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

February 2012

From February 6, 2012:

 

It is very weird to think that other friends my age are going to be coming home within the next few months. Time has FLOWN by! It seems like October will be creeping up on me too fast.

(SIDE NOTE: I just finished typing up this entire email, but then we had a small earthquake and it was all lost. So I'm going to try to remember what i was going to say. haha sorry!)  EDITOR'S NOTE:  The news said it was a 6.8 centered not far from where Adam is currently serving-glad he was emailing and we don't have to wonder if he is okay!

In other news... I got transferred again! I feel like the Lord really just likes to keep me outside of my comfort zone. haha.  I was kinda surprised, because I really didn't want to transfer, but now I've had a few days in my new area and a really like it. I know this is exactly where I need to be right now. I got moved back into a Cebuano area, called Bonifacio. It is a barangay (outskirts?) of a city called Escalante. My companion is Elder N, who is a native Filipino from Davao, but VERY much American in how he acts. haha. It's great. He goes home in April, so we probably have 2 transfers together. We are at the very tip top north of Negros Island. I asked people before I came here if Escalante was more of a city, or a bukid (mountainous) area, and they said it was a "city/bukid."Then I got here and saw exactly what they meant. Although we still have a city, we are far away from any luxury. haha. Our zone is all pretty close here, too. Very opposite of Kabankalan, where our zone was HUGE and way spread out.

I hope I stay here for a while, because I really like Cebuano. It's interesting relearning Cebuano again, but it's coming a lot faster than before. The only hard part is that our area is the boundary of Ilonggo and Cebuano areas, so it's very very mixed. Some are Ilonggo, some are Cebuano, and some just give up and speak Tagalog. haha. I have been way confused lately as to which language I am actually supposed to be speaking. I have literally had a few lessons already where I used 4 languages (ilonggo, cebuano, tagalog, and english) in one sentence! oh well. that's the life of a missionary in the philippines, I guess! pagsulay ra na! haha.

At the moment we have 2 part member children (MonMon Hernale and Jonler Jaud) that should both be getting baptized in this coming month, if we can get their parents reactivated. Other than that, we have one part member family (the N. Family) that is just like the N. family from Kabankalan - not yet married because they are very poor, but very humble and willing to be baptized and live the gospel. The wife is a member and the husband is not and they have 2 children. We did have one cool experience this week though, we met an older lady (Maria O), about 50 years old that had talked to missionaries before but forgot what they taught. So we taught her about the Restoration on Saturday night and invited her to come to church not really expecting her to, and then she showed up and had a great time. She participated in the classes and got along really well with the members. So we'll go back to her and see how she continues to progress. :)

Other than that, we have been spending a lot of time "organizing ourselves and preparing every needful thing". haha. Elder N has only been here one transfer, and the missionaries in the past (no offense to them) did a horrible job of keeping records and staying organized. We also decided that a big focus for our zone will be teaching the units how to use their MLS systems on their computers. The records here are a mess and it will really help to get things organized to help the "rescue" work move on. Updating records, lists, addresses, etc. We've got a lot of work ahead of us this transfer, but I'm pretty excited. :)

Well, I think that's about it. I love you all and you're always in my prayers! Gugma ta kamo! Amping mo jud!

-Elder Lee

From February 13th, 2012:

Hey Everybody!!

 

Sorry for the scare last week. haha. It felt like just a small tremor to us, so I didn't think anything of it, but apparently it was alot bigger in other places around Negros. The whole week we were hearing news about the earthquakes. You were right, the center was Guihulngan, where I was assigned before. It was crazy to see some of the pictures. On the news, it showed that a bridge right in front of my old apartment collapsed and the road was completely ruined, so cars couldn't make it through. Luckily, it's all over now. No more tsunami warnings, and everyone who was evacuated has been told they can go back. There's just the clean up effort now.

 

The Elders there are ok too. They were pulled out by the couple missionaries, the Bevans couple, who said that they (the Elders) really wanted to stay and help the members and investigators. Elder Bevans asked if they had kept their emergency water filters from the beginning of their mission and they said no, and then asked if they had 72 hr. emergency kits and they said no. Then Elder Bevans said "You cannot help others if you can't help yourself first", and pulled them out. The Elders really regretted the fact that they hadn't prepared for the emergency: "if only I had my filter, I could stay and help!" It was a tough lesson to learn for them, but I definitely realized how important it was to be prepared. There is no way we can help others in an emergency if we ourselves are not prepared. (both physical emergencies and spiritual emergencies). It reminds me alot of the parable of the 10 virgins.

 

And as far as MLS goes, even if it goes outdated in 5 years, it will still take a while for the people here to get a hang of the new technology. haha. Lots of people here (mainly the adults) don't even know how to type yet. We really are teaching them like the pinaka (most) basic things about MLS and computers. But it seems to be going well so far. Our branch's CMIS list is about 1/2 updated now, so that's good.

 

The investigators here are also doing well. Johnler (a part member 10 yr. old kid) passed his baptismal interview on Sunday so he will be getting baptized on Saturday. The challenge will be trying to get his dad to be the one to baptize him. He is still less-active, but our branch President said he will interview him right before the baptism and determine if he's worthy. It would be really great if the father can be the one to baptize, but, again, it kinda comes back down to his own personal preparation. (there's that parable again! haha.)

 

Sister O. (a relatively new investigator) is doing really well. She really understands the gospel and now has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith, and it really participating in the branches activities. We also just barely met her 19 yr. old son and were able to teach him, so things are looking really good there. Her baptism should be sometime in early or mid March..

 

Brother Rodolfo "Gaga" N. is a part member who is not yet married, but saved up their money to go to Escalante City this week and fill out their papers. They should be getting married on February 28. woot woot! haha, They are ready to be baptized.

 

I think that's about it this week. Next week we have a zone activity, we'll be going hiking and having games and a devotional, and I don't know whether it's going to be an all-day thing or not, so I apologize in advance if I can't get to an internet cafe to write you guys next week. but I will try. :)

 

Anyways, love you all! Amping mo gyud, ug gugma ta kamo!

 

-Elder Lee

From February 20, 2012:

This week has been quite the roller coaster for me, it definitely had its ups and downs, but I was definitely able to see the Lord's hand in His work. :D

 

First off, last week me and Elder N went on a Buko juice (coconut milk) excursion with some of the branch missionaries. They own a few coconut trees so we climbed them (ok not ME, mom. no need to worry. haha.) and made awesome fresh coconut milk with the juice, a little sugar and milk. YUM. the only problem was, I think there might have been some bacteria in what we drank because the next day was pretty miserable. haha. Luckily, it was only a one day sickness. I've had buko juice plenty of times before though, so I don't know if it was just this batch. And also, I don't know if I already told you guys, but our apartment is connected to our relief society president, a 60 yr. old widow named sister Adana ("nanay adana" (momma adana)) she is basically our mother out here (so you don't have to worry mom. haha) and she'll cook for us and help us out when we need. So she helped me out when i got sick. :)

 

Then on Wednesday I had just recovered in time for our exchanges with the elders in Mabini. Well, it had just rained the night before and Mabini is the most mountainous area in the whole mission. There is absolutely NOTHING out there and the Elders in that apartment have to hike a mountain every morning to fetch their water. I was assigned in Mabini for Wednesday. Everything was going fine, untill the end of the day when we were about to head home. We came up to a road (the only way back home) and it was CRAZY muddy. We were being careful, but me being my klutzy self, fell and got my shoes stuck in the mud that was up to my knees. hahah. it was hilarious, but really miserable. well I was able to get out eventually, but I was COVERED in mud and my shoes were like 10 pounds heavy, but I said in my head "I'll go where you want me to go!" and rolled up my pants and took off my shoes and walked barefoot the rest of the way home in mud that was up to my knees. hahaha. Well, at that point I was really tired, and hungry, and miserable, so on our way home we stopped by an inactive family that Elder Y (my companion) had met one time up there. They got me all cleaned up and then we asked if we could share a message with them. I think the fact that I was covered in mud softened their hearts, because Elder Y said that they tried to teach them before but they wouldn't even face the missionaries. So we were able to teach them and their teenage children who aren't yet members, and it was a really powerful lesson. :) I learned that Heavenly Father definitely has His purposes, and we just need to trust Him with His work.

