SEPTEMBER 2011

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From September 5, 2011:

Well this week was actually a great week! We have been playing basketball most mornings with members in our ward so that has been nice. We decided we were all getting too fat. We'll see how long these morning games last. haha.

We have been able to spend most of this week outside working. On Sunday we had stake conference so it was a good experience for pretty much everybody. We had a few less active members come back for the first time and had a good experience. President Tobias took all the recent converts and taught them, so that was interesting. I don't know how it went, but he said that our recent converts were all pretty strong, so that's encouraging. The R family is doing great, and we gave them a few Liahona magazines from the office to read and they LOVE them and are now going to subscribe. We have also been keeping up with our part member family work. Right now all of our investigators are part members except for one I think, which is a whole family. It is pretty great :) We don't have any baptisms soon, but our investigator pool is pretty steady right now. We just need them to come to church!

Man, time sure goes by fast! I can't believe I am already in the middle of my 2nd transfer here. I was just told that I am staying a 3rd though, so no surprise there. haha. I think Elder G might be the one leaving :(. Anywho, we are already starting preparations for the next transfer, for arrivals, departures, transfer day, etc.

Well I should go now. I hope you all have a great week, and remember to reflect the light of Christ in everything you do! I love you! Take care!!

Halong, kag palangga ta kamo!
-Elder Lee

From September 12, 2011:

Maayong Udto! (good noon) Even though I am sure it is pretty far from noon there. haha. Not too much to report this week as far as the work goes. We were expecting 3-5 investigators at church and none of them came! It was really sad. Their families said they were just sleeping at home, so they really had no excuse. So we will definitely follow up on that asap. hah. It was a really tell-tale sign though, about whether they were truly searching for the truth or not. I understand everyone has their agency, but it's just hard when we can't FORCE people to go to church. hahaha.

We did however, have a few random new investigators just pop into church, so that was interesting! We had never met them before, but apparently they had been tauight in 2008 by missionaries and thought it would be good just to go to church agiain. The sad thing is, they said we can't continue teaching them because of familiy opposition. In fact, they said if we even go to talk to their family their family will curse us... I don't really know what that means, but I get the point. haha.

We did also have a cool new investigator experience this week. One night, we had about 6 or 7 lessons set up (specific apppointments) with people, and one by one they all fell through. Every last one. 7! I was just like, are you serious? haha. So we went tracting for a while and still had no success, in fact some VERY rude people shouted at us and stuff. So it was pretty depressing, but then we came to this one house. It was a huge house, so we thought it was going to be another rich rude person, but we tried it anyways. Well out came this teeny tiny dirty little man, about 30 years old. He said he was watching the house for his relatives for about a month and he was the only one there, so we taught him. Turns out his brother died a few months earlier and his wife was having trouble with her job, so he prayed for some help about 10 minutes before we showed up. It was an amazing lesson and the spirit was really strong. Sadly, we cant continue teaching him, because he lives somewhere else, but we wil refer him to the missionaries there. It was just a great experience and I really saw why we had such a depressing day. :)

We also had cool experience this week with a new missionary that came in! She is from Pakistan! The first middle eastern foreigner in this mission. Her name is Sister S and she is way cool. Her English is not very good, and she knows NO tagalog, so she had a hard time at first. But then she made us all Pakistani food and sang us Pakistani songs and it all turned out ok. haaha It was just neat, is all. One of the perks of being in the office.

Well, today is my companions bday, so later tonight we will be cooking alot and eating and going to members houses for family home evenings. It will be great. :)

I'd better go, good luck with everything, and remember what is most important! Can't wait to hear from you again! Halong kamo, kag palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee

From September 19, 2011:

hey!

Sorry for the late email today, I have had a crazy day and really no time to write. I just wanted to let you know I am still alive and kickin. hahah. I will find time later this week to give you a full report. Thanks for your emails, love you all!

Halong, kag palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee

From September 20, 2011:

Hey!!
I'm sorry I didn't get to writing you on Monday. I will explain. First of all, the government here gives me high blood pressure. hahaha. It's so lame! All the time! At the moment we are trying to help an investigator get married who has been an investigator for about a year because it is so complicated and dumb here! haha. no WONDER no one is ever married here, it's way expensive and way complicated.

