February 22, 2010 Week 7 Hilongos
AHHH! I lost all of my email because of... circumstances. Halaaaaaa. D:
Oh well. Time to start over.
Hello my family and friends<3
I am still in Hilongos as you can see by my email title!
As for my title, I'm not sure if I should call it week 7 or week 16?
to include the weeks I was in the MTC.
I INCLUDED PICTURES! HOORAY! Rainbow, me and the church, my first
zone, me & s. holden in a put-put, etc etc.
S. Taunan is my new companion. She is such an enthusiastic
missionary. She also speaks English well, so we don't have problems
communicating. (It's still hard to listen to Cebuano! They speak so
fast / have so many words!) Nanoy said that the there aren't jokes in
the Philippines? It makes sense to me though, because I tried telling
them jokes a couple of times, and they didn't laugh. I don't think
they know about the concept of a punchline. But S. Taunan's really a
joker in her own way. She says things that aren't true, and then ends
with "just a joke!" Like, that she's from Utah, or that I have a twin
sister at home (who is the one in my family pictures :P) or that she's
only 16 years old. She's fun. :)
She's also really hardworking. She hurt her foot a couple of days ago
but is still limping about. I forced her to go back home last night
to rest her foot because it was night and there wouldn't be any more
put-puts to drive us around. She said "Endure to the end!" and I
said "Do not run faster than you have strength!" She was saying
"ouch" every 10 yards or so, so I took it upon myself to be the health
enforcer for the evening.
On that note I wrapped her foot up in a elastic bandage because she
said it would start swelling, and told her to elevate it. She did so
with no comment, but when I tried to give her a cold compress she
said: "What are you doing?!" I said it helps to keep it from
swelling. She said she didn't need it because a member had put some
herbs on her foot. I gave her a disbelieving look and she laughed.
This is where Philippino and American medicine clash.
We have a lot of fun though.
I keep getting ripped off because I'm white. D: Some trike drivers
(The picture of the street has a trike on it. A motorcycle with a
frame for passengers to sit in) like to overcharge when I pay because
I'm white, so they assume I'm american and rich and its okay to
overcharge when they're rich, right? >_< Same with buying things in a
market. I think for the most part, people are honest though.
What makes me feel really bad though is the people who assume that I'm
rich so they put out their hand to ask for a hand-out. It's usually
really old people or young children. So I feel really bad, but I'm
not supposed to give out money as a missionary, and personally I would
rather give them food than money.
Feliciana came to church! But she left after sacrament. :(
Christopher and Janice are still really good investigators. They're
so buotan. (kind) and they look forward to our appointments.
This week I want to focus on finding investigators through members.
Our best investigators that I've been talking about are all from
members! Feliciana is an exception, but real missionary work and real
progress comes when the members are involved in teaching their
friends! I feel like I know how to be a much better member now than
ever. I can see and understand the reason behind home and visiting
teaching, and how missionaries need the help of members! It makes me
want to become BETTER. AH so excited. :)
Alma 26:27 And when our hearts were depressed, God promised to give us success
--
~the end~
February 15, 2010 Week 6 Hilongos
~Eva
I got the emails!! WOOO. (The
last one is my TRAINER! YAY. Email them the website for the blog too
plz?) 10 pages a day is reading the entire BoM in 6 weeks! AHH. I
tried that in the MTC but I didn't finish all of it yet. :S
~Jessie
I'm glad that Zoey's working out right now. :) I think that part of
it might be because you have more experience feeding the baby and
everything that makes it a little easier. I like that you wrote about
how Zoey's growing now. I'm trying to imagine it in my head. :)
We're not SUPPOSED to eat balut, so I'm not sure if I'll want to even
try...
~Nanoy, Mila, Ian, or a Philippino person
Can we buy pilit in America? To make biko? Apparently the dessert's
Tagalog name is malakit. I've never eaten it at Mila's house so I
dunno!!
~Mom
Oh Mom! It takes 1-2 months
for a package to get to a missionary here. So I might not see the
package for a while if you sent it recently. YAY I'M GETTING A
PACKAGE!! I'm okay on money. I'll email you if I'm running low or
anything.