From February 26, 2012:

Life just keeps moving! I can't even believe how fast the time has flown here. I feel like a just got here, but then I realized it's already been a month!

Well, this week has been a pretty good one for me. I didn't have to take any mud baths, and aside from a small cough that made me lose my voice for a day, I didn't get sick. On Wednesday I got to go on splits with Elder T (my old companion), so that was pretty fun. It was pretty nice because we already knew how each other teaches and stuff. Haha. Then at the end of our splits we got a call from some of our elders who had a small problem, so we went to their area to counsel with them and help them out. The cool thing, is that to get to their area, you have to ride on a small paddle boat! Haha. It was pretty exciting because, I mean, how many missionaries get to do that? Haha. We decided that next week we will go on splits with them to help them out as well. I hope I get to be the one who works in their area, because it is pretty beautiful. It is pretty untouched by man and very far away from any normal civilization. I took some pictures, but pictures just don't do it justice.

 

I gave a talk on Sunday in our branch, and I think it went pretty well. I decided to be a little more blunt with the branch this time, trying to follow the spirit at the same time and keeping it appropriate to say at the pulpit, of course. Haha. The topic was about loving our neighbors, and our branch seems to have a problem with that. There are a lot of politicians in our branch for some reason and it's about time for another election, so I decided to address that as well has helping the less actives to come back (as in, politics have no place in the church, we need to love everyone regardless of their position, forgive and forget, etc. etc.). I got a lot of compliments about how those things needed to be said though, so I think it was ok. haha

 

Anyway, the work went well in Bonifacio this week. Brother G, and his wife that is a member will be married tomorrow, be interviewed right after, and be baptized this Saturday. We are very excited for them, but realized this week that they still have a lot to learn as far as the Gospel goes. They know as much as they need to for baptism, and they are very humble and willing to repent, but we are going to have to continue to work with them after their baptism to help them prepare to go to the temple in a year. That's the ultimate goal, right? Right. Sister O. is also doing well. She is still progressing and keeping all her commitments to us. We had a good lesson with her son Jok-jok this week and he said that he wants to change his life and accepted the invitation to be baptized, so that was pretty exciting! The only problem is, that was about a week ago and we haven't been able to teach him since then he's never home! Haha. We did, however, meet his older brother, M, who is working in Bacolod and visited for the weekend. We taught him and referred him to the missionaries there, so hopefully that goes well too. The gospel is for families, not just individuals! Haha. We also have had a pretty good experience working with a less-active 19 yr. old named Bobby L. He actually wants to serve a mission but was huya (shy) because he hadn't gone to church in a while. He thought that he couldn't serve a mission anymore, but we told him he definitely could if he works at it, and we got him a white shirt and pants to wear to church, and he has started reading the Book of Mormon, so things are looking really good for him. We'll keep teaching him and helping him along.

 

By the way, I just found out this week that Mark M., the boy I taught and baptized in Bacolod, is also planning on serving a mission! And the B Family is going to be sealed in the temple in the next few months, and the R family is also planning on being sealed at the end of this year, and Juanito B, a man that I taught in Guihulngan, is now the teacher for Sunday school and 2^nd counselor to the branch president! There's more I'm sure, but I can't really think of it at the moment.  It really is crazy when I think about all that has happened since I've been out here. I can't believe it's been so long! It is very rewarding to see people continuing in the gospel.

 

We also got to meet with the District President of the Escalante District this week, so that was good to align our visions and discuss things that need to happen. The work is really progressing in our zone. Every week, more and more successes are happening and baptisms are really happening fast. The big focus here though is working with the ward and stake leaders, so we talked a lot about that and how to go about it. I am learning a TON about church leadership and working with them and teaching. We are also keeping up the work on MLS, so that's good. Well, I think that's about it.

 

I love you all, keep doing what you need to! You are always in my prayers. Halong guid kamo! Gugma ta kamo!

 

-Elder Lee

JANUARY 2012

From Januray 2, 2012:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!!

It is the craziest thing to me how every day I am SO TIRED when I come home. like, it never feels like I can get enough sleep and I am always exhausted, but at the same time, for some reason, I'm happy! I just don't get it! haha.

Our New Year's was pretty.... uneventful. haha. We weren't allowed to watch Disney movies this year like we did last year, and we had to be in our apartments by 6. Luckily, we had lots of members feeding us and bringing food, but other than that, it was just me and Elder Cre in our apartment watching church movies all night. haha. I can totally see why we needed to be in our house, though. The fireworks are insane here! haha.

It feels really weird to think that this is the same year that I will come home. Time flies! Especially with our investigators here. A few weeks ago, it felt like all of their baptism dates that were being set were WAY far out there, but then yesterday it hit me that they are really close! We are really going to be focusing on those 4 with a date these next few weeks (Brother N., Brother M., Sister D., and Sister J.) to help them better prepare. It is pretty exciting.

Church for us on new years was kind of strange. haha. Bishop decided that it was just going to be sacrament meeting, and it started a few hours later than normal. And when I say just sacrament, I mean JUST sacrament. No speakers, no intermediate hymns, nothing. A prayer, a hymn, a hymn, sacrament, a hymn, and a prayer. It was about 20 minutes total, I think. hahah. It's true, that that IS the reason we go to church, to renew our covenants, but it just felt like something was missing. haha. oh well. It gave us a good opportunity to explain to our investigators more about the sacrament and that it is the most important part of our going to church.

Things are going good being a new zone leader, too. All of the district leaders in our zone are also new district leaders this transfer, so it's good to be able to train them and get a whole fresh look at things.

 

I also wanted to say really quick that this week, I saw a little random kid with a BYU shirt on! Haha. And every once in a while I see a Seahawks or Mariners jersey too. I took pictures of the BYU kid. So crazy! Haha. Maybe I'll be able to send some pictures this week.

Anyways, I think that's about it. I am way excited for another new year and all the things that will happen. I've been thinking a lot about new years resolutions lately and how that relates to the atonement. A new fresh start on things. It really is refreshing. I know that if we stick to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, follow the commandments, and serve others things will work out for the best. I love you all! Have a great rest of the week!! Halong gid, kag palangga ta kamo! Maayong Pasko kag bago nga tuig man! 

-Elder Lee

From January 8, 2012:
Happy Epiphany!
  

