Elder Spencer Lewis: NINDOT NGA ADLAW

GRATITUDES

I will continue to say that I am thankful for where I was born, and the living conditions I was born into. I am thankful for kind people, and people who are willing to help no matter what. I am thankful for everyone that supports me.

NINDOT NGA ADLAW

I wasn't going to write an email because I was sick, and also because I feel like nothing really happened last week. But, I decided to write one just about today. Today we had three members with us all day coming to our lessons. These members are the kindest, and funniest people ever. For example, while we were walking, a random lady yelled to me and said, "hi, you're my boyfriend!" To which brother Mark Viador, who is always making jokes, says, "he'll marry you if you get baptized." They also were helping me so much with the language. I feel like I learned a lot today thanks to them. Also, at lunch, one of the members said a joke about my comp in bisaya, and I laughed at it, and didn't register that I understood her until she said, "you understood me?" So that was pretty cool. We started the day

trying to teach an interested friend, Tatay Joseph, who has been reading every pamphlet we give him. And remembers stuff from it, and is continuing to pray everyday, and gets so proud of himself when he tells us about his prayers. The only problem is he drinks and smokes. When we found him today, he was so drunk that he fell into my arms, and I had to catch him and help him sit down, while he said, "Elder Lewis" over and over again. So baby steps with him I guess. Next we went to this family. The last time we visited them, the granddaughter expressed that she has a hard time understanding ang basahon ni mormon because they are deep cebuano, and the people here speak a slang bisaya. She knows some English, so today I brought and gave her my Book of Mormon and ang basahon ni mormon side-by-side, so that she can try to read it easier. This was also the first lesson with the members. And let me tell you, the spirit was so strong in that room when they were sharing their testimonies. I only understood a little, but it was still so powerful. At the end of the day, the members left, and me and my companion went to try and teach a family. We have tried multiple times, but they are never home. This time though, they were. It was such a good lesson, and the mom said that she wants her family to grow up fearing God. So we invited her to start praying as a family, and she is

interested in coming to church. Also, they have 8 kids. We wanted to give them a Book of Mormon, but we had given all of the ones we had away today, so we didn't have anymore. This wasn't today, but on Saturday, we were at a YSA activity at the church, and there were five 13 year old girls outside having a picnic. My comp started talking to them, and then went and grabbed some of the people from the YSA to start talking to them, and then invited them to church the next day. Four of them came, and the other one messaged us and said that she was sorry she wasn't able to make it, but she is going to come next week. The other four said that they are going to come back next week as well. Elder Gamot is amazing.

CONCLUSION

This day was just such a good day. I started the morning thinking about why am I here, because I always think about what is the actual reason I am here. For me personally, what keeps me out here, and today, seeing how happy the interested people were, made me find a part of the answer to that question. I have also had the chance over the past 2 days to read volume one of the Saints book series, and it has strengthened my testimony a lot more, and has given me a little more of an appreciation for the work I am doing, and for the period in time I was born into for the church. I also have gotten to a point where everything feels normal. I don't feel like I'm going to wake up in Arizona anymore . I don't feel like I should be doing the things I used to do. Everything just feels normal now, which I think is good to have happened so soon. Don't get me wrong, I still miss so many people and things, but I have finally accepted that I'll see them again someday.