Transferred

Hello all, things have been pretty crazy these last couple of weeks. The Bicol region, which is where my mission is, was hit by a signal 3 typhoon, so the work here changed dramatically. We were advised by our Mission President that in most cases teaching would be less effective than service, and post typhoon clean up was encouraged as the primary focus for missionaries. The ensuing two weeks (and the last two weeks of the transfer) were spent offering service to people in Pio Duran. Service ranged from clearing debris from yards to cutting down destroyed banana trees to removing trees that had fallen on houses. Our attire changed from oxford and tie to t-shirts, and instead of bags and scriptures we carried machetes and saws.

Typhoon damage

This last transfer ended, and I was informed that I was being transferred. I've been in Pio Duran for the entire seven months that I've been in the Philippines, so finding out I was being transferred was a little heartbreaking. I said goodbye to the members and my roommates, and readied my things.

The way transfers work in the field, you are informed that you're being transferred, but you aren't told anything about where you're going or who your new companion will be until you meet at a central "transfer point" where elders and sisters meet their new companions and go from there to their new companions.

When I arrived in Legazpi, where our transfer point was, I was informed that my new companion would be Elder Nierves. Both Elder Nierves and I arrived in Pio Duran at the same time, and we had been roommates for six
months, so we know each other quite well. Our area is Malilipot, right outside of Tabaco, and it's one of the, if not the, closest areas to the Volcano Mayon. It's also heavily Catholic, which is different, since, in terms of actively religious people, Pio Duran was a pretty even mix of a variety of different Christian religions. The apartment we have is actually a stone's throw away from a huge Catholic Church. In the apartment are two other elders, a Filipino, Elder Analao, and a New Zealander, Elder Walters.

The work here this last week hasn't been quite as service-heavy as it was in Pio Duran. It's been a pretty even mix, and most of our teaching has been with less and inactive members. One of the members we teach, I don't
really consider inactive, though she hasn't been to church for months, if not years. This sister is in her seventies and bedridden. She lives with her husband in what I can only call a hut with one real room. The Typhoon
left it standing, though the roof is completely useless at this point against rain. And yet, even though this sister has probably the hardest life I can imagine, her faith is one of the strongest I've seen. She loves to have the missionaries come and teach, and she always asks that we sing before we share with her. During our first lesson with her, I felt this outpouring of love for her, and the scripture 1 Samuel 16:7 came to mind, which reads: " But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused
him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." I love this work, and I love that it brings me into the lives of so many good, strong, faithful people.

June 8 - Mangoes!!

Ethan is grateful for fresh, native mangoes.

This week was lots of fun, in a "we worked really hard, but had a blast" kind of way. We're finishing up preparations for the Pertez children's baptism. The date we have (and I'm pretty sure this one will stick) is the 21st. Lessons with them are so much fun, though sometimes they're a bit shy.


We've also been teaching Nanay Rosemary, a widow we've been teaching for a while. I feel like the members we've designated as her fellowshippers are doing a fantastic job of befriending her and helping her with her day to day life. Often fellowshipping is the hardest thing to facilitate as missionaries, so it's so nice to see that bridge being forged long before the baptism happens.

Yesterday, we went to Binodegahan, a relatively far away area, and went to a member's house to pick up one of the youth to come work with us. He got ready, and then left the house with us. A few minutes later his little brother, maybe four years old, came running out, tears streaming down his face, yelling "Where are you going!?" over and over again. Our member, whose name is Hyrum, picked him up, took him inside, and then sprinted out of the house at top speed. Needless to say, his little brother likes him a lot.

In terms of a spiritual message for the week, we just got an issue of the General Conference edition Liahona. President Uchtdorf's talk on gratitude was phenomenal. I highly recommend it. Gratitude is a theme all throughout the scriptures. One of my favorite examples is Lehi. He's just left his gold, silver, home, and the land of his fathers to go out into the wilderness, where he must rely wholly on the support of the Lord, and the first thing he does after leaving is offers thanks to the Lord. An attitude of grattitude really is a huge part of living a happy life.

