Email!
This is what I'm watching.
http://mormon.org/me/13G1
I just talked to you all! About a couple of hours ago. I'm glad you all enjoyed the gifts. I'll try and get back up to Baguio , but we're not allowed to leave our "zone" without permission from the Mission President , and then on top of that you need a good reason. But I will need to get more contact solution , so hopefully that'll pass and we'll be able to head up in a couple weeks. The sumpit [blow dart]'s are about 100 - 150 pesos each , but I'll haggle it down and try and send home a bunch more. I hope they're won't be any customs fees on them though. If I send home like 10 of the same thing they might think it's for profit ... hopefully not though. That's a pretty small item.
How was everyone's Christmas? I'll try and explain in more detail my Christmas here. Saturday after we hung up me and Elder Jacinto headed to the church and proceeded to meet a bunch of members. I was blown away by how many kids there are. It's ridiculous. This area has had a spree of children baptisms [by missionaries that just go for the numbers] and so it really is silly how little priesthood there is. By the way , Mom , I completely understood that you don't care about the numbers - that wasn't my concern. I just don't even like thinking about it , and you really caught me off guard by asking , ha. It's a sensitive subject for any missionary and it feels weird saying. So , I'm sure you understand. I've talked about every one of them in my emails during my mission , so they're all there I promise. But this isn't exactly The Other Side of Heaven ... haha. Anyways , so this area has had so many children baptisms that shouldn't have been allowed because their parents are still inactive. But that's our work. Bringing EVERYONE back to church. We've identified the familes and we're working hard to get them back.
There's many different reasons as to why people go inactive in the church in the Philippines , but most often it's offense. No money for transportation and other issues are big , but not big enough if they want to go to church. They have to lose that desire or have it be offended out of them. That's the common theme of our visits. So and so said this ... so and so did this ... he and she stopped coming to visit me ... and so forth. It usually consists of us listening , apologizing , and straightforwardly telling them to come back. In a loving way , of course. In Baguio it sometimes worked on the first visit alone , but sometimes we had to chastise. Here , we've seen some good things happening already. We visited the Casabuena Family for the first time last week on a Wed or Thurs. Shared memories from their conversion , the missionaries who found and taught them , all that stuff. It helps them remember the feelings they had. Then we taught a short message and invited them back. They live about 4 KMs away. Which I think is about 2.5 miles. As we got to church on Sunday , we waited about 25 minutes for anyone to show up. One by one they come in , we shake their hands , and as we look up - there they are. It's been a very long time since they last came to church , but all they needed was an invitation and motivation. We're not sure how they got there , seeing as they have very very little money ... but they were there.
So that's been the new focus in the Philippines , and it's really enjoyable.
Btw this is what I'm watching right now:
https://lds.org/youth/video/a-work-in-progress?lang=eng
[fellow filipino!] quezon city mission
So yeah. Back to Christmas Eve. After the Christmas Party [which was incredibly silly , ha , we went to a really really poor family out in the bukid who we found on accident that used to be investigators. We shared a message with them and tried to brighten their Christmas Eve a little bit , as they literally had nothing. I won't say the picture that I took - seeing as you probably won't be happy with it , haha - but it was their Christmas Eve Dinner. After that we headed home [curfew on christmas eve , day , new years eve , day is 6pm] and were invited over to dinner by our neighbor who is the landlord. It was a really good dinner. Then wrote our talks and went to bed. [and I opened up the pajamas! I did save them for christmas eve]
Christmas Day we woke up , got ready [cold bucket showers are actually nakakamiss ... meaning I missed them] and went to church. Gave our talks , and after sacrament meeting [that was all the church for the day] went out to work. Found 3 of our focus families and invited them back. After that we headed to our Branch Presidents house and ate dinner with a few other members , then headed home. Read a little then went to bed. It was actually a really good Christmas. Really quiet , but really good. I missed you all , obviously , but I'll only get one of these in my life - so I was glad how it was spent. Helping others and thinking about Christ.
Other than that I'm doing pretty good! It's hot here , but I love it. There's a lot of work , and a lot of time left to do it! Don't talk to me about coming home! Haha I'm not sure if I ever will. But I did think about you guys coming here after we hung up and I'll think about it in 9 months. My mind might change. I'd be released by my mission president here ... but again we'll think about that in 9 months.
I love you all , MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thanks for everything , and I'll talk to you next week.
... I can't believe how fast that phone call came and how fast the next will be as well. crazy.
INGAT KAYO LAGI!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Heyo
Christmas is soon.
LETS TALK ABOUT WHERE I AM!
