Last Transfer and a New Companion - Week 102. Serving in Sarrat

This week seemed to fly by. We continue to teach our deaf investigator. She is doing so well. She grasps everything we teach her so quickly. We are almost done all the lessons and this will be the quickest transition from new investigator to baptized convert that I have ever seen - exactly 4 weeks. She was seen by one of the members drinking a bit of alcohol and they told her that members of the church don't drink. The next lesson, she asked about it and we taught her the Word of Wisdom. She accepted it fully once she knew about it.

 One thing we are trying to do is help people understand the importance of accepting callings. There is a reluctance among some members to do so. We taught one member family, explaining the worth of a soul, then talking about how many Asians God made and that it shows that He must really love them, then how many Chinese there are that haven't received the gospel yet. Then we discussed how the Philippines is the bridge to the rest of Asia, so it's really important that this country gets prepared so that when China opens to the gospel, the Filipinos are ready to lead the way in. They are also really great at learning new languages so they will definitely play a part (all of this came from Pres. B's meetings with general authorities). Then we explained how the only thing that can help the church get stronger here is for each member to shoulder a load. It was such a great lesson and so powerful.

Elder O was transferred, so I am now with Elder R for the last 6 weeks of my mission. He is from Arizona, 6 foot 5 and a really nice guy. I am looking forward to the work taking off here and am excited for our baptisms on the 20th.

I went on exchange with two elders who were having a hard time in the work and with each other lately. They are both very new. The trainer feels like he doesn't know enough because he is so new. He is also very timid and his trainee, very confident and outgoing. We got punted and no work was happening. I would stop and talk to someone here and there and try and get us an opportunity to teach a lesson but the two elders weren't speaking up and no one was letting us in. Then after we got punted again, I suggested we make a game of it. As we walked to our next appointment we were to each pick one person on the street to initiate a conversation with, and whoever didn't do it, got a slap (playful slap, of course). Then right off the bat, one elder says, "That guys' mine!". It was an older man walking down the street. We walked across the road and started talking to him. Turns out his wife died and he was worried about whether there was life after death. He was also good friends with a bishop who served in the area. He was a really nice guy and they got an appointment set up. Then we talked to a few others and got on a role. I could see the elders' demeanor change. Where they had been fearful to talk to people, now they were excited about the work and to talk to everyone. It's so cool how that works. They just needed a first step and because it's something good, it brings a good feeling that drives you to continue.

Later we went and passed a group of young men all being obnoxious. The timid elder went over and asked if he could sit down and struck up a conversation with them. Even though it was in broken and simple Tagalog (that they made fun of at first), he pushed through and kept going. Then he told them all to gather 'round and he was going to tell them about the Book of Mormon. They ignored him so he raised his voice saying, " Hey, this is important. Come here!". They all came over and listened as he stood in the street and bore his testimony to them. He set up a return appointment with some of them and found out one of them is a member of missionary age. I was so proud of that elder. It takes some nerve to do that.

Anyways, that's my week so far. It was great. We had a great correlation with the stake president. He was happy because the work is getting better - so much so that the zone became two zones in Laoag. We are Laoag zone 1 (east side!).

Thanks for the emails guys. Can't wait for General Conference. I love you all tons! Have a great week.
Elder Dustan

Those Crazy Spaniards! - Week 101. Serving in Sarrat

This week went so fast. We went on exchange twice. Tuesday I went to Vintar again, this time with Elder C. It feels like yesterday I was in Santa Maria telling him about Vintar and now he's the one showing me around.

When we were there, we went to teach the dean of the biggest university in Laoag. Our fellowshippers were D and N (the two women we baptized when Elder S and I were in Laoag. N was the random nanay we gave a Book of Mormon to and then she read the whole thing and got baptized. Now she teaches Institute). It was sooooooo awesome to sit there with a very intellectual man and his equally smart wife and just discuss gospel doctrine. He had so many questions. Then to start the lesson, he said he wanted to hear the conversion stories of D and N. It was amazing! Less than two years ago I was just meeting those two and now I'm able to sit with them and have them bear testimony about the church. N even quoted from Preach My Gospel! The dean is the same religion as they were before, Aglipayan. I can tell he will be baptized. Vintar is doing very well. They are, one by one, baptizing all the family members of their new members and the church is already having the same attendance as we have here in Sarrat which has been here for 25 years.

 The next day we jumped right into another exchange. The elder I was with was very shy and quiet. He is training and having a bit of a hard time with that. Everyone we taught loved him though. He can barely speak Tagalog but when he teaches no one mocks him for it. They all hang on his every word. The people we teach here in Sarrat are so kind. I learned that Sarrat, in Tagalog, means ugly nose. In Ilocano is means horn. It came when the Spaniards asked, "What do you call this place" and the natives thought they were pointing at the carabao horn so they said, "Sara't nuang" or carabao horn. Those crazy spaniards!

 On Friday we went by to just see if a past investigator was at home and as we walked up to the door, his sister came over and without even hesitating, invited us to come in. We taught her and she was amazing. We set up a return appointment for the next day. She was there waiting and had read all the stuff we left with her. She understands things so quickly. Then we invited her to church. We dropped by Sunday morning to pick her up but our male fellowshipper punted us. She was waiting all dressed up in a perfectly modest skirt ready to go right on time. We asked her to wait while we then went to get a fellowshipper. When we got back to her house, she had left. She got to church on her own and she was sitting there - 9am on the dot, first person at church other than the branch president. She is so cool. She loved the classes and learned so much. We are planning on inviting her to set a baptismal date on Tuesday (she already committed to be baptized when she receives a witness that what we are teaching her is true but we never set a sure date).

We have been having trouble with our original baptismal dates but as one falls away, we are led to someone else even more prepared, like that girl.

We are teaching an awesome guy. His mum is deaf but she somehow manages to speak pretty well. Some members said she can't be taught because she's deaf. We have been teaching her and she will be baptized with her son on April 20th. She is so smart. We just do a lot of reading and she eats it up. We write out what we want to say to her. She also reads lips some of the time, and she and her son have their own kind of sign language so he helps her. She is so sweet. One day she just told us that she wanted to go to our church but has community meetings on Sundays so she wrote a letter to them saying she can't go to the community meetings anymore unless they change the meeting day - and they did! She wanted to go to church with us because she saw the change in her son.

The last lesson we had with them turned into a testimony meeting all of a sudden. Her son bore testimony to us out of nowhere, and then our fellowshipper told us that he used to be depressed all the time but now he is changed and he is happy. He worked with us for one lesson and was so happy he couldn't stop talking about it.

We have Zone Leader Conference later today and then will be getting ready for zone training meeting. Time moves so fast. I am reviewing the talks from last General Conference to get ready for this conference. I loved Pres. Monson's talk about considering the blessings. He encouraged us all to take an inventory of our lives and look for the blessings and those experiences that we may not have noticed at the time, but which really were powerful spiritual experiences. I noticed a few I had never thought of since they happened.

Thanks for your emails, guys. I love you all so much and can't believe I will be calling you soon and then shortly after that I will be seeing you! Thanks for all your support. Even among the foreign missionaries here, I am by far the most supported by my family. Good thing you can't overdose on blessings! Have a great week!
Elder Dustan