to "bathe daily, if
possible" and I have gained a testimony of that counsel because I swear
some of the best revelation comes when you are left alone to ponder (and
for a missionary, that is pretty much only during shower time). Anyway,
I was thinking the other day about how to help our less-active members,
and even investigators, understand the importance of coming to church
every week, and especially the importance of the Sacrament.
The
Lord brought to my mind the story from the Book of Mormon when Christ
visits the Nephites (ancient inhabitants of the Americas). He first
introduces himself as "Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall
come into the world" and then testifies of his completed Atonement and
unending obedience saying, "I have suffered the will of the Father in
all things from the beginning." What happens next is my favorite,
though:
"And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:"Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
"And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
"And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:
"Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him." (3 Nephi 11:13-17)
Now, I
have read this story many, many times. I love it because it is so
personal--Christ invited and allowed every single soul (which we later
come to know was about 2,500 people) to touch the prints of the nails in
his hands and feet, as a testimony and reminder that he was he was
crucified and atoned for them INDIVIDUALLY. Never before, until I was
struck by revelation the other day, did I connect this sacred experience
with OUR sacred experience and opportunity to partake of the sacrament
every week. I thought about Christ's invitation to us, to come unto Him,
to come to Church and worship Him. I thought about the prints of the
nails in His hands and feet, and the sacraments emblems of bread and
water, all symbols of the great and infinite sacrifice offered on our
behalf. I thought of how each man, woman, and child had the opportunity
to experience and worship, one by one, and how the Sacrament is passed
to each of us, one by one. I thought of how I would feel if I had been
in that crowd that day, how full my heart would be of love and joy and
reverence and gratitude and humility and repentance. I then thought: are
those the things I feel every Sunday as I partake of the Sacrament?
That is my opportunity and privilege, every single week, to feel a
close, personal connection with MY Savior, as I ponder on what He has
done for ME. I believe that those Nephites were very blessed to have the
experience they had, but I believe that I am just as blessed, because
every 7 days, I get to have a similar experience, and all I have to do
is walk or drive to the nearest Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, where Christ's own Priesthood authority resides and is
exercised.
Holy cow. Do we realize how blessed we are? Do we
realize how much we have? Millions of people for thousands of years have
lived and died without ever having to opportunity to experience the
great joys and tender mercies we often take for granted.
I am
so humbled and grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ and for the relationship I have been able to
develop with Him through my study of the Book of Mormon and the Bible
and application of the teachings within. I am so grateful for true
Priesthood authority which has been restored to the earth through a
living prophet, and for continuing revelation which leads and guides us
still today. I KNOW that we have a loving Heavenly Father who knows us
and cares for us each individually. I KNOW that He is preparing the
treasures of heaven for all those who will come unto Him and follow Him,
and there is NOTHING, not a single thing that is worth giving up those
blessings. Endure na lang tayo. Whole-hearted obedience, 100%, is the
only way to true happiness. :)
That is all I
have time for today. I just want to say again how much I love you all
and am so grateful for your love and prayers and support!! Hope you have
a great week!!!! :)
Love always,
Sister Emma Franks
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