So yesterday , we were at church and everyone as like Elder White! you're still here! You'll be spending Christmas here! And I was like yeeeeeep. But I was wrong. Hahaha. After church we head home to pick up the cell phone we had forgot before church [good thing we grabbed it] then headed to our first lesson. Right as we're about to say the prayer the cell phone buzzes , so I glance at it ... and ... it wasn't the best news,ha. President Jensen had texted us and he says "Elder White , you're being transferred tomorrow morning. The APs will call you later with the information. All will be well." Hahaha that's all. So my heart sunk as realization set in that I'd be leaving just a few days before Christmas. Anyways after a hectic hectic night of trying to tell a few people I was leaving , then packing all night we woke up this morning , headed to the bus station , and headed down to my area. I'm in Agoo Zone - Damortis. It's pretty close to Baguio and I'll actually be going back up tomorrow for the Christmas Conference in Baguio. I was pretty bummed [kind of a lot] that I got transferred before Christmas , but I'll do what they ask of me, ha. This keyboard is horrible. Anyways I learned last night that my companion was going to be Elder Jacinto! He came up to Baguio with me as his first area , and just got here [his second area] two weeks ago! He still has no idea where like anything is so we're basically opening up an area , hahaha. It'll be a fun experience and there's so much we have to fix. Past missionaries were a bit ... unmotivated. But he's an awesome worker and way way happy and nice. Also it's FLAT! here ... so I'll finally be able to go running in the morning. I'll be getting rid of Baguio Fat I promise.
So that's my big news right now. I love the heat! Haha it's so humid and I've missed it so much. The apartment is okay and the neighborhood feels like a typical Utah neighborhood , haha. Also next to me right now is Elder Tolman. He's in my batch and me and him became trainers and district leaders together , he's way awesome and hes training an american , district leader , and opening an area right now haha. That's a work load. Right now I'm not the district leader anymore and pretty happy about that for now , haha. Being so new to the area and everything here would be hard to juggle that. I'm sorry for this poor english structure ... I can't form sentences really. Anyways. That again , was the big news.
This past week has been pretty awesome. We had so many less actives come to church yesterday and it's such a good feeling. Helping people remember their baptismal covenants and the excitement that came along with that and then seeing them actually return is incredibly fulfilling. It's missionary work with instant gratification and results! Haha. It was really really sad leaving the area , especially our apartment complex. Our manager and her family have been investigators for like two years and are so incredibly sweet to missionaries. They love missionaries but love obedient ones even more. So we got really close to them over the past 5 months and they cried a bit when I left , haha. It's just a really awesome place ... and if money permits me in the future I would love to be able to come back to see them. Other than that , though , Baguio isn't the most personal place in the Philippines. People down in the low lands are more personal [humble] and get close to missionaries. In a way it was really good , it makes leaving easier. But it's really so hard to leave an area. You become so attached with everything , and then to be Emergency Transferred as I was is like ripping you away from all of it. But ... not mine will but thine be done , ha.
That's another thing. I've been digging the Bible lately and really getting a lot out of my personal studies. Elder Holland and Packer have become idols of mine in their speaking style and the particular revelation they receive from the scriptures. They find things that are so blatant but I never would have thought of. So that's what I've been trying and have found some great stuff in Mosiah chapters 21 - 28. So that's been really rewarding as well.
I donno , just ... I'm at a spot in my mission that I'm grateful for everything. I have the maturity [that could be false , ha] to see the blessings in so many things. Even the trials. We had suuuch a hard day last Friday as we worked with a missionary that just got home. He's so so cool and was an assistant in Manila , and we taught 2 lessons the whole day. Walking around trying to find less actives for 8 or 9 hours... and 2 came through. It was so hard going home that night because we were so tired ... but as I prayed later on I just felt so grateful for everything , ha. Even the trials. I've come to feel trials are a compliment. When we have them it's Heavenly Father pretty much saying [in a non-blasphemous way] "this is my kid ... he can handle what I'm giving him" So yeah. I've just been feeling really really happy lately. Thank you for contributing to that with all your letters , emails , packages , and everything!
Hmm... what else do I write here. I think theres still another package coming mom! Don't worry , there's still that! And I'd so much rather spend Christmas reading Jesus the Christ and the other books you sent than opening presents! But thank you thank you , I know you love me haha. I'm actually currently wearing the watch Dad sent for last Christmas. I didn't think I'd wear it till I got home , because it's brilliant , but I decided to wear it yesterday. Also I forgot how much I stick out in Pangasinan , hahaha. I'm actually in La Union I think right now but its all the same. I just mean below Baguio. Up there people aren't too shocked because that's vacation central. But down here... wow. Hahaha.
