2-23-25 The Gangstahs

Huuuiii aloha mai me ke aloha! Another awesome week as a missionary! Its late, dont have a lot of time, but beloved Elder Johnson told me to write an email, in which I will! So much happens everyday, in which I am daily grateful, for the daily miracles the Lord allows me to experience as a missionary. In which, as always, weekly am glad to pull one out of my journal and share one :) The experience I want to share happened on exchanges with our awesome district leader Elder Manaog. Stud of an Elder. We taught, set our friends on date for baptism, and I was able to learn so much from this Elder. The experience I want to share, happened as we had about an hour left, one more appointment, but over 10 people left to find to reach our daily goal. While teaching 2 referrals we've received (also a crazy miracle), we invited his friends to join in on the lesson as well. Kids joined the lesson, and soon we had a nice group of people listening, with the nanays listening from the back. I picked up my shoe, and threw it. Whoever gets my shoe first wins. Ready... GO. Kids ran, parents laughed, referrals joined in. Got my shoe. Then told each to give me one of their own. Through them all, and had them wait to get them. About to say go, to girls walked up. About 15 years old, hat banked to the side wearing baggy cargo shorts, with a shirt spelling in all caps, " GANGSTA." Couldn't help but smile, as they asked to play the game. Ready, set, go!! The two bolted passed all the kids, picked up ALL the slippers, and took off, no where to be seen. And there Elder and I were left, with 10 kids in tears, because of their stolen slippers! Parents frustrated, walking around trying to find these ... GANGSTAHS. The funny part was, I couldn't help but laugh, with what just happened. Elder and I began to walk around, looking for these girls, until about 20 minutes later, they came walking back, dapping us up, apologizing and giving back the slippers. We met them, talked with them, smiled and laughed, and set an appointment to come and teach them and their family on another day. Miracle, 2 Finds! Plus a few more from that teaching, but with 10 minutes to spare, and more people needed to find, knowing we prayerfully designed the day in the morning we continued on walking home. "Turn back". We turned around, walked down an empty basketball court, and seen a little house on the side with people in the front, boom. Talked, shared, asked to come back. Findings, still not at the goal. 5 mins to get home, and a tryke pulls up, asking us why we are always there, and why we never visit his family! Had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to him and his family, set a return date, and passing our finding goal and home just in time for a meeting. I feel so blessed. To be able to do my best, and it being enough for the Lord. I am far from where I want to be, far from I know where the Lord sees I can be, but I am doing my best, and I do love it. I am thankful for all the Lord continues to do for me and my family, for my strengths and especially for my inadequecies. It is then, that we jahs gotta trahs, and see the fruits of what the Lord really can do with us. Rain, ends up making us smile, heat ends up giving us strength, and gangstas end up giving back slippers. So this? All this? Gotta be true. Shoot ELDER ISHIBASHI

2-16-25 ISANG TANONG, ISANG SAGOT...

Huuiii aloha mai kākou! Another gahjus week as a missionary in da Peenz! Continuing to learn, and so much more to go! I am daily thankful for the opportunity to be here, and serve these beautiful people. SO MUCH happened but will share but one, of the haps this past week. The experience this past week happened, with all the spiritual experiences, finding 50, setting more dates, and our friends continuing to progress and come to Church. However, last Tuesday night, while in a small compound, there were a group of older men drinking, it was too late to start another lesson, but we had a few minutes before curfew. Beginning to introduce ourselves, within 2 minutes we had 4 of them explaining their life story to us, as we listened smiling. After a few minutes one of the tatays looked at us and after telling the others to stop talking, asked to ask us a question. We love hearing that people have questions! "Why is my life still miserable?" And before we could even make the effort to answer, in came in an older woman, and answered, "Gusto mo ba malaman kung bakit? Isang tanong, isang sagot! Wala kang ginagawa!" And left.. which means, "you want to know why? One question, one answer, you aint doing natin!" Trahs, I was bout for bahs laugh, but thats not what a missionary should do. Tay, sat back in his chair, the lady left, we testified, and tay asked if we could come back the next week to teach him how things can change. But the truth is, how often do we have the same question? Every point of success, livelihood, and social status will bring us to the same question. Whats missing? Why is nothing changing? Elder Holland recited, “one’s life … cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free.” It simply will not work “to glide naively through life,” saying as we sip another glass of lemonade, “Lord, give me all thy choicest virtues, but be certain not to give me grief, nor sorrow, nor pain, nor opposition. Please do not let anyone dislike me or betray me, and above all, do not ever let me feel forsaken by Thee or those I love. In fact, Lord, be careful to keep me from all the experiences that made Thee divine. And then, when the rough sledding by everyone else is over, please let me come and dwell with Thee, where I can boast about how similar our strengths and our characters are as I float along on my cloud of comfortable Christianity.” As Christians, we believe in "by the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread." And yet we also believe, that "Happy is that people, whos God is the Lord". Why is our lives still the same? Do somtin about it. Choose the Lord, and we will find happiness. Gawin na natin at magtiwala lang tayo! JAHS TRAHS! ELDER ISHIBASHI