October 21, 2012 – I’m back!

Dear Mom, Dad, Ryan, and everyone who reads this blog,

So, the internet was down in the office all Saturday and Sunday so I couldn't email.  >.< Then I went to a place with internet and the website was down for maintenance, so President said I can email today!  Sorry for the wait, there was nothing I could do.  

>.<

Things have been crazy at the office but slowly slowing down. Sometimes, I find myself trying to find more things to do just to keep myself busy until it’s time to close the office and go out proselyting at night. Anyway, so driving is still the most stressful thing I do. Did you know that the Philippines is the 3^rd worst country in the world to drive in? Crazy!  Mom, I’m afraid that when I come back home I might get pulled over for driving like I do here.  Haha! Joke Lang!

 

Anyway, so news for this week my new ward has 6 missionaries: 2 sisters, the Assistants to the President (APs), and Elder Scanlan and I.  We elders can only work at night and the APs work whenever they can.  But luckily, we have sisters holding the ward up.  They are great and so hard working! Sister Repollo and Sister Bowman. These two sister missionaries have provided the ward with 2 baptisms on Thursday! It was great! It’s been a while since I’ve seen a baptism. The families are so converted to the gospel. I was able to teach the two that just got baptized once before so I was able to get to know them at least a bit before Thursday so it was great.  ^_^  The 6 of us sang “When I am Baptized” and “I Believe in Christ” for their program. I sang the bass line with Elder Waite while the other 4 sang melody. It was fun to learn but now the bass line is stuck in my head when I hear the song. Haha!  Unfortunately, none of my investigators in Mindoro were able to make the final step to baptism before I left, although, many were prepared to receive 

the gospel.

Spiritual Experience:

Last Friday we went to visit Brother Jose, a recent convert of 1 day. Haha!  We went to see how he was doing and he said that he was sick. He had a stomach pain and so he was slouched over so he couldn't come down the stairs. We went up to his loft so we could teach him. So we taught him about priesthood blessings, then I gave him a very nice inspired blessing that had me saying things I didn't know I could say. Afterwards, we asked how he was feeling and he didn't speak for about a minute, he was just moving back and forth, standing up, evaluating how he was feeling and then he started laughing. Then he said, "Elders! It's like magic! I'm okay!” Haha!  He felt perfectly fine!  He said when we laid our hands on his head he felt this warm feeling come over him and the pain dissipated.  It was a great spiritual experience and I'm glad I was able to have it. It came at a good time too because I was feeling stressed out about traffic and how it took us 3 times to go around the block to find his house. Haha! But the Lord knew we needed to be there to heal this man. He has such strong faith!  For without faith it would not have worked. :) It was a great way to end the night.  ^_^

 

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is, I’ve been eating out almost every night, or at member’s houses…so I guess it’s not that bad. But Good news! I’ve been working out a lot more since I’ve been eating more. Haha! The missionary handbook says you should exercise 30 minutes a day after you wake up. It’s been something I’ve been trying to work on, but I’ve been doing well this past week!

So I just finished watching conference last Sunday.  Yeah, we get it late over here so it can be translated into Tagalog and such. So, I decided to dedicate this part of the email as spiritual impressions I’ve had about all 

of the great and wonderful talks during conference.

So first off, you guessed it, our Beloved Prophet, President Monson’s announcement of the new age for missionaries to begin their mission. 18 for young men and 19 for young women. Excuse me, can I just say… O.o Oh. My. Goodness!!!  I do not think you realize how HUGE this is!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so you might have a small idea, but this is gi-normous! The bar has raised yet again. The Lord needs a lot more soldiers in his army, more workers in his vineyard, more souls that need to be saved. Can you feel it? Can you feel the signs of the times moving forward as you read this?

Let me first address the young men. I hope you watched the priesthood session of conference because that is what this whole next section will be about.  Referring to Elder D. Todd Christopherson’s talk, “Brethren, as priesthood holders we have work to do.”  I’ll give you an advice as to how you can be successful in all that you do.  DECIDE NOW that you want to be successful at everything that you do.  I believe the reasons why we do not do as well as we should is because we have not decided to do our best in all that we do.  We tend to think that doing just enough to get by will suffice, so that we can have more time to do the things we want and not the things that are required of us. If you want to be great and do great things, then DECIDE RIGHT NOW that you will do your best in all that you do.  Please understand that with all of your strength and effort you can probably become a great man, a great person, however, if you give all of your strength, talents, time, heart, and effort to God, I guarantee you He can make you more than you can ever imagine you can be.

