THE ILONG RANGER

So there’s this old guy that lives close by to us. And he fixes and tailors clothes. And we like to call him the Ilong Ranger….. because “ilong” in Tagalog means “nose”…. And wowie I kid you not, this man has the most MASSIVE NOSE I HAVE EVER SEEN ON A HUMAN BEING.

But hey, he’s kind and he fixes our clothes. So he’s great.

So other things that happened this week…

We encountered that one crazy person last week. *shiver* Yeah she’s still. Hm. Interesting.

Oh this happened. I gave a talk yesterday in Sacrament… that was terrifying. Luckily, I have a Tagalog PMG, so I just read a story from there and tried to connect to and make it flow with my broken Tagalog. The Zone Leaders were like “WOW YOU’RE TAGALOG IS SO GOOD” But I don’t know if they realize that more than half my talk was just a story I read from PMG. So Ssssshhh…. Secret.

We’ve been doing lots of contacting and lots of finding. And I know without a doubt that the Heavenly Father is at the helm of this work and is leading it forward. Many people that we’ve talked to have been receptive to us returning to teach them, and we’ve run into random people that have been taught in the past that want us to return to teach them again. It’s amazing knowing that Heavenly Father is preparing these people for us to teach and talk to.

I don’t know if I’ve already said this, but never in my life have I ever felt the Spirit more abundantly in my life. I massively regret disregarding the importance of many spiritual things and opportunities that I might have missed in the past, because I know now, stronger than ever, the importance of God’s plan. More than ever, I know the importance of this work, the importance of this life, the importance of living the gospel, the importance of reading the scriptures daily, the importance of sincere prayer, and the list goes on. THIS CHURCH AND THIS WORK IS THE PINAKAMAHALGANG BAGAY SA BUHAY NATIN. It's super important.

That would be it for this week.

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Elder Ahn

PS Yeah I'm sending this a day late because the internet was ridiculously slow yesterday and the internet server kept cutting out.... yeah. It was frustrating. Heavenly Father is still teaching me the attribute of "patience".

3/20/2016

I GOT THE PACKAGE! WOOT!

Thankyou for all the food and the materials and the two rolls of toilet paper (not necessary but still <3)!

The Elders in the apartment were like "Why is all the food healthy food? Are your parents, like, health nuts?" So that was funny. Because yeah we're a generally healthy family.

Anyway.

We had Zone Conference! It was truly a blessing to learn and spend time with all the missionaries on the island of Palawan! And it was especially a blessing to hear words of wisdom from our mission president, President Ostler as well as his wife. They're great.

So here in Narra, I think there's a festival going on for a couple days or something...? Because there are a lot of booths and events and lot's of random things happening that don't usually happen. Also, either these events have caused people to sing more karaoke as part of the festivities, or our neighbors just bought a new karaoke machine. Because from 7:00 AM until 11:00 PM, they're singing drunk karaoke... Ah they're gems. Sometimes it's difficult to study, but all is well.

Hm another random thing: I made a baby cry in a shuttle by looking at it. So apparently I look scary.

This week I'd like to stress the importance of just loving everyone. Sometimes it's easy to look at people and find all the things that we "don't" love about them... because as mortals, we're imperfect. But if we take a step back and ask "Okay, who are we... we're Children of God... these people are my brothers and sisters..." it's easy to cast out negativity.

There's a very good reason why we're commanded to first: Love God. Then Second: Love our neighbors. Because if we do just those two, there wouldn't be any need for other laws, because we'd all just be happy and we'd all be doing the right thing.

So it was a good week. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. The Book of Mormon is true. This work is real.

Alright, I'm out.

Mahal ko kayo!

Elder Ahn

- I <3 Narra

- A BABY CARABAO

- I got the Package and I am Happy.

"DO YOU WANT TO BE PUNCHED!?"

^^^ Real quote from a lady when we were trying to go door knocking, or "tao po'ing" in Puerto Princessa.

So that was great. Haha!

Anyway, we had Zone Meeting last week in Puerto! We rode in a shuttle for a few hours, so I tried to study, but then I got carsick because reading + bumpy road = No. It was nice seeing the Zone and to receive training from the Zone Leaders. Our focus was on getting investigators to come to church because that has lately been our weak spot when it comes to helping our investigators enter the waters of baptism. Much fun and much practice teaching.

We also had a fireside with Elder Snow and the Church Historian and some other General Authorities. They talked about what they do as part of the Church History department and all the rad stuff they have in the Church History Vaults. Also they said they still don't have the Sword of Laban so that still answers that question.

We're hoping to see some baptisms this coming April! So prepare yourselves for that!

We have 2 investigators who are showing genuine interest and desire to live the Gospel and become baptized! In lessons they're answering questions and truly thinking and trying to understand and internalize the doctrine we share with them. We are trying to stress Eternal Marriage with them because they need to be married before they can be baptized, so we're cheering them on and praying for them.

Also sometimes I'm not the best at teaching... okay scratch that. I'm really not good at teaching because I end up getting flustered and forgetting a lot.  But I'd just like to quickly testify of the power of bearing short and simple testimonies. Bearing my testimony in Tagalog is one of the first things we learned at the MTC, and that it such a blessing because even if our teaching isn't very eloquent at times, our investigators can feel the power of our personal witness that the message we share with them is true. So short, simple, and powerful statements.

Alright, I'm out.

Much love,

-Elder Ahn

PS  APPA HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY! SORRY I DIDN'T WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY EARLIER. I HOPE YOU STILL LOVE ME (PSH OF COURSE YOU DO). <3

THE SUPER SCARY LADY

Alright, are you guys ready for a really weird experience? Holy cow, okay. So to start off, we had exchanges this week, and I was paired up with a new elder, named Elder Cram who is even newer than me. He's been in the field for like a week? And I've been in the field for like 7 weeks? So that was a difficult exchange, but it was also amazing because I was able to fully lead our area and I realized that my progression in teaching and just speaking Tagalog in general has really really increased. So I am eternally grateful for 1: The Gift of Tongues, and 2: For Heavenly Father hearing my prayers and sending me the comfort and strength I needed. Alright so during our exchange, we also met this lady. She was right outside our investigators house and we had just finished teaching.... and right when we walked outside she beckoned us over and starting talking to us and she was saying lots of stuff like "I read the Book of Mormon and I was crying and crying" and "Do you have an English Book of Mormon? Aren't you going to give me an English one?" and "When is my baptism? Aren't you going to baptize me?" So normally this would be happy news right? Because she's expressing interest right? Well wrong, because the Spirit was NOT present there. Everything about the encounter felt very very wrong and she was either drunk or just... not fully there... But it was definitely interesting! And we're still safe here so that's also a good sign right? Haha! Ah, I know. Brad Wilcox and his talk on Grace. Everyone should hear that talk, because it is awesome. He explains grace perfectly, and it helped change my perspective on just how much our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. They know we're going to make mistakes and they know that we have weaknesses, but through the ultimate expression of love, Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and he makes ALL the difference for us. Well, I think this is all for now! Oh yeah, here are some pictures. I'll try to send more pictures more often... Haha. -Elder Ahn -The Old Narra District before transfers -More Balut. But this time it was older (24 days) so yeah. Bones & feathers and all. -Elder Macanlalay and I because we're awesome.