We all have agency to choose...Some choose better than others.

Well Hello! :)

How are you this fine day? I’m doing rather swell. I had a great week.

Here is the report on my work! :)

This past week has been pretty cool. On Tuesday at district meeting Sister Ramos asked for a priesthood blessing. She was sick and had been for a while. This was the first of my cool experiences this week. Elder Ardon anointed and I gave the blessing as requested by Sister Ramos. I love giving blessings sooooo much! This was no exception. I felt the Spirit guiding my words and confirming the truth of what I was saying and promising. I felt a love not unlike what I imagine the Savior feels for her. By the end of the blessing we were both in tears. I am so thankful for the power of the priesthood which I hold and my ability to use it to bless the lives of others. I am especially thankful that I was ready and worthy to serve her in this capacity.

The other experience I want to share with you began on Thursday. Starting Thursday night I was getting better after being sick for a couple days, but suddenly started to develop a sore throat. On Friday, it got a bit worse. When I woke up Saturday morning I had lost most of my voice. The big problem was that I had 3 baptismal interviews scheduled around lunch time, 1 in Angadanan and 2 in Alicia1. I started getting really worried. I didn't want to cancel the interviews and I knew the Zone Leaders had an interview in Jones at the same time. I included a plea to Heavenly Father in my prayer at the beginning of personal study to help me with the interviews, then just went on studying.

I soon realized that little plea was not enough. I was super worried still.

After that, I just got down on my knees and plead for the ability to complete the interviews. I asked for help and guidance. After who knows how long, I finally felt like all would be well. Nevertheless, I did my best to resolve the matter myself. I gargled with salt water and drank hot Tang, etc. Time came for the first interview in Angadanan. My voice was rather choppy, but I got through the interview with out many problems. About an hour and a half later I had the second interview. By this time my voice was bad. It kept coming and going every couple seconds as I would talk. I had to repeat a lot of the things I said for the candidate to be able to understand. I had the third interview directly after that. I was scared. My voice was gone. I walked into the room with Nanay and sat down. The very first word I spoke was crystal clear and perfect sounding. I was so startled that I paused for a couple seconds wondering what just happened. The interview went great. The Spirit was strong and Nanay was ready to be baptized. She asked for a blessing afterwards for her illness, which Elder Ardon and I gave. My voice was starting to ebb away by the end. Within an hours’ time I had no voice. It was all gone, and it lasted up until this Monday morning when I finally got my voice back. This experience was nothing short of a miracle in response to a humble prayer and faithfulness to my calling.

It showed me once again the reality of this work, and the truthfulness of the Lord's promised blessings.

We didn't get very many lessons this week, only 16. But I feel the work we did was more unseen than seen. Hearts are changing. This change will be seen soon though. Elder Ardon is lucky. He has a great area working for him....WHEN HE TRAINS NEXT CYCLE!!!!!!!!!!!! : D yup! My kid is training next cycle right after he finishes his own training! Yup, he's awesome.

That’s soo cool about Devree Hamblin! I can't believe Diana found her! Elder Hamblin is gunna flip when he finds out! :) I can't wait to tell him on Thursday if he hasn't been told yet. :)

That’s sad about Mildred, but you're right. She is happier now. The plan of salvation is true. There are no worries. (An older member of the family passed away this past week. She will be missed - until we are together again.)

I love you. I hope you have a great week! :*

Pictures to come next week after transfers! :)

1 year and a month this week

Hello my dear sweet mother that I love so much! :)



Elder Lundy's 1st year celebration.

Elder Griffin  with his  Comp Elder McLaughlin

Elder Ardon

 

 

Elder Hamblin and Elder Lundy



Elder Lundy made Biscuits and gravy he always loved this kind of food.

 



This week in the mission was pretty good. Why? Because I’m right in the place the Lord needs me, with the people he needs me with, doing the things he needs me to do. :) It’s a good time of life.

