The last email

From October 1, 2012:

Well,

It's pretty hard to describe my feelings at the moment. Those of you who have served missions might be able to relate. On one hand, I am very excited to come home see all of you once again. :) I love you guys so much and have missed you all! But on the other hand, I am pretty crushed to have to leave the Philippines and all these wonderful, humble people I have had the opportunity to love, serve, and learn from. I will miss the missionary spirit and the missionary life. I worry about the problems of the real world, but at the same time I have hope and I know that the Lord will strengthen me and help me as a apply the things I have learned here.

This week has been a great week. We had a pretty cool opportunity this week where we decided to apply one of the things President Lopez invited us to do, which is to stand in front of a ceres (public bus) and get everyone's attention and give a short message and hand everyone pamphlets with our numbers and the church's address on the back. I did it first, and I was really surprised at how easy it was. I wasn't nervous at all and I was completely comfortable talking in front of a ton of strangers in a language that isn't my own. I wondered if at the beginning of my mission I would have done that. haha. It reminded me of the older times when missionaries would stand on podiums in the street and do the same thing. Then we rode again and it was Elder S' turn. He was so nervous he was shaking, but he did a great job as well. It was pretty cool afterwards to sit down in the back and see almost everybody reading the pamphlets we gave them - a beautiful sight! haha. great experience. :)

I will work hard this week. You don't need to worry about that. haha. I will miss Elder S but I have full confidence that he will continue to be a great missionary. I will miss the wonderful members and investigators, but I know that they will be fine and the work of the Lord will roll forth.
Well! I think that's about it this week! I want to thank you all for all your support and encouragement the past 2 years. The messages and things that have been sent to me have really helped and inspired me. Thank you!! I can't wait to see you all! HALONG GUID, KAG PALANGGA TA KA!!!! kitaay ta sa dason nga semana!!!

-Elder Lee

September 2012

From September 3, 2012:

Hey Family!!!

Actually mom.... I have no idea what you were talking about about the earthquake... haha. I didn't even feel anything. there were a few members that said they felt a little something but that's it. It really made the news there?? wow, i guess it was pretty big then! haha.

oh man! i just realized THAT'S the reason the AP's called and asked if we were alright!! hahaha. we really had no clue. you know, we're out in the middle of nowhere. we don't really get much news. hahaha. they asked if we were alright and we had just had some pretty heavy rain, so we were wondering if they thought we got flooded again or something. wow. ok. thanks for the report, mom! haha.

it was also good to hear the report on home. That sounds like a pretty awesome way for the cat to die, although i have to admit i was a little sad that she won't be there when i get home. I was also slightly disgusted. haha. do you guys have any pictures? (editor's note: our family cat had a confrontation with a coyote-not good for the cat-also-we were not at home at the time.)

I CANNOT believe k is starting kindergarten already. time goes way too fast! O is already getting big, too!

This week things turned out pretty well. Elder S has been doing an awesome job leading and I have confidence in him taking lead of the work when I go home. :) He of course doesn't know everything yet, but that's normal. He will learn. This week I learned from him as well. Because I gave him the chance to lead in planning and teaching, we did things this week that I normally would not have done, but things turned out well. We visited alot of members and less actives and potential investigators, and although we didn't have too many opportunities to teach, we did alot of what I call "Christ-like Ministering". haha. Elder S really cares alot about the people and what their needs are. Multiple times this week I saw him offering service and help to those who needed it, even though he didn't have to, and in my mind I was thinking "we have better things to do". We gave lots of blessings this week and lifted the burdens of lots of people, including active members. One active family had an especially hard time this week and on Sunday they called us their "ministering angels" that came whenever help was needed (not because we were asked, but because Elder S felt prompted to go check up on them). It feels great just to be able to help people who are trying to faithfully live the gospel but hit some roadblocks along the way.

We also had a baptism of Arnel P. (the part member working student) and next week will have one more, for Arnel G. (the newly married part member husband of an RM in our branch.). Arnel P's baptism went well and was well attended. He seems just like a normal member now, and I gave him one of my white shirts and ties so he can start looking like a "real" priesthood holder. haha. �I am really glad for the baptisms because now I can help elder Solis learn how to work with recent converts and branch missionaries in teaching new member lessons and retention. :)

We also had a pretty good combined youth activity, which elder solis and I ran because our young men's president broke his foot (ouch!). We held a Book of Mormon hero quiz competition and had really funny punishments for the team that lost every round (like writing your name in the air with your butt). We had lots of less actives go and have seen lots of little miracles happening with the youth. They really are a strong-spirited generation and have huge potential. We have been helping some of the young men to exercise their priesthood (one of them baptized arnel p) and we have been trying to help the others to have the desire to stop hanging out with their gangs and smoking and drinking and come back to church. We had one young man that we have been working with since day 1 (Juren A.) FINALLY come to an activity and it was so good to see him build up the courage to come and have a good time.

Sister K is now in my district along with a Sister from Kirvati (An island in the Pacific, close to samoa i think?) because they changed Sipalay to a sisters area. so now it's just the 4 of us, and the new couple assigned here, the Adams couple from utah. should be fun!

As things are winding down this last transfer, I feel so blessed with all that I have been given and been taught. I know that there are still great things in store for us this transfer though. :) hehe. we will keep on keeping on! I hope you guys have a great week this week! Halong guid, kag palangga ta kamo!!

-Elder Lee

From September 10, 2012:

Maayong Hapon sa inyo tanan!! (Good afternoon to everyone!)

It was good to hear from you again.
Right now Elder S and I are really unified as a companionship, because we are both blowing our noses and have colds today. hahaha. I had a horrible fever on Saturday that was up in the 102-103 range. I'm glad you sent me that thermometer a long time ago from America, because I don't know how to convert from Celsius anymore and I don;t know what is the normal temperature in celsius. hahah. it was ok though. I was watching my temperature to see if i had to go get a check up or anything. plus that was the day of the baptism of Arnel G., and he really wanted me to baptize him. I felt horrible, but after lots of prayer, rest, and medication, I got through it and come sunday morning, the fever was gone. the only thing left now is a cold, and now elder solis had got one too. yuckkk.

well, besides that, this week went really well. I am constantly learning new things from Elder S. He really knows how to listen well to people and how help them feel the spirit by testfying of truth. One of his strengths is making others smile. He is doing a great job and i have really enjoyed watching him learn and grow. As long as he's obedient, he will become a great missionary.

We had another baptism this week and the spirit was very strong there. We had some professional singers from Bacolod that came and sang (they just happen to be members and were down here singing at a wedding and volunteered to sing at the baptism) so that was pretty helpful to invite the spirit. haha. the goal is to now work with the branch leaders and branch missionaries to establish new members lessons and help them receive the priesthood and callings. So far it is going well and we feel like the branch really trusts us. By the way, we have one of the best branch presidents i have seen on my mission here. even though he is disabled (only one leg) he visits members all the time and his happiness comes form serving others. :) I'm very glad that I get to enjoy working with the members and less actives here for my last few weeks. I feel so incredibly blessed.

We saw a lot of success on sunday, with church attendance and things that happened. The new couple missionaries, the Adams couple, came and visited, and helped clear up some concerns of our branch president, a ton of less actives came that we didn't expect, we hit 116 attendance (the highest Hinoba-an has seen in 7 years), the youth are getting more active and involved and their class is growing bigger every week, and we had really good correlations with the leaders. We have just seen alot of miracles lately and it has given alot of people here the desire to aim higher.

Because all of our investigators are now baptized, We have been focusing on finding more this week and have seen some good success there, but most of the investigators we have found are still in the "new and potential" category, meaning we are not sure whether to continue teaching them or not yet. Hopefully this week we will see some progress with them so we can start helping them progress towards baptism.

Well, I think that's about it for today. and don't worry, Elder S and I are still very focused here in Hinoba-an. haha. It's just starting to feel like crunch time, a little bit is all.

I love you all and you are always in my prayers!! Halong, kag palangga ta kamo!! kita-ay ta sa lima ka semana!!!

