1 transfer na lang!! Whaaaat???

Hey family! Hows summer going, how was St. George? Well we picked up my new Comp last night! His name is Elder Haufano, he is from New Zealand, but he's Samoan. I'm super stoked to be with him. Its gonna be a good time. He's super nice and Humble, great missionary. Ill send ya a pic of us later. I'm sad to see Elder Rindlisbacher go, hes been a great friend and example to me. But he is excited to go home haha, like really excited. you'll have to hit him up when he goes home, go to his homecoming. 

Well this week was a bit busy because of Zone Conferences, transfers coming up, new trainers meeting and all that good stuff. But I really enjoyed this week and the work that we were able to do! Teaching at zone conference was actually a cool experience for me. I really don't know if I've ever spoke in front of people like that, or at least been confident while doing it. I could really feel the spirit working through me in a different way as I was up there. Just like sister Tye, I dont think I wrote that talk, it was Heavenly Father that wrote it. I talked a lot about Alma 37:6-7, about how small and simple thing bring about great things, I showed them the difference in our work if we fail to do the small and simple things of daily obedience, it went pretty well. I hope every one got the idea of it and they apply it to their missions. I really believe that if we do the simple small day to day things of obedience we will have success and the spirit at all times. But it was a great experience, and I'm grateful for it. 

As for our work this week it is going well, we are continuing to work with these 2 families we have, we hope that they will be baptized in July. They are starting to really understand it more, we are just working on weekly church attendance, and word of wisdom. Then they are ready to go. With one family we had a great lesson with them, the father had a pretty big problem with smoking and drinking. But the second we introduced the WOW he accepted it, it was so cool, their faith as a family is growing and I'm excited for them. 
We actually had a really cool finding experience this pat Saturday. Last week we had OYMed a man who sews. He told us that his father was a member of the church. He said we could come back in a few days, we went back and he wasn't home. Then we kind of forgot about him for a while. Well during finding time last Saturday, we had gotten punted a few times and didn't know where to go, elder Rindlisbacher and I thought to visit this man. When we showed up he was there and his younger brother who was taught by missionaries before and was very close to baptism. They welcomed us in and we shared the restoration, he had already knew the story of Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. He invited us to teach him and his family next Saturday. The cool part was that the brother rarely visits his older brother, he just felt he should that day, how cool is that? I know that that was the reason he was prompted to visit his brother that day. The spirit works in mysterious ways, this is his work, no doubt, if we are faithful he will guide us and we will be his will, his hand, his mouth. Really great experience.
Well I'm excited for another transfer week! haha its gonna be a busy one as usual, I have a lot to teach Elder Haufano before I leave too. Its going to be a great last transfer, I can feel it!

MANILA BOUND..../Email from June 8th

HEY HEY HEY! Sorry I'm late again! We actually had our x rays for our going home batch up in Manila. I had to get 23 of us up to Manila and back! Its was a crazy day. Elder Christensen, Jenkins, Johnston, Jimeno, and Calaunan rode together in our van. While the others went with some area drivers. Well long story short I've driven that route like 5 times. But I got lost earlier!! Like reeeeeally lost! haha Just one wrong lane change, or turn or something and we ended up way far around the end of Manila into Quezon city! In like the Compton of Manila. It was crazy, it took us like 2 hours to ask our way around and eventually make it back on track! haha oh man.

Well this week was a great week. This past Tuesday Elder Baylon and I were able to go on exchanges in Las Pinas. It was a great day. They are going to have a lot of success in the future. It was really spiritual for me to go back and see some of these people that I taught and prepared, and now there baptized. So cool to see your hard work pay off now that they are active in the church. Especially the Lachica Family. Amazing with all these rough trials they are going through they are still active in the church. They are a great source of strength and Humility. 

We have been continuing to work with these families that we have been teaching. Because of MLC and other things we did have a whole lot of time to get out there. But every hour we got to work we focused with them. Both of these families have been taught many times and are attending church, we are really just working on their testimonies of the gospel. So no matter what they stay strong. But I know its gonna happen soon. We had a really good lesson with the Reforsado family this week, we were able to teach the fathers other two daughters who don't live with him. It was really cool to see how great of an example he was being to his children. Instead of joining in in drinking parties and stuff, hes a family man. Although his two older kids thought it was lame at first that he was listening to us, they ended up really being interested in the lesson, just because of him. That's when you know an investigator is progressing, when you can see the gospel change them. They are some of Gods Elect I know it. 