Hey! Please tell Debbie thank you for the dear elders! I can't believe I've forgotten until now , but I love reading her news. No matter what it is. And Andrea if you want to Dear Elder me more awesome talks [look up speeches of the year - BYU Devotionals ...those are always the best] But Ive been trying to send out as many letters as possible , but it's so hard with so little time. hayaan nyo ako!
So yep. I think that's all my news right now. Nothing really funny has happened this week. It was sad saying goodbye to my son , but he's grown now and must be on his own! I'm really excited about this new area and hopefully we can help the branch and people here. I'm sure our Christmas will be pretty quiet , haha , but I'm going to go but some Christmas dinner stuff ... hopefully a bit more exciting haha.
That's all I've got for now. I'll call you guys next week. Please patch June in if she wants , and it'll be reeeaaallllyyyy weeeiirrrddd talking to you all haha.
LETS TALK ABOUT WHERE I AM!
So yesterday , we were at church and everyone as like Elder White! you're still here! You'll be spending Christmas here! And I was like yeeeeeep. But I was wrong. Hahaha. After church we head home to pick up the cell phone we had forgot before church [good thing we grabbed it] then headed to our first lesson. Right as we're about to say the prayer the cell phone buzzes , so I glance at it ... and ... it wasn't the best news,ha. President Jensen had texted us and he says "Elder White , you're being transferred tomorrow morning. The APs will call you later with the information. All will be well." Hahaha that's all. So my heart sunk as realization set in that I'd be leaving just a few days before Christmas. Anyways after a hectic hectic night of trying to tell a few people I was leaving , then packing all night we woke up this morning , headed to the bus station , and headed down to my area. I'm in Agoo Zone - Damortis. It's pretty close to Baguio and I'll actually be going back up tomorrow for the Christmas Conference in Baguio. I was pretty bummed [kind of a lot] that I got transferred before Christmas , but I'll do what they ask of me, ha. This keyboard is horrible. Anyways I learned last night that my companion was going to be Elder Jacinto! He came up to Baguio with me as his first area , and just got here [his second area] two weeks ago! He still has no idea where like anything is so we're basically opening up an area , hahaha. It'll be a fun experience and there's so much we have to fix. Past missionaries were a bit ... unmotivated. But he's an awesome worker and way way happy and nice. Also it's FLAT! here ... so I'll finally be able to go running in the morning. I'll be getting rid of Baguio Fat I promise.
So that's my big news right now. I love the heat! Haha it's so humid and I've missed it so much. The apartment is okay and the neighborhood feels like a typical Utah neighborhood , haha. Also next to me right now is Elder Tolman. He's in my batch and me and him became trainers and district leaders together , he's way awesome and hes training an american , district leader , and opening an area right now haha. That's a work load. Right now I'm not the district leader anymore and pretty happy about that for now , haha. Being so new to the area and everything here would be hard to juggle that. I'm sorry for this poor english structure ... I can't form sentences really. Anyways. That again , was the big news.
This past week has been pretty awesome. We had so many less actives come to church yesterday and it's such a good feeling. Helping people remember their baptismal covenants and the excitement that came along with that and then seeing them actually return is incredibly fulfilling. It's missionary work with instant gratification and results! Haha. It was really really sad leaving the area , especially our apartment complex. Our manager and her family have been investigators for like two years and are so incredibly sweet to missionaries. They love missionaries but love obedient ones even more. So we got really close to them over the past 5 months and they cried a bit when I left , haha. It's just a really awesome place ... and if money permits me in the future I would love to be able to come back to see them. Other than that , though , Baguio isn't the most personal place in the Philippines. People down in the low lands are more personal [humble] and get close to missionaries. In a way it was really good , it makes leaving easier. But it's really so hard to leave an area. You become so attached with everything , and then to be Emergency Transferred as I was is like ripping you away from all of it. But ... not mine will but thine be done , ha.
That's another thing. I've been digging the Bible lately and really getting a lot out of my personal studies. Elder Holland and Packer have become idols of mine in their speaking style and the particular revelation they receive from the scriptures. They find things that are so blatant but I never would have thought of. So that's what I've been trying and have found some great stuff in Mosiah chapters 21 - 28. So that's been really rewarding as well.
I donno , just ... I'm at a spot in my mission that I'm grateful for everything. I have the maturity [that could be false , ha] to see the blessings in so many things. Even the trials. We had suuuch a hard day last Friday as we worked with a missionary that just got home. He's so so cool and was an assistant in Manila , and we taught 2 lessons the whole day. Walking around trying to find less actives for 8 or 9 hours... and 2 came through. It was so hard going home that night because we were so tired ... but as I prayed later on I just felt so grateful for everything , ha. Even the trials. I've come to feel trials are a compliment. When we have them it's Heavenly Father pretty much saying [in a non-blasphemous way] "this is my kid ... he can handle what I'm giving him" So yeah. I've just been feeling really really happy lately. Thank you for contributing to that with all your letters , emails , packages , and everything!
