How many knocks does it take?
So how is everybody?
I can't hear you! I said:
How is everybody?
I still can't hear you!
(Why can't I hear you?)
Oh, right, I'm on the other side of the planet.
You would have to shout pretty loud for me to hear you. Either that, or somehow get on Philippines t.v.
That was my feeble attempt at a joke.
Yes this is transfer week,
No I have no idea what's going to happen...
Yes I could transfer, I could get a new companion, and I could just be here.
And I won't know until tomorrow... sooo....
My opinion however, is that the likelihood of me getting a new companion while staying in this area is low. The likelihood that I transfer is high, and the likelihood that I stay is only slightly lower than the likelihood that I transfer.
And all of that doesn't matter because I'm always in the same place:
Right where my Heavenly Father wants me.
I hope everyone is doing all right though. I really do want the best for everyone.
Our area is looking like usual. I've learned something about Makati, at least for me. I'm not a terribly smart missionary. I can't look at a situation or area, see the previous baptisms, find the strengths of the area, look at previously effective methods of finding the people who want to be taught, come up with a plan that wins the trust of the members and changes the whole mode of work in the area and suddenly have a teaching pool absolutely filled with people ready and working towards baptism. It just isn't my strength. It would be cool if it was, but I don't think I'm cut out for it.
On the contrary, I just do what I know, and what I know is to knock. If I tried all that other stuff I would probably collapse under the stress of just thinking about it. So instead I just pray, and hope, and keep knocking, facing door after door of rejection, although in the kind Filipino way more often than not.
And this is what I've learned:
God will bless me with willing people as long as I keep knocking on those doors.
When I have knocked on 300 doors, someone will be found who is willing to listen;
When I have knocked on 800, someone will come to church;
When I've gotten 1500, someone will enter the waters of baptism;
And the miracle of it is that the person who does so will live behind not one of those 1500 doors. It will come when suddenly a family member of a member moves to the city from the province, or a friend of a member actually joins him at an activity, or somebody living at a member's house begins listening to the lessons even when not invited.
And none of those were in those 1500 houses or apartments that we knocked on.
Wow!
The atheist I talked about last time, I went back to him while on exchanges. There wasn't much change in the result. He continues to hold to his beliefs, and is not really willing to change. But this time I felt a lot better.
I feel that I made a much better effort to understand. I actually did very little sharing, but I did a whole lot of listening.
I asked a question to him several times: Would you like to know whether or not there is a God?
I wasn't telling him there was, or that there wasn't, though I of myself know there is. I simply needed to know if he wanted to make an honest effort to find out. And the third time I asked the question (he was beating around the bush) he simply said: I don't really want to talk about it anymore.
And I told him: Sige!
And he said: But if you want to come over sometime and watch Star Wars or something together, we could do that.
And I said: Well...probably some other time.
Because of course, it's against our rules as missionaries...
But it made me feel that he felt my efforts to reach out. To be a friend.
That's all for now...
‘Til next week.
Elder Streeter
I can't hear you! I said:
How is everybody?
I still can't hear you!
(Why can't I hear you?)
Oh, right, I'm on the other side of the planet.
You would have to shout pretty loud for me to hear you. Either that, or somehow get on Philippines t.v.
That was my feeble attempt at a joke.
Yes this is transfer week,
No I have no idea what's going to happen...
Yes I could transfer, I could get a new companion, and I could just be here.
And I won't know until tomorrow... sooo....
My opinion however, is that the likelihood of me getting a new companion while staying in this area is low. The likelihood that I transfer is high, and the likelihood that I stay is only slightly lower than the likelihood that I transfer.
And all of that doesn't matter because I'm always in the same place:
Right where my Heavenly Father wants me.
I hope everyone is doing all right though. I really do want the best for everyone.
Our area is looking like usual. I've learned something about Makati, at least for me. I'm not a terribly smart missionary. I can't look at a situation or area, see the previous baptisms, find the strengths of the area, look at previously effective methods of finding the people who want to be taught, come up with a plan that wins the trust of the members and changes the whole mode of work in the area and suddenly have a teaching pool absolutely filled with people ready and working towards baptism. It just isn't my strength. It would be cool if it was, but I don't think I'm cut out for it.
On the contrary, I just do what I know, and what I know is to knock. If I tried all that other stuff I would probably collapse under the stress of just thinking about it. So instead I just pray, and hope, and keep knocking, facing door after door of rejection, although in the kind Filipino way more often than not.
And this is what I've learned:
God will bless me with willing people as long as I keep knocking on those doors.
When I have knocked on 300 doors, someone will be found who is willing to listen;
When I have knocked on 800, someone will come to church;
When I've gotten 1500, someone will enter the waters of baptism;
And the miracle of it is that the person who does so will live behind not one of those 1500 doors. It will come when suddenly a family member of a member moves to the city from the province, or a friend of a member actually joins him at an activity, or somebody living at a member's house begins listening to the lessons even when not invited.
And none of those were in those 1500 houses or apartments that we knocked on.
Wow!
The atheist I talked about last time, I went back to him while on exchanges. There wasn't much change in the result. He continues to hold to his beliefs, and is not really willing to change. But this time I felt a lot better.
I feel that I made a much better effort to understand. I actually did very little sharing, but I did a whole lot of listening.
I asked a question to him several times: Would you like to know whether or not there is a God?
I wasn't telling him there was, or that there wasn't, though I of myself know there is. I simply needed to know if he wanted to make an honest effort to find out. And the third time I asked the question (he was beating around the bush) he simply said: I don't really want to talk about it anymore.
And I told him: Sige!
And he said: But if you want to come over sometime and watch Star Wars or something together, we could do that.
And I said: Well...probably some other time.
Because of course, it's against our rules as missionaries...
But it made me feel that he felt my efforts to reach out. To be a friend.
That's all for now...
‘Til next week.
Elder Streeter
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