-Elder Lee

"Prepare with Purpose. Teach with Testimony. Labor with Love." - Thomas S. Monson (I heard this quote this week and i really liked it, so i thought i'd share. haha. halong!)

From September 24, 2012:

Hey All!!! Kumusta na kamo??

It was good to hear about everyone again this week! Hearing about all the things you're doing sure makes me nervous about getting back into real life! it's quite a difference from the lives people live here in the Philippines. and Dad, I'm just glad you're the kind of counselor that would be able to do all that stuff for the bishop. :) it really makes a difference. Most of the time, our bishops and branch presidents here don't even know how to do it themselves. I have sure learned alot here about church organization from helping out, translating the church handbooks for them, teaching them how to do things like extend callings, helping them order materials for the branch--you name it! haha.

And yes, we did have a zone conference this week, but sadly, we didn't get to stay overnight. it was quite the opposite of a vacation actually - waking up at 3 am to ride a rickety bus and not getting home till 11:30pm that night. hahaha. but it was a REALLY good zone conference and so worth it. President Lopez is really trying to think of new ways to do things and make things even better here for all the missionaries. It helped give me the spiritual boost I needed to really focus in and finish strong these last few weeks. the mission is focusing alot on finding lately, so we have been applying alot of those principles to our work this week. It has been amazing to see the amount of potential investigators that are just popping up everywhere. We're really starting to feel the spirit of missionary work again in our branch. One of the things I got out of the zone conference was that President Lopez really wants to "double our efforts". The way he explained it though, is that it doesn't mean to double the energy we are using, but to double to results by working smarter. Kinda like a CFL light bulb - same energy going in, greater results coming out. Kind of a neat thought. It's something that we can all apply to our lives i think.

This week we were hit again with some nasty nasty storms, and it's been hard to get out as much as we wanted to. Most the time, if we even are able to get into a house to teach, the rain is so loud we can't hear each other! haha. We also spend about a day and a half helping some of our investigators re-roof their nipa-hut. (nipa is just a kind of plant that they use to roof their huts here). It was really fun to be able to help and learn how to do it, in case i ever want to build a hut in america. hahaha. It really wiped us out though, because we were the only ones working on it (no one else showed up and the father can't climb up onto high places), and most of the time we were doing it it was raining cats and dogs. It was a great experience though. :) haha.

well, i think that's about it this week. I think next week might be my last letter home, if i can't get to writing you guys the week after that. That day (October 8) will be the day I head to Bacolod and try to get all the last minute things done. phew!! I love you all and want you to know that you are always in my prayers!! Halong guid, kad palangga ta kamo!! Kitaay ta sa duha ka semana!!

-Elder Lee

August 2012

From August 6, 2012:

Hey Familee!!!

This week has been a pretty good one. I feel like a lot happened, but I really don't have that much to say! haha. We got moved into our bigger, better, cleaner house next door and it already feels a ton better. :) The Bevans couple, the couple missionaries that have been with me most of my mission (they go home to Canada in a few weeks) came and worked with us and we had some amazing experiences. We definitely saw some miracles. I won't talk about them right now, because they were pretty special, but maybe I will talk about them someday after I am home. What I learned from that experience is that the Lord knows us. He knows exactly when and where things are supposed to happen and he sends others to answer our prayers. I also learned about the reality of the priesthood and how real our faith in Jesus Christ is. :)

Other than that, we have been focusing a lot in our branch on the Young Men. The young women are doing great, but the young men are struggling a bit. We only have 2 or 3 active young men out of about 25 and we have a new young men's president that doesn't really know what to do. And even though those 2-3 young men are active, most of them are involved in drinking and smoking and things like that anyways. So to help the branch we have been trying to get some of the active priests to come work with us while we visit the inactive youth. It has turned out to be a really great experience and we can see the excitement and understanding start to grow in the youth. We have been trying to give suggestions of some activities to do, so that can get started rolling. If you guys have any suggestions of good activities for struggling young men that require basically no budget, let me know!! haha.

Our investigators have been doing well also this week, but a few have had some minor set backs. Arnel G. is doing great (with the help of his active RM girlfriend) and is starting to develop a testimony of his own slowly but surely. Arnel P. looks like we will continue teaching him here, but he will probably get baptized in Manapla, the city close to Bacolod where his family (who are also members) are from. He's just going to school down here and doesn't really know anyone, so we felt like that would be best. Junji M. was another referral from a member girlfriend that we were finally able to teach this week. He's awesome and really has a desire to know about the church, it's just hard to set time to meet with him.

Well, I think that's about all for the report this week. I hope you know you are always in my prayers. Keep doing what you know is right and trust in the Lord! Everything will come through in the end. I promise! Halong guid kamo! Palangga ta kamo!!

-Elder Lee

From August 13, 2012:

Hey Familee!!!

I can't BELIEVE how fast time is flying!! you already got my flight plans?? can you please send them to me? because we don't get a copy, just you guys... haha. I also have to go get some chest xrays this weeks as preparation for coming home. YIKES! I feel like there is so much more I need to do here before I go home.

It was good to hear about things back home. The summer is just about wrapping up for you guys, right?

Well, things could not have gone better this week, I think. I had alot of prayers answered and really feel great about the way things turned out. We had kind of a rocky start at the beginning of this week, things just weren't going as well as we wanted to. Then we had exchanges with the zone leaders and I felt like Elder S should lead the area in Hinoba-an instead of me, so that he could get a good opportunity to lead and become more independent. It just so happened that the couple missionaries, the Bevans, also decided to work with them that day, so he had alot on his plate. At the end, everyone I talked to said he did really well, but he didn't think so. Then the day after that we had a few not-so-awesome lessons, and he really started getting down on himself and didn't think he was an effective missionary and started talking about having a desire to go home. So i did my best to encourage him and help him through it and i said alot of prayers for him. well, my prayers were answered on Saturday.

We have been working alot with the young men lately, trying to help them get organized and more active, and we held the 1st young men's activity in a long time on Saturday. We attended and helped out a little. We taught them how to play capture the flag, then we ended up relating it to the gospel. At the end we had a wonderful lesson about staying away from tempatations like word of wisdom and law of chastity, because almost all of our young men are struggling with that. At the end Elder S bore a powerful testimony of the trials he faced before his mission and I even saw a few of the young men crying. After that one of the young men asked if he could talk to our branch president about some things he did, and we helped him out there. That made it all worth it. Elder S said one of his goals here on the mission is to help others his age come back like he did. I could tell that that experience really helped him feel good and boosted his confidence in his skills as a missionary. I told him I think that was the reason we were sent here to Hinoba-an, and that that is all we need to do as missionaries to be successful - bear sincere witnesses of truth to help others repent.

We also had an amazing day at church, where we saw the results of our hard work this week. All 3 of our focus investigators came (2 of them for the 1st time) and we are pretty sure that all of them will be baptized on September 1. and lots of less actives returned as well. the young men were more organized in their classes and in administering the sacrament, and we just got all their quorum presidencies called, and everything just went great. The branch is really getting excited. They keep saying it's because of our hard work, but we keep telling them that it's not us, it's them. One of our branch's goals is to have over 100 attendance within the next 3 months. That was set last week because it has never before been achieved. This week the members did some visiting and inviting and we had 104 attendance this last Sunday- In just one week of setting the goal! haha. We have alot more goals to work towards now this week. I hope we can have another week like we did this last week. Today we are going to reward ourselves and take some time sight-seeing around the beaches and caves here for our P-day. it really is so beautiful. It should be fun!

Too bad I can't send pictures yet. I keep looking for a place to send them, but no one has good enough internet and the ones that do have good enough internet won't allow USBs to be put in the compters. haha. go figure.

Well I hope this week goes well for you guys, too. I have a testimony that Heavenly Father really does know what he's doing and what's best for us. If we just have patience and trust in him and do all we can, even when it gets hard, he'll stretch us and help us to grow and help us to achieve our righteous goals. :) Halong guid kamo!! palangga ta kamo!!

