Week of February 22, 2016

Dear family and friends,

I have once again been blessed with another wonderful week, full of guidance and of small miracles. First, I would like to share some miracles I experienced last week. One thing the Philippines has a lot of is dogs. They are everywhere, and are very wild. I have learned to be very precocious in areas with a lot of them, but this last week, I wasn't careful enough. Just as I was stepping into a home, a dog bit around my ankle. I felt the bite, and quickly looked around to see what it was. However, for whatever reason, the dog had started running away from me, with its ears down and its tail between its legs as if it had been hit, but there was no one there. And, the bite essentially did not hurt; I was not harmed in the slightest. I truly know that there are angels around all of us, especially those of us who are missionaries, working on behalf of our welfare and protection. I believe that there were beings beyond the veil that kept the dog from harming me, and I am very grateful for that fact.

This last week, I also felt guided by the Spirit to visit a particular less active that I had only taught once before. It was at an odd time in the afternoon, but she was home, and definitely needed a lesson. She had just received a call an hour before from some individual that her visa to go to move to Kuwait was ready, and that she would leave this Sunday to Kuwait, in order to become a domestic helper in that country for two years. Needless to say, she was relieved to hear so, but her feeling was much more of sadness than of joy. This news meant that she would soon be leaving her four boys, two of which are still toddlers, without a parent. However, as she expressed to me, as much as she would like to stay with her children, she needs to work in Kuwait in order to acquire the funds her children need to go to college. With all of her concerns about immersing herself in a new culture, and about leaving her family, I shared a message about the love of God for each of us, and the fact that it isn't important what part of the world we are in, He knows us and desires to help us in our daily lives. I was then able to give her a blessing of comfort, and I felt the Lord's powerful love for her as I did so.

 The two things that I have found that I teach the most to all of our recent converts and less actives, is the power of prayer and scripture reading in our lives. Before my mission, I was told over and over again of the importance of doing so. However, now as a missionary, I have truly come to know how true those statements were. In 2 Nephi 32:3 we are told to "feast on the words of Christ." Now, previously I took this metaphor to mean that we must read the scriptures a lot, just as we would eat a lot at a feast. But, there is more meaning than that. Just as we need food in order for our physical body to function and become strong, the same can be said for our spiritual bodies. If we deprive our spirits of the nourishment it needs, through prayer and daily scripture study, we will find that our spirit, and faith, will wither away just as our body would with lack of nutrition. I know that this is easy for me to say as a missionary, as I am always praying and reading the scriptures. It is hard in the real world, with lots of obligations and such to do so. However, just as we don't skip a meal out of dislike of physical hunger, we mustn't skip the spiritual feeding that our spirits most desperately need as well.

All is going well for my companion and I. I have enjoyed taking the lead in my area, and feel the Lord's help as I do so. We have also been lucky enough to have some investigators attend church the past couple of weeks. So, we will keep our fingers crossed that this will continue to be the case! I want some more baptisms before I leave this area! haha

Thank you for all of your support!

Love,

Elder Pulley