The Work in ADUAS

Woah there,
Sinabi ko na kay SARAH na hindi ako pumayag sa kanyang Pag-de-dating. Pasaway talaga 'yen! Joke lang, Sarah, Mahal kita.
Mom, here in the Philippines there's been a real push for food in homes, some kind of Church charity project called FAITH is gripping the nation (food available in the home) It's been great to hear that it's a world-wide effort. Wow, Zion sure is amazing.
The missionary (zone leader) next to me (who attended BYU), and I read dad's section about the BYU game a minute ago. It was a nail-biter, and several Filipinos glanced over while we were oohing and ahhing, pumping our fists and doing a victory dance. Okay, . . . back to missionary work. (Thanks for the update, keep them coming)

This week we teamed up with the bishop and for the first time in the mission, I got to RIDE (even if it was sidesaddle on a trike or squished in that tiny sidecar) from appointment to appointment, as we reactivated priesthood and looked for part-member families to teach. Two of the families we visited came to church, it was great. Hopefully soon we'll get an Elders Quorum President and High Priest Group Leader called so we can have a PEC and get the work really going here in Aduas. For every active member, there are 7 or 8 inactives -- The Philippines has SO MANY members, kaya lang. . . so many don't come to church. Sometimes we'll get halfway through a lesson with someone we thought was a new investigator before they'll say: "oh yeah! Joseph Smith . . . Yeah. . . I remember now, I'm a member of that church."
Okay, so that's only happened once or twice, but we knock on doors all the time that are actually inactive members.
We've got one really great investigator, Brother Añoso, who's come to church twice. He's so sharp, he understands the lessons so well. And keeps commitments, which is exciting and refreshing. When we taught about repentance, we gave an invitation to him to repent of his sins, and we told him how. I was surprised when he hung his head and was quiet for a minute. Looking at his feet, he said "Well, I've got a lot of sins. I know it's not right to be baptized if I'm not clean." He then looked up at us, and we said that was right, and bore testimony about the cleansing power of the Atonement. It was a powerful moment. Brother Añoso accepted the commitment with all the gravity it deserved. It's a pleasure to teach him.
Another investigator surprised us when, after the invitation to pray about Joseph Smith, he (Brother Francha) said "I don't know. For a long time I've lived in a way I know God isn't happy with. It's just been easier for me. If I'm going to kneel down and ask God for knowledge, He's going to want me to do something, too. I know what he wants me to change my life. When I ask, I have to do what He says, and if He says you're right, that's a lot to do." I was blown away. He was so right. I hope and pray that Brother Francha will make a decision to change. He's sure to feel something if he will pray, I've grown so sure of that while I've been here in the mission field.
There's great experiences out here, all the time. I still think about the Zamora family, and pray for them. I realize more and more what it says in Doctrine and Covenants, that your joy will be so great if you help one soul (and better yet if many) to the kingdom of God. Meeting them there means the world to me. I'd do anything to make that possible. I'm looking always for people that I can learn to love like the Zamora family. It's possible with anyone. That's where the joy comes from -- a true desire for their welfare, to see them again, wanting them so much to recieve all the blessings possible, wanting them to be as happy as they can possibly be. Feeling like family, wanting to see them every day in the perfect happiness that is the kingdom of the Father, just like I saw them every night in that small house, on the side of a quiet street, in a place called "ligtasan", which in english means "salvation".
I love you, family! Keep up all the work and play, I love you all.
Sincerely,
Elder Loren Peck