Goodbye Elder Fiesta

Hello there!

 

Another happy week here in Makati! No complaints over here. Elder Mitchell and I have been loving each moment weve had especially the past few weeks. A hard part of the week was seeing Elder Fiesta, my last companion, head home.

 

He was able to extend his mission 1 month so he was the only missionary leaving last Tuesday night. His family came to pick him up and it was way fun meeting them. They were in the office conference room waiting to see him and he pulled up in a taxi (of course calling us a few minutes before asking for us to bring a Book of Mormon out so he can give it to the taxi driver.) We got to see him see his family for the first time in 2 years which was really cool. We had a dinner that night at the mission home and we all had a little testimony meeting. I think the biggest thing I learned from Elder Fiesta was courage. It's really what makes him different from so many missionaries. He's never looking inward at his weaknesses but continually focused on those around him. He would do anything for the people he'd teach. The crazy things he did throughout his mission didn't come because of his confidence in himself, but because he trusted that God would always uphold him. He will be missed here in the mission but I know the Lord will continue to use his strenghths throughout the rest of his life.

 

One day this week we took JR and June on an "adventure." They both don't have much so we decided to take them to get a cheap white shirt, tie, pants, socks, and shoes. June had never been further than Guadalupe Mall (about 10 min walk from his house) in a few years so it was cool to get them outside. We took them to lunch at Mang Inasal which is one of the Philippines' favorite places to eat. Literally all day these two guys see commercials and signs about Mang Inasal and they've never eaten there. It was kinda crazy when we both figured that out- a meal there is about $2.50 in american dollars but they've never had money to go there yet. I've probably eaten there 50 times throughout my short time here. They were super pumped for that and we had lots of laughs. After that, since it was a holiday and there was no traffic, we decided that we may as well run them over to the temple to tour them around outside! The Manila temple has been closed for a few months for renovations and it was opening day. There were tons of people including a few members from Tondo 2nd haha! Got to see bishop and his wife again as well as a few RM's from our mission. It was an awesome day!

 

I know i've mentioned Patrick's name in the past.. we found him a few weeks ago and he's been investigating the church for about 2 years now. He's been wanting to be baptized forever but just needs his mom's permission. He literally knows just as much as i do about the church haha. We had a cool lesson with him this week where we felt like we should promise him he'd be baptized by a certain date if he'd testify to his mom what he knows then asks her for her permission to be baptized (he's 17 right now.) It was a really powerful lesson and he was in tears thinking about finally being baptized. We walked out of that lesson kinda shocked thinking "wow! Hopefully that promise will be upheld." I do know however that it will. We also called his grandpa who is a member but lives in Ilocos and asked what we can do on our part to continue to help Patrick. He said he's talked to his mom many times but it just hasn't happened yet. I'll keep you updated here though!

 

Had an MLC on thursday which is always something i look forward to. One of the big changes that came from that is area boundaries are gone now! Missionaries who share a ward with another companionship will need to work together to work with members and help investigators progress. It's no longer "this is our investigator" but "this is the Lord's investigator." Both companionships will be urged to help investigators progress which will give investigators a chance to meet more missionaries with different strengths and styles. It will take some time for missionaries to adjust but we're excited to see change little by little moving forward.

 

I was pondering courage throughout this week and was able to learn a little bit more of what it is. For me, like i said earlier courage isn't self-confidence in oneself, but complete confidence and trust in God. With this optimism and trust, one is able to be the "first" to do something. Two examples of courage I thought of were Joseph Murdock (one of the pioneers), and Teancum in the Book of Mormon. These people were people who "set the course for others," "faced challenges that haven't been faced before," "went the extra mile," and "were the only ones who dared." Courage is being willing to do something while not knowing what the result might be. It's stepping into darkness first, then light follows after you act. It's normally not convenient and is tested during hard times. It won't be developed in one experience, but it needs to be something tried constantly. It’s shown at times when your other Christlike attributes are tried. When you have courage, you do not fear what man can do. In a talk I read a few weeks ago I think the speaker mentioned that the phrase “fear not” is used 76 times in the scriptures.

 

Anyways, those are just some thoughts I guess. But the work has been great! I’m excited for another week ahead! Keep pressing forward with courage! :)

ELDER REBER

Elder Fiesta and his family

Love how they got to run into old friends at the temple