So our work this week. We reached 23 lessons. We now have 3 investigators with a baptismal date. Things are going really well. When we teach ------ (pictures included in other email. she is the girl with a little boy and mother in the picture with me and Ardon), she reads everything we leave her. Then she writes an essay about what she learned and also other questions she wants us to answer when we come back. She is flippin amazing. Our transfer day is September 20th, next week Thursday. It looks and feels like I am going to be transferred out. It feels just like it did in Ilagan just before I left. So I will know after I email you next week if I am going to be transferred or not. I feel good though. We have a ton of elders coming in fresh from the MTC and president has told Elder Schmidt that he thinks my kid, Elder Ardon, can train after we finish our training this cycle. I’m proud of him. He is a great missionary.

So right now in our work, our focus is on less-actives. we are doing rather well…

on the bright side we have 2 whole families(one of which I included picture from a FHE. it’s the one with all the kids and a board with candy on it.) that are making significant progress in returning to activity and preparing to go to the temple to be sealed as a family. Their son will also be returning to a mission this coming October hopefully. :) It’s much harder to teach less active members, but it’s much more rewarding.

So I picked up my new pants earlier today in Santiago. I haven't gotten an opportunity to try them on yet. (Which means that pictures are coming next week.) I just had Nanay use the measurements that I used last time I made pants with her. I’m also getting the rest of my shirts fitted this week. I’m gunna look spiffy :)

My arms look really dark right now. I played football early this morning and got a bit sunburned, but my arms got kinda dark. It’s weird. But I like it. Random thought there for ya ;)

I must leave now. I’ve got souls to nourish. Remember the Tarzan song, "you'll be in my heart, always..." I love you mom. :* funny thought I don't know if I have ever told you before... I thought this way back in my first cycle in the field when I was with Elder Schmidt... I can't wait to get home so I can study the scriptures with mom! :) True story! It’s come to my mind many a time since then as well.

I miss and love you.

Have a great week! :* :)

-Elder Christopher W. Lundy

Brown outs make it a day late...

Hey,

 

We had brown outs like crazy yesterday so I couldn't email home. None of the shops had power or internet. So I'm doing this before district meeting today on Tuesday.

Thank you for doing all of that with the voting for me! I appreciate it! I'll let you know when I get that.

(Elder Lundy wanted to vote in the November Elections)

Mom, I understand how empty nesting is no fun. It’s like being in an apartment of 4 then going down to just 2. It’s parting from those you love. It’s what our Heavenly Father feels like when we leave while He is waiting for us to come back...

So guess what, we just had another brown out this morning while I was writing you. Good thing Gmail auto saves!

Our investigator with a baptismal date is doing well. We left her the lesson 2 pamphlet to read for our next lesson. Not only did she read the pamphlet, but she also wrote a couple page essay on her thoughts about the pamphlet and why she thought it was true. Then this past Sunday she bore her testimony in sacrament meeting. It was sick! She knows the church is true. She is a true convert, and she is still only and investigator!!!! :)

This week we fell a little short with 19 lessons.

We are still doing good though. :)

I also got my teeth cleaned yesterday on my way to Santiago.

Well, I have to go account with the missionaries before district meeting.

I love you! :* bye!

A week without a letter...

 “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

The Book of Mosiah 2:17

 

Elder Lundy was unable to write this week, I’m sure we will hear more next week.

Another wonderful week in Paddad!

Hello my Mother that I love so much! How are you?

So, work first, play later.

This is an excerpt from the letter that I wrote to President Carlos this week:

This week was a good solid week. Both Elder Ardon and I stretched ourselves. We learned some new skills, and also one undeniable truth. That is even though we all have agency, not all people will use their agency to come unto Christ. We had a lesson this week with a less active member. In this lesson, Elder Ardon and I bore some of the most powerful testimonies that we have ever expressed. The Spirit was so strong in the lesson that it made us both physically shake. We said exactly what that less-active man needed to hear. We spoke as boldly and bluntly as we could about what would happen to him and his family if he continued on the path he was on. He just sat there with a mocking smile on his face while we were talking to him. We brought the Spirit unto his heart, but it was not able to penetrate into his heart. That was his choice. It made me really sad that the Spirit could be there that strongly and he could still chose to not accept it. Even with that happening, I was still rather happy afterwards. That was just one more testament to me that we receive guidance through the Holy Ghost. I know what I am teaching here is true. I have tried and tested it in my own life. I am very grateful for this opportunity I have to continue to learn and strengthen my testimony, but even more grateful that I can help others discover this joy and guidance in their lives. I know the Lord is guiding me and preparing the way for me to continue learning and growing here on the mission. If I didn't become district leader, if I didn't get this opportunity to train Elder Ardon...I’m not sure this great change would have happened in me. I love being a missionary and I can't imagine any other life. If you had asked me about that a year ago I still wouldn't have been sure I was coming here, even though I was already at the MTC...

