tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30556561425996220872023-11-16T10:12:22.164-08:00Elder Butler Mission MessagesKarolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-16362048920681595672023-05-09T08:50:00.000-07:002023-05-09T08:50:20.503-07:00Faith in Jesus Christ<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgehpk0xpjA6ermR6XftyhgKHs48hQ9f9k7f60M01xvgtp9_rY4P4BdLvyYpRD-iLe0GChFmSFkhVB2gt6HgmBI6eY-yUbRKj3EpcMuSZsBCBh-GWVodmLIhJe8YRBdzCOZeyf2m809c/s1600/10360846_506511819481018_6314019800230949000_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgehpk0xpjA6ermR6XftyhgKHs48hQ9f9k7f60M01xvgtp9_rY4P4BdLvyYpRD-iLe0GChFmSFkhVB2gt6HgmBI6eY-yUbRKj3EpcMuSZsBCBh-GWVodmLIhJe8YRBdzCOZeyf2m809c/s1600/10360846_506511819481018_6314019800230949000_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">President
and Sister Lopez (Brooks' mission president and wife) paid a special
visit to the mountains for Elder Peralta's last Sunday! What a tender
time it must have been! (And the reason we have these great pictures!~K)</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRLT2b5i6GRxqaNEGW9H2xPvJz8JhG5tYowUia5bJ1ZLUSBpZsiuYwL9lhdsVwzPH44CSIP0qIlCkrTET11fH4Rr9HXPNHle1_ABtrpXQnc-7ukfYdbh89CAuRvcd8AR63DPb2SxHJRg/s1600/10434198_506512292814304_1109406564170725080_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRLT2b5i6GRxqaNEGW9H2xPvJz8JhG5tYowUia5bJ1ZLUSBpZsiuYwL9lhdsVwzPH44CSIP0qIlCkrTET11fH4Rr9HXPNHle1_ABtrpXQnc-7ukfYdbh89CAuRvcd8AR63DPb2SxHJRg/s1600/10434198_506512292814304_1109406564170725080_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Teaching the youth during Sunday school. So beautiful!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8bpIUnYVZd3f_hwl9ZST2F1cy_K60Mx6bZCuNcm4c4X3LEzQSRzn9DO8F4sh1LjvFrkTOeMetNFKZGF9ItCpmiyT8cjsYHKIPfTO-m2JMiE-amMRKKWFQh6jApz9JmE4IijWigoeExg/s1600/10476507_506512759480924_4348687136830199667_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8bpIUnYVZd3f_hwl9ZST2F1cy_K60Mx6bZCuNcm4c4X3LEzQSRzn9DO8F4sh1LjvFrkTOeMetNFKZGF9ItCpmiyT8cjsYHKIPfTO-m2JMiE-amMRKKWFQh6jApz9JmE4IijWigoeExg/s1600/10476507_506512759480924_4348687136830199667_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5c1VGBe_u0ulkolsjpSQGnGlZ91NL1mE_ONOIcA6J9oLMlWuBmoXaRKuCZsfQvJ44P9fdn-oL0cEs8yzXbgzeWRIJ8okRZ9kPP7rhPGbDnfarNtblmotl4DkHhwZBed0Zjwtm1-NVdw/s1600/10417584_506512909480909_5927933652295364_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5c1VGBe_u0ulkolsjpSQGnGlZ91NL1mE_ONOIcA6J9oLMlWuBmoXaRKuCZsfQvJ44P9fdn-oL0cEs8yzXbgzeWRIJ8okRZ9kPP7rhPGbDnfarNtblmotl4DkHhwZBed0Zjwtm1-NVdw/s1600/10417584_506512909480909_5927933652295364_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">President and Sister Lopez are on the left.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />This last week has been another very
packed and exhausting week, but I think that I can quite easily say
that it has been one of the most successful weeks of my entire mission
when it comes to finding and teaching people about the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.<br /><br />It was the last week before transfer day, and also the
last week before Elder Peralta goes home, so we decided to have him go
out with a bang and set our goals higher then we would have thought
possible. We then knelt in prayer and acknowledged to Heavenly Father
and to the Lord that we could only accomplish the things that we had
planned through Him and His power, and we asked in faith, believing and
know that we would receive, that we would be supported in our righteous
desires. <br /><br />We then went to work.<br /><br />The days that followed
were somewhat of a whirlwind...We saw little miracles everyday and I
feel like to document it all would take far too long and perhaps defeat
the point that I am trying to get across from all of this, but after
putting all of our trust in Jesus Christ and working as hard as we
could, and after teaching or trying to teach what feels like the entire
population of our area, we finished out this week having taught 150
lessons to investigators and having found 168 new investigators, coupled
with the baptism of Sister T, the first in her family to be baptized.<br /><br />I
think it is sufficient to say that Elder Peralta and I know and have
talked with and taught/sang for so many people this week that I feel
like I've lived in Colonia for half my life.<br /><br />Now I have the
monumental task of following up and beginning the harvesting process for
many of the prepared people that we found.<br /><br />I just want to share
this as a testament that I KNOW that my power as a missionary does not
come from my talents and abilities, but it comes from my faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I would compare this week to the experience of the
brother of Jared, where after he saw the finger of the Lord his faith
became unshakable, and after I have seen this week I know that all
things are possible to those that believe. <br /><br />Granted I am very far from claiming perfect knowledge.<br /><br />We
were also rejected quite a bit more than we were the last time we found
a large amount of new investigators, but I feel like every time someone
said no it only made me more excited and happy for the next person that
said yes. <br /><br />We even started to see the fruits of our work in the
area as we feel like the whole attitude of our area has changed and
there are now many people that call out to us and say hi, and all of the
false rumors about the church no longer stand since so many people have
talked with us and had a spiritual experience with us.<br /><br />In
response to Mom and Dad, the "jungle" where Elder Peralta and I taught
about the Atonement is actually where we teach the youth class during
Sunday school hour. And the reason why Elder Peralta and I have our
heads above the beams is because we are just on our toes, those beams
are actually only about 5 and a half feet high and I bump my head on
them all the time. I'll meet my new companion probably tomorrow or on
Wednesday, so next week I let you know.<br /><br />Saying goodbye to Elder
Peralta was as Mom said, bitter sweet. I have some big shoes to fill and
I will miss his dedication. He will have a hard time taking of the tag,
but it will have to come, and I don't feel too far behind him. The day I
go to Bacolod for the last time will be an extremely bitter sweet day
for me.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />No pictures since my camera is acting up and I don't have another to borrow for the moment.<br /><br />Halong!<br /><br />Elder Butler</span></div>
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Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-54264944950890484352023-05-09T08:49:00.000-07:002023-05-09T08:49:55.445-07:00Stay in the Light<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />This week has been a bit of a refiners fire for me
to say the least, but it has also been teaching me a lot about the power
of prayer and the need for Christ-like attributes if we are to make it
back to our Heavenly Father and to be truly happy in this life.<br /><br />I'll
start by giving an update about the family of the former branch
president that went less active and then had the experience of coming in
contact with not so friendly influences from the other side of the
veil. In good news, they've started coming back to church these last two
weeks and the wife was able to resolve some of her concerns about why
they had stopped in the first place. In not so good news, things hadn't
gotten much better at their home. They said that they had been
experiencing strange things in their home and their 18 year old son has
been acting out in a very extreme way, doing things as if he were under a
bad influence (throwing scriptures into a pond, talking about Satan a
lot, and doing and saying very very hurtful things to his parents). I
don't want to dwell on all the bad things, but I just wanted to share
what I felt while visiting this family and doing our best to help them.<br /><br />The
main thing that I thought of was how it is so much better to have never
left the light in the first place than it is to have to pay the price
to come back. I know that through Christ all things are possible and
forgiveness is always available, but that doesn't change all of the harm
that you could have prevented by simply just continuing forward instead
of letting pride pull you off the path and have to pay the price to get
back on to the path and keep moving forward.<br /><br />Things will now
start to improve, and when you gain faith again you always have a new
hope, even when the path to return may have some recompense to be had.
But in the end the promise of complete forgiveness still stands for all
those who submit themselves fully to the Fathers will.<br /><br />That's all I have for today,<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />~Elder Butler</span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-4000068996500376232014-11-03T09:59:00.000-08:002014-11-03T10:12:49.773-08:00This is It<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">I don't really know how to start this email. I'm still waiting for the reality of me going home to set in, but it still hasn't yet. To me it just feels like another transfer, another area, another assignment. I keep trying to tell myself that I'm done but my heart still keeps telling me I'm not.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I suppose that for me I don't think I'll ever be "done" doing the things that I have done as a missionary, touching lives, feeling God's love for myself and for others, following divine guidance, and stretching and growing myself as I keep exercising faith in Jesus Christ.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I may not be able to be an official representative of Jesus Christ, but I will always be His disciple.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Saying goodbye to Colonia was hard, and to add to it president decided to pull a fast one on us and transferred Elder Celebrado this last Thursday giving me three and a half days to orient the new Elder, Elder Eyo, to the area as he prepares to train a new missionary this transfer.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">President has said that he likes to send his missionaries home exhausted, and he sure lives up to his word.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I took a lot of pictures with the people and then I turned the area over to Elder Eyo. He is a good missionary and I know that the people will be in good hands.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">How do I write my last email? I want to tell you all about the people that have been baptized and all of the miracles that I am seeing, but I know I'll be able to tell you it all when I get home.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I think that all that I can say is that this has been the experience of a lifetime. There is NOTHING that I could have done with my life that would have helped me more to achieve my potential like serving a full time mission has. I don't regret a single moment that I have spent in this field, and I will be forever changed because of the faith I have been able to gain through and in Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father, my Savior, and my Friend.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I love these people so much, and I will always have a piece of my heart that will belong to Negros. I have been able to teach these people the gospel, but they have taught me how to be happy, and I will forever be indebted to this island for that.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Elder Butler that entered the MTC October 31st 2012 a boy went to the Philippines and got lost somewhere among the sugar cane fields of Negros and the Elder Butler that came out is different now. He's used to cold bucket showers, no running water, and rice three meals a day. But he loves the Lord, he loves to work, and he knows where he's going.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I want you all to know how much I love you, and I am so excited to see you again and be with our wonderful family.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have been blessed beyond measure in my life, and I know that my service does not stop here. I may not know the future, but I know the Lord has a plan for me and that's the plan I'm going to follow.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">This is Elder Butler signing off for the last time.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hasta makita'ay ta liwat, halong kamo pirme!</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Palangga ta kamo,</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">~Elder Butler</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZbGEkH0fSZnM5RtBB2pQnLps-l6cZZtiw4IVmoR8mTlcXGPZdyzbwsdHz06_8XoUmMV2SBhgDDMnAyWNg__siCbsJsiIUJYRjNdVkTIXUhaaTD7BsBBvvCBTsSgOyY0CNVJVhZ-iCdI/s1600/79b8da127030e7fe30c6b297575b5f26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZbGEkH0fSZnM5RtBB2pQnLps-l6cZZtiw4IVmoR8mTlcXGPZdyzbwsdHz06_8XoUmMV2SBhgDDMnAyWNg__siCbsJsiIUJYRjNdVkTIXUhaaTD7BsBBvvCBTsSgOyY0CNVJVhZ-iCdI/s1600/79b8da127030e7fe30c6b297575b5f26.jpg" height="640" width="603" /></a></div>
Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-37971896199813503172014-10-28T15:20:00.000-07:002014-10-28T15:20:06.486-07:00The Future is as Bright as Your Faith!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNvtR0PzzY4hQMMrxlXH0uZPcJSVGI_tfzuz3MPQuMRKbhJx335pKTsPVszF9f4AWOAvy1yQu40R9n4rCflpsC6j0g_Kslm_0hh7OzMhOByLJQyqJGxC0W31-2vwBxL3DHI_DUAa2C5A/s1600/IMG_0104-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNvtR0PzzY4hQMMrxlXH0uZPcJSVGI_tfzuz3MPQuMRKbhJx335pKTsPVszF9f4AWOAvy1yQu40R9n4rCflpsC6j0g_Kslm_0hh7OzMhOByLJQyqJGxC0W31-2vwBxL3DHI_DUAa2C5A/s1600/IMG_0104-2.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well done thou good and faithful servants...</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sunset</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8vy4z_LJ9r1i5WMXqbZrYVlTtCz-b2SDmA0Qi9KbcUAcLioEirSQ9lrvTEX36lJOSgFi6eAJw_hz_32-omnsTqz2cTOT1GuefYZ5PwH00mSWpOPaECxNwcm4_zy6-mBCes-grYI_3-4/s1600/IMG_0162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8vy4z_LJ9r1i5WMXqbZrYVlTtCz-b2SDmA0Qi9KbcUAcLioEirSQ9lrvTEX36lJOSgFi6eAJw_hz_32-omnsTqz2cTOT1GuefYZ5PwH00mSWpOPaECxNwcm4_zy6-mBCes-grYI_3-4/s1600/IMG_0162.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhpKp-6SCN34JrSV2l-rbt24AWm7FOEhg0QUguM79h_hpsbGmtmgnEXvTz9sqs_PxEy9kOdCrTxFHb-8apbXs1VnzcgxhDFiq9TCo8zY3N8AeOEOUcf00_HQx5SaCzFMJDdVnNi7HIQc/s1600/IMG_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhpKp-6SCN34JrSV2l-rbt24AWm7FOEhg0QUguM79h_hpsbGmtmgnEXvTz9sqs_PxEy9kOdCrTxFHb-8apbXs1VnzcgxhDFiq9TCo8zY3N8AeOEOUcf00_HQx5SaCzFMJDdVnNi7HIQc/s1600/IMG_0181.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 35px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-line;">God does wonderful things in the skies of Colonia.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE19EnMFwTAkKCLApIxOUjy1aAbSicTLUENglaeaQUjsVLAD4Yet-hDBURB1aeLqh42GPA7in_wgIDEPu_y6pdlUsLAUk24KJUOiIvWDI_zYrctN1sQYN4uwdX96xdNzyzgtEBVr-gess/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE19EnMFwTAkKCLApIxOUjy1aAbSicTLUENglaeaQUjsVLAD4Yet-hDBURB1aeLqh42GPA7in_wgIDEPu_y6pdlUsLAUk24KJUOiIvWDI_zYrctN1sQYN4uwdX96xdNzyzgtEBVr-gess/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 35px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-line;">Before we teach a lesson...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Oct. 27, 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This email may not be super long this time again since I ended up talking to/teaching the cafe owner and his wife again. You're never off duty as a missionary. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">All I can say is wow. It’s almost hard to comprehend how close I am to being home right now. I don't really know how to handle it to be honest. I feel like it's just proselyting as usual, just another P day, another week of missionary work, but really this is my last week I have as a missionary to proselyte full time. And I plan on making the most of it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This week was a great week with having I think the best attendance at church of both investigators and general church attendance that I've had yet in Colonia. We had 120 people attend sacrament meeting in Colonia Divina, and that without having the Alimatok and Siwahon groups attending (including them our total attendance for Colonia Divina branch was 184), out of which 35 of those attending Colonia were investigators (all non member ages 8 and above, not counting all of the kids of the investigator families younger than 8 that attended).