MANY INVESTIGATORS KEPT THEIR COMMITMENTS, READ THE BOOK OF MORMON, CAME TO CHURCH, THE WHOLE THING!

I want to send you a collage of pictures with what I call my handsome face. Enjoy.

Hello all! Here in Tuding me and Elder Wilson are enjoying a TON of success! I know, especially from Elder Uchtdorf's talk in Sacrament, that I should always be grateful, not just when the Lord is blessing me... But, I'm stinking excited!!! Many investigators kept their commitments, read the Book of Mormon, came to church, the whole thing! However, I can say, without a doubt, it's not me or Elder Wilson. Of course, we are trying to be obedient and do our best, but the Lord is everything in missionary work. Without His spirit, we would never convert anyone. Without His records that He brought forth by His power, no one would know that Joseph Smith is a prophet. He is the one that answers the prayers of these people and gives us strength to keep walking.

Other than that, I am amazed at how fast time has gone. I still have a long wonderful mission ahead, but January 15th feels like not very long ago.

The true Church is built on paradoxes, I'm finding out, and there is a huge one in missionary work. The mission is long and hard for missionaries that want to go home, but it goes by crazy fast for missionaries that are working hard and want to stay. I'm not the second one, yet, but I'm trying!

I love everyone back home. Keep on swimming! Defend the faith!

I'M LEARNING MORE AND MORE THAT WE CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT THE LORD... I'VE ALSO LEARNED TO NEVER LEAVE THE APARTMENT WITHOUT AN UMBRELLA

Does this cup look familiar? This thing seriously zoned me out, haha! It's in a members house in Itogon...
pretty spooky...

This week has been trying, but a blessing. One of our golden families is having problems and had to have their baptism moved back, but three other investigators accepted baptisms!

I'm learning more and more that we can do nothing without the Lord.

Our Stake Center in Baguio!

I've also learned to never leave the apartment without an umbrella. It rains quite a lot here in Baguio, and this is actually the coldest place in the Philippines! I am soooo very lucky to be here right now.

Fog in Tuding

Also, newest development - fog. The fog in Baguio is apparently legendary, and I got just a taste of it this week. My area, Tuding, is pretty high up, but everyone lower on the mountain couldn't see for like a whole day it was so thick. It's by far my favorite weather. Kind of spooky, but also peaceful.

Fog in the Baguio Mountains

Mahal kong ang pilipinas!
Ingat!

TEACHING THE WHOLE PUROK, TIE HUNTING AT GIANT THRIFT STORES & SACRIFICE IS POWER

A cooky kid in Beleng and getting into the fun parts of my area can be a little awe inspiring sometimes! The jungley type photo is my favorite part of our area, purok Beleng. 

Hello there family and friends!

This week has been great fun and challenging to boot. I'll separate the spiritual and the temporal.

Spiritual:

Many of our investigators who had a baptismal date had to have their baptism postponed, for varying reasons. It's been a little bit hard, but it's absolutely essential that they are ready. No one should ever be baptized if they haven't really repented, felt the Spirit or received an answer. BUT! We're very excited because Sister Rizal, who is beyond ready for baptism, is taking us to her entire family! In my area, and a lot of the Philippines, there are communities called puroks. Purok's are often just a really big extended family. It would be like you living in a three mile radius with everyone to whom your are related. So, now that Sister Rizal has such an amazing testimony, she's been taking us to her family! We're basically teaching the whole purok! Very exciting stuff!

I've also been beginning to recognize very strongly here in the mission, sacrifice is power. The more me and my companion sacrifice what we want and need to what Heavenly Father expects and needs, the more powerfully we teach, find, testify, discern, the whole thing. The more we serve ourselves rather than the Lord, the more the heavens withdraw themselves. I also have a new favorite Book of Mormon verse! 1st Nephi 25:26

A small glimpse of Baguio

Temporal:

My new favorite p-day activity is tie hunting! I love this country so much! Here in Baguio, they have GIANT thrift stores called sari-sari's, ukay-ukay's, or wag-wag's depending on who you are talking to, haha. Me and my companion take an hour to go through them on p-day to find the one golden tie among the five hundred or so totally pangit (ugly) ones! The best part, after the treasure hunt of finding one and the exchange rate of piso to American dollar, each tie is less than a dollar! I found six ASTIG (amazing) ties today! So much fun!

Picture at right is a view of my apartment from the outside. We live in the basement though, so no view until we get outside and work, haha. Two pictures at left is a bit of what my area looks like. It's basically a looooong road called Itogon Highway with puroks on either side. The purok's range from high class to low class quite quickly. 

Also, me and my companion were walking to a jeepney station after a district meeting and smack dab in the middle of a public type area is a boxing ring that's been set up. Then teams from Morocco, the Philippines and Vietnam showed up! We got to watch boxing for free! And they were fierce, let me tell you. However, our conscience as missionaries only let us stay for one match, haha.

This is what a jeepney looks like on the inside. Kind of like an oldtimey, post WWII limo, haha.
I took this picture on the rare occasion that it was just us. They are usually packed.

A random boxing tournament... ding ding.

That's all for this week!

Alam ko po na tagapagligtas ni jesucristo. Alam ko po na totoo and simbahan ni jesucristo ng mga banal sa mga huling araw. Mahal kong maging ang tagapagsilbi ng diyos. Nagpapasalamat ako para sa mga magulang, mg kaibigan, at pamilya ko. Sa pangalan ni jesucristo, amen.

Ingat!