WE HAVENT GOTTEN TRANSFER INFORMATION YET. BAH!!!! We'll probably
get them later tonight! GEEZE. That's like the last possible minute
to give it to us! (I'm ranting because I don't know if I'm staying in
this area or if I have to pack. We think that I'm staying but... I
don't want to just ASSUME. Of course Sis. Holden is packing
everything up.)
It's actually really easy to get investigators here. At least with
two Amerikana missionaries, EVERYONE wants to talk to you. The hard
part is being able to know when people are actually interested in your
message. If my next companion is Pinay, then we'll see how it
changes. I've had a great companion so far. I just wonder if / hope
I wont get someone crazy to follow-up train me. :S
Loriano was baptised! And he was confirmed on Sunday!!! He seems
happy. But one of the best parts is that his brother, Patrico Beltran
gave a short testimony after his baptism. Patrico actually performed
the baptism. He started to tear up a bit as he said afterwards how he
was so happy that his brother was with him in the gospel. At least I
think he said that. (Limited Cebuano) But I could feel what he was
trying to say! Because I could feel his love and happiness. :)
We have another investigator named Feliciana. She's an older woman
who runs a tindahan. She is really cute because when she came to the
fireside, she stood up and asked: "Where's the truth!?" (Asa ang
kamatuoran!?) And this week in sunday school we talked about how to
pray, and that we shouldn't pray to anything other than our Heavenly
Father. She realized that all of her saints that she owns (Catholic)
are images, and she realized that praying to saints is not how God
teaches us to pray. The best part is that she connected it herself,
and no one had to explain it to her! AHH so proud!
Alma 17:15 God reaches out to everyone
Alma 20:26 Love and service show your pure intentions
--
~the end~
February 8, 2010 Hilongos Week 5
Questions from dad!
What time do you get up in the morning and what time do you go to bed?
6:30 am - wake up
10:30 pm - sleeeeeep.
What are your beds like there? Are they pretty much the same?
The mattresses here are like long foam thingies. They have a cover on
them though with various patterns. I have my sheets on them. :)
Are you living with a family or are you in an apartment?
We live in a apartment owned by a church member. We actually live
right next to their business, which is a "Funeral Home". They arrange
funerals and sell caskets or something. I almost wanted to laugh when
I saw where we lived for the first time because I wanted to stick a
sign underneath it saying: Plan of Salvation! Where do we go after
we die?!
Is your Cebuano getting better?
I'd say my Cebuano is definitely better than when I first got here.
o.O I can speak more easily and there have been times where I feel
like I wasn't really hindered at all in speaking. :) I am more able
to understand what people are saying at their speed, but I still am
lacking several hundred vocabulary words to understand everything.
~Emily
I'm just glad you're okay.
~Eva
I'll just bring the email addresses next week, if I dont forget. -_-
I thought I wouldn't have to bring them this week cuz I was sure that
the one I had from before was correct. We'll SEE!!
We use alcohol to clean our hands.
~Mom
Maybe the house will be completely different when I get back. :)
I was going to attach some pictures, but I forgot my camera cord. I'm
always forgetting things. I have a really awesome picture of the Bato
Zone (My zone) and it makes me think that the picture is meant for a
TV show cover or something. I think you'll understand what I mean
when I upload it next week. We're all different sized heads but
everyone is PERFECTLY positioned so that you can see everyone. I can
imagine the title now: BATO ZONE: PHILIPPINES. It's a new reality
show!
(NEXT WEEK IS TRANSFERS! AND S. HOLDEN IS LEAVING ME. D:)
I found out this week that I lied again last week. The dessert I was
talking about is called "Halo-Halo". S. Holden just laughed at me
when I said I wrote "Hola-Hola". The week before was "Hula-Hula".
OH. EVA. I ATE BANANA-Q THIS WEEK. I could just die and melt. So
yummy. :D And this other dessert thing called Biko. It's like sticky
rice... for dessert! Because it has coconut milk and sugar and things
to make it sweet.
Loriano Beltran had his baptismal interview this week! He was pretty
much an ideal investigator because he's the one who asked his brother
about the Church and he comes to church every week with his brother.
The hardest part of the whole mission is finding people who have that
desire. I've concluded the best I can do is help provide such a
strong environment with the Spirit that the people we teach will want
that Spirit in their lives ALL THE TIME. :D It's all very simple,
theoretically.
