STUFF!!

Alright... well...
I'm sure somehow we'll get that call in... eventually...
But just to tide ya'll over for a lil bit...

here are a couple highlights for this week:

ONE! I played SOCCER!! last monday, at the plaza. It was great! apparently they are having a little tourny right now...and they saw us americans, and thought itd be funny to let us join. xD! we did. Our team won.

(Last Monday, we also played soccer... myself and an Australian missionary, Elder Claven, however... it was with a much more youthful group...so we played nice... there were just a bunch of kids at the plaza we see occasionally (we were hoping to come across the older ones... not so
this attempt...), so... we asked if they wanted a match... all said yes... bunch o lil tikes ages 6-7 to 14-15... a BUNCH. maybe 15 on 15? it was fun.
we made sport... and actually...despite these kids being young, a couple are pretty good for their age. however... by far my favorite... ang isa ka lalake, naka-red shirt siya. He seemed about... 8 years old tops. He was short. very shy. he and his brother asked about half way through to join. we said yup...and soo... i just really liked him from the start... tried to give him opportunities for the ball... because it seemed all the other kids wouldnt... kinda scoffed at him, laughed a bit (he's soo small!)... but boy! were they surprised! he needed a good head start and some room.. but that kid could move. i cant tell you how many kids he could either get the ball from them or completely fake them out. The only times he ever ran into trouble was on a break away... he'd have NO ONE around him... and them... he'd get the ball and run! but his legs are so short...very quickly... 13 kids would be on his heels. it was so funny. I loved that lil runt. He's my favorite out of them all... and i do believe actually... in time, as he gets faster and taller...he'll be better than most of them. needless to say... even though at the beginning, when the kids avoided him, thinking him a handicap...they quickly found out, as he proved himself with the opportunities given him, he was quite the player. They used him a lot more often afterwards. That lil' runt =D!

So... yup... came back last monday... Elder Claven and I, hoping to find the older guys, and stumbled upon a tourny. (by the way, Elder Claven is Elder Headman's companion, mine is Elder Mateo... there are 4 of us at the house, Jaro area and Lapaz/Lapuz area)... they let us join, thinking theyd get a nice laugh. Cuz occasionally they see us around the city/area.

Well... we joined. We played. And despite my glasses falling off now and then... we won xD. Our team was pretty good...they covered all my faults. little out of shape, but still got it xD. And afterwards... got in some good BRT and OYMS. missionary work even in soccer! yup yup.

basta... i had alot of fun. and was very sore the next day.

(oh... dont know if i mentioned... but right now in the house... we have an interesting mix: One American, One Mexican (ako), One Australian, and One Filipino =P!) (fun times!)

(OH! and also didnt mention... that other game... with the lil kids... while we were playing.. something interesting happened. So... we invited our investigators, Angelie, John, and Nestley (soon to be given baptismal dates) (16, 17, 18 years old) (and mothers soon to follow... as well as other siblings) (but those three will be the first)... we were going to build a kite at the plaza... so that fell through... so we were all goingto play soccer... but they decided not to... so they just kinda sat and watched...

sooo... while we were playing... the baptists found them (they have some people who go around talking to people... kinda like missionaries... but not really anything like a missionary) (NOTE: earlier... Elder claven, being the bold man he is... (which is sometimes good, sometimes... interesting...) sought a few ought and basically... umm... well... lets just say they didnt have much to say after he was done with them...
im still not sure how i feel about it, but to appease my feelings, i just bore my testimony. (all things should be done in absolute love for another... seeking to inspire them.) Anyway... so they were a lil uneasy around us from then on... because they couldnt match a conversation with Elder Claven... (his mixture of scripture and testimony "interrogation"... and again, i dont say that this is inherently a bad thing, if done right, it can be very wholsesome and enlightening... its just not quite the approach i like to take =P)... haha...

Well this happened... they are about 20 to 21, two of them... and they, while we were playing soccer, happened to find our investigators watching on the sidelines...and began to 'preach' to them. After a while... elder Claven saw... told me, and said what he was going to do... so he began a lil jog in their direction. immediately upon glancing on the jogging figure of elder claven coming towards them... the baptists ran! ahhaha... it was funny. again... im not sure if i like completely how things went... but it was interesting. Continued with th game for a while... and then afterward, i spoke with elder claven becauseit was almost time to go home. So he said he just wanted to talk to the "leader" of those guys (cuz apparently there were about 15 of them at the plaza...) i told him to be nice... and said id join him shortly.

Spoke with our investigators and had them reflect on their feelings... because it was evident... and they soon realized...it doesnt feel right...how they spoke...what they said. scriptures they spoke without understanding. So different from how we speak, always. missing smoetime... that being a heart of love. the spirit. Power of Heaven to confirm our words. and this, was the moment i knew... these 3 were ready. Yes... i knew they were almost ready for quite som time... but this was when i decided...they could tell... no one else... spoke "from Heaven. and from the Heart"... only this Church. These Missionaries...that was the highlight of my day... that their unique experience gave them something very great to think about... to compare... that truly...
no where else can say so magnificent things, beleiving them, understandingthem... loving them... with all their being. I am so Happy.

...and as a side note... i found elder claven not far off... with about 10 baptists around him... and, got a worried vibe...
i came over... and realized everyting he was saying to be very true... but again... the spirit... still... not quite that one of "edifying... for anothers well being"... so we testified, and left in love. by the end... 15 baptists had gathered to cross us. And... they were trying to cross... because elder claven had been able to asnwer every question and could not be moved. but it is so true... it doesnt matter what we say. it was an experience i am very grateful for... because those baptists never knew our purpose... until just before we left. We loved them. And we knew. Without a doubt. And they felt... something they never had before. It came in those last minutes... when I came to elder claven... and we ended the "crossing session"; and spoke boldly... in love.

The Church is True xD!


OK!
other highlight... hmmmm....
OH!
i felt my first earthquake this week! it was a small one... and ill tell you later about it.
just ask me on Wednesday.

AAND!!
record high! 104 degrees fahrenheit last tuesday! here in filipines highest its been in about a century.

aaand...
i used an umbrella!!!!!
... but for rain. not for sun =P!!


im out of time... we'll talk bout my highlights Wed.

Byeeeee!!

--Elder Christopher A. Lewis