Hmm... what else do I write here. I think theres still another package coming mom! Don't worry , there's still that! And I'd so much rather spend Christmas reading Jesus the Christ and the other books you sent than opening presents! But thank you thank you , I know you love me haha. I'm actually currently wearing the watch Dad sent for last Christmas. I didn't think I'd wear it till I got home , because it's brilliant , but I decided to wear it yesterday. Also I forgot how much I stick out in Pangasinan , hahaha. I'm actually in La Union I think right now but its all the same. I just mean below Baguio. Up there people aren't too shocked because that's vacation central. But down here... wow. Hahaha.
Hey! Please tell Debbie thank you for the dear elders! I can't believe I've forgotten until now , but I love reading her news. No matter what it is. And Andrea if you want to Dear Elder me more awesome talks [look up speeches of the year - BYU Devotionals ...those are always the best] But Ive been trying to send out as many letters as possible , but it's so hard with so little time. hayaan nyo ako!
So yep. I think that's all my news right now. Nothing really funny has happened this week. It was sad saying goodbye to my son , but he's grown now and must be on his own! I'm really excited about this new area and hopefully we can help the branch and people here. I'm sure our Christmas will be pretty quiet , haha , but I'm going to go but some Christmas dinner stuff ... hopefully a bit more exciting haha.
That's all I've got for now. I'll call you guys next week. Please patch June in if she wants , and it'll be reeeaaallllyyyy weeeiirrrddd talking to you all haha.
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Sunday, December 11, 2011
family TREASURE
Hello family.
SO! I enjoy getting all these emails telling me how boring my emails are , hahaha. I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not exactly bungy jumping or free scaling mountains all day. I walk on cement up and down hills and talk to people about spiritual things , hahaha. I'll try to add humurous things in more , but now that the culture has stopped being so shocking for me ... nothing seems funny anymore. I will say this though. When filipinos turn pages... it's not like regular people in which we find the corner or at least a side and turn it slowly. It's a pinch and turn... page by page. Or you can also choose the grab the spine technic , and brush the pages with your thumb until you find the page ... both work. The filipino style is to spasmically open to any page , then continue to use all 5 fingers in a spider-like pinching technic of the whole page and turn page by page ... even if you're 300 pages off ... they'll go page by page crinkling every single one. It's hysterical , but at the same time I hate lending out my book of mormon or bible or stuff to have them read. I must first find the page for them , then give it to them. And then , even sometimes , they'll change the page and flip back. Usually when searching for a page they'll over pass it by like 50 pages ... then go 40 pages in the opposite direction ... then 30 pages back in the first direction ... until them finally find it. That's humor.
So. My weeks been pretty good. We actually just got back from bowling again. I got 5 strikes and a spare in my last game. ARE YOU PROUD OF ME?! I blow the filipino minds here with my hook. Though I only bowled a 156. That's three weeks in a row now we've gone bowling , and I'd go every week of my mission if I could haha. It was just us and the Quezon Hill Elders , which is Elder Matthews [phil/aus] and Elder Abarte. Elder Tan and Abarte didn't want to play a second game , so me and E Matthews just went at it. It was way funny , because everyone else in the alley came to watch our game by the time we were at like the 5th bowl. I guess it's not every day you see a white boy and a half white boy bowling in the pilipinas. Elder Matthews is pretty good as well. So yeah , that was pretty interesting to me haha. I miss bowling with Cody back at school. We'd go like 3 or 4 times a week when it was just us in the tiny bowling alley and spend about 5 dollars , which got you like 3 or 4 games. Crazy cheap. I actually miss Idaho a bit. As I talk to people about school I realized how blessed I was to go up there. I don't know how much I like Utah and Idaho was just quiet and really the place I needed to be the year before my mission. I'll be excited to go back in however many months ... again I refuse to count.
