Hello to everyone and to all my friends out across the world serving the Lord. This has been a good transfer and it went by way fast too. I am serving in Stop Aguinaldo Branch on the northeast side of the island of Negros and it is still a Cebuano speaking area. My companion for one transfer was Elder Reyes but I found out today he will be leaving. It is kind of sad because one transfer just doesn't feel like enough time, but of course it is all part of God's plan for us. I learned some good things from Elder Reyes - how to teach more clearly and simply and to be bold and loving. He also taught me the concept of not giving up on people and the value of getting in at least two to three lessons a week to our focus families, because of course true conversion is a process and it just doesn't happen over night. Also he was good at opening people up by being friendly and making them laugh and of course missionary work is love and you can't do the work of the Lord without the Spirit. I also found out today that one of the other elders from my apartment, Elder Delos Santos who is a Filipino too will be my new companion as his companion is going home. Instead of two new missionaries coming we will cover two areas now. This seems like so much because we already had a ton to do in just one area but I know that we can do it because it is God's plan for us. At least it will be easy to clean the house now and by the way we got our pipes and showers fixed, but I love using a bucket better now anyways ha ha. We are trying to stay balanced with the rescue efforts of the less actives and with our investigators from referrals. Some of our investigators here are from the rescue and part member families and a lot are from referrals. Some of our focus people that we teach are from a referral that we started teaching at the start of the transfer. It is that group of homes out in the jungle where we had to cross through the river and hike to teach them. One is a less active and the rest are investigators. He hadn't been to church in eight years and came and the family is way good and ready to hear the gospel and have been coming to church. In the song “Where did all the good people go?” by my favorite lyrical genius Jack Johnson, I think they went to the Philippines ha ha really everyone is way nice here I want to teach them all. My investigator Alma has come to know the truth. He told me he used to be a gangster but now has completely changed. He and his wife are “live ins” which is such a problem here, but according to his circumstances, because he had an old wife that he has separated from and they have no money to pay for an annulment. According to the rules here they can still get baptized due to the long separation time and the money issue. His other family from his old wife doesn't approve so we are trying to help him overcome that. We have many others we are focusing on and many with baptism dates. There are also a bunch of faithful kids we are teaching between like 12 and 20 that are way faithful and some have dates. I am surprised by their faith. We did a miracle with one girl’s mom - she was way closed but we prayed and as we asked for permission had a way good idea which solved the problem and opened her up. So be ready to do miracles. I always ask my comp every day before we leave since I have been here, "Are you ready to do some miracles?" What I have learned though is there is always a problem to overcome with everyone and that is our job to help them. We need to be bold and do our best because if not for us then who will do it? These people aren't going to just change out of nowhere. There are always ups and downs and everything doesn't always go as planned. But you just do your best and continue. The way of life here is way simple and different but I like it. People are just less experienced and advanced here in the church. It was way weird at first but I am used to it now, there are way faithful members but we have to step up and help the branch function. Every Monday we play basketball with a bunch of kids. Some are pretty good but I can score down low every time ha ha and they always cherry pick. Also each Monday morning we wake up way early and go hiking because there are a bunch of little mountains around - nothing compared to the Utah mountains but it is a great way to relax. The nature here is way sweet but Utah will always be my favorite. So today we hiked the tallest mountain around way early and saw the sunrise come up from the ocean. It was way sick. You can see Cebu island and on the other side you can see way over to Ilo Ilo, a different island. We drank coconut water and ate mangos. The fruit here is way good. I will always be nature man. My zone leader here is Elder Tukolovatu from Salt Lake City too. He played football for East high and at the University of Utah before he came. He is way sick and I have chilled with him. He gave me two talks that I want to review. The first is called, "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. I encourage you all to read it. Some things I like are, "The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home, but that miraculously we can feel at home. The miracle of the atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly, not just to be cleansed and consoled but we can be transformed. Put it simply if Jesus didn't require practice we would never become saints. There should never only be two options: perfection or giving up, growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace we understand that God is long suffering, that change is a process and repentance is a pattern of our lives… the blessings of Christ's atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness… continue in patience until we are perfected. Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road, it is achieved right here and right now. God's grace is sufficient, Jesus’ grace is sufficient. It is enough. It is all we need. Don't quit. Keep trying. Don't look for escapes and excuses. Look for the Lord and his perfect strength. Don't look for someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. Seek Christ and as you do you will feel the enabling power and divine help we call his amazing grace." Way good! We should apply this everyday to our lives and to the people we teach. In the other talk Richard G. Scott says," The membership in the church can be divided into three groups. The first had a testimony and was converted, the second had a testimony but was not converted and the third group had no testimony and no conversion, this group is totally inactive and we never see them at church. Converted means to have been born again as the scriptures describe it, to have tasted of the forgiveness the atonement provides, to have been changed in the inner man, to have lost the disposition to commit sin. When that conversion takes place from that point on you will be driven from within to do your very best you can possibly be, no one will have to tell you to do it you will have no choice." Finally he says that it is crucial for us to get this conversion in our lives. I have to go but I know that we need to get to the number one level of conversion and also the people we teach. It is a process that is why we need the atonement. I love you all good luck and see you soon.
Love Elder Mifflin aka Nature Man
Love Elder Mifflin aka Nature Man
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