So a couple of espiritwal mga karanasan (experiences) para sa this week, struggling is how you grow! On Huwebes (Thursday) we had to teach a member via Skype! It was honestly one of the hardest mga karanasan (experiences) I have had at sa MTC so far. The member served in Manilla, pero he spoke way faster than any native Tagalog speaker would ever speak.
It was the biggest struggle, we did Skype with all the other missionaries Skyping in the room so it was sobrung loud in the room! It was just super hard to understand and I could not form any correct Tagalog phrases in my mouth. I am not going to take this bad though. I know I am still working on it, and it has only been a little over a month. But I will use karanasan nito as a pakakataon (opportunity) to grow. The language will grow through struggle and hardships, and I know that my afflictions shall be but a small moment.
On Martes we got to listen to Elder Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife. Both of their talks were great. Sister Clayton gave us Apat (4) pieces of advice, Una) Note ang himala (the miracle), pangalawa) Trust Heaven, pangatlo) Be patient (something I need to constantly work on) Pangapat) live with love. Ano talaga gusto Ko (what I really liked) what she said with her talk was "I hope that even though you work at a flower shop, you can still smell the roses".
It made me think of my whole life. I have been raised living in a flower shop (or the gospel) so I kind of had roses around me all the time. I regret not trying to smell the roses when I was growing up. For the longest time, it was just a flower that my parents showed me. But now that I know how amazing this gospel and the spirit can be, and I always want to strive to smell the roses. Never forget what the roses smell like,(or the Spirit) because they can bring so much joy and happiness in your life.
I will magbahagi (share) really quickly what Elder Clayton said that I thought was really cool. He gave a quote by president Hinckley and it basically says "this church is either true or it's not." There is no middle ground. There are times where you have to have faith and believe in this church. Either Joseph Smith had a vision, or he did not. It's up to you to believe or not. He showed us a video of how many stakes there are in this church now, and it's roughly 3-4 thousand.
This church is growing, and the world needs missionaries more than ever. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to be one of the servants of the lord. I am capable of changing so many lives, and the experiences I am able to receive on this mission will bless my life so much. I am so grateful for this gospel and will do my best to be like Christ. Soon I will be able to serve the people of the Philippines. I can't wait!
One last thing, I really really will always love D&C 121:7-9. My district was hit with a pretty hard tragedy, when we figured out that our District leader Elder Harmer, has to go home on an honorable medical release for a little bit.
The Lord has interesting timing. We are leaving on Wednesday, and he can't even come with us. My heart is deeply saddened over this. He was one of my good friends, and it's hard to see him leave. But I know that God works in strange ways. Maybe this is all about timing. I am so grateful for him and how positive he is taking it.
So just remember, God gives you trials in your life, everyone is going to get them. When the trial is over, you can grow from it. Please pray for Elder Harmer. I would really appreciate and I am sure he would too.
I am thankful how supportive the LDS church is and to know that everyone is willing to help each other! Stay faithful to the Lord and He will bless you!
-Elder Espiritu
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Elder Espiritu leaves the Missionary Training Center on Sept. 28th and arrives in Manila Sept. 30th.
If you'd like to write him one last time while he's still in the MTC, please use DearElder.com
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