Yeah , so last week after we were done shopping we headed to the zone leaders and got the letters [THANK YOU JUNE! And always sister sturgess ... she's amazing in how despite being fairly aged she still remembers to send me a card like every month.] Alsooooo got the PACKAGES! Two of them. Thank you so much. I'll be honest in that I opened up all of them except for two marked for Christmas Eve. Also I gave Elder Tan the 12 or 13 for him. I think there was 13. But I only opened them , because I kind of think I'll be getting transferred this week and I can't take two extra big boxes with me. But thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you oyouu !!! Everything was awesome and way too much. The shaver is so so good hahaha. I shave usually while in the shower ... without a mirror ... so you saved me so much time and pain every day , hahaha. I'm still using like a dull razor blade because they're not cheap here. The Helicopter thing was hysterical and so hard to fly hahaha. I'll try and bless the life of a child here with that. Speaking of which - sometime before I go home please send more CTR rings. Kids LOVE LOVE LOVE them. They feel so special to have a ring. Most hide it so they won't lose it. But what else ... everything was just awesome. Two new books .... so excited. I love Elder Holland and Elder Oaks is a brilliant speaker. Thank you again. Elder Frandsen [one of my zone leaders] has an LDS BELIEF book as well , and that's fun to read. You should look into it so I can read it when I get home haha. I've become addicted to learning. It's funny how that has changed so much. I've always loved learning , but gospel learning has become a passion. I only like want to read about the gospel , it's so fulfilling ... weird.
Anyways , just thank you. Everything was awesome and it felt just like being home seeing all that wrapping paper , haha. Also the notes on the chain ... mom! You do too much hahaha , that must have taken so so long. Thank you so much though. Please tell each one of those people I love them and thank you.
Yay! Haha , I'm glad you got my package. Please save something for June as well ... there's a bunch of stuff in there. Caitlin as well if you can ... really anyone you can think of , haha. But yeah ... don't get mad at me ! Hahaha just laugh at the gifts. That's all I wanted. Nothing too serious of a gift , just asian.
So yeah , my week has been pretty good. The highlight was exchanges with Elder Frandsen on Friday. We taught a bunch of good lessons , and then one very very cutting lesson to a less - active that keeps promising to come to church , but won't come. She's so sweet and it hurt so much to chastize but we did it with love and ... SHE CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY! So did another less - active member that we've been working with for like 3 months. It feels so so so good when they come back , so much better than investigators , honestly. It was just a brilliant sunday as well. We fasted the whole day for less actives to come , and they came. Church was awesome , the sacrament tastes better and is more meaningful when you're fasting , we had a very important ward council meeting after church , then the First Presidency Christmas Devotional was so so good. Especially the First Noel song. I was slapped in the face with positive emotions with that one. MoTab really helps me feel the spirit stronger than anything else.
Anyways , that's all my news for this week because I'm out of time.
June- I'm sending a letter out today
Caitlin- I'm sending your letter to your home , cuz I don't know when you'll be leaving Utah
Thanks for everything , for all your love and prayers!
Mom , if you can take care of the long distance stuff on your side that'd be a lot easier. You mentioned last may that you could get a long distance thing way cheap .. it'd save me money and time. But if it's more complicated than very simple I can just take care of it on my end. I'll probly ET phone home on christmas day , in the morning when I wake up ... maybe. Or maybe christmas eve. Just tell me when you guys are all around , or the best time.
Okay - love you all!
[ps I'll know this week if I'm being transferred. PRAY FOR ME!]
-Elder A White [parang general authority na ako!!!]
SO! I enjoy getting all these emails telling me how boring my emails are , hahaha. I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not exactly bungy jumping or free scaling mountains all day. I walk on cement up and down hills and talk to people about spiritual things , hahaha. I'll try to add humurous things in more , but now that the culture has stopped being so shocking for me ... nothing seems funny anymore. I will say this though. When filipinos turn pages... it's not like regular people in which we find the corner or at least a side and turn it slowly. It's a pinch and turn... page by page. Or you can also choose the grab the spine technic , and brush the pages with your thumb until you find the page ... both work. The filipino style is to spasmically open to any page , then continue to use all 5 fingers in a spider-like pinching technic of the whole page and turn page by page ... even if you're 300 pages off ... they'll go page by page crinkling every single one. It's hysterical , but at the same time I hate lending out my book of mormon or bible or stuff to have them read. I must first find the page for them , then give it to them. And then , even sometimes , they'll change the page and flip back. Usually when searching for a page they'll over pass it by like 50 pages ... then go 40 pages in the opposite direction ... then 30 pages back in the first direction ... until them finally find it. That's humor.
So. My weeks been pretty good. We actually just got back from bowling again. I got 5 strikes and a spare in my last game. ARE YOU PROUD OF ME?! I blow the filipino minds here with my hook. Though I only bowled a 156. That's three weeks in a row now we've gone bowling , and I'd go every week of my mission if I could haha. It was just us and the Quezon Hill Elders , which is Elder Matthews [phil/aus] and Elder Abarte. Elder Tan and Abarte didn't want to play a second game , so me and E Matthews just went at it. It was way funny , because everyone else in the alley came to watch our game by the time we were at like the 5th bowl. I guess it's not every day you see a white boy and a half white boy bowling in the pilipinas. Elder Matthews is pretty good as well. So yeah , that was pretty interesting to me haha. I miss bowling with Cody back at school. We'd go like 3 or 4 times a week when it was just us in the tiny bowling alley and spend about 5 dollars , which got you like 3 or 4 games. Crazy cheap. I actually miss Idaho a bit. As I talk to people about school I realized how blessed I was to go up there. I don't know how much I like Utah and Idaho was just quiet and really the place I needed to be the year before my mission. I'll be excited to go back in however many months ... again I refuse to count.