Right now my heart is just full of thanks to God for all He has done for me. All I have to give back to him is a life of service...and that is what I am going to do.

This really was a great week. Elder Ardon and I hit 27 lessons and 16 OYM's. That exceeded our goals for lessons and oym's. We also...wait, nope, it was just Elder Ardon! That’s my kid. :) (We were on splits) Elder Ardon taught a first lesson to the Nanay in a part member family this past Sunday. She is a miracle. She actually came to church the past couple Sundays by herself. Her husband is disabled and inactive right now. When Elder Ardon taught her yesterday, he kept being led to a baptismal commitment. Finally he just gave in and did it. :) Good thing too because she accepted the commitment right away and was very happy about it. Funny thing is, we couldn't even count her as a progressing investigator in our ki's yesterday. She needs to have 2 lessons and be keeping commitments to be considered progressing. lol.

Our other with date is doing ok. She is really looking for the truth, but she is having a hard time receiving an answer about the truth of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. She wants it to be true, and she has said she has felt the Holy Ghost in our lessons and when she comes to church. She just hasn't received an answer yet about the BoM and Joseph Smith.

This past Sunday we also had a miracle with our less-active/returning members. We had 7 members return to activity this past week. It is just a ki (key indicator) but we are having progress with them none the less. We also got one tatay to come back to church for the first time. His wife is amazing. She was really weak and sick, but Tay was willing to go to church so she forced herself to go to church with him so he could go back for the first time. She actually is one of our returned members that we had this past Sunday. Love that family. We are trying to get them ready to go to the temple. Tatay is also fighting a word of wisdom problem, but despite that, he is forging a path back to the "straight and narrow."

That’s the majority of our work this past week. We are fulfilling our purpose as missionaries. :)

I'm glad you guys got some great time with the family. :) sounds like it was a ton of fun. The kids are sooooo CUTE!

That’s awesome! :) I’m so happy for them! I just love Becca to death, and I’m sure Danny is just as fun. Good for them. (Elder Lundy’s cousin and her husband became proud parents of a baby boy this past week)

I love you guys!

Glad you had a great week last week!

Have another this week!

-Elder Lundy

The start of an exciting new year

Dear Nanay ko,

I'm getting better, and slowly coming back to where I was before my slump a few weeks ago. In some aspects I already am much better than I was. For example, my ability to expound and explain the doctrine of Christ has absolutely exploded along with my testimony of it. We are teaching it so clearly now that we feel practically everyone we teach is ready for a baptismal date by the end of the second lesson. Before I thought it was ridiculous to even consider giving a baptismal date that soon, but now I can see that it’s just dumb to wait any longer. It’s the right thing to do if you are a clear and powerful teacher. If they will accept the gospel, they will be ready by the end of the second lesson for a date. That is my experience at least within this area of Paddad, Alicia. 

This church is true. It’s true because I know the book of Mormon is true. The book of Mormon teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ very plainly and simply. You need to have faith in Christ because if you don't you can never use his atonement to be cleansed of your sins. You have to repent to become free from your sins so you can return to our Heavenly Father after this life (sinful people are not allowed to live in the presence of God). Baptism is a commandment that you must follow in order to complete your repentance and become clean. Afterwards you have to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to receive the Lord's guidance for you while in this earth and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Afterwards you must endure to the end by doing the things that God has commanded. By doing this you will always have the promise of the holy ghost to guide you. You will always be repenting and trying to be better. If that is how you are at the end, then the grace and mercy of Christ will cover you for your shortcomings, if, and only if you have done your best here to be better every day, and obey the gospel of Christ and the commandments of God. I know this is true without a doubt. That is our purpose while here on earth. To do our best every day to become better and follow our Savior. If we do that, we will be able to return to our Heavenly Father and receive his greatest gift for us, eternal life.

