The Wrong Guy with the Cigarette (July 25, 2016)

The Wrong Guy with the Cigarette

July 25, 2016

Sorry, I whiled away my time again this week on my email to president. The reason: we've got interviews! Yay!

My English is beginning to die to my Tagalog. I don't like it. When I'm talking I say things like: "we are very much grateful," "I'm going to learn them the gospel," and other things. I can't remember what I said exactly, but it was pretty bad!

Speaking of which, I would love it if I got some brain teasers or some math problems or chemistry stuff that I could work on during p-days. The other day I tried to remember the quadratic formula. I had to write it down and solve it backwards to make sure it actually was the same as Ax^2 + Bx + C = 0.

Good news, it was. 

Bad news, I've completely forgotten how to complete the square, so I can't go back the other way!

So maybe something to exercise my brain as well as my body. Just on p-day though. I can't get distracted other days. So don't make it too hard either, just, you know, like puzzles. Engaging, but not overwhelming or absorbing.

We taught 25 lessons this week! Wow! Work seems to be picking up. When I first got here it wasn't much. Now, as if by magic, we are teaching a ton of people. 

Which brings me to the Alcantra Family. 

We were walking one day and elder Jones said, hey, how about we OYM the guy with the cigarette. 

So I, being unafraid (I've been working on that) went right up to him:

"kumusta kayo!" (how are you!)

We started the conversation. Elder Jones continued it with the young man, who was about 18 years old, but then I got distracted by an old, drunk, bakla, who, seeing two white guys, decided he had to talk to them. I was keeping him occupied, while trying to somehow get through to his inner spirit that we have a message which can help him feel much deeper happiness than whatever he was using to find happiness at the time. 

Unfortunately, both his sexual orientation and intoxication were pampabulag and pampabingi, or things which cause blindness and deafness, but of course, I'm speaking on a spiritual level.

After Elder Jones finished with the young man, and I wriggled my way out of the 10th awkward handshake, he told me what he found out: 

His parents were both Mormons a long time ago in the province, and he basically considered himself a Mormon too, just because he had no idea what he was. He had never been baptized, though, and his family had gone inactive before they moved to Manila, and had never told the church they moved. 

Meaning: there were two inactive members that nobody knew about that we just found out about, and their son was very interested in us returning.

We have a feeling there is great things to be found with the Alcantra family. The parents, unfortunately, are very busy, but they have no opposition to teaching their children. ALL 5 CHILDREN are very excited, receptive, and accepting of the message. They are all reading, praying, and excited to go to church. They all say they remember this from their youth, and are not sure why it ever stopped. It's super cool. They have all accepted baptismal dates. We will see where it goes, but we have high hopes.

But do you know what is the best part of the whole story?

Way back when Elder Jones said to me: how about we OYM that guy with the cigarette? 

He was talking about a completely different guy than the one I spoke to. I had no idea. 

I know the spirit will guide our efforts to help other people. God's hand is in this work. 

May we make better use of our time. Remember, just because we are busy doesn't mean we are productive.

With love,

Elder Streeter

Growth...like Mold (July 19, 2016)

Growth...like Mold...

July 19, 2016

I am, as my dad puts it, burying my companion. 

I'm counting down the days till he "dies" in the mission. He hates it, so of course, I remind him on a regular basis. 

He thinks Papa and Mama were crazy. He doesn't know how anyone can get engaged in a week. He says that if everything works out with one friend he has, he might get married maybe in a year.

He's known her his whole life!

I'm trying to convince him marriage isn't that hard a decision. Important, yes, but a successful marriage has very little to do with "finding the one who's right for me." It's just not about destiny. It's about work, humility, love, sacrifice, and being centered on Christ, not as an individual, but as a family. 

But what do I know? I'm 19!

I've been in the Philippines for 10 months now. WOW!

I'm late emailing because we had a temple trip again. Good thing too, because the temple will close next month and stay that way for 2 more after it. 

But speaking of temples, it's exciting to find out that we are moving to Italy, and...

The Rome temple will be built soon! It's already under construction. If I somehow get the opportunity to go to the open house or the dedication, that would be cool. But who knows what time frame that will happen in?

Speaking of building, I've thought on progress recently.

As I watch here I notice buildings that are being built getting higher every day. At any given point a building doesn't look like it is increasing in height, but as the months go by, you notice the growth.

The same happens with all life on earth. As we watch in any instance a sprout doesn't look like much, and definitely doesn't look like it's growing. 