</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">To say that church was crowded would be an understatement. I spent most of sacrament meeting out on the porch trying to keep all of the little kids under control and not too loud while the meeting was going on inside.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of the reason for the great turn out was that investigators from the three further areas that we've recently starting visiting more, since we haven't been going to Siwahon, all decided to come to church for the first time yesterday! And they are almost all on the path of being baptized within the next month or so. Needless to say Elder Celebrado and his new companion are going to have plenty of work to keep them busy for a while.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am just so excited for the future of this branch! I know that it will still see it's challenges, but I know that the Lord has a special plan for these mountains and there are many more people prepared to receive His gospel here. The future is as bright as your faith! And I see a bright future for the wonderful people here in Colonia Divina because of their faith that they show.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also there was the baptism of Sister A. this week! And to me it's a big step for the progress of this branch since her family is one of the more affluent families here in Colonia and part of the founders here. All lot of our investigators have received a lot more courage to come to church after they heard that she was being baptized since her family has a high reputation here.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of course Sister A. has been receiving a lot of opposition from other people in the town for joining the church, but she knows what is right and she thinks for herself and she has been a shining example of standing for what is true no matter what the popular beliefs may be. Her baptism I think will be a big step in opening the door for many more people to gain the courage to join the church, including her husband, mother, sister, and those that she employs. And Christian is already making his plans about serving a mission, as well as his cousin B.J. who is being baptized this week.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are just so many good things to say about what is happening in my area that I can't even begin to list them all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is all the time I have for today, and my next email is going to be my last before I go home.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love this work, and my heart is resisting the idea of not being a full time missionary anymore. But change is the name of the game in this life, and this week I plan on giving every last drop I have to give to the Lord and this work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love you all so much and look forward to our happy reunion! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We'll see how the next email turns out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Halong kamo!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">~Elder Butler</span></span></div>
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Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-8668122428662373312014-10-21T07:24:00.000-07:002014-10-21T07:24:26.911-07:00There is Still a Work To Do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oct. 20, 2014<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />Today I actually get a regular P day! So that means this email and the last email are only going to be a few days apart, so this may be brief since I may not have as much to report today as I usually do.<br /><br />But the happy news is that the baptism of Sister Mary Joy and her daughter and two other young women went through and all had a great experience! [Picture above]<br /><br />Other great news is that this morning one of what we call "our most active investigators" came to our house and announced while leaping into the air "MY DAD IS LETTING ME GET BAPTIZED!!!" (English translation).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Jeylou, the person mentioned above, is nine years old and has been coming to church ever since I have been here and even before I've arrived here, which makes about 9 months, and is the nephew of our branch president. His sister was baptized a little over a year ago, and for the last six months he's been wanting to be baptized as well, but his parents did not. His parents are wonderful people and have great family values but their father's family, like our branch president, came from the person who started this "Divine Colony" and church so they felt pretty obligated to stay with it, especially the father who was the main one who didn't want Jeylou to be baptized.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />The other week we came by and brought it up with his parents about how he has been asking us if we could baptize him and if they would be OK with it and eventually they said that they wanted to wait until he was older and more accountable before he makes that kind of commitment, like his sister who they allowed to be baptized, because they don't believe in forcing their kids in what they believe. So the verdict came that he needed to be 15 before he was baptized, and of course we respect the parents and didn't feel prompted at the time that we should push so we left it at that. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Jeylou afterwards talked to me and asked me to convince his dad to let him be baptized, to which I told him that if he really wanted to be baptized he needed to show his parents his desire and commitment to it even in his young age (while he is young he acts much older than he actually is).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />So the next Sunday after church he had another talk with his parents and even cried when he told them how much he wanted to be baptized, and his father finally said yes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />This baptism has been a long time coming, and I know for certain that this child is going to be a future missionary and a future leader of the Church here in Colonia Divina. Just more blessings that I am being privileged to see. <br /><br />Also Sister Andong was interviewed this Sunday for her baptism and is really going full steam ahead with her conversion, asking us questions about the temple and such and really wants her husband to be taught. Heads up to mom for a facebook request from Sister Andong :) <br /><br />And in closing, the reason why this is kind of rushed is because I was able to talk to the owners of this computer cafe and restaurant for a few hours about the church and the Book of Mormon. The husband is from Holland and the wife is from here and they've known the missionaries for 10 years. In fact the reason their restaurant started was because of missionaries seeing her husband eating a hamburger he made himself and asked him to make them one too, since good hamburgers are hard to find here, and thus a business was born.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />But after having a long talk with the wife on Saturday when we were down for conference I found out in the ten years they've known the missionaries they've never tried going to church, so I invited them to try out church in Sagay the following Sunday and they did!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Today I just followed up with them and talked about things from eternal families, to obedience, to prophets, to the Book of Mormon and so on. They said they are willing to keep trying going to church so we'll see where that goes.<br /><br />Anyways, I love you all! And sorry this email was kind of straight rambling, but I hope you get something good from it. :)<br /><br />Next week I'll be emailing on Tuesday night for me here instead of Monday since we have zone conference here next week on Tuesday.<br /><br />Take care!<br /><br />~Elder Butler </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-31543173817287349952014-10-16T17:47:00.005-07:002014-10-16T17:49:50.364-07:00Members Work Miracles<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />My emailing schedule is getting so mixed up now that I have a hard time remembering what I have written to you all and what has happened since the last time I emailed.<br /><br />For some reason typing in English feels weird for me today. Perhaps that's a sign that I've been using too much Ilonggo and not enough English this last week with Elder Celebrado (I try to speak to him as much as I can in English so he can practice understanding and speaking fluently).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />I'll tell you one thing though, I am going to miss speaking Ilonggo a lot. It has really become a sacred language to me now, and I've felt the spirit teach me so many things during lessons while I've taught in Ilonggo, and it can be such a friendly and care free language which sometimes almost feels like you're singing it part of the time and the other part is just soft and easy going.<br /><br />I’m so excited for this upcoming Sunday which will be the combined baptisms of Christian's mother and Dalia, along with Sister Mary Joy and her daughter and her nephew George (the eldest son of the Riblora family that wasn't baptized with them because of illness)! All of these people and their families have such bright futures and I wish I could stay to see it all, but I know they are in the Lord's hands and He will take care of them.<br /><br />We had a fun experience yesterday with teaching half of our lessons on the porch of our apartment.<br /><br />A youth and her friend who is being baptized the week after next like to come by sometimes during their lunch break during school and be taught or just read with us from the Book of Mormon, but yesterday they came back four times! Each time bringing a different batch of their friends to be taught by us, until the final batch where our entire porch was full of teenage girls being taught about the restoration. What a great example of members doing the finding and missionaries doing the teaching! We literally just sat on our porch and the members brought the investigators to us to be taught.<br /><br />We also had two of the members work with us two days in a row going with us on both days to our farthest areas in Balabag and a new progressing area that we found called Pinamungahan (say that 10x fast), both of which take more or less an hour to get to and require walking over hills and across rivers and streams, and we didn't hear one complaint from them. They are both preparing to serve missions and they are really helping out with fellowshipping our investigators and making them feel more comfortable coming to church. Another great example of members working with the missionaries to get things hastening!<br /><br />In all, I am just thankful for the support we've been receiving from the members in the time I've been serving in Colonia Divina. They show with their works where their hearts are and it makes all the difference in the growth of the church and the spreading of the good news here in the mountains. I know a lot of it comes with their great trust in the missionaries and I hope and pray that it will continue to be such for many more missionaries that have the privilege to come and serve here.<br /><br />No pictures today, but I'll hopefully have some more baptism photos for you all next week. :)<br /><br />I love you all so much!<br /><br />Halong kamo perme!<br /><br />~Elder Butler</span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-70934679834499966602014-10-09T12:30:00.002-07:002014-10-10T06:36:09.142-07:00The Final Stretch<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xLewLkfEbThy2RlAPPb5EpEmBxwp5rvfbTHgsDV8RbGXVYNAewR04pKKdK2tjLcckoMzLEzTkexC9_4gcs6KXwVbnD2ezOF1vKlWLytvgNZKqOO8wEvoLp6ILjI5EMv1t0mJRbvx9mU/s1600/image1141.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xLewLkfEbThy2RlAPPb5EpEmBxwp5rvfbTHgsDV8RbGXVYNAewR04pKKdK2tjLcckoMzLEzTkexC9_4gcs6KXwVbnD2ezOF1vKlWLytvgNZKqOO8wEvoLp6ILjI5EMv1t0mJRbvx9mU/s1600/image1141.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Riblora family baptism photo.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Manila Temple</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56nCApKJPirscjD1en-kiAqhBS2fDqk-AnnaSgRZ15MJpUmh1eMv7MFq1_zUKxem2pkG__M96hT1wBqkTM8P_PSxersSuNvz2YWmf7HOZHyInwRZq03ywEntG-veCM7QNcitiUwUYA_U/s1600/10645124_556590717806461_5753062344911881526_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56nCApKJPirscjD1en-kiAqhBS2fDqk-AnnaSgRZ15MJpUmh1eMv7MFq1_zUKxem2pkG__M96hT1wBqkTM8P_PSxersSuNvz2YWmf7HOZHyInwRZq03ywEntG-veCM7QNcitiUwUYA_U/s1600/10645124_556590717806461_5753062344911881526_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">[This photo from Pres. Lopez facebook posting. Brooks and his companion on the left, President Lopez on the right. ~K]</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtGGX_DnijPJ2vxuHsQU7YhlFOoqCFW086kEJs4mg5GhsH-8Soxg1cPGC7urRb9ij-A8F6nrC7o6mZn1kRyBYfCA6npdymc4E3O9zQJFJO1AkLT2PEgAFG7y9e77PCbFcLmpWYA3WLgE/s1600/IMG_0054+-+Version+2+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtGGX_DnijPJ2vxuHsQU7YhlFOoqCFW086kEJs4mg5GhsH-8Soxg1cPGC7urRb9ij-A8F6nrC7o6mZn1kRyBYfCA6npdymc4E3O9zQJFJO1AkLT2PEgAFG7y9e77PCbFcLmpWYA3WLgE/s1600/IMG_0054+-+Version+2+(1).jpg" height="600" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">[The original group of elder's Brooks started out with at the Provo, MTC in front of the temple. ~K]</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fXAgX9xTSL1-LpLyo-ICanFJjylx_rUpHnt7DujZuRZdVycFEnnFPxTxw3AWCNSyZ2BPEoe2frW0LxdsVoaXeTms3NdhOnBbOCyjY5wYNm3xPWWZKCO_tTy6hq2duFxFzghmoxHiPA0/s1600/image1111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fXAgX9xTSL1-LpLyo-ICanFJjylx_rUpHnt7DujZuRZdVycFEnnFPxTxw3AWCNSyZ2BPEoe2frW0LxdsVoaXeTms3NdhOnBbOCyjY5wYNm3xPWWZKCO_tTy6hq2duFxFzghmoxHiPA0/s1600/image1111.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: large;">This was an adventure in Balabag. We took another way to get home and
crossed a fun hanging bridge. One of the sisters working with us decided she would rather ford the river than chance the
