I AM SAFE haha:) The tropical storm didn't even cause rain here in dusty and polluted Pasig City. But it still is so beautiful:) It gets even more beautiful every day and more fun and the spirit of this word and the Lord sinks deeper and deeper in my heart to where no matter what happens I can't help but to feel like flying and yelling to all that this is the true gospel:) That God loves us more than we can comprehend, that through the gospel we use the atonement to become clean and return to God. That through the prophet Joseph Smith we know that now and have all power and authority to carry out and administer the Gospel and that The Book of Mormon is evidence that all that I just said is true and you will get closer to your Savior Jesus Christ through reading and pondering these words than any other book!!:)
This week was another hard week but also a totally amazing and wonderful week that I am so grateful for:) I consider it such blessing to go through hardships in this life, it must mean the Lord loves me a lot and is just giving me opportunities to be better. We have about 9 new investigators right now so that's pretty awesome:) I love to be out teaching people, to even say to someone that God loves them is pretty darn amazing:)!!!
My companion was sick for 4 days this last week and I was sick for one. Its pretty stinkin hard to stay home but I use the best of my time to study and prepare for the days when we don't. We went out yesterday and it felt so good, everything looked even more beautiful than it did before:) As I thought about it and we were teaching repentance to someone I realized a connection to sickness and repentance. When we experience a sickness for even a day or a few days the day we feel better is amazing and we see more clearly and can't help but be grateful and smile. It's the same with repentance; every single time we truly repent we become more like Christ and more changed and freed from the natural man and every day looks so much more amazing and our joy and capacity to love increases.
Some people do not recognize the importance of sincere and deep repentance every day. As we sincerely strive to be like Christ repentance should be a natural result. Understanding always leads to repentance and repentance is change:) Repenting every day is seeing a more clean and beautiful world the next day, because your perception and Character is changing to be more like Christ. That really is the central purpose of this life, to become like our Savior and return to God's presence. You can't do one without the other and you can't do either without repentance. I am so happy I can change, I need only look at the example of my Savior and then I am lead to rejoice in the gift of repentance he gave me to become like Him:) He even paid for it all, the pain I cause to others which I could never pay for, when we sin it effects so much that I am so amazed at the Saviors ability to pay for the little sins, but he paid for it all, he descended below it all, there is no point too low that He can not reach down and lift us up. Repenting every day is just choosing to be lifted higher every day:)
I wish I could share all that I am learning, I love the sacrament:) I am getting witnesses from the spirit every time I read The Book of Mormon that it's true as long as I sincerely read:) I cannot deny those witnesses and I love telling others I know it's true. Saying that covers saying that the gospel is restored and Joseph Smith is a prophet and this is the true church!:)
Right now I am addicted to this drink called buko shakes. It's like the closest thing to milk here in the Philippines:)
We finally got the ensign conference talks and I love them!!!! Wow modern revelation is just always so amazing!! Choosing to live the Gospel is really honestly choosing happiness, I know that, its simply the fact of life haha:)
I totally miss Christmas music. I try to be like Buddy the Elf and sing a Christmas song at every lesson we teach and just as we are walking. MY companion always I'm too happy, or that I'm working him too hard like its a disease, haha, If it's a disease may I never recover haha:)
Love Elder Blackham,
Haha! Brett is so awesome!
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