Josh's 10-18-10 e-mail

This week I was reading about Alma the Elder and the Younger. If you look closely, their lives before the gospel didn´t look very great. Alma the Elder was a priest for wicked King Noah who broke many commandments. It took Abinadi until the second try to convert Alma. Afterwards he became a prophet and very loved person by the people. Alma the Younger as we know enjoyed on the weekends to try to get members to fall away from the church. He was touched by an angel and also like his father became a prophet, a chief judge, and a respected person. One of Alma the Younger's sons didn´t do the greatest things ether. As a missionary he committed a serious sin. During these chapters I was thinking about how they repented, not what sins they did. I believe the same applies for us. We don´t look at these men with guilt or vengeance, we look at them with honor and respect. We look at what they did afterwards, not what they did before. They repented and I know God forgot their sins. We need to live without guilt in our lives. If we repent, the only thing we need to worry about is not to do it again, not that we did it. If God forgets, should we? How we need forgiveness in this days of trouble! Forgiveness for others, but also for ourselves. One of the hardest trials we can have in our life, is finding the courage to forgive ourselves.

Josh's distaste for flan

This week a kid thought it would funny if he threw flan on me. Flan is a dessert in Argentina, but I don´t like it very much. We weren´t close to the pension so I smelled like Flan the entire day!!!! Yummy! Hahaahhaha.

Melanie's comment: When Josh e-mailed this picture, he said he thought the pig really liked him due to the smell of the flan.

Megan's reflection of General Conference

Just like President Monson said,something to this fact..."The human race has an incalculable ability to take things for granted.." We DO not realize what is around us! How we have been blessed literally beyond our own comprehension. I challenge you this week, to write down 500 blessings you have received during this week...and then tell me about how the experience went. It's amazing!!!! The Lord is so kind. Just like President Monson said, "He taught us how to live, he taught us how to pray," and then he taught us something else, that when President Monson said it went straight to my heart- "he taught us how to die." I heard once that if "we prepare ourselves to die, we prepare ourselves to live." He taught us that you die, giving everything you have, having given everything you've got. There's a term in the mission that when you're done with your service, you've died. I want to die like that! I want to die here having given everything I have for these precious people! Having done everything I can to help them on their long, but possible way back to Heavenly Father.

Megan's love for temple square

We watched conference this past weekend and it was like an old familiar blanket. the church is so true. How could you watch conference and not think it was true? How could you not walk away a better person- being uplifted and strengthened in every aspect of your life? It was so good. I have to say that it was a bit torturous at times. Not only just now, but for quite some time on my mission, I have LONGED for temple square. It's very strange, of all places, but I want to be there like I can't describe. Please, if you are within reach...GO!!! for me!!! There are moments that I am particularly longing for, and one of them is to walk into the conference center doors.

Philippine Home Construction

About the people that live in the houses that you saw getting built. Yes, they cook outside just with wood- no fuel. They go to the bathroom outside and yes, they all sleep in there on the floor.

Melanie's comment: We received a CD in the mail a couple of weeks ago that contained many pictures and a few videos of life in the Tacloban, Philippines Mission. I tried to upload one of the videos but it didn't work. This picture shows them installing the 'floor' of a typical house which is barely big enough for 2 people to lay down.

Megan's 10-18-10 e-mail

We may get to attend church in the new chapel this Sunday, and have a baptism inside this Saturday. The attendance is about the same...we'll see about when we are all going to have to for sure go to the new chapel..its takes 20 or so minutes on motor and there's no buses on Sunday so that's all you'll take. There were people that couldn't make it last Sunday-we watched general conference in the meeting house in Cabucgayan and there were a lot from our area that didn't make it.

Megan's rejection

Yesterday as we were walking out of our gate to go to church, there seemed to be a great hustle and bustle around...I looked down at the road and to our surprise were written and drawn messages scribbled in white chalk that offended our spirit. Earlier that morning I had seen one of our investigators outside writing with chalk, but didn't realize until the time I saw it what he was doing. Later on that day, as we were trying to hold ourselves together in one piece, one of our other investigators who I don't have words to describe my love for, wouldn't get close to us because he heard from he said many people that it was not allowed... I just kept telling myself, Breath in breath out...!!
In all of this,I had the thought, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do.."They don't realize who we are..! Right across from our house for the past 2 weeks, they have been doing construction...Apparently every time we'd walk by or go inside or outside, talk to somebody that they could see, when we'd leave, their speech was far from appropriate and in that experience I rememebered the quote that had been said at one of our zone conferences..."If they accept you, they are accepting the Savior. IF they reject you, put you down, or talk bad about you, they are doing the same to the Savior." One day they will realize who we were, and what we were trying to do, and they'll know why we lived amongst them. I haven't felt very accepted lately, or even really treated nicely. We're too happy for them. seriously. We have been a little bit frustrated too because they don't realize that we have a hard life too! Our investigator's older sister still thinks that we are here so that we can get a promotion in school whenever we come home to the states. bah. It's ok! I just hope that someday they will remember what we said to them, and that we tried to show them the right way. I miss you! Things will get better! "There is great purpose in our struggle in life."