This week I met a star. well.... a Filipino star. haha. his name is Coco Martin and apparently he's a famous Filipino actor. everyone says he's like the Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt of the Philippines. haha. He was here in kabankalan for the annual "Sinulog" festival, which apparently is a lot bigger than I thought it was! The festival started on the 6th and goes till the 15th, and the whole city is basically shut down for it. There are people coming from all over the Philippines for it and apparently it gets broadcasted to the rest of the Philippines as well. Our apartment is way close to the plaza, so we hear the tribal drums and fireworks all night every night. It's way bigger than Christmas or New Year's. In a way, it's really hard for missionary work here, but on the other hand, it's really easy to find people to talk to and get referrals for other missions. haha. So right now me and Elder Cre are just focusing on those 4 progressing investigators and getting the "rescue" underway in our ward.

Things are going really well with brother m. and sister d. (surprisingly). They are both preparing themselves really well for baptism. Brother m. should be baptized on the 21st and sister d. should be on the 28th if all goes well. We'll see about the n. family, it seems like they might have to push back their date a few more weeks because different things have come up where they can't go to church or keep all their commitments. They really are progressing spiritually, though. Their baptism should be very soon... :) Jorgette is also keeping her commitments, but we are just going to have to push back her date because we simply don't have time to teach her everything she needs to know by her baptism date. We just can't meet with her enough times a week. We also have a few new prospective investigators that came to church, so that's pretty cool. we'll see how they progress in these next few weeks as well.

The ward has really taken hold of the new focus to re-activate. Well... at least bishop has, but I'm sure the rest of the ward will follow. Later on this week the Philippines area presidency will be holding a broadcast for all ward and stake auxiliary leaders, where they will give instruction and direction on how to go about doing this in each ward. Luckily, the zone leaders were also invited to attend. ;) I'll let you guys know how that goes next week probably. It's really exciting to see things finally get moving and to see the members finally getting active in this work. :) This really is the work of the Lord, but it really depends on our faithfulness how fast it will move. That really is the key. I've realized that if the Lord wanted to, he could make everyone members of his church right away, in the snap of a finger, but instead, he allows us to participate in this work to grow and to learn in the process.

Well I think that's about all I have to report this week. Halong gid, kag palangga ta kamo!

   

-Elder Lee

From January 16, 2012:  

Hey All!! 

It was way funny to hear about David Archuleta coming to the Philippines. That will start a whole 'nuther round of rumors here. haha. When it was announced that he was serving a mission, I can't even tell you how many people asked me if it was true he was coming to Bacolod, and that he was already in the MTC in Manila. hahahah. I also got to sing in sacrament yesterday and tons of people were saying things like, "You sing just like David Archuleta! When he comes to Bacolod maybe you'll be his trainer!" But the sad thing is, they were serious! hahaha. anyways. I just think it's way funny. The Philippines is hilarious. :) 

Anyways, this week has been pretty rough on the work. First off, the Sinulog festival was WAAAAY bigger than I thought it would be. We hardly got to work at all this week, and on Sunday (the festival finale/highlight) we were on lock down in our apartment. Not to scare you, but this was way bigger than new years was and even the masskara festival in Bacolod. I just seem to be hitting all the big festivals at the right time! haha. Sinulog was broadcasted all over the Philippines and there were tons of people visiting from all over. Lots of Americans too, which was pretty weird to see. haha. On Sunday the tradition is that everyone runs around drawing on each other with charcoal (like chickens with their heads cut off), whether you want them to or not. So it was literally like a battlefield getting to church and back that morning, dodging people and taking alternate routes when we saw groups of teenagers. haha. And then DURING church, the parade with all the tribal drums and giant santa ninos decided to go RIGHT by the church. It was deafening loud and so distracting for all the classes and sacrament meeting. so nuts. haha. Most of the members here didn't even GO to church. Most that did were from out of town, visiting for the festival. Needless to say, I am way happy and relieved that it's over. phew! Maybe we can start getting things under control here. 

The other reason we weren't able to work that much this week was because we spent most of our time traveling to the areas in our zone doing interviews, helping missionaries with their problems, and giving trainings. The trainings all went really well, even if I still have no idea what I'm doing. haha. The Lord definitely helps those he calls. We also watched a pretty intense broadcast on Saturday from the Philippines area presidency. It was for all ward/stake leaders. They pretty much introduced the goals for 2012. I am way excited, because it is exactly what this nation needs right now. They started by showing some pretty harsh statistics, which opened everyone's eyes. They said that it was meant to disappoint, but not to discourage, and we can't fix anything if we don't know it's broken. yikes. Then they introduced the plan to begin the rescue of the 500,000 less active members out of 700,000 total members. It is time for change, and like I said, I'm way excited to see this actually happening. :) So that was exciting to watch.

Next week we have our zone conference, and me and Elder Cre are also in charge of training for that so we will see how it goes. After doing mission wide apartment checks, President decided that the theme will be "organize yourselves". haha. Very fitting. :) 

 

Not too much else to report on, besides the fact that brother m. was interviewed yesterday (woo hoo!) and will be baptized on saturday. He'll be a great addition to the ward. With the n. family, we are still waiting for them to take care of a few of the requirements, then they will be good to go. with jorgette, we just need to find time to teach her, and then she will be fine. Sister d. is still learning... she has a testimony, but doesn't understand everything quite yet and wants to be baptized a.s.a.p. we want to make sure she understands what she is doing and has a little more time to figure things out, so we will probably push her baptism date back as well. We'll see! The work of the Lord continues to roll forth, no? :) 

Sige halong! palangga ta guid kamo!!!

-Elder Lee

From January 23, 2012:
WOW!!  Snowmageddon 2012!! and "Happy Disaster Week," eh? I'm really glad to hear everyone is safe and recovering from the killer storms. Phew! I can't even imagine. This week I have been thinking "I sure wish it would snow" but now, I don't think I'm wishing for that anymore. The weather here is always the same. Every week, no matter what season. You either have SUPER killer hot days, or super killer hard rain. I apologize for the entire nation of the Philippines for sending that forecasted moisture over your way. hahaha. Most of the time people don't have electricity over here. Well, it's about 50%. Just depends on the neighborhood. So I've learned a lot about using what you have and surviving on very little. I'm a lot more comfortable now with the idea of living without hot water or electricity.  But like I said, I'm glad everyone is safe. I'm sure it was a wake up call though for people who don't have food storage or emergency supplies. yikes!

 

Well this week was a pretty good one here in Kabankalan. We had the baptism of brother M., so that was pretty exciting. One more family united! :) His testimony is very strong and he will be a great addition to the ward. Bishop and the members were so excited, they ordained him a priest basically right after he was confirmed, so they could put him to work dayon (right away). haha. We have also seen our ward aligning their vision with "the rescue". They had a ward council meeting yesterday (the first in 4 months) and picked names and set plans to visit them and started right after church. I'm pretty sure we will be seeing the results of their efforts very soon. 

Along with that, we realized this week the rest of our investigators are not progressing as well as they should be. It will probably have to be another month before any of them are baptized... sister d. has not been keeping her commitments for some reason, the n. family are still waiting on their marriage, and Jorgette has just not had time to meet with us. We want to have patience with them all, let them work out their own problems, but at the same time we don't want to keep teaching them if they are not progressing. We'll see what happens and then we will have to decide really soon what to do. We have, however, had a lot of unexpected success with finding new investigators that have good potential. None of them came to church, but we will work with them this next week. 

