Experiences On a Plane, In a Prison and In the Temple - Week 83. Serving In Laoag

I've been back in Laoag since Thursday. The doctor cleared me to go back as long as I return to Manila in two weeks for an ultrasound. Then I talked to the MRC guy and tried to get the earliest flight to Laoag that I could. They told me that I would be able to go back on Saturday. So I went to the temple after that and was just walking in as the MRC guy came running up behind us and told us they had booked plane tickets for that night and we needed to leave now. It was Elder V, Sister F and I, going to the temple but Sister F had already gone in. I felt bad because when the sister was finished in the temple, she would come out and wait for a long time until she realized we had left.

Anyway, I went to the airport, got on a plane and got back to Laoag at 10pm Thursday night. On the plane I had a window seat and there was a couple sitting beside me. The woman was in the middle and she was having a hard time working the reading light. I was surprised when she asked me if I knew how to work it. Most people try to ignore an LDS missionary that they are stuck beside. After I helped her, she was taken aback that I speak Tagalog (she spoke English to me). Her husband started asking questions and we talked about beliefs - it was awesome. They were so nice. They were married last year and were going to Laoag and Pagudpud for a vacation. I had bought four hard cover triples while I was at the MRC for some of our families we are working with but I gave one to them and they were so thankful. The guy works at a call center in Manila and it turns out the call center is in the Mall of Asia which is exactly what I want to visit. So he said he would show me around if I can get there on my way home in May.

Speaking of which, there were a few changes while I was gone. One was that we don't use hotels here anymore. Missionaries leaving or arriving just stay in the mission home, office apartments or other missionary apartments, so when I arrived, our apartment was all in a disarray from the departing missionaries and also from thanksgiving feasts.

 Second is that the MTC change from the 9 week program to the six week program has caused all missionaries from February onward to have their release dates moved back by 3 weeks - point is I am no longer coming home at the beginning of May but I will now be leaving Laoag near the end of May. Sorry if you already booked time off. I also have to re-do every travel plan for missionaries leaving from February to May now which will take a while. I'm okay with it though.

After I got back to Laoag we told tales of our time apart. Friday is the day when the new missionaries get paired up with their trainers and go to their areas. We issue them their planners, training things, pillows, etc. However, while I was away, we had run out of pillows. We spent Friday trying to get everything in order and only got to teach one lesson. Then we went and bought some pillows and brought them to the few missionaries we could. It sucked that a bunch of the new missionaries had to spend their first night in the mission field sleeping with no pillow.

We visited one of the focus families on Saturday night. They have been evicted from their home and moved back to their old house that burned down. We went to find it and when we asked where they lived, we were pointed down a random alley way at the back in the ruins of a house. It had a tiny piece of sheet metal for a small roof that covers maybe a tenth of the house at most. And there was their daughter, a young mother, in this place not worthy to be called a shack, sitting on a "bed" with her new born baby. Cool thing was she still had a smile on her face. She is a really awesome girl. She still takes time to read the Book of Mormon but has to do it in a certain spot at night because that's where their neighbour's light shines as they have no light of their own.

 While we were there, two fights broke out on the street and I felt like I was truly in some ghetto. The nanay asked us to visit her son in prison so on Sunday we went to the Laoag prison to visit him. It was a weird experience. One of the members who came with us was wearing yellow and was told she was not allowed into the prison in yellow. Not sure why. We went in and got searched and had to show some ID. They let us in to a kind of courtyard and there he was.

He looked terrible. As we walked over, a bunch of guys behind some bars started yelling, "Hey Joe! Hey man!" We went over and found a spot to sit and talked with him. At first we didn't know what to tell him. We chatted a while and then finally he asked if we could teach him. We taught about Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail. I told him that when we are faced with a trial, it means that God knows we can overcome it which is the only reason why he would let us have that specific trial. The bigger the trial, the more you are capable of. He never thought of that before and really appreciated it.

We told him that we would pray for him and if he was totally honest with everything, then things would all work out. We also told him to take the time to repent of anything needing repenting of and use the time to draw closer to Christ. We gave him a miniature Book of Mormon (which is now called a Jail Book of Mormon). We will go back next week to see him again. Funny that another member came over and said hi to us in the jail. He's imprisoned as well.

I has a really cool experience at the temple while I was in Manila. I was doing initiatories as I had done the day before as well. As I was doing them, I noticed a couple of errors for two of the names. I wasn't sure if it was even my place to say anything to correct it. I thought maybe it was just in my head, but no, I was positive that one thing was said wrong for one of the names, and the other one didn't receive the priesthood like he should have.

As I finished the names, I was wondering what I should do about it. I then felt prompted to just go and tell them. It made a bit of a stir with the workers and I had to explain the problem several times. As they were discussing what was to be done, this one temple worker came in who I had met before and who was a really sharp guy. So I explained it to him and he said, "Okay, we will just re-do those two names. So that's what we did.

I felt reallllly good as we re-did those two names. It was a feeling that can't really be explained - one that I have never felt anywhere else. So that was my cool temple experience.

The incoming missionaries were really great - some really good ones there. A new store opened yesterday in Laoag called Pure Gold. It's pretty much a  Pinoy version of Costco. We will be shopping there today. I will miss going to the palengke though.

So that was my week. As for my health, I feel okay. My side is still sore but I am taking the meds they gave me every night. Hope you are all doing well. I love you guys.
Elder Dustan