Why did you give me this book?

That was the question that started the journey of a lifetime. This week Bro. Harris was finally baptized, after a ton of sacrifice and saving, he was finally baptized. It was an awesome moment for all three of us. It's been the coolest experience to see him come unto Christ despite the mountains of challenges that lay before him. He conquered them all through a book and prayer. And it did...it all started with one question, "Why did you give me this book?" And here at the end, I asked him, "Now do you know why?" He was able to work with us yesterday after his confirmation, and he gave an awesome testimony to one of the investigators. That book saved me. It was an even better experience to see it save someone else. 

We also had two meetings earlier this week. The first was the Trainers and Trainees meeting. We got up super early, and headed to Naga, which left us exhausted. But we had an amazing meeting, centered on the use and converting power of the Book of Mormon. It was super cool, and we learned a lot from Pres. Lee, who is full of wisdom and knowledge. While we were there, I was able to see my beloved companion, Elder Fa'aloto, and some other familiar faces, including Elder Richards, who got to meet his "grandson". It was super cool, and super cool to see Elder Fa'aloto training as well. Except he has Dengue, which I was not happy about. But he's still alive right now. We also had Zone Conference this week, which was also about the Book of Mormon. So it was a cool zone conference for me personally. But nothing super special happened in it, so that's all I've got to say. 

 

This week was super busy with all the meetings and of course, the baptism, which was the highlight of the week. Elder Shepherd is still alive if you're wondering. He's doing better to the adjustments, and finally has submitted to rice. Now he just has to learn Tagalog, and he's basically a Filipino.  This week though was a little slow as far as work goes. But this next week is grind week. We have a long list of names, and have to visit every single one of them. So we'll see how it goes. Till then though!

 

All is Well

Elder Bills

 

1. Baptism of Bro. Harris! 2. The Genealogy pic. 3. My Beloved Companion, Elder Fa'aloto 4. Group Photo!

Isaac is doing so, so well. He gets why he is there. He gets missionary work. He is enjoying training and says Elder Shepherd is a quick learner and is doing so well. 

He had a nice interview with President Lee about two weeks ago. He asked Pres Lee if he (Isaac) as off-base by focusing so much on the Book of Mormon in proselyting. President Lee asked Isaac what he meant. Isaac feels like the members, fellow missionaries, missionaries about to leave and even returned missionaries who served in the Philippines are too pamphlet-oriented. Isaac wants to be obedient, so he was seeking direction from his mission president about focusing more on the Book of Mormon than on pamphlets. President Lee told Isaac to keep using the Book of Mormon. Absolutely! In fact, because of Isaac's inquiry, that was the theme of trainer/trainee meeting and zone conferences this past week -- teaching with the Book of Mormon instead of with pamphlets. 

Isaac is excited that there is a growing group of missionaries throughout the mission that are all Book of Mormon-centered in their approach and hopes that the "Book of Mormon fever" spreads. His companion, Elder Shepherd, keeps asking Isaac how else you'd do missionary work if you're not using the Book of Mormon as the center. Isaac just says, "you can't." :) 

Anyway, things are well with our missionary. He loves his area, companion, the people, the food, and is thrilled to be there.