September 15, 2015
There are a lot of fun things happening here and a lot of nice Filipinos to talk to. I honestly cannot wait until I can bring my friends and family here and to show them around. It is beautiful here and the culture is so interesting! We have huge fruit trees in my backyard here - haha. We have many (MANY) dragon fruit trees, banana trees, a papaya tree, guava trees, and an atis tree (weird Filipino apple thing). All of which are bearing fruit which brings up my next point: When you freeze half of a dragon fruit and eat it like it is ice cream after a long day... PRAISE BE TO THE LORD! I'll admit that even the dragon fruit here doesn't taste like anything but it is still nice to carve away at the frozen flesh.
The bananas here are actually good! Bananas at home don't compare (sorry Murica). We take them, fry ‘em in butter and coat ‘em in sugar.... SO TAMBOK RIGHT! But alas it is pretty good and being that it is fried, reminds me of home. The other fruits are in development. They aren't quite ready yet.
I saw a Jeepny drive by with two goats standing on top of it...weird! Two girls crashed their motor cycle into a store (IDK if I had already shared that). It was funny. Almost died again on the motor cycle cab thing. Christmas trees are up here as well as singing Christmas hymns in church. I am truly loving it here and I love actually having a Cebuano conversation. The gift of tongues is manifesting it as I have already had dreams in Cebuano haha and I can now get my point across without further confusion! Oh that great day when I return and dili estorya sa english (don't speak English)!
All is well here and the work is now starting to carve itself out. We are now having many meetings each week with the ward - PEC, BCM, WCM, etc. I can see that by the time I am transferred out of Toboso this place will be better than when I arrived. As far as the investigators go...Eh it is good. We teach more less-actives. They understand our message and I know they believe but they are so stubborn! Mainly because they are offended... that's actually the main big reason as to inactivity here. I will share later my belief on inactivity.
We have a gator whose name is Ernesto. Imagine Grandpa Fry but a little more brown, less swearing, and actually willing to learn about our message. He came to church the other week and it made me so happy to see him but he hasn't come to church lately and he says it is because the Apostasy doesn't make sense to him. There is a tricky subject for you now. How do you convince a Catholic that there was an apostasy? Better question, how do you do it without an argument? We have here a RM (a bit older) named Brother Dodong. Now Brother Dodong will tell you that a bear craps in the woods. If you aren't doing your job he WILL get on your case about it and he won't spare any feelings. He is wise in scripture and in doctrines. He also cooks well and apparently is very funny. And we had this guy with us to teach Brother Ernesto. Well I honestly felt like we were trying to argue our way in proving our points that an apostasy did happen. I wasn't so sure what was happening during this leksion, pero I learned a new way of how to teach people. Most peeps learn by the spirit and by their feelings of the spirit before and after the lessons. Others need to see the doctrines and to be convinced. Well I have learned nga Brother Ernesto is one who needs to see the doctrines in the scriptures to be convinced, which in return makes me feel kind of bad because this isn't true conversion. It is convincing with the words of men and not the spirit of God. We’ll see how this goes because I know that he has felt the spirit in our lessons and I know that HE knows our message is true. Maybe he just needs a bit longer to be prepared by the Lord.
So I have realized is how much sense the Book of Mormon makes. When you follow the stories and the "who's who", the story line makes so much sense and makes it very difficult to believe that Joseph Smith "made it up". I have finished Alma now and am on the final home stretch to finishing the book again and I hope by the time I have finished studying it I can truly testify that Joseph Smith was called and ordained a prophet of God like all LDS members should. As I continue to teach and to share our beliefs they make so much sense to me. It makes sense to me that God created all through His son Jesus Christ; that we are the children of a kind and loving Father in Heaven and he sent us here to be cut off from his presence so that we may choose for ourselves the master whom we will serve. He wants to communicate with us and by doing so he calls and ordains prophets to teach us. When Jesus Christ came even His own PEOPLE rejected him and chose to follow Satanas. So God took his church from the earth until the world was ready again to receive his Gospel once more. And here we are! A prophet has been called and we have received another witness of Jesus Christ that has NOT been translated may times and tampered with – The Book of Mormon. Oh how much sense it makes when you study the belief - when you get a Book of Mormon, a highlighter, and study the book! So far, I can testify that The Book of Mormon is true! That through a prophet we can know all the mysteries of God because He wants us to know! Families can be together forever and I will never settle for anything less.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect; the people are not. If you have any concerns regarding the actions of members just remember in the book Moses 1:39 "For behold this is MY work and MY glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (emphasis added). This is Christ's church. God's church not the bishops or your neighbors church but Christ's. His doctrine is perfect. Mans doctrine is not perfect. Study the words of Christ and those whom He appointed and you will be directed. I know this to be true and leave my testimony in sa ngalan ni Jesukristo, Amen.
I hope all goes well back at home! Take care ya'll! Amping!
-Elder Morris
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