Sept. 19 - 25, 2011

We had a baptism!!! Jonathon Tamayo got baptized, he quit smoking and drinking coffee and bore an awesome testimony at his baptismal service last Saturday! He knows the church is true and he is way happy. My companion, Elder Cagayanan baptized him on Saturday, and I got to confirm him on Sunday. So that was the highlight of the week, as well as Branch Conference on Sunday. The speakers and choir were great. Also after church, we had a branch evaluation with the District President, Pres. Balute which I really liked. He showed us the stats of the Hundred Islands Branch for the past 3 years, and there was very little change. So we need to really work on it, to get it higher and improve. There should always be progression, there should always be a new face at church. President said, "If you think all is well in Zion, there's a problem." It was really awesome, and I really saw the love and support of President for the church. Thats also probably why God lets trials come into our lives, so we can grow, stretch and learn. Im really enjoyin the mission, learning about the gospel and serving. Last Friday we had exchanges and I got to work in Mabini with Elder Wilde(the canadien). It was so awesome, cuz the church and missionaries are brand new there and everyone is curious and wants to know why there are foreigners walkin around and speaking tagalog. =) We were able to meet and talk to a ton of people and share a little about why we are here. I really enjoyed it cuz in my area, 100 Islands, the church is not new and people are not curious, cuz they think they already know. :) Also this week the Relief Society President was able to work with us. It was great, she was able to fellowship one of our investigators, and the lesson went very well cuz she shared her own story and testimony and explained some things to our investigator to help her understand more. So it was a good week. Hope you like the pics. Thats the 6 of us, we all sleep in the living room on our foam mattresses. :) Miss you guys! Love you all! -Elder Pennock