We have a TON of new investigators though. We had a investigator
fireside on Friday and we handed out some flyers in some areas around
the Church. We showed the Restoration (in Cebuano!) and gave a tour
of the Church and had a Q&A session. Why don't Mormons use crosses,
and about the "Mormon bible".
The LDS church doesn't use crosses because a cross is representative
of Christ's death. We acknowledge and even revere the death of the
Savior on the cross. But after His death, He was resurrected and so
our message is that He Lives! He lives and loves and guides us today
as our Lord and Savior, and we strive to show our devotion to Christ
through living our lives by following His example and becoming more
like Him.
Mormons use The Book of Mormon and the Bible as our scripture canon.
The BoM is another testament of Jesus Christ. It does not replace the
Bible, but exemplifies it. The BoM is a testament that God loves all
of His children and speaks to all of them. It testifies of the
mission of Christ and how we can become better disciples of Him.
Combined with the Bible, it becomes the ultimate witness of Christ and
His Divinity.
I've been a little more diligent in my BoM reading this week than the
last couple weeks I was in the MTC. Already I've gained so many
insights and counsels I wish I had several months ago. ;)
HOW'S YOUR BOM READING GOING? I asked you to read it last week!
Sooo... Have you read anything yet?! (I'm talking to all of you. At
the same time.)
1 Nephi 11: We can all see God's work for ourselves, we don't have to
rely on the testimonies of others.
Alma 8-14: The gospel is for everyone! God is no respecter of
persons, missionaries can't be either. ;)
--
~the end~
February 1, 2010. Hilongos - Week 4
HI THERE.
~Eva
I'm so glad you figured out how to get my videos off the memory card. :) I hope you get to show it to everyone. And WOW. It's going to be a BOY!!! That's the first EVER. >:O Thanks for sending me the info on Geckos. The ones around here are yellow colored, but I still think they're cute. :D And I got your dearelder.com last week! The one that says "Welcome to the Philippines!" xD
~Emily
YAY a job!
~Mom
:) Hi mommy. I got your email this week, so I don't know if that means your email problem is fixed or not, but it was nice to read. I sent Dad that email earlier through your email, but I really want you to remember it too. We need to go to the temple together when I come home. :)
~Jessie
I have no idea what it was in the email you sent me. If it was a video, I'm pretty sure myldsmail snuffed it out.
~Dad
Mom told me how you asked for "Jessie Loveland" at the hospital. ;) I like to hear funny things that you do or hear about. And I saw something here in Hilongos that I know you'd like, so I'm going to get it as your souvenir.
~CYRENA
Last night I had a dream that we were together and we hugged because we love each other. :D I miss you dear, and thanks again for the lovely scrapbook. It really warms my heart.
~Tiffany
I sent you a letter before I left the MTC, but I wasn't sure if you had gotten it or not. I wish you well dear. I don't know if I was able to convey that feeling to you. You are too important to me for me not to make the things that bring me the most happiness available to you. <3
~Greta & Marissa
I got your letter last week! :) It was way funny. I hope your polygydate goes well. And of COURSE Marissa got called to be RS prez. Its because everyone's in love with her.
I got called "Mother" this week. So I suppose I wasn't completely wrong when I said that some people call us mom. It was undeniably the word "Mother". I'm pretty sure that was a Catholic nun reference. And speaking of Catholic-ism yesterday was the first time ever that I've been "blessed". o_O It's ingrained in Filipino culture to put your forehead to someone's hand if they are much much older than you. It's because Catholicism is so dominant here. So I've actually done it twice because it shows respect to the really old people. But we were walking down the street and this woman led her little children to us and the little boy reached out his hand for mine. I thought he was going to shake my hand but then he put it to his forehead! xD And we taught a couple yesterday for the first time and a bunch of children surrounded us saying "Bless the Amerikanas!" and putting their foreheads to our hands. Children have a tendency to follow us. It makes me feel somewhat like a duck.
They have these things called "Put-Puts" here. They're much more efficient than taxis. They're basically bicycles with little seats next to them so people can charge you money to take you across town. And they have Trikes, which is for longer distances because its a motorcycle with a big metal body around it for people to sit in. Pictures are really the best way to describe them, so look them up. ;) And that dessert I mentioned last week is actually called Hola-Hola. Look that one up too. Though I'll probably start taking more pictures starting tomorrow.