Anyways, my most recent experience with the government was on Monday, when I was supposed to write you. I was going to get my drivers license. I spent all day standing in different lines, taking drug tests, getting all the right papers and forms and passport stuff filled out, but what happened, was when it came time to get my license, they got scared because my Washington state driver's license said "intermediate license" on the top and they didn't know what that meant. I took like an hour trying to explain to them that there is no difference, that my license was still valid and the only difference is that Washington state put those words on the top. haha. It was so lame! Another Elder from Utah got his, but I wasn't able to. They said I had to wait till the boss of the licensing place got back from a trip in San Carlos on Wednesday and ask him. So I will be going tomorrow and getting my Filipino driver's license!! :) (by the way, i hope this information doesn't scare you mom. I won't be driving too much. It's just in case there is an emergency and they need me to drive. haha) I love my home state and all, but this really made me wish I was from Utah. haha. So anyways, when we got out of there it was 5:30 and we had 30 minutes to shop and email before our appointments.

Other than that, I had a really great week last week.

Before I forget, I got your package last Tuesday, the day after my last email. Thank you SO MUCH! It was AMAZING! hahah. Everything I needed or wanted was in there. I don't know how you do it, Mom. I especially liked the pictures from K and S. My roommates are still trying to figure out exactly what it is they drew. haha. And the articles from S's mission thing! Those are way good! I can't wait to get the next batch! I've been able to use some of the stuff that was written there in recent trainings with Elders. I also have been using that cool picture of Christ passing the sacrament. That is great, because that kind of art really hasn't gotten into circulation yet here. It really helps remind us of what sacrament is all about, huh? so, again, SALAMAT GID KATAMA!! :) (thank you so so much!)

As far as the work went this week, we were able to teach a lot of lessons and find a few new potential families, but when it came down to it, we were disappointed again on Sunday. We were expecting 3-4 investigators and no one came. We even went to pick them up from their house before church and they said they had funerals to go to or what not. I mean, that's understandable, but it really opened our eyes as to how serious these investigators are about the gospel. We decided that if they don't come next week, (of course we will do EVERYTHING we can to get them there), we will.... "set them aside". (we don't like to used the word "drop")

I did have an AWESOME opportunity to go with President and the AP's to a 2 day specialized training in Cauayan and Sipalay, though! I don't know why they chose me to go, but it was amazing. We went to the very bottom of the island almost and had traning with both the Elders and the auxilliary leaders in those areas. I learned a WHOLE LOT and have been using what I have learned since, and it has been great. We spent one night in a fancy hotel, and had great food the whole way. haha. It was just a great experience. I don't really know how else to describe it. haha. The topics were investigators attending sacrament meeting and using the CMIS lists to find part member families, unordained priesthood, and unbaptized children, and in the process helping the ward clean their records. One thing that was cool was that I was able to work with a whole bunch of different Elders in their areas and give pointers and tips and stuff on how to improve. It is weird because I still feel like I am new sometimes on the mission, but then I look and almost half the mission is younger than me! crazy! But there were lots of great experiences there. I have already written a lot though, so I will spare you the details. haha.

Anyways, we are starting to get super busy again at the office, preparing for departures, arrivals, and transfers for next week. We'll see how everything turns out, I guess! haha

I hope things continue to go well for everyone back at home! Remember that I love you and pray for you always! Can't wait to hear from you!
Halong, kag palangga ta kamo!
-Elder Lee

From September 27, 2011:

Hey all!
Thanks for the update Mom. As usual, it was top-notch. :) haha. So D is in the MTC now, huh? You should definitely give me his email if you have a chance to grab it. It would be great to be able to talk to him about his experiences as a missionary! I think we have 3 Elder Lee's out right now from our family, no? I'm sure Grandpa Lee is happy! I don't actually remember a time when the Lee clan HASN'T had missionaries. What in impact on the world, no?

I did a lot of thinking about that topic of tolerance myself when i was assigned in Murcia, way back in January. I think I came to the conclusion that we can't be stuck-up about our standards, but we can't give in to the world, either. So basically, just do everything as Christ would. That seems to be the answer to everything, huh? ;) haha.

