Week 74

Hello Family and Friends

It sounds like you had a awesome Thanksgiving! I wish I could have tasted the delicious turkey and enjoy the pumpkin pie, but my Thanksgiving was great! Fortunately for me there was a fiesta here in Gabaldon on Friday and all the members in the Barangay or neighborhood cooked delicious Filipino food for us, like spagetti with sweet Filipino sauce and baruyas which are deep fried scones with a sweet mongo bean filling. Also there was delicious ube dishes and also biko which is a sweet dish made by sticky rice and coconut. As you can tell Filipinos like their sweets! hahaha. We were able to celebrate the fiesta at Martin's house which was really fun! We of course also had rice with one of my favorite ulam which is afritada! If you have any questions about any of this is just google it! hahaha.... 

We had a beautiful baptism onSaturday, Sister Jane was super ready and bore a beautiful testimony. The youngwomen in the branch sang "When I was baptized". The one that talks about the earth being clean by rain. It had special meaning because during the whole service it was raining. She was very excited to experience what Jesus Christ did as she was baptized in a river. 

One cool thing that she did even before her baptism was working on her personal progress. It was really neat as she has already memorized half of The Living Christ.

We are blessed so much in this area. I am excited to tell you next week about some of our other investigators and the miracles that are happening as they become converted to Jesus Christ.

The best compliment that I have ever received in my mission was during the baptismal service of Jane when she said that she loves her Savior and she is grateful to us for helping her know Him.

Words cannot explain the gratitude I have for this opportunity.

I love you all,

ELDER MURDOCK

PS. Special thanks to Uncle Monte & Aunt Megan and their family for the awesome package and letters! You rock! I loved reading all the letters. You inspire me! :)

Week 73

Hello Family and Friends!

It is happy to email you all once more!

This week we have been blessed so much as we have watched people make changes to come unto Christ!

Jane's baptism is coming up this week and we are so excited. She is truly converted and it has been amazing to see the role of the Book of Mormon in her conversion. The Book of Mormon is so powerful. I know that it is the word of God. I invite everyone to read it, it will change your life! It has changed and is changing mine. 

This week I was able to finish it again, Every time I read from it's pages I just know that it is true.

People may try to disprove it by worldly means but they cannot take away the truth that comes by the witness of the Holy Ghost. I know that the promise found in Moroni 10:3-5 is true.

I would like to briefly tell you a experience that I had here in the mission that has forever change my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

We had just finished teaching about Joseph Smith to one of our investigators when her brother walked in. We soon learned that he was a pastor of another religion. I was intimated as he was studying the Holy Bible at a secular school. I knew his intention was to disprove the things I knew to be true. I began to tremble at his snares and cunning words. I then suddenly remember the promise that I will not be confounded before men. I opened the Book of Mormon to Moroni 10:4-5 and read these words to him:

4.     And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true ; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power... 

5.And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

As I read these words I felt the Holy Ghost fill me, I felt in a way as I imagine Abinadi felt as he stood in front of wicked King Noah.  After I read this the pastor was quiet. I shut the book of Mormon, handed a copy to him and invited him to read it. We then told him we would pray and quietly left. I left with that spirit still in my heart.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I humbly testify to all of you.

But I just wanted to share my experience with you and invite you all to read the Book of Mormon. It doesn't matter how many times you may have read it. Please read it :)

I love you all so much! Thanks for your prayers and support!

--

ELDER MURDOCK

Week 72

Family and Friends,

Well I am short on time this week, but would like to share with all of you the gratitude that is in my heart at this time as it is close to thanksgiving.

This week we have seen great progress in our area! We have had new investigators go to church. And were able to watch Bro. Martin and his younger brother bless and pass the sacrament! It is hard to explains the feeling that accompany watching someone truly come unto Christ. I am also very grateful that I have the chance to be a instrument and representative of Jesus Christ. There is nothing else I would rather be doing at this time. The privilege of wearing the name tag and also sharing my testimony with others is a divine gift from God.

