Called to Serve: MIRACLE WEEK

HELLO, FAM!! It's so good to read all of your emails :) I miss you all a whole bunch.

This week has been surprisingly one of the happiest and yet at the same time, one of the most difficult weeks for me...

First off, WE HAD AN AMAZING BAPTISM WEEKEND!!! Ahhh :) Nanay Delia was baptized, as well as Ricky! It was such a beautiful day. The Spirit was so strong and everything was happy. As we were sitting in the room during the service, I just looked at them both, sitting in white, about to be baptized, both of them just exuding such pure joy and excitement. I just couldn't help but smile. And then it hit me how big this work is being a missionary. I remembered back to the first times I met each of them....Nanay Delia....and Ricky. And then looking at them now..it's a night and day difference. I don't know how to describe what I felt, but the Spirit testified to me so strongly of the reality of my call, and the weight of this work. And I was just humbled knowing it was not me that brought about these miraculous changes in these two individuals' lives. I was just an instrument. A prop. This is truly the Lord's work.

That Saturday was such a busy day though! We woke up and first thing in the morning we headed over to Marilou's to help her with her laundry again. (.....whoa...I just heard a couple gun shots outside...well...hope everything is okay out there...). She is so funny and stubborn, but you all know how stubborn I can be too, so we got down and started hand-washing their clothes. She is an amazing woman. And it was such a happy time just washing with her. I remember just sitting there, looking around me...in this humble little alleyway of squatters, handwashing clothes in the middle of the Philippines....the simplest thing. But for some reason, I was so so happy. :)

This last Sunday too, was a miracle Sunday. We started right off in the morning teaching a lesson to one of our investigators that we have been working with for a long time... The missionaries have been teaching him for a long time, and he's just hit this dead end in his progression. But he always wants us to come teach him. The time that I've been in this area, it's like all the signs are pointing us to drop him as an investigator, or at least put him on the shelf. But every Sunday as we leave the lessons, there is just something inside me that tells me to keep coming back. We've tried over and over to go over his expectations and figure out some way to help him start progressing again... I just want to help him in what the Lord knows he needs. Anyway, this last Sunday...we had an amazing lesson. We discovered his deep concern as he opened up to us. And I could feel the Spirit working through us as we boldly testified to him. And guess what?.... He came to church!! That hasn't happened since the first time the missionaries came to him. The Spirit touched him. And now miracles are happening with him.

I had felt like Sunday was going to be a good day as we headed to church. But when we got there and as the meeting started....we had no investigators there... Just our two brightly-beaming recent converts sitting up on the stand, waiting to get confirmed. But....a couple minutes after the meeting started....Nanay Marilou walked in! With her daughter-in-law, Rhose, and Rhose's three little kids! We were so happy to see them! (They had attended the baptism and the ward activity too). And as we were getting them settled in, suddenly, Lanie walked in! Another investigator! With her anak. and then...another! and another! Miracles were trickling through the doors one after the other, and suddenly we had 5 investigators at church!! I was just so amazed as I thanked Heavenly Father for these amazing blessings. We are now starting to see the fruit of our labors, and it's a wonderful feeling :) I felt overwhelmed with all of these people whom we had responsibility over during the meeting, these children of God that He had trusted to be put in our hands.

This week, we also met some new amazing people! The other day, we met Nanay Fely, and Fe, her daughter. They are both pretty old, but such sweet women! As we met them, we were able to teach them right away in their little open bahay. The Spirit was so very strong in that lesson too, and I felt Him guiding my words as we introduced ourselves, His message, and began to teach. They both began to cry, and told us about the struggles their family has been going through. Both of them are just so strong. We were all sitting really close because the space was small, and during the lesson, I had grabbed the hand of Nanay Fely and looked into her tearful eyes and testified to her of the power that Christ has to heal us. And strengthen us. And how His gospel can bind families together in love. We taught so clearly and powerfully, my chest was just swelling with the Spirit. And towards the end of the lesson, Fely stopped and looked at me so deeply and then said, "Whenever you talk....your words..." and then she began to cry again, "they hit me right here," she said that as she tapped her heart. I then taught about the Holy Ghost and His role and influence. Fe closed the lesson with a teary, pleading prayer, and as Sister Felipe and I were walking away, we just looked at each other and smiled. Miracles are everywhere this week.

