LOVIN' IT IN BACOLOD!

LOVIN' IT IN BACOLOD!

Sunday, February 24, 2013

February 24, 2013


Week 1 sa Victorias! 
Hey fam!

Last week was great. The Zone Leaders Council at the mission home was way sweet, first of all because they have the best food over there, second of all because we learned tons! Giving the zone training on wednesday went very well, I love giving trainings! It's a good opportunity to learn as a teacher as well. Our job as Zone leaders is to proselyte. Meaning, work, work, work. We don't too tons of meetings with Presidents, or tons of administration stuff, but President wants us to set an example with our key indicators so we can inspire the rest of our zone. It's way cool, President Lopez really has the right vision of missionary work. We have one investigator Zippineah who will be baptized on the 9th! after that we should have lots more but we just gotta keep wokin to make sure they get baptized!

Funny experience last week, there were these people playing basketball, like 30 of them, and i went up to them while we were out proselyting. I had this bright idea to try to get those who were sitting down to let us teach them while they were waiting till the next game. So i went up and hey gave me the ball, and they all backed away thinking i was gonna go up and dunk! So i was like 'no no! Come here come here!' tried to get everyone to come close to me. So some of them did, and i just started talking to them about basketball. Then i asked them if they had prayed yet, so they could be safe while playing ball! They just started walking away laughing, and weren't that interested haha. So i kept trying and trying, just to get them to listen to us so we could share, but they didn't want to, so then i gave the ball back and went on our way. Walking away from that at first i felt a little discouraged you know? Like we didn't get one person out of that! But in PMG chapter 9 it tells us no effort is wasted in all that we do. After i thought about that, the Spirit just overcame me. Like i felt it so strong in my heart, just burn. Because i took an act of faith. I didn't care what those guys would think, i just cared what my God would think. It was such a cool experience, and i definitely plan to do it again. 

Faith is a principle of action. We can acquire faith by starting with a simple desire, a little spark of fire, or a little seed (Alma 32). Our faith can grow grow and grow, until it becomes a gigantic tree, impenetrable and immovable. I have a testimony of the Gospel, that if we live it, that we will enter the Father's kingdom when the Savior stands to judge us. I love this Gospel, and love this work! I love you all, keep following the Gospel so that our Father in Heaven may bless you.

Elder Doane

Sunday, February 3, 2013

February 3, 2013


Hey fam!

This last week was amazing. We're doing a lot well in our amount of teachings, and finding more people to teach! Yeah sister Nita was baptized! I got to baptize her too! It was such a powerful experience, and her less active husband came to the baptism too, and he also came to church on sunday! He bore his testimony, after not coming to church for years, and came up to me after the meeting and touched his chest and said "good feelings". Ah it was so awesome, i could just see how much he felt the spirit. Yeah im pretty sure ill be staying here in Santa Fe next week when transfers come up! We're getting couple missionaries here, and president wants me to help coordinate with them to have families for them to teach and that stuff, we're way excited too cuz hopefully they'll invite us over to eat at their place. :)

Hows the scripture reading going? I'm so happy that you guys are reading and praying together. I had a pretty amazing study about baptism earlier, i really wanted to find out why its a commandment to be baptized to enter God's kingdom. Basically what i found was this- throught the Fall of Adam we are all natural men and women... we are separated from God's presence. But through baptism, we accept upon us a new name, the name of the Savior Jesus Christ, where in we become clean from all of our sins, and are reborn through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost to help us along the path, to guide us back to Heavenly Father's kindgom. Heavenly Father is so merciful to us He's given us the Sacrament, wherein even if we mess up we get a chance to renew those covenants that we made with Him through those emblems of the great sacrifice. The Gospel is just so beautiful isn't it? I have such a strong testimony that if we have a question, and we really ask with a sincere heart, the truth will be revealed to us through the power of the Holy Ghost.

I love you guys! Keep going to church, i promise i will too! ;) I love it here in the Phillies! All the ward members say im filippino now because i've gotten their accent down! But it's just the size part where i stand out.

Elder Doane