Also I didn't almost die Hahahahahahaha
But like every time we go outside I SWEAR I'M GOING TO because Filipinos are nutso drivers. Like insane.
Okay anyway...
COOL STORY.
So I still have 2 more weeks here at the MTC. BUT! We got to go proselyting and do splits with some missionaries and it was unreal.
I got to ride in a Jeepney, which is pretty much just a really tiny metal bus thing. They're adorable.
I also got to ride in a Tricycle. Which is pretty much a big metal basket seat thing that's attached to a motor bike. Those things are sketchy too.
The Philippines, well... in the city... so crazy busy. Noises everywhere... people everwhere.... Food and open markets everywhere.... and just a whole lot of traffic.
That's why I said I almost died, because multiple times yesterday I thought I was going to get hit by a Jeepney or we were going to crash inside our sketchy little Tricycle.
Anyway, I was with an Elder named Elder Saludar. He was great. We taught a family and everything was in Tagalog and I didn't understand a whole lot. Maybe like 40%. But I was able to chime in a bit in my broken Tagalog and I extended the invitation for them to read the BoM and pray about it and then I extended the invitation for them to be baptized and THEY AGREED.
So now they have a baptismal date set on Jan. 23rd. BOO YAH.
Oh yeah Christmas was a thing.
Really I just ate food and ate more food and ate more food then took photos then ate more food then watched some movies (church movies of course) and it was good. We had a musical devotional as well and I got to sing a solo. "What Child is This" is a great song.
Not much more is coming to my mind right now. But really, the longer I'm here the stronger my testimony gets and this Church is really just so great. I'm more than excited to get out into the field and share this gospel.
COOL ELDER BEDNAR QUOTE. "Who you are, is far more important than what you say."
That's been helping me when I feel down about the language. Which is still pretty crazy.
Alam ko po na totoo ang ebanghelyo ni Jesucristo.
Lol throw that into Google Translate. I'm curious to see what it says....
Anyway, I'm out. I have like no time left. I'm already overtime.
OH ANOTHER RANDOM THING! Elder Mclaughlin and I are Zone Leaders!
Okay that's all now.
Mahal ko po kayo!
-Elder Ahn
Dear Elders and Sisters,
Sister Ostler and I have truly enjoyed our time with you during these past few weeks. What a priceless, unforgettable time this is: to represent our Savior Jesus Christ during the Christmas season!
This week I invite you to take the time to study and pray about the life and sacrifice of Christ. You will find that you are much closer to Him than ever before. Why? Because you are following in His footsteps.
He came to this earth to serve, not to be served. You came on your mission to serve, not to be served. ("For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45)
He left His heavenly home and spent his life teaching, healing and redeeming us. ("Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Luke 9:58) You left your earthly home and spend all of your time teaching, loving and bringing them His healing and His redemption.
He sacrificed everything. You have sacrificed many things. But are you withholding something from Him? Is there some part of you that holds onto worldly, selfish habits and priorities? In Matthew 11:28 He says: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heaven laden..." Are you still carrying the world with you? In Mark 8:34-36 He invites: "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Do you sometimes forget the sacredness and importance of your call? Do you joke around and interact with others like a teenager/young adult instead of a dignified disciple of Christ? Do you tease and joke around or do you lift, build and teach? Do you look for approval or sympathy from others instead of focusing on your message and your mission? This is the time for you to Grow Up. This is the time for you to step into the shoes of a true disciple of Christ. Stop waiting for something magical to happen when you get older. There is no magic that comes from getting older. Many of the great prophets and leaders of the world were your age or younger when they accomplished great things. The growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 6 members to 15 million members came because of young men and women in the same age as you took seriously their call to share the word of God.
"The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...Unitedly, working hand in hand, we shall move forward as servants of the Living God, doing the work of His Beloved Son, Our Master, whom we serve and whose name we seek to glorify." (Gordon B. Hinckley)
The time has come, as one of our new missionaries put it, to decide what kind of mission you will have. Will you have an ordinary, average mission? Or will you have an EXTRAORDINARY mission? Will you serve the Lord with only some of your heart, a piece of your mind, a little of your might and a portion of your strength? Or will you put everything on the line? Will you step into the shoes of a selfless, mature disciple of Christ who gets up every day and says: "Not my will, but thine be done."
I invite you to love the Lord enough, to be grateful enough to the Lord, to be come the missionary you were set apart to be.
I invite you to give Him the gift of your whole heart.
I know you can do this...not alone...and not without sacrifice and struggle and effort...but with the help of the Lord and great humility...you can give Him your heart and be the angel these people need. You can bring them to Christ and to the Father.
May the Lord bless you with the best Christmas of your life. May He bless you for the sweet gifts you give Him. His arms stand open and ready for you.
Mahal na mahal po kayo,
President Creg Ostler
Dear Elders and Sisters,
Sister Ostler and I have truly enjoyed our time with you during these past few weeks. What a priceless, unforgettable time this is: to represent our Savior Jesus Christ during the Christmas season!
This week I invite you to take the time to study and pray about the life and sacrifice of Christ. You will find that you are much closer to Him than ever before. Why? Because you are following in His footsteps.
He came to this earth to serve, not to be served. You came on your mission to serve, not to be served. ("For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45)
He left His heavenly home and spent his life teaching, healing and redeeming us. ("Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Luke 9:58) You left your earthly home and spend all of your time teaching, loving and bringing them His healing and His redemption.
He sacrificed everything. You have sacrificed many things. But are you withholding something from Him? Is there some part of you that holds onto worldly, selfish habits and priorities? In Matthew 11:28 He says: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heaven laden..." Are you still carrying the world with you? In Mark 8:34-36 He invites: "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Do you sometimes forget the sacredness and importance of your call? Do you joke around and interact with others like a teenager/young adult instead of a dignified disciple of Christ? Do you tease and joke around or do you lift, build and teach? Do you look for approval or sympathy from others instead of focusing on your message and your mission? This is the time for you to Grow Up. This is the time for you to step into the shoes of a true disciple of Christ. Stop waiting for something magical to happen when you get older. There is no magic that comes from getting older. Many of the great prophets and leaders of the world were your age or younger when they accomplished great things. The growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 6 members to 15 million members came because of young men and women in the same age as you took seriously their call to share the word of God.
"The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...Unitedly, working hand in hand, we shall move forward as servants of the Living God, doing the work of His Beloved Son, Our Master, whom we serve and whose name we seek to glorify." (Gordon B. Hinckley)
The time has come, as one of our new missionaries put it, to decide what kind of mission you will have. Will you have an ordinary, average mission? Or will you have an EXTRAORDINARY mission? Will you serve the Lord with only some of your heart, a piece of your mind, a little of your might and a portion of your strength? Or will you put everything on the line? Will you step into the shoes of a selfless, mature disciple of Christ who gets up every day and says: "Not my will, but thine be done."
I invite you to love the Lord enough, to be grateful enough to the Lord, to be come the missionary you were set apart to be.
I invite you to give Him the gift of your whole heart.
I know you can do this...not alone...and not without sacrifice and struggle and effort...but with the help of the Lord and great humility...you can give Him your heart and be the angel these people need. You can bring them to Christ and to the Father.
May the Lord bless you with the best Christmas of your life. May He bless you for the sweet gifts you give Him. His arms stand open and ready for you.
Mahal na mahal po kayo,
President Creg Ostler
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