I thank all of you for your kindness and your support as I serve here and ask you all to continue to pray for the people here and encourage you all to pray for opportunities to share the gospel with your friends.

I love you all dearly,

-- 

ELDER MURDOCK

Picture: My companion and I with our branch mission leader. Helping rebuild his house after Typhoon Lando

Week 71

Hello Family,

This week was great!

We are having great progress here!

The Martin family, the family we baptized last week has been doing so well, participating in Sunday school and priesthood classes, paying tithing and just thriving in the gospel of Jesus Christ! One very special moment was when both Gringo (Peter's real name) and Marvin recieved the Aaronic Priesthood! It was very exciting to watch.

I love seeing families be blessed by living the gospel and that is the whole reason why we are here on earth, it is to learn and grow in families and prove our faithfulness so that we may return to God's presence and recieve all His blessings!

I love my family very much and am very grateful for them, especially my parents, for the love and the things they have taught me.

This week I learned the affect of The Book of Mormon on family life.

One of our investigators Jane, is a normal teenager here and has normal fights occasionally with her parents. But, she has told us as she has read the book of Mormon she has seen a huge difference at home and has had greater peace and has become closer to her mother. After her father died she became distant from her mother, but through studying of the book of Mormon she has seen a change in herself and has started to do things that she had never done before to serve and help others around her. Her mother too has noticed the change and has agreed to listen next time we teach Jane. It just feels my heart with gratitude for the converting power of the Book of Mormon. I am grateful personally for the Book of Mormon in my life as it has shaped me and made me the person that I am today, and it will continue to shape me and my decisions in the future.

If we read and apply the writings of the prophets in the Book of Mormon we will be given the power to change our lives for good.

I know the book of Mormon is true!  I read it day after day and everyday I find new nuggets of knowlege and revelation for me to use daily.

I also read the Holy Bible and know that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon contain the gospel. We need them both to know what we must do to return to our Father in Heaven.

I love you all. I love this work! We are all responsible to share the gospel to the world, as children of Israel and as a part of the Abrahamic covenant!

Mahal kita!

ELDER MURDOCK

Week 70

Hello Family and Friends,

This week was really great.

We have continued to help with the clean up of typhoon Lando.

This week we spent one day helping build the house of our branch mission leader. His house sadly was completely destroyed in the the storm.

It was fun however because of my little experience in that sort of thing.

His house was made out of bamboo with a thatched roof. I wish I could send pictures but the Internet is slow today so next week.

We have found some new families that we have been blessed to work with and have seen great help from the amazing members here.

It has been so rewarding to see that we really are one in the work of the Lord. No matter who we are, we all know people who need the gospel in their lives, we all have friends who are ready to hear the gospel.

I am very grateful for the time I have been able to serve here in Gabaldon. I love this area. I love the people here.

One interesting thing here is that people do not really celebrate Halloween, but celebrate something similar to Memorial day. Everyone, I mean everyone, goes to the cemetery to remember their dead. At night they put candles for each of the their family members who had past-on on a table with their favorite food and water and so on. It is a very interesting and a superstitious belief. They believe that the dead come down to earth once a year on Nov. 1.

I thought it was interesting. Filipinos are very family oriented and that is one thing I love about them.

They love to each together, and that is one thing that is true they love to feed the missionaries!

They have great respect of the elderly and a way to show your respect to an older person is by taking their right hand and putting it to your forehead.

The culture here is wonderful. Very respectful hospitable and very family friendly.

One example of this is the word "po" there is no English translation but literally is a word that adds respect to what you are saying.

I love the Philippines. The people are very kind and very service oriented.

I thank the Lord for blessing me to be apart of the people here for a short time of my life.

I love you all. I pray for you.

I promise that people are waiting for you to share the gospel, I encourage you to open your mouth.

Mahala kita,

ELDER MURDOCK