I think that's about all I have to report this week. Things have gotten kinda boring here in Kabankalan, because the Sinulog Festival is over. haha. This next week though we will be going on splits in 2 different areas with our district leaders, so that should be fun.Halong gid, mismo sa mga baguio! Palangga ta kamo, kag nagapangamuyo ako para sa inyo pirme! :) 

-Elder Lee

From January 30, 2012:
Hey Familee!!!       

In all honesty, I can't wait to get back to our home ward and see how everything functions there. In countries where the church isn't completely established yet, the missionaries spend a lot of time working with the ward and stake leaders in about every aspect of the work. Plus this last week we just had my first MCM (Missionary correlation meeting) with the stake president and high counselor over missionary work. So I've just been thinking a lot lately about working with ward and stake leaders. Especially right now with the new focus to rescue the less active. The area presidency has asked missionaries to "no longer be watchers and observers, but to nudge the ward leaders in the right direction". Obviously we can't overstep our bounds, but we are being asked to be more pro-active and aggressive in helping them do things the right way. I have gained a completely new perspective out here about how things are supposed to work and about how much i didn't realize went on in ward and stake leaderships before my mission. I definitely have a greater appreciation. Even just little things, like having fellowshippers for investigators, or working on the CMIS lists on the computers, I never really understood it before the mission. It's probably the same with all missionaries. Basta (anyways) I just can't wait to get back and see how things really work. hahah. 

Well, life is still moving here in kabankalan as well. We went on two sets of splits this week, so that was pretty exhausting traveling back and forth. But the splits went really great and I definitely learned alot. It's always good to do splits, because you are always humbled. haha. Either you get a fresh set of eyes in your area, or you go to another area and see how they are doing things. And with the transfer ending this week, it's good to figure out what to do for next transfer. That being said, I don't really have an idea of what will happen this transfer. Elder Cre goes home in one more transfer, and the office has been asking us to look around for apartments for 2 more elders to be put here, but I don't know if they secured one yet or not. I think we might be staying, but we'll see. Anything could happen. 

The investigators have still been going alright... Jorgette was the only one who came to church on Sunday though, so that was kind of disappointing... haha we have had to move her baptism date back because she has been out of town for the last few weeks, but when she saw us on Saturday (the 28th), she remembered that that was the date we set originally for her baptism. She wanted to set a new date right away, so that's encouraging. haha. Her husband is a less active member and is really doing his best to relearn everything and repent. We haven't been able to follow up on sister d. or brother n. yet, so we don't know why they didn't come to church. We still haven't had a chance to meet with sister d. (2 weeks, now), so we are a little worried, but I think as soon as we can meet with her again she will pull through. The lesson we had with brother n. this week went awesome, they are very excited for their baptism and marriage and have been continuing to read, but then they didn't come to church again... :( However, the less-active work with the ward has been going GREAT. :) We have seen instant changes and the ward is really excited. This is the 2nd week in a row they have gathered the troops to go home and visiting teaching, and this last Sunday we had about 4 or 5 less active families come back. Bishop has requested that we reteach the missionary lessons to the less actives all over again, as if they were investigators, so we have been spending a lot of our time doing that. we really have noticed a huge difference in just that. A lot of less actives say they still have testimonies, but they really have forgotten even the most basic things about the church. 

We'll see what happens this next week, you never know when transfers are close! haha. Halong guid, kag palangga ta kamo!      

-Elder Lee

 "C.T.R. - Cook the Rice" :P

December 2011

From December 5, 2011:

Sounds like Christmas is just around the corner again! We have seen decorations up here since September, so I have been hearing carols and seeing christmas lights for a good few months. Here, they start celebrating christmas in the "ber" months. I'll be honest, this week has been another one of those roller-coaster weeks for me. VERY humbling and something I learned alot from.

Well to start off, I think I told you a while ago about this couple we have been teaching, the D. family. They are about 40-50 and very very poor. Brother D. has been suffering from sickness in his lungs so it has been hard for him to get out of his house, and it has been very hard on sister always having to work, take care of him, buy medicine, have enough to eat, and somehow have money to get to church. Brother, however, is one of the most humble, spiritually powerful people I have EVER met. No joke. I was so amazed at how quickly he accepted the gospel with true faith and had a hunger for the gospel once he heard it. A few weeks ago they really tested their faith and made it to church. It was an amazing experience and brother was determined to be baptized and go to church every Sunday. We went over last Wednesday and our plan was to teach about the Word of Wisdom, but we got to talking before the lesson and I had the impression to teach the plan of salvation instead. As soon as I whispered that to Elder Gib, brother immediately started asking questions about who he is, where he came from, why he is here and where he is going. It was totally inspired and as we testified to him, he teared up and told us that was exactly what he had been waiting to hear. We went to a leadership training that Friday and while we were there I received a call that Brother D. died the night before. We immediately went to comfort sister. While we were talking to her, she told us more stories of his incredible faith. Sister, up until now, has been a little bit stubborn and her testimony is the only thing we were waiting on before they were going to be baptized. She told us how he would always be reading and show her passages and pray even though it was hard on his body, and that his dying wish was that she gets a testimony and gets baptized for herself. There's a lot more that she told us that really hit me hard, but I don't have enough time to write it all.  Anyways, so the past few days, sister has been a wreck. We have been visiting her and comforting her, and the members have been amazing in helping her out (we will have a small "Mormon service" on Saturday), but because of lack of food and sleep we haven't been able to really testify to her yet to help her get a testimony of her own and help her realize that her husband is not lost and she will see him again. They also have a 19 yr. old son that until now we haven't had a chance to meet. Anyways, after seeing all the Catholic traditions and all the mourning and things around here, I have really gained an appreciation of the knowledge that we have of the plan of salvation. It gives SO much hope. We know exactly how great God's love is for us, what is waiting for us, and what we have to do to be happy in this life and be with our families in the next. Brother D was a tremendous example to me of a truly humble and faithful person who will receive all the blessings heavenly father has to give him in the next life.

The rest of our investigators have also been having tough times lately. Hardly any of them came to church. It looks like our most progressing investigators will still be a while before they can get baptized. We have about 6 or 7 that for one reason or another will have to wait a good few months before they can be baptized. In the meantime, me and Elder Gib have decided to start looking for the ones who are ready NOW. so that should be fun. haha.

In other news, our training in Binalbagan was for all the dl's and zl's, and it went really well. They revealed to us what the Philippines area's goals for 2012 were: rescue, reclaim, and retain. It's great because our mission doesn't have to change really anything. President Tobias was already in line with this vision and has trained us on everything we need to. He is a very inspired man. Anyways, the main theme of this vision is accomplishing all of that THROUGH the Book of Mormon. Helping everybody to feast on its words and receive revelation for themselves. So that's what I've been studying a lot lately-how the Book of Mormon really teaches us ALL we need to do.

Anwyays, I did receive the Christmas package from home!!! I do have to admit though, I already opened it. hahaha. I couldn't wait! I did promise to myself that I wouldn't eat the chocolates untill Christmas and New Year's though. :) haha.

Again, thanks for all your love and support. I am so grateful to have the knowledge of the gospel in my life! Halong gid kamo, kag palangga ta kamo! Indi ako makahulat hasta makatawag ako sa inyo para sa pasko!! :D

-Elder Lee

From December 12, 2011:

Hey Everybody!

