Another week in the Philippines

January 17, 2011

A few quick stories I wanted to share about this week.

Family Home Evening: This week we had FHE with one of our investigators. Another family from the ward joined us and gave us a ride there on their tricycle. Now, a philippino tricycle is very different than an american one. It is essentially a motorcycle with a very large side car. (Large enough that I've seen as many as 14 or 15 people on one sometimes). Not to long after we climbed on and started to drive it started to rain. I gotta say- riding in the side car of a motorcycle in the rain is a pretty exciting experience. The rain was fairly light, so I didn't get to wet. It was nearly as exciting as riding through a storm in an open top jeep, but it still wins in overall awesomeness because it's in the Philippines (shout out to Evan, Evan, and Chris!)

Later this week my companion went to a training meeting so that she could better know how to train me. While she was gone I spent my time with the other companionship in my apartment and was able to see their area. I discovered it was incredibly different from mine. My area is incredibly muddy, and I assumed this was just what the Philippines was like- lotsa rain, lotsa mud. Their area was more in the city, so most places had paved roads leading up to them. I also got to show them around my area a little. The best part about this was seeing their reactions to the mud. As we nearly lost shoes in the mud, slipped, almost fell over, got stuck, and crossed a large flooded field on a make shift bamboo bridge I learned just how unique these experiences really are. One of the missionaries I was with is less than 3 months away from going home. I definitely did not expect to show her anything she had not experienced already, but she seemed to really enjoy being introduced to a new idea of what the Philippines is like through the sister who has only been here 2 and a half weeks.

I wish everyone had a chance to serve a mission in the Philippines, or at least a chance to be here interacting with the people and really understanding how they live. Being a missionary really is one of the greatest things I could have hoped for. It's difficult- I've never done anything harder- but it's worth it.

This morning I voiced some concerns I've had with the language and missionary work in general. I received some very helpful advice in return. I can't recall exactly what was said- but the person I spoke with related real life to physics, which of course went straight to my heart. For every force there is an equal and opposite force. Previously, I kept thinking that the harder I worked, the easier things would get. I'm not sure where I came up with this idea, but somehow it was there in my head. I convinced myself I must not be working hard enough because everything was still to difficult. This simple physics law set my mind straight. No matter how hard I push, I will feel a force pushing back on me. The harder I push, the harder that backwards force will be. There is someone here who knows the great things I will do and is trying to keep me from doing them. He doesn't want me here. The harder I work, the more he will fight against me. Working harder will not make anything feel easier. It only feels easier to those who aren't pushing very hard, and they won't get very far.

I'm here to do the Lord's work, to push his purpose forward. Of course I will experience resistance, but Christ will help me through. I am here for him. He has not called me to fail.