bridge. :)</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoY-7gl4SmFhEfhNIlDA9HEkKdWWdzQHwcnXd2sGMNxGl29noT6C_eKTpwcyxp1xhYKzqOYx5HT6L4qukwih8sCWabAJAMEX5wRWriP1GCYMKuriIsDM8cYmeCqSXhMCqlYhgZYhsFwMQ/s1600/image1120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoY-7gl4SmFhEfhNIlDA9HEkKdWWdzQHwcnXd2sGMNxGl29noT6C_eKTpwcyxp1xhYKzqOYx5HT6L4qukwih8sCWabAJAMEX5wRWriP1GCYMKuriIsDM8cYmeCqSXhMCqlYhgZYhsFwMQ/s1600/image1120.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking back.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhduUyFy1mP_n7_S_7QoAvoRY2ahTv3PKYuq0tgh_o8V3jrmqgu1JK5YeBZuAJrEK1HqGgqWtmvTnwtlfA5upPJr9WQWKp6FkHLJ2kW1Ft4ld36iNviN8nL6UzXn8RP_ltkqeKQY5yuYrA/s1600/image1127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhduUyFy1mP_n7_S_7QoAvoRY2ahTv3PKYuq0tgh_o8V3jrmqgu1JK5YeBZuAJrEK1HqGgqWtmvTnwtlfA5upPJr9WQWKp6FkHLJ2kW1Ft4ld36iNviN8nL6UzXn8RP_ltkqeKQY5yuYrA/s1600/image1127.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is what you call "baby on board". As you can see Katie, I get to see a lot of carabaos... it's the main mode of transportation in my area.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82hz_rVYGsfTrYUmFTBVVD9noo22anwS3_05IAd6udcipSoqaW2LPQefYjDWppujv9Hx-S7Yy38Kh5lbEWbEvii5dV-WGzDrD1yYwu_95PCPTBE39R_V98Vf-h8Xmthh7ht2LNFGMB7Y/s1600/image1136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82hz_rVYGsfTrYUmFTBVVD9noo22anwS3_05IAd6udcipSoqaW2LPQefYjDWppujv9Hx-S7Yy38Kh5lbEWbEvii5dV-WGzDrD1yYwu_95PCPTBE39R_V98Vf-h8Xmthh7ht2LNFGMB7Y/s1600/image1136.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">[It's so different to see a missionary in the water, but this is a regular occurrence in the Philippine mountains, with the need to ford rivers! ~K] </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UfLP1ZQAmW4ANOaOM4VHSnlosQtEnm8TLa9K1oqHU9qyAY56X9k1tqqdkcOi_qkZomLI7zN911VKu0P_ZTL2hqfyOJGQNOR_LPNnS_SI_E0zTz7nZCuNygTSrN10kHdYPCLMLegEUpk/s1600/IMG_0076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UfLP1ZQAmW4ANOaOM4VHSnlosQtEnm8TLa9K1oqHU9qyAY56X9k1tqqdkcOi_qkZomLI7zN911VKu0P_ZTL2hqfyOJGQNOR_LPNnS_SI_E0zTz7nZCuNygTSrN10kHdYPCLMLegEUpk/s1600/IMG_0076.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">[Notice the boy climbing up the coconut tree! ~K]</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24VS9pgqlzY-OkXiz-VZZhfx67tLA7tIJBAN2gFhqDTpoNK7z31YAN80MgvnhDByNG2v5PHppDpcBVdSjgV0TLzSmiSYvReT6PSXzzrSmbMLKczPTA5giu8MowB8Tsjzvzl7S3CJs4-8/s1600/IMG_0082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24VS9pgqlzY-OkXiz-VZZhfx67tLA7tIJBAN2gFhqDTpoNK7z31YAN80MgvnhDByNG2v5PHppDpcBVdSjgV0TLzSmiSYvReT6PSXzzrSmbMLKczPTA5giu8MowB8Tsjzvzl7S3CJs4-8/s1600/IMG_0082.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">[These are "young coconuts"! We sometimes buy them here at Asian markets or health food stores but all the green is cut off and they are just white. So fun to see! ~K]</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oct 08, 2014<br /><br />Hello Family!<br /><br />Well here we are. My fellow batch mate (arrived at the same time in the MTC) Elder Cannon reminded me the other day when we went to Manila how we only have 4 more emails home to family before the big D day comes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />That made things a little more real for me for some reason. I think mainly because of how fast email time seems to come around every week.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />So I guess I just have to make the most out of these last few emails that I have left to send you while I'm a full time missionary in the field! I'll give it my best shot.<br /><br />The work in our area is still progressing as ever. I've been spending some time reflecting on my mission lately and I figured out that I will have baptized more in this last area of mine in Colonia Divina than I have in all of my other areas in my mission combined, which fills me with so much gratitude to the Lord for allowing me to have this kind of experience here, and especially letting it be the note that I will leave my mission on. The Lord is truly mindful of His servants and I know He's been more than kind and merciful in sending me here to this very special place.<br /><br />On the other hand I've been considering how much of a change it's going to be for me to have to come down off the mountain and then step right into first world America again, with running water, cars, super markets etc., and how out of place that all seems to me now.<br /><br />I got a little taste of that on my little excursion to Manila this last week with the rest of my foreign departing batch. It all just seemed BIG to me. Big roads, big buildings, big cars and so on. Granted we only went two places in Manila, first to the immigration center to get some finger printing thing done, then straight to the temple. I think I may or may not have been inside PJ's mission [Brooks' cousin who is serving now also].<br /><br />I absolutely LOVED going to the temple again after so long. I feel like I just got a huge spiritual boost that I really needed. As soon as the doors to the temple opened and I walked inside the spirit of the temple just hit me like a wall and it built so much to my testimony that the temple is truly the house of the Lord. I didn't however get to see the new video though since there was an Indonesian in the session and they don't have that translated in the new, but the temple was still the temple nonetheless. I received so much comfort and revelation while inside that I think I came out walking on air once we came out onto the temple grounds again. Looking over the white planes I felt like just starting my mission all over again and taking another two years right then and there in Manila, or quite honestly basically anywhere as long as I could just keep serving the Lord.<br /><br />But of course we had to get back in the van and be rushed back to the airport to make our flight back to Bacolod. It was nice to be back in a place where I spoke the language of the people again. Then coming back to Colonia felt like I was coming home again. Can you tell that I'm getting a little too adjusted to the mountains?<br /><br />Oh! And I have some wonderful news about Christian's mom! <a href="http://elderbutlermissionmessages.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-field-is-white.html" target="_blank">[The Field is White letter tells about Christian.]</a> She started coming to church the week before last and brought her youngest son Yohan and her house helper who is a high school student that she is sponsoring, and she really enjoyed it! She had been slow in progressing, especially in seeing why our church is different than others, so we had just been reading with her and Christian in the Book of Mormon and helping them apply it to their lives, and after this last Sunday when she came to church again we visited their home and Christian's mother just "go it". She came out with a whole slew of questions of things we had taught her before but never really sank in until then. And after we reviewed the restoration and baptism with her she accepted and is now preparing to be baptized at the end of the month!<br /><br />It was so fulfilling to see the change in her countenance, and showing all of the signs of the true seeds of conversion, such as asking Christian to pray that we will be able to teach her husband so he can be baptized too, and then giving us referrals, completely unprompted, of three families in Colonia that she knows that she said need the gospel. Also telling Christian half jokingly, on the topic of when I go home, "You better not be going to church just because you think Elder Butler is gwapo (handsome/good looking)! I better not find you missing church because there are different Elders! You go to church so you can worship the Lord!"<br />Just more tender mercies of the Lord. Sister Andong (Christian's mom) also invited her house help, the high school student who she is sponsoring, to listen in on the lessons as well and she is also planning on being baptized with Sister Andong.<br />Patient and loving persistence pays off! :)<br /><br />I attached the baptismal pictures of the Riblora family. We held their baptism at the river that runs around their farm (which we have to cross every time we go to them) and it was a great experience. Our branch president and several other members walked with us to get to Balabag, where the Riblora family lives, from Colonia which is an hour walk which takes you up and down several big hills and across streams and rivers, and the whole Riblora family makes that walk every Sunday to come to church!<br /><br />That's all I'm going to write today. I feel like I kind of just went for it today and this is what came out.<br /><br />I love you all! What wonderful news about the Carney family! I actually still remember quite clearly that first visit that I had with them. I am truly happy and excited for them.<br /><br />Take care always,</span><br />
(Halong kamo pirme)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Elder Butler </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-33413030999039990662014-10-01T10:05:00.002-07:002014-10-01T12:02:31.410-07:00Another Miracle<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Well to start off I'll explain why I haven't emailed until now. This Thursday I'm going to Manila with the rest of the foreign missionaries going home with me to do some visa things for my departure in November. Since getting down off the mountain is not the most convenient thing when it comes to time and money and key indicators we just planned our preparation day to be Wednesday down here in Bacolod since I have to stay the night here to make the morning flight to Manila.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm actually pretty excited to see the "big city" for a day tomorrow, although I'm going to have an interesting time trying to communicate in Tagalog since I'm not totally fluent to say the least. At least the flight to Manila will bring a little more realization of the fact that I am going home soon, since I still am having a hard time really picturing it. But ready or not, here it comes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This last week another set of Elders arrived in Colonia Divina to start working solely in Siwahon! I'm so excited for the progress and growth that will be happening in the future for the members in Siwahon, but also experiencing a little of the bitter with the sweet in having to say goodbye to the people that I've been teaching and having baptized there and turning them over to the care of the new missionaries. There were a few teary eyes in those last lessons that I had with Sister Jamera and Sister Lapid and the Alay family, but I know that the goodbyes we have here in the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ are never permanent, and I gave them all the promise that if and when they come into our Father's Kingdom that they'll find me there, and we'll have all of eternity to rejoice and be happy together then.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But along with saying goodbye to Siwahon, we get to say hello to being able to spend all of our time and efforts now in Colonia which has also been progressing at a very hastened pace. We still have plenty of souls to still save and more people being prepared to hear the message of the restoration.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">One story in particular that I want to share is the miracle that happened this week with sister Mary Joy. Sister Mary Joy is the half sister of Sister Riblora, who was just baptized and confirmed this last Sunday, and she actually came to church on her own two weeks ago. At first I thought that Sister Riblora had invited her to come but then later realized that she had just come on her own out of the blue. We talked to her after church and found out where she lived which was La-on, a place we didn't go very much because there were no members there yet, and we got her permission to visit her and her family later that week.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Due to lack of time between Siwahon and Colonia and also not being to able to find her house on our first try out in the area, thinking it was a lot farther than it was, we were unable to visit her that week. But to our surprise this Sunday she and her children came to church AGAIN, completely on their own, so we talked with her again to get a better idea on where she lived and set a day when we would visit her, much more determined to get there since we no longer needed to work in Siwahon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The next day, Monday, we went out again in search of where she lived, and this time we apparently walked past where she lived but we came to a house that Elder Peralta and I had shared a quick message to months ago. It turned out to be Mary Joy's parent’s home, and Mary Joy was there with them and she was looking very sick and exhausted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The first times we saw her at church she looked generally tired, but this time she looked very pale and like she hadn't rested in days, to which we found out from her mother that she hadn't been able to sleep for more than a few hours a night for over a month now, and that she had lost a lot of weight as a result. They weren't sure as to why and were planning on taking her to be consulted, granted they didn't have the money for that, and somehow the mother knew that we gave blessings for healing so she told her daughter that she should ask us for a blessing. So we taught a brief lesson about the priesthood authority of God, and why we could give blessings in the name of Christ because of the restoration of the priesthood and how the blessings were conditional on faith in Christ and His will, then gave her a blessing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I also gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and told her that if she had a hard time resting her mind to just keep reading it until she felt at peace again.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We came back to visit her the following day (yesterday) and were very happy to find that all of the color had come back to her face and the bags under her eyes had all but disappeared. She said that she had been able to sleep the whole night and that when she read the Book of Mormon that it helped her feel at rest and fall asleep. We then were able to actually teach her the full message of the restoration and she accepted and understood it so well, having actually read the pamphlet we gave her several times already, and she had even tried asking God if it was true, again completely uninvited by us but just followed the instructions on the pamphlet. She told us that she just felt a good feeling and that it was true, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon was true. Needless to say I was filled so much with joy to be the missionary to have the privilege to teach this incredibly prepared person, and I know for certain that it was her faith in Jesus Christ that made her whole.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We then committed her and her child, 9 years old, to be baptized this October 19th and she accepted whole heartedly. We now are trying to teach her husband who we haven't met yet, he works on their farm most of the day and is shy to go to church, but I have high hopes for this family and I know that they will open the door for the gospel to be spread in La-on.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Wow, this has been a long email...I wanted to write about the baptism of the Riblora family as well, but maybe I'll write that next week. I'll also send the pictures next week since the computer shop I'm at right now is having trouble uploading photos.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Don't worry Katie! I've been taking lots of pictures of carabaos and other animals for you!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I love you all!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">~Elder Butler </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-61550034755353295782014-09-22T09:40:00.003-07:002014-09-22T09:51:44.507-07:00The Field is White<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIXPO9g5FvNDjcseLlaeU9Ae04HeFTJ6h_7pt7INUrDTL9kYbveqkeyK5P5oqCaESOZ68VPFESuJZgbhvkpGj4h9v-qpj7TUlEsPC6gguAdQc4Et5EOgh0QEoSstB_mEHjEPHbMJoahA/s1600/PTDC2452.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIXPO9g5FvNDjcseLlaeU9Ae04HeFTJ6h_7pt7INUrDTL9kYbveqkeyK5P5oqCaESOZ68VPFESuJZgbhvkpGj4h9v-qpj7TUlEsPC6gguAdQc4Et5EOgh0QEoSstB_mEHjEPHbMJoahA/s1600/PTDC2452.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnKG4HlmxOI1DaPj74TAc3KX_TU7mLg2txE50Kvs5J_AOQrrwJ3bkfcKoA79WoZxYrLYwwTdyOXkUpHBS7PF6gXYkVcTm7KgBzIRxxDLMzHUNvGcqfQwkmESNT2hCAc1zqouknkpENN3s/s1600/PTDC2455.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnKG4HlmxOI1DaPj74TAc3KX_TU7mLg2txE50Kvs5J_AOQrrwJ3bkfcKoA79WoZxYrLYwwTdyOXkUpHBS7PF6gXYkVcTm7KgBzIRxxDLMzHUNvGcqfQwkmESNT2hCAc1zqouknkpENN3s/s1600/PTDC2455.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Me with the group (I couldn't find my tie.) If you thought Filipinos are small, the kids are smaller (obviously). </span>[These <b><i>very beautiful</i></b> children are all in the same primary class at church. I believe they are all around 10 years old since Brooks said the boy, Christian, is that age in his letter below.~K] </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCIJT1acbNwp4sDQT9lWYCD61mSsGlmmQ8HExqLfdeCkiyyjgDtaC3B6DYm81p0POvJUBPUuKOpAmWIhXeTMJ__F9Eaoy3lgyPQg68whb7I9IN4xPls2qRA2zX-K4NgcxfdwPwmbXzZQ/s1600/PTDC2399.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCIJT1acbNwp4sDQT9lWYCD61mSsGlmmQ8HExqLfdeCkiyyjgDtaC3B6DYm81p0POvJUBPUuKOpAmWIhXeTMJ__F9Eaoy3lgyPQg68whb7I9IN4xPls2qRA2zX-K4NgcxfdwPwmbXzZQ/s1600/PTDC2399.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Beautiful water. As I walk across this river Ub in the
shallow parts I have to resist the temptation to want to just jump in.
