Week 72

Hey Everyone!

Its been another week, and it was a pretty fun one. Elder Baldovino left to go home this morning, and I'm going to miss him. He's finished his mission and he finished strong. We had a fun 12 weeks together and did a lot of good work out here in Umingan. We had a farewell/happy birthday FHE at the church last night, so that was pretty enjoyable. 

So, the coolest thing that happened this week was the baptism of the Banago family. I met them one day while working on exchanges in my area about 3.5 months ago. I was sitting on the outside of a tricycle and saw the house I had never noticed before and felt very clearly that that was the house I was supposed to go to. So we went, and they welcomed us right in. We shared a quick message, invited them to have us back, and then went on to our next appointment. Over the past 3 months we've been able to see their lives change as they've come to accept the gospel and get to know Jesus Christ better. It was awesome to see them baptized even if it was in a swimming pool of the local resort. Oh yeah, Saturday morning as we were filling up the baptismal font we noticed there was a hole in the font and it wouldn't fill up, so with no other options, we went to the closest pool. It was simple and fun and the spirit was there. A very cool experience.

I love you all!

-Elder Collier

Picture 1 is the Banago Fam's Binyag

Picture 2 is us right before Elder Baldovino got on the bus to leave this morning

Picture 3 is a goodbye to Baldo at the party

Picture 4 is the I love Umingan sign (hidden behind a wall we don't know why)

Week 71

Hey everyone,

Its me again with another week and last week was a very busy one. We had exchanges with the zone leaders in Carmen on Wednesday, had zone conference in Urdaneta on Thursday, and then spent Saturday going all over the place to interview people for baptism. Yet somehow in all of this business we still managed to get everywhere we needed to go. 

The coolest thing that happened last week was just this lesson with this kinda grumpy old man. He's been looking for a church in a lot of different places, and nothing really seems to satisfy him. We taught him about the plan of salvation and I got a very clear prompting to ask him about his wife, who we found out had died fairly recently. We were able to answer some questions for him, and he came to church on Sunday. He's way cool.

Also, out in Umingan, the middle of nowhere in the Philippines, I saw a lady with a Corona Del Mar High School T-shirt, so of course we OYM'd her and taught a lesson. She's way interested in the plan of salvation and asked a lot of questions. God works in mysterious ways to lead you to people all the way across the world. It was pretty fun to see.

Thats my week,

-Elder Collier

Picture 1 the lady with the CDM t shirt

Picture 2 us and the Banagos on the way home from a lesson

Pictures 3 and 4 old friends at zone con

Picture 5 is Elder Baldovino giving his departing testimony at zone con

Week 70

Hey Everyone!

It's been another week of a lot of fun work out here in Umingan. It's hot but also it rained so that's pretty confusing. I broke out my old shoes with holes in the bottom, because I thought we were done with the rain. It turns out we were not, so my socks were wet, but it was worth it. 

I had a cool experience while on exchanges with Elder Miller. We were exploring a new part of my area looking for people to teach, and ended up in the middle of the bukid not sure where we should go next. We'd planned to go to one area, but had drifted a little in our finding, so we prayed to know where we should go. We felt impressed to go to a different area than we'd planned and started walking (down a very convenient path we'd happened upon (guidance of the Lord)). It took about 45 minutes in the noonday heat, but we were able to talk to someone we hadn't seen in 3 weeks. She'd just gotten back from vacation and was ready to keep meeting with us, and in need of a little spiritual nourishment. We had a good lesson, and because some circumstances were changing in her life, she asked when she could get baptized, so we set a date. God leads us to where he needs us.

I love you all,

-Elder Collier

Pictures 1 and 2 are us working with members and having fun

picture 3 is basketball wrestling which was super fun to watch

Week 69

Hey Everyone! 

Shoutout to Lauren my sister Lauren and, Elder Izu for their keeping me up with the right week in the count.

Its February!!! I've been out in the field for exactly 16 months today! 2/3s done and honestly the fact that I only have 8 months left is pretty ridiculous. It feels so short. There are still so many people that need help. So little time. 

But life is good. Honestly its been really enjoyable this last week. We woke up early and taught a lesson at 530 in the morning to some people who weren't available at any other time, had zone interviews, had a district service project (yes we got it payag'ed) and have just been able to share the word of God. The work is progressing and people are coming to Christ, and I get to be a little part of that. 

I've been thinking a lot about charity this last week. Refocusing my thoughts and attentions and just loving everyone no matter what. It hasn't been hard, because it doesn't come from me. But it has been a really good way for me to see how Christ wants me to be. We don't make Charity from ourselves. It doesnt come from us. It is something we let into our lives as we strive to be like Christ. It is His love not ours. It is just ours to show to everyone. "Let you light so shine," ya know? And that light is the light of Christ. So that's what I'm working on.

I love you all!

-Elder me

Picture 1-3 is on the hike this morning

Picture 4 is us at the service project mixing cement