Mission-to-marry Work

Hello hello!

Another solid week on the island! We were able to see lots of progress in many different people as they have started making those little sacrifices to come closer to God. Lots of these men have been total studs- getting rid of all Word of Wisdom problems almost immediately. It’s been a blessing to see. Their families are super important to them and it’s cool to see the friendships of the men help and strengthen each other to follow Christ. Their wives are even better haha they make sure the family reads the book of mormon and gets to church on time.

Since the first two weeks here was just Elder Pichay and I for the most part we were busy teaching lessons from morning to evening but having Elder Somosa and Constantino has opened up some new opportunities. This week we were able to focus in on who is closest to baptism as well as doing a lot more service and getting to know others on the island in a new setting other than a teaching setting. We played basketball at 4pm about every day with investigators (the Elders are still undefeated) , ate dinner with the Rosales family one evening, visited the high school looking for service opportunities, played night games with kids, etc. It was a super fun week!

I mentioned we visited the high school. We got there when all the kids were getting let out for lunch (they all go to their homes to eat lunch here) and a giant crowd came and surrounded us haha. I’ve had loads of high fives in other areas but I think in the 10 minutes after their class I think I set my new ten minute record haha! The teachers are actually in their early twenties here haha so meeting them was like talking to friends. They said we could do whatever we want at the elementary school every day from 4-5pm- whether that be english class, games, whatever we want to do. It’s gonna be a sweet opportunity to meet kids and gain the trust of the island a little more!

One morning the other elders went out to buy some water and they came back with a shark haha! Apparently some nice guy just gave it to them! The members we are staying with were gone at the time but a neighbor came over and cooked it up for us while we were out proselyting in the morning. I guess just right there you can see the kindness of the people here. Most of them are willing to do literally anything to help us out and help us feel part of their island.

A funny thing as well I’ve noticed is that people will listen in to our conversations. In America, you’d do this secretly but here they listen in and don’t even hide it. It’s just totally normal to jump into a conversation here even if you’ve never met them. The other night we were eating some nice octopus with the Canonigo fam for dinner and one of us said a joke and we all laughed. I noticed that we weren’t the only ones laughing though- Sister Hodi (an investigator next door) was also laughing. Later on brother Tata asked a question but none of us new the answer- out of nowhere the other neighbor yelled from her house the answer haha! Had no idea she was even there. It’s so cool seeing how they live their lives out here.

Friday we left the island with two couples to head all the way to Puerto Princesa to get some marriage papers figured out. We woke up early and spent much of the day traveling. It was super fun to spend more time with them and get to know them more. We even ate at the Philippines’ favorite/ most popular restaurant, Mang Inasal. President said that all the fares and food would be reimbursed so that was a big help for these two couples. It took a day from the island but it was well worth it seeing how strong these two couples will be as members. They should be married here pretty soon here!!

On the boat ride from green island to roxas a storm really picked up and the waves were HUGE!! It was super fun haha we were all dying laughing and just getting soaked. We thought it was the craziest experience but it was even crazier going back to the island the next morning. Once again, a storm about the same size came in but this time we were on a TINY little boat since it was leaving before the others. It was only us four elders and a grandpa who owned the little boat. He came in clutch and kept us safe but we were drenched head to toe along with all of our bags. It was super funny though we’ve been talking about it all week.

Each time it rains here our room upstairs gets pretty flooded. One day we were able to put some tarps over some of the cracks so things are holding up better now!

Sunday was great again!! We had 27 in the morning then 53 in the evening which is the most we’ve had thus far! 63 were nonmembers and the others were just us elders and the canonigo family who attended twice. I gave a talk on the Book of Mormon since we just got a new box in from manila. We keep going through them really fast and there’s been a slight problem getting enough supply here in our mission right now. But we were able to pass out some more to any other families who didn’t have one after the sacrament. I mainly focused in my talk on how the book of mormon can help us come closer to God, better know who Christ is and what He did, and also feel the Holy Ghost more abundantly in our lives.

Anyways I’m happy as ever and have been loving these experiences out here on my mission. Next week we will have some baptisms so we’re really excited!

Love Elder Reber

Parker promises more pics next week which will probably be the last email we get from him!!! Wahoo!