The water is really warm too.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyggBCOsiFU7eyKMm93M6_JbFEhypPpADnQxO3k2Gcq8Kx24YJ4Boyf6UpzmFR_sPztw8-NTz8KmfSbGvew48pdNDpSZi480_vgy5uOrXDVCNEaKkIpgHiu_LnDxtaaP3hEkFu4FydrYQ/s1600/PTDC2393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyggBCOsiFU7eyKMm93M6_JbFEhypPpADnQxO3k2Gcq8Kx24YJ4Boyf6UpzmFR_sPztw8-NTz8KmfSbGvew48pdNDpSZi480_vgy5uOrXDVCNEaKkIpgHiu_LnDxtaaP3hEkFu4FydrYQ/s1600/PTDC2393.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the ravine of a river we cross to get to our investigators in Balabag.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcAfLLO9kTpcLZ5EeIJWfl4Jnu-f2ra_3iWMd2HIOn_CzNpXakQWFh66r9fEBwFG5Nij2UYrT9S5wbY6ysR_NGkorJaucF_R7-7Z-C8PxwErBqvl9WyzBo9ckBA5MxlIrVKlHs36gHws/s1600/PTDC2382.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcAfLLO9kTpcLZ5EeIJWfl4Jnu-f2ra_3iWMd2HIOn_CzNpXakQWFh66r9fEBwFG5Nij2UYrT9S5wbY6ysR_NGkorJaucF_R7-7Z-C8PxwErBqvl9WyzBo9ckBA5MxlIrVKlHs36gHws/s1600/PTDC2382.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Something else fun I ate</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-W8cdjnbarxiVxALY1Rf5TnkypsR8t5pfVCVtkGSO7PImLUur54dhMio1bI7-7hP8sLN_QQ5ABLOMCDrCPOsEY_5h3Z5CFVENGejXmbbALxmS7PaX68YO_nN-5ybywFUOPc0f90cYWck/s1600/PTDC2407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-W8cdjnbarxiVxALY1Rf5TnkypsR8t5pfVCVtkGSO7PImLUur54dhMio1bI7-7hP8sLN_QQ5ABLOMCDrCPOsEY_5h3Z5CFVENGejXmbbALxmS7PaX68YO_nN-5ybywFUOPc0f90cYWck/s1600/PTDC2407.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'll just let this picture speak for itself.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5VGL7k1KKdUKJ2yFJ9lnkOlIpkTM_jk4cxQ-LlM-KEONoruP0dxjv2GQ-hNGBOa5CJLbHUn9GBb1O-A9Ow5GTPr7krkulRJqgB4Tr6STIUy6zCsGD0OFmwC5aWtQ1ULissSTk72VKIo/s1600/PTDC2411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5VGL7k1KKdUKJ2yFJ9lnkOlIpkTM_jk4cxQ-LlM-KEONoruP0dxjv2GQ-hNGBOa5CJLbHUn9GBb1O-A9Ow5GTPr7krkulRJqgB4Tr6STIUy6zCsGD0OFmwC5aWtQ1ULissSTk72VKIo/s1600/PTDC2411.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">From the top looking over the river I just crossed.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2vXQmJGOUS3mPlZUGbxkwDPK2zkWAbJGiK4oWKY5VeYClkvrBaNw1y04eVe5pg6Or89kBSpISsqYOQ1XgGenoHmk3thLW68G94l4G8IY_RVXOKCqa1lCSjHAWBZxkyKT22yycZWKk-o/s1600/PTDC2403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2vXQmJGOUS3mPlZUGbxkwDPK2zkWAbJGiK4oWKY5VeYClkvrBaNw1y04eVe5pg6Or89kBSpISsqYOQ1XgGenoHmk3thLW68G94l4G8IY_RVXOKCqa1lCSjHAWBZxkyKT22yycZWKk-o/s1600/PTDC2403.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I climb down, across, and up again to this valley and then back about twice a week now. [If you look carefully you can see the river down there that they cross through. It looks so small a faraway, yet is very wide! He has got to be in some serious good shape! We need to know the best mountain trails to take him hiking on around here for when he gets back! Sounds fun!~K]</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul..."<br /><br />I just wanted to start out with Doctrine & Covenants section 4 because that’s what has been on my mind lately, all be it a very highly used section, and I think it has been getting more and more on my mind the closer I get to D day (departure day).<br /><br />I read Alma 29 recently as well and felt like shouting with him: "O that I were an angel... that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!"<br /><br />If only I could help every person that I know understand that the only way to true happiness and lasting peace is repentance! What a wonderful word repentance is! To me it means life and light, joy and servitude, it means Jesus Christ and His power to set us free through His infinite sacrifice. My heart yearns to declare it from the top of the tin roof on our apartment and then bring every last inhabitant of Colonia Divina and surrounding areas with me to meet our Father is His Kingdom through His Son!<br /><br />And yet at the same time that I feel the Spirit swelling with in my breast, I feel so small in the great eternal perspective of things, and humbled to the dust by the thought that I am in actuality less than the dust.<br /><br />If you can't tell yet, I'm in a pretty interesting state of my realizing that this makes the beginning of my last transfer in the field.<br /><br />This week was another wonderful week of successes and trials, but I like to talk about the successes so I think that is where I'll start.<br /><br />We had another four baptisms this week plus a child of record, which I thought were special since they all happened to be in the same primary class together. Those baptized were Christian, Chezee (Lovelyn's niece), Carol Jane and Charity (Jestoni's younger siblings), and Jane Mae (child of record).<br /><br />Christian (10) has been someone we've taught for a while now, and has been going to church on his own for a while as well, but we hadn't baptized him yet or really invited him to be baptized since we were trying to help his mother to progress as well, who although incredibly nice and receptive, hasn't gotten enough courage/conversion/understanding yet to go to church, but after one Sunday where Christian observed another one of our baptisms he asked us, "Elders, when am I going to be baptized? I want to be baptized too." We told him that his parents needed to both give their permission before he could be baptized, and that he needed to be ready to promise to Jesus that he would keep all of His commandments. He seemed pretty resolved that he was going to be baptized after that and sure enough a few days later when we came to his house to teach him and his mother he said excitedly, "Nanay (mom) says I can be baptized!"<br /><br />Even though we had never extended an invitation to him specifically, this child knew what was the right thing to do and he showed his mother a wonderful example of faith and took the initiative to be baptized. His mother commented that she could see a difference in Christian since he started going to church and being taught by us, and she recognized that it was a good thing that he wanted so she gave her consent, after talking with her husband who works away from home much of the time.<br /><br />On a similar topic, we have now been receiving a few referrals from parents for us to teach their children. Even though they aren't completely interested in it for themselves yet, but because they have seen the children and families that we do teach now and the noticeable change in those kids (some who had been notorious for being "wild"). It's just another tender mercy of the Lord and I have a strong testimony of how the children can soften the hearts of their parents. Also I am convinced that the primary children that I see every Sunday are going to be the future leaders of the church and need just as much attention as those older.<br /><br />I wish I could write more about the other children who were baptized, because to me they all have stories that are worth hearing, but I don't think the time will allow. But hopefully the pictures I attach will make up for the difference.<br /><br />I love you all so much and I hope you are all happy and healthy!<br /><br />Take care!<br /><br />~Elder Butler</span><br />
<br />Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-20253911732274139132014-09-17T08:46:00.001-07:002014-09-22T09:54:04.340-07:00Push and Pull<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Baptism</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Elders teaching the young women on the porch.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Priesthood meeting where brother Lapid, Alay, and Esoy were sustained </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Hello Family!<br /><br />First off I want to thank those that sent me beautiful birthday wishes, it really lifted my spirits and made me feel loved. :)<br /><br />Secondly, in explanation for the title, again I can feel that the adversary gives just as much pull back as we are pushing forward, but then again that's nothing new to the mission field.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />We've been experiencing quite a bit of wind, and scattered rain, due to some typhoons that are passing through to the north of us I think, which has again caused our area to loose power for the last two and a half days (I feel like power outages don't phase me anymore since they happen so often here) and made the paths muddy and slippery again, but the challenge makes the work more fun in the end. Elder Celebrado and I have a fun time slipping and sliding up some of our steep hills, trying our best to not get our shirts and pants too muddy. Elder Celebrado unfortunately doesn't have very good grip on his shoes so he's taken a fall or two, but it at least gives us some fun stories to tell our investigators and members.<br /><br />I don't have any baptism stories this week, since our scheduled baptism, sister Chezee (9), Lovelyn's niece, got sick the day before and wasn't able to attend her service, but she'll be baptized next week so that's something to be grateful for.<br /><br />But we did have another great week as far as our church attendance went! We had our special sacraments in the far away places this week instead of gathering in Colonia like we do on the first Sunday, and our total attendance jumped AGAIN from 112 last week to 129 this week (adding the special sacraments to the other sacrament meeting). The Lord is hastening His work and it's so exciting!<br /><br />Also I gave some shirts and ties to Brother Alay and Brother Lapid, and ties to Frederick and Esoy (Orlando's nick name that he goes by) and it was such a great experience to have two fathers bless the sacrament and then Frederick and Esoy pass in their full church attire. Brother Alay told us later that as he blessed the sacrament that he really felt the spirit super strong and it doubly confirmed his testimony of the priesthood and the truthfulness of the church. <br /><br />Also Brother and Sister Lapid, who have been struggling finding work for many months now, just found some work selling arozcaldo (a rice chicken soup dish) to students. They were so grateful and humble and returned all their thanks to the Lord for the blessing.<br /><br />There are just so many things going on in our area that I find it hard to keep track of it all, with two more complete families preparing to be baptized this month, one in Siwahon and one in Colonia, and so many more people just turning up and being prepared to enter the church that it sometimes can feel almost overwhelming, but it's a whole lot better than the overwhelming feeling of having no investigators and few places to start so I'll take it any day. <br /><br />We're also looking for another house in Siwahon since President Lopez wants to put another set of missionaries there.<br /><br />I think that's all I have the time for today. I hope you are all doing wonderful today and are staying strong in the faith.<br /><br />Pictures of last weeks baptism and others are attached. I have lots of scenic pictures that I want to send, but next week. Remind me please.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />Halong kamo permi!<br /><br /></span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-79057677102984575682014-09-09T19:44:00.000-07:002014-09-22T11:22:50.394-07:00More Miracles, Changed Hearts<span style="font-size: large;">Sept. 8, 2014</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Hello Family!<br /><br />Well once again it has been another week of miracles in Colonia Divina and I am again left just to thank my Heavenly Father for being able to see them happen in my brief time to serve here.<br /><br />I'll start off with the two baptisms we were able to have this Sunday of two priest age young men, Abraham and Jestoni.<br /><br />Abraham (17) has been someone we've been teaching for a while now, although not very frequently until the last three weeks. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">He came to church with one of his part active member friends back in July, and we have been teaching him ever since. He works in construction (building the road here in Colonia) with his member friend and he was pretty shy to talk with us or participate in the lesson since he has a speech impediment (cleft tongue maybe? I'm not sure what it's called) but as we started to teach him more frequently he started just opening up and even started teaching his other friends and coworkers the things we were teaching him, (although according to him they weren't too well received, especially about not drinking and smoking.) But he doesn't really care anymore about what other people think now, more on what God thinks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />One of the things he told us when he first started to really progress was, "Here at this church I feel like I am really repenting of my sins, and I can see God in you (us as missionaries), not like the others who just say a lot but don't do anything..." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Now he is a super missionary! We are teaching all of his younger brothers, which seem to really respect him, and also his father. Now whenever I teach at his home I feel like I'm teaching the future Aaronic priesthood quorum (he has several brothers and also nephews and friends who all listen now) and he was super excited to receive the Aaronic priesthood after we taught him about it and is now making plans to serve a mission.<br /><br />Also there is Jestoni (16), the older brother of Maria Theresa (who Elder Peralta I and baptized his last week here). We have been teaching the whole family, minus the father who has some drinking issues and doesn't sit in on the lessons, who are all preparing to be baptized in the next few weeks. But Jestoni requested that we move his baptism a little earlier for this Sunday since his birthday was the following day, and since he had already met the church attendance requirements and his mom said it was OK. We of course said OK. :)<br /><br />When we first started teaching him he was a little unsure, and had some questions since he had been attending another congregation that tends to spread a lot of false rumors about the church, but after the first few lessons and finishing explaining the restoration he told us, "Elders, I believe it." And after asking why he said, "I just feel it, and it's different, but good..."<br /><br />So both of our new candidates for the Aaronic priesthood got baptized together and were both promptly interviewed to receive the priesthood, which they were both pretty excited about.<br /><br />Also this week was an amazing week for our church attendance! Since it was the first Sunday both the Alimatok group and the Siwahon group came to Colonia for the fast and testimony meeting, and the turn out was so great that our little house, our old apartment, was completely packed to capacity and still had almost the same amount of people standing outside listening through the windows as there were inside the house, having our total attendance at sacrament meeting reach over 112 people, around or above 62 inside, and 50 plus out on the porch. Also Frederick got to wear a white shirt and tie and pass to the congregation. He was really nervous, but he did it so respectfully, formally, and reverently that I could have placed him as born in the church.<br /><br />I hope to have more good news to share next week! No pictures this week since I lent my camera for the day, so next week I should have double to send.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />Be strong in the faith! <br /><br />~Elder Butler</span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-44315080213887322802014-09-02T14:10:00.004-07:002014-09-22T11:26:43.932-07:00My Burden is Light<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">(Beautiful day, beautiful people~K)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alay family, Brother Lapid, Esoy, and Mighty (Mary Grace Alay's best friend)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alay family</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sister and Brother Lapid</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Orlando, he is the nephew of Sister Jamera and has been living with her since the age of three.</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />It has been a very rewarding week and so full of true conversion and faith that it is hard to even think of where to start.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />I'll just start with the baptism of the Alay family and others from Siwahon, namely Brother Lapid, Esoy, and Mighty (Mary Grace Alay's best friend).<br /><br />On our way to Siwahon I looked back and saw that it was raining back in Colonia, and looking like it would be heading our way. Of course I became a little concerned since this was a pretty crucial time for the Siwahon group and rain would put a bit of a damper on the baptismal service (as it was to be held at the river), so I remember praying something like, "You're going to need to take care of that Heavenly Father..." and kept moving on.