Dear Everyone,
This week was really busy! And really cool. We went on some exchanges with the sisters assigned in Biliran. Biliran is a small island on the top west side of Leyte... and we are on the southern tip of Leyte... so... that meant that there was a lot of traveling involved. It was about an 8 hour trip one way. And most of you reading this aren't familiar with the Philippines roadways, so the best way I can describe it is like being on an Indiana Jones ride for 8 hours.
We went through Ormoc on the way down. It is still really destroyed, but a lot better than it was a couple months ago! We met a guy at the terminal selling pirated DVDs. He came up to us and just started asking us questions about the, "Mormon Bible." After our conversation, he really wanted to go to our church that Sunday and read a Book of Mormon for himself. There aren't missionaries in Ormoc yet, but I can't wait until there are so we can refer him to them!
Biliran Island is probably one of the most beautiful places I've been in my life. Even tough it's like destroyed, it's still sooooooooooooo pretty! It's crazy! I bet that's how God feels about us and how he sees us. Even though we aren't perfect, he still loves us, and He sees the positives in us always. Even if we can't see them.
My first exchanges was with a sweet sister named Sister Mier. She is Filipina, and 28 years old. She has only been a member for just over 3 years now. Her conversion story is sooooooo cool! So, I want to share it with you!
She was working in Hong Kong one year, and another Filipina girl that she worked with and didn't know really well but who always smiled and waved at her invited her to go to church one Sunday. Not knowing anything about the church, she decided to go. At church, there was a sub, so they showed the Joseph Smith movie. She said that when she watched that movie, she knew that Joseph Smith really did See Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. After that, all she could think about was the church, she took the lessons, and got baptized about 2 months later. Then her branch president called her into his office after 6 months and asked her to go on a mission. He funded most of it, and now here she is!
I think that's such a cool story because of how simple it is. An acquaintance invited her to church. And then she watched the Joseph Smith movie. We were talking about how she is eternally grateful for her friend who did simple missionary work, because of the blessings she is enjoying now, and the experiences she is having. She said that she can't imagine how sad she would still be and how unfulfilling her life would still be if her friend didn't just invite her to church. I think that it's easy for me to forget how simple missionary work is. It's really easy to do missionary work when you're a full time missionary. They give you a name tag that is the perfect excuse to talk to strangers. But, it's super cool that the Lord doesn't ask a ton from us. He only asks us to love the lost people he puts into our lives, so that we can do simple things like invite them to church, and tell them we love them, or show them the Joseph Smith movie, or tell them that we know God loves them and has a plan for them and ask if they would want to meet the missionaries and listen to what they have to say. Simple things bring to pass so many great things!!
I met a cute lady when I was working with Sister Mier! She lives right on the beach. Before, there were a ton of trees in front of their house. A lot of trees fell on their house, and it's still not fixed yet, so their floor has a lot of holes (their house is on stilts), and half of their roof is still gone because they can't afford to fix it yet. But, as we were sitting on her porch, sharing a thought, and looking at the amazingly beautiful ocean where she lives, she said," Before the bagio, I had all these trees in front of my house, and I couldn't really see the ocean. But now, I have this super beautiful view of something I never really noticed before."
I was thinking about how that applies to our lives sometimes. Sometimes, we think we are going through this horrible tragedy, but really, our trials help us see a better view of our lives and our purposes here.
We get to work in our area all week this week! So that should be fun! I'm super excited! And there were also elders added into our area, so it got split again. That takes off a lot of stress, not being responsible for a whole city's salvation... just half now.. hahaha
I love you all and I'm so happy to have all of your support! Thanks for your prayers. And thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to e-mail me and send me letters! You're the best!
Weekly challenge: Invite someone to church this week! :)
Love,
Sister Bingham
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