Umbrellas are used year round around here. When its rainy, yes. When it's hot, yes. The Philipinas are scared of "turning brown" (as Sister Holden phrased it) so they use umbrellas to keep the sun off. I'm just scared of turning red. And Avon is here. But it's Philippines Avon. So instead of lotion that gives you a sun-tan, all the lotions advertise that they turn your skin white. No matter where you are in the world, it seems like people want to change their skin color.
We have a lot of new investigators this week and a lot that we still need to contact. I'm really excited for the potential of these people.
I have become a better person from this. I feel more patient, more loving, more understanding, more enlightened, more grateful, and more hard-working than I've been in my life. I'm not even close to being done, but I can feel the impact that my mission is going to make on my life already.
I exhort you all! (Yes, exhort, that big word!) to find yourself a copy of the Book of Mormon and start reading it! I don't care if you've never heard of it or if you read it every day. READ IT. You will find inspiration for your life, you will find out who you truly are, and you will become more like the person that you want to be! I have never been more enlightened by any other literature on the earth. You don't have to write to me, but I would love to hear about your experiences when reading and learning to understand it. READ IT.
2nd Nephi 29: God never ceases His word
~the end~
Jan 25, 2009 - Hilongos Week 3
Eva~
You are so faithful! ;) I love getting your emails. You probably are so good because you were a missionary too.
So Eva sent me a lot of questions, so I'll get to those first.
So do they have any cool foods that you've encountered?
There are a TON of breadshops here. The downtown area where there are a lot of (small) shops there are like 10 little breadshops. They have little baked good things. Today for lunch I ate Palabok(?) It was a noodle dish with a sauce of sorts. But what's really good are the two desserts that I've had here. Hala-Hala and LangDang(?) The first is a like... ultimate snow cone. There's ice and condensed milk in a bowl and there's coconut jelly and jackfruit and corn and cornflakes and red bean and ube in it, and you mix it all up and eat it. You can get it topped with Ube ice cream too if you want. And LangDang(?)... When I first saw it I asked Sister Holden if it was a fruit soup. And that's pretty much what it looks like. A purple soup thing (probably with ube in it) with coconut jelly balls (like boba but BETTER) and bananas and stuff served hot. The name of it changes according to where you are in the Philippines. Oh, and according to some health guidelines that I got when I first got here, I'm not allowed to eat Balut. Oh well. ;)
Have you gotten sick yet?
Actually yes... This week Sister Holden and I stayed in the apartment because on Thursday I had to run to the bathroom unexpectedly a lot. ;P It's was going to happen at some point or other. But I was fine the next day.
Do you have a pensionista that cooks for you or do you go to appointments/members for food?
Sister Holden has been doing most of the cooking. We aren't allowed to have househelp because the missionaries are the only ones allowed inside the apartment. We have bread/fruit for breakfast and some sort of thing with rice for lunch. The best way to make sauces is with a bit of "Magic Sarap" for seasoning. :P Oh and with onions, ginger and garlic too. Yum. We ate at a members house once, but thats because they decided to feed us after we finished our New Member lesson. And this week we met a fellow (non-member, not-investigator) who wanted to talk to us, so we ended up eating at his house. o.O Sister Holden told me: "Just so you know, this never happens." That family normally lives in Manila, so they weren't going to stay in town long. :(
Do they drink cold water?
Sis. Holden told me that Filipinos think that drinking cold water makes you sick. So for the most part, not really.
How are your showers? do you feel clean?
My showers usually consist of me dumping water over my head (from a bucket thing). It's actually kinda nice now that I'm not scared of the cold water anymore. ;) And it hasn't been that hot yet (rainy season or something) so I feel relatively clean throughout the day unless we go to a muddy area.
How are your feet? How's the stink?
My feet are fine. :) I think the MTC was worse than it is here. I don't even need to use foot powder for the most part.
How do you like your rubber shoes?
They're okay. They felt weird at first because the heel was kind of squishy, but then it was nice to have squishy things on your feet.
We have geckos that like to hang out on our walls in our apartment. I'm not sure if geckos eat bugs or anything, but I'm REALLY glad if they do. They're much more welcome as apartment guests in that case. ;) And sometimes late at night we can hear rats in the attic. They sound like dogs running. Which is a little bit frightening. =x
In my last email I said that the people call us "Mom". I was mistaken. :P What I heard as "Mom" was actually "Maam", pronounced "Mah-ahm" which means M'am. hahaha.
