Hello Family!
This has been a weird week filled with a bunch of meetings and splits and stuff again, but we did get in a good amount of work as well. One thing that we learned this week, was that when people say they have a testimony in Jesus Christ, you have to follow up with them on that. So many people say they love Jesus, so much! But then can't answer a question like "What did Jesus Christ do for you?" or "Why do you love Him?" We have been teaching the atonement for almost all of our entire lessons this week and I think it has been going well. People are starting to realize that Jesus is not "Ginoo Gihapon" or "Jesus just the same as always. Most people here see Jesus as some mythical man who did something (not sure what) and they are told by their priest to say a recited prayer to Him once a week to gain exaltation. Their understanding of the Truth is so lacking. This is the reason why so many people here have fallen away, and why so many people just don't feel the drive to come back. Through teaching of the Book of Mormon with the Bible, we have been able to bring the Spirit into many hearts this week, and though it may be a somewhat slow process helping these people to gain a true friendship with their Savior, we are definitely on our way.
We also found some more great members this week who we are going to visit tomorrow, and they have some nonmember family members who are interested as well. We are continuing to see great success through speaking to everyone we see. We don't go tracting anymore, but Elder Shelley and I have made it a goal to speak to everyone we pass, and this has been bringing in great blessings. We are able to teach so many people just because we open our mouths and say hello.
We met a really funny woman yesterday while doing just this. We were walking from one appointment to the other, around 5:00pm, and we saw this woman who was probably in her 50s standing by herself under a waiting shed (a bus stop with an awning). I walked up to her and said "Nanay! How are you?" She put on a big smile and then just exploded speaking 1,000,000 miles a minute, going on about how she was married and her husband worked in the city and made such and such money every day and she was waiting here in the waiting shed, not to ride the bus, but to wait until the sun went down and the mechanic shop across the street would close she she could hop the fence and sneak in so that she could sleep on the benches there because she didn't have to pay for a house that way. She finally finished her 5 minute shpeal and we asked if she did that every day. Yep! She said. She wasn't poor-looking at all. She was clean and dressed well. She was just trying to save some money by breaking into a mechanics shop every night to sleep. She said she waited at the waiting shed every day so we are planning to go back to teach her and give her some company pretty soon.
One last cool thing that happened to Elder Shelley and I the other day. We were joking around with each other about who was more Gwapo, and I decided to end the argument and went up to a little girl (probably 7-8 years old) by the side of the road and asked "Excuse me. Could I ask a question? Who of us is more handsome?" She looked at us for a second and then answered, "All three of you are handsome!" Elder Shelley and I looked at each other. There were only the two of us. I then asked, "Three of us?" She nodded and then ran off to play with some friends. I looked at Elder Shelley again and we both gave each other a high-five. It's good to know that we have the companionship of the Holy Ghost and Angels in our work, and it's also good to know that our looks are on par with celestial beings. :) I hope that's not blaspheme...it was sure cool to hear.
We're still working hard and going strong out here! Thanks for all your prayers and support from back home! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Garver
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