Yeah , so last week after we were done shopping we headed to the zone leaders and got the letters [THANK YOU JUNE! And always sister sturgess ... she's amazing in how despite being fairly aged she still remembers to send me a card like every month.] Alsooooo got the PACKAGES! Two of them. Thank you so much. I'll be honest in that I opened up all of them except for two marked for Christmas Eve. Also I gave Elder Tan the 12 or 13 for him. I think there was 13. But I only opened them , because I kind of think I'll be getting transferred this week and I can't take two extra big boxes with me. But thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you oyouu !!! Everything was awesome and way too much. The shaver is so so good hahaha. I shave usually while in the shower ... without a mirror ... so you saved me so much time and pain every day , hahaha. I'm still using like a dull razor blade because they're not cheap here. The Helicopter thing was hysterical and so hard to fly hahaha. I'll try and bless the life of a child here with that. Speaking of which - sometime before I go home please send more CTR rings. Kids LOVE LOVE LOVE them. They feel so special to have a ring. Most hide it so they won't lose it. But what else ... everything was just awesome. Two new books .... so excited. I love Elder Holland and Elder Oaks is a brilliant speaker. Thank you again. Elder Frandsen [one of my zone leaders] has an LDS BELIEF book as well , and that's fun to read. You should look into it so I can read it when I get home haha. I've become addicted to learning. It's funny how that has changed so much. I've always loved learning , but gospel learning has become a passion. I only like want to read about the gospel , it's so fulfilling ... weird.
Anyways , just thank you. Everything was awesome and it felt just like being home seeing all that wrapping paper , haha. Also the notes on the chain ... mom! You do too much hahaha , that must have taken so so long. Thank you so much though. Please tell each one of those people I love them and thank you.
Yay! Haha , I'm glad you got my package. Please save something for June as well ... there's a bunch of stuff in there. Caitlin as well if you can ... really anyone you can think of , haha. But yeah ... don't get mad at me ! Hahaha just laugh at the gifts. That's all I wanted. Nothing too serious of a gift , just asian.
So yeah , my week has been pretty good. The highlight was exchanges with Elder Frandsen on Friday. We taught a bunch of good lessons , and then one very very cutting lesson to a less - active that keeps promising to come to church , but won't come. She's so sweet and it hurt so much to chastize but we did it with love and ... SHE CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY! So did another less - active member that we've been working with for like 3 months. It feels so so so good when they come back , so much better than investigators , honestly. It was just a brilliant sunday as well. We fasted the whole day for less actives to come , and they came. Church was awesome , the sacrament tastes better and is more meaningful when you're fasting , we had a very important ward council meeting after church , then the First Presidency Christmas Devotional was so so good. Especially the First Noel song. I was slapped in the face with positive emotions with that one. MoTab really helps me feel the spirit stronger than anything else.
Anyways , that's all my news for this week because I'm out of time.
June- I'm sending a letter out today
Caitlin- I'm sending your letter to your home , cuz I don't know when you'll be leaving Utah
Thanks for everything , for all your love and prayers!
Mom , if you can take care of the long distance stuff on your side that'd be a lot easier. You mentioned last may that you could get a long distance thing way cheap .. it'd save me money and time. But if it's more complicated than very simple I can just take care of it on my end. I'll probly ET phone home on christmas day , in the morning when I wake up ... maybe. Or maybe christmas eve. Just tell me when you guys are all around , or the best time.
Okay - love you all!
[ps I'll know this week if I'm being transferred. PRAY FOR ME!]
-Elder A White [parang general authority na ako!!!]
Sunday, December 4, 2011
ako ay pilipino!
Aloha.
How's your week been?
Mine's been okay!
Guess where I am.....................................
BAGUIO!
Haha , no one got transferred. We were pretty shocked. At first I thought it was a joke because they did it in a way that made me think I was getting transferred. Ahah , but as they were telling the times the jeep would be coming around to pick everyone up , they didn't include us. I was like uhh... am I seriously not transferring and they're like nope. So a flood of emotions came through , ahaha. I was like uhh why am I goingto be here for 6 months hahah. But then I got way way stoked to have Christmas here. The members are a bit more well off , meaning the offer will be a bit more hearty haha. Also the manager of our complex and her family are my favorite people in the Philippines , so it'll be way funny having Christmas there.
