Hey, Elder Wood, talk to this guy... (6/15/14)

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been a great week in Pinili! It rained almost everyday this past week, which made it a bit of a problem to get our laundry dry, but it did get dry. We now have water pressure in our apartment too because of the rain! And it isn't s hot anymore.

So the best part of the week was our MLC and Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Ardern. Elder Ardern is the Area President of the Philippines Area. They are from New Zealand so they have awesome accents. I didn't have a hard time understanding them luckily, having now been around New Zealanders and Aussies. It was such a great experience to get to be in both meetings and to hear their insights and testimonies about the gospel and missionary work.

During MLC, Elder and Sister Ardern both focused on Christ-like leadership and becoming a master gospel teacher. Elder Ardern showed us how to "unpack the scriptures" no matter what our current situation or calling is. They were really focused on how we as leaders we are agents of change for the missionaries and the people around us. By focusing on obedience we are able to help others to bring the power of the Atonement into their lives and they can become the people and servants that the Lord needs them to be. I really love that phrase agents of change. It reminds me of the phrase in the scriptures that the we are agents to act for ourselves, and not to be acted upon. That gives us the opportunity to help others and to grow ourselves. Our life here on Earth is so important in our eternal progression. 

During Zone Conference with Elder Ardern, I had the privilege of conducting, so I got to sit on the stand between him and President Barrientos and assist with some of the trainings and demonstrations. during Zone Conference, the focus was how important the mission is for the rest of our lives and our eternal salvation. Elder and Sister Ardern both taught about how one of the greatest measures of how successful a missionary is is what their life is like after their mission. Being 3 transfers away from going home that really sank into my heart. Sometimes as missionaries we forget that there is going to be a life after the mission. Personally, I don't find that bad, since it help s us focus on the work at hand. But when we remember that, our work takes on a whole new aspect in it's importance. We are making choices and doing things that become part of who we are. We are showing to the Lord that we are capable of living in a higher way and being exactly obedient in all things. This is our training ground, though most of the changes are, in our perspective, small and slow. But they will make all of the difference in eternity. To sum up Zone Conference, Elder Arden said "Now is the time. This is the place. We are the ones!" I have been working hard to apply the things that we learned in my work and in my personal life.

But wait, there is more! We also had stake conference this weekend and we got to watch a live broadcast from Salt lake that was broad cast to all of the stakes and districts in the Philippines. It was such a great conference and the testimonies and stories from Elder Cook, Elder Teh, Bishop Davies and Sister McConkie really touched the people listening. Especially the talk by Elder Teh, since he is from the Philippines and the stories that he shared were specifically from people in the Philippines. We had two investigators, some less actives and a bunch of recent converts come. Everyone was spiritually uplifted I personally came away with many things that I can do to improve. 

As for the work in Pinili, we are starting to make progress! The Aq family is doing well and Bro. Sher wants us to teach at their home. There is also a family who is friends with them who wants to be taught since they are seeing the changes in their lives, especially in Sher. We will try to teach them this week. One of our recent converts, Mony, is going on the youth temple trip this week and is so excited, She has been packed since Thursday, but they travel today. We have a goal this week to focus our finding on prospective priesthood holders, since that is what the branch needs. As a short note, Elder R told me that CC in Gonzaga just passed her baptismal interview. And I just saw one of my investigators from Laoag who is getting baptized this weekend. I know that the work we do in the service of God is beyond what we realized. Every person with whom we share the gospel is touched by the Spirit and the seeds of faith are planted in them. We may not see the harvest in this life, but it will come. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he is our way back to our Heavenly Father. There is no other way nor name given by which we can return. 

Thanks for all of the support and prayers!

Love,

Elder R Wood

I will explain the title next week....