We did get to watch the Christmas devotional last night, and we got some Christmas decorations up in our apartment now, so I am definitely feeling the Christmas spirit. Later this week will be our mission Christmas conference, and in a few weeks will be our ward Christmas party.

Well as far as the work here, things really went well this week. We were very worried on Saturday though. because it seems like for the past few weeks, something has happened where we can't really get a full week of work in. First we were robbed, then brother D. died, and this week we both got sick. It was really weird, just a one day fever thing, but it was just bad timing for both of us. I was out all day Tuesday and then Elder Gib was out all day Wednesday. haha. And then we had to go around to the other areas in our district to do some baptismal interviews, so we barely had any time to visit our investigators. So we were really bummed on Saturday that we didn't get to work much, but Sunday everything turned around and we were able to see the fruits of our efforts. :)

First off, we had 3 investigators come to church that we didn't expect would! They were all part members and it was way exciting to see. One of them (Brother N.) even told us the night before that because of all the problems that were going on in their lives right now (I can't explain them all, but they are having TOUGH times. example: they were saving up to go to church, but they were robbed and all the money was stolen and they were living off of their earnings on a day to day basis), that they probably weren't going to go go church for a few weeks till they figured everything out. We just simply testified that if they follow the commandments and the basic principles of the gospel, God will help them and they can trust in that promise. So it was a huge thing that they decided to go. :) It was a huge lesson to me and really taught me a good lesson about faith.
Sister D. is also doing a lot better. The ward has been AMAZING in helping her through everything. The funeral ended up being held at the church (I sang a solo of Where Can I Turn for Peace - phew!), and the members donated tons of money to help sister D. out. they visited her everyday and really impressed me. We were a little worried about her, because up until now she hasn't really accepted what we had been teaching, and even all the times we visited her this last week, she hadn't changed much. Well, we saw that change finally happen at the funeral service on Sunday. She said that maybe that was why Heavenly Father took her husband at this time, so that she would have to figure out for herself what he knew and so that she would finally take it seriously. She said that she had finally found comfort in the words of the Book of Mormon and that they weren't just words anymore. It was a huge witness to me of how true that saying is, that the biggest miracle is the miracle of conversion.

Another thing that we did this week was a CSP (community service project) at a local school. We... hmmm... I don't know how to explain this in English... it's called "tapas", which basically means to harvest? haha. anyways, we helped harvest a tubo field (sugar cane) which was owned by the community. Sugar cane is EVERYWHERE here, so it was fun to actually learn how to do it. Maybe next week I can send some pictures. :)

We also found out this last week, that the Philippines area is going to be putting a huge focus on rescuing and retaining less active members in 2012. Here in the Philippines, we have about 700,000 members, but only about 114,000 are active. It's a HUGE problem, and up until now, it hasn't really been focused on. so i am excited to get that work started here in kabankalan. :) It means there won't be too much tracting, mostly visiting less active members and part member families aside from our progressing investigators.

Anwyays, I'm definitely looking forward to this next week. hopefully nothing too big will happen, so we can get a full week of work in. I hope everything continues to go well at home. I love you and pray for you guys every day! Halong guid, kag palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee
 
From December 19, 2011:

Well, all is well here in kabankalan. No need to worry, we didn't get hit by any major storms. We definitely heard about it, and had some nasty baguios (storms) ourselves, but nothing dangerous. Just lots of heavy rain here. We are pretty protected here on Negros, With ilo ilo and cebu on our sides. I'm just getting tired of hand washing my clothes everyday when I get covered with mud. haha. It's pretty unavoidable.

This week has been pretty good though. We still didn't get to work as much as we wanted to, because of different things that came up. We had our stake missionary Christmas devotional, which went really well! It was meant for recent converts, investigators, and returning less actives and it was great. there was a special "traveling missionary choir" put together, and they were amazing! They sang things like the Carol of the Bells, "Believe" by Josh Groban from Polar Express, a Filipino version of "My Favorite Things", and other stuff too. It was a huge success and really put me in the Christmas spirit. :) Christmas has come so fast!! Our ward Christmas party will be on Christmas Eve, so that should be fun. We are hoping to see lots of investigators and less actives show up. :)

Well like I said, the big thing this week will be transfers. We are pretty sure Elder Gib is transferring, but there is always a chance that he won't be. (That happened when I was in guihulngan, rememeber?) We also have been asked to look for a new apartment this last week that can fit 4 elders, so that's a pretty big hint that they will be putting 4 elders here. haha. that's exciting. I never thought that I would have to learn how to "house hunt" on my mission though! it's been pretty fun, but also pretty stressful because they asked us to look for one on Friday and said we needed to have one on Monday or Tuesday. phew! kapoy! (tiring!)

This week was good for our investigators. Right now we have 4 really good investigators, 3 of which are part-member spouses, and the other one is sister D., who's husband died a few weeks ago. We also have been meeting a lot of other potential investigators this week, so it's good to prepare the harvest for next transfer as well. This week, brother N. and brother M. have really made progress. Me and Elder Gib are positive that they will be baptized this next coming month. It helps that both of their wives are RM's. haha. But really, we have really seen them overcome challenges and gain their own testimonies this past week. We are really excited because they are both potential priesthood holders and their kids are pretty young still and they have a desire to be sealed in the temple! The other two, sister D. and J., our other part member, are still kinda alang-alang (wishy washy). They have big potential, but they just need that desire within themselves first. Until they start acting and searching on their own, we have decided to back off a little bit.

I love you all and pray for you always! keep doing what you need to and what the Lord wants you to do! I hope you all have a wonderful christmas. :D halong gid, palangga ta kamo, maayong pasko (merry christmas), kag tani , kita-y kita sa lunes! bisan kon indi puwede, malipay gid ko nga makapamati ako sa inyong mga tingog! :D

-Elder Lee

NOVEMBER 2011

From November 7, 2011:

Hey everyone!
Sounds like things are still going good back in the ol' U S of A! haha.

If you remember last week, I told you that we had some stressful, crazy things happen, and it pretty much lasted for 2 weeks, but now it's over so we have a chance to rest and re-organize ourselves. .....right in time to be transferred! hahah. yup. It's official, I'm getting out of the office. I'm kinda sad of course, because I have really learned to love it here, and we have alot of investigators that will be getting baptized soon after I leave, but I know it is time for me to go. I don't know where I'm going yet though, I will find out on wednesday. I will continue being a district leader though, so that will be interesting. haha. So sorry to leave you in suspense again! Next week you will know where I am on the island again. haha.

This last week was pretty good, though. Ma recieved the Aaronic priesthood, and next week he will be blessing the sacrament. Pretty much most of our investigators are making great progress. :) We didn't do anything to celebrate Halloween though! Apparently, only the rich "Amercanized" people really celebrate it. They said there is trick or treating, but only in the rich rich neighborhoods, and I didn't see any costumes or anything. haha. The entire city, however, shut down the 2 days following Halloween. They celebrate All Souls Day and All Saints Day, where everyone goes to the cemetaries to visit their kindred dead. For the most part, it was a peaceful celebration, which is pretty lucky because kono ("word on the street is"?) there are usually alot of crazy things that happen on All Saints Day. haha.

