Late na naman!

Hey Family! sorry I'm late, things are just a little busy lately. Well another good week went bye. They just keep getting faster and faster. haha Thanks mom for the reminder! Well we more exchanges this week, and my last Interview with president Tye before I go home! Its just crazy to think about! 

I did exchanges this week in Bacoor and Dasma. Two zones I used to serve in. In Dasma elder Kaur is in elder Bachers batch and I was able to go with him in Dasma. Elder Kaur and I had a cool experiences in Dasma while finding. Just that transfer the Elders recieved a new part of an area that no one had really proselyted in. Well we decided to do our finding there. We were walking through a bunch of different alley ways really having no idea where we were or where we were going, but we just both felt the spirit guide us. And as we made this turn this lady saw us, and said "hey mormons", so we went up to here and asked if she knew mormons, she replied " I am one" haha She asked where the church was and we told she said she would come, she had always wanted to come to church but thought the closest church was the stake center on Summerwind. And she didn't have enough money to get there. But she was happy to find out there was one just one ride away. Really cool experience, the spirit really did guide.

We have still been working with two families for the past 2 weeks. They are both doing really well, Yesterday was the 4th time the parents came to church, but their son, we just haven't quite got him to come yet. They are doing really well and every time we teach them its always such a great lesson. The other family is also doing well. They are the family we found just two weeks ago. We expected them to come to church this past week but were sad to not see them there. But last night we had a very spiritual lesson with them. And really saw progression. We shared our testimonies of the gospel. And how important it is to Read pray and attend church as a family to avoid all the temptations and destruction of satan. Usually the kids are very shy and wont read out loud in the Book of Mormon when we ask, but this time they read! Usually the mother is to shy to pray in front of us because no matter how many times we taught we taught it she still "didn't know how". But this time she prayed, and she cried as she prayed, and her crying caused her husband to cry. That's when the spirit really set in. I never believed that she didn't know how to pray. That prayer had been in her heart for a long time. They commited to coming to church next week. And were excited for them. 
As the mission continues to go on, you always have those time where thing get really challenging, and times get tough, or you get discouraged. These past couple weeks I've felt that a little bit. But I have always enjoyed reflecting on the words of hymns. This week while doing studies with the Golden city elders, we sang "Be Still My Soul" and I never really noticed the word till that moment "Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."
It gave me a lot of comfort. Successful missionaries are faithful missionaries. Faithful missionaries until the end. 

 Love, Elder Collins 

Late again! :) email from May 18th

Hey! Sorry again that I'm super late for emailing. We had an emergency transfer and we had to help the missionary get to his new area and what not, it was a long process, then we had a few other things we had to do to! haha its been a long one! But its been a great week! Not to much has changed. We have started our exchanges this week we got two done and 8 more to go! haha I was able to do exchanges this week with Elder Dennison one of my homies on the mission, he's a couple transfers behind me. He been with me like my whole mission. Love the guy.  We also have a Zone Conference in June and we started planning for it. I have to speak and give training to the whole mission!! haha I've been thinking a lot about the importance of the preach my gospel, Elder Rindlisbacher and I have strong testimonies of the Preach My Gospel now, changing it to the center of our studies has increased our spiritual learning capacity, and helped us to stay focused. Along with the Book Of Mormon it can increase our faith and testimony like no other study material can I really believe it could change an okay missionary into a great missionary. Just like the gospel changes an okay man, into a great man, a man of god. Maybe that's something ill talk about.