Brother Bishop would be happy to know that I started putting together my first Scripture Chains this week!! YAY. Scripture chains make me feel super smart and researched. I hadn't even heard of them until the MTC. So I finished a couple this week. About Baptism by immersion, God introducing Jesus, Christ's Divinity (that we didn't finish in class. Hebrews 1 is GREAT for ending that.), and how man can see God. I used the Bible dictionary for most of my research, so it was easier than it sounds. :P What I'm really trying to figure out how to make a scripture chain for is why you have to be baptized again (I have D&C 22, but I wanted some more) and why there is only one true church/one way/why you need ordinances. A lot of the attitude here is "Jesus gihapon" which basically means, "It's all Jesus, it's all good, All churches can get you salvation"
I want to read the Bible, I want to read the Book of Mormon, I want to read ALL the church magazines in our apartment! BUT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME. AHHH. I actually like studying now. Oh my.
Investigators this week:
Loriano Beltran is amazing!! We taught him the Plan of Salvation lesson this week and he was surprised to hear that coffee was bawal (not allowed). He said it was his favorite and he spent several minutes talking about why it was his favorite. (I didn't really know what he was talking about, except that it was about coffee. o.O) But then he ended by saying "Well, I still have some in my house, so I'll have to find someone else to give it to." So he committed to keep the Word of Wisdom! :)
We've started asking for referrals from ANYONE. Including investigators, and so we got Alvin and Wilma Bilbar, the neighbors of the Fulache family (who are investigators). Sister Holden said that this is the first time she's asked for referrals from investigators. The branch is so small though, I even suggested that we might be able to "fellowship" our investigators with other investigators. Alvin and Wilma are special. :) They are very open and they said that they've been attending different denominations so they're looking for the truth. Sister Wilma just glows. We went to teach them the second lesson and her brother was at their house, so we spent all of our time answering his questions (cuz he had a lot of them) like why we don't worship the cross. So we ended up giving another MR (message of the restoration). But the really awesome thing is that Wilma and Alvin were actually trying to answer his questions themselves, with what we had taught them before! So I'm really excited because they're really understanding what is going on in the lessons.
KK~ I love you all! Write me! Send me more questions too! :)
Hebrews 1: Christ is a God
Alma 32: The Word is like a Seed
2nd Nephi 31: Why Christ was Baptized
~Eva
Oh and there are way more than two areas here. Sister Holden is just special and she was only assigned to two areas. She knows all the members here and MOST of the Less-active members. So that's really great so she can understand whats going on with people, but I think that being here for so long has made her lose hope in some people. :( So I don't know if I'm annoying or refreshing when I say I want to visit everyone. :P Like tonight, we're going to visit some "perpetual investigators" of sorts. Roy Matas says he knows the BoM is true and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, but he doesn't need to be baptized and he's already enduring to the end. And he doesn't attend church, so tonight we're going to ask him about his testimony.
~the end~
Janaury 18, 2009 - Hilongos Week 2
I had a bunch of emails when I signed in today! YAY!!
There were some questions, so here are some answers. :)
Eva~
I got that suitcase at the MTC. There was a couple of occasions where there was a suitcase at the free box. o.O And the "pictures" that you saw on the memory card were my videos. I didn't put any pictures on that card. You just didnt push play or something. ;) Or maybe her camera couldnt read them as videos since my camera is newer? BUT you proved that they're on there, so yea.
I forgot... I was going to bring my book because I wanted you to add my MTC teachers to my email list. The only one I remember is and I'm not sure if that's right. If it is, ask Bro. Morrey for Sister Lillywhite's email too plz?
Emily~
Thank you for the lovely offer of buying me a Ever After DVD for when I come home. But I already have it. :D I bought it at Best Buy or something when I saw it for $5 (SO worth it.) I also really liked the email that you sent me. It was really funny because I could tell for sure that it was you writing it. Dad can send me jokes in every email, it'll remind me of him. :)
Jessie~
This week I was like: Oh. Zoey's probably born now. So I'm glad to hear that Kira has taken a liking to Zoey. :D Updates would make me happy. <3 Oh and ask Ian where he's from in the Philippines. Mila/Nanoy sent me an email and they mentioned "North" but thats about it.