Well I don't really have too much else to say. I think next week I will have alot though. :) haha.

Halong! Palangga to kamo!
-Elder Lee

From November 14, 2011:

Hey hey hey!

This week has been another great one. :) My new assignment is in the city of Kabankalan. :) My companion is an American, Elder Gi, who hails from Moroni, UT. (close to Aunt L I think). Anyways, he is actually the batch ahead of me (meaning he got in a transfer before me), so it is pretty fun. We were in the MTC at the same time, when I was there for my first 3 weeks, he was there for his last 3. It's weird being the senior and district leader of someone who has been out here longer then me, but it's ok because we are pretty much equal in decision making and stuff. Anyways, he's a really great guy and I am really excited for what will be happening in the area. He has been here for 6 months now and is doing an awesome job leading it.

The area is HUGE, which is both a blessing and a burden. They used to have 4 elders here, but they recently changed that. Even though Elder Gi has been here 6 months, he STILL hasn't been to some of the places in our area! haha. It will be a struggle to go from appointment to appointment, but with good planning, it will be alright. The ward is actually really big, too. Very well organized and lots of members. It can pretty much stand on it's own without the missionaries, so i am grateful for that. :) In fact, by the end of the year the goal is for this ward to split into two, and become the stake center for a new stake. It will take alot of work because they still need more tithe payers and members in attendance, but it is very possible.

I tell ya what, though, I was definitely living in luxury in the office. hahaha. I miss my hot water and toilets that flush and fast food restaurants. That's ok though. This will be good for me. ;) and Kabankalan is a pretty big city too, so we've got what we need.

We actually had a baptism this last week of a part member kid, who is 9 years old. His name is Br and he is AMAZING! haha. Even though he is 9 years old he is the smartest 9 yr. old I have ever met. He reads the scriptures all the time and understands everything we teach. We still have a few things to explain though. Right before he was confirmed on Sunday, he asked me if he could go sit with the deacons now and pass the sacrament. hahaha. I had to tell him that is was an awesome goal, but he had to wait a few years. :)

When I get more familiar with the area, I will give you more detailed reports as well. haha. Halong guid! Palangga ta kamo kag matuod guid ang simbahan! :D
-Elder Lee


From November 21, 2011:

Haha. well, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone as well! I hope you all have a good holiday. Me and Elder Gi are still not sure what we are going to do this year... we could get a real turkey, but that means we would have to kill it and prepare it ourselves, so that's probably not going to happen. We will probably just make mashed potatoes. haha. There is an RM here that just got back from serving in Temple Square and San Francisco a few months ago, so she is down for attempting to celebrate with us too. ....we'll see. hahaha.

It was pretty bizarre to me that you were able to go on a virtual tricycle ride in Kabankalan! I will have to check that out when I get back to the states. :)

This week actually went very well for us. We were able to start to see the fruits of our efforts. The first week we were here, our lessons were kind of weak because we didn't really know how each other worked, but we have been practicing and getting used to each other and have really noticed the difference it has made in our lessons. We have had some pretty spiritually powerful lessons this last week, and it was finally enough to help our investigators test their faith and act. It truly always goes back to the spirit. That is why we always do our studies, and have to obey the rules, so that we can be worthy to have the spirit work through us.

Anyways, this week we will have another baptism of another 9 yr. old part member, who's dad is a less-active RM. It has been really great to see Brother (his dad) beginning to repent so that he can be worthy to baptize his son. We have a few other baptisms set for December, but they are not totally sure yet. One is the N. Family, where the mom is a member but the dad isn't. The dad is doing great and really wants to be baptized to be an example to his kids and has been gaining a testimony. The only problem is that they always have to have someone to watch their house, so they can't all go to church at the same time. We have been trying to find someone they trust to watch their house while they go to church, but the sad fact is that they can hardly trust anybody in their neighborhood. Even their family members have stolen things like bamboo and pigs and chickens. So that is the only road block with them.

The other amazing family is the D. Family. Brother and Sister are about 50 and both also have very strong testimonies of the Book of Mormon. They read all the time and really want to be baptized. The only problem is that brother has a sickness in his lungs and most of the time he can't leave their house. The church is also airconditoned, so he was afraid he couldn't sit in there for 3 hours. Well we had a really powerful lesson with them, where they FINALLY opened up to us and the spirit was able to come in an testify to them. They tested their faith and came to church this last Sunday and had a great time. Brother's body was really strengthened by the Lord. he didn't have any problems. :)

Another family we are teaching is the S family, who just had a baby last week. They are also progressing very well. The only problem is they are not married so we need to work their marriage out first. The Filipino government is SO CONFUSING. haha. Half the people that work at the government center don't even know all the requirements, so we will be working knowing what to do as well. haha.

I think that's about it for this week. Have a good Thanksgiving! It's a great time to remember what is most important. :)

Halong! Palangga ta kamo!

-Elder Lee

PS- I forgot to tell you that this week I went on splits to another area in my district called Tapi, which is WAY bukid (wilderness). We walked 7 kilometers to one appointment and 7 back! haha. It was crazy, but I really gained an appreciation for Kabankalan and being assigned in a city where you can find what you need.

Also, Elder Gi and I ate chicken feet last night! It wasn't bad! just thought I'd share. haha. Halong liwat!

From November 28, 2011:

Hey everyone!!
It was good to hear that turkey day was a success! I missed watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, snicker salad and all the good stuff, but come next year, I should be celebrating it again with all of you! :) It is crazy to think how fast time flies though. Last Thanksgiving, I was in the mtc! Listening to Jeffrey R. Holland! phew! haha. This Thanksgiving we made our own feast of homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes and kool-aid. It was strange to eat chicken without rice (remember when we went to Chow King in Renton and I thought that was weird?? and halo-halo too? well... that's changed. hahaha), but the mashed potatoes were amazing and really made it feel like a good ol' fashioned American dinner. :)

This week was sort of a tough one for us, but we are trying to be positive and look at the bright side of things. For one, last saturday night our apartment got broken into and some of our stuff was stolen.. It wasn't so bad because not a whole lot was taken, just things like shoes, cologne, and a usb. Luckily all the rest of our stuff was in the other rooms where they didn't break into. The same thing happened to me when I was in Guihulngan, so it wasn't so bad. We talked to our taggiya (the owner) and he should be putting up bars on our windows tomorrow morning.

Another thing that happened was that we had a baptism on Saturday, of another 9 yr. old part member child (i think that's the last of them. haha.) who's dad is an RM and was recently re-activated. The only problem was that our bishop sometimes likes to just change things up on everybody because he can. haha. Last Sunday, he randomly decided that sacrament would be last instead of first for that week, so most of the ward members and investigators were confused. For the baptism, it was scheduled for 7pm because the dad wouldn't get back from work until then, but bishop decided that the day of he would switch it to 5, so we had to run around telling everybody and rounding up the people involved. hahah. We went to the dad's work and got him. Again, it was sort of a weird situation, but we are counting our blessings that we had a baptism and no one was too offended. haha.

