Kamusta Kayo!
So, this week was really good as the work is concerned! My companion, Elder Palacio (which means "Palace" in tagalog), is a very hard worker! It felt good to work with him. And he is not a native tagalog speaker so I learn a lot from him in tagalog beacause the words he uses are simple and easy for me to understand. I am able to learn better that way so I am excited for this transfer! We taught 23 lessons this week! Which is really good for our area.. so the work is amazing!!
But on the contrary, the Branch is worse than it's ever been.. you should've seen it.. It was pathetic, seriously, it made me sick inside to see the only true church of God in such confusion. Magaling si satanas! (satan is talented).. So, our entire Branch Presidency is completely inactive, it is way sad to see.. Our Branch President came to church, but only to unlock the doors so the 20 of us could partake of the sacrament. The only thing our branch President said was (translated into english) "Elders, I can't worsip today. I have a big problem".. We tried to probe deeper, but he just left. We have no idea what happened.. And the worst part is there is NO active priesthood holders in our branch except for this one like 80 year old tatay. We are honestly thinking that the Balayan Branch is going to close and that we might be re-assigned to a new area. Beacuse if you think about it, missionary work in an area with no simbahan (church) is worthless. Like what are we supposed to say to our investigators when we bring them to church. How are we supposed to explain that ALL of the leadership doesn't want to come to church. So, were gonna call President Anderson next Sunday if this continues.
We are baffled at what to do right now.. We have fasted, prayed, and were working our butts off.. We visited 8 less active families and all of them said they would come to church but not ONE of them did. I'm not mad at them, I am just dissappointed and a little discouraged. Even the Garcia's are inactive now, the MOST astig (cool) family weve baptized. It's just a little discouraging that despite our hard work all of the members are using their agency and deciding not to come to church.. Were gonna see what President has to say.. AHHH!!! Anyways...
Enough ranting.. Last P-day we bought 2 live chickens, killed them, and made a soup out of them.. I have a sweeeett video! If I get a chance I am gonna post it on YouTube so, all of you can see it. I like freak out it's hilarious.. It was so sad too.. But all of the filipinos dont care lol. We made Chicken Adobo, MmmmM.... one of my favorite filipino dishes. But it was hard to eat beacuse I kept imagining Elder Lopez cutting off the head of the chicken and I kinda grossed myself out. lol.. It was a lot of fun! Not!!
Earlier today, we went to a member's house and had lunch, Spaghetti!! MmM! The spaghetti in the Philippines is a lot different from America.. It is a lot sweeter and sometimes they add banana ketchup to make it sweet, it's way good! I think it would be something that Chris would like. Idk why, maybe it's cuz they add cut up hot dogs in the spaghetti and for some reason the hot dogs remind me of the Heningers lol.. So, just so you know Heninger family, every time I eat Spaghetti I think of you guys!! :)..
So, about our investigators.....
We have 3 investigators with a baptismal date, Din Din Balbarino, Layka Andulan, and Gina Villunueva. They are all scheduled to be baptized on April 17. They are all amazing and they love our visits and our lessons! The only sad part is because of our struggling branch it is hard for them to see that this church is a "house of order".. Whenever they come to church they are confused because we talk about the church and how amazing and complete and organized it is and how it is the true church of Jesus Christ, which it totally is... But it's just hard for them to see that when they come to church and there is no leadership and virtually no organization.. The microphone is broken, there is no airconditioning, and the church is basically an old house turned into a church. We have really high hopes for them but because of the misfortunes of our branch we dont know if we will be able to baptize them.. It's so sad to see other members robbing people of salvation just because they dont want to do their part at church. Ughhhh... Ok, I'm not discouraged!! Don't worry lol.. Ok, so, maybe a little bit, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy. It is truly trying.. It seems that as soon as I get a hardworking companion the area decides to crap out on me. But it's all good. The Lord does not command me to do anything except he prepares a way for me to accomplish it. I know that I am still a tool of the Lord and that I can still make a difference in this area even if it seems impossible.
Anyways, that's pretty much our biggest concern right now is the Branch.. Last sunday we got the ward directory and we are going to go down the list and search for each family, find their concern, and try the best we can to resolve it. I am glad that there are still strong members in the branch to help us too! We have about 5 amazing members and branch missionaries that help us so much! They are truly a lifesaver and give me so much strength and help us so much.. So, all of us together are going to find, record, and solve each member's concern here. There's still hope!! Just hope that I dont get pulled out of this area!
Well family, friends, acquaintences, and whoever else..
Ang Simbahan ng mga Banal sa mga Huling Araw ay totoo, at pinili ng diyos si Joseph Smith bilang propeta ng pannanumbalik ng totoong ebanghelio ni JesuCristo. At sa pamamagitan lamang ng pagdadasal malalaman natin ang katotohanan ng simbahan na ito. Kahit maraming mga problema sa ating buhay nang diyen ang diyos para sa atin lahat, at nang diyen si JesuCristo para patawarin ang mga kasalanan natin. Alam ko na totoo iyen. At hindi ako "Trunky".. Masaya ako palagi kahit-papaano! I love my mission and I love all of you guys!!
Thank you for everything and for your support to me!
Until next time,
Elder Hanzen
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