4-20-25 Blood Stained Streets

Aloha mai kākou! Another great week in the Philippines! Had a bunch of curve balls this past week, but were able to make the best of what we had, planning for Easter Sunday, our friend Rainiel got baptized, and other miracles written in the journal. In the Philippines, they celebrate very passionately the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In such, trying to mirror the things that he did, in their own individual way to recieve remission of their sins. Parades fill the streets, while people whip themselves leaving their backs covered in blood. Other streets are lined with people laying on it, and others with masks and face covers are whipping their backs and legs. Others walk with crosses on their backs for the whole day, and in extreme cases, nail themselves to it. Although this is not something that we do or believe in, there was a different sense of appreciation for the atonement of Jesus Christ. The pain, the blood, and great sacrifice he performed for us. For you & I. There was a difference, while seeing these people bleed, and participate in self mortification, with their intent to emulate the Saviors atonement, that made it a lot more real to me. The experience from this week I want to share, happened as Elder Johnson and I were finally headed to 7-11 to have a late lunch on the go, as we were on the way to the Church for our baptism. While on the way to 7-11, there was a drunk man on the side of the road, sitting, and yelled once or twice into the air. Elder Johnson and I walked up, and talked to him. He told us that he had a lot of problems, and he sat alone. We asked if he wanted to clear his mind and go for a walk with us, he turned it down at first, until we invited him again. He stood up with us, we bought him a water and began to walk. We told him were on our way to a baptism, and asked if he wanted to watch it. Again, no, invited him again, and he continued to come with us. We talked to this brother on our walk to the Church, and again before entering the gate, stopped and said he didnt want to go, we invited him again, encouraged him and he came in. We walked around the Church, then into the Church as he looked at the pictures, and sat with us, before the members showed up to the baptism. There we talked again, until after about 20 minutes, he had to go. He shook our hands, gave us a hug, and left. This man, named Julius, is one that I feel mirrors each and everyone of us, at one point in our lives. Not drunk, but maybe doubting, not slurring words, but maybe depressed & hopeless. It is in these times that the savior, with his infinite atonement, invites us, over and over again, to come to him and be healed. Mosiah 14:5 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. He knows us, better than we know ourselves. You're struggles, for a time we're his, your pains, for a time were his, and through his pains, death, and ressurection, we have the surety and confidence to overcome ours. I am so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ, and how often he continues to "invite", despite our denying sometimes through disbelief, lack of faith, sins, imperfections, inadequecies, weaknesses, generational habits & sicknesses, hard living circumstances, all of it, he invites all of us to come unto him and be healed. How do we come unto him? Meet the missionaries. Give them 5 minutes. I am grateful for the opportunity to share about the Perfect One, here in the Philippines with a people who love him so much, just sometimes don't understand yet how to show it. So as why we hea🤙traaaahs. Jahs trahs. Love you guys choken, ELDER ISHIBASHI

4-13-25 Jahs Listen, Jahs Trahs

Another great week as a missionary! Continuing to learn and grow every day. I do truly love being a missionary! This week the Lord blessed us with so many hands of the Lord moments. Times in which, in tears people decided to make covenants with God, sacred experiences that I am excited to share when I come home in 20 years. Hand of the Lord moments, whether it be being punted, opening the opportunity for learning to take place or a random thought of inspiration, or simply the thought of in the hard times and rejections, that the Lord is there by your side, and when they reject you, they reject him too. These thoughts and inspirations has brought me so much comfort, as well as confidence in becoming a missionary! However there is one experience in particular, that I'd like to share! Yesterday, while sitting in General Conference, I realized that I made a mistake. There at 8:30, telling all my friends it started at 9, I realized it started at 7:30 and we were late! What gave me comfort, is that the next session would play at 10! However as sitting through the first session, the strongest feeling came, to go outside and wait for investigators. The Church we had conference at this past week, was a little ways out of our area, and the door to enter is a little hard to find. Following the impression, we went outside, and were able to invite an inactive member we invited into the Church, and following her back in. Sitting down again, the impression came back, unsure why, knowing I just came from the outside, regarded it as "naught" and esteemed it my own urgency to wish and wait for friends to come outside. "I was just there" "The Lord would have told you to stay outside instead of going back and forth". There was a moment of that, trying to figure out if the thought was from myself, or an actual inspiration. I said a quick prayer in my heart, Lord, is this is prompting that you want me to follow? Immediately feeling the answer in my chest, got up again, and walked back out of the chapel. There we were, perfect timing, as one of our friends showed up with her daughter, to come into Church, and we led her in! I was thankful for this experience, and this priceless lesson I continue to learn, everyday on my mission. About following the promptings of the Spirit. Its the simplest experiences Theyre thoughts, subtle and almost caught sometimes as our own, and the reality is, if its our own, or if its from God, if it could have any possibility to be positive, IT DOESNT MATTER, DO IT! Whether it be a thought to stop at a house, smile to someone walking by, helping someone, giving someone a random call, these thoughts come. Its when we understand, that we truly understand nothing, that the Lord can truly make something of us. Just jahs, jahs listen. We were thankful for our friends who got baptized this past week, Ashley Guevarra & Liam Reñeses, this is the start of a lifetime of spiritual experiences. Aloha nō, ELDER ISHIBASHI