September 28, 2015
Echague, Philippines
Last week was so fun! However, as the song goes, "the time is far spent; there is little remaining"! So I'll have to abbreviate everything to the best of my ability. I'm going to see you soon anyways, so it's no big deal.
On Tuesday I had splits with Elder Valdez. It was so fun! We found a lot of new investigators. We approached a couple we saw outside their house and as soon as we started coming towards them, the husband got a bench from inside for us to sit on and invited us to teach them. It was a great lesson and it turns out they knew some members from Santiago. The Spirit was very strong the whole day and it was a successful splits! Elder Valdez is the one who had read about me on the blog before and he told me how much he appreciated the splits and that he got to "see me in action" before I went home. Yes, I'm still in action!
The next big event was on Thursday with Zone Conference. Sister Rahlf had called me a few weeks earlier to think about a musical number to do. I didn't feel keen on doing a solo so I tried to arrange a group with some of the other vocally-inclined Elders in the nearest zones. The group ended up not getting together to practice until five minutes before the meeting itself. But it went really well! I was proud of our little a-capela rendition of Hope of Israel, with a key change included. We stepped up right on the money and it was awesome! I love Polynesians. They are so musically inclined. The rest of the meeting was very inspiring. I needed it.
On Saturday we had our Family Week Celebration, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Family Proclamation and the 100th anniversary of Family Home Evening. The entire Alicia Stake was there, hosted in Echague. We had a parade around the main plaza in the morning and then a presentation by President and Sister Rahlf after that. If there is one thing I've learned from President Rahlf, it is to love my wife every day and tell her frequently, as well as to raise a righteous family. He is a great example of that. In the afternoon there was a cultural show by each of the Wards. During one of the Ward's performances, the sound shorted out and there was some considerable waiting time. During which, I came up to the MC and asked him if the Elders could present something. He agreed. All of the Elders came up to the stage holding Hymn books, acting like we were going to sing. Then, we all dropped the Hymn books simultaneously and Elder Paea, from Tonga, led us in the Hakka. YES! It was epic. The whole stake was going crazy. I was up in the front leading with the Polynesians. Sore thumb much?
I overheard the Relief Society here planning to feed me a ton of delicious Filipino food for my last meal so that's going to be awesome! This Ward is so great. They've been so supportive and cooperative. I hope I've been able to make an impact on Yogad City. I was really hoping this last week would be clear of other activities so that I could just focus on the area, but after looking at the calendar with a meeting almost every day and splits... It's going to be hectic. I'll give it everything I got! I love you all, and I hope you're doing well. I'll be coming back to the States soon, warm it up for me! I have a feeling I'll need some adjustment to leave my current home and return to my former.
I know that this is the Restored Church of Jesus Christ on the earth, and that Joseph Smith is indeed a prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of the Lord revealed in the last days to dispel confusion and show unto us that God does still speak to His children, and His work isn't over yet! I've felt that Spirit so strongly and I'm so glad I've been able to testify of it at every waking moment to the wonderful people I've met here. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
-Elder Kocherhans
Pictures from the recent baptism of Irene, Joshua, and Monica
Birthday presents at Zone Conference!
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