BAPTISMS!

 

Week Highlights: 

-Two cute little investigators of ours age 8 and 11 were able to be baptized this week and it was such a happy moment for their grandma who takes care of them as their parents aren't involved in their lives. They both bore their sweet testimonies and one of them accidentally started it as a prayer "Ama po namin nasa Langit..." (Our father in heaven" hahaha 

-The family that we extended Baptismal Invites to last week is really progressing! Their cute daughters walked to church on their own with their 11 year old brother (they all wore tights and jackets with their dresses even though it was hot, so cute) and they loved it! We also brought them to the baptism and the youth in our ward really took them in. Ward members are SO important for the conversion of investigators 

-Our other investigator that became interested from a pass along card that a kid on the street handed him, is also progressing SO well. Watching the conversion of him and his sister deepens my testimony and love for the gospel with every lesson. He wanted to bear his testimony in sacrament meeting too, can you believe it?! And he asked US when his baptismal interview was. Wow. His sister also has a baptism date as well. The Lord is truly moving his work foreward and I feel incredibly lucky to be an instrument in his hands. 

- I experienced my first real Filipino rain fall!! I LOVED it. Of course we were soaked and I had given my umbrella to my trainer because she gets sick if she gets to cold and wet, but I didn't even care because the rain storm was so cool to me. Lightning lights up the WHOLE sky and thunder cracks so loud. Astig :) (It's cool) 

You Know You're in the Philippines When... 

To let someone know you are at their house, you just ring the doorbell right? Well here there obviously aren't any doorbells and there may not even be a door so you just stand outside and yell "Tao po". It literally means "people". hahaha try that next time you get to your friends house. Just shout "People, people, people!!!" 

Missionaries can Laugh Too... 

So this week we had some extra little guests in our apartment...maggots. Cute right? Haha it was my first time with those too. We were talking out our trash and I moved the "food waste" bag off the floor then noticed lots of little things moving. We didn't really know how to kill them so we were stepping on them and trying to sweep all the little buggers into our dust pan but the brooms here aren't super stiff just lots of little sticks so it was pretty difficult but were were just dying laughing the whole time. That's kind of just our attitude here- you just laugh :) 

Tagalog Word of the Day: 

Baliw- crazy (as in like a crazy person) 

Spiritual Thought: 

Our ward mission leader asked us to write a letter than we can give to less actives in the ward and as I was writing I had a pretty cool experience with the scriptures! I had written that through Christ, and taking his name upon ourselves is the only way we can receive salvation, and "pinaka-kaligayahan" (the highest happiness) in this life. I turned to the scriptures to find a certain verse and my page opened to one I hadn't noticed before but stated "and under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby man can receive salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenent with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives." Mosiah 5:7-13 is an incredible reminder of the weight and important of the covenant that we all made at baptism. Taking upon ourselves His name, the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, is not just given to us at the waters of baptism. This is a conscious choice we make every day to represent and live as He would. I encourage you all to read those short verses and think about how it personally means to you to be a witness of Christ. He will call to us at the last day, let us remain one of his fold even until the "ends of our lives" so that we recognize his voice and be called one of His faithful servants :) 

Mahal Mahal Mahal kita!

Sister Walters