-Elder Lee

From August 20, 2012:

I'm starting to feel the pressure. This transfer is wrapping up, and then I only have one more transfer! I can't believe you already know that President Lopez came and visited... haha. it just happened like 2 days ago! it kinda.... weirds me out. but it's cool! haha. That way i don't have to grow up and i will be able to keep in touch with everything in the mission after I go home. haha. just kidding about the growing up part. ;)

Anyways, this week we stayed pretty busy, but it wasn't as great as last week. We focused alot this week on becoming better listeners instead of talkers. That is one of the most important skills to work on as a missionary. It takes alot of patience and listening to the spirit and what people are saying in order to know what they are REALLY saying, and how to help them the best. We met a few former investigators this week, and also a few less actives that are really deep thinkers (like philosophers), so we learned alot from those experiences. I am really proud of Elder S. I think he's going to be a better missionary than I ever was. haha. He's still struggling with the language, but he is teaching me alot.

We also had an awesome activity this week for the YM/YW, where the Bevans couple came and gave a fireside about the responsibilites of the quorums, classes, YM/YW Presidents, Branch Presidents, etc. It's fun to play translator all the time for them. haha. There was alot of things that I had forgotten out here in the Philippines, just because you never see them! For example, having a Bishop's messenger in sacrament meeting, or bishop's youth council! haha. it really opened their eyes of how things could be, and places to be able to improve for the branch. It was exactly what the YM and YW organization needed, I think. Then on Sunday, after a little nudging and reminding, they got all the Presidents and Counselors of the quorums set apart and sustained. (Finally!) :) We can really see a difference in the youth now that they have responsibilities and opportunities to lead. This Saturday we have a District General Priesthood Meeting, so the goal is to get as many as we can to go to that meeting. It will be really good, because Elder Bevans will be leading it and it is the last training they will give out here (they go home next week!). I will really miss them. they are a couple I really have gotten close to on the mission and really look up to.

Our investigators are doing well, but we had a few setbacks this week... I won't talk about them, but I'll just say that Arnel P. will probably be the only of the 3 progressing investigators that will actually be able to be baptized within the next few weeks. He is doing really great and overcoming word of wisdom problems and reading all the time in the Book of Mormon. He even told us he wants to serve a mission! Way cool. :)

Well, I think that's about it for this week. We have alot to do today, so i'd better get going. I love you all and pray for you all the time! Good luck with this upcoming week! Halong guid kamo! Palangga ta guid kamo.

-Elder Lee

From August 27, 2012:

Howdy Doody!!
Well, things went really well thsi week in Hinoba-an. Arnel P passed his baptismal interview yesterday, so he will be baptized this saturday, and Arnel G was married to Chona M (an RM in our branch) and he will be baptized the following week. We also have been really impressed with what we have seen in our branch leadership lately. Just yesterday we had 2 recent converts given the priesthood and given callings with minimal reminding on our part! haha. The youth are not exactly where we want them to be yet, but they are making big improvements. There are just a few more things to work on before Elder S and I will be satisfied, ;) like filling holes in the presidencies, and getting consistent activities going without our help. haha.

This week I have decided to really give Elder S lots of opportunities to grow. In a sense, I am going to be turning everything over to him for these last 6 weeks (decision making, record keeping, planning, etc.) I'm even having him teach our district meeting this week. it's NOT because i'm getting lazy or anything though! haha. In all honesty, it will be hard for me to do because i like to take over and take control if something is not going how I think it should. so it should be a good learning experience for both of us. haha. He is doing great and I really feel good about the work we are doing in Hinoba-an. We have both felt like we have already made a big difference (with the help of the Lord and the Holy Ghost and lots of prayers), and are trying to expand our vision to help things continue to improve.

We had a good experience last night that made me think a little. We had set up a family home evening with a poor, less active family, that has recently been coming back to church and trying to prepare for the temple. When we set it up they said "but we don't have anything to prepare" (food), so we said "don't worry about it, we'll take care of it all". We set it for Sunday because that is the only day the husband is home. well, we forgot about the food until saturday night, when all the stores were closed and sunday of course was the sabbath day, so we weren't able to buy anything and we had nothing left in our house to bring (we had already eaten). We thought it would be fine, but when we got there we realized the family had nothing to eat whatsoever. No rice, no food, they were relying completely on us. I felt SO HORRIBLE. They have two little kids and the thought of them going to bed hungry that night just made me so sad. I seriously considered breaking the sabbath to buy them things to eat, figuring it would be ok to help out a family. On our way home from the family home evening, we were still thinking about what to do and i said a little prayer in my head for them, and then when we got to our doorstep we saw that some of the members had left bananas and bread and other food on our doorstep as thanks for something we did earlier that day. We immdeiately grabbed the food and ran back to the family (they were really far away) and handed them the food just as they were going to bed. I will never forget their faces. It was so filled with gratitude and love and they couldn't stop thanking us. It made me feel SO much better.

After thinking about this, i learned alot. I learned that we need to follow the commandments to the best of our ability in order for blessings to come. president Lopez always says "Obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles". That is so true. I also thought about that family. They had their hoped crushed when we showed up with no food the first time, but they didn't complain at all. They were ready to submit to the trial and go to bed hungry. That really is the meaning of true faith, i think. No matter how dark our day may seem, we need to have the trust and hope that the Lord will take care of us (and he WILL, every time), and anything he throws our way is for our good.

I hope this week you guys all have a great week and trust in the afflictions that come your way. Look toward the future with hope. :) I love you all and you are always in my prayers!! Kita-ay kita dugay-dugay! (See you soon!) - WOW that sounds weird to say. haha. Halong!! :)

-ELder Lee

JULY 2012

From July 2, 2012:

Happy 4th of July!! I just got through writing to the sister and telling her that it's a bummer I can't celebrate 4th of July with you guys this year, but I promise you next year I will be SO patriotic. hahah. me and Elder C are looking for ways to celebrate this year, because we are both nearing the end of our missions (he goes home right before me, in August.)

Also, President Tobias goes home this week and come Sunday, we have a new Mission President, President Marlo O. Lopez. He was supposed to get here yesterday, but he got sick and President Tobias was asked to extend another week. :) That's good news to me, because then I get to say goodbye to President Tobias. I will really miss him. He is the absolute greatest ever. I have learned SO MUCH from him. It's hard to explain just how much! He also told me that he will give me his information so after the mission I can still write him. He suggested that I ask for his recommendation to teach at the MTC! I've been thinking about it a little, because just a few weeks ago, they opened up Ilonggo as a language at the MTC and all of the missionaries I knew here on the mission already have a job teaching there (because we are the only ones who know how to speak it, besides Ilo Ilo Mission. haha).  Elder L, my trainer, is teaching there now! I will need a job when I go back to BYU, so I'm considering checking it out when I get back. NOT that I've started worrying about that kinda stuff, I'm just keeping it in the back of my mind. haha. I am still focused on the work here. Which, by the way, went pretty awesome this week. :)

It started with our Zone Leaders Council, where President Tobias gave his very last training. It was really good, because almost all the zone leaders are going to be leaving these next few transfers. The group ahead of me has almost 30 elders leaving, and they are all leaders. my group only has about 7 going home. haha. It was really inspiring and I learned a ton.

Then we had some pretty great lessons with less actives that we thought were hopeless in trying to help them come back (as in they always have excuses, try to hide from us, etc.). We saw them gain personal revelation right in front of our eyes and that was definitely not because of us. The spirit was totally there and guess what? This week they ALL rocked up to church! (they are sealed in the temple and have been less active for over 20 years so the ward was pretty excited to see them).

We also have been working on getting some of the recent converts ordained to the priesthood and get simple callings, which has been quite an adventure because our bishop has been in Manila for the past 6 months and the 1st counselor has no idea what he is doing. Of course, we (the missionaries) know what to do, but we don't have any authority there and there is only so much we can help with before crossing our stewardship lines. We spent some time reading in the church handbooks with him, helped him figure out what to do, but he is still way stressed out and overwhelmed so we have to constantly remind him about every little thing. haha. It's all a great learning experience. :)

We have some pretty awesome investigators at the moment, that came from working on the rescue and visiting less actives, H and X J. and they are a complete family that is way interested and progressing! When H was a kid, he used to go to church with his grandma who's a member and has those fond memories and feelings. We met them at the house of a less active family, started teaching, and now they love learning and reading and praying. This last week was their first time at church and they had a good time. I'm pretty sure they will be baptized soon.

