A Lesson in Humility. Plus Some More Weird Food :)

Hello everyone!!  Well, this week has been quite a week.  For one thing, I finished my first journal!!  I tend to write a lot haha.  I also ate some more interesting food.  I'd told my family that I'd already eaten BBQ chicken intestines, but I was wrong and it was actually pig.  Well, on Tuesday, I ate even more weird stuff.  I had BBQ pig intestines again, which wasn't too bad until it squirted in my mouth  then that evening, I had chicken intestines and gizzard.  The intestines were actually ok.  The gizzard tasted fine, I just felt like it took 10 minutes to chew one bite, so Sister Arcangel got the rest of that one haha.

And I broke another fan this week :/ This time it was Sister Arcangel's.  She had it standing on the garbage can, which meant that the cord was about an inch off the floor.  So, naturally, that's where my feet went.  I about went flying and the fan crashed to the floor....one of the senior couples brought us a new one though, so it worked out ok.  Oops 

We had the opportunity to meet and start teaching a family this week.  This is the first time we've taught investigators as a family, with the dad included.  It was amazing to me the difference in the lessons with him there, and how much more united the family was.  We're teaching families, but this family is the only one who's dad is participating.  It's such a testimony to me of the power of the role of fathers, and it's amazing to hear his insights and questions and then to see how the rest of the family responds based on that.  It's been really cool.

There is a member family here that I have grown to absolutely love, and yesterday we stopped by for a visit with them.  We shared a short message, and as part of my message I quoted the scripture "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also."  I pulled out a picture of James and said that he was one of my treasures.  They started giving me crap about having a boyfriend, so I had to explain to them "He's not my boyfriend, he's my brother!!  Much better than a boyfriend" XD  But it ended up being a really spiritual time, so it was really good.  After we had closed the lesson and we're getting ready to go, one of their friends asked me if I was going to come back to the Philippines to get married, and another asked how long I have left on my mission.  It just turned into us messing with each other, and it was so fun!

My quote for this week comes from True to the Faith; God the Father.  "He is...a God of perfect mercy, kindness, and charity...we can find peace in the sure knowledge that He loves us...He loves you, and He has given you the precious opportunity to draw near to Him as you pray.  Your prayers, offered in humility and sincerity, are heard and answered."  I'm learning that when I pray in a way that allows me to have a conversation with my Heavenly Father, He makes me stronger and He gives my the guidance I need to make it through the day.

You know how you have moments when you realize that you're not doing so great at something, and you really need to improve??  Well, this week has been full of those moments, and that thing that I've learned I need to improve is humility.  Now, don't get me wrong--I'm not an arrogant person.  But this week I've had some challenges and there's been a couple of times when I've felt offended by something someone said, and then I was focusing on the negative and I didn't have a positive attitude.  But over the past couple of days, I've kept getting the feeling that I need to improve my humility.  If someone says something that I don't like, I need to forget it and move on.  Yesterday in Relief Society and again today in my personal study, I just kept getting that message over and over again.  Sometimes it's hard to realize that you're so flawed in something, but it's good because when you recognize that flaw, you can fix it.  I studied the Christlike attribute of humility this morning for my personal study, and I learned so much.  I realized that unless we are truly humble, and acknowledge the Lord in all things, there is no way that we can be made an instrument in His hands.  And that's what I want to be: an instrument in His hands here in the Philippines.  

My scripture came from my personal study this morning.  Alma 26:12 "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles [He] has wrought [in my heart], for which [I] will praise His name forever."

I can't rely on whatever skills and talents I have or I think I have; if I truly want to be the missionary that He wants me to be (and I do), then I need to place my whole heart and soul in His hands, and depend on Him.  When I would hear people talk about how great miracles occur in missions, I thought that meant baptizing people, and finding converts.  Well, it can mean that.  But right now, for me, a mission miracle that I have seen is the way that my Heavenly Father has been able to teach me and to help me grow.  When I depend on the Lord, and not on my own strengths, He makes me so much more, and so much stronger, than I thought I could ever be.  And it is truly a miracle :)

Mahal ko kayo!!!

XOXO

Sister Payton Pectol