I got the news about Lola. It really hit me this time. I knew her time was close but it never really sunk
in till I read the email earlier that she's passed. I'm just glad today was a P-day so I could
keep myself busy and not dwell on it too much. Gosh, it took me a bit after I read it for me
to accept it. I cried for a while and my
companion asked if I still wanted to go to the zone activity. I told him I needed to go, I needed to be out
and have fun for a bit. Which I did,
thank goodness ^_^. I'll write about
that later in my email. How are you
guys? I just need to keep myself busy,
which I am all the time, and I'll be fine. No, I have not yet received the package. That's because I don't get mail till the zone
leaders come back from the mainland on Thursday. Hopefully, it'll be in by then but I’m not
sure.
You wanted to know if there is anything I want. I was thinking about mail, and if you could
let people know that just a greeting card would make a huge difference in my
day, with a small note would be awesome. I like greeting cards.
It has been a great week for the work, at least for me
here. I've been getting to know the
people well and so I’m developing that relationship with them where they know
they can trust me. ^_^ I know the area
quite well now. We've also been able to
do service for many of the less actives so that has also helped. On Tuesday, we had a service project for a less
active family that lives on the beach. It
was great and a lot of fun! Elder O. and I were able to do the project with the 4 sister missionaries in our branch
and 2 branch missionaries as well. We
pulled weeds and cleared foliage from around their house. Then afterward, we took nice pictures on the
beach! Then, the work commenced. I've been starting a lot more lessons so I
could practice the language more. Some
days I feel like Elder O. talks way more than I do, so I talked to him
about it and I've been starting lessons now to practice. It's good.
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| Wait! Harry Potter! |
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| You didn't know there are wizards in Mindoro, did ya? |
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| Just playing around after the service project. |
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| My companion, Elder O. |
The language has been getting a lot better. It's something I've been fasting and praying
about. I have been able to focus more on what people are saying and I've been
able to understand. Speaking isn't the
problem...well, not so much. It is
understanding the responses and what the investigator or less active is saying
that is harder. But because of fasting
and prayer, it's gotten much better. On Saturday,
we went on splits with some Priesthood holders in the branch and I had to lead
Brother Vincent to a less active’s house and teach the whole lesson on the Sacrament
and the Atonement. Oh my gosh, I'm so
glad for the Spirit! Because when I
asked if there was anything I could help Sister Ignacio with, she started
talking and talking and talking about financial issues. Then her brother started talking and
complaining, then they both started crying, and I started to freak out! Oh my gosh!
I had no idea what they were saying!!!! They were talking so fast and then crying so I
could barely get what words they were saying. But, I got an impression from the Spirit…Don't
interrupt, just listen intently and just like what happened at the MTC with the
Tripanionship, they will find their own solution. So, after what seemed like an hour of them
talking about an issue, Sister Ignacio started to wipe her tears and then I was
able to comprehend her words. She said,
"Thank you, Elder, for all of your support spiritually and always coming
here to check up on us. It really means a lot to us." I was so shocked! I taught a lesson about Sacrament and Atonement,
asked if they needed any help, and they found their own answer just by me
lending an ear and letting the Spirit teach them. I was amazed, to say the least! I asked
Brother Vincent if I had done the right thing and if what I was doing worked. He said I did fine in leading and teaching and
everything was all good. So, that made
me happy. Ha-ha!
Sunday was Fast Sunday, and I can say that fasting has
been so much easier for me here in Mindoro than it has in Pasig…I don't know
why. I feel like I was suffering when I
fasted in Pasig but here it was much easier. Oh, and I taught Sunday school at church this
week. I taught the Young Single Adult
class about faith. It was all in Tagalog.
^_^ I'm doing better! I was nervous at first but once I got started
I was fine. The Branch is doing okay. We're still looking for people to fill in the
missing counselor spots. We suggest people to President Gabriel but we still
need to fix other problems first.
Well that's all the time I have now. Sorry, it's not much.
Things have been different for me this
week (just thinking about Lola and all).
I'll email you guys again next week. Thank you for all of your support. I love you all! Please be safe and, well, I pray for you always.
Doing you Proud,
Elder Froude ^_^
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| Hoppin' on a trike |
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| Our apartment |
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| Sunset in Mindoro |
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| Bye! |
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