The World is Ending! (or so I thought)

Maligayang Bagong Taon! (Happy New Year)

Francisco. An amazing investigator we were referred to by a
member. He will be baptized in Feb once he is married.
It was so hard to say goodbye.

Well the world felt like it was ending in two different ways this week: (Sorry, it's a little long. If you Don't Have Much Time, then scroll down and read the invitation)

1. First off, NEW YEAR'S IS CRAZY HERE! The belief here is that at the beginning of they year they must make as much noise as possible in order to scare off evil spirits. Well, let me tell you, they were successful. At 11:55 PM on December 31st I woke up to extremely loud explosions coming from outside. Most of my roommates ran to our backyard and climbed the 20 foot water tower behind our home in order to see over all of the homes. We were above all the nearest houses and could see for miles. The explosions came from all sides and were some of the biggest fireworks I've seen. As we sat watching, the explosions became progressively more numerous. It came to a point around 12:10 AM that the fireworks were above our heads and all around us. people were on the streets revving engines and banging pots together. Smoke from each explosion began to fill the air, until it was so thick that every firework looked more like bursts of light rather than their normal distinct appearance. It was by far the coolest New Year's i have ever experienced. If I didn't know it was New Year I would have that

Sister Gina Reyes. Super amazing lady. Her home is a
tiny shack. The roof is only 5 feet tall. She has 3 kids and a
husband. She will be baptized with one of her boys in
Feb once she is married. I hope the rest of her family
will follow her example. It was so hard to say goodbye.

the world was ending (It felt a little like the Ikalawang pagparito ni Jesucristo).

View from Sister Reyes roof.

2. The Second thing that made me feel like the world was ending was because I was transferred today. My new area is Bacoor 1. My original area was in Molino 1C, and I love that area so much! For the past 3 months I have been walking those streets and helping people come closer to Jesus Christ. I loved everyone we were teaching and everyone in our ward. My only hope as I leave them is that they will continue to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have come to love these people so much, and it is so hard to say goodbye to them. All I desire is their Eternal Happiness. I know the only way to Eternal Happiness is in and through the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. I'm so sad to leave these people, but mostly I'm just so grateful I was able to meet them in the first place. I have seen people find happiness as they followed our invitations to read from the Holy scriptures, pray to their Heavenly Father, and attend Church. I only hope that they will continue, because I know if they will, then they will feel the love of God in their life.

MY INVITATION TO YOU: Forget about yourself every once in a while, and desire the happiness of someone else. Serve those you love, and those you have a harder time loving. Desire their happiness before your own, and then you will find happiness also.

Elder Hemmert

Elder Hemmert keeps finding larger spiders.