This next week we have a lot to prepare for, because the stake president asked us to give a 15 minute report on the missionary's perspective of the stake in a meeting with all the high counselors. yikes! haha.

Well, I gotta go, because our P-day is cut short today because we have to go prepare a baptism for an 8 yr. old child of record that will happen later today. I hope everything goes well this week for you guys! Thanks for the updates! I love you guys and pray for you always!! Halong guid, kag palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee
From July 9, 2012:

Sounds like things are going great back home! The sister sent me some pictures of their family at 4^th of July. OUR 4^th of July celebration consisted of making a bonfire in the back of our house to burn some things that missionaries had left behind. Haha. So I guess you could say we had our “fireworks”. Hahaha.

Other than that, this week was a pretty normal one. We went on splits with the Elders in Sum-ag (one of the areas in out zone) and spent the rest of the week trying to contact less actives that no one knows about. All the ones that have actual addresses have already been contact, so that is what we are left with. Haha. H A. and his family are really progressing. The only problem right now is that H is deciding whether to go work in Japan or Manila or stay here with his family. So we’re not sure how long he’ll be here, but we’ll keep teaching him while he is and refer him to the missionaries wherever he goes. We have another part member child, R that will be baptized soon. He was taught before, but never got baptized because of lack of support from the parents. But we have been working on it and now the support is there. we also have another member that needs to be re-baptized because her record was lost. Haha. She has been a member since 1986 and they are just now getting around to her record. We went to review the baptismal interview questions with her though, and it was surprising how much she had forgotten. Even basic things. It really taught me how we need to be actively learning and relearning the gospel. Just another reason why we need to read our scriptures every day.

President Lopez is officially here now, but I haven’t met him yet. They say he will be making surprise visits these next few weeks though, so he can meet all the missionaries. I don’t know how he will find the time to do that, though. Haha. Nonetheless, we took some time to organize ourselves again, clean up things that have gotten really bad over the years (area book, house, records, etc.). It feels really great and Elder C and I have already felt more productive in our work and more led by the Spirit because of the organization.

We have seen a lot of promising things in our ward this last week. Simply put, there have been a lot of things we have been working on to help them get going (consistent meetings, home teaching, priesthood ordinations, giving callings, etc.), but most of the time the ward has a different plan. We have been very patient and tried to let them learn things on their own, and this week it feels like they finally did. It was pretty great to see how the Lord has his own timetable and his own way of doing things, and if we just do our best and trust in him, somehow it all works out for the best. As a result, we had 3 priesthood ordinations for recent converts yesterday that we had been fighting for weeks to get, we had a ward council meeting and discussed the things that were MOST important (for the most part), set up correlations with other axillary leaders throughout the week, and got everyone united and on the same page. This week we will be pretty busy with all the plans we have, but it should be very productive. It’s just like President Tobias always said, “We are building a foundation.”

We also have had a lot of freak baguios (storms) lately. Haha.

Well, I think that’s about it for this week. I feel like I’m running out of things to say… haha. Let me know I you guys have any questions, ok? I hope this week treats you all well! You are all in my prayers. Halong guid kamo! Palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee

 

From July 23rd, 2012:

Well, things did NOT turn out like I expected this past week... Tuesday I found out that I was getting transferred. Then I found out that not only was I getting transferred, I was going to train and be a district leader! THEN I found out not only was I going to train, I was going to whitewash an area! THEN I found out the area I was going to whitewash was the farthest in the mission - Hino-ba-an, on the very edge of our mission boundaries. PHEW! hahaha.

So the new missionaries came in on Friday, so we had two days to work in other areas. I got the awesome chance to work in my old area, Bacolod 1st ward (where I was assigned in the office) with Elder W, one of the Elders that was my batch in the MTC who is also training! It was a way good learning experience. I have always wanted to work with Elder W, and even though it was only 2 days, I feel like we got a lot done and were able to help a lot of people in small ways.

On Friday, I met my bata (trainee), Elder S from Manila. He speaks English like an Arabic person. hahaha it's way fun. The very first thing he said to me, before I even knew he was going to be my companion, was, "I want to be an Elder like you" (in his arabic/filipino accent). It was very humbling! Then we set out right away for our new area, with no idea where we were going or what we were going to do. I kinda felt like Nephi when he was "led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things he should do." The ride to our area was over 8 HOURS. (blehhh) and we ended up getting to our apartment late at night after asking almost everyone in town where the Mormons lived. haha.

We walked into our apartment, and in all honesty, I was very disappointed. There was mold, rat poop, dirty dishes, and bugs EVERYWHERE. So we have spent a lot of time lately organizing our house, buying cleaning supplies, and cleaning everything so the Spirit can be there. It's still not done yet, but it's a lot better than it was, and later today the Bevans Couple (our couple missionaries) will be coming to hopefully give us some relief supplies. haha.

We also spent a lot of time meeting the leaders and members and getting to know the area. The last missionaries left virtually no records, and the members didn't really like them, so we were pretty much on our own finding our way and trying to earn the trust of the members. It's been quite an adventure. haha.

We are basically getting a fresh start here, in Hinoba-an, because our branch president has only been called for a month, our Elder's quorum president for 2 weeks, and just yesterday our branch mission leader was called. At the same time, we have no idea what we are doing. haha. Needless to say, we will be doing a lot of correlating and praying these next few weeks to figure out what the Lord wants us to do here. Our biggest challenge is just figuring out where exactly to focus first. Luckily we have had some good experiences already with referrals from members (they were waiting for the last elders to leave) and a few promising new investigators. We had a good experience last night with Elder S' first chance to extend a baptismal invitation. Elder S is slowly learning the ways of the missionary and learning how to speak Ilonggo also. I have no idea what I am speaking anymore though, because He is Tagalog, President Lopez told us to speak as much English to them as possible, and our area here is very mixed Ilonggo and Cebuano. hahaha. crazy!

I can tell that thew Lord gave me this area because He wants me to grow and definitely not to get lazy my last few transfers here. I am excited to learn and humbled by this huge responsibility. I am definitely learning already how to rely more on the Lord and develop Christlike attributes.

Well, I hope things continue to go well at home. I love you all and pray for you always. Halong guid, palangga ta kamo!!

-Elder Lee

From July 30th, 2012:

Hey All!!

We have spent a whole bunch of time cleaning our apartment and I gotta say, I do have a testimony of bleach and muriatic acid now. haha. we got the place sparkling, exterminated the rats, (all 7 of them) put food in the fridge, found out where they sell filtered water, and just time time for the office to call us and tell us we will be moving apartments!! hahah. This week or next week we will be moving to a bigger, nicer apartment that actually has running water (until now we had been using a pump well). It's just next door and is owned by the same owner, so it should be easy enough. Maybe because of our hard work in cleaning the owner finally decided to trust us with the "upgraded" house or something. haha. works for us!

Anyways, there's a lot to report this week and just a little bit of time, because we still have to make the 4 hour trip back to Hinoba-an tonight. (I'm writing you from Kabankalan because we needed to withdraw money and this is the closest ATM). Anyways, we got a lot of work done this week. It kinda surprised me how much got done, because we had barely any time to work. We have 2 extra hours of study every morning, so that cuts into our time, and this week we had some killer storms (not literally "killer", don't be scared, mom. hahah) in Hinoba-an and ended up being trapped in our house for a couple days because of floods. Not really bad floods, just enough where the tricycles and motors can't get through. We just had a little water come in our house, but not much. It would have been really bad if we didn't go out there and punch a hole in one of our walls with a hammer for the water to drain out. haha. So that cut into our time a bit.