This week is an interesting one. Transfer week always is. haha We have already got a few new Elders to help out in the office, who will be replacing a few of us, and rumor is, there is more to come later on this week. Nothing is really sure yet, except that I am staying and Elder G is going. As far as companions and other people coming in, it is all up in the air. That makes is kind of difficult when planning out your week and things, but I'm sure it will all turn out OK. We are a lot more prepared this week than we have been in the past.

We did have a new investigator come to church yesterday, M and he is about 19 years old, so that was pretty surprising! :) We met him because he was taking English classes at another ward here in Bacolod and then went to church there. The missionaries there called us and referred him to us. He is really sincere about the gospel and sharing what he is feeling, so that is awesome. The only problem is, the ward thinks he is weird. He is kind of a rocker type, with long hair, and I can't even count how many people came up today and said they thought he was a girl! That will be our only challenge with him I think, is finding a good fellowshipper.

On a sadder note, we had to "set aside" a few of our investigators this week. We have been working with them for a while, but no progress. It is hard sometimes because you really grow attached to people, and they love having you over, but when they don't keep their commitments, it's a sure sign that they are not completely ready yet. We can't continue to spend time with them when there are other people ready to accept the gospel NOW. Maybe someday they will be ready, but only Heavenly Father knows! So next week will start a new transfer, with new companions, and basically a whole new set of investigators. It will be good to take a fresh look (especially with new members of the office) at our area and ward and see what else we can do. I'll let you know how the craziness goes and what ends up happening next week.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy General Conference and receive personal revelation from the words of the prophets! It is my firm testimony that if we go to conference with something in mind that we are sincerely looking for an answer to, someone will touch on that subject at general conference and we will feel the Spirit tell us what we need to do.

I love you all and pray for you always! Halong, kag palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee

PS- The special edition of the Ensign for this month is amazing! I would definitely encourage everyone to read it through thoroughly and ponder the importance of the Book of Mormon in our lives if they haven't already. :)

AUGUST 2011...(i know i'm way behind...)

EDITORS NOTE: I know I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. We'll just take it one month at a time...


------------------AUGUST------------------


From August 1, 2011:

As far as my week went, it has been pretty tough. We didn't spend very much time in the office, and proselyted the entire week finding and contacting part member families from church records and things.... but... alas, no new investigators came out of it. zero. zilch. nada. wa'ay. haha. It was really weird, but actually we feel fine about it because we know we actually worked really hard and we weren't lazy. :) That's the most important thing. And who knows, maybe we can't see the fruits right away, but they will come later.

So, as of now, we have one progressing investigator family, the R family, who are doing great and should be baptized on August 20th.

Most of this next week will be running around doing office work, like trying to furnish apartments (my companion is the supply manager) and getting ready for transfers and departures/arrival missionaries.

I did forget to report on a few exciting things last week though. for one, I ate pigs ear! haha. And we ended up furnishing and entire apartment for only $600!! haha. I love the currency exchange rate here. it is really exciting sometimes. haha. Last week we also had our ward conference, where we sang with the choir. We also sang for G's baptism a few weeks ago. our office is talented! haha. We even sang for a ward FHE last night, so we are sharing our talents! Anyways, I'm running out of time. I love you and you are all in my prayers!


Halong kamo guid, kag palangga ta kamo!!


-Elder Lee

From August 8, 2011:

This week has been a pretty normal week. We didn't get to proselyte much though, because it has been full of zone conferences and preparations for departures and transfers. The zone conferences went really well though.

