The Longer Ones

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Ch 119 A Shot in the Dark

I'm getting old. It's 30 days until Christmas. And I'm not really too sure what to do. I remember back in 2017 I applied to go on a mission along with a lot of my friends and it seemed not lonely. Every week we would email and everyone was still sorta there. And then one by one. They went home. Early released or honorably finishes, they're home and then they're gone. Some are married. Some have kids. Some are in college. Some are active. Some are not. In all cases, back to their own lives.

One thing they all have in common though! No matter how hard or how happy the mission gets, they have never regretted serving God. Not once. And I think the reason why they always remember and love those 2 years is that during that time they were feeling the constant guidance and love from God through the Holy Ghost. 

Last week I struggled with this. It's kind of why I barely emailed last week. It's because I thought no one cared anymore. All my old friends are back in their own lives. No one cares about this anymore. And then it became worse it started to affect my prayers. So I didn't email. and a few days later I stopped praying at night. Then during lesson 1, a simple truth came up in my mind. "Heavenly Father answers our prayers." Now I'm not saying my emails are a prayer or a psalm, if it was I should've started with His name. But during that lesson, I decided to ask our investigator a question I needed to hear. "Why do we pray?" And her answer was perfect. 

"Because I know he's listening" -Sister Angel (someone we're teaching)
"How do you know he's listening to you, instead of everyone else?" - Elder Villanueva
 "Because that's what faith is about, I trust Him." -Sister Angel 

Coming from someone we just met, that answer hit me like a ton of bricks. For the last week, I kept feeling alone like no one was there or all my prayers were just shots in the dark. I know he was always there for me but I didn't let him have a greater part in my life. My prayers became more of a checklist than developing my relationship with our loving Heavenly Father. I didn't ask Him for help, or for His thoughts, or for his guidance. But if we're willing to get to know Him, if we're willing to open up ourselves to know Him, we will feel His love for us. If we just ask Him, "what does He think about me?" or maybe "Are you there?" or maybe "do you care about me?" 

These are very personal questions to ask God, but I promise you that if you do it, you'll feel his tender embrace, you'll know he's there for you. Always. And even though a prayer seems like a shot in the dark at first, if you open up your heart. And listen. He will be the light of your world. 

-Elder Villanueva
Tayo Na Pilipinas! (Let's Go Philippines!)

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Oh, also the giving machine is available in 4th-floor Trinoma. we are volunteering there to help people donate to help local causes. with special thanks to the HERO Foundation, UNICEF, and Caritas Manila (;

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