As far as the work goes, on Wednesday I went on splits with the zone leaders in Isabela, so that was good. I learned alot there that we will try to apply in our work in Kabankalan. :) At the moment we have about 7 or 8 investigators that are doing really great and progressing. They are our focus. But each of them for one reason or another, can't be baptized until about January. For one it is because of word of wisdom, for another it is because of marriage, and for another it is because he is waiting for his wife to gain a testimony. So we are still trying to decide what to do with them because they really are progressing, but their dates are way far out there. Each of them this week have all had major problems come up all of a sudden. I realized that this normally happens when investigators start to really progress. Things out of their control begin making their life more difficult. It's hard not to be able to help, but hopefully our investigators will put their trust in the Lord and rise above the challenges they are going through right now. They will either come off stronger and closer to the Lord, or fall away. It will be a huge indicator of whether this is their time or not to be baptized.

Anyways, I think that's about it this week. I gotta go, because later today we are holding a zone activity here in Kabankalan. that should be fun. :)

Salamat guid sa tanan! Nagapangamuyo pa ako para sa inyo tanan adlaw-adlaw! Halong guid, kag palangga ta kamo! :D
-Elder Lee

OCTOBER 2011

From October 3, 2011:

I am really excited to be able to listen to General Conference next week. Mostly, I am excited to see the reactions of all of the recent converts and investigators that will be able to listen to the prophet's voice for the first time. It's so great to see. Even though people here don't understand everything that is said in English, they sure feel the spirit and it is an amazing opportunity to gain a testimony that there are living apostles and prophets today. :)
It was way cool to hear about the new temples being built!! Two now in Provo now, one near where Cory served, and one where Seth served (Kinsasha)!! That's amazing! Hopefully one day there will be a temple here in Bacolod, but I don't know if that will be anytime soon because the Cebu temple was just dedicated last year and it is pretty close for the members here.
I have been doing alot of thinking lately about hitting the half-way mark. Like where I was when I started, where I've been, how things have changed, and how I want to make the best of the time I have left here. Time goes WAY too fast. That being said, I am SO EXCITED for this next transfer!! haha. It will probably be my last here in Bacolod 1st ward, so I want to make the best of it.
There are now 6 of us assigned in the ward!! They brought in 3 new Elders to help out in the office and start being trained for their future positions. They are all pretty new in the mission, this is only their 2nd area, but they are WAY GOOD. haha. Elder V, Elder Gal, and Elder Gra. I'm also excited because my companion is Elder Gra!! I wrote about him when I was assigned in Guihulngan. We went on splits when I was still a junior and new to Cebuano, and he was only 2 weeks still in the mission. haha. The spirit is so strong with him. I learned a ton from those splits that we went on, and I remember hoping one day we would be companions! Well, it happened! haha. He is the new supply manager, so right now we are kind of working together to find out exactly what he needs to do.
As far as the work goes, I feel really great about it. Because there are now 3 companionships instead of 2, we re-divided the areas and now me and Elder Gra basically have the "uncharted territory" of our ward, where there are only a few investigators. The area is called Villa Angela, and it is HUGE, so it's basically like we are opening a new area. We have only worked together for 3 days, and we already have has some amazing experiences and met lots of new potential investigators.
Mark M. is really surprising me. Last time we met with him, we gave him a Book of Mormon with a little assignment to read a few verses and to pray about them, and when we came back, we saw that he had read a chapter a day, highlighted the things that were good to him, and now has a testimony that it is true. He also related EVERYTHING we taught to what he read in the scriptures. Right now he has a baptism date for the 29th of October, so if that goes through, I will still be here for it. :)
Another cool experience was just yesterday when we went home teaching with the Elders Quorum. We visited a less active brother and he was so ready for us to come visit him. The whole time we talked about how God had not forgotten him, even though sometimes we forget Him. He told us about all of his worries right now with his family, and his job, and life in general, (all of which, the answer to them was the Gospel and living the commandments) and asked us how he can repent and come back. We shared with him the story of Enos, and he said we can come back to teach his wife and kids who are not members. Right when we were about to leave, though, he broke down into tears and told us that lately he has been having dreams about missionaries knocking on his door and that we were an answer to his prayers. Even though I have seen this type of thing alot of times now on my mission, it was still a very touching experience.
Well, I think that's about it. Like I said, I am WAY excited for this next transfer. I can tell that very good things will happen, and I want to make the best of it. :) Oh! by the way, I got my Filipino drivers license, and am now one of the drivers here. I've been able to get some good practice in now, so I am alot more confident. haha. It's really not so bad. :)
Anwyays, I hope all is going well back at home, and that you guys have a great time at General Conference! have a good week, and try to apply what you learn! I love you all and pray for you always.
Halong, kag palangga ta kamo!
-Elder Lee

From October 9th, 2011:

Hey all!
It's amazing to me that no matter how diffrerent the topics are at General Conference, and how they are not assigned, there is always something that if we have an open heart and open ears, we will feel is put in specifically for us. I also had tons of personal revelation that I received from this conference. My only complaint was that this one seemed so short! I wanted more!
Luckily, the investigators and recent converts that we really wanted to come, were able to come watch. Even some less-active members we have been working with! :) Those who understood the "deep" English understood mostly all of what was said, and I could really tell that they felt a witness that what was being said was true and that we really have apostles and prophets today. What really amazed me though, was that even those who didn't understand what President Monson or anyone else was saying, still felt the spirit and said that they really felt something different with the music and speakers. :)
As far as the rest of our work went this week, it has just been amazing! I don't know why, but all of a sudden the work here has just been booming. We are finding new investigators and families left and right, and almost everyone we talk to wants us to teach them. Of course, there have been a few people that have hidden from us when we try to come back, but that's pretty normal. hahaha. Really though, I don't know what has changed. I know the Lord is behind His work. :) Even though I come home every night absolutely EXHAUSTED, I am still happy. I don't get it! hahaha. :)
Lately, all the kids in the neighborhood where we lived have started calling me "tito kano". (Uncle American? kano is what they called americans here.) hahaha. It is so funny! They come and give me high fives every morning. At first, they used to always call me "daddy". I have no clue why. haha. Then I started telling them, "Indi ko tatay mo!" (I'm not your daddy!) so now they call me uncle. haha. That is definitely one thing I am going to miss when I leave here - the kids are the greatest!
Well, I think that's about it for this week. besides the fact that I am now on my "downhill" of the mission! That is so crazy!! Time flies by way too fast. I didn't really do anything special, besides cook for everyone in our house. This transfer has been a good opportunity to reflect and rededicate myself to the work. Anyways, I gotta go now- short on time. sorry!
I hope you all have a great week and apply what you learned from conference!!
Halong gid, kag palangga ta kamo!!!
-Elder Lee

From October 17, 2011:

