Elder Gumiran and Elder Loren Peck
(Loren's first companion and trainer.)
Dear Family,
Thanks for all the great pictures and news. That spring weather looks so nice. I sure do miss those chilly breezes, but life is simpler when you don't have to worry about blankets, jackets, and water heaters. Hot water is the last thing I want to take a shower in. It's been interesting to see the landscape change here in Lupao. When I arrived, the terraced, endless fields were bright greet and the rice was tall. Now it's stubble, and brown, and scorched, but brown is a nice color, too. Honestly, though, this place is so beautiful. Wet season, dry season, it doesn't matter. The mountain range rises steeply in the distance and the sunsets are so beautiful. I never really saw the sunsets in my other areas, which were mostly in more populated areas. 6 months in Lupao, here I come! I've become close to a lot of the members and investigators and this is beginning to feel like the "home ward".
My new companion is from Taytay, Rizal, Philippines, and his name is Elder Cacatian. We entered the mission at the same time, April, 2009. He's an amazing teacher, and here in the mission he decided that he wants to be a teacher as his future profession. I'm going to learn a lot this transfer. Only now am I starting to feel a lot more comfortable with the language. I love the language and everything about it. I love to study and pick up new things, I just like to talk!
It looks like Ronnel Carig is about to head to Manilla for work, so we won't be able to continue teaching him! That's actually a bigger problem than you'd think -- a lot of 20-40 year olds are looking to head to Manilla or even to other countries in search of work. On that subject, I talked to the Elders assigned in Aduas, Cabanatuan, and they only occasionally can find the Ison family because Sister Flordeliza Ison is back and forth from Manilla and Brother Abraham is back and forth from Jain, Nueva Ecija. I just pray things will work out, and I rest assured that I did what I could and I continue to try to get letters to them. I am so excited about one family right now, the Mabanta family. I feel so blessed that in each area, the Lord led us to at least one complete family that is just a joy to teach. They are so ready to listen! A few days ago I asked Brother Covito Mabanta if he'd follow the Savior and be baptized and he said right away "yes, of course!" He then stated that he knew that baptism is part of repentance, and that he and his wife were willing. Wow! We still haven't gotten them to church because of the election (Brother's temporary work) but this week we'll do all we can. I'm always inspired when I think about how I met these wonderful families.
-- The Zamora family, at 8:30 at night when we had no appointments left. Tatay (the father) was home watching TV and for some reason let us in and listened quietly. We returned daily and met the family and they were able to stand up and get away from the pull of their old church and were all baptized.
-- The Ison family, also around 8-8:30 PM, after a shaky appointment in their area fell through. As we walked down the street, we noticed Brother Abraham resting outside, and we approached him, talked to him, and were almost immediately seated. On the return appointments, we met the rest of the family, and they had been prepared by Heaven to listen. I remember sister Ison taking notes as we taught the lessons, and them bringing their homemade scripture cases and scriptures to church.
-- The Mabanta family, one afternoon between appointments. I saw Brother Covito outside his gate and felt prompted to talk with him. He said he didn't have time at the moment, as he was just waiting to be picked up, but invited us back. It turns out that they are former investigators that have been interested for quite some time.
I know this is the work of the Lord! He guides it, and He uses us, even though sometimes we feel so inadequate. He truly uses the weak and simple things, and I've gained a testimony of that here in the mission field.
I've had some inspiring moments in my study this week. I really felt prompted to take up a study of the Atonement again and I've been learning a lot. Here's an excerpt from my other letter: "This week I read a line on page 2 of Preach My Gospel that said something to the effect of: "As your understanding of the Atonement grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase". I felt prompted to take up a study of what the Atonement of Jesus Christ means to me, and I've been blessed as I've read, pondered, and prayed about it. One thing I learned came after reading Alma 7:11-13. I read there that even though the "Spirit knoweth all things", Christ did not choose to avoid affliction and hardship. As He experienced those things, Christ was filled with mercy and knowledge about how to help us in our times of need. He could rescue us from our trials, but He doesn't do that either. He'll always give us strength to overcome, but I've come to know that like Christ, I am also filled with mercy and extra knowledge about how to care for others when I've passed a trial. One important way to follow Christ is to bear hardships as He did -- meekly and courageously, knowing that we are being filled with mercy and knowledge. We can then use what we've gained to help others just as Christ did. We are truly learning to be like Christ and our Heavenly Father in this life! The spirit confirmed these truths to me, I feel like Heavenly Father really wanted to relay this to me at this time. I'm sure there is much more He has to teach me about the Atonement."
Hey Chris, when cows get too easy to milk, I can get you a job here milking water buffalos. You should see the "water buffalo milk" advertisements here -- tempting. I miss cheese and yogurt and dairy products a lot. I'm looking forward to that promised package, I hope I can pray it here a little faster! It's going to be a great transfer! And there's nowhere else I'd rather be. I love ya'll lots and I can't wait to hear from everybody on Mother's day!
Love, Elder Peck
By the way, I saw my trainer, Elder Gumiran, for the last time on Thursday. He'll head home on June 2, and he just got assigned to the other side of the mission for his last transfer. Nakakamiss talaga si Elder Gumiran -- He always told me in the first area that he experienced the greatest joy just in being a full-time, co-senior missionary, and that he wasn't looking for positions. He's been a zone leader now for a year, but he just stepped down and he'll finish out his mission as a co-senior again. It was really good to talk with him.
No comments:
Post a Comment