I realized the other day, that since I have been in the office, I have gotten so pasty white! hahaha. I noticed it when the filipinos all started commenting on it. To them, it is more attractive to be white. They all say, "guapo ka na!" which means, "you're handsome now!", but I keep explaining to them that in America, it's better to be tan. That always confuses them. hahaha

Anyways, even though we didn't get to work too much, our investigators are still doing well. The R family is progressing so well and still have a set baptismal date for the 20th. woot woot! We are still short on investigators though, so we are looking for more part members and referrals from members. Our plan this next week is to visit the active members and teach them and ask them who they know. We'll see how that goes! I think there is huge potential here. :)

Yesterday we were able to upod (go with) the young men in their re-activation efforts and the home teachers from our ward as well. It went really well. Even though I already know how important members are in helping people come to church, it always surprises me just how much it really makes a difference! We have been teaching one family, the F family, who are less active, trying to get them to come back to church for 3 weeks with no signs of improvement, and then we finally got one of the priesthood to come with us, and BAM, they connected really well and the F family agreed to go to church! Things always mean so much more when they come from members, then if they come from the missionaries. Even if they say the exact same thing!

Anyways, kind of a short report this week, but I think that's about it. I hope you guys have a good week this next week. I love you all, and pray for you always!!

Halong kamo, kag palangga ta kamo guid!!
-Elder Lee

From August 15, 2011:

Howdy Doody!!
It's good to hear all is going well! There is a video on lds.org Mormon Messages that is called "Things that Matter Most." It is a really easy thing to do in the office, to get caught up and stressed about things that don't really matter. President Tobias always tells us to "Don't let non-living things get to you. Remember the living things that are most important" (meaning the PEOPLE and why we are doing what we are doing.) I think that will be especially applicable this upcoming week. This week is going to possibly be the most stressful week of my mission so far. haha. This is transfer week, so a TON is going on and there are only so many of us working in the office. We all are pretty booked and have to rely on each other for even the smallest things to help this all go smoothly.

On top of that, we are preparing for the R family's baptism this upcoming Saturday!! woot woot! haha. It is really exciting. They are so excited and so ready. Sister R even went Visiting Teaching with the Relief Society yesterday which was a HUGE surprise to us! She is SO shy and is not even a member yet, but already has a visiting teaching assignment. haha. :) The father is a member, so he will be the one baptizing his wife and they wanted me and Elder G to baptize the children. The only problem is, yesterday we just found out that he doesn't yet have the priesthood, at least on the records of the church, so we are working it out to get him ordained this week. phew!

So anyways, other than helping the R family prepare, this week has been alot of teaching active members to try to ask for referrals, and alot of office work. We did get a few potential investigators out of it though, so it was an effective week gihapon (as usual). We will probably follow up on those in the next few weeks when we actually have some spare time on our hands. I know it sounds like I'm stressed out, but I'm really not. Actually all of us office Elders do a pretty good job getting things done and keeping things non-stressful. They really are fun. This last week we took some time to make a short video for the departing Elders called, "You know you have been in the Philippines Bacolod Mission too long when...". haha. It turned out really great. Maybe I can get a copy and show you when I get back.

Anyways, I hope things continue to go well for everybody back at home. I love to hear from you guys! You are always in my prayers. Please continue to focus on the "things that matter most". The gospel in the end is all that really matters.

Halong, kag palangga ta kamo guid!!!-Elder Lee

From August 22, 2011:

Hey hey hey! Before I left on my mission, I never really attended baptisms, even if it was someone I knew, but after being out here basically begging people to go to baptisms, I think I am going to attend alot more. hahaha. But really, there is such a special spirit there. It's a great time to remind ourselves about the most important things and remember our own covenants and feelings at our baptisms.

I forgot to say, last week when you talked about seeing Les Mis, that I think last time we watched that was when Cory was on his mission, no? I remember the song "Bring Him Home" having special meaning. And now I am the one on a mission! Crazy, huh? The time really is flying by. I can't even believe that next transfer I will be at my one year mark! That's nuts!! One of the young men from our ward here just left for his mission on Saturday, and his family is really close with the missionaries, so we were able to spend their last family home evening with them and attend his farewell party. It reminded me so much of those few days that we were all together before I left. It seems like so long ago, but not really at the same time. haha. If that makes sense.

Anyways, well! The killer week is over! hahaha. It really was a very stressful week with transfers, arrivals, departures, district missionaries leaving, a baptism, and all of the normally occuring things to deal, but we survived. :) No one from the office is transferring, so that makes things a little easier too. Of course we had a few surprises here and there, a few problems come up, but for the most part everything went smoothly.