Work here in Bacolod has been going great, despite the Masskara fesitval that happened all this week. President said we could watch some of the street dances, just as long as we didn't stay too long. woo hoo! hahaha. It was pretty cool! We watched the "electric" masskara on friday night, where they all wear lights and each barangay (neighborhood?) competes for who has the best presentation. The actual celebration was on Saturday, though. Sadly, we missed it. We assumed there would be a street parade, but they held it all in one location near the SM Mall, right after we left the Mall area and went to some appointments. haha...oh well. I've seen bits and pieces of it on tv's around the city, so I feel satisfied. I was able to pick up cool cheap souveniers too, so that was a plus. haha. I'm sure you guys could watch clips of it on youtube and stuff if you really wanted. haha. Anyways, you probably don't care about Masskara too much, I'm just talking about it because it is a HUGE deal here and all throughout the Philippines.
So like I said, the work actually went GREAT this week. It's true, everytime I feel the work really start to progress in an area, I get transferred and move to a whole new area! I understand the phrase now "leave your area better than you found it", but I wish I could've stayed in some of my past areas longer to see the fruits of my labors. oh well. The work of the Lord goes on!
This week our huge success was that we had 6 investigators at church!! It was really surprising! :D we were expecting about 8 or 9, but we decided we will still take 6. hahah. Of 5 of those investigators it was their first time at church, and they had a great time. Most of them realized that they already knew alot of members, and had no clue they were members of the church! :) God works in mysterious ways sometimes. haha. The 6th investigator that came was Mark, our most progressing investigator right now. He went to all the sessions of General Confrerence and had a great time. He has a really strong testimony and is always highlighting what he reads in the Book fo Mormon. It's weird, we haven't really had any problems teaching him the gospel or the comandments. Everything we teach him he happily accepts and changes his life to live it! I ended up giving him one of my white shirts to wear at church, and he went out and bought a 300 peso tie as well! (300 pesos is ALOT. Ties are really expensive here.) He should be getting baptized on the 29th, which means he will be interviewed sometime this week. It has been really great to help him and see his progress.
Other investigators that came are Jo, An, Is, Je, and To. Jo works at a furniture shop right next to the church, and when we met him, he asked us when he can be baptized because he hasn't been yet, and he understands how important it is. We were like, "boy, do we have a message for you! " haha. When we teach him he can get VERY off topic, but he is an honest seeker of truth so we are having a good time teaching him. An is only 10 years old, but the rest of her family are less-active members, so it has also been fun teaching them. The only hard part is making sure she understands. We are looking for ways to keep lessons interesting and easy to understand, like object lessons and drawings, so that changes things up a little bit. :) Je is also a part member. He always says things like "you mean my wife could have told me this all these years and she hasn't?? This is amazing! I'm going to talk to her after this!" hahaha. To has a sister that is a less active member, so we found them through using the CMIS lists. He and his wife literally live RIGHT next to the church, so even though they are pretty poor, it is very easy for them to go to church.They are also really receptive, even though we have only taught them once.
Another thing that happened this week is I got kinda sick. Nothing big, it's just that we've had alot of baguios lately (storms), so it was probably because of the rain. Just a cold. I lost my voice for about two days, so it was really embarrassing to teach, but it's ok. I think it made people listen more when I spoke anyways. haha. I feel alot better, and my voice is coming back now, so all is good. :)
Well, things are still moving here an Bacolod and the Lord's work is still going forth. No need to worry about me! haha.
Halong guid katama, kag siempre palangga ta kamo!! :)
-Elder Lee

Oh! ps- I just found out that in a couple weeks I will be made the District Leader here becasue our current district leader (Elder S) will be going home. He extended his mission by 3 weeks, so he is leaving in the middle of the transfer. phew! Wish me luck! haha.

From October 24, 2011:

Hahaha! wow! I didn't think my english grammer had gotten that bad yet! Especially here in Bacolod. We speak english all the time! haha. I have noticed a few things here and there, that make sense when I say them in ilonggo but not in english, but I didn't realize that I have been writing that way in my emails!
About the Angry Birds trunk or treat theme...all the missionaries here are SO CONFUSED as to what angry birds is!! haha We heard them make reference to it in General Conference, and almost all the souveniers for masskara here had angry birds on them...balloons, backpacks - you name it! After your description of men and boys hitting birds with pigs though..... I think I'm more confused!! hahaha. Maybe I'll figure it out when I get back, if it's still popular... haha.
As far as the work this week, it just keeps getting better and better! Elder Gra and I are really getting good work done. Which means, like i said before, it's pretty sure that I will be transferred soon. haha. I really don't want to, but I will go wherever the Lord wants me to! haha. This last week we taught 20 lessons, which hasn't really happened before for office Elders. Usually it is around 5-10 lessons, depending on the week. Our ward had a huge attendance on sunday and a ton of investigators betweeen the 6 of us elders. Things are definitely looking up, and the ward is getting excited again about the work.
Mark passed his baptismal interview yesterday, and is VERY ready for his baptism on Saturday. Next week I will try to send pictures. We have a few others that we are pretty sure will be getting baptized in November, during the next transfer. Jo, An, and An's neighbors Ju and Va are just a few. We also have a few other families that we have been teaching that are very receptive. I really don't know what the difference has been this transfer, but things are just going well. Hopefully we can keep that success going. We decided we needed to stay open to new investigators as well, even though our teaching pool is kinda full. That's how it goes, right? You harvest and plant, harvest and plant. This is truly the Lord's work. Thank you also for all of your support and prayers and letters. They really do help!
As far as office work goes, we are just beginning the preparation for departures, arrivals, and transfers. It should be a little easier this transfer with more Elders in the office. We are, however, losing one of our best elders this week, Elder Sc. he was supposed to leave last transfer, but extended about 4 weeks so he could train someone else to take his spot. He is our tech whiz. haha. seriously. this guy is amazing. Anwyays, I think today we might be able to go with him on all his "departure activities". We are going bowling, out for lunch, and maybe taking a tour of Negros! haha. should be fun!
I have officially started my calling as district leader, so that should be fun. We'll see how the first district meeting goes tomorrow. I'm kinda nervous, it's the Lord's work, not mine. I know where I can lean on for help. :)
Halong, kag palangga ta kamo!
-Elder Lee

From October 31, 2011:

This week has been a roller coaster! haha. Last week was absolutely fantastic, and then this week... BAM. We got hit with alot of stressful, crazy things. haha. Be careful what you wish for, right? I will spare you the details. I think i'll just say... "welcome to the office." haha. It has definitely been one of my most trying weeks. Don't worry though, I am totally fine and safe. :) But basically, we haven't really had a chance to visit any of our investigators this week, so we only had one of them show up at church.
On the upside, though, we did get to have our baptism on Saturday! It was pulled off very well, with lots of help and support from the ward. Ma felt great and the spirit was very strong. Leave it up to a baptism service to remind us of what is most important, right? The only snag that we hit was that they couldn't get the drain to the font to close, so during the service, amat-amat (slowly but surely), the font was draining. When it came time for the baptism, the water was only up to the middle of our shins! hahah. So we decided to try it anyways. I was the one baptizing, so I was really grateful for all those "death drops" we did in dance. haha. I think I really got the technique down for getting people as close to the ground as possible, without hitting their head on the ground. ;) It was great, though, and we got it right the first try. Hopefully I will be able to send pictures later.
Another good thing about this week though is that I have had alot of time to study the scriptures. More than ever before, I think. I also gained a greater appreciation for the Old Testament. Until now, that has been my least favorite book, because I always thought it was so boring and confusing, but since I have had a good amount of time to study it, I've realized just how useful it still is to us today! Even though it is different people in different periods of time, we can still relate to them and recieve revelation for our personal problems today. I think that is the difference between the words of God, and other books. The words of God are applicable in all periods of time. :) The principles are the same and eternal.
So anyways, I think that's my report this week.
I know that the Gospel is the answer to happiness and peace in this life (and in the next) no matter what our circumstances are. It's so simple. We just need to do our part and everything else will fall into place eventually.
Halong gid, kag palangga ta kamo!
-Elder Lee