The Philippines Angeles Mission: Following Up, Meeting in the Middle and Topping it off with District Conference

FOLLOW-UP ZC MEETINGS

Its been an eventful week filled with the thing that we love best....time with our missionaries. During our past Zone Conference, the Zones that went to Camiling missed a great part of President Clark's presentation because of time. Today during their District Meeting, President and Sister Clark visited to share a wonderful and inspiring talk by President Uchtdorf about Elder Strong and Elder Green. We feel the timing was perfect since our missionaries are faithfully preparing for October-blest. These were bonus meetings for us.

Santa Ignacia Zone

Paniqui Zone

Camiling Zone

T = trainee

T - Elder Knuckles, Elder Calingacion, T - Elder Capales, Elder Teraza, T - Elder Camero, Elder Eppich, T - Elder España, Ekder Pascual,

T - Elder Umapas, Elder Garcia, Elder Sabangan, T - Elder Rogers

When a missionary enters the mission field, their trainer has 12 weeks to train them. Elder trainers often refer to their trainer as their "Tatay" (father) and Sisters "Nanay" (mother). You could say that we "meet in the middle" of their training. This batch is a great batch of 6 Elders -- no Sisters. President and Sister Clark knew they were a great group from the beginning and they have not disappointed. They are strong young missionaries who are obedient and are learning all they can during their training.

"DISTRICT LEADERS MEETING"

CABANATUAN SIDE DL's

District Leaders are like a Bishop to the ward or branch. They make things happen. When we have trainer-trainee meetings, we also have district leaders meet right after. With our October-blest initiative, it is important for our DL's to encourage and assist. They are fine elders who work with their heart, might, mind and strength!

TARLAC SIDE DL's

GUIMBA DISTRICT CONFERENCE

This weekend was filled with Latter-day Saints gathering from our Guimba District. They are one of 5 Districts in the Angeles Mission. When there are no 70's assigned to preside, President Clark is in presides. Guimba has some very strong members and are working hard to become a stake. We had some great meetings with wonderful messages. President Clark powerfully and boldly shared messages that resonated with the members. There was even a role play with "will you" invitations...specific, direct and clear. Testify boldly. We found that when you start inviting, the Spirit will teach you truth. The Savior left a request in every Gospel in the New Testament to share the gospel. We as members should heed that request.

Sunday morning President spoke about Repentance. It was a great message. The Japanese word for Repentance is "cui ana tami" which means "heart change." Repentance is a kind and merciful law. It is the Lord's law of growth. He used the analogy of the Mission Van aka White Wonder, the Mystery Machine. We had elders driving the van that hadn't done much maintenance on vehicles before. One day they asked President Clark to drive the van because something was wrong. President drove it directly to the repair shop. When the brakes were removed, the workers were in awe that the vehicle was still able to work. They had never seen brakes that badly worn before. The analogy was, there were clear signs that the van wasn't working properly. If the elders would have taken the van in when they started having problems, it would have been an easier fix. They put off what could have been an easy fix. Waiting put them in more danger and was very expensive to repair. So are our lives. The Holy Ghost is a great gift. He prompts us to let us know when we need a change of heart. Repentance changes lives to escape eternal punishment.