The baptism went very well too! Of course, we had it in the morning, so no one really showed up, but it still went really well. haha. Last time the baptism we had in this ward was so packed, no one even had standing room! This time, the baptismal candidates had one member come support, then the bishop and his wife and our ward mission leader, and a few random people we invited that were wandering around the hallways, and that was it. But the important thing is that the spirit was definitely there and it was a good experience for the R family. Last Sunday, we realized that the dad was still a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood because he was inactive all his youth, so we got him interviewed and ordained to a priest an hour before the baptism so he could baptize his family. Next goal: Melchezidek Priesthood, then temple sealing! :) I was able to baptize and confirm one of the daughters so that was a neat experience. It was my first time confirming someone!

As far as the rest of the work goes, we are pretty much starting back at square one with our investigators. We did find a few new ones this last week amidst all the chaos, but it turns out most of them live in other ward boundaries, so we referred them to other Elders. We did find one part member family that lives in our area though, so we will continue with them...the O family. Right now, the Mom and one daughter are members, but the dad and 2 sons are not. All the priesthood! haha. The dad is in Iloilo working right now, but we were able to teach the sons (about 20-25 yrs. old) and it looks very promising.

I don't have too much more time to write, because we have to get alot done today. We might end up driving to San Carlos later today to deliver some equipment, so that will basically take up our entire day. haha. San Carlos in on the clear other side of the island.

So I hope you are doing well. I love you all and pray for you always!
Halong kamo, kag palangga ta kamo! Padayon kamo sa mga maayo nga ginahimo! :)-Elder Lee

From August 29, 2011:

Well send my regards to all those missionaries that are leaving!! It's so great to hear about all of them getting their calls and beginning their service to the Lord! I love picturing them all in the mission field. It is so strange to think that I have almost been out a year and that the whole batch behind me is starting! It is a bummer that no one has gotten called to the Philippines yet though... haha. actually the last few transfers, we have had only Filipinos come in, and it will be only Filipinos coming in for the rest of the year until December, when we get one American sister. It really is a true promise that everyone will hear the gospel in their own language.

This week went really well, actually. We were able to spend most of it out of the office, which always feels alot better. I realized that the work of the Lord really is what heals us. When we focus on ourselves, and our problems, we just get more depressed, but when we focus on helping others despite our problems, we feel uplifted and healed. So I love it when we have time to get out of the office and work. We found a few good potential new investigators and got a few new referrals too! All of which are more part member families. The C Family, O Family, D C Family, and L Family. I really feel like part member families is the key out here! It's a gold mine of less active families and new investigators and people who already have ties to the church and remember what it was like. It's so great to see families striving for the Celestial Kingdom together.

We met one brother who has been less-active for about 30 years, and we just sat and listened to his problems and gave him a few pamphlets, not really knowing what to say or teaching too much. When we came back, he said he read all the pamphlets and realized how much he had forgotten and how good the gospel felt and promised to start the road to repentance and come back to church next week. Amazing! :)

The R Family is still doing amazing. They have so many financial problems right now, but despite it all, they still put the Lord absolutely first. They sacrifice eating some meals every week just so they have plete (fare) to go to church. They are also planning on upod-ing (going with) the youth to their annual temple trip this November and doing baptisms for the dead! They still don't know about how they will get there financially, but have committed to start preparing spiritually.

Oh! Before I forget, I had kind of a strange experience this week! haha. Our financial secretary, Elder E, always has to call taggiyas (owners) of apartments for contracts and stuff. well, a few days ago, he told me he was calling someone in Seattle! So I told him to ask her where she was from, and she said FW! Well she's not a member but we told her to talk to the missionaries there if she had a chance and she agreed. She was so impressed that there was someone from FW in her home town. haha. Later on, I will try maybe refer her to the missionaries there! cool, huh? It was just CRAZY to think that on the other side of the line was FW! Anyways, I just thought that was cool. :) haha

Well, I think that's about it for this week. I appreciate your emails and look forward to getting the box you sent! since i'm companions with the supply manager, I will know the DAY it comes in to Bacolod. haha.

Have a great week, and remember to let the work of the Lord heal you. If you have problems, forget about yourself and serve others! :)

Halong kamo!! Palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee