Hello Po,
It's More Fun in the Philippines:
- Well, I transferred this morning. I left Bacoor 1 and am now in San Gabriel B. My new companion is Elder Burton from Colorado and I am the senior companion. It's sad to say goodbye to the people I was teaching, but I'm excited to work in a new area!
The Gomez-Sales Experience: We met the Gomez-Sales family over a month ago. They seemed golden. They accepted us in, and they participated in the lesson. On the conclusion of the lesson the family invited us back. When we returned a few days later the son (22 years old) and the uncle (50 years old) came out and told us that we were not welcome to come back. They told us that the father, JoJo (50 years old), was not strong enough to tell us no, but they were not interested in our message. It hurt to hear, but we picked up our feet and left. Well, one week ago we were walking the street when all of a sudden the father, JoJo, saw us. He yelled out to us, and we quickly ran over to him. He told us that he missed us and wanted us to come back on Tuesday to teach his family. This greatly confused us because of our last conversation we had with his son and the uncle. Nonetheless, on Tuesday we returned them. We knocked on the gate, and the uncle came to us. He told us that the family had moved away. But I saw a shadow move inside, so I called the uncle out, "We know you are lying. Where is JoJo?" At that moment JoJo came running out the door to welcome us home. But at this point I was a little bit angry. I turned to the uncle and with maybe a little too much anger in my voice I told him to never lie to us again. I told him that he was not allowed to control the choices of his brother JoJo, but that he could only control his own decisions. At this point the uncle escaped back into the house stunned by the fact that he was called out. My companion then turned to JoJo and bore his testimony to him of the importance of the gospel. He shared that if JoJo desired a happy family with honesty, peace, and love than he would need to accept the message of Jesus Christ and become an example for his family. I then told JoJo that if he desired us to teach him and his family than he would have to come to church this Sunday to prove it. I told him, still with a little frustration in my voice, that we would never go back to him if he did not attend church. And with that we left. My heart was pounding. It wasn't until later that I realized I had maybe not been as loving as I probably should have, but in that moment I felt a need to be bold with this man. Well, the week went on and that experience was constantly in the back of my mind. Sunday rolled around and as we were walking a few people to church we received a text that said, "Hello, It is JoJo. I am right outside the church." We quickly ran to the church and with massive smiles on our faces we welcomed JoJo inside. Church went as usual, but when we concluded he came up to us. He said, "I'm not sure what it is, but your church is much different than other churches I've been in. It feels special. I told my family I was going to the grocery store but instead I came here. I'm going to go home and tell them the truth and invite them to come to church next week. I plan to come every week. Will you please come teach my family this tuesday?"
It was extremely special, and I'm so happy JoJo took the step to come to church even if his family didn't fully support him. We plan to help him and his family accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and eventually gain honesty and peace in their family. It may take work, but we are willing to work. I now look back and wish I was a bit more loving. But I suppose that is why as missionaries we have companions. I was bold and my companion was loving. Ultimately we made a powerful combination!
Elder Hemmert