We also met a man this week named, William. He's Filipino by nationality, but he mostly grew up in Hawaii so he speaks English. He's in his 40's and we met him at the Self-reliance Services Center at our chapel. Aki had started talking to him and found out he was an Atheist and she brought us to him so excitedly. We began to talk to him...and wow...his life is a crazy story. His mother died when he was really little and he ended up getting foster parents and moving to...I think that's when he moved to Hawaii. Anyway, his foster-dad ended up abusing him and anyway that's a whole other long story. But in short, he has struggled through his life barely surviving, wandered all over the world, experienced two strokes, and now....he can barely walk and he's in the Philippines trying to ask his actual relatives to help him...only to get rejected because he is sick. He is completely homeless, completely brilliant, completely humble, absolutely amazing. He knows about every religion it seems like, including ours. He referenced the Veil of Forgetfulness and the Celestial Kingdom, and asked questions about the political time period in Europe during the Book of Mormon period...I felt so inadequate to be the one talking to him. He was currently trying to find some sort of job at our SRS Center, and if that wasn't going to work out, he was planning to go find a group of Monks to see if they will accept him and take care of him. We ended up talking for a really long time. Well HE ended up talking for a long time, we mostly just listened. But I think it was just the thing he needed. Somebody to sit down, and listen to him. And then we taught about the power of the gospel, and the knowledge that helps us so that we don't have to wander through life. We don't have to be confused about anything. We talked about the knowledge of the world and every thing the world has to offer, in comparison to the pure knowledge that every person is entitled to receive for themselves, from their God and Father in Heaven. He was really open, and actually did believe in God. He is just searching, and has been searching his whole life. My heart just went out to him. And as we were sitting there...I just wanted to replace myself with Christ. I wished He was sitting in my seat. He would know exactly what to do. Exactly what to say. Exactly how to help him fill all the holes and missing pieces of his life. He would heal him. And help him understand, and lead him home. I could see that William was so hungry. Hungry for the things that were lost and missing from his life. And I know that what we have is exactly what he needs. I just pray that these events in his life will fold out so that he will understand and can accept this gospel. And be healed--spiritually as well as physically. We left with his number, and I'm hoping we get the chance to meet with him again.

So I mentioned earlier how this week has also been one of the most difficult weeks for me. This week, I have just been struggling inside. I have been going through some very personal trials. And some things I just don't fully understand, or know how to overcome. And this week as been some of the greatest highs so far in my mission, and some of the roughest lows for me personally. But I'm learning to love these blessings in disguise. There's a scripture that I read this week that I really liked..in 2 Corinthians 12:10.

"My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

I'm learning how true this is. I think it's truly in those moments in each one of our lives--the moments we are torn down to the very bottom--that's when we see in ourselves the greatest strength. The times when we are hurting the most...seemingly dropping onto our emotional hands and knees unable to even crawl inches forward... when we think we are the very most fragile....are truly the moments when He is building something very strong. I'm coming to learn how wise and knowing the hands are of our Master. Discovering how we go through things that we don't understand, but that He knows perfectly. And I know it's during these times of trial, that we grow the most. I'm learning to love these hard things. Love His ways. Because in the end, His way will end up being the very best and happiest way for all of us.

Anyway, I'm almost out of time. But I wanted to thank you all for your support and prayers! I wrote a lot this week, so I'm sorry if I don't have time to respond to anyone's email this week. And actually, my SD card isn't working in this computer shop :( sayang...so I'm not sure if I'll be able to send pictures or not this week.

Anyway, take care all of you and be safe!! Can you believe it's already October??!! What?? At the end of this month, I will hit the HALFWAY MARK in my mission!! ....I don't like it. Hah. To be honest, mom, I might not come home when the time actually comes... Haha.

MAHAL NA MAHAL NA MAHAL KO KAYO!!

Sister Oyler