Elder Dallin Tracy

January 4, 2015 at 8:35:40 PM 

Hello, 

This week has been a crazy and fast one again! And probably the best one so far!  So I haven't gotten the packages...and I don't think you can get packs of lime jelly for slush, so could you throw some of those in there please.. haha!!  So you were already doing the letters thing?  Or just started it.  Basically this whole month of December we have had things going on, so the work kinda slowed down, so there aren't really any new investigators. but we did see some great progress in the ones we have...

YES!! Gabriel got baptized!!!  My first one, and it felt so good, even though I didn't perform it!!  I was still overjoyed and his father-in-law actually performed the baptism, who is President Egoino (from our branch).  So that was really cool, and the spirit was just so strong!  I couldn't stop smiling! 

James- as for James, we weren't able to meet with him, because on Tuesday we had another little typhoon and his road got washed out, so we couldn't visit, and then on Saturday,  he went to a funeral, but..he came to church!!  And he seems excited for his baptism!!  He just needs 2 more Sundays, and then he will be baptized!!  When that day comes, I will baptize him :)  So I am super excited, and hes a really big guy and our font is kinda small so...we are seeing if we can get approved an ocean baptism!!!  Haha!!  And we are gonna start talking to his family about the gospel, and his wife is the Barngy Captain (city mayor) kinda, so if we could get her, she could help with that whole area!
Rodrick- HE is so amazing!  He changed his work schedule to go to church, and so that's 3 in a row now!  And we visited him 2x this week, and both times were amazing!!   So his baptism date was February15th, but once he knew transfers were January 29th. he moved it up to January 24th!!  So now, we have to like visit him 3x a week, so he is 100% ready for baptism!  Then the next time we visited, he said that after he joins the church, he wants to serve a mission!  Haha!! He told us a story of when he was at a chungit (a little store thing), a guy said he had seen the "Mormons" at his house, and he said "Oh, you mean the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!"   It's cool, cuz what investigator does that??  Haha.! 

Robert- He wasn't there when we visited, but his little brothers that are baptized haven't been coming to church, so I think his dad isn't letting them come.  So that's not good!:(
Anyone new?

Just one, her name is Mary Ann - shes wants to get baptized, but it's her parents who are not excited about it, so probably in February she will be!!

Less actives: this is where we have seen a lot of our success, because we have so many in our area!   So we really focus like 15-20 lessons a week on Less Active's, but its working!

The Abong Family- We had an Family Home Evening with them a little while ago, and we actually have another one again tonight, but they are awesome and the kids have fully reactivated, and the dad is like 2 Sundays away from baptism!  They are really strong members now, and are gonna get callings and be leaders, and even cooler, Andrew, their son, says he wants to go on a mission after his school! But his relatives don't really want him to go, and they don't have a lot of money! 

The Bulac Family- we visted them for like 3 weeks and nothing happened, but after this week, they came to church! 

ABAN- almost reactived!! 

And we have a ton others that we are working on!  They come off and on to church.  Re-activating is just as cool and important as a baptism I'd say, even more, because they have already made that promise with God, and they will be judged more if they turn away from it! 

The branch is making some changes for New Years!  We had 217 people at sacrament!!!!!  I just testify that fasting works!  It was packed and we had the leadership meetings, and we are trying to implement home and visiting teaching, and make sure all the auxiliaries are filled, and people have callings.  And then, we are starting kinda a mission fund for Hamtic, so every Sunday, we ask that they just put 1 peso in a jar, and by the time they go on missions, the branch can help them out! Super cool!!  Haha!! 

The idea is even getting kicked around to split our branch into 2, and to put us farther down in our area, because there is a lot of less actives that are down there that would go to church, but don't have the money, and then we could actually get to the far part of our area that I have never been to, just cuz it's to far, and we need to use our time effectively.  The only problem would be leaders. So we need to find/prepare some, if that is gonna happen 

You mentioned that New Years is bigger than Christmas there, so what was that like? Were you on lock down New Years Eve Night?

Haha!!  So we actually had 4 lunch/dinner appointments.  I had zero to eat until then!! Haha!!  We ate so much, and basically partied with them.  It was super fun!  It's crazier, cuz everyone buys crazy fireworks, and gets super drunk.  But we were going home and we missed the bus, so we were walking and it looked like a zombie movie!! Haha!!  All the drunk people were stumbling in the road and it was smoky because of the fireworks!!  It was cool looking! 

We had some earthquakes this week!!  That was kinda cool, cuz I've never felt one before, and we had and a small typhoon. Elder Tolentino had a toothache, so we went to the dentist, and it's so ghetto!!  I hated it!!  And they clean their stuff with a tooth brush nasty!  That was my week!!  Super fun!! 

I wrote down to share Mosiah 4:27 with you guys, but I don't have my scriptures, so check it out! Mosiah 4:27 "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.  And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize;  therefore, all things must be done in order."

Haha!  Good luck on the remodeling, and with the "-ites" thing, it really is true, if we all just loved and treated each other the same, things would be so much better!! 

I hope you liked my present, Mom and Elle 

- recipe for no bake 

Love you all, 

Elder Tracy