BAKLA'S AND SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS
To start off my letter today I would
like to give some backstory for my letter to make sense. Here in the
Philippines gwapo is handsome and mahusay is pretty. When I am walking down the
street and see someone I will immediately call them gwapo or mahusay. If there
is a group of sisters or brothers I will say Mga gwapo or mga mahusay (plural).
It has become my classic way of greeting people because it seems to bring a
smile to almost everyone's face. As I have been in this area for a while there
are people who will yell out gwapo to me as I pass before I can say it to them.
It is pretty entertaining when you walk down the street and you hear people
yell gwapo at you as they pass you. It will put a smile on your face even if
you are having tough day. My response of course when they yell gwapo
is "diri, mas gwapo ka" or "no I am not handsome, you are more
handsome". Now that you have that backstory I can dive into the story of
the week.
As I was walking in a barangay this
week I yelled out my classic meet and greet phrase to an older man probably in
his seventies. To give ya a good idea of the surroundings this man was sportin'
the batman underwear and that was all. No shirt, no pants this man was walking
down the concrete in the barangay in his batman underwear. What is funny is I
am not even phased by this because this is an everyday sight here in the
Philippines. So I SAID "GWAPO!" to this man. His response was
"HULA, BAKLA KA!" In English that means, "hula, you're gay" I immediately responded and told him, no no no. I am not gay brother it is just a compliment. I explained that it was just a compliment and I was not gay, we talked about the Church of Jesus Christ and introduced ourselves to him, after which he shuffled off with the same ol grumpy face that he had when I greeted him. So even though he thought I was a gay I won't quit calling people gwapo because it seems to bring smiles to most everyone's faces except this old man. Even if it doesn't bring a smile to their face it introduces an opportunity to talk to them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that will put a smile on anyone's face. When they receive this gospel and the joy accompanied with it they will have a smile on their face. A light in their eyes that will hint they have an enduring source of joy. That enduring source of joy is knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That enduring source of joy is Jesus Christ himself.
"HULA, BAKLA KA!" In English that means, "hula, you're gay" I immediately responded and told him, no no no. I am not gay brother it is just a compliment. I explained that it was just a compliment and I was not gay, we talked about the Church of Jesus Christ and introduced ourselves to him, after which he shuffled off with the same ol grumpy face that he had when I greeted him. So even though he thought I was a gay I won't quit calling people gwapo because it seems to bring smiles to most everyone's faces except this old man. Even if it doesn't bring a smile to their face it introduces an opportunity to talk to them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that will put a smile on anyone's face. When they receive this gospel and the joy accompanied with it they will have a smile on their face. A light in their eyes that will hint they have an enduring source of joy. That enduring source of joy is knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That enduring source of joy is Jesus Christ himself.
Though a smile may be a very smile
thing it can brighten a day. Reading the scriptures can strengthen your
testimony, attending church can anchor your faith, and praying can build your
relationship with your father in heaven.
As we do these small and simple
things daily we will draw closer to god.
In President Dallin H. Oaks talk
"Small and Simple Things" he said,
"President
Brigham Young was reported as saying: “Our lives are made up of little, simple
circumstances that amount to a great deal when they are brought together, and
sum up the whole life of the man or woman."
Nephi wrote, “And thus
we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things” (1 Nephi 16:29)."
In Alma 37:6 it
reads, "Now ye may suppose that this is afoolishness in me; but
behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass;
and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
It may seem easy to do these small
and simple things, sometimes so easy that we forget to do them, or take the
little things we do daily for granted.
In Alma it discusses what happens
when we become lazy and do not do the "small and simple things" everyday to
build our testimony.
In Alma 37:41, 43, 46 it reads
41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were
worked by asmallmeans it did show unto them marvelous works. They
were bslothful, and forgot to
exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and
they did not progress in their journey;
43 And now, my son, I would that ye should
understand that these things are not without a ashadow; for as our fathers
were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal)
they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.
46 O my son, do not let us be aslothful because
of the beasinessof the cway; for so was it
with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would dlook they
might elive; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and
if we will look we may live forever.
47 And now, my son, see that ye take acare of these
sacred things, yea, see that ye blook to God and
live...
Love ya all!!
A picture to show you Jordan inherited some weights to work out with! Yay!
A couple of pictures Jordan sent me to show me he is still problem solving the rat issue. I guess the rats will come up through the drains in the sewer and before these didn't have grates on them to preven the rats from coming up. He made and glued these grates in to prevent the rats from entering his apartment. And yes, that is the shower bucket there in the corner.
Exchanges with Elder Capinig
Baptisms:
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