THE RIZAL FAMILY IS GETTING BAPTIZED! I LOVE THIS FAMILY! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

The Pinoy family at their baptism! My companion let me baptize both of them!

Hello friends and family! Sorry for the brief letter last week, I will endeavor to be more thorough in this one. I am on cloud nine! Transfer day is looming very near, and we are reasonably sure either I or my companion will transfer. I love my area, the weather, my companion, and this language! So, according to the Lord's sense of humor, I will most likely: be transferring to Abra (hot as hell, I'm using that literally so not a swear word, and super politically dangerous, I'm told) I'll be given a disobedient companion, hard hearted people, and be forced to learn a language other than Tagalog, like Ilokano! But, I will go where the Lord wants me to go, say what he wants me to say, and be what he wants me to be!

The weather in Baguio is amazing right now, we're having a lot of success, and... the Rizal family is getting baptized! They passed their interview, they are super ready, and their family is making their first steps towards being together forever!!!

I'm surprised at how close sharing the gospel can bring me to someone else. Outwardly, I have nothing in common with these people and no reason to really be their friend, they are older than me, speak a different langauge, grew up in completely different circumstances and have children. BUT being a missionary compels you to care about people. I LOVE this family. I can see how humble and Christlike they are, how smart and patient Sister Rizal is, how hard working and humble Brother Rizal is, we laugh together every time we meet, the whole 9 yards. Serving a mission simply is the best decision you can ever make. Always easy, fun, and happy? Absolutely not. But it brings the most joy, makes you grow, and brings you closer to others and our Heavenly Father. I love being a missionary!

Also, Brandon is my favorite deacon-age sibling! I got his letters and pictures, and they made me happy :) I also got letters from Grandpa and Grandma Murtishaw and Mikesell and from Kelly! Those letters no joke make my day. It's hard to be so far from the people that care most about you. I love everyone back home! FEED YOUR FIRE!

Me with Sister May, my favorite member in Tuding

 

I BAPTIZED MY FIRST INVESTIGATORS LAST SATURDAY! THEY ARE AMAZING! I LOVE LIFE!

I baptized my first investigators last Saturday!
They are amazing!
The baptism was amazing!
I got my birthday package on my birthday!
It was amazing!
The Rizal family is almost ready to be baptized!
They are amazing!
I love the Philippines, these people, this language, and my mission!
They are all amazing!
Bret is going on his mission!
This is also amazing!
I love life! I'm on a high right now, as you can tell! Lows will certainly come, but I love everyone and trust in Christ to get me through them, and thank Him for what He has given me now!
Feed your fires!
Ingat

P.S. We don't have a stove in our apartment, so we couldn't cook the brownies ON my birthday... so we got a little creative :P We're going to cook them at an investigators house, haha.

THE PINOY FAMILY PASSED THEIR INTERVIEW AND WILL BE BAPTIZED ON THE TENTH!

Hello friends and family! This week has been amazing and extremely difficult at the same time! The Pinoy family passed their interview and will be baptized on the tenth! They are so amazing! Brother Pinoy eats lessons up, understands doctrine so deeply and immediately applies it, has been bearing his testimony to us for months and is so caring about their little daughter! Sister Pinoy is super intelligent, super nice and knew from the start that if she didn't know the gospel was true, she wasn't going to be baptized. I love her independence! For both of them, by reading, praying and coming to church, they know it's true and want to be baptized! They are both awesome. I've really come to love them both as friends, and even though it seems they are going through challenge after challenge, they always bear it so well! There's a lot I can learn from them.

The Rizal family is doing good! Brother Rizal is really starting to open up his heart. He's made such huge changes in his life, too! His faith is stronger than he realizes. Sister Rizal is just as amazing. She's sharing the gospel in her community already, and she's even been persecuted for it, but she's so Christlike. She prays for her critics and just keeps swimming!

I'm still with my awesome companion, Elder Wilson, but our second transfer day is looming close. It's very likely we will get new companions. I love the lug, though! As for the weather, I truly NEVER leave the apartment without an umbrella. Baguio weather is truly random. We've gone outside on days when there is LITERALLY not a single cloud in the sky, and three and a half hours later it is pouring rain, lightening and thunder.

Other odd happenings: two nights ago, there were these bugs that filled our entire area, like plagues of Egypt type stuff. We had to close our mouths in order not to swallow them. They were swarming around lights everywhere... then we went inside an investigators house, taught a lesson, came outside and they were all dead, all on ground. We asked some natives what they are and why they live and die in the space of three hours, and everyone replied "basta" which basically means, "that's just how it is". Haha, this land is crazy!

I love you all back home. Feed your fire!!!