Well it was a pretty crazy day. Getting all 23 of us to Manila and back. Plus getting lost over there. haha I really don't know what happened just not paying attention, or just one wrong lane and it threw our whole route off. haha But I learned a good gospel lesson from it. Just one wrong turn, or one wrong lane, or not paying attention enough in life can throw our whole life on a different path, a path that we don't want to go down. Just like in 3 nephi, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him." It wasn't till I found myself in prayer that we started to get on the right path. We always need to be watching our paths, to make sure were on the right one. :)

We also have two Zone conferences this week! I have to do training in both of them! Which means giving a talk to our whole mission. It will be my last one! I'm pretty nervous, I am no public speaker! But well see how it goes, I've got some ideas! Then transfers are next week. Man time is flying. 1 transfer left! WHAAAA? LOVE YOU, --E. Collins

 

Bato bato sa langit/ Email from June 1st

Hey family! Whats up? man the time just keeps going, Elder Rindlisbacher is down to his second to last week! haha and I'm almost to my last transfer. Its still hasn't quite hit me yet how close it really is. 

Its been a great week with a super busy weekend. We did exchanges this week on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we went to one side of the misson in Cavite city to do exchanges. Then that Saturday night drove all the way to the other edge of our misson in San pedro laguna to do another set of exchanges haha it was pretty tiring. But I had an awesome week ( like every week)
This past Saturday we had exchanges with the Cavite zone leaders. Elder Roberts came with me in the Molino area. It was a great exchange. We had been working with this family with a lot of potential, but they just arent quite there yet. So we wanted to teach them about what we need to do to strengthen our desire. Elders Roberts also gave an insight about the difference in believing and knowing truth. He told them that belief does not determine truth in life. I could say that I believe I can eat a rock and I will be strong from it. But thats not truth. We told them that truth comes only from God, and God manifests truth through the power of his spirit, for those who diligently seek it. It was a really good lesson, and we have seen their understanding grow.
We had a pretty cool finding experience a few days ago. We had decided to go finding in a subdivison that we hadnt tried in a while. As we were walking around the end of the subdivision there was a house next to this big river, with lots of land. As we walked past we waved to these two men sitting outside, they were nice and waved back with a smile. Elder Rindlibacher and I just kept walking, as we thought about it for a couple seconds we looked at each other and were like, " what are we doing?" haha we both turned around and went back to talk to them. They were very nice people. And meeting those two men helped us to meet 4 other people who all have come in contact with the church in the past. It was a really great experience. You really just cant pass any opportunity up, theres a lot of rejection but you got to try everybody.
This past Wednesday we also had a cooler experience with this investigator we had like 2 months ago. We taught her once but never went back until one day we were planning and saw her name. We decided to visit her one more time. Here name is Golden, we went over last week and she let us in again and was super nice, she accepted the invitation to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Well like most filipinos usually accept the invitation, but only few do we didnt thank to much of it. But we prayed for her to recieve an answer if she asks. Well we went back this last week and she did! the first thing she told us was that she recieved and answer and was ready to be baptized. Elder R and I were super surprised. But we are excited for her.
We also have been working still with the family I talked about last week the Reforsado family. They are a great family, and we have had some very spiritual lessons w/them. The best part is the father has the biggest desire out of all of them! Well they commited coming to church. And I remember on Saturday night in the San Pedro apartment I knelt down to pray and I prayed for them with all my heart. They have so much potential of an eternal family, and I knew getting them to church would be a big step in their conversion. Well they came, Elder R said they had a great time and are wanting to come back every week. Their kids also had a really great time too, and made many friends, that night Elder R had a great lesson with them. I'm very excited for them.
Our RC brother Raymond had gone though some rough trials these past few weeks and last week he missed church for the first time since he had been taught. Well things have also turned around for him, he found a job, and he came to church yesterday, looking a lot happier than he had been. I hope the ward can really help him out to feel loved.
Anyways im rambling on, but it was a great week, I love being a missionary, and time is going way to fast! Love you!

Elder MC