But like I said, I was really happy with what happened this week. we finally got some solid people to teach, a lot of referrals from the branch actually. About 4 investigators and a few less actives. Those 4 investigators are all potential priesthood though and really promising. It makes it easier on me because its a lot easier to study and plan when you have people to study and plan for. haha. The branch is also really getting excited. They didn't like the last missionaries, which is unfortunate, but we sat down and had a branch council and got a lot planned and talked about, and we committed them to go out and visit less actives this week. :) I feel like we will be seeing some miracles these next few weeks. I don't mean big miracles, but the small, simple ones. :)

Elder S is great. He's still learning how to speak Ilonggo and be a "real" missionary, and we have a great time together. his sense of humor is a lot like dad's. hahaha.

You are always in my prayers! I love you guys and hope you have a great week! Halong guid, kag palangga ta ka!!

-Elder Lee

June 2012

From June 11, 2012:

Sorry it took so long for me to get back today. I was on earlier today, shot off a quick email to the sister, and then the power went out so we had to leave and come back later. I had a whole bunch written, but it was lost. sorry! haha.

Time is flying by way too fast. I feel like I am in the crunch time here, trying to do all I can! haha. Sounds like you guys are pretty busy back at home. Good luck keeping up with it all! and don't forget to do the most important, little things every day! (read, pray, taker time to meditate and ponder, etc.) It will really give you the strength to make it through it all. :)

 

This has been a good week for me. I got transferred again, so I said goodbye to all my new friends in stop aguinaldo, said goodbye to escalante zone, and headed straight to.... Bacolod City. :/ hahaha. I feel just like I did when I was assigned in the office! I am in Alijis Ward, which is in a Barangay (neighborhood) called Alijis. If you look it up on google earth you might see it. We live in regent pearl subdivision. haha. I really miss Cebuano and the bukid (rural area), but I am slowly adjusting again. I basically went from absolutely no luxuries, showering out of a well, cooking my own food, beautiful views, and having to hitch rides on the back of motorbikes to our appointments, to the city where everyone is moving 24/7 and all the ward members are rich and speaking a ton of English. It also smells pretty bad. hahaha. But like I said, I'll get used to it.

 

At the moment I am just getting the hang of everything and figuring out what to do. The ward seems pretty well off compared to all the branches in Escalante, so I don't really know where we fit in just yet as missionaries. I might just end up my mission here, so I really want to give it my all and set up a good plan to lift where I stand.

 

Well time is short, because we are about to go to a family home evening with some investigators. Next week I will have a more complete report. I love you guys a ton! Have a good week and remember to always do what's right! You are all in my prayers. Halong guid, kag palangga ta kamo!

 

-Elder Lee

From June 18, 2012:

One thing I've noticed my whole mission is that everything is affected by that small time we have every day to study and pray.
 

This week has been a pretty hectic one for us, but looking back on it we got a LOT done. Elder C and I really have a good time together. It's important that we are on the same page as a companionship because we had a ton of crazy things happen this week and we were able to work it all out. We had a problem with one of our missionaries, but the emergency was all taken care of. That is what has taken most of our focus this week. We have also been taking the time to meet all our missionaries this week and do apartment checks, so we're off to a good start this transfer. We really do have a great group of elders and sisters here. I have been way impressed with the work here in Bacolod South Stake. The leaders actually know what their callings are and are doing them! Last Sunday we were asked to come give a training to all the ward mission leaders and ward clerks on their responsibilities and duties, and it went really well. I was excited, because it's something that I've wanted to do for a while. It's a pretty established stake, quite a big difference from the Escalante District in the mountains. haha. But actually, just last week I found out that Escalante was the only District on Negros (there are 4) that technically qualifies for a stake. In fact, most of the STAKES here don't even technically qualify to be a stake (#of priesthood holders, full-tithe payers, temple recommends, etc.) so I feel really good about the work that we did there.

 

Anyways, in the Alijis ("Ah-lee-heese") Ward, things have been very good this week. We had a big success on Sunday with the less actives that came back. Almost all the less actives we visited rocked up to church. :) The only problem is now trying to help them be consistent. haha. Kyle and Kryzhia C., two part member kids, are preparing to be baptized this week. They were interviewed on Sunday and passed, along with a long time member (14 yrs. old) that realized his baptism was invalid because he was baptized 6 months before he turned 8. haha. So he will join them this Saturday. kinda funny. We have been working with one brother (Brother B) who has been coming back to church with his wife, and trying to help prepare him to be our new ward mission leader (we don't have one). He is really smart and has memorized a TON of scriptures in English and is always quoting them. He was really progressing and was about to be called, but we just found out that he will be moving to kabankalan for work and will only be able to come back here every weekend. So he won't be able to be our ward mission leader probably. So now we have to start the search again. haha. oh well. We've also been teaching a Preach My Gospel class, trying to help the young men and young women preparing to serve missions. That's been going really well.

 

Elder C and I also realized this these past few weeks that we really like cooking. For some reason, everything we have been cooking lately has been turning out awesome! haha. Most of it is just experimental, too. we've done peanut butter cookies in our toaster oven, no bake cookies, stir fry, sinigang (a filipino dish made from tamarinds), marinated pork strips, teriyaki chicken with homemade sauce, puso burgers (burgers made from the hearts of banana trees), and a few other awesome concoctions.

 

Well I think that's about it for this week. hopefully this next week things will calm down a bit. We'll see what the Lord has in store for us! :) I hope you all have a great next week also. You are always in my prayers! Choose the right! haha.

 

-Elder Lee

From June 25, 2012:

We had a whole lot of crazy things thrown at us again this week, and we really had to look for the small miracles to keep us going.
For instance, we had a baptism this week! (woot woot!) Like I said last week, this was 2 part member kids (Kyle and Kryzhia) who are living with their grandparents now (who are very strong members) because their mother died. We also baptized an active youth that realized his baptism was invalid when he was a kid because he wasn't 8 years old yet. haha. So we talked about it with the leaders of the ward in PEC (by the way, our bishop has been in Manila for the last 5 months and hasn't come back yet) and we had it all planned out who would be speaking, fill up the font, clean the chapel, etc. and on Saturday, Elder C. and I had the impression to go early to the baptism to check it out and help out if we needed to. Well, we showed up an hour before, and no one was at the church and nothing had been done, so we went to get a key and started cleaning and preparing the chapel. The only problem was that we had no water coming out of the faucet in the baptismal font. Everywhere else was fine, but for some reason the baptsim font wasn't working. By this time it was 10 minutes before the baptism, no one was there yet, and we had no signal on our phone, so we decided to start filling up buckets of water and dumping them into the font. (I don't recommend that to anyone) well, everyone showed up and we were way tired and wet and the leaders were all embarrassed that they didn't have good communication with each other, and then they decided to get hoses to fill it up so it wouldn't be so tiring. The hoses went way slow and about an hour and a half AFTER the baptism was supposed to start, we were still only to the 1st or 2nd step on the font. Then the water all of a sudden turned on, but the pipes were rusty or muddy or something, so it all turned into mud in the font. hahaha. go figure, right? Everyone just wanted to get through with the baptism, so we went out and bought 5 pesos of chlorine (didn't make much of a difference) and proceeded with the baptism. Everyone was stressed and tired, but despite all the problems, everything was put into perspective when kyle, the baptismal candidate, gave his testimony. The spirit filled the room and almost everyone forgot what the problems were. It became clear that the really important thing was that they were making a covenant with God and following Jesus Christ and becoming members of His true church, and they knew it was true. :)

We also had a whole bunch of other problems come up this week. I will spare you the details, but I'll just say that this week really built my patience and we sure learned a LOT of lessons. We are ready to put it all behind us and start a new week with a new perspective on things. haha.

We also had a cool leadership training meeting, with all the zone leaders, district leaders, and trainers. It was president Tobias' last training (he leaves the beginning of July) and it was amazing. The only hard part about it was that it went from 8am to 6pm with a one hour break for lunch. Phew! hahaha. Like I said though, it was way worth it. Kono (word on the street is) that this August we might be having "a very important guest coming to tour Bacolod mission". As in, more important than our area 70 they said. Who knows! That could be cool! haha.

Well I think that's about it for my report this week.