Remember that in order to serve the Lord you will have to be more clean and more obedient than you are right now. You cannot afford to lose the Spirit when the memory of an unsolved sin comes or regret in your heart creeps up when you are bearing your testimony.  Get those things solved and get those things right because the Lord needs you!  He sent out the call through our Prophet. Like Elder Holland said last year, “If you are not active and you are not clean, then get active, and get clean!”  Make the decision NOW.  You have the choice.

“Though you have the freedom to choose, you cannot control the consequences.”

(Much like the Story of John from Japan as shared by Gary E. Stevenson)

Now to all of you, young women, mainly the ones I know at BYU…when I heard of the change in age for sister missionaries, I could not help but think of the ways you helped strengthen my testimony of the Gospel through the examples you’ve set and the many adventures we’ve had.  I imagine the impact you can have on the lives of many young men at school, out on the field, and the lives of many that need this gospel. Now you have a choice. Of course, you do not have the same priesthood responsibility as the young men do to serve a mission, but can I just say a few things as one who has seen and worked with Sister Missionaries? Sister Missionaries are GREAT!  Everyone loves Sister Missionaries! They just have a way of getting things accomplished and getting things done right. They bring a certain air of reverence that invites inspiration when we are in our meetings and their insights and testimonies inspire change in even the hardest of hearts. Pretty much the people we worry the least about in the Office are the Sister Missionaries. They do great miracles and they can make things happen. We definitely need more of them.

Now heed this next message…my mission is THE most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically. It is draining and it can get to you if you are not prepared. But trust that through the Lord all things are possible and He will be with you at all times. The call has been given. What will your answer be?  Many are called, few are chosen. Would you like to join the few?  The choice is yours.

Of course, being 100% biased in this situation, let me just say, “Going on a mission will NEVER be the wrong decision!”  I could list all of the reasons why but that would be cheating you out of a great experience. You’ll just have to find out for yourself what I have found through constant prayer, study, and service dedicated to our loving Heavenly Father. I suppose I could tell you, but you would have no idea as to what it means unless you have sacrificed all for the Lord.  Unless you have labored with all your might, walking exhausted down miles of sun-beaten road.  And unless you have given your all, and then given more, will you realize how close your Father really is to you, and how much he knows each and every one of his children.

Do not fear the future, my friends.  Do not fear the unknown, for fear is the opposite of faith and comes only from the father of lies. I love missionary work because there is nothing to fear when working for the Lord. I love missionary work because all I have to do is tell people what I know to be true! I promise you that with everyone you meet, every question they have, the answers can be found in the scriptures. Every problem they face can be solved with faith; every sin they have ever committed, no matter who they are, or what they have done, can be cleansed by the gift and power of the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  And you can be the one to give them this awesome truth, if you accept the call that was given by revelation.

I close this with a spiritual thought for everyone and especially my brother Ryan ;p : realize now that no matter how prepared you are, there will still be trials and oppositions. But be not discouraged, for it is my belief that the Lord is always with us and wants us to be Stronger, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Doing you Proud,

Elder Froude ^_^

P.S.

Hey, I just saw the video and it was great! I loved it. Best ending ever! So everyone in the office was watching the video with me and they all think Laney is the cutest thing ever! They were all laughing too that my relatives were all having trouble speaking Tagalog and such.  Haha!  It was nice! I loved it!  ^_^  I really did, konte lang trunky na ako!  Haha! ^_^  Best gift ever!

Hey, so I guess I'm going out to with the APs and President and Sister Delamare (mission president and his wife) for lunch :)  They haven't had a birthday in the office in a while so this is a great opportunity for them to relax and enjoy a good meal with the Elders :) I feel honored.

Have a good night!  I love you!  Bye! Thanks for the great gifts and the Love and the Video; it all made this a great birthday! ^_^  I love you all!!! Talk to you both Saturday, okay…if the internet is on.  Haha!!!