<br /><br />As we got closer to Siwahon the rain got closer and closer to us and even started to rain lightly, but as we got to the river and got everyone dressed and ready, it just stopped where it was, and even started to get clear in the sky with the sun shining on us during the service. Call it a coincidence or not, it was a very sweet and tender mercy for me.<br /><br />After the service we went back up to the Alay family home to hold the special sacrament and confirm everyone, and something that made me very happy was that Mighty's father, who we had just recently met this last Friday attended, as well as Sister Jamera's husband. The latter had been avoiding us because he has "a lot of vices" and I think he feels uncomfortable with church and those kinds of things, but he was sitting out on their porch after the baptism (I think he was just waiting to be invited even though he didn't show it) and right before we start we invited him to attend the special sacrament and he did! Sister Jamera had a very sweet and satisfied look as her husband came in and sat next to her that made me smile. <br /><br />After the confirmation of those baptized and after the sacrament all those who were just recently confirmed were able to bare their testimonies. Almost everyone used the same word to describe part of what they were feeling which was "mag-an" in Ilonggo which means "light" in English, as in a light weight feeling. And what I thought was interesting was that they described how the feeling was "amat-amat", meaning gradual, and how every time they were taught, and read, prayed, attended church and so forth, how that weight they felt was gradually taken off and after confirmation they knew for sure that the Spirit was with them.<br /><br />It felt like almost everyone was in tears, or tearing up, after the testimonies, and my heart was just so full of gratitude for being able to be a part of these very special peoples lives. Then President Mahilum got up and gave a very powerful "sermon" you might say on the gospel and his own personal conversion and the blessings that came to his family because of it. And since this day I felt like I was being sensitive to words, the word that kept coming out at me that he repeated several times was the Ilonggo word (and possibly Spanish although I don't know since I'm no expert there) "segurado", which means "sure". As in a sure foundation, the surety of the truth, and the surety of the judgement of the wicked and the righteous.<br /><br />So from this whole spiritual feast that was the special sacrament meeting in Siwahon I learned these two points:<br /><br />One, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will set you free and relieve your burdens. Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is LIGHT." The world will make you feel heavy, overwhelmed, and burdened down, but when you live the fullness of the Gospel you are freed from this depressing burden and you take upon yourself the burden of Christ, which by no means is easy, but it is LIGHT. (Both in the meaning of weight and luminescence). And that light and truth is discernible, real, and can never be faked or fully reduplicated by any other means.<br /><br />Two, that partaking of the Gospel gives you surety. A solid foundation. Jesus is compared to a rock because a rock is sure, steadfast and immovable, and is not blown about by the wind and waves of worldly philosophy. The beauty of the Gospel is its consistency. While the doctrines and beliefs of the world fluctuate and change daily as the face of the sand on the sea shore changes with the tides, those who stand on the rock enjoy the security and safety of truths that will never change. Satan loves complexity and does all he can to cover simple eternal truths with "what if's" and "why not's" and "what about's" until the basic principles are so confused and unrecognizable as to cause despair at ever finding any kind of answer. Nephi delighted in plainness, and Jesus prayed to the Father, "And this is life eternal, that they might KNOW thee the only true God..."<br /><br />Well, I think I went into sermon mode as well, but I guess it is was it is.<br /><br />The wonderful thing was that we taught Mighty's father afterwards and he said that he shed tears in the sacrament meeting and really felt like he wanted to support his daughter (his wife had left him for another man and their family has been broken ever since) and make a change in his life. He then committed to be baptized this next month. <br /><br />Also Brother Jamera afterwards was actually smiling and laughing, something which he has never done during any religious thing I've seen him near, and now he comes and joins us every time we teach his wife the new member lessons and I can just see his layers melting away.<br />Also all of our newly baptized men or young men were immediately interviewed after the special sacrament meeting to receive the priesthood and they will be ordained this coming Sunday.<br /><br />My heart is just so full of gratitude and love, and I know the Lord’s hand has been involved in every step of these wonderful conversion experiences, and many more conversion experiences to come.<br /><br />I love you all! And I hope you are all feeling strong in the faith.<br /><br />~Elder Butler</span><br />
<br />Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-60350158845397629582014-08-26T11:55:00.000-07:002014-09-22T11:28:02.144-07:00The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Being counseled on where to go (the river bed was very stony and since it hadn't rained recently it was a little shallow)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Helping her in</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elder Sablan (the Alimatok Elders) and Elder Cicon behind him with other observers.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Helping Sister Lapid (in green) and Sister Jamera (in white in the back) down to the Siwahon
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They were having a hard time standing on those rocks (hence Sister Jamera holding on to me).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I LOVE Sister Lapid's smile here. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Sister Alay (left) got in up to her waist to help both of these women in and out of the water.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fun fact: Sister Jamera had her own baptismal clothes made for this. I just thought that was wonderful. :)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">August 25th, 2014<br /><br />Hello Family!<br /><br />Wow, what a relief to actually be able to sit down at the computer and only have to worry about writing the family email. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for helping me finish out my application! I guess we'll see what the Lord has planned for me.<br /><br />This week has been an amazing week of conversion, and the coming week is going to be an amazing week of harvest with 9 investigators being scheduled for baptism this coming Sunday, 2 in Colonia and 7 in Siwahon. I am just so thankful to the Lord that I've been given such a great privilege as to be a part of this peoples conversion experience.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'll share about a few of the precious people that we have scheduled for this coming week.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />First being the Alay family, or the rest of Frederick's (who we baptized on the 10th) family. This family has been such a great blessing for us and they have accepted the gospel with open arms and with nothing held back. After the week that we baptized Frederick the WHOLE family, 6 children including their youngest 7 year old daughter Meya, have attended church in Colonia twice consecutively, making the hour plus walk both ways with their children, and I haven't heard a single complaint from any member of the family for it. Brother Alay told us the other night that only here in this church has he really felt like he has felt and been guided by the Holy Spirit, and he and his wife are so ready to be members of the church. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Even their eldest daughter's best friend has been caught up in this storm of conversion, attending church and all of the lessons with the Alay family, and she told us last week that she wants to be baptized with them, getting permission from her father last night, who we hope to be teaching later on although he's hard to catch at home.<br /><br />Also Sister Lapid's husband, who we had scheduled to be baptized on September 14th, asked us if he could be baptized with Brother Alay and his family this week, to which the branch president said of course, so we said of course. He is so great, just like his wife, and he has just been absorbing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We gave him a plan of salvation pamphlet after one of our first lessons with him and when we came back and asked him if he had read it he told us, "Oh yes! I learned a lot from it! I realized that all of my physical problems in this life really aren't all that big at all, what's more important is that I get to go to the Celestial Kingdom with my family!"<br /><br />After getting back into my chair from being blown out of my seat... I told him that he was exactly right and that we would probably be better off with him teaching us rather than us teaching him.<br /><br />Also, in another lesson we had with him last night in preparation for his baptismal interview we were reviewing the commandments with him and near the end he said, while placing imaginary things on an imaginary table, "You want coffee? (speaking figuratively to God) Take it! Cigarettes, alcohol, and gambling? Take it! Ten percent? The Sabbath? Take it all! What else?"<br /><br />I just love the Lapid family so much. :) And Sister Lapid said the most sincere prayer asking God to help her family and friends and everyone in their area accept the gospel that it just about melted my heart.<br /><br />Also these last few weeks since church has been held in our old apartment our attendance has been steadily increasing, starting out at 60, next moving to mid 70's, then to mid 80's, then this week we broke 90! Even with extra chairs being brought down there was still only standing room during sacrament and many people had to sit out on the porch and listen through the windows. And including the attendance from our special sacraments (another set of Elders working one in Alimatok and then us in Siwahon) we well went over 100.<br /><br />The Lord is truly hastening the work in our area and I feel like I'm just in for the wonderful ride. What a blessing to be able to see so much faith and love growing up here in the mountains of Sagay!<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />~Elder Butler </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-17501980883745030152014-08-22T05:13:00.000-07:002014-08-22T05:22:55.503-07:00The Difference the Gospel Makes<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29.866666793823242px;">
[Brooks didn't have time to upload photos this week as he had to finish up his college application essays. Not a fun thing to do while serving your mission!! But we're done! :-) ~K]</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello family!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This week has been so rewarding in a lot of ways. First off, in explanation as to why I'm emailing on Wednesday this week instead of Monday, we have a follow up training for the July arrivals tomorrow and since coming down the mountain twice is too much of a burden on our proselyting hours we moved our P day [preparation day] to today in Bacolod to make more use of our schedule.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I just want to talk about the three baptisms that we had this last Sunday, being the baptism of *L and the two elderly sisters in Siwahon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">L has been an investigator of ours since I was with Elder Peralta, and the way we found her was through her friend which is a recent convert. She told us that she wanted to try to come to church because she wanted to change the way she's been living her life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">She is a young single mom with a young boy that was the result of a teenage pregnancy, and when we met her she had been pregnant for 3 months with another child that was the result of someone taking advantage of her unwillingly. One of the first things she asked us was how big of a sin it was to abort a baby, as she was considering it at the time. But she changed her mind after the first few lessons we had with her and the difference I've seen in her from the time I met her to now is incredible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In her testimony after her baptism she talked about how she was having so many bad things happen in her life and so many dark thoughts enter her mind before she found the true church, and now she has completely changed around and has a direction in her life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is much more I could say about L and a lot more to her conversion story, but time presses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also, directly after the baptism and confirmation of L, we went to Siwahon and held the baptismal service for Sister Jamera and Sister Lapid. It was such a sweet experience. A lot of the branch was there to support, and the two elderly sisters walked down to the river (which was quite a feat for them) with the help of the members and then got into the water (which was an even greater feat) with the sweet help of Frederick's mother, who actually got all the way into the river, skirt and Sunday dress and all, to help position the two women so they could be baptized. (Pictures will be attached next week.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Afterwards at the special sacrament they were both confirmed into the church and they couldn't have looked happier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They both told us later how they just felt so light and good afterwards and how they want all of their family to be able to know what they do now. Sister Jamera said that "in all my years and to this old age I've never really understood or lived the gospel until now, and from now on I am never going to have my chungee (little store she runs from her house) open on Sunday ever again."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Halong kamo pirme!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Elder Butler</span></div>
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*Not her full name for privacy reasons</div>
Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-20348111478774193412014-08-12T08:06:00.000-07:002014-09-22T11:30:34.850-07:00A River of Blessings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDYeGrhPHsSO2kCpiKxDbfMMfV18km8bmReBvgn2bWsHQ1ysqPrwKywNyqZ-32xwQrkZL0VuJWSZLF6qjbTBeNFv8wxtxcGdKFcWQI-RJ-Snw9130nqE5xG3TMYe3k41icOXQNzPKxTs/s1600/PTDC2289+-+Version+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDYeGrhPHsSO2kCpiKxDbfMMfV18km8bmReBvgn2bWsHQ1ysqPrwKywNyqZ-32xwQrkZL0VuJWSZLF6qjbTBeNFv8wxtxcGdKFcWQI-RJ-Snw9130nqE5xG3TMYe3k41icOXQNzPKxTs/s1600/PTDC2289+-+Version+2.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Frederick</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those observing (his sister is the one standing in the pink)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is the bridge going across the river to Siwahon from the highway going to Colonia. It's pretty high up. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />It's been another week of blessings from the Lord and I am so excited for the future of my area, and especially the future of those we are preparing to baptize in Siwahon.<br /><br />I think I'll just start by talking about this Sunday where we had such a wonderful experience with the baptism of Frederick.<br /><br />Frederick is a 15 year old young man that Elder Peralta and I found in a fairly interesting way. After one of the first few lessons we had with Sister Hemera we were about to leave to go to another area when we saw in an open doorway (of the house directly across from Sister Hemera's house), a young man reading the Bible by himself. Of course, seeing someone that young taking initiative to read the Bible in a culture that has a hard enough time reading the pamphlets, we felt prompted to go over and start talking with him, which then resulted in a 5 minute lesson about the restoration. That was the start of the conversion for Frederick which would involve him making the hour plus walk to come to Colonia to come to church with the rest of the group that comes from Siwahon and sharing everything we share with him with his other younger siblings (he being the eldest) and his parents.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Our plan was to baptize him with the two elderly women this Sunday, but they will both be interviewed again by the counselor in the mission presidency so we had to move them to next week. So instead of having the baptism in a further away place that was more accessible to the two sisters, we were able to have the baptism right near his home in the river running by their town, to which his parents and family, (who we had met and shared a little to but not had an opportunity to really teach them due to time conflicts with them working in the field), were able to attend and observe. We even held the baptismal service inside their home.<br /><br />He was then confirmed shortly after at the special sacrament in Siwahon, which was another great spiritual experience, to which his whole family was able to attend as well.<br /><br />The wonderful thing was that during the whole process Frederick’s parents were able to observe and be apart of the whole thing and went from just consenting to being a lot more interested and really feeling the spirit.<br /><br />We returned to Sister Hemera's home later that evening, needing to attend to some issues first involving correcting some anti-mormon info that was fed to parents of a recent convert, and Frederick’s mother was talking to the two sisters out on their porch. And again, Sister Lapid makes me love her even more when we walk in hearing Frederick’s mother say something like, "I hope that we would be able to receive the gospel as a whole family..." and Sister Lapid responds without a seconds hesitation, "No, don't just "hope", press forward and do it!"<br /><br />You have to love that woman. And she's not even baptized yet! :)<br /><br />We then went to Frederick’s home and were able to teach the whole family together for the first time. His parents were so prepared and touched by the spirit. Frederick's mother said that they just all feel so light and happy as a whole family after seeing their son be baptized and confirmed. And they received the message of the restoration so perfectly that I felt like we were hardly teaching anything, more like the spirit just put it all in their hearts. We then committed the whole family, parents and the two younger sisters of baptismal age, to be baptized at the end of this month and they accepted immediately.<br /><br />This family is such a blessing and I know they've be prepared so well by the Lord. My heart is just full of gratitude to be apart of so many great peoples lives and see the gospel start to grow in the hearts of these people.<br /><br />Frederick is already making plans to go on a mission, and his parents are in full support, and even though the family is already starting to feel the pressure around them with the rumors and gossip already starting to reach them, they are rock solid and following the shining examples of the two elderly sisters by sticking with what is true first before what is popular. <br /><br />I feel like that's all that I want to share this week. This week marks exactly 3 months before I need to say goodbye to this mantle, and it all seems too fast and fleeting, but I'm still planning on making the best use of the time I have left and leaving everything in the field.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />Halong pirme! (Take care always)<br /><br />~Elder Butler </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-11646209765180480052014-08-06T18:35:00.002-07:002014-08-06T18:42:38.320-07:00Clean Swimming<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">This is where we get water and have to
carry up our stairs. More exercise..:)</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrE0aAL1Nir6pwxu1OYGKlePFovP2YbUrkmST0SMNuYPEgOn8J5w0o6A4Y7JLjvfrHWljYHwrkA_vkVRDdVuZkK_NA1ObbMRoBULpnPi2mBVPsK6nkynFMrz2uXbjRUBMJzKArqAQ4ps/s1600/PTDC2278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrE0aAL1Nir6pwxu1OYGKlePFovP2YbUrkmST0SMNuYPEgOn8J5w0o6A4Y7JLjvfrHWljYHwrkA_vkVRDdVuZkK_NA1ObbMRoBULpnPi2mBVPsK6nkynFMrz2uXbjRUBMJzKArqAQ4ps/s1600/PTDC2278.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_k_Cot4jF-vcuzugx-BUqv_LU4kP-hKFirI58my83dOS_pnVmUxwM5vBdgcQyOi_V9LnEv3Iwg7OSpUyvijqz00Xqx1B8sPOLG-yOIIHmdbtFLfGm6gB4oprXzfnapMmeQo2eD5SsRU/s1600/PTDC2277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_k_Cot4jF-vcuzugx-BUqv_LU4kP-hKFirI58my83dOS_pnVmUxwM5vBdgcQyOi_V9LnEv3Iwg7OSpUyvijqz00Xqx1B8sPOLG-yOIIHmdbtFLfGm6gB4oprXzfnapMmeQo2eD5SsRU/s1600/PTDC2277.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We moved into a new house by the way. It's on the second floor and
significantly better than our previous. Here are some views from our
porch.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUW03U9RjVRtrrQEvifAqnQ1CDjvruVkJ-zv8ErkUyP65LHkY3Qz9bHHlyRINCNU0JuOBe1HXMSAT5eaLDH3H3SnBspWG0wD04wajtGFu391Y7F25NknuJjE5HfPg0hasceczZQgmMoqE/s1600/PTDC2281-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUW03U9RjVRtrrQEvifAqnQ1CDjvruVkJ-zv8ErkUyP65LHkY3Qz9bHHlyRINCNU0JuOBe1HXMSAT5eaLDH3H3SnBspWG0wD04wajtGFu391Y7F25NknuJjE5HfPg0hasceczZQgmMoqE/s1600/PTDC2281-1.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">More views of Colonia</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhEwbiMDAuioPe4VWtHvllHfi3UmhkqFjG_ktF-fyrADvAiDFXJ79g4raAcBfelQsWzie4FYTt-p4nY6nm7Qvb0WtEnRpl6cD8HkF0eNOcME9wPEwzO6Ojdj9jMOwPhxQH7wmZc29yAY/s1600/PTDC2284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhEwbiMDAuioPe4VWtHvllHfi3UmhkqFjG_ktF-fyrADvAiDFXJ79g4raAcBfelQsWzie4FYTt-p4nY6nm7Qvb0WtEnRpl6cD8HkF0eNOcME9wPEwzO6Ojdj9jMOwPhxQH7wmZc29yAY/s1600/PTDC2284.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 18.65pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hello Family!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">This Sunday was the first Sunday that we had
sacrament meeting in our old apartment in the proper of Colonia Divina so our
members in Colonia didn't have to climb up the mountain to get to church and
our attendance was significantly higher than it usually was.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">One of the moments that I enjoyed was seeing
standing room only left during the sacrament, and we also had some good
testimonies from the members of the branch making it a good spiritual
experience for our investigators that attended.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">I also enjoy getting to teach the youth class
like we usually do, except Elder Celebrado was helping in primary so I was
flying solo. I've found that I get some of the greatest satisfaction in
teaching youth, although sometimes it can be the most challenging or
frustrating, but when I can have those moments where I can see that they are
really "getting it" and they are feeling the spirit it makes it all
worth it. Especially when teaching a group where participation is sometimes a
challenge.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Siwahon is being as progressive as ever. Both of
the parents of one of our recent converts there came to church in Colonia,
making the hour walk there and back, for fast and testimony meeting (our Branch
President is going to do a special sacrament every week in Siwahon except for
the first Sunday where he wants everyone to gather in Colonia) and I think they
had a good experience. The father has been to church twice now, attending the
special sacrament last week, and his wife came for the first time this week,
and the father is looking like he might be the first Melchizedek priesthood
that we will be able to baptize in that area which makes me really excited.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Sister L and Sister H are both very excited
for their baptism, and Sister L expressed that she wanted someplace
"solemn" for her baptism, which I think is wonderful because I know
they both value this experience that they're about to have so much. So we've
been scouting out an area by the river running next to Siwahon so that we can
find a "Waters of Mormon" worthy place.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Of course as with anyone who is making progress
they have both been experiencing opposition with regards to their joining the
church, having people telling all kinds of false rumors about the church and
saying bad things about them and so on and so forth, but these women are
unshakable, and they just laugh off all of the silly things people are saying
and are sticking to what they know is true. Sister L told us about how one
person expressed shock to her that they are switching religions at their age
and she told them, "Well, if the pool that you're swimming in is dirty,
and you see one that is clean, why would you keep swimming in the same old dirty
pool? Why not get out and go to the one that is clean?" (English
translation, the Ilonggo analogy was a little different, but you get the
picture…)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">I just couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day
after that. :)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Alright, that’s about all I think I can do for
today.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">I love you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">~Elder Butler </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-64607090396316429462014-07-28T18:17:00.000-07:002014-07-28T19:25:59.588-07:00Great Blessings Pour Down<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEC2IsJVS4PvGNcBHHjVMSFE8RdYdt7r78P8uY5sD_-DbvU3A65ElCjj0JjwHq-7NRlW754wTkgJ02Y1ighAIfzo63QIT5Hsc9B8al5EwiRQ6IT6nAA-z4zKjuqVdjFu3O-psqJ6lRqh0/s1600/PTDC2272.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEC2IsJVS4PvGNcBHHjVMSFE8RdYdt7r78P8uY5sD_-DbvU3A65ElCjj0JjwHq-7NRlW754wTkgJ02Y1ighAIfzo63QIT5Hsc9B8al5EwiRQ6IT6nAA-z4zKjuqVdjFu3O-psqJ6lRqh0/s1600/PTDC2272.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Elder Celebrado climbing up another hill.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHswxqB8MbQNgF753P7Ab75BLJCHVWfqo1I0gWTRJtk5UohRaAPHKITBO5cpn37-pBqoPwe7-LFKZxZ1OGER1rO4pSqhCA7Q9pxmatPje-rbm0K7czmknPRUeF_VtxZK4v4xuLm5YcoQ/s1600/PTDC2265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHswxqB8MbQNgF753P7Ab75BLJCHVWfqo1I0gWTRJtk5UohRaAPHKITBO5cpn37-pBqoPwe7-LFKZxZ1OGER1rO4pSqhCA7Q9pxmatPje-rbm0K7czmknPRUeF_VtxZK4v4xuLm5YcoQ/s1600/PTDC2265.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Charity suffereth long and giveth his umbrella to his companion who does not have one.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERMXEfa3gekEzTdxElI4o5fzbuHGcUy9sqSebXBESElJgk-MMUdMSTYcerBLMFq7tvunZOH0iWe1bkLVeA0RJB7ad-mxwIi_ACpicm2AJZW1bLjyaWNJJT_ytIqwOWDZMxA0galt9gIk/s1600/PTDC2263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERMXEfa3gekEzTdxElI4o5fzbuHGcUy9sqSebXBESElJgk-MMUdMSTYcerBLMFq7tvunZOH0iWe1bkLVeA0RJB7ad-mxwIi_ACpicm2AJZW1bLjyaWNJJT_ytIqwOWDZMxA0galt9gIk/s1600/PTDC2263.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Balabag in the rain (for how low quality pictures my camera takes at least it's water proof.)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxBqxqJJjUpF2GFlWsEftkJGmmw4dM693SXWU3ufsybA0RMjZvdNvcmGC7OZeMkElKziqRgJpZ58z4vyoJN_t298vRim3ygarbjUiH6tNFYV1yWB3OALridYaNnLuJMzJvTrKB1uPt0o/s1600/PTDC2268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxBqxqJJjUpF2GFlWsEftkJGmmw4dM693SXWU3ufsybA0RMjZvdNvcmGC7OZeMkElKziqRgJpZ58z4vyoJN_t298vRim3ygarbjUiH6tNFYV1yWB3OALridYaNnLuJMzJvTrKB1uPt0o/s1600/PTDC2268.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Coming down a very slippery hill (you can see our tracks) Looking up. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQxhaENSe_v82Q-nOyZ96USFLUrBACefs4oVa2jK1oHREn0TZHhCtAAtGze6tJN01B2T1NrUqKx5meKiLHZzPflPE3fgEMgJMOgO3RndApb5593UYM6-nXiN21vbl8jq5GSBrTp-G_yY/s1600/PTDC2270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQxhaENSe_v82Q-nOyZ96USFLUrBACefs4oVa2jK1oHREn0TZHhCtAAtGze6tJN01B2T1NrUqKx5meKiLHZzPflPE3fgEMgJMOgO3RndApb5593UYM6-nXiN21vbl8jq5GSBrTp-G_yY/s1600/PTDC2270.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Looking down at what we still need to descend.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BxLJraezXsekNtgAgJGzJPJ7iSVlWajF6r-AWLbvtOiemZt_Sw7OYqUiZU7AX-X53cNKIY4g0nVM9GG7Xzjq5rbZjD5mL_DBRox5pvSVRnXhCGweZdIJKm2lbt7cWBlwM0PPZa51jrQ/s1600/PTDC2266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BxLJraezXsekNtgAgJGzJPJ7iSVlWajF6r-AWLbvtOiemZt_Sw7OYqUiZU7AX-X53cNKIY4g0nVM9GG7Xzjq5rbZjD5mL_DBRox5pvSVRnXhCGweZdIJKm2lbt7cWBlwM0PPZa51jrQ/s1600/PTDC2266.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rain?? What rain??</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbZvNh8pzV2DDdXYMss_03sy1GBsgAYHDLllvM4kZ3Sk36BwVu4dKg0WjVZREQK3OdkZBGD-obettqkQfyoq1tZ4WhZouIrsBnsrcjBKuoCgULRl-b8-_ZcWepDOVeRfTX3B6nPU0DDg/s1600/PTDC2256.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbZvNh8pzV2DDdXYMss_03sy1GBsgAYHDLllvM4kZ3Sk36BwVu4dKg0WjVZREQK3OdkZBGD-obettqkQfyoq1tZ4WhZouIrsBnsrcjBKuoCgULRl-b8-_ZcWepDOVeRfTX3B6nPU0DDg/s1600/PTDC2256.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The road (main highway technically) from Siwahon going back to Colonia.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />Wow, I didn't expect to get so many comments on the pictures of the fish I ate. I guess I'm just getting a little too adjusted here... have I ever mentioned dried fish? Probably not.<br /><br />The Philippines I think gave me a new set a taste buds. <br /><br />For this week I feel like all of the non progress we saw last week, we made it all up and then some. We've been blessed to have so many investigators start showing a lot more interest and start to keep commitments, and also we were able to hold a special sacrament in Siwahon, an area that is about an hour walk from Colonia, and had over 20 people attend who were not members of the church that we've taught, among which were 5 potential Melchizedek priesthood and 4 potential Aaronic priesthood. Also since that was the first special sacrament being held in that area, about half the branch came also to support and fellowship the investigators, all of them walking an hour plus there and then back to Colonia afterwards.<br /><br />Now we have 5 investigators (brother and sister, friend of a recent convert, and two elderly ladies that are the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet) just from that area who are preparing to be baptized in August, with another 10 (3 complete families) that we've taught before that are starting to really show potential to progress now that they have attended a sacrament meeting and met a lot of members.<br /><br />I'm just so excited for our area and I am half hoping that I will be able to stay here until the end just to be able to see it all come to fruition (and I say half because I know that if I fully hope then I will for sure be transferred... as such is the mission).<br /><br />And now for story time! I want to tell you all about the two sweet ladies that I mentioned who are preparing to be baptized in August, Sister Lapid and Sister Hemera.<br /><br />These two women are, again, the sweetest ladies that you'll ever meet, both of them being physically impaired, Sister Lapid having had a stroke and Sister Hemera having fairly developed arthritis in her ankles. They are sisters and live close to each other. We met Sister Lapid first when Elder Peralta and I were going through Siwahon looking for people to teach. We decided to just walk down the walk way their house was on and look for houses where we could give prayer meetings to (a kind of "tracting" you could call it) and as we walked by where Sister Lapid's house was we stopped and looked in the direction where her house was, being in the back a little behind a few houses, and both felt that we should go that way and look there.<br /><br />We went down and found her in her house having just finished lunch and asked her if we could say a prayer for her home and give a short message, to which she responded very enthusiastically saying she was very willing, and that she had a child in another city in our mission who was also a member of the church.<br />And thus started the journey of conversion that would involve us meeting her sister, Sister Hemera, and teaching them on a regular basis for 2 months.<br /><br />We knew right away that it would be hard for them to be baptized, since there was no way that they could make the hour plus walk to Colonia over hills and up the mountain to make it to church, but they were always so happy so see us and just absorbed everything that we taught them, even accepting to be baptized and living the commandments, so eventually I asked our branch president if we could have a special sacrament at their home for them, and also for all of our other investigators in that area, and the result was what I reported earlier in this letter.<br /><br />There is a lot I could share about these two women and our experiences with them, but that would take way too long to write, so it sufficeth me to say that I believe that the faith and willingness of these two women have been some of the first seeds planted that will start to grow the Siwahon branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<br /><br />In other news, Elder Celebrado and I got completely soaked to the garments by typhoon rain two days in a row this week, the first time climbing up and down very muddy/slippery hills (pictures attached) for about an hour, the second at night coming home from Siwahon. Fun memories.<br /><br />I hope you all are doing wonderful! And happy birthday to my favorite older sister Kristine! :) One year older and hopefully wiser too.<br />Save me some cake.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />Stay firm in the faith.<br /><br />~Elder Butler</span><br /><br /> </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-59705044133171809722014-07-22T12:36:00.001-07:002014-07-22T15:50:59.197-07:00Character Cultivation...Patience<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-USNS3V9CKOLKcs187mdkASo6Gx8oRBAe9NeRgAgAeUjFBZWBR-TnUo0xueKS7wj_lo_TW661A3zEwcqNW21Wq5gqoKH15Y6cI2AsbCcpFsy767aJ2cayVoMav_yv6F_TlzyWgmxWeI/s1600/PTDC2191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-USNS3V9CKOLKcs187mdkASo6Gx8oRBAe9NeRgAgAeUjFBZWBR-TnUo0xueKS7wj_lo_TW661A3zEwcqNW21Wq5gqoKH15Y6cI2AsbCcpFsy767aJ2cayVoMav_yv6F_TlzyWgmxWeI/s1600/PTDC2191.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two dogs, a pig, and a regular house in the mountains. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">What I ate for lunch with rice at a recent converts house. They just got
