Dear Family and Friends,This week was a good one, it seemed to fly by! And I also picked up a new skill with it, how to prepare a Coconut, or buko as they call it in the Philippines! And I will say, if you haven't had it already, Coconut water is Sobrang masarap (Super tasty). Here's a picture:
We have a coconut tree in our backyard so this morning we decided to climb up on the roof of the shower room and with a rusty machete (I know sketch, right?) and we chopped some coconuts from the tree. Kinda hard at first, but definitely way fun! Later today we are going to cook the remains up and make coconut flakes for our pancakes! This is me on the wall chopping down a coconut:
This week was a really humbling one for me also. Not to say I have a lot of pride or needed to be put in my place, but it was definitely something that I needed.
Through the week we were having a very difficult time with working with the members finding those who were willing and desired to help, so our LMP (Lessons with Member Present) key indicator was less than acceptable. I also had multiple members be very frank and ask why I wasn't very fluent in Tagalog yet, and there were many other humbling moments. But I read a quote from Winnie the Pooh in a quote book I have recently which reads:
"You must always remember.
You are braver than you believe,
stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think"
-Christopher Robin
And I realized, I may not be perfect, I'm not the strongest, or the smartest, but I am trying my best to MY best for the savior. Even though many things this week have put my capacity into question I remembered that I am a lot stronger than I seem because I have a savior who wants to help me, I'm braver because of the faith I have in him, and with his example I can make smarter choices. I try very hard to reach as far as I can, and I know, from this week especially that when we do our best, the Lord fills in the gaps, and also strengthens us to do more than we thought we could. I think we each have those moments where we feel humbled, and or some they feel like they have to give up, and just stay stuck.
Sometimes we tell ourselves "That's just the way I am", that's not us, that's not the Son or daughter of God that we are. That's just Satan, so you can send that thought back to the place it came from.Sometimes we have to take some hits, some are harder than others, you may get bruised or even sent to your knees, but stand back up, learn from it, be better, don't accept "That's just the way I am" as an answer. As it says in 3 Nephi 12:14, be "a city that is set on a hill [that] cannot be hid".
I love you guys! I love you with all my heart! Can't wait to write again in another week!
Elder Trevor Kent Johnson
Through the week we were having a very difficult time with working with the members finding those who were willing and desired to help, so our LMP (Lessons with Member Present) key indicator was less than acceptable. I also had multiple members be very frank and ask why I wasn't very fluent in Tagalog yet, and there were many other humbling moments. But I read a quote from Winnie the Pooh in a quote book I have recently which reads:
"You must always remember.
You are braver than you believe,
stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think"
-Christopher Robin
And I realized, I may not be perfect, I'm not the strongest, or the smartest, but I am trying my best to MY best for the savior. Even though many things this week have put my capacity into question I remembered that I am a lot stronger than I seem because I have a savior who wants to help me, I'm braver because of the faith I have in him, and with his example I can make smarter choices. I try very hard to reach as far as I can, and I know, from this week especially that when we do our best, the Lord fills in the gaps, and also strengthens us to do more than we thought we could. I think we each have those moments where we feel humbled, and or some they feel like they have to give up, and just stay stuck.
Sometimes we tell ourselves "That's just the way I am", that's not us, that's not the Son or daughter of God that we are. That's just Satan, so you can send that thought back to the place it came from.Sometimes we have to take some hits, some are harder than others, you may get bruised or even sent to your knees, but stand back up, learn from it, be better, don't accept "That's just the way I am" as an answer. As it says in 3 Nephi 12:14, be "a city that is set on a hill [that] cannot be hid".
I love you guys! I love you with all my heart! Can't wait to write again in another week!
Elder Trevor Kent Johnson