     We have been working with a few families these past few weeks, one in particular is the Cuevas family, they are keeping all their commitments except coming to church, but these past two weeks we have fasted for them to come, and they came both times, we fasted yesterday also but only the mother came to church. We were pretty bummed because that would mean we would have to move their date back. But we know within time it will happen. 
So that Sunday after church we were a little bummed that they didn't come, but we had an appointment with another family that night. It was the family that I talked about last week that we had oymed. The Reforsado Family, Anyways we went to the appointment, and we were happy to see the father outside waiting for us. He invited us in and we had an amazing lesson and the spirit was so strong in that humble home. We shared the message of the restoration, and watched the video, it was awesome to see the parents, and the 4 kids watching and listening closely. They believed the message and commited to praying about it. Also said that they would come to church this coming Sunday. Its hard to explain the feeling that we had but it was a great experience, we knelt down to pray with them and all I could see was the Lechica Family from Las Pinas. Its great when the father is most interested, that influences the whole family. We are excited to see their progress in this gospel and how it changes their family. There truly is no better feeling than teaching a family. All from one simple OYM (Open Your Mouth) to a man smoking a cigarette on the side of the road. Who would of known that man had a great family ready to here the gospel. God loves everybody, we all have worth in his eyes, and although we didn't see it first Our father in Heaven knew it all along:)

 Love, Elder Collins

                                          Best Mission President and Mission Mom in the world!!! 

Black OUT

HEY!! Its already transfer week again, I swear these last two a flown by like a fighter jet, so fast. I only have two left, and Elder Bacher (who is still my companion, Itll be our 3rd transfer together) has 1 left! haha it will be the first time I kill a missionary. :) 

So man its been an interesting week. So I guess ill start out with the funny part of the week! 

Well you know how I'm ALWAYS the one to get hurt. Well still true on the mission, we were playing basketball this last Friday morning, and one of the other elders elbowed me right on the eye, well there was a decently big gash bout an inch long, hahah so that afternoon I went to the hospital to get it glued up. Now I look like I was the one who fought Manny Paquiao this last week! haha. But its all good I'm still able to work and everything, he said by next week I could take the glue off and its should be okay. haha yeah I know what your all gonna say! It's always me :) But its been a good week. 

Other than that we had a few training meetings that we did, and last night was our fireside for the going home missonaries this transfer, is gonna be a pretty crazy week! But we get to sleep at the hotel up in Manila on Tuesday night which will be sweet! 

We had a kinda cool experience this week last Monday night when we went to work. Well we had been teaching a man who was super ready for baptism Brother Silverito, we just had to finish his lessons. Well we visited him a few times and he wasn't home, then on Monday night we went again and found out that he had moved to Las Pinas. So we were pretty bummed about that, but once we find his address there well be sure to send missionaries his way. Even though its sad he's gone, I got no doubt that he will be baptized over there. Well the cool part was when we were heading to our next appointment a bit depressed Elder Rindlisbacher had the impression to drop by an old investigator that we really hadnt been teaching any more. Well as we pulled up and got out of the van, right as we turned around there was this couple, and an old lady standing outside that waved to us. And of course first reaction is OYM. So we did, and the old lady had met missionaries before, when her father was still alive she said the missionaries would come over and give him blessings. And the other couple had never met Mormons before, but were interested in hearing our message. We plan to teach them this week. Really cool how the Lord is always watching out for us, we just gotta listen.
Throughout my mission I have also grown in my testimony of fasting, we are one of the companionship's who fasts each Sunday. And I've come to see how powerful it is. We have been working with a family that we found last March, who has such great potential, they had came to church the first time we taught them. But from then on they kept getting distracted with other things, and although they are reading everthing and really progressing, we hadnt been able to get them to church. Well this week we felt they finally understood when we taught them lesson 3 on the gospel of Jesus Christ. We also fasted this Sunday for them to be able to come, even though there was the Manny Paquio fight. Well when church started, we didn't see them, but I still had a good feeling. Well all of sacrament meeting went bye and nothing. When the meeting was over, we turned around and saw them all the way in the back! I was so happy to see them, apparently they were there the whole time but we didn't see them, but they sat by a member that we didn't even know they knew. I hope they continue to come, they seem to finally get the big picture of things. Fasting truly is powerful if we do it the right way, its blessed my life big time.
I'm excited for transfer day this week, gonna be a busy one with MLC too, but it should be fun! 

 Love, Elder Collins

                                                    The Petersen's bought us pizza today!