It all works out

Well Holy week is over. Not too much of a celebration for Easter. We didn't see any crucifixions but we heard a lot about them, a lot of our investigators went and watched them? It's weird.

We were everywhere this week making sure that everything was going to go well for our baptisms on Saturday. It was a lot of work because we had some problems with nanay Linda.... so all her kids are members and 2 of them are RMs but we realized this week that they had been telling her that she wasn't ready to be baptized! So we were kind of frustrated and confused.. and even now we don't know why her kids were telling her that. Anyway the interview was done and everything was good to go but she told us that she wanted to wait until next month.. long story short we talked her through it and helped her to realize that she is ready and that you don't need to know everything to be baptized. We were hoping one of her sons would be able to baptize her but I was the one who ended up doing it, it was still a great baptism and she looked really happy.

Our Recent Convert Jose was able to baptize his granddaughter on Saturday. When we asked him if he would be willing to do it he told us that he already had memorized the commission. In Hiligaynon. It was his first time baptizing someone and of course it was his granddaughters first time being baptized so little to say they were nervous and he had to do it twice, she wasn't too excited for the second time but it was still a great day to see Tatay Jose baptize his granddaughter.

Well even though we had all of those small trials this week we were still able to see the miracles! So many investigators went to church and we have almost all of April set up for baptisms and we are now working on getting May set up.

I sent a lot of pictures so hopefully that can do a better job of showing my week than my email.

THE MISSION IS GREAT!

-Elder Warnick

Tricycle Rides

District Meeting

Inovelnyn's baptism - She is kind of scared of me. Haha go figure I am white.

I'm clean (Nanay Linda baptism by Elder Warnick)

Zombie Dog

Haircut (Filipino Version)

Coke (You drink it out of plastic bags)

Skinny?

Ruins

Home

Happy Holy Week

It's holy week... which means they have legit crucifixions.. yeah I haven't seen it yet.. just signs and stuff.. anyway---This week was great! We didn't really get to work but we got to have an awesome experience at our mission tour!

We worked in our area on Tuesday and we were able to talk to our 2 investigators that are going to be baptized this Saturday. They live in completely different areas so we had to go from one part of the area to the other so that they would be ready for their interview and then we had to go to Bacolod for our MLC again.

The MLC was great because we actually didn't have to do any training! We got to go to Bacolod with all of the Zone Leaders and STLs and hear Elder Haynie speak. It was awesome! He had a sweet training about the history of the Philippines and how it was being prepared for missionary work. It was super interesting. And he explained about the importance of participating in councils and stuff like that, it was sweet!

The mission tour itself was also great. I got to spend the night in Bacolod and we were in my old area TALISAY. So I decided to make a surprise visit to the Buslay family! It was just the same as if I had never left-meaning Sister Buslay went all out and made us a bunch of food. I also got to meet her husband for the first time and he is now a Recent Convert! So they should be able to go to the temple next year after her son gets home from his mission.
It was good to see a lot of the missionaries and to receive more training from Elder Haynie. Me and Elder Cagampang actually go to sit with him at lunch and talk to him. He was really humble about the fact that he is a General Authority and explained if the Lord needs you to serve he will make it happen haha he was never expecting to be a General Authority but he's great!

When we got home from mission tour we needed to get the interviews done for our investigators and that meant that we needed to go from one area to another which was sooooooooo far and there was nothing to ride so me and E. Rivera walked the whole way. We were wrecked but we had dinner with our Branch President and we downed the juice.. We weren't even hungry just thirsty! haha

The week was great but this next week will be even better!
Thanks for all the love and support!
Palangga ko kamo!
-Elder Warnick

Visiting Sister Buslay in Talisay

Holding a snake

The Result

This week was amazing!
Miracles.
Success.
Sounds like the beginning of a movie or something.. anyway
We were able to get a good full week of work in this week and it was awesome. We kept working in Haguimit which is the area closest to our meetinghouse with NO SUCCESS. Not really none but very little. Everyone always says that the people closest to the church are the hardest people to teach. So we have been trying to teach or at least talk to as many people as we can in that area. We found one person who wanted to listen so that area is just going to come slowly.

But something that I think I have said before is in those moments when we are walking around and talking to everyone and trying to get something to happen those were the times when nothing was really happening. But because we were working so hard that's when the blessings come! Example: We were working in Haguimit and trying to make something happen there and nothing was happening but because we were working so hard we started to see miracles in other areas! We went to a Less Active family and we found out that everyone is baptized in their family except for one of their kids and a grandchild so ages 9 and 14 so if we help that family come back to church we can also get the other 2 baptized.

The Zone is doing amazing! This week everyone's key indicators (investigators at church, lessons, etc) DOUBLED! I love my zone! They are so pisan! (diligent) even though we are the smallest zone everyone is doing great! I guess you could say everything is pretty fulfilling right now.

What else happened this week....
-our house is infested with birds because we don't have a ceiling just a tin roof..
-I ate squid again
-truth is I am pretty used to everything around here so I can't really tell when something is weird or out of the norm.. haha I'm filipino now!

We get to have another Mission tour this week so we will be going to Bacolod to have a meeting with Elder Haynie and his wife and then later in the week the rest of the mission will meet up for the trainings. It's going to be a good week.

We are also getting everything good to go this week for two baptisms for the end of this month and we have April set up pretty well for baptisms!

AND I still can't send any pictures! just keep building the anticipation!

I love you!
-Elder Warnick

Bacolod Mission - March 1, 2016. Zone Leaders, STL's, AP's and Office Staff

 

 Elders:Paskett, Christensen, Tacuban, Ehninger, McCracken, Warnick - Departing August 3, 2016

Sisters: Silos, Lozada, Jasareno, Narisma - Departing March 30, 2016

I held a snake!

This week was a lot better. Mostly because we were actually able to work!

We went to the zoo again today and I got to hold the nasty huge snake. It was chill. And this computer shop doesn't let me send pictures so... dasun na lang ah (I'll just do it next time)

Another MLC this week and it was great. There actually weren't very many trainings but I still got a lot out of it, like a lot of impressions on what the zone and missionaries need and that is what we tried to apply in the Zone Training. I would say we have had a lot of good trainings before but this past one was great, like I really felt like the zone got it. They understand what they need to do! It's going to be sweet!

Part of what me and Elder Cagampang took away from the training was that we needed to keep in mind that our area will be inherited by other elders as well. So we decided if we kept doing the same thing that all the other elders before us were doing, everything would just get worse and worse so we decided to start finding closer to the church and even though it will be slower withing a month it should start having success. Just this week we already found a lot of people that we probably would have never talked to if we didn't change our work style and schedule.

This week wasn't really crazy! I don't have anything cool to share.


The other Sister Mesobre is still coming to church and her son is also going to baptize her at the end of this month :)

We haven't really been doing anything new just doing a lot more of what we are supposed to be doing. We are going to be having another Mission Tour in a few weeks so if I am still a Zone Leader that means that I will get to have a special dinner/meeting with Elder Haynie. :)

I guess we had a cool experience before I send this email. There is a family the TAYCO family and they have been members for a while but ever since I have been here they have never gone to church and we have been to their house but nothing has really came from it. The mother had a stroke in 2014 and hasn't come to church since. I am guessing due to the fact that she can't really walk or talk but we actually were able to teach her on sunday. And we could feel it. She wants to come back she couldn't really speak to us, just king of grunt. But now that she hasn't been able to come to church and the lives of her family members have become too busy. But we hope to help them come back soon.

Love,

Austin

Shaking hands with President Russell M. Nelson (President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)