So this finishes my FIRST FULL WEEK of MISSION FIELD-NESS!!
I forget that I'm "Amerikana" until we leave the apartment and people start staring again. Oh yeah... I was warned in the MTC that people would call us "Joe" because we're Americans but that seems to be only for Elders. At least for the most part, they understand that Joe is a male-nickname or something. No, Sister missionaries get different names. I said in my last email that a lot of people like to say hi. It's REALLY true. Sister Holden is used to it, so she just ignores it but I still feel the need to wave or something. They also like to call us "Sisters" for the people who have seen missionaries around enough, and "Mom" for other people. I'm assuming they think we're Mormon nuns or something. Oh, and the occasional "Beautiful/Gwapa". I don't think I'll run low on self-esteem here, the way that happens often enough.
So here in Hilongos, Sister Holden and I are the only missionaries. There's 1 branch here with a total of 300ish members, but the activity rate is a little under 100. There is also a separate sacrament meeting that they do which we don't attend in the area farthest in the branch boundaries that counts for about 20 of those. It's really difficult for people sometimes. A good amount of people went inactive because they simply don't have a lot of money so they feel they can't afford the transportation to go to church. The chapel is here in the main area of Hilongos. And for some reason the church grounds is just filled with caterpillars. I haven't seen them anywhere else except the church grounds. Maybe because of the grass?
I seem to be pretty lucky. A sister in the ward told me that she was really surprised at my Cebuano (they call it Bisaya here because the islands around here are the Bisayas) because the missionaries who first started coming here were "English-speaking" that had a rude awakening when they arrived. xD So because of the efforts of missionaries that returned home, they've made a much better preparation for studying Bisaya in the MTC. But I still don't understand what people are saying about 85-90% of the time. Some people understand most English, but I'd say that isn't a standard. And I think the message means so much more when its in their native language. :)
We taught my first NEW investigator this week! His name is Loriano Beltran and he's the brother of a really faithful member who lives far but still comes to church every week. It was his first time meeting with the missionaries, so I was really excited. :) He's already been to Church twice with his brother. I think his brother has been a great example for him, and so he wanted to find out more about the Church. He's already said that he wants to be baptized if he finds good results from the lessons.
We also taught a Brother and Sister Rabaya, who are active Catholics. Brother wanted an English Book of Mormon to read, so they were given a copy of that and when we went to visit them, he said that he had read the first 3 chapters of the BoM! He really wants to understand the BoM and so he said he was reading it with the Bible. Sister Holden told me that they had not wanted to pray in previous lessons because they only wanted to pray with their memorized Catholic prayers, so we focused this lesson about how to pray. I was surprised, but at the end of the lesson the Brother did pray! He ended up ending the prayer with a Catholic recitation, but it sometimes takes so much to even get someone to TRY praying, that we were really happy. We can only meet with them every 2 weeks or so though because of Brother's work schedule. :(
The mission president doesn't want missionaries to spend time tracking/contacting so our pool of investigators was shrinking until we learned that we were allowed to ask for referrals. We also have a list of all the members in the branch, so we're going to look at any names that Sister Holden doesn't know and see if we can visit them.
Sister Holden is from New Mexico, and she was attending BYU-Hawaii before she came on her mission. This is her last area, while this is my first. So she's going to be leaving. :( Her mission has been interesting because she's only been assigned in TWO areas. She's been in Hilongos for 7 months (will be 8 when she leaves) and she was in one Waray-Waray area for 8 months. I think that that has some advantages. She made me a planner cover last night to protect my planner from the rain. :)
ITS BEEN RAINING SO MUCH. It rained for like 2 days straight this week. And then sporadically for the rest of the week. It's so unexpected. So we bought "plastic shoes" (rubberish) for me to wear. It was really hard to find anything in a size that I could wear. But they're easy to scrub clean and when it rains so much, its all that Sister Holden wears. It just seems like it would be easier to wear sandals because then you wouldn't be walking with water/rocks in your shoes, but we're not allowed to.
I might start listing some favorite chapters that I've read/used each week from scriptures.
Alma 7: The mission of Christ
3rd Nephi 13: How to pray!
So long, farewell~ Send me love plzz. <3's