When Study Time Turns into a Bird Chase

Heeeellllllllllooooo!

Hi everyone. This week was fantastic. Elder Duero and I are doing great here in San Jose and continue see the blessings of the Lord in our lives. Hmmm.... I think I'm just going to get straight to the point and talk about why the title of this blogpost is what it is. So every day as missionaries, we are required to conduct what we call companionship study. In two hours we review our plans for the day, discuss what we learned in our personal study, and prepare to help those we are to teach later on. Every companionship study we open and close with a prayer to invite the Spirit. So here's where it gets interesting. Elder Duero was giving the closing prayer to our daily planning session when all of the sudden, literally out of nowhere, a bird about as big as my fist and a half just zoomed, and I mean ZOOMED into the room. Elder Duero yelled "what the heck?!" and I followed with, "what in the- where did that come from?!" Not two seconds later a second bird flew in. After we closed our companion study, we spent about an hour trying to catch these two birds in our house. How did they enter, you ask? Well there are screens on the second floor windows in our apartment. The apartment is kinda old, so those screens have holes in them. MY question, however... What on earth possessed these birds to just fly into our apartment? Anyway, after that hour we caught the birds, rejoiced in our victory, and of course, set them free. 

But anyway. On a more serious note, Elder Russell M. Nelson, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visited the Naga mission and gave a beautiful and encouraging talk to all of the Naga missionaries. It was such a privilege to hear a true servant of the Lord speak to us and give us an inspired message. What did I take from it? Well something he addressed to us was that we as missionaries or, in general, as human beings, when faced with a challenge or problem have a responsibility to be part of the solution. I believe that as people we have this tendency to be overburdened by the challenges that we encounter from day to day. We complain, we blame, and ultimately we lean towards giving up. I can relate with that 110%. But let me say this. But if we change our mindset. If we think of ways to solve our problems, rather than being set back by how daunting those challenges are, I promise that they become easier to bear--to overcome. Life becomes almost like a game with an objective in mind. If every day, we strive to combat our problems with optimism and true intent to solve those problems, I know we can. I love being a missionary. I love encountering new challenges. Without the Lord's help, I would literally be helpless. Missions are awesome. I LOVE being a missionary. Hope your week was awesome and that anything with wings didn't enter in your homes. LOVE YOU ALL! 

-Elder Bondoc

PS: I don't know if any of you remember, but a couple of months ago a cat got into my bread in my first area. A little over a week ago, ANOTHER cat got into my bread. Coincidence? Hmm... We'll see in my next area. 

​On Tuesday, my companion and I were able to help the mother of a member repair the roof of their house. Service is a cool thing.