BUT! I might be trasnferred in like 2 weeks... ha. It's awful. I've already built myself up for the crush of not transferring , and now I don't want to leave until after Christmas , and there's a good chance I'll be out of here by the 18th'ish. Because they were supposed to call two new Assistants but they only called one [Elder Heninger] [my old District Leader]. So there's a good chance [because I've been here for a long time] that I'll be transferred in two weeks when they call the new assistant. Obviously not that I'll be the assistant , but they'll be abunch of switches in the mission as one steps up to AP , one steps up to Zone Leader , District Leader , and so forth... so I'll just be thrown somewhere else. It's a bit upsetting , but I'll do whatever's asked. So me and Elder Tan are still together right now and working miracles in Burnham 2 , haha. No , but last Saturday and Sunday were stake conference and it was really good meetings ... and on Sunday we had a lot of Less-Active "Returning Members" come back. It's a really good feeling to see them slowly remember church and how they used to feel. Elder Misalucha was the visiting speaker , and is a pretty good speaker. He's an area authority here , and apparently the wife of his uncle is a really famous singer here in the Philippines and he helped convert them both. Also President and Sister Jensen came up for both days , so it was good seeing them and hearing their messages. It was basically... bring back all those you let go astray , haha. The Philippines isn't exactly Utah for hometeaching ... and testimonies are shaken quickly ... especially when it doesn't coincide with their job. But they're great people. Elder Misalucha told a pretty saddening story , though , of visiting a ward in Honolulu a few years back and the High Priests Group Leader telling them that only about 15 out of 30 of the High Priests were there. The other half were less - active. They let their jobs come before everything else because they wanted the " american dream " of multiple cars , a big house , and so on. So what had happened is that wives had divorced them and slowly they divided themselves from the church. They were all filipinos. The saddest part was they were all former bishops and stake presidents he said. Crazy.
So that's our work here. Bringing back the lost sheep. Because as the poem goes ... it was a sheep , not a lamb that went astray in the parable Jesus told ... and so forth. You bring back the parents , many baptisms of children , spouses , and relatives will follow. It's a great new focus and will change the culture of the entire Philippines for the better. A few good quotes of Elder Misalucha:
He's 100% Filipino and he said "This is why our nation is poor. When we treat laws and commandments as suggestions , you get chaos."
Also a few jokes he heard that he doesn't like about marriage , but the rest of us laughed haha.. "Marriage isn't a word , it's a sentence... a life sentence."
" When you hold a woman's hand before marriage , it's love. When you hold a woman's hand after marriage.. it's self-defense."
" Year one of marriage- the man speaks , the woman listens. Year two of marriage- the woman speaks , the man listens. Year three of marriage - both speak... loudly... at the same time... and the neighbors listen."
ahahah it cracked me up.
Anyways , back to Wednesday. After our district meeting / finding out whose getting transferred we took a lot of pictures [as pilipinos do] and then we had Jovelyn's Baptism! I didn't bring my cord today , so I'll send the pictures next week. But it was way way good. Elder Tan baptized and Jovelyn was way stoked. She's a 19 year girl that's living at a member's house and has come to church for about 6 months now. She's also crazy crazy shy , haha , but doesn't show it like regular people. She does more embarrassing things , hahaha. So during her testimony , even though it was only like 30 people there , she would read like two sentences she had written down then like look up , high pitch scream then hide behind the podium for 15 seconds , hahahaha. It was so funny. She did that like 4 times. After the baptism the Retuta's [the family she's staying at] took us out to really good chinese food. [DIM SUM JUNE!] ...it was way nice of them.
So besides that , we've basically just been telling people that I'm actually not transferring , and finding out the reason why I didn't transfer... because about 20 people prayed that I wouldn't!!! I blame their faith.
Anyways that's all I got for now , I think.
1. Packages - I haven't gotten any yet , but I think they're at the ZLs house ... I'll let ya know next week.
2. Phone Call - I'll be calling probably Christmas Day for me , so it's Christmas Eve for you guys ... I'll buy a calling card if you want , or I can give you my cell phone number and you guys can call me if you can get a cheap 5$ plan thing. Depends on you , just let me know by next week.
I think that's all. Love you all!
KEEP UP THE EMAILS! June still wins for the most!
...ps why is Dad by himself? Haha ... no companion? That doesn't seem according to mission rules.
How's your week been?
Mine's been okay!
Guess where I am.....................................
BAGUIO!