Mom, that was kinda weird in English. I’ve never shared my testimony in English like that since I reported to the MTC last August. I learned for myself the gospel is true in Tagalog. It’s all been in Tagalog. That is where I share it best. The language that I learned the truth in, even if that isn't my first language, is the language of my testimony. I think I will get better at expressing it in English after I get home though. My English kinda stinks right now.

Mom, Dad, happy anniversary! I love you two very much. I thank you for all that you have helped me to do over the years to gain my testimony. I want you to know you have raised a child that will never, never, fall from the truth and knowledge of the gospel. It is who I am. What I want to be, is a man that serves God with all his heart, for his whole life. That more than anything is my life goal. I love you both very much! :* happy anniversary ulit!

(What a wonderful gift to receive from a son - His Testimony!)

My 1st Year ends - August 13, 2013

Hello! :)

This week was a pretty good week. We had an amazing lesson Kay on Saturday. She is mga 13 years old, a new investigator and is also a part-member/less-active family. Her family (the members) and also 2 other fellow shippers accompanied us in the lesson, where Elder Ardon and I taught most of Lesson 1. We had previously taught her the first couple principles. We had a pretty good start, we were teaching well. She was asking questions and we were answering. It was honestly one of the first lessons I have had like that. Normally, investigators refuse to talk and are extremely shy and don't understand what we teach. That even goes for when my Filipino companions teach. This girl is nothing like that.

In this lesson, I could feel the spirit guiding our every word. By the time I was done sharing The First Vision, I was practically in tears. I know Kay felt what I felt. She felt the Spirit and directly afterwards accepted a baptismal invitation to be baptized on September 15.

I am extremely thankful for my assignment here in Paddad. I have learned so many things. My teaching has gotten 100 times better. My Tagalog has expanded and become much more clear. Most importantly, I have gained power in my teaching through the Spirit. During every moment when I teach, I can feel if I am following the Spirit or not. If I pay attention to that, miracles happen. I absolutely love this time I have to learn and grow and share my knowledge of the gospel with others. The Lord strengthens me every step of the way if I but do my best to follow him.

Elder Ardon and I have worked our guts out this week. He is doing amazing. We are all caught up on our studies now and we are doing our best to do better every day. We realized this week that our biggest problem is following the schedule. That is our goal this week, to correct that. As for doing missionary work, Elder Ardon is doing extremely well. He has self-doubts, but when I listen to him and watch him teach, there isn't a thing I could say that he couldn't. He knows the doctrine. He knows what is important for investigators to feel and do, to receive the gospel through baptism and confirmation, and he does the best he can. He is one of the best Preach My Gospel missionaries in this mission and he is only going to get better. He was a better PMG missionary than I was when he first got here. He has helped me rise to the challenge. We are both constantly striving to be better, to do better.

I noticed that you and Dad have asked for reports on my work and how many lessons we are teaching every week. That was one of my favorite experiences this cycle, so I wanted to share that one with you. We taught 21 lessons this past week. The past 6 weeks (or cycle. cycle = 6 weeks) while Elder Ardon has been training, we managed to teach 115 lessons to investigators and less-active members. This next cycle, we should be able to top that no problem. We are both much more dedicated and ready now than we were 6 weeks ago.

Ramos family is amazing. They feed us every Sunday night. Bro. Ramos has offered to help us fellowship. I love this family to death. Sister Ramos noticed that we were always running out of time on p-days because we keep going to Cauayan every Monday to work on the mission office's tech problems, and offered to let us use their washing machine anytime we want. They don't really use it because it uses a lot of electricity and pulls the bill up a bit, so it now currently resides in our apartment since they don't use it or have space for it in their house. (Their house can fit in our living room...) They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Bro. Ramos is the District YM President, and both brother and sister served missions. They are very faithful and are good friends. If by chance you could come here at the end of my mission, they are one family I would want you to meet. I dearly love them.

Well, I love you very very much! Thank you for the congratulations on my 1 year, even if I don't want to admit it. That means I have less time left then I have been here.... :P ayaw ko yon!!!! Have a great week!

-Elder Lundy