Dupax Del Norte: 5.26.14

Well everyone im in Dupax del Norte. (DEW-POX) As in Mountain DEW and then Chicken POX. And the greatest news of all is that I made it to the mountains! Im in one of the prettiest areas in the mission! We have a small branch here but we have a good meeting house! We also have missionaries in Del Sur and they only have a shack for their sacrament meeting haha! But this area is amazing. We live in the jungle here in the mountains and most of the people here live in little small bamboo shacks with thatched roofs. The other thing is although Im fluent in Filipino (Tagalog) most of the people here speak Ilocano. Most of the time we can communicate through simple Tagalog but sometimes its impossible and we have to bring one of the members of our Branch to translate! Life here is definetly different! The water here we shower with is so freezing because we are higher in elevation but so is the weather so you give and you take haha! 

 The work here is cool. Its definitely slower than my last area but the Branch is very organized and we have lots of help from the members. Im hoping we can turn this area into something amazing by the end of my time here! 

My new companion is Elder Pacate. Its always kind of funny whenever I say his name I think im going to mess up and say Macate which means Itchy in Tagalog. Hes super funny and kind of crazy in a really hilarious way. So were going to have fun! Hes super hard working too which I have been praying my new companion would be. 

I havent had much of a chance to meet many people to talk about in this email so next week I will tell you about the people here, but this morning since its P-day we went hiking and I got some pictures on top of the mountain. 

Well, thank you all for your prayers and your love! I hope you all enjoy the pictures and Ill talk to you soon!

The one picture with the missionary standing in the doorway is the chapel in del sur! So crazy right?

Illagan: Tumawini 2nd 5.19.14

Hey everyone were just gonna hit the highlights this week! 

We found an amazing family because its the sister of one of our recent converts and their mother is a member too! They will be baptized, they already hav a testimony of the priesthood, we have been going there this week and they are super awesome and already looking forward to baptism so we are just working on helping them build their testimony. 

I said bye to a lot of people this week and will finish saying goodbye tomorrow to everyone else because I am transferring now! Im almost done packing and I will be leaving on Wednesday so just one more day. Its sad because this area is where I learned how to be a missionary and how to be a Filipino but Im excited to move on and serve in another area. So Im sure I will have lots of new things to talk about next week!

Im thankful for all the many miracles I was able to see here and all the amazing blessings of missionary service! 

Like always thanks for your support. Until next time!

Illagan: Tumawini 2nd 5.5.14

Last week there was no internet in my town here where I am assigned so I had to come back on Tuesday to write a few short messages so my family would know I am still alive. Im going to keep it short this week because the work has been kind of slow! 

There are good and bad things about staying in one are in your mission for 6 months. Some bad things are you dont get to explore new places or meet very many new people. but the good things are you build good relationships with the people. Since transfer day is only 2 weeks out and Its fairly certain that I will be transferred a lot of the people have been telling me to be sure and come by before I leave. I have grown to love these people so much and Its cool to see that I have made a big enough Impact on them that they will miss me after I am gone! 

The really miracle this week is that our convert was baptized and confirmed. This mans family was baptized years ago and he was not baptized with them but this week he joined them in the covenant of our lord. His testimony after his baptism was so powerful. Its a hard translation but basically what he said is that since he knows the church is true and he is happy now he said for the rest of his life here on the earth this is where he will stay. Its been so amazing to be the missionaries that finally got into the heart of this man after he shooed the missionaries away for the past years. This man is now a priesthood holder and truly a latter-day saint. 

Its important for us all to remember that our conversion doesnt stop at our baptism. Part of the 5th principle of the gospel "enduring to the end" is continuing our conversion all the way through this life. So I invite you all to ask yourselves what you can do to be a more converted disciple of Jesus Christ and then pray for the strength to do that. 

Im eternally grateful to god for the incredible memories I make here every week! Talk to you all soon!