But if you protect it, nurture it, and give it what it needs, in a few years it is not only a tree, but it is giving off fruit that will produce more of its kind. It is full, and hard, and strong, and green, and large. It provides shade, sustenance, and support. 

Kittens slowly become cats. Puppies become dogs. A bowl of old food becomes a bowl of mold (oops!). Babies go from doing little more than staring and crying to making noises, walking, learning to shake hands and high five and wave, and doing a lot more smiling. 

Storm clouds go from being a few wisps to soaking us.

Illness begins as a funny feeling in the throat and becomes a full cough, headache, runny nose, and itchy eyes.

It's fascinating!

I love seeing growth of all kinds. It makes me wonder at the changes that can occur. 

But I love seeing it when it becomes what it was intended to be. 

When a plant gets the wrong sustenance, or is not protected, it can grow into something else, weaker, smaller, and sometimes, poisonous. Simply because it was not cared for, not planted on the right soil, or didn't receive enough rain. 

We, as people, don't need to worry too much about a lack of care. Our father loves us enough that we won't lack it coming. 

But sometimes, we do block or neglect to use it.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave the following counsel not too long ago:

“Our Heavenly Father sees our real potential. He knows things about us that we do not know ourselves. He prompts us during our lifetime to fulfill the measure of our creation, to live a good life, and to return to His presence.

“Why, then, do we devote so much of our time and energy to things that are so fleeting, so inconsequential, and so superficial? Do we refuse to see the folly in the pursuit of the trivial and transient?”

My favorite phrase there is that: "he prompts us...to fulfill the measure of our creation." 

This is what I spoke on once and will remind you again, in reminding myself. We will find happiness in becoming what we were meant to become. As children of our God, that does follow one common strain, but now I will say that for each of us it is also different. 

Though the commandments teach us to live up to our potential, some think they also quench personality. This is not true. What people don't realize is that not always do they really know what their true personality is. Hidden deep inside, people are sometimes different than they realize. 

But God sees that. Our Father sees that. 

I have found great joy in looking for it, asking Heavenly Father who I really am, and forming that vision. I have caught glimpses of me I never thought possible, I never would have guessed. But once I caught those glimpses, I never let go. 

And I have seen progress in myself. It is more fascinating than all the creations of man.

It is just as fascinating as the progress I see in other missionaries. 

I hope to see it is just as fascinating in those I love. 

I'm still here in Pasay, we did baptize sister Abegail, and we are still looking for people who are excited to hear about the Gospel. 

Remind me next week to talk about the Alcantra family. 

With love,

Elder Streeter

9

Short and Sweet (June 20, 2016)

Short and SWEET

June 20, 2016

I'm walking through the grocery store, and I see tomato sauce. They have three versions: original, sweet, and Pinoy (meaning Filipino) style.

I looked at the original. The first two ingredients were water and tomato sauce. It had 10 grams of sugar per serving. 

Then I looked at sweet. The first two ingredients were again, water and tomato sauce. It had, however, 15 grams of sugar per serving. Thus, sweet. 

Then I looked at Pinoy style.

It had 17 grams of sugar per serving. The first two ingredients were water and sugar...

I swear, they put maple syrup on their spaghetti here. I don't mind it too much, but I miss good Italian pasta. And pizza...

We are two Americans in an apartment, so we decided to try to make mac and cheese. 

It was a disaster. Why? Cheese here, even though it's expensive, isn't even real. The cheese looked like cheddar, but was really cheddar STYLE. It didn't even taste like American cheese. It was terrible. 
That, and the butter we used was margarine. We can get our hands on real butter, but that's expensive. Real cheese is nearly non-existent however. 

So if I were to get a box of that cheap American mac and cheese that tastes so good, you know, like Kraft, the kind where you just get macaroni and a packet of powder in a box, if I get some of that, it will make me very happy. Just because you were telling me that I should tell you what I want. Other than that...

Tuna. All the canned tuna here is spiced weird. It doesn't make it taste bad, but it is different. And different doesn't get rid of homesickness. 

I also found a good scripture chapter. You guys should read it. It's hilarious: Judges 3. I think Nikolai will have a good time with it. 

And about pictures. I'm really sorry, but it's hard. I am taking pictures, but very few, and uploading them is a process which is somewhat strenuous. Especially because I lost my camera cord. DON'T WORRY, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO UPLOAD THEM. But I'm just not finding time to take pictures. There's too much to do to just spend time taking pictures of food and such. We have to talk to at least 30 new people a day about the gospel, in addition to teaching 20 lessons if we can every week. I just can't sit around taking pictures of every funny thing I see, every food I chew on, every street I walk down. It's bawal anyway to look like a tourist. And think of what others will think: He's just here to have a vacation, not to actually sacrifice two years of his life to share the gospel. I am taking pictures, I promise. It's just not going to be fast. 

