December 13th, 2010

Hello fam,

k so before I forget.. (i forget last week), did anyone ever pay attechen in semiary and write down any scripture chains? I made one up, and it was very effective in getting some people to read from the book of mormon, but I got lazy. So ... Scripture chains? could email them to mom (lori@dickinsonselectric.com) to put together, or just email them to me.

So about the call home, um I have a couple options. One is to get a calling card, the other is to do skype. um, yah.
The calling card is 40 mintues long, and I am only supposes to have 40 mintues. (plus If I call sunday morning (8am) my time or around.. what ever your time is on christmas day, (7pm?6?5?) then I will use the calling card.

If I use the calling card, I dont know If I am going to try to call a bunch of people, I might just call home (or mom's cell). It might get tricky trying to set up a lot of different calls. (plus church starts at 9). I am fairly sure no one is going to be able to call me.

The other idea is me to use skype. if i do that, then I might find time in the morning (my time) to go to a computer shop on a different day.Like the friday or thurday before christmas (your time).

So... I guess just tell me what you are thinking.

anyways..

Ill start this week with some people I know here, and then I finish with some random stuff.

um So Marriet is getting baptised on Friday, so thats sweet. I think thats the same day mark is getting marry-ed. (well Thusday in america). Pretty cool. She is 13.

um. There is a guy named brother ray. He is a werid-o. well thats the best way I can put it. He is a member, (actally very very helpful for missionary work). but.. werid-o. There is one big drawback for him being werid. All (or 9 out of 10) of the less-active members, when we are start talking with him, talk about him. They all say he is gay, ... which isnt true. but oh well. I think thats why a lot of people are inactive.

ummm
so There is Rocapor family. They are still doing good. Tatay, hasnt been coming to the whole 3 hours of church, but his wife and kids are. His kids passed the scarament for the first time yesteday. cool family.

um, hmmm There is Jovin. He is a mga 60 year old guy. Hes daughter is the branch presidents wife. Jovins wife is a resent convert. I guess before her baptism, there house would be the meeting place for a group of gamblers, I think cards, and drinking. But now they have moved it to another house because, the wife, marrisa doesnt play anymore. I think Jovin still does. Anyways hes pretty rad. right when I got here (like my first week), he would try to talk to me, which was pretty cool. He, like most people here in this area, speak ilikono as a native langage, speak tagalog, and knows a handful of english words or basic phrases. From him I have learned a little ilikono. Oh also, he said he would get baptised when I get married. So in like 20 years from now, ill have to send him a photo of my wedding.

anyways, um for Eliza, shes intersting (but actally fairly common). She will tell us she has a testimony in the church, felt the spirit and knows that its the true chruch, but has some little problem. for her its that "the church is too far (maybe 3 blocks), and that the born again church (2 blocks) is closer". (other problems like this, someone said they promised or convented with the other chruch that she would keep going..., or someone said they received a testimony in the Book of Mormon, and is now using it in her other church.)
But I found a scripture for her. Last time we were going to visit, We were about a block away, when she spotted us. She didnt want to deal with us, so she booked it, in her yard, and darted behind some trees. She is like 55, she isnt very fast or sneaky.. oh well. The scripture is DC 133:57-58. Its about missionary work. I highlighted the last 10 words of verse 58.

ummm I found something else during church last sunday. We should watch out about making fun of bald people, like dad. 2 Kings 2:23-24.

About learning Tagalog.... yah its werid. But some how I am actally picking it up pretty quick. A friend of mine, gave me a list of inspirational thoughts, and said i was to only look at one a day, so it would last. Well I did that... and then I forgot about it. But I found it this week. And one I read was pretty cool. for a couple of reasons (for one, i like bikes). It was about bikes and learning a language. pretty much it said that if you dont ride the bike, then you dont learn to ride a bike. If you dont speak the language, then you dont learn the language. And if you do ride the bike/speak the language, then magicly you just .. start riding/speaking stright.

Anyways I have a story... becuase. I like storys. ok, One of my greatest moments in life, probly inbetween the time I managed to eat 3 boxes of rice at lunch my freshmen year of high school (which i did keep down for the whole lunch period), and the summer I helped filled a large slurpee cup with gum.

--its about when I learned to really ride a bike.
When I first wanted to learn to ride a bike, Mark told me he would help me. Yes! so he took me to village glen hill, and put me on the bike and gave me a big push. Not good, haha. I didnt get very far. Anyways I practiced a bunch, but I never I had much confidence, since I kept running into the neighbors trash can. Evencally I started practicing going up ash st a little, and coming down. I didnt dare cross frewing to lower Ash st, because I called that death hill. I dont know I must have been 8. Anyways one day I went up Ash a little, like normal, while coming down I desided ill just go for it, down death hill. Well It was sweet. I was flying. I didnt dare touch the breaks, because the only thing Mark told me about bikes, was if you use your brakes you will flip off over the handlebars. So anyways I was flying, I mean going pretty fast. I was so happy. Then when I got to the bottem of the hill, and hit the curb, I really was flying... off my bike stright into someones trash can. But I was going so fast I knocked it over. I was so happy, I had defeated the trash can. And I never had problem with biking ever again.

You may ask what is the point to this story... well I like storys. But I guess it applys to me now. If you think of speaking english as standing, on or off the bike, and you think of riding the bike as speaking tagalog, then it makes since.. sorta. I mean since I have been here, I have watched people ride the bikes.. a ton. But actally riding it, I am having trouble. I am getting better, but I keep stopping and standing up. I think all I need is to just go for it one day, stright down the hill at full speed and smash someones trash can. I still havnt figured out how to do that, but... I figure something out.

Oh I had pretty cool experience with tagalog this week. We were teaching about the holy ghost and how to get a testiamony. So I told a story about how I found my testimony and how they could get their own. After I finished, I expected my companion to try to translate it for the people.. but he didnt. One of the investigaters just said, I didnt understand the words that he said, but I have understanding of what he said, and the importantance. That was sweet. (also someone else started weeping quietly... I dont know).

Oh so I lost my wallet. It had my pirate photo (family) and abut 400 pesos (or about 10 bucks). Not a really big deal. its alot of money here, but oh well. But in my coin purse... (i have a purse?) I had 2 cents left. So I tryed to explain to people that it was ok, because as a missionary I just need to talk to people, and I still had my 2 cents left, but they didnt understand.

Oh I have one last thing, I have notice this pattern with my prayers. First I ask for help, to be more teachable, more humble. Then the next day I ask for help, for peace, to be pulled out of the fire. The 3rd day is fairly nurteal. Then it starts over.. I think I am becoming more and more afride to pray for humilty. I might have figured out the scripture, 3 NE 24:2-3

well g2g,.... baaaaah

luke