Sunday, November 27, 2016

Destiny

Yo.

So hey guys. This week was a BLAST. We got to meet a WHOLE BUNCH of new investigators. Elder Tabasin and I are striving to literally talk to everyone that we can and meet and we've seen a whole lot of miracles while doing it. We also have a baptism this upcoming Saturday so get ready for that! Weather's been great. Couldn't ask for anything else. I'm living the dream. OH we had a cool experience. We went door knocking the other day(if you can really call it that) and this lady started telling us that she was really good at reading what they call kapalaran  or destiny. So out of nowhere she grabbed our hands and started telling us things about us that I didn't even know!

That brings me to what I'd like to share with all of you this week, regarding our "destiny." After the lady stopped manhandling my... hands, I got thinking. What does destiny really mean? Well God has given us the freedom to choose to do literally whatever we want to do. However, he's also given us guidelines, or commandments, that if we choose to follow them He, in due time, is guaranteed to bless us. But the opposite is also true. We all aren't perfect and constantly make mistakes. We ultimately sin and suffer the consequence. No matter how much our Heavenly Father loves us, no matter how much He wants us to succeed, he doesn't force us to do anything, good or bad. So it's up to us. We make our destinies. If we follow the map the Lord has provided, we'll find ourselves at with Him once again. We're the authors of our own story. Let's make it a good one. Love you all! Until next week!

-Elder Bondoc


​We had a community service project the other day. It was great!

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Thanks.

Maray na aldaw.

This week was awesome. Elder Tabasin and I had a GREAT week really getting as much work as we could in  the week. We had a baptism this last Saturday for a 9 year old kid that we've been teaching for the past couple of weeks. It was awesome. And my companion, the MAN, gave me a haircut this morning which was AWESOME. Love the guy. But yeah. Ummmm. Nothing new honestly. We have another baptism this upcoming December 3 which is super exciting. Can't wait. 

But something I learned this week actually has to do with gratitude. With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I think that we really have to show our appreciation for the things that we are blessed with and even give back to show it. I cannot even begin to describe just how much I've come to be thankful for as I've been here on my mission. I believe that if we take a step back and just think about everything that we're already blessed with instead of what we could be given. Each of us is blessed. May we be grateful, not only now, but every day of our lives. Love life. Man, are we blessed. Have a great week! Love all of you! And thanks. For everything. :) 

-Elder Bondoc
The picture we put on our zone calendar.
Gabriel and Nash, two awesome kids who were baptized on Saturday.
Gotta love kids. They rock.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Miracles on Miracles

Hey.

So I'm going to make this a short one because we're so short on time right now it's kinda ridiculous. First off, transfers. My companion is getting transferred and I'm getting a new companion tomorrow. His name is Elder Tabasin, from Iloilo. He's a great guy. I'll get you guys a picture next week. Which reminds me... I won't be able to send any pictures this week because my micro SD card thing broke. We went to get some pictures printed the other day. As I took my SD card out of my camera all I heard and felt was a sharp but piercing snap. Goodbye "last 3 months of pictures." BUT that's okay. 

What I'd like to share with all of you this week is the true power of miracles. This week we experienced so many miracles. It would be impossible to explain each one in full detail. BUT IT HAPPENED and it was great. I believe that God grants miracles. That's just how He is. He loves us and wants the best for us. But at the same time I believe that those miracles are wrought by faith. Sometimes we just sit and wait for the windows of heaven to open and for God to just rain down everything that we have ever asked for.

Nope.

Faith precedes miracles. That's just how our Heavenly Father shows His love. He wants to see if we truly have a desire and are willing to show it to Him. After that, He takes care of the rest in due time. I love that. He's there, even if he's waiting for us, He really is there and waiting. Hope you guys had an awesome week. I'll catch you again next week! 

-Elder Bondoc

Monday, November 7, 2016

Reaching Our Potential

Maray na aldaw sa indo gabos.

Hey. It's been a busy week. Elder Bowen, Area President of the Philippines came this week and gave the entire mission a good workshop about missionary work. It was awesome. I'll talk about that in a sec. BUT other than that, we had a super duper busy week. The weather's been doing a lot of raining and we've been doing a whole lot of...well nothing different really because NOTHING CAN STOP MISSIONARIES from sharing the word of God! (Okay I mean we're not invincible or anything. But I love missionary work way too much to let a bit of rain keep me from proselyting. Like come on now.) Anyway, we've done a whole lot of visiting with our investigators which has been awesome. We also got to participate in baptizing the investigators of the Sister Missionaries who are in our ward. It was a great experience. We had a combined zone activity with the Naga Zone this morning. Super fun. We had a couple of activities in a local sports field. Loved it.

But back to the highlight of my week, Elder Bowen's workshop on missionary work and "Who We Are." In essence, he was totally frank in saying, "Okay missionaries. You're working at this level. When you could totally be working at this level," moving his hand bottom to top. He explained in a very bold way that we set goals that should be stretched so much more than we think they should... which is true! As missionaries, we teach the principle of faith in Jesus Christ. Elder Bowen helped me realized that we really have to apply that in our lives when we set our goals and go out every day trying to reach them. We have to push ourselves and really exercise our faith that through Christ, all of our goals really can be achieved. This can be applied to ourselves, as well. We have such high potential. We can do so much more than we think we can. We just have to do all we can every day to reach those goals, and if we're living in accordance with the will of Christ, He'll help us achieve it. If we do our part, He'll do His. So my companion and I push ourselves even more every day. It's really helped me realize what Heavenly Father knows I can become, not only as a missionary, but as His child. Anyway. That's all for this week. Missionary work is a cool thing. Doesn't get old. Have a great week everyone!

-Elder Bondoc

The Canaman Zone (minus 4 missionaries...they went home a bit early because their area is about 2 hours away)


The Baptism! :)