And no, I don't care if other missionaries are taking more pictures than me. They can do whatever their conscience dictates. I am not condemning them in any way, but for them it's a way of life, whereas for me I have to actually actively think: I should take a picture. And I don't think about that because I'm more concerned with: Oh no, that person needs help, or, Look, there's someone who might be ready for this message.

With lots of love,

Elder Streeter

An Elephant or a Bird? (May 23, 2016)

Date

May 23, 2016

An Elephant or a Bird?

Usually I will talk about the week. Usually I will talk about what has been going on, asking questions, answering them, and tell you about stuff that I experience. But I feel prompted to send about what I have been pondering about a lot:

Many people in the world are seeking after happiness. Many people want to find joy in this world, and peace. But they all have different ways of looking for it. But often it seems that this search is manifest in an attempt to become something. 
We often hear that people are trying to make something of themselves, don't we?
So where does happiness truly come from?

The short answer is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But it is not my purpose to go into the myriad ways in which this is true. 

Now let us consider some things.

Several of the scriptures note the idea that happiness will come to those who seek happiness. It will not come in doing iniquity. It will not come if you sell it for the praise of the world. It sounds to me that happiness comes not from wickedness, but from goodness. 

The trend I see in the world today is that happiness is often intended to be found by becoming something. People are constantly trying to become what they aren't, however, and so they are brought to sadness rather than happiness. My mom said it before:

Curly hair wants straight, and straight want curly. 

Redheads want to be blonds, blonds to be brunettes, and brunettes to be redheads.

As my dad would say:

The grass is always greener on the other side. 

We seem to all be the goat’s gruff. We seem to constantly try to become what we aren't. This is a problem. 

If an elephant wants to be a bird, what will that bring him?

Sadness, of course. He will realize it is never possible. He will look at himself in pools and see how different he looks, how ugly, compared to the birds. He will be saddened by his inability to fly, his incapability to sing and twitter and live in the trees. He will be defeated by the fact that he can never be a bird. 

Perhaps his desire will grow. Perhaps he will delude himself into thinking he is a bird, imagining himself flying high above the clouds with his flock. If he becomes crazy enough, he will start climbing on trees...only to have them break. He will start singing, only to have all around flee, and perhaps in his distress and desire will finally jump from a cliff in the belief that he was meant to fly. And thus ends his life, because he never was meant to. 

So much sadness in this world comes from trying to be what we aren't. 

There are those who think they should be the opposite gender.

There are those who think they were meant to be a different color. Filipinos desire white skin and white people all want tans!

There are those who believe that we are meant to be animals, feeding our lusts because they are natural. 

There are those who believe that we aren't even meant to be. 

People try to become rich, popular, famous, movie stars, business leaders, politicians. Admirable pursuits, but none will bring happiness. 

Why? 

Because that isn't, in the vast scheme of things, what we are. Who we are meant to be!

And I watch as people devote all their time and energy to become a different sex, a different race, a different person, accepted by society, approved of the world. And I see that even as they get closer to realizing their goal they find themselves further from lasting happiness. 

Happiness will only come when you are determined to be what you are, and who you are meant to become. 

And that is why the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is so important and brings happiness. 

For one thing it teaches us where we are from, and where we are going. For another, it tells us how to get there. 

Let’s consider some truths:

WE ARE CHILDREN OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, THE ALMIGHTY GOD, WHO LOVES US MORE THAN WE CAN COMPREHEND.

We did not come from monkeys. If we believe we came from monkeys, we believe we are destined to fulfill our heritage as monkeys: feeding our animal desires, doing as we please, ruling by who has more strength or intelligence.

But if we understand that we are Children of God, then we see what we have within us. We have that divine spark! We have a little bit of him and can become heirs of his kingdom, because a father desires to give to his children what he has. It is not about fulfilling our lusts, but living worthy of our heritage as beings who originated from the most noble of beings. We seek not to rule by brute ability, but by emulating that being which gave us life, of whom we are similar. 

He also loves us, and anyone who says differently denies all that is good and light in the world. He wants us to join him again and will do everything he can to get us there. This is his work, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." 
The argument that we are born evil is invalid. It says that we are not children of a being who is eternally and perfectly good. It says we should just be bad because we can't help it. "Wickedness never was happiness."

The argument that we cannot be freed from our past mistakes is utter falsehood and foolishness. Forgiveness is always available, because he loves us completely. Never tell yourself it is too late. It is not too late if you are still willing to love God, like he loves you. 