Haha , no one got transferred. We were pretty shocked. At first I thought it was a joke because they did it in a way that made me think I was getting transferred. Ahah , but as they were telling the times the jeep would be coming around to pick everyone up , they didn't include us. I was like uhh... am I seriously not transferring and they're like nope. So a flood of emotions came through , ahaha. I was like uhh why am I goingto be here for 6 months hahah. But then I got way way stoked to have Christmas here. The members are a bit more well off , meaning the offer will be a bit more hearty haha. Also the manager of our complex and her family are my favorite people in the Philippines , so it'll be way funny having Christmas there.
BUT! I might be trasnferred in like 2 weeks... ha. It's awful. I've already built myself up for the crush of not transferring , and now I don't want to leave until after Christmas , and there's a good chance I'll be out of here by the 18th'ish. Because they were supposed to call two new Assistants but they only called one [Elder Heninger] [my old District Leader]. So there's a good chance [because I've been here for a long time] that I'll be transferred in two weeks when they call the new assistant. Obviously not that I'll be the assistant , but they'll be abunch of switches in the mission as one steps up to AP , one steps up to Zone Leader , District Leader , and so forth... so I'll just be thrown somewhere else. It's a bit upsetting , but I'll do whatever's asked. So me and Elder Tan are still together right now and working miracles in Burnham 2 , haha. No , but last Saturday and Sunday were stake conference and it was really good meetings ... and on Sunday we had a lot of Less-Active "Returning Members" come back. It's a really good feeling to see them slowly remember church and how they used to feel. Elder Misalucha was the visiting speaker , and is a pretty good speaker. He's an area authority here , and apparently the wife of his uncle is a really famous singer here in the Philippines and he helped convert them both. Also President and Sister Jensen came up for both days , so it was good seeing them and hearing their messages. It was basically... bring back all those you let go astray , haha. The Philippines isn't exactly Utah for hometeaching ... and testimonies are shaken quickly ... especially when it doesn't coincide with their job. But they're great people. Elder Misalucha told a pretty saddening story , though , of visiting a ward in Honolulu a few years back and the High Priests Group Leader telling them that only about 15 out of 30 of the High Priests were there. The other half were less - active. They let their jobs come before everything else because they wanted the " american dream " of multiple cars , a big house , and so on. So what had happened is that wives had divorced them and slowly they divided themselves from the church. They were all filipinos. The saddest part was they were all former bishops and stake presidents he said. Crazy.
So that's our work here. Bringing back the lost sheep. Because as the poem goes ... it was a sheep , not a lamb that went astray in the parable Jesus told ... and so forth. You bring back the parents , many baptisms of children , spouses , and relatives will follow. It's a great new focus and will change the culture of the entire Philippines for the better. A few good quotes of Elder Misalucha:
He's 100% Filipino and he said "This is why our nation is poor. When we treat laws and commandments as suggestions , you get chaos."
Also a few jokes he heard that he doesn't like about marriage , but the rest of us laughed haha.. "Marriage isn't a word , it's a sentence... a life sentence."
" When you hold a woman's hand before marriage , it's love. When you hold a woman's hand after marriage.. it's self-defense."
" Year one of marriage- the man speaks , the woman listens. Year two of marriage- the woman speaks , the man listens. Year three of marriage - both speak... loudly... at the same time... and the neighbors listen."
ahahah it cracked me up.
Anyways , back to Wednesday. After our district meeting / finding out whose getting transferred we took a lot of pictures [as pilipinos do] and then we had Jovelyn's Baptism! I didn't bring my cord today , so I'll send the pictures next week. But it was way way good. Elder Tan baptized and Jovelyn was way stoked. She's a 19 year girl that's living at a member's house and has come to church for about 6 months now. She's also crazy crazy shy , haha , but doesn't show it like regular people. She does more embarrassing things , hahaha. So during her testimony , even though it was only like 30 people there , she would read like two sentences she had written down then like look up , high pitch scream then hide behind the podium for 15 seconds , hahahaha. It was so funny. She did that like 4 times. After the baptism the Retuta's [the family she's staying at] took us out to really good chinese food. [DIM SUM JUNE!] ...it was way nice of them.
So besides that , we've basically just been telling people that I'm actually not transferring , and finding out the reason why I didn't transfer... because about 20 people prayed that I wouldn't!!! I blame their faith.
Anyways that's all I got for now , I think.
1. Packages - I haven't gotten any yet , but I think they're at the ZLs house ... I'll let ya know next week.
2. Phone Call - I'll be calling probably Christmas Day for me , so it's Christmas Eve for you guys ... I'll buy a calling card if you want , or I can give you my cell phone number and you guys can call me if you can get a cheap 5$ plan thing. Depends on you , just let me know by next week.
I think that's all. Love you all!
KEEP UP THE EMAILS! June still wins for the most!
...ps why is Dad by himself? Haha ... no companion? That doesn't seem according to mission rules.
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