it out of the river running next to their house. You just pop the whole
thing in you mouth with a hand full of rice and don't think too much.
:)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is what we climb up and down most of the day.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Man plowing (the same way they have for a 100 years)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We go down, then go up, then go down, then go up again. Poor Elder... he's still getting used to the climbing :)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Street outside our house..,</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Main street. Or... the only street in the town...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">[Looks like volleyball to me...no caption~K]</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Views of Colonia</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">July 21, 2014 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />Our time is short today as we had some errands with the couples missionaries to run involving finding housing for another set of missionaries, so we are a little later than usual emailing today and need to go soon.<br /><br />This week felt a lot like what my title implies. We've been working a lot with some of the investigators near the proper (or center of town) and many of the lessons came out feeling like we ended in the same place as where we started, not making progress, and not losing ground, just no movement and no one wins.<br />Also July is looking like it is going to be the first month in long time where I haven't been able to help someone come unto Christ through the waters of baptism for the whole month. We plan on remedying this in August, but it doesn't make it feel much better for now.<br /><br />But! We are still seeing success in the long run and we still have many blessings and small miracles in our work daily so I know that the spirit of the Lord is still working in us, and just asking for a little more patience, especially on my part.<br /><br />Our power came back by Tuesday, and now we are working on getting a new full gas tank, but being up in the mountains makes things a little more complicated on that end so it could be a few more days before we get that back.<br /><br />We are also planning on moving from our house shortly, as soon as we have the paperwork done, to a new house that is significantly better than our current house, actually having title floor instead of just cement, so we are pretty excited about that.<br /><br />I think that our area has caught the edge of two typhoons, not causing any damage but just making the weather a lot colder than it usually is (you can tell I'm acclimatized now since I think it's cold now) and bringing lots of wind and rain. But it makes it great for us teaching since nobody wants to go out and about on the mountain paths during storm/typhoon weather except for the missionaries, so everyone is at home and has no place to be so we get lots of great teaching opportunities that we might not have otherwise. More blessings.<br /><br />I love you all! You're always in my prayers.</span> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Elder Butler</span><br />
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<br />Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-91525213621255874712014-07-15T09:04:00.000-07:002014-07-15T09:04:22.107-07:00Lightning Strikes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Improvising during the power outage from the storm!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The hill they climb up each week to go to church...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The view down the path while going to church.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />I have some fun stories to tell today. But I'll start by saying that this week was, once again, FAST. <br /><br />Wow. <br /><br />It really feels like I was just here at the computer telling you about last week. Just thought I'd say that. Ok, now for the fun story, starting this last Saturday night.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />We got home at around 8:20 PM after another full day of walking over hill and dale while teaching the everlasting gospel of peace, and closed our day as usual and planned for the following day. During our planning our district leader texted us and asked if we were doing alright since there was apparently a really bad storm where they were at and raining super hard (down the mountain in Dian-ay a ways away from us) and they wanted to give us a heads up. At the time it had only just barely started to rain mildly (for the Philippines) and we didn't think much of it. So we finished our planning and continued with our night.<br /><br />We then went on to cook our dinner, only to find out that our gas stove had just ran out of gas, which wouldn't be a problem except that right after we found out we had no gas our power went out. Leaving us with almost cooked rice in our rice cooker (luckily we had started the rice before we planned) and not many options with what to do to cook our canned beef loaf to eat with our rice (we're on a pretty poor eating budget).<br /><br />We then, using what I had left of my eagle scout skills, fashioned a very ghetto stove out of two candles and a tin pan that goes inside the electric toaster as a skillet on top of the rice cooker and toaster oven (pictures attached). And we now have a hot meal! We were quite please with our ingenuity.<br /><br />But! While we were thus rejoicing we were taken quite unawares by having a strike of lightning hit a tree literally right outside our window, which is arguable one of the scariest things I've experienced yet. <br /><br />The huge storm that our district leader warned hit, being the reason for the early power outage, and bringing with it the craziest lightning storm I have ever experienced.<br /><br />The next 30 minutes were what I would compare to what someone might feel in a war zone being pelted with mortars. Every other second there was a lightning from as close as to 200 to 300 meters away up to right next to our house.<br />It was a long 30 minutes. But we made it through alive!<br /><br />Now Colonia Divina has been without power for the last three days and we are still out of gas. What used to be mostly camping has now turned to all the way camping for me. <br /><br />Is this life experience or what? :)<br /><br />That's all I have time for today, but I hope you enjoy the pictures and the story. Sorry it's not so much on the spiritual side this week.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />~Elder Butler</span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-76620008474031332732014-07-08T17:11:00.001-07:002014-07-08T17:18:21.251-07:00Old Things Become New<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elder Celebrado & Elder Butler</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are some pictures of my area!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello family!<br /><br />Well for those of you that don't know yet, my new companion is in fact a very new companion, actually he's fresh off the plane, which means that President has asked me to train again!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Except this time instead of training a foreigner I'm training a local missionary, Elder Celebrado, and he is actually a native Illonggo speaker! A first for this mission, or at least for the time that President Lopez has been serving. <br /><br />This training has definitely a much different feeling than my first, of course being that I was still a pretty new missionary when I trained Elder Schow, but I feel like it's almost more of a treat than it is an assignment. I really miss being around new missionaries since there was a huge wave of new missionaries right behind me when I arrived, but then dropped a lot when our mission hit full capacity so I rarely ever saw new missionaries. There is just that "new fire" that you feel that you can't replicate in an older missionary, regardless of experience, and it reminds me a lot of myself when I was new and still figuring a lot of things out.<br /><br />The biggest change though is adjusting from having a companion who was in his last transfer to having a companion who is in his first, thus making the old new, and once again I feel like I'm looking at my area with new eyes with a new missionary. <br /><br />Elder Celebrado is from a family of 6 kids, his mom being a member but his father is not, and he is the youngest of 5 brothers and one sister, and also the first in his family to serve a mission, his brothers being less active. But he told me that he saw the choices they were making and the effects they were having when he was young and decided to take a different path. So there is definitely a lot of moral courage there.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />He's also from a province so the adjustment to Colonia isn't too much of a shock for him, just the long walking and lots of going up and down hills since his place is relatively flat.<br />He's doing great though and I think he's going to be a great missionary.<br /><br />In other news, before I met Elder Celebrado I had to wait in Bacolod for two days, and while I was there I was able to see and work with one of my former companions. To say the least we did not have the best companionship, with him having a very hard time being companions with anyone who isn't a Filipino, but I was so happy to see him again, and even more surprised to see that he was happy to see me again as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />I actually wasn't even sure that he was still in the mission before I saw him, so seeing that he was still here and enduring filled me with a lot of joy, and I could see that he had made a lot of growth in the last 6 months since I had seen him last.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />I was able to work with him in his area and stay the night with him while we were waiting for our companions (he was training as well) and I think it was just what I needed to have some closure finally after having a hard time while we were companions.<br />Another tender mercy, and another evidence of the power of the Atonement to change peoples lives and behaviors.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />If it's any comfort to Dad, his few days at scout camp are pretty comparable to what I've been living in for the last month and a half. :) Minus the cold bucket showers. Maybe you could give it a try.<br /><br />Halong!<br /><br />~Elder Butler </span> Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-36987556810478718092014-06-30T05:58:00.002-07:002014-07-07T13:57:04.772-07:00Faith in Jesus Christ<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">President and Sister Lopez (Brooks' mission president and wife) paid a special visit to the mountains for Elder Peralta's last Sunday! What a tender time it must have been! (And the reason we have these great pictures!~K)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">President and Sister Lopez are on the left.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />This last week has been another very packed and exhausting week, but I think that I can quite easily say that it has been one of the most successful weeks of my entire mission when it comes to finding and teaching people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />It was the last week before transfer day, and also the last week before Elder Peralta goes home, so we decided to have him go out with a bang and set our goals higher then we would have thought possible. We then knelt in prayer and acknowledged to Heavenly Father and to the Lord that we could only accomplish the things that we had planned through Him and His power, and we asked in faith, believing and knowing that we would receive, that we would be supported in our righteous desires. <br /><br />We then went to work.<br /><br />The days that followed were somewhat of a whirlwind...We saw little miracles everyday and I feel like to document it all would take far too long and perhaps defeat the point that I am trying to get across from all of this, but after putting all of our trust in Jesus Christ and working as hard as we could, and after teaching or trying to teach what feels like the entire population of our area, we finished out this week having taught 150 lessons to investigators and having found 168 new investigators, coupled with the baptism of Sister T, the first in her family to be baptized.<br /><br />I think it is sufficient to say that Elder Peralta and I know and have talked with and taught/sang for so many people this week that I feel like I've lived in Colonia for half my life.<br /><br />Now I have the monumental task of following up and beginning the harvesting process for many of the prepared people that we found.<br /><br />I just want to share this as a testament that I KNOW that my power as a missionary does not come from my talents and abilities, but it comes from my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I would compare this week to the experience of the brother of Jared, where after he saw the finger of the Lord his faith became unshakable, and after I have seen this week I know that all things are possible to those that believe. <br /><br />Granted I am very far from claiming perfect knowledge.<br /><br />We were also rejected quite a bit more than we were the last time we found a large amount of new investigators, but I feel like every time someone said no it only made me more excited and happy for the next person that said yes. <br /><br />We even started to see the fruits of our work in the area as we feel like the whole attitude of our area has changed and there are now many people that call out to us and say hi, and all of the false rumors about the church no longer stand since so many people have talked with us and had a spiritual experience with us.<br /><br />In response to Mom and Dad, the "jungle" where Elder Peralta and I taught about the Atonement is actually where we teach the youth class during Sunday school hour. And the reason why Elder Peralta and I have our heads above the beams is because we are just on our toes, those beams are actually only about 5 and a half feet high and I bump my head on them all the time. I'll meet my new companion probably tomorrow or on Wednesday, so next week I let you know.<br /><br />Saying goodbye to Elder Peralta was as Mom said, bitter sweet. I have some big shoes to fill and I will miss his dedication. He will have a hard time taking of the tag, but it will have to come, and I don't feel too far behind him. The day I go to Bacolod for the last time will be an extremely bitter sweet day for me.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />No pictures since my camera is acting up and I don't have another to borrow for the moment.<br /><br />Halong!<br /><br />Elder Butler</span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-80184976472417102782014-06-23T16:34:00.002-07:002014-06-24T09:56:44.517-07:00Smile Because it's Bright<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sister Lopez posted these photos to facebook. (</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was zone conference earlier in the week.) </span> Brooks sent the three photos I placed below his letter.<i>~K</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Performing in a duet at Zone Conference</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">He has always had the great gift to sing with his heart. I think this picture even gives you a little sense of that...