8-22-2016

Dear Family,

Wow, it sounds like it's been quite the week :) I can't believe all the things which have happened back home! First off, no I havent had the opportunity to talk to the eye doctor yet... but I'll inquire this week about all of that, and hopefully I'll be able to see things okay in the next few weeks :)P I can't believe that my birthday is coming up so soon... it feels like just yesterday I was having my 18th birthday, but I'm almost 19 which is starting to make me feel old. Though lets be honest... I'm not old, not until I reach 40+ (cough cough MOM cough cough DAD)

It makes me smile to hear about the political petitioning that you guys did... for one, that you guys are an active part in the politics, which is amazing... and 2 that you guys got a taste of the missionary work in most places other than here. Because the Philippines culture is basically a "you can't say NO to someone" which makes it really easy to share to people... we just have to make sure they are interested and not just listening because they can't say no to people xD If anything though, doing something like that I feel does take courage, to walk up to someone and just talk to them about something that you believe in and can help them... in the face that they might say no or that they might reject you or be rude. THAT is courage ;)

It makes me so happy to hear how life is going, and I know that things will all work out... just keep doing your best :) I hope that things go smoothly for Hannah and her transition to college and the farm is doing very well and that things are looking up for Dexter! I do feel as if the Lord is blessing you guys so much and I can see that in the weekly emails... so that's really awesome :)

Anyways though, You guys are the BEST.

I don't think that I could personally be happier than I am this week :D My first and biggest and happiest bit of news is that we have 3 investigators who are going to be baptized this weekend! The 3 cousins are children of less active members who we have been working with for the past 3 months or so... they've passed their interviews and will be baptized this coming Saturday!!! I feel so blessed for helping them into the waters of baptism for 2 really huge reasons: 1 being that of course they enter into a covenant with our heavenly father and 2. it's a HUGE potential spot to help their less active family members come back into activity in the church!

It's just been a whole lot of fun to be teaching them, for the first like 2 months they were the shyest people that I have ever met... but within the last few weeks they've really opened up to us missionaries and seem to really be enjoying the gospel!

What else? We had our Zone Conference this weekend which was really awesome because I learned so many things that I can apply into this weok here in the Philippines :) Like for one thing which really put things into my perspective was when two sisters gave a workshop entitled "Don't Sleep Through Your Mission". I realized even deeper this week that time here on the mission is really limited and that I should be sure to be making the best of every day that I can!!!

Anyway, this week should be really busy... Elder A and I have felt that we have an area to really be focusing on... the bayan (town) of Natividad which is pretty far from Tayug and has NO investigators or less actives but we feel has great potential. So this week we will have splits once or twice there in an attempt to have investigators there and then within the next few weeks to try and get a sacrament meeting service in one of the buildings there. But I'll keep y'all updated on that, it should be pretty awesome :)

Anyways, I'm just so excited to be here in the Philippines and more than ever I feel like I'm actually being a tool in the Hands of the Lord to help bring people unto Christ through the principles and ordinances of the gospel!!

Love you guys!

~Elder Morris

(Ps_ you wanna know a crazy type word in Tagalog?! BINABAGABAG. Which you use when talking about regrets. Binabagabag ako dahil sa aking kasalanan. Which roughly means "I'm regretting because of my sins") or another one nakakatawa (funny)

Pss- I also found this super cool looking moth the other night... it was pretty sick :D

Psss- Y'all see the white drink on the table?? That's sweetened PIG MILK... which is actually really delicious ;)

PSSSSSSSSSSSS- I FOUND BIGFOOT IN THE PHILIPPINES... I call him... malaking paa. (big foot)