Week 52: Walking by faith

Hello everyone!!! Another week down :) It's been a very good week, a week full of ups and ups and ups and down. Hahah, we've been talking to literally everyone we see about the message. It's pretty cool, and it makes the day go by really fast. We've gotten into a habit of just OYMing everyone, all the time. As a result, we've been blessed with a very large teaching pool and our whole days seem to be packed with people who want to listen to us and our message.

I love working with Elder Saberdo, he's a complete natural. He's from Bicol, Albay. The land of spicy food!! He's really into the spicy stuff, and puts hot sauce on everything, even the fresh pandesal! haha.

Yesterday at church I had a humiliating experience. We were waiting in the foyer for all of our people we're teaching to come to church and no one ended up coming. Even though we tried our absolute best to get them to come, even calling them hours before. 4 families texted us in a row saying that they couldn't make it.. agh. And then this lady comes up to me and says she heard that I can play the piano really well (NO IDEA where she got that) and said I was the pianoist for the day. I was really nervous, but I knew I could play a couple hymns and be fine. Thanks to my mom and the nicest piano teacher in the world growing up. But, due to my teenage stubbornness I had stopped taking piano lessons.

At first I thought I was only doing prelude music as we waited for the pianist to show up.. So there I was happily playing sweet hour of prayer for the tenth time in a row when they start the meeting and announce the opening song.. I flip open to it and it has freaking 4 SHARPS agh. I tried to play it but just couldn't. I just sat there and felt pretty embarrassed. And then the same thing happened for the next hymn, I was able to play the right hand but it was far from perfect and I felt pretty stupid.

After taking the sacrament, I flipped open to the last hymn hoping to silently practice it a little bit. I felt so embarrassed and felt like I had ruined this sacred time to renew covenants with the Lord. As I flipped open to the hymn, I read the words and the third verse hit me pretty hard.

The Lord is my light; the Lord is my strength.

I know in his might I'll conquer at length.

My weakness in mercy he covers with pow'r,

And, walking by faith, I am blest ev'ry hour.

The Lord is my light;

He is my joy and my song.

By day and by night he leads,

He leads me along.

I love this hymn, and I love what it teaches. We all have weaknesses, sometimes it's playing the piano, sometimes it's something else. As every day isn't perfect, but we can rely on the Lord who is truly our light to lead us through each day. I know that he will lead us if we are humble in our weakness, and if we have faith enough to keep walking.

I love you all! To everything that you're struggling with, you can do it!! YOU got this! #BEHAPPY

Love,

Elder Ansel Childers

Pics:

Me chopping down some bamboo. sick.

pretty place. jealous?

some of the people we're teaching. love them.

We made some tacos. Delicioso!

Me wearing a giant bukid backpack. This is what the farmers use to gather their crops. I asked them if I could borrow it for when I go back to college and they laughed a lot haha.

A super, super nice nanay we met.

Filipino's love to sing karaoke. Caught some pics of Tatay Dulay rocking out to his and his wife's love song. "Cant stop loving you" Very emotional to watch to be honest, he can barely stand but he stood the whole time and put a lot of effort into it. love it. can't wait to sing my heart out when I'm 70 to my wife. I wonder what our love song will be. Maybe Families can be together forever. that's a good one.