Our goal is to go home to Heavenly Father. || Elder Eric Ray Corpuz

Dear Mom,

Fifteen minutes.

This week:

Halloween. All Souls Day. Tamatas. Rain. Rain. Hot. Cold. Clouds. Trials. Love. Hate. Anxiety. Interviews with President. Sister Sperry. Awaited comfort. Unexpected peace. Eternal friends. Almost volleyball. No volleyball. Heat. Disappointment. Baptisms. Future missionaries. Testimonies. Babies. Eternal principles. Lack of money. Glasses breaking. Watch breaking. Umbrella breaking. Loss of mind. Comforting hugs. Good friends. Phone calls from Hong Kong. Laughing. Crying. Sleepless nights. Stupid fights. Hoku. Pianos. Eleven at church. Two in the water. One happy missionary. Eleven minutes.

That was supposed to save time, but I'm pretty sure that just took more time than it would have taken me to just explain everything out. This week went by extremely fast and extremely great. After what seemed like crises after crises from past weeks, it was nice to just get our feet back on the ground and get to work. We worked hard this week. Really hard. And we saw our rewards in seeing people's lives change.

Jason and Johnart, our two young men and future missionaries, were baptized this past Saturday. These two kids are so special to Elder Jolley and I because we were able to see them from the beginning. To be honest, we were never really sure that Jason (the one with the Chinese looking eyes) was ever going to be baptized. Then one day while we were teaching him with Joseph, one of the young men leaders, Joseph asked him why he continued to come to church. We were expecting some kind of cliche answer, but instead, he looked down, looked up, and said that he continued to come to church because he wanted to become a missionary just like us. Definitely one of those heart tugging moments that the mission just seems to be full of. Their baptism went great, although my pictures didn't (I'll never be using that "Low Light" setting EVER again.), and we are so proud of the both of them.

Something that I really thought about this week actually is something that hit me a Sunday in church. We were sitting behind this really little kid - must be about two or three and he (I'll have to take a picture) has the exact same hair cut I had at that age. During the meeting, he spent about an hour finishing this small packet of crackers. He took out each piece, one by one, took small bites, and when finished, with a big smile, took out another piece and started all over. He tried to feed me some, but I insisted on giving them back. What I thought about watching him, was how much he appreciated the simple experience of sitting and being able to enjoy his crackers. As kids, we sit and absorb things for the first time and cherish and love each moment. When did we lose that?

Thinking about how limited our lives are and how we just take the most simple things for granted everyday. Theories tell us that we become numb to things that we are regularly bombarded with and our interest lacks giving these common things the least bit of attention.

I got a card from Elder Posadas a couple weeks back that I actually lost. This past week, we had interviews with President Sperry, and while we were at the chapel, we found the card! On the front, it says that "Our Goal is to Go Home to Heavenly Father" and in the inside, is a beautiful hand sketch of the Manila Temple. He is extremely talented there. I know that what Elder Posadas put on my card is true - an eternal goal. And I think that while we are making it there, its important that we savor each moment of this life that knows far too many endings. Regardless, it's important that we keep beginning again, and not give up.