Checking Up on the Vintar Gang - Week 92. Serving in Sarrat

Hey family. This week we got some great work in. The mission standard is to teach 30 lessons a week and as a leader area, we are supposed to.... well, lead. We haven't quite gotten there yet - we are one lesson short. We got punted all yesterday and just wanted that last lesson to hit the standard, as that was our goal (not number chasing but c'mon, one lesson away?). We got punted over and over again though and never got to teach that last lesson.

We did have an awesome week of finding though. It was like the old Vintar days! We found some really awesome people that seem really prepared. We also found some that are less so... Saturday we were punted and walked by a house with an older man sitting on the floor in the doorway. We approached him and introduced ourselves and explained what we do. Then we asked his name and he said "Saddam", so obviously I asked his last name and he said "Hussein", so I laughed. Then he asked angrily, "Why would you asks me my name if you were just going to laugh at me?". I was sure he was joking.

We are teaching the R family. Tatay is old but still full of energy. He's the one that has three teeth - one of which moves when he talks. He's so cool, he wants to go to the temple so bad. When we offer to do service for people, they usually say no because they are too shy but he said, "Sure, you can water my crops." Awesome! He has a little river that goes through his property and a bunch of buckets so we changed (we had planned for it and brought some clothes) and filled the buckets and watered his crops (papaya trees, tomatoes, peppers, corn etc.). It was a good work out. He said we could come back next week and do it again. He said it's a good thing we offered to help because he hadn't been able to water them for a while and they were about to die - poor guy.

Yesterday we set up to go with he and his wife to the house of another couple who are around their age who have been sealed in the temple. We talked about what to do to prepare and then started teaching the temple preparation lessons to them (we have been instructed to teach them).

Our teaching has been really great. We feel way relaxed -  just really comfortable with the doctrine and the
language. We went on exchange with the Vintar elders. I worked in Vintar! I caught up on all the people I taught and baptised when I was there. It was so great to see them.  All the Vintar converts are active and doing well, which was a load off my mind.

Sarrat is still tough. The members are stuck in a rut. The high councilor spoke on Sunday and mentioned that he met the original Sarrat missionary in Manila - the first one to serve here. He asked how Sarrat was and the councilor said, "Sarrat pa rin (still the same. It's still a branch). The RM was surprise and then the talk ended with, "Brothers and Sisters, this will become a ward when you do something about it. Amen". We love this place but we think they need some tough love.

 I love you guys.
Elder Dustan