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope that this letter finds you well and smiling. I've been making a conscious effort to always have a happy face whenever I see people that I pass on the streets/paths, and especially make sure that I always smile when I see them because I am happy to see them. I often find that people ending up smiling back and looking a little happier themselves. I do think that I'll never regret having smiled too much or at too many people. Why not give it a try? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">On that note I want to share a story from our work today (we work in the mornings on preparation day instead of the evenings since we have to stay over night in Sagay).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We've been teaching a lot today, mostly just quick lessons where we sing two or three verses of a hymn in Ilonggo and then share a 5 minute or less message. Near the end of our proselyting time we came up to the house of a young wife that we had taught a few weeks ago at a different house and found her at home with her husband that we had not met yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The wife was happy to see us, but the husband was completely indifferent and quite frankly looked like he'd rather be facing down an angry carabao than sit in the same room with us. Of course always inviting others to come unto Christ, we asked if we could share a short message and sing. The husband agreed, somewhat reluctantly but said yes out of general Filipino culture of not wanting to appear too rude, and after getting to know him a little we asked if we could pray.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">After the prayer I could see that Brother was starting to immediately zone out, so I gave my best three sentence lesson about Jesus Christ being the light in our lives (the song we were going to be singing was "Teach Me to Walk in the Light"), and as I started to speak I saw something amazing happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I talked about Christ I felt I could literally see Brother A's stone cold features soften little by little, like watching ice melt on a hot day, and as my companion spoke his part I could see he was starting to think about what we were saying and it was almost as if I could see light starting to grow in his countenance. And all this in less than 2 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We then asked if we could sing. We sang the first and last verse of "Teach Me to Walk in the Light”, and then thanked them for their time and said the closing prayer. By the end Alex had turned from stone cold indifference to smiling and laughing. I knew that he felt the spirit and it showed in his eyes, going from dullness to a brightness that was in such stark contrast that it was like I was seeing a different person by the end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don't know the future of that family (as we only just taught them for the first time and very quickly), but I love the effect the spirit has on people, and I love being able to see it in the eyes of those we teach.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I do have hopes of a return appointment and hope to teach Alex and his wife Ilene again.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Being a missionary is wonderful. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I also got an unexpected package that contained a mini quad with snap close a few weeks ago (slipped my mind to mention it last week). I guess that was the one you ordered 8 plus months ago? The shipping must be backed up here.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I hope to attach two pictures, but I'll do it in other emails.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love you all! I think of you every night and pray for your well being.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Halong!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Elder Butler</span><br />
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Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-18474123849950319542014-06-16T08:34:00.002-07:002014-06-16T08:34:38.124-07:00A Challenge and a Promise<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This week was Stake Conference and the church rented a bus to take the members and missionaries from up in the mountains. (</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Photos this week are courtesy of the mission president's wife, </span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sister Lopez</span></span>.</i>)</span> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The week flew by and the mission keeps flying faster and faster with each week it seems.<br /><br />In better news, it didn't rain quite so much this week, or at least it was timed well enough to where when it did we were at teaching appointments and didn't take to full soaking.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />We also spent some time with the senior couples looking at a few potential new missionary apartments, since our current house is going to be remodeled into a meeting house here and we need to find another place to stay, and also since the branch president is wanting to add another set of missionaries so our mission president is complying.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />The house that we are looking at staying in temporarily before moving into another in the proper is pretty cool. Because the other house we want to move into is still under construction, we are going to stay in the owners other house temporarily which is basically a nice bamboo hut which you have cross a small river and climb up a hill to get to, but I've always wanted to live in a bamboo hut so I'm totally excited! :) It has mosquito netting around the outside and it even has running water from the irrigation running by, it's also quiet and peaceful with no loud music being played by neighbors (which is extremely common in the Philippines no matter where you go), so in my opinion it's a total upgrade to our current house. I'm not sure if I have pictures, but I'll send some when I do.<br /><br />Also I've been starting to try and "prepare" myself mentally and spiritually a little for when I have to come home. Being with another missionary who is about to go home (at the end of this transfer in two weeks) has definitely made me a lot more aware of the fact that missions do have to come to an end. I still want to keep my heart and mind on the work, and I plan on spending every last second here as well as I can, but I still have to face the music that this can't last forever. But that makes my time left all the sweeter as I know I still have time, albeit not as much as I would hope.<br /><br />We were also able to teach a former investigator, the older sister of the twins that will be baptized this coming Saturday (the picture of me with the boy on the bus [above] is one of the twins). She is 16 and was taught by the missionaries a few years ago and would have been baptized (she was even interviewed) but her parents wouldn't allow it, as the church was receiving a lot of persecution at the time and they didn't want their family involved, so now after a few years later and being off at school she joined a baptist church, but when we started teaching her she still remembered a lot and we could see that her interest was renewed and she remembered the testimony she had before.<br /><br />One really cool moment was where she was back in town for a holiday and was planning on returning the next day before school started so she would have to be tired and take the 3 am jeep on the day class started again. But we were able to teach her briefly that night and really felt the spirit, and when we asked when she would be in town again so we could share more she thought for a little bit and then said "ok, I'm not going to leave tomorrow for Sagay, can you come back this time tomorrow?"<br /><br />It was a simple moment, but I knew that Spirit was working with her and it put in her that desire to change her plans just so she could listen to us one more time before she went home. <br /><br />We taught her the next day about the Book of Mormon and challenged her to read it every day, and I felt prompted to promise her that if she did she would see her grades improve, she seemed a little disbelieving at first but she took the challenge. I have no doubt that if she does the Lord will fulfill that promise and I feel like I should extend that promise to anyone who may be struggling with school. Read the Book of Mormon intently every day for at least 10 minutes, and I know the spirit will help you will any problem you might face in any academic field.<br /><br />That's all my time for today.<br /><br />I love you all! And I thank you for your constant prayers and support.<br /><br />Halong!<br /><br />~Elder Butler </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-85826215896748824842014-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:002014-06-11T07:03:14.746-07:00It's a Mud Mud Mud MUD World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">(The Super Missionaries--Elder Peralta and Elder Butler! ~K)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">(His face is just glowing with joy! Makes me so happy! ~K)</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The oncoming rain.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the path to get to Alimatok. This is what a lot of what I walk up, over, down, and through looks like.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Same path. This my friends is Colonia Divina.</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello Family!<br /><br />First off, I'd like to wish Grandpa Butler a happy birthday! I hope it was wonderful and I send my love. You always make me smile whenever I see or think about you, keep being wonderful!<br /><br />This week, as the title suggests, was a very rainy and muddy week, making our daily ventures on the mountains paths very slippery and adventurous. I've given up on taking an umbrella now since every part of me gets soaked whether I use it or not, but at least I get a shower every now and then as opposed to only the bucket showers. :) I figure that this is probably the only time that I am going to have in my life to work the way I am working in the kind of place that I am working in so I'm trying to look at the brighter side of things and be more consciously grateful for everything I get. <br /><br />Another plus is that all of this mountain work is finally getting me into the physical condition that I've always wanted but was never able to push myself hard enough to get before in my mission, so another blessing from the Lord.<br /><br />In other news, because of all of the rain and such it has put some restraints on our work in more than a few ways, on top of having school start up again here for all of the youth and college students this week, which after having a week like last week made this week feel all that more "less successful", but I know that success is measured in a lot of ways, and we definitely did a lot of learning a growing this week so I would consider that a success.<br /><br />Another note that I think I should make about this area that I eluded to in the email before last is why this place is called Colonia Divina (or Divine Colony in English).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />In the proper that we live in (kind of like a town except smaller) there are literally only two churches. Our church and the church of Alaph. This whole community exist actually because sometime back in the 1950s their founder gathered a lot of people from all over the Philippines and took them up here in the mountains to this place where he believed (or prophesied, since the people here consider him to be a kind of a prophet/some even think he might be Jesus Christ) that the second coming would take place. Also the name of the church, Alaph, is suppose to be the new name of Jesus (they reference the part in revelation about the name written on the white stone and that the name is actually Alaph).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />To make things more brief, basically everyone in this town is only one of three religions, Alaph, LDS, or Baptist (they preach up here too but there church is far away in Sagay). And the hard core Alaph people can be pretty interesting when it comes to the things they spread around about us (there was a pretty big rumor going around that the missionaries were treasure hunters but that has been mostly dissipated since Elder Peralta has been here), but considering we've taught what feels like half of the people in the town, the general opinion of the people has shifted much more in our favor.<br /><br />Anyways, there is a lot more to the situation, but it makes the work interesting and it makes this one of the most unique areas I've worked in. So I love it.<br /><br />That's all for now! There are a lot of pictures that I want to send so there might be a few emails with pictures after this one.<br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />~Elder Butler</span><br />
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Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055656142599622087.post-71908053981913779102014-06-02T10:58:00.000-07:002014-06-02T11:04:49.090-07:00A Divine Colony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carabaos at the baptism!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water well and "shower" buckets.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-mkwAOZd5Go8CgmF25hiUSn7vZZfUDuQNzNDELep3e8B0AJShL6gQysNTps5CMjyg3lD3NtaBwkEQycD2aOGtpzp_ROYP3i7DwDyleXIzu3PD9fy307lkd2gpJR5HN-nISUISlwMM4Y/s1600/PTDC2078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-mkwAOZd5Go8CgmF25hiUSn7vZZfUDuQNzNDELep3e8B0AJShL6gQysNTps5CMjyg3lD3NtaBwkEQycD2aOGtpzp_ROYP3i7DwDyleXIzu3PD9fy307lkd2gpJR5HN-nISUISlwMM4Y/s1600/PTDC2078.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our house.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A Divine Colony<br />Hello Family!<br /><br />It has been another very tiring but very rewarding day of work for us here in Colonia Divina. Elder Peralta and I have been stretching ourselves and have been setting and achieving some pretty high goals for this last week and for the weeks to come. Our focus has been on finding, and especially on finding families, and this last week I did something that I haven't done for my entire mission, that is tracting (or just going house to house and teaching anyone who will accept you), which has actually brought a lot more success than I originally thought it would.<br /><br />In the Philippines the culture here is that if someone comes by, even if you don't know them, you entertain them as your guest, regardless of weather you are rich or poor, so when you have missionaries come by asking if they can offer a prayer for you and your family and share a 5 minute message and a song, and being in a very Christian society where atheism is almost completely unheard of and also being in a society that loves to entertain Americans, most of the time you will get a yes and they will give a few minutes for you to pray for them and set a return appointment. Or at least that is how it seems to work in the mountains.<br />We have been turned away quite a bit as well though, but not nearly as much as we have been accepted, and to make a long story short Elder Peralta and I were able to find a total of 135 new investigators this week, with the very large majority of those coming from complete, or mostly complete, families. The work is hastening and I love it! Now these next few weeks we need to filter and prioritize all of these families so we can decide who to give priority to and plan for how we can help them come unto Christ through baptism.<br /><br />This week I have also been lengthening my stride a little since we live in the mountains and there are sometimes 2 to 3 kilometers between areas where there are houses, and to save on time we often walk at a very "hastening the work" pace over hills, through fields, and across streams. We often come up to our first lessons/appointments in an area a little short of breath and covered in sweat, but I wouldn't have it any other way right now.<br /><br />We also had a baptism this week of a girl named Reyna. She is 11 years old and is the little sister of the recent convert family in our branch that walks for over two hours to get to church. I got to baptize in a river for the first time in my mission! Albeit there were a few carabaos who were taking there daily bath as well, but it was still a good experience. <br /><br />I love you all!<br /><br />Keep keeping the Faith.<br /><br />~Elder Butler </span>Karolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15769685110784321665noreply@blogger.com0