Keep Moving Forward

At the mission home in Bacolod for training and being fed! Yum! (More photos at the end.)

Hello Family,

I'm really grateful that I have a chance to be companions with Elder Baird. He has quite the sense of humor and is always looking for reasons to have a  laugh, and we both have a pretty distinct wry sense of humor that can lead to some good laughs at the end of the day when we need to just laugh and unwind a little.

I think Satan has been throwing absolutely everything he can at J just to try and stop or slow her down from getting baptized, but thus far he has been unsuccessful due to that girl's shear testimony in what she knows is true. At the exact time we started teaching the girls about the law of chastity, all of the sudden, J and the rest of the girls in the group started feeling more pressure from their "friends" at school with regards to being exposed to filth and being made fun of for their values and the way they dress now.


On top of that, J's father, who often is very drunk at night, has been saying very hurtful things to her as well, and she opened up with us about how she was starting to struggle with thoughts of depression and worse. But after we taught her about the value of life, and assigned her Ether 12 and Moroni 7, she came back and told us about how her faith has given her hope and how she realized how wrong those kinds of thoughts were. The other girls have been experiencing opposition as well, mainly from their peers and such, but not quite to the same extent.

But despite all this, I've never seen anyone be more determined and excited to be baptized during my whole mission thus far. This 16 year old young woman has been put through so many trials in the last few weeks that sometimes I question myself on how I would face those same kinds of trials in my life. But I've seen J time and time again face her trials humbly and patiently and relying so much on the Lord that she has developed into a strong, determined, and faithful follower of Christ. And she still has yet to be baptized for another two weeks. She and her friends have ever been helping us in our work in their same "street" by inviting our other investigators that they know to go to church with them.

I also loved how when we taught them about the word of wisdom that they all immediately committed to stop drinking any coffee, even when they are very attached. It's the cheapest thing they can buy to drink and they know they will have a hard time loosing it, seeing as they all drink it at least three times a day. But not for a second did they doubt that it was a commandment of God. J said something to the effect of, "Well I guess I'll just have to show that I love God more than I do coffee..."

I was smiling about ear to ear when I heard that.

I love being able to see miracles happen in the lives of others because of the Gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I am honored to be able to be on the front lines to combat all of the evil that Satan is trying to bring about in this world. But if I have learned anything thus far it is that faith will always trump fear, hope will always triumph over despair, and knowledge and light will always overpower and disperse darkness and confusion.

I love you all so much!
Happy Birthday to Dad! I hope you enjoy your well earned birthday nap.

Halong kamo tanan!