It's been a good, although challenging week in the Misty Mountains. Elder Torsak and I made some real progress- one of the people we're teaching finally came to church, and we found several new people with good potential! On the flip side of that coin, most of the seemingly solid appointments we had for the week ended up falling through. :( I guess that's missionary life sometimes, but it's still disappointing. Nevertheless, I really want this area to be able to baptize somebody(s) in this area, so I'm gonna give it 110% more this week and watch some miracles happen!
Despite getting punted 90% of the time, Elder Torsak and I were recipients of some awesome miracles! One of those included going to visit a very large inactive part member family, the Ronquillos. This family spans four generations, all of whom live in the same massive house on the side of a mountain. There's four different entrances into the house, so you're never quite sure who's going to answer any given door and what kind of reception you'll get. The last time Elder Torsak and I visited them, we were met by an elderly woman who basically told us none of their family was interested in letting us visit them. Then this past week, we tried again...but nobody answered any of the doors. Then we tried again a couple days later, and a middle aged man answered, invited us in and gave us cookies. :) We were able to share a brief message after getting to know him, and he expressed sincere thanks for our visit and a real desire to return to activity! There's still hope! Apparently we caught him at just the right time, and I really felt impressed by the Spirit that it was important that we visited him at that time. I don't know for sure how it will all turn out...but I know I really felt like the Lord had guided us there at that time.
Elder Torsak and I also decided earlier in the week to try finding/exploring in a section of our area we had never gone to before, which turned into an interesting adventure. We were expecting to find some neighborhoods of people, but instead found an entire semi-hidden village in the mountains with a gazillion tourist attractions called Tam-awan. We got some cool pictures, but didn't find quite as many people as we were hoping. My favorite discovery was the (aptly?) named Farmer's Daughter's Restaurant, which we have yet to enter, but I'm still getting a kick out of the exceptionally random name.
Elder Torsak's aunt, uncle and cousins also showed up out of the blue on Sunday, and joined us in sacrament meeting. It was great to meet them, and they brought us chicken fajitas for lunch, which was the perhaps the best food I've eaten in the last few months. Funny how much difference real cheese makes.
Overall, all other things are pretty good. I love my bahay (apartment and the people in it). They are all good missionaries, people, and good friends. Elder Torsak and I continue to become better friends, and become better at working together. I bought some cereal for my birthday! It was ridiculously expensive, but I guess it's only my birthday once a year.
Love, Elder Dickison
Pictures include:
A Companionship Unity Selfie
An Igorot (Native Filipino Tribe) Warrior Statue
Elder Dickison and the Psychedelic Gekkos
Elder Dickison in the Misty Mountains
A...tower?...spa?...bed and breakfast?...giant tiered wedding cake...?
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