I hope you know that you are all in my prayers. remember that as we do God's will and follow his commandments with a broken heart and contrite spirit, he will bless us with the inspiration that we need. :) Halong guid, kag palangga ta kamo!!
-Elder Lee

 

May 2012

From May 7, 2012:

WOW! what a report!! I pretty much figured that this week was going to be the big week. haha. I am overwhelmed with joy for my new niece and gratitude that everything turned out alright. :) Congratulations- sa bagong mga ginikanan!! (CONGRATS to the new parents!!!) Life will sure be different for them from here on out. My prayers are with them as they make the adjustment! haha. Well that news kinda blows all MY news outta the water. haha.

This week we ALSO got new additions to our home... 2 little boys! hahaha. Nanay A, our relief society president/land lady/cook/laundry lady, will be watching her two grandchildren for a while, while they go to school here in Bonifacio. There is CJ (6 yrs. old) and MJ (8 yrs. old) and it is way fun to have new energy in the house. haha. of course they don't go in our side of the apartment, but it's basically the same house. Nanay is excited. It feels like when I used to watch the other nieces before I left on my mission. haha.The only hard part is that they are from Manila, so they speak Tagalog and don't know much Cebuano yet. But I will be helping them learn English and they in turn will help me relearn Tagalog. It should be fun!

The work went really well this week too, even though our time to work was limited. We went to Bacolod on Wednesday for a Zone Leaders Council, which went really well. We learned a lot and are excited to pass it all down to our missionaries. Thursday and Friday was the annual fiesta in our barangay (neighborhood?), so needless to say we were inside before it got dark and the drunks all came out. haha. Then Saturday we had a small emergency with one of our missionaries, but it worked out ok because Elder and Sister Bevans (one of our 3 couple missionaries) were coming up to escalante to give a missionary fireside, so they were able to help out. Everything is ok now. Afterwards, me and Elder F helped with the fireside. It was way fun because I got to be the translator for about 50+ young men preparing to serve and Elder Bevans. haha. It turned into an all day thing, but I think it was a way good use of time. It also built my testimony about how strong the youth of the church are. I feel like and old fogie sometimes when I say "when I was a young man"...but, when I was a young man, we were pretty good (we thought). But when I looked at all those young men that had a desire to serve even though their circumstances back at home are really rough, I realized how Heavenly Father really did save the choice spirits for our time. Each generation will be stronger and stronger until the 2nd coming. It's a cool thing to think about!

As far as the work in Bonifacio goes, we have been trying to focus on helping some of our investigators really progress towards baptism. Edgar (male, 30+ yrs.), Jok Jok (male, 18 yrs, sister o.'s kid), Andrea (girl 11 yrs, part member), Yeshen (girl, 9yr old, part member) and Aira is a new one that we met this week (another 9 yr. old part member girl. haha.)

The J family is actually a cool story. Here in the Philippines, news travels about as fast as it does in Lima, Montana. Everyone knows about everything the instant it happens. haha. The J family's parents are both school teachers and are sealed in the temple. A few years ago they were VERY active, and I wont' say what happened, but a problem came up and because of it the family has been inactive for about 5 years. Well, we heard news that they were ready to make things right again, so we went to check it out, and sure enough, they were. It was like finding a gold mine. This family remembered almost everything about the church and has almost every book written by the church in their home. If they come back to activity, they might just be the strongest family in the branch. They are definitely the kind of leaders we are looking for. It was so humbling to see this family who finally realized what they really wanted in their lives and built up the courage to humble themselves and want to make things right again. It just goes to show that repentance is possible for anyone who humbles themselves. Sometimes we think that our sins are too big to be forgiven, but that is WRONG. No matter how big, everything can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. :)

Well, this is getting kind of long, so I think I'll stop there. I hope you all know that I love you and am praying for you always! Halong guid! Palangga ta kamo!!

-Elder Lee

From May 21, 2012:

Well, this week went pretty well for us. we had a lot of zone leader responsibilities to take care of, so we didn't get too much time to work in our own area again, but the time that we did get to work went really well. We are to the point now where we have steady PEC and ward council meetings (which could be more effective if they were staffed with more than 3 or 4 people, but hey, at last it's happening, right? hahaha), and our attendance is consistently around 100.

The biggest thing now is this new program that the District is putting into effect, called the B.U.H.E. program (Branch Unified Home Evening). Buhiy also means "living" in Cebuano, so they say this program is to help our units live. hahaha. Family Home Evening is a big misunderstood principle here, and it's pretty rare for a family to actually have consistent family home evenings (about 1 in each branch). So this program will help to teach what family home evening is and strengthen the members. Right now, family home evenings only happen if we (the elders) or the branch president set it up and go do it. The members also think that if there is no priesthood presiding (i.e. branch president or a counselor), or there is no snack, it can't go on .haha. They also think it is mostly like a party with lots of games. haha. So each neighborhood will meet at one house every week, sort of like a group family home evening and we will teach each neighborhood what family home evening really means, give them a sort of template program (with suggestions) and pick one active member in each area to be accountable. After we teach them how to have a spiritually uplifting family home evening that strengthens the members of the family, we will follow up with the member in each area each week to see if it happened.

So that's the vision of the District Presidency. I'm pretty excited because if it gets up and running, it will solve A LOT of the problems we are facing (Less Active reactivation, how to get parents to assume their responsibility to teach children in their home, having regular scripture study, etc.). Of course family home evening should be each individual family, but I think this is like step 1 of achieving that goal and when this gets up and running they will move on to applying it in each individual family. And if there is a family that wants to have their OWN family home evening, they will be encouraged to do it on Sunday or Tuesday night. We'll see how it goes. haha. We also finally got our branch missionaries organized, because for the longest time we didn't have any or no one knew what their responsibilities were. So they will also be put to work on helping this BUHE program work.

Other than that, not too much else to report. We will be having a few baptisms this upcoming June 2, one part member child named Yeshen and another middle aged man named Edgar that we have been working with for a WHILE because he is kinda.... slow... haha. Even though Yeshen is only 9 yrs. old, she is the greatest. She is way smart and even though her parents don't go to church, she comes by herself and brings her 3 little siblings as well. her dad has a problem with the word of wisdom and after our lesson about it she asked us why her dad drinks and her parents always fight about money. We told her that we wanted to help and that's why she needed to be a good example to her family by always keeping the commandments, so she can help them too. It just melts my heart. She always prays so innocently that her parents can come back to church and stop fighting. If only her parents knew... *sigh* I really do love the people here. Everyone we are working with. Sometimes I just get worked up when I think about how different people's lives could be if they only humble themselves and come back. But we can't force them, all we can do is love them and help teach them true doctrine.

 Well, this letter turned out a lot longer than i expected, so I'll just stop there. haha. I hope you know i love you all and am always praying for your success!! Halong! Amping! Ug Palangga ta kamo!!

-Elder Lee

April 2012

From April 2, 2012:

 

Well it was way awesome to hear about General Conference ahead of time!! haha. Now I have an idea of what to listen for and stuff. I hope all goes well, because they are trying to do something new this year and instead of making everyone go to the stake center (cuz its WAY expensive and no one can ever make it) they are giving each ward a DVD of conference so they can play it whenever they want. The only problem is, we don't know what language it is going to be in (Cebuano, Tagalog, or English). haha. And the tv at our building is broken so we will bring our branch president's tv to the chapel and try to watch it there. Another thing is that hardly anyone in the branch knows what time it will be shown because it wasn't announced on Sunday, so we will be spending a lot of time this week spreading the word and rounding up the troops to listen to conference. haha. yikes. we'll see how it goes!! In any case, I can always watch it on lds.org next Monday.

This week was ok for us. We have been surviving on our poor people budget this last week because I still haven't got my support card from the office yet, but hopefully this week it will come in. haha. Things have been going well in the branch, too. Church attendance was alright, although we were disappointed with a few less actives that are beginning to slip back into inactivity. The branch has been doing a lot to help though, which is good. We have been seeing gradual progress in visiting teaching and home teaching.

