Dear Family and Friends:
So I think this was the first week that I felt truly comfortable here. And I don't mean comfortable because I got a hot shower or because I finally didn't have to walk everywhere. I mean I think I am finally, totally used to the culture and the way things are. I am understanding pretty much everything that is spoken to me in Tagalog and I am even able to communicate myself. It's amazing.
I think the reason I was finally able to really progress was because I became a little more humble this week. It's not because one thing happened specifically, but just a realization. My companion is always complimenting me and telling me how much better I am than most trainees that come into the field. Americans also have a bad reputation here for being picky, not knowing how to work, being too uptight, and hating dirt. But I have been blessed in all of those areas, so I have been getting along really well. I have investigators and other Filipino missionaries telling me "You are different from most Americans. You are not what we expected." And on top of that I have people telling me constantly how beautiful I am because of my skin and all that.
Needless to say, my head had swollen quite a bit. And that's when the progress stopped.
LESSON LEARNED: Be humble. It helps a lot.
One time this week I was in a discussion with an investigator and I was trying to bear my testimony. And as I was trying to think of the words in Tagalog, all that was coming to me was Spanish. It was really frustrating and I was yelling in my head, "Wrong language, Heavenly Father! I know you have a lot of missionaries to take care of right now, but mine's the Tagalog button!" I just had to stop talking and let my companion finish. I don't even speak fluent Spanish. That was weird.
So I had an interesting experience this week. There's a church out here called the Igelsia ni Cristo, or in English, Church of Christ. They were founded off of a guy who was Mormon. He actually wanted to become a prophet for the church. But when he found out that he couldn't just waltz in to church headquarters and submit his application, he became angry and broke off, starting his own church. It's funny because at the end of his life he actually admitted that the Mormon church was true on video. But his kids and grand kids never released it because they were making so much money from the church that he started. Kind of a sad history, if you ask me.
Anyways, we went to teach some investigators that are a part of this church here in the Philippines. And when we went there, we found out that they were actually hosting the Bible study that evening for their church. So their pastor was there. And he was just ready to go at it with us. And he spoke English too, so I understood everything that he said.
He started by telling us that God is a spirit. And my companion would talk with him about it, trying to be gentle in her replies so as to not start an argument. But he just kept going at it, using all these scriptures and such. There were so many back-handed and passive aggressive comments that he made with that fake plastic smile on his face. I was fuming. But I was praying in my heart to my Heavenly Father to help me to know what to say. But most of all I was praying for Him to help me to be Christ-like when I said it. And you know what He said to me?
“Allyson, keep your mouth shut.”
I couldn’t believe it! We were speaking English. I knew the doctrine. It was the ideal situation for me to speak and defend the gospel and my God and He tells me no!?
I realized that whatever I would have said would have come out badly. That would have made missionaries look bad. That would have made the church look bad. And then all those people who were there would never trust another Mormon again. God knew that once I opened my mouth, it would have become a debate, because that’s what the pastor wanted. It’s funny because my companion told me later that she was going to stop talking and let me speak, but had the impression to keep talking so that I was not able to get a word in. Apparently God told her the same thing too. . .He seems to know me pretty well! :)
While Christ was mistreated and taken through all that persecution before He was crucified, He was quiet. He said that one phrase, “To this end was I born…” but besides that He was silent. He could have said so many things to those people that were mocking Him and likely everything else about God and the Gospel. But He kept His mouth shut. And that was how Heavenly Father wanted me to be Christ-like that day. To keep my mouth shut.
LESSON LEARNED: “When you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty. But the pig loves it.”
~Sister Lefebvre
So I think this was the first week that I felt truly comfortable here. And I don't mean comfortable because I got a hot shower or because I finally didn't have to walk everywhere. I mean I think I am finally, totally used to the culture and the way things are. I am understanding pretty much everything that is spoken to me in Tagalog and I am even able to communicate myself. It's amazing.
I think the reason I was finally able to really progress was because I became a little more humble this week. It's not because one thing happened specifically, but just a realization. My companion is always complimenting me and telling me how much better I am than most trainees that come into the field. Americans also have a bad reputation here for being picky, not knowing how to work, being too uptight, and hating dirt. But I have been blessed in all of those areas, so I have been getting along really well. I have investigators and other Filipino missionaries telling me "You are different from most Americans. You are not what we expected." And on top of that I have people telling me constantly how beautiful I am because of my skin and all that.
Needless to say, my head had swollen quite a bit. And that's when the progress stopped.
LESSON LEARNED: Be humble. It helps a lot.
One time this week I was in a discussion with an investigator and I was trying to bear my testimony. And as I was trying to think of the words in Tagalog, all that was coming to me was Spanish. It was really frustrating and I was yelling in my head, "Wrong language, Heavenly Father! I know you have a lot of missionaries to take care of right now, but mine's the Tagalog button!" I just had to stop talking and let my companion finish. I don't even speak fluent Spanish. That was weird.
So I had an interesting experience this week. There's a church out here called the Igelsia ni Cristo, or in English, Church of Christ. They were founded off of a guy who was Mormon. He actually wanted to become a prophet for the church. But when he found out that he couldn't just waltz in to church headquarters and submit his application, he became angry and broke off, starting his own church. It's funny because at the end of his life he actually admitted that the Mormon church was true on video. But his kids and grand kids never released it because they were making so much money from the church that he started. Kind of a sad history, if you ask me.
Anyways, we went to teach some investigators that are a part of this church here in the Philippines. And when we went there, we found out that they were actually hosting the Bible study that evening for their church. So their pastor was there. And he was just ready to go at it with us. And he spoke English too, so I understood everything that he said.
He started by telling us that God is a spirit. And my companion would talk with him about it, trying to be gentle in her replies so as to not start an argument. But he just kept going at it, using all these scriptures and such. There were so many back-handed and passive aggressive comments that he made with that fake plastic smile on his face. I was fuming. But I was praying in my heart to my Heavenly Father to help me to know what to say. But most of all I was praying for Him to help me to be Christ-like when I said it. And you know what He said to me?
“Allyson, keep your mouth shut.”
I couldn’t believe it! We were speaking English. I knew the doctrine. It was the ideal situation for me to speak and defend the gospel and my God and He tells me no!?
I realized that whatever I would have said would have come out badly. That would have made missionaries look bad. That would have made the church look bad. And then all those people who were there would never trust another Mormon again. God knew that once I opened my mouth, it would have become a debate, because that’s what the pastor wanted. It’s funny because my companion told me later that she was going to stop talking and let me speak, but had the impression to keep talking so that I was not able to get a word in. Apparently God told her the same thing too. . .He seems to know me pretty well! :)
While Christ was mistreated and taken through all that persecution before He was crucified, He was quiet. He said that one phrase, “To this end was I born…” but besides that He was silent. He could have said so many things to those people that were mocking Him and likely everything else about God and the Gospel. But He kept His mouth shut. And that was how Heavenly Father wanted me to be Christ-like that day. To keep my mouth shut.
LESSON LEARNED: “When you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty. But the pig loves it.”
~Sister Lefebvre