Wk 34

Hey Kyle,                                            

     That is way neat you were able to go to visit the temple with Jackie. I really wish we could do that with our investigators. The closet temple here is in Cebu. You have to hop a few islands to get there.

   Transfer week is over. There was a lot less sleep this week. I got to pick up the new white missionaries from the Airport. That was pretty fun. They are all super nervous. Just how I was when I got here. They have no clue what’s going on...what anyone is saying, and they’re terrified with how we drive. So we did transfers this week and on top of that we had an amazing baptism on Sunday.

   Regen and Marc and a little kid named Miki...were baptized this week. Regen and Marc are both fathers which is awesome. Their wives are already members. It has been quite a story with them. Both of them are working as security guards with very difficult schedules.  While we were teaching them they had to do 24 hour shifts just so they could be taught.  Pretty much they had no sleep. 

     On the Sunday of their baptism Regen had to go to work at 12:00 and church only ends at 12:00ish. He was super worried that he would lose his job if he was late. He was able to be baptized and it was a good experience.

     It is crazy how there is always something even up to the last minute that can hold you back if you’re not ready to confront it. The best part of the baptism was Marc's testimony. He talked about how hard it had been with work...and at times he was really close to not following through but he thanked us.  At the time he was about to give up...we had called him to see how he was doing and that had made the difference.  Now the next step is working on their goal to go to the temple next year. One of them has a really cute baby girl....and the others wife is pregnant with their first.

     There is so much to learn every day. I just want to soak it all up and be good. But it is definitely not like that. Little by little. I have been trying to create better habits and be more consistent with things. Man the language...is a challenge. It’s good though. I love it. 8 months now in the Philippines. Time has flown. I wish I could share with you more of what is going on over here.

Well love you brother, and I love hearing from you almost every week ;). Magandang Gabi.

-Elder Kirschbaum