Elder Joseph Espiritu: Building Zion in Cabugao and San Juan and More Rain

This is Elder Espiritu here reporting to you live on a Monday morning in the Philippines, Vigan Ilocos Sur. I hope your week was fantastic, cause Elder Peck and I was certainly. Now what would you qualify a fantastic week as a missionary? For us, it's all about the people, which we met a lot of and life is going well. Found lots of people, taught lots of people, got rejected by some people and that's all part of life. Elder Peck and I have been in exploring mode lately so that's how things have been going.

Before I forget, I would like to say happy 4th of July last week! This will be the last 4th of July I will be a missionary. Next year I'll be there :D

Anyways as a missionary rarely do you have days where things go according to plan. That day was our 4th of July! Since Elder Peck and I wanted to have a good 4th of July we decided to go exploring to a place close to the beach (we didn't go swimming though so don't worry). There we met lots of fun people who had never seen missionaries in their area.

We found, we taught and we're trying to build a good image for the future missionaries. So it's a kinda of a slow process, but all is well. The rest of the day was spent teaching the people we planned to go to and lots of happiness.

We did get fed pizza and lasagna by awesome members and a random couple (who turned out to be a Bishop and Relief Society President from the Philippines Baguio mission who happened to know Elder Unice from my stake). Life was good!

To everything there is an opposite, which can be fun, cause the very next day nothing went as planned. We taught 2 of the people we planned, and everyone else was gone or busy. Although unsuccessful, it was still a good day, because we had Clara and Melvin with us. Now I can say I successfully crossed a muddy rice field, with only my shoes getting muddy. Probably don't plan to do that again.

The following day I went on another exchange, this time with Elder Johnson the 3rd! Okay he's not actually a 3rd, but he is the 3rd Elder Johnson I've worked with here on the mission. The first was from Australia, second Wyoming, and 3rd Idaho.

Elder Johnson is a really cool Elder. He is also only in his first 6 weeks in the mission, this last week being his 2nd in the field. So his language isn't the best, but he did his best. Although he wasn't able to speak fluently, he still has a power to him. He is a convert to the church at 20, and didn't have a religion before. So he really helped when we were teaching a certain Sister who has been trying to find the truth, but doesn't think Elder Peck and I can relate cause we're both born into the church. So when Elder Johnson told his story there was a strong Spirit there. We're still working on her, she just needs her own experience.

We were hoping to have a lot of people at church, and we did. They just weren't the people we were expecting. 5 of them came from 1 family, 2 was a father and son, and 2 of them were friends brought by a recent convert to the church.

After church we taught the 2 new ones. When I asked them why they decided to come to our church, they answered "because I want to change".

Something I have realized while being here on the mission was how much the gospel can change one's life. I've seen it in so many lives, especially in my own. I especially see how one can change through knowing the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon because if they know it's true and apply it in their lives, that is how they learn to be more like Jesus Christ, by learning of Him.

So here I am, now with a month left, living as a missionary, trying to be a Christlike missionary, and not just do missionary things.

I'm still grateful for all the things I've learned, and all the experiences good and bad. We may have been walking with puddles in our shoes almost every day this week, and just walking in the pouring rain everywhere in general, but the people are worth it.

I know the gospel changes lives, and I'm here to help people make that change. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, and I fear no man. That's all for this week! Until next time, Love you all!

Elder Espiritu