Elder Joseph Espiritu: Another Sweet Reunion and Happiness

So there were a couple of things that happened this week that I was not expecting at all, like catching a rat in a jar and killing it. On the good side, we got to meet the mayor of Vintar with my Aunt that I haven't seen since the summer of 2013, and my favorite 12 year old kid becoming eligible for baptism!

Aiight so gross story first: While Elder Trinidad and I were eating and talking, he noticed a dark gray blotch on the ground which quickly scurried away. Not wanting it to stay inside the apartment, we quickly got it cornered and put it in a jar. Putting it in a jar was not easy, it almost escaped and tried to bite us a couple of times. I've seen lots of mice in my lifetime, but I can now say that rats are 10 times nastier. We did kill it. How did we exactly? Well we may have used hand sanitizer and a candle. I'll let you figure it out, (don't worry, it died quickly).

Alright now for the good part of the week, at 12:53 pm Wednesday afternoon, (I know this because of our phone) we were about to head out for work when we got a call from President Andrada. So when President calls you, it's either a really good thing or a really. A little nervous as I picked up the phone, I was relieved and excited to hear that my mom's oldest sister, Tita (aunt) Nennette, was in Laoag and was going to come visit me with President's permission! I hadn't seen her since Christmas of 2015. She lives in Hawaii and our family doesn't see her very often.

To make things better, the person bringing her to Vintar was the mayor of Vintar! So at 2 o'clock, we headed over and I got to chat with my Tita for a little and meet the mayor. It was a really rare opportunity. The 3 other missionaries thought Tita Nennette was cool (which she is) and provided us an opportunity to give a Book of Mormon to the mayor! She is in the area of the other Elders so we'll see how that goes! We were all so grateful for my Tita's kindness and generosity to all of us missionaries!

So now for our investigators, Kyle passed his baptismal interview and will be baptized at the stake baptism this Saturday at 2! I've really loved teaching him and he's a fun kid. He did come to church and stayed almost the whole time! We're excited for his baptism!

We had a little less amount of people come to church, but that's okay it was still happy. We almost had 2 people come to church the first being Kyle and one was legit at the front of the church but her 2 year old daughter did not want to go in, (she probably would've thrown a big tantrum if she was forced in) so it was just Kyle. The other 2 Elders also had someone come who has really been progressing. The attendance was 30 this time 22 coming from Vintar. It was pretty low, but the saints here are faithful.

Fun lesson of the week that we taught: We taught a Roman catholic last week who is hardcore Roman catholic (he wanted to be a priest when he was 3) but he respected us enough to let us teach him. As we taught he also shared his beliefs. It was cool, he didn't understand a couple things about the restoration, such as why from 100 AD (or whenever the last apostle passed away) until 1820 the true church of God wasn't on the earth. He also asked a couple of interesting questions.

I was really impressed with how much he loved his church though, especially since he said he was offended by a priest yet he loves his church so much he's willing to move on. You can still learn many things from different people! I have high respect for him. We invited him to read the Book of Mormon and have his own experience, so we left feeling pretty good. He's very catholic.

We got a new district here in Vintar with me as the District leader, and so far it's alright. We had the district meeting in Vintar for the first time ever (since I got to decide where it is) and it went well. We got 2 Americans from Utah (Elder Bottema and I) 4 from the Philippines (Elder Trinidad, Elder Esco, Elder Pacapac and the newer elder Elder Lalangan) 1 from Malaysia (Elder Vincent) and one from Austraila (Elder Johnson). We're all doing fine here.

The mission continues to be going really great here even though it's not all sunshine all the time (that can be said literally too, since it rains a lot) yet I grow every day. I'm still definitely not perfect and make lots of mistakes but I learn through all of them along with the hardships too. I know this church is true and I know missionary work is the work of God. The time is far spent! Until next week!

Elder Espiritu

**you can email Elder Espiritu at joseph.espiritu@myldsmail.net

** From his Tita Nennette's Facebook post:

"I started my day in Laoag where I am part of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii 27th Trade Mission to the Philippines which is led by Hawaii Governor David Ige.

My brother in law Eddie Espiritu messaged me on FB that my nephew, Elder Joseph Espiritu is serving as a missionary nearby, in the town of Vintar.

When I checked with the local guides, they told me that Vintar is still 30-45 minutes away, and with no access to a car, there really was no way for me to go visit him. And of course, any visit would need to be cleared by the Laoag Mission President.

At lunch, our delegation was hosted by the mayor of San Nicolas. And guess who showed up at the luncheon? The Mayor of Vintar (Carissa Furonda)! I did not know her but when I shared my desire to see my nephew, she generously offered to take me to her town and provide me with the transportation to also return to my group. Through the help of my brother Benson E. Misalucha, I called the Mission President and he was kind enough to allow me to see my nephew.

Heavenly Father knows the good desires of our hearts. And thus, this happened.

Elder Espiritu was soooo happy to see me! The last time I saw him was christmas 2015.

Families are forever."