Martes the 10th

The zone leaders put on a training this morning. They did a good job. The teaching was about having the Spirit to teach and find. We have had good success with being led by the Spirit to find and invite back less active brethren. Last Sunday, the number of returning men was 12 and many brought families with the. We need to retain them and help them become tithe payers and committed disciples of Jesus Christ. Clearly, the Spirit does that also, with missionaries as tools and helpers..

Dulito came over today to work. I have been calling him Dunito since we met. He has been too kind/shy to correct me. In all the searching for his records, it is likely that I slowed things up with misspelling his name. He has been calling us "Mother" and "Father". I think he did this out of respect for our ages, but we cleared the nomenclature up today and learned his name and he now refers to us as Elder and Sister. It is much more comfortable.

We have a good little arrangement for him to help around the house and procure some items for us that we can't get for ourselves. For instance, he brought me 9 lengths of young bamboo in about 2 inch diameter and about 8 feet long. I build a tripod/easel out of some of it and will likely do more as I learn how to use the stuff. He bought kilo of fresh prawns for us (me . . .Sister S doesn't like seafood)this morning at the market. I payed him the same amount I usually have to pay (as a foreigner) and he pocketed a few hundred pesos. He worked at the house til 3:00. We trimmed off the bottom of a sticking door. I am so much more happy when I can get into the rooms of the house without problem doors.

In the training today, Elder Shaffer taught about Elder Arden's method of study, which is to look at a set of scriptures and ponder them thoroughly, asking how they relate to him, to his calling, to his family. We used 1 Nephi 17:7-13. We read the scriptures . . . we focused on one word . . . we pondered how it relates to missionary work in the Antique Zone.
Naturally, some focused on "Arise" right away, so did I . . . so, a study chart would look like:

Verse 7           "Arise"           Missionaries rise early in the morning to study and get going.
                                            Rise up of men (and women) of God.
                                            Or, ????

Verse 10          "tools"           What are the tools of a missionary?
                                             How does a missionary use tools to share the Gospel?
                                            Or, ?????
 Mine, which I did not share:                                    ship
Verse 8            "construct"    Thou shalt construct a disciple of Christ, after the manner which I shall show
                                            thee, that I may carry my disciples across the waters of their lives." Not a                                                     quote, I know . . .

Perhaps a bit loose with the scripture, but I enjoyed the process and can see how it can help us learn, study, and have fun with study. It is actually fun to learn in this way and to feel the Spirit. I was absolutely amazed at the depth of these few scriptures as I looked at individual words, themes, possible meanings, and related them to our mission and my life.

Elder Ortiz taught about revelation and the role of revelation and inspiration in missionary work and beyond. It was a fine training and we enjoyed the morning.

This evening we go with the sisters to visit a less active man. We look forward to a great spiritual meeting. After, we are taking a cake to Elder Watkins. We learned today that his birthday was the end of May and everyone missed it. He is pretty new in the mission, so we wanted to pay a little attention to him. He is going to be a really good missionary.

It rained hard this morning from about 3 til about 6:00 am. About 4:30 am I felt the bed moving around. I was laying on my stomach. I thought it was Sister Sessions tossing and turning, but when I looked at her to stop raising all the ruckus, she was dead asleep. I thought, "Well my heart must have been pounding."

About 15 minutes later the same thing happened. I looked at Sister Sessions, then looked at the curtains to see if they were moving in case it was an earth quake. They were still. I didn't know what was going on. At the meetings this morning one of the Elders asked if we had felt the earth quake. It was pretty minor.

Some Pics . . . reflections I want to paint perhaps:

Can't see the reflections as well in this one, but the farm hut is tough to resist.

 

Elders Noleal and Ortiz last evening. We went to see a man in the Chooks to Go. The man is from Hamtic, so the Elders got his information and promised him they would refer him to the Elders there. Took this quickly through the window, hence the filtered look. I like it though.

Saw this jeepney loaded to go in Sibalom when I took Dulito back this afternoon. I couldn't resist it. Perhaps a new record. They seem to overload for the trip to San Remegio. We are going to try a jeepney ride one of these day. I want Sister S to ride on the back with me, but she seems reluctant.