God bless,
Elder English

March 31 - From Pio Duran

This week has been an absolute blur. Tuesday was transfer day, and I received a new companion and a new calling. My companion's name is Elder Molina, and he's wonderful. He has three months left on his mission and is very experienced. He's quite good at English, and has been helping me figure out some things that confused me about Tagalog. He's also a very good cook, and has been showing me how to cook some native Filipino dishes.

As for the calling, I was asked to serve as senior companion right out of my training, which is kind of overwhelming. It means that I choose where to go and who to visit. My companion gives advice and suggestions, but I make the ultimate decision. I'm also responsible for the record keeping, which I haven't really done before. It's funny, because last week I wrote that the Lord sometimes piles on more than you think you can handle just to show you that you can. I had no idea how true that was until this last week, but I do know that it is true. I think I've shared this quote before, but it still applies. "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called"

Elder Haymond from Santaquin, Elders Nierves and Molina from the Philippines and Elder English

One of the sisters in the ward that is always feeding us. We're so grateful for her hospitality.

Beautiful Filipino flowers

Toploading selfie with beautiful Filipino flowers

Unshucked rice that the natives here spread out on one side of the road to sun dry. You see these everywhere on sunny days.

March 24th - From Pio Duran (Part 2)

***Mama Questions and Answers***

So a couple of questions for you. What do you eat when you are at home in your apartment? What do you guys fix for yourselves? If you get a chance, I would love a picture of the exterior of your apartment.  Also, what is church like there? How is it the same or different from the wards over here?

Um, lots and lots of rice, and usually a bit of meat as a side dish.
They have a word for "thing eaten with rice" Ulam. Usually our ulam is
canned corned beef, langoniza (a type of sausage) hot dog, chicken, or
some other meat. I personally like the pineapple here, so I eat that
with my meals, and when we have fruit I'll have that with my meals. I
also will buy bread and actual cuts of pork when I'm in Ligao and make
sandwiches with that and pineapple. I'll see if I can't get a picture
for you before next week.

 Um Sunday Worship Service. Well, it's anywhere
between thirty and fifty people in the branch, with a ton of those
being children and only three or four being Melchizedek priesthood
holders (not including the missionaries). They sing in English, though
the pronunciation is usually different, and there's no piano, so we
sing without accompaniment, which can be... interesting. The sacrament
prayers are also done in English. On top of that, the leadership isn't
nearly as organized here as it is at home. When I first got here, they
just had a Branch President, though we've helped him know what to do,
so he's extended callings to several brothers, so that is getting
better.

So, we got transfer announcements Saturday Elder Carpio is going
to be transferred tomorrow which makes sense since my training is
officially over. I'll be staying in Pio Duran for another six weeks at
the least, and I'll meet my new companion tomorrow. Elder Rennaker is
also getting transferred out of Pio Duran, which is too bad because
we've become good friends in the twelve weeks we've been here
together.

March 24th - Fro Pio Duran

We crossed over the ricketiest looking bamboo bridge, and we
stopped to take pictures at the end of it.

Add caption

One of the Members Caught a Snake Turtle

Random scenery on the way to a dinner appointment.

This past week has been quite inspiring on Tuesday we had exchanges
with the Zone Leaders. While working with one of the Zone Leaders, he
had me do some door to door contacting, and expected me to do it more
or less on my own. It was pretty intimidating, but after doing it a
couple of times, I realized that I know a lot more Tagalog than I
thought I did. Since that day, I've held several independent
conversations with natives. It has occurred to me that we are often
like that. We underestimate our capabilities because we constantly
tell ourselves that our capabilities are less than they actually are,
and we miss the development of those capabilities. Then when God or
one of his instruments kicks us out into the open and forces us to
rely on those capabilities, our first response is fear and then we
realize that we've come a lot farther than we realized. Often times
trials and tribulations are designed to force us to realize that we
are much more capable than we think.