THE BODY AND THE SPIRIT IN COMBINATION ARE THE SOUL. "GENDER IS A PART OF OUR MORTAL AND PRE-MORTAL IDENTITY". 

The body is something to be respected. There are many artists who have striven with all effort to make worthy representations of God and who he is. But the master artist already has. 

"God created man in his own image."

Of course, we don't look exactly like our father in heaven, but our body is the closest representation to him that we have. We should not disrespect it by marking it, by incapacitating it, in mind or body. He has given us bodies and capabilities so that we can use them, not destroy them! Why will we seek to destroy our bodies with harmful substances, destroy our minds with harmful thoughts and ideas? Why will we argue that it would be better to destroy ourselves and others? Because we believe the body and spirit were not meant to be together? If they were not meant to be together, why did God put us in them in the first place?

No, "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy."

We should not have the false claim that a man was ever meant to be a women, or the other way around. We are sons and daughters of God. Why would he decide that the Gender which he gave you before this life is not what you are meant to be in this life? Why would he be so wishy-washy as to say that the way he created you isn't something you have to be, but you can change at will, because your lusts dictate that you should?

I will say this, the argument is brought up that perhaps that a female spirit is trapped in a male body or the other way around. 

I ask this: Is God going to be so unjust that in the next world he won't fix it?
If it really feels that way, wait for revelation, real revelation, or have the faith and patience to wait for the Resurrection, when all will be made exactly what it was meant to be. 

And if you don't believe in God, why do you believe in spirits being trapped in bodies?

WE CAN BECOME HEIRS WITH GOD, "BE PERFECTED IN CHRIST", AND BECOME LIKE GOD IN THE ETERNITIES.

With such great things in store, why will we stoop to lower levels? Why will we associate with darkness and evil? Why will we throw it away?

Many argue that perfection is not possible. This is only partly true. In this life it is not possible. Therefore, all you who strive to be perfect while still in this life, and beat yourself up because you are not: you do not understand grace. We can be perfected in Christ, in the life to come. We will achieve it, just not yet. 

But I speak also to those who decide not to try because we can't become perfect. We can become perfect in the life to come, but only if we develop a celestial attitude: one in which we continually strive to become better.

Think though, how in the worlds to come, we can become heirs with God! We are nobility, from even before we are born. We are made to rule in our own spheres in the life to come. This is what we were meant to become. 

So when we determine to become politicians, millionaires, or stars, we are not directly sinning, but if we seek to do it for the growth of treasures and praise in this life, we are not considering where we are headed. 

If instead we seek it to build the kingdom of God, which will one day also be ours, then what benefits it provides. If we are nobles in nature, why should we let ourselves be short tempered, uncaring, lustful, lazy, etc.? Why should we not strive to, over time, through effort and help, overcome those unbecoming attributes and instill greater ones in ourselves. And if we are ALL children of God, why should we treat anyone with any less respect than we deserve ourselves? We are all brothers and sisters! "We are all on the same team. We all wear the same jersey!"

So there is my spiel. Sorry to be long and preachy, but I've discovered happiness that lasts, that doesn't come and go like so much in this world. 

I invite you all to consider that you came from God. You should live up to that.

I invite you all to consider that God loves you. You should live up to that.

I invite you all to consider that God wants you to come back to him, and that you can. You should live up to that. 

Develop a relationship with God. Find out what he wants you to become. Seek his approval which will always be forthcoming, and not fickle, like the world. Seek his assurance that you are on the right track by becoming what he expects of you. 
I also invite you all to learn more about the fullness of the Gospel which I testify has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Whether or not you have heard it or know about it, or even if you have accepted it, I invite you to learn more about it. I invite you to find out more about his plan, about where we came from, why we're here, and where we are going. And I invite you to learn about how we can return to our Father in heaven. I invite you to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether you are a member of the LDS church or not, you can find out more of this important truth through searching the Book of Mormon with the Bible.
Some scriptures on my topic:

The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh. (Alma 41:5)

But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure;yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head. (Helaman 13:38)

O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world? (Mormon 8:38)

Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness.Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. (Alma 41:10)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (Galatians 5:22)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy; (Doctrine and Covenants 11:13)

and also:
Genesis 1:27
Alma 18:32
1 Samuel 16:7
2 Nephi 5:27
2 Nephi 2:25
Doctrine and Covenants 11:13

If you don't have access to some of these scriptures, you can find them on lds.org

Sincerely, with love,

Elder Streeter