Right now we have a few more investigators that have recently popped up, 2 are part member 10 year old girls,  both of which their parents are less active. I have learned a lot this week about how important it is to teach the gospel in the home. I have seen it my whole mission, that too many times the parents rely on the church and the missionaries to teach their children and forget their own sacred responsibility. Because of that the parents eventually go inactive and bring their spouses and children with them. I'm grateful that growing up we always read scriptures and had family home evening. Because of that, we decided to focus on the parents of these families and helping them create righteous habits. The family is the #1 place to teach the gospel.

Our other investigator is named Raymond, and he is also part member, but an adult. He is living here with his brother who is a less active member from another city on Negros and has returned to word of wisdom problems. He's actually a recent convert. haha. They are actually really receptive, and will definitely come back and be baptized, but the only problem is that they work at a bakery and have to work on Sundays. We are trying to help them ask their boss if they can get just a few hours off on Sunday to go to church, but it all depends on the boss.They say it's a long shot, but hopefully Heavenly Father can make a miracle happen for them. If not, it's probably not their time yet, but maybe we can help plant the seeds anyway. :)

Other than that, the work of the Lord continues. This week will be jam-packed, because on Wednesday and Thursday we will be in Bacolod for Elder N's ERC (workshop for people going home) and then ZLC (meeting for the zone leaders). Then we can work in our area on Friday and then Saturday and Sunday is General Conference. phew! I get tired just thinking about all we have to do on Tuesday and Friday. haha. oh well.

I hope everything continues to go well with you guys this week. Hopefully you will put to good use all the things you learned form general conference and carry that spiritual high with you clear up until the next conference. :) I love you all and pray for you always! Halong mo jud, ug palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee

 

PS - that was actually pretty hilarious what you and Sarah wrote about the tour and everything!! hahah. you actually had me going until that audition part. haha. sayang (its, sad) no one celebrates april fools here. I was trying to explain it, but it didn't work so well. haha.

 

(Editor's note: Adam's mom and sister told Adam that they announced at Conference that currently serving missionaries were required to extend a year due to political unrest. They also mentioned missionaries were also invited to audition for a spot on the Elder David Archuleta World Tour of missionaries...it was an April Fool's joke that seemed to have played out well...)

From April 9, 2012:

This week has flown by WAY too fast. First off, it was Holy Week, and the work DIED because everyone was celebrating and doing their catholic rituals. Also,  we hardly had any time to work in our area because Wednesday we were in Bacolod for Elder N's meeting for departing missionaries, Thursday we were in Bacolod for a zone leader meeting, and Saturday and Sunday were spent getting copies of general conference, setting up general conference, and watching - you guessed it - general conference. haha. We were struggling to find time to visit our progressing less active members (that sounds like an oxymoron or something, haha) and investigators, but we got to everyone we needed to.

This week has been a spiritual high and a constant flow of revelation from the two days of training in Bacolod and the two days of general conferences. phew! Sometimes I feel like I'm ready to take on the world. haha. just kidding, but sometimes it really does make me want to do everything I can to help the kingdom of god roll forth.

Like I said, we spent a lot of time on Saturday and Sunday PREPARING for general conference. Our district tried something new this year, because it is way expensive for everyone to go to the district center for general conference and every year no one ever does. they decided to give every branch a copy of it so it can be shown in the branch's building. One problem was that this plan wasn't announced until AFTER church last Sunday. it wasn't planned out very well either. It was almost like no one knew that conference was coming up. haha. They even scheduled meetings for the district's youth conference in the middle of 3 of the sessions!

Well we did a lot of running back and forth to get things coordinated and to let the members know what was going on. It all turned out well in the end, and we were able to download a cebuano version of conference from lds.org to show to the branch. As usual, no one showed up on Saturday or for priesthood session, but we had full attendance for the Sunday sessions and it made me really happy to see members UNDERSTANDING what was being said. That was the first time I had seen a translation of general conference here in the Philippines, and it went very well. We had English in one room and Cebuano in the other. At the start, almost everyone was in the English room, but after about the 1st talk or two, almost everyone left to go to Cebuano except me and a few others. haha. It was pretty funny, but the members all said it was WAY better to hear it in Cebuano. Hopefully they continue to do it next October and plan a little more ahead of time. It really makes a difference if you can hear something in your native tongue. Even if you understand it in English, it touches your heart more if it is in your native tongue.

As for myself, there's a TON that I learned that I want to share from general conference, but I don't think I can type it all and I forgot to bring my notes. haha. One of the biggest things I noticed was that there was a big emphasis placed on FAMILIES. More on saving our own family, through teaching children and praying with them, and stuff. just like I wrote last week, that has been on my mind a lot lately - the responsibility of parents to teach their children and just how to do it in the right way. The other thing I noticed was for the priesthood.The scripture from D&C 121 was referenced a TON. (I think I counted 5 times?) there is a lot to learn from just those few verses and it sounds like that is what the priesthood needs to be studying and applying right now. haha.

So this next week will be a pretty exciting one. Of course, because of my birthday (although I don't really have any plans), but also because we will be going on exchanges again and we will be getting a lot of things done that we have needed to for a long time. We will enlist the help of some of the YM who are struggling with desires to serve missions to split with us, which is something we have wanted to do for a long time. It will be pretty busy, but I'm excited.

Enjoy the time you have together and remember the things that matter most! I love you all and pray for you always!! Amping!! Palangga ta kamo!!

-Elder Lee

 

From April 16, 2012:

 

Hey All!

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I didn't really do anything, except 2 little girls that live next door to the church came running in in the middle of our district meeting to give me flowers and say happy birthday. haha. It was priceless. Other than that, we just had a big dinner because Nanay A. (the owner of our house/relief society president) has been remodeling her house for the past few months and it's finally done. She ended up buying a whole bunch of food to celebrate and threw in a delicious cake. I definitely don't FEEL any different, I just have to get used to saying that I'm 21 and not 20.

About your seminary class mom, I have WAY too much to say about missionary work to type it all out, but I will say that what I have realized more and more lately is just how centered it is on the doctrine and gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe you can explain that missionary work is not just baptizing people but helping them (members and nonmembers) to develop faith, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and ENDURE TO THE END. So your students can even do missionary work within their own wards, through helping their fellow members to stay active and endure to the end and go to the temple and always partake of the sacrament worthily! haha. hows that?? ;)

This week actually went REALLY well. :) We worked really hard this week and saw the fruits of our efforts. Jok Jok (son of sister O.) FINALLY came to church! so we will start to teach him really seriously now to help him prepare for baptism. Turns out, he's way good friends with a less active member we have been working with (Fred s.), who wants to come back and serve a mission. So we had Fred work with us a few times this week and he helped teach jokjok and went to church with him. He is also good friends with ANOTHER 19 yr. old less active that wants to serve a mission, named Bobby. It works out great, because now Fred has a reason to come back to church and prepare for a mission, and so does bobby! (and a reason to stay away from alcohol and cigarettes, of course. haha. that is everyone's problem.)

In the meantime, we are still teaching Andrea S. (a part member child), who is doing really well. We just have to find some way to help her father come back to church so he can be the one to baptize her. He is still struggling with word of wisdom and is way shy though, so we'll see. We also have a few potential part member families to teach, so we will try them all out this next week.

This next week will be another fast one. It's Elder N's last week, and we have a zone conference, and we don't know yet if we are getting training there or not. haha.

I love you all! palangga ta kamo ug halong jud!

-Elder Lee

 From April 23, 2012:

 

Maaaaaayong BUNTAG! (gooood morning!)

hahaha.

 

The past 3 weeks have been nothing BUT sun. The hot season has started, and it hasn't rained in weeks until last night. Everyone is complaining. It's ok with me though, because when it's sunny I don't get muddy and sweaty walking around, I just get sweaty. haha.

We don't know what's happening yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be staying in the area with a new companion. I'm only basing that off the fact that we have to go to Bacolod tomorrow for Elder N's departure and they haven't told me to pack my bags yet. haha. I'm happy though, because I really want to stay in this area a long time, and I feel like there is still more to be done.