Closer to the end of the week, while teaching one family, we met a man
from their church who said he was a "layman preacher." He asked what
our holy day was and why, and I explained that our holy day is on
Sunday, and that I wasn't exactly sure why (I knew that previous to
Christ's time, the Sabbath was held on a Saturday but I wasn't sure
when exactly the transition started or why the change happened). I
researched it and the following day we returned. I started to explain,
citing Acts 20:7 and planning on then moving to D&C 59:12. He
interrupted me, and went off on a rant about how Sundayworship was
biblically unfounded and was instituted by the Catholic church. This
was the first time I'd run into anyone who wanted to bible bash, and
any attempt for me to finish my explanation were ignored. He continued
to throw out scripture after scripture, each time citing his own
interpretation of the scripture to make a case against Sunday as the
holy day. The entire time the man talked, there was absolutely no
confirmation by the Spirit that what he was saying was true, no doubt
because of the aggressive and combative manner in which he spoke. If
anything, I was getting the impression that the things he said weren't
true. Finally, Elder Carpio stopped him, told him that we were willing
to return if and when he was willing to listen to us, and he bore his
testimony. Very quickly the environment and the feel of the situation
changed. I'm not sure that the family or the preacher will be willing
to soften their hearts, or if they were in a spiritual place to hear
the spirit's whisper, but it was a wonderful opportunity for me to
develop my recognition of what the spirit feels like in two very
different situations. Sometimes people just want to argue about
religion. Our role as witnesses of Christ is to explain to earnest
seekers of truth and testify of what we know to be true, not to
facilitate combative angry dialogue. The Spirit is driven away by
contention, and the Spirit is the most powerful testament that what we
as Latter Day Saints teach is true.

March 17, 2014 - from Pio Duran

This past week, we were taught a new finding technique. On Tuesday, all of our morning appointments fell through, so we fell back to tracting. The area that we were in had been thoroughly tracted by us and by the missionaries that came before us, so when we would go from house to house, people had already hidden in order to avoid us and avoid hurting our feelings by turning us away. As we went through this area, we passed a trio of small boys. My first initial evaluation of them was that they probably wouldn't be receptive. (preteen boys rarely have the attention span to listen to our message) However, my companion and I exchanged a glance that indicated we'd both felt that we needed to stop here and teach. We taught them a very brief overview of the Restoration of the Gospel, and to my surprise, two of the three boys sat through the entire thing and were quite eager to learn more. Over the week, they introduced us to about half a dozen of their friends. Each of those contacts will allow us to meet a set of parents, and I have no doubt that we'll find a receptive family in one of those homes.

It brings to mind Alma 37:6, which teaches, "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" This past week has been a definite testament to that truth. Through a small lesson to three seemingly simple young boys, a great growth has been seen in our work, and I expect even greater things to continue from that contact. I know that the Holy Ghost knows which small and simple things are to be the tools of the Lord, but we have to listen and acknowledge the guidance we are receiving to help great things come to pass. I know these things to be true.

 Toploading vistas

Elder Rennaker found two adorable puppies, and they fell asleep on his lap.

General goofiness at a dinner appointment. This also serves as your Before picture.

Post haircut photos. Considering the fact I didn't have any of the vocabulary necessary to communicate with the barber about my hair, it turned out pretty well. Sidenote: They use straight razors here... Most terrifying haircut of my life.

March 10, 2014 - From Pio Duran

This week was a whirlwind. I'm grateful that I'm the companion of a District Leader, because it means that I get to go on exchanges with other missionaries often, and that means that I get to sample and "taste" the teaching styles of lots of different people. The Elder I got to exchange with this week was one of the most humble and loving missionaries I've ever met. The way he acted and talked made me realize that I haven't been doing my companion justice in how I treat him. I think it's resulted in a better relationship with my companion. In particular, I've learned this lesson: If you're truly charitable and loving towards your fellow man, the way they treat you doesn't change how you feel towards them. When Christ was crucified, he pleaded on behalf of those who were committing the act. Do we have the strength and courage to love our enemies? If the answer is no (and I certainly fall into this category) the next step is to pray to our Father in Heaven to ask for that strength. The Atonement brings with it a powerful ability to make us more than we are or really deserve to be, but we have to seek for that change. I promise, that as you sincerely pray to love your enemy and for those that spitefully use you, God will help you obtain a greater capacity to love than you yourself could gather. 

Elder English