 

Things went pretty well this week. It was Elder N's last week, but we were out working really hard this week. probably harder than most other weeks. I was way impressed at his determination to "endure to the end". haha. It definitely inspired me to work harder and harder until the very last day. I am realizing again just how fast time flies and how little time I have left. It scares me sometimes!

 We spent a lot of time this week working with some of the young men preparing to serve missions (Benji and Hanz , who just need medical left, and Fred and Bobby who are returning less actives and want to serve in a couple years). It has been really good to help them out. Especially since a few months ago, none of them were very active.. haha. We have seen them and about 4-5 families come back these past few weeks and all of them are on the verge of being re-activated. it really is exciting! The branch members have also gone out visiting members these past few weeks. of course it's always the same 4 or 5 people visiting (the relief society president and a few RM's), but we've seen the fruits of their efforts nonetheless. The goal now is to involve others and get more people visiting teaching and home teaching.

Our zone is doing well, too. We had zone conference this past week where President Tobias and the APs (both of which are going home) gave their last trainings and testimonies. A very much needed and very uplifting, inspiring, and revelatory day. :) It was just the boost we needed to get us jump started for this next transfer. Well  I can't think of much else to report, so I guess that's it. haha. sorry!

Well! I hope this week treats you all well! Continue to apply the gospel in your lives (even in smaller ways like reading and praying daily) I love you all and pray for you always. Halong, ug palangga ta kamo! Amping gyud!

-Elder Lee

 

March 2012

From March 5, 2012:

Well this week had its ups and downs. The downs were that we barely had any time to work this week in our area, and it definitely showed in our attendance on Sunday. I was kinda disappointed in our branch, because when it came time to start, only 40 people were there. The branch president waited about 30 minutes for more people to show up, and even then it was only 80. Usually we reach about 100.. and a lot of less-actives we had been working with didn't show up either. On top of it all, I think I lost my wallet yesterday. Yikes! I'm not panicking yet, because there are still a few places to look, so we will keep searching today, but if I can't find it I will let you know. The only things that were really important in there were my cards (Filipino and American Drivers License, debit card, and Missionary Support card).. :-/ It's a bummer, yeah, but I remember the stories of S's stuff getting stolen before, so I'm not too worried. Haha.

But on the good side, we had another baptism this weekend! Brother Gaga N. was baptized and confirmed. One more family completed! They got married on Tuesday at a huge, city-wide mass-marriage thing, which was pretty funny. He was supposed to be interviewed right after the wedding, but during the ceremony all the couples were forced to drink wine as the tradition! Me and Elder N RAN down from the bleachers and yelled at them not to drink it, but just fake it. Haha. Then we got a nice announcement from the Master of Ceremonies guy "and we'd like to welcome the Elders from the Mormon church here right now! Give them a hand!". Pretty awkward, and a little embarrassing, but the crisis was averted and he passed his interview. Hahaa. Success. The baptism went well on Saturday, and we had a few less-active elders speak, so that was a good experience and the spirit was strong. They are right on the verge of coming back. We also had them learn how to give a blessing on Sunday. On Wednesday we went on splits with some of our Elders that were having a hard time, and on Thursday and Friday we had surprise special trainings from President and the APs that lasted all day and were pretty helpful. This next week we have a lot of things to do, so we will do our best to plan well and really hit the pavement. Haha.

I think that's about it. Basically because I can't think of too much else to report on. Haha. Amping jud kamo, ug palangga ta kamo. Kini mao ang obra sang Diyos jud. Kahibaw ko na. 

-Elder Lee

From March 11, 2012:

Things were alright for us this week. The wallet scare was the biggest deal this week, but it's ok now. My wallet never showed up, but we went to Bacolod on wednesday for a zone leader meeting so we talked to the office elders and were able to get some cash to live off of. haha. We are budgeting pretty strictly, but we'll be just fine. My new support card should be here in a few weeks. Other than that, this week was pretty normal. We were pretty disappointed again on Sunday, with and attendance of only 45 (usually 80 or 90), but we blame that on the heavy rain. it's rally hard for these people to go anywhere when it rains because up here in the mountains it gets super muddy. It shouldn't matter though, if someone's faith is strong enough, right? but even with just a few people, we had a really good time and I was really impressed with what I saw at church. The classes that were taught went really well and were exactly what the branch needed, and our PEC meeting afterwards was really really effective. I got to introduce the new strength of youth pamphlet (which is AMAZING, by the way!) to all the youth and leaders, which they really needed. they didn't even know about the old strength of youth pamphlet, and alot of the youth are struggling with problems like friends and alcohol and things. It looks like things are starting to turn around and the leaders are realizing their duties and getting excited to help the work move forth. We don't have a very big investigator pool because s much of our time has been spent working with less active members, but sister O. is still doing well and progressing. She should be baptized around march 24. We are still tryng ot get her son to com to church, though. He listens in the lessons and reads his assignments, so we don't know what is really stopping him yet... we'll leave that up to the spirit to solve. haha. :)

well sorry this is a short report, we don't have too much time to email. love you all! Halong guid, ug magistoria lang ta sa dason! :)

-Elder Lee

From March 19, 2012:

Hey All!

We actually did just double our goals! hahaha. For our zone, at least. We have goals as far as the rescue goes, how many less actives are contacted for the first time and how many of them are taught, and President Tobias has decided it's crunch time since he's about to leave. haha. He wants to go out with a bang, so all of our standards for pretty much everything are being bumped up. haha.

I am starting to feel like my updates for you guys are getting lame. haha. We're definitely working hard, but it doesn't seem like too many exciting things are happening. haha. but maybe I should just try to gain joy out of the simple things, no?

Actually this week went pretty well. After two weeks of lame church attendance, we finally had some good weather and saw alot of success. We broke 100 in attendance for the 1st time in like 4 months, and we had about 4 less actives come to church for the first time. The branch has started to hold meetings on their own without us having to drag them all into a room, and they are getting more productive. :) Sister O. was interviewed on Sunday as well and will be getting baptized on Saturday, so then we can start focusing on helping her son, Jok-Jok.

We also had transfers this week, and me and Elder N didn't get transferred so we helped everyone else get to their new areas and stuff. I'm pretty excited, because we have alot of great missionaries in our zone this transfer. And I am no longer the only kano (American) in the zone, they brought in another one. haha. It should be a good transfer. It's also Elder N's last transfer, so that will be interesting as well. Luckily, he's not the trunky type. He really wants to do everything he can before he goes home, so i just hope we don't get too worn out with all the plans we have. haha. We have been thinking alot lately about Abraham 4 (the creation), President Tobias' favorite chapter. He always points out little things in there that we can really learn from. one thing is when it says that "the gods ordered and watched untill they were obeyed" (or something like that) so we feel like that is where we are right now in the branch (and with the missionaries in our zone, too). The part where we are following up and watching and reminding until things become a habit. I hope I stay here a while longer so I can really watch things really get moving.

Well, the work of the Lord never ceases to amaze me. :) Have a great week! Halong guid, ug gugma ta kamo!

-Elder Lee

From March 26, 2012:

This week I am writing from Bacolod because we got called down here for a quick specialized training from the AP's. kinda crazy, but oh well! You gotta do what you gotta do. haha. We actually had alot of success this week in Bonifacio Branch. Sister O was baptized , meetings (PEC and branch council) are happening on themselves and slowly becoming more productive, less actives are slowly coming back, and for the 2nd week in a row we had over 100 attendance. :)

We did have a slight mishap this week with a few of the elders in our zone, but people were moved around and transferred, and all is well now. The only hard thing is that we have one companionship covering 2 areas, so we will be helping them out every now and then with their work.

Me and Elder N are doing good. He has really decided to push it hard for his last transfer and sprint to the finish, so I'm excited and just happy that he is not being lazy. :) Other than that, I think that's all I really have to report this week. haha. sorry it's not much. my brain is kind of jam packed right now with things that we talked about in the meeting, but I'm sure next week I will have more to say. haha. sorry!

Halong jud, ug gugma ta kamo!!!

-Elder Lee