INCREASE IN HILARIOUS SIGNS SINCE TRANSFERRED, 6'2" FILIPINO COMPANION, STRUGGLING AREA, NEW INVESTIGATOR & 90 DEGREES WITH 100% HUMIDITY

11-23-2014

Hello family!

I will endeavor to give much more detailed reports now and in the future. You can all thank my wonderful father for the change :P

I've begun to notice an increase in hilarious
signs since I transferred... 

So, covering all of the circumstantial things I've been talking about in the past, I am now in the big city of San Fernando! San Fernando is actually one of the three stakes in my mission and is also home to the mission president's home and the mission office. The city is right next to the ocean and parts of my area also go right next to the great big blue. I and my district attend the Lingsat ward, which is one of the best units in the entire mission! The chapel is literally next door to the mission office, so I see President Balledos (my mission president) much more often now, haha. The mission office is also where we get and receive mail, so mail will come to me and get to you all much faster while I'm serving in this area.

My companion is a 6'2" Filipino named Elder Guiuo, from Rizal, near Manila. Him being that tall is kind of worth mentioning since Filipinos are usually shorter than I am, haha. To be honest, our area is struggling. The attitude of people in the cities is VERY different than in the rural provinces. In my last area we could average five or six, sometimes seven lessons a day. Last week, me and Elder Guiuo in my area dedicated 6 hours to finding... and couldn't teach a single lesson, haha. The investigator I mentioned before has dropped their baptismal date because of conflicts with his wife... so, we have no baptisms scheduled. Except for last night we got an investigator that moved into our area from Luna! His name is Brother Binyag, and he's doing really really well as an investigator. His wife is already a member, and they have the cutest darn baby you have ever seen. He's scheduled for December 13th. If you pray for anyone, pray for him! Satan tries the investigators just before they are baptized.

There are 4 of us in the apartment, myself, an Australian and two Filipinos. I love them all as brothers! I would like all of you to remember how wonderful the cold is there while I am working in 90 degrees and 100% humidity here in the Phillies, haha. I love you all and I hope this is a better step than I've done in the past as far as keeping you all updated!

Feed your fire!

Elder Mikesell III

The funny signs continue. Tagalog is a completely phonetic language where everything is spelled exactly how it sounds. Sometimes they try to apply that principle to English and the results vary, haha.

3 WORDS, TOTAL REJECTION IN AMMONIHAH, STOKED FOR MY PACKAGE, FIRE & PICTURE CONTEST

11-16-2014

In my mission we do a mini movie called 3 words. Every missionary takes a photo of themselves with their 3 words. This was mine. Later they put them together in a slide show.

Guiuo and Mikesell, Alma and Amulek type stuff. It's pretty legit. well, Alma and Amulek type stuff when they were in Ammonihah and no one wanted to listen to them, but it's still fun! haha

This was my face and excitement level upon receiving the package from Kelly. I cannot express how stoked I was for that package Kelly. It was truly what I needed.

-peanut butter SUCKS in the Philippines and buying the American stuff is expensive
-licorice is no where to be found
-I was on my last stick of deoderant, was out of floss, bar soap and mints
-those granola bars are the best thing ever when you're proselyting and get hungry
-my garments were downright torn up
-almost all my socks have holes in them, and the ones you bought are the perfect size and don't dig into my skin up at the top of the elastic
-the shoes are the BOMB.COM! my shoes before had holes in the soles so rocks would get in while I was proselyting and the tendons in the back of my ankles would get really stiff and pained and I in longer have to worry about that nonsense!

To keep the mosquitoes away, the Filipinos burn stuff to make smoke. I got a little carried away. 

I love the disclaimer on this advertisement, haha. 

My last district in a late 1800's family portrait pose. The award of "my favorite person ever" would go to whoever could send me back this picture in black and white, maybe with a little grainy, old timey look for effect.

TRANSFERRED TO SAN FERNANDO, FIRST TIME WORKING IN LEGIT CITY AND EXCITED TO SEE WHAT MY NEW AREA IS LIKE!

11-9-2014

MY NEW AREA, SAN FERNANDO

My new companion, Elder Guiuo

I was indeed transferred! The call came early in the morning while I was in the shower, and I yelled quite a bit before answering pleasantly, "Hello President!" I have been transferred to a city named San Fernando, and it is my first time working in a legit city. While I was up in Baguio, I was really in the outskirts of the city, but this time I'm in the heart. This means ya'll will be receiving letters again! It is veeeery different than where I was in Aringay, but I do like it, haha. The only problem is that my apartment is about 2 and a half minute's walk from McDonald's and KFC... crap, I'm going to get fat again. It's also very different from a branch where the church is very new and they are still working out the kinks, it's a well organized efficient ward. Whoa. My companion's name is Elder Guiuo (it's pronounced gee-oh). He is 22 years old, he's been out for about a year,and he is from Rizal, which is close to Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. My apartment mates are Elders' Gomez and Tucio, the first  from Australia the second from Cavite. I am excited to be here, and I'm excited to see what my new area is like! We have one investigator who is prepping for baptism, but it's veryyyyy difficult for him to stop smoking. He can't get past that last cigarette. Please pray for him! We'll use the name Brother Tagumpay. I love you all! More next week! Feed your fire!

Elder Mikesell III

My new apartment.

This is Chad, the goat, from my last area in Aringay. He was always chillin outside our apartment.
He has a righteous/gnarly surfer hair brah. 

fgdfdgd

3/4 CHANCE OF TRANSFERRING, HOTTER THAN AFRICA AND SISTER LUZON IS GETTING BAPTIZED!

11-3-2014

Hello all! I am very close to transferring. In my interview with President a few weeks ago, he told me face to face that I would be transferred, but the last time he told me I wasn't going to transfer, and I did, sooooo, I give it a 3/4 chance because I've been here for quite a while, haha. But, I've grown to love Aringay, even though it's hotter than Africa. Sister Luzon will be baptized this Saturday :) I probably won't be here to see it, but it's not the missionary that matters, it's the message and the work of salvation. I'll also be hitting my 10 month mark really soon which is odd as well. I'm not counting days, but it's hard for me to forget because I became a missionary on the 15th of the month, so it's like every two weeks there's a "whoah, it's a new month already?" and then in the next two weeks it's like "whoa I'v been out another month already?" and then over and over again, haha. I know I've been neglecting pictures, so today is like picture blitzkrieg! I apologize if I've already sent some of these in the past, I can't remember which ones I have and haven't sent. Please pray for Brother Luzon who is working on overcoming the Word of Wisdom challenges he's having.

That's it! Love you all!

Elder Mikesell III

My area floods a lot. 

The branch mission leader in the front, a branch missionary in the back and the missionaries.

My zone.

I want to die in this country, haha!

We had some visitors in our local chapel... I guess the iron bars over the windows were bought from Savers or DI?

A TERMITE NEST IN OUR APARTMENT & CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS

This week we had a mission leader conference in which our mission president gently chastised us for the apartments being dirty. I went home and told the other missionaries about what we had been told (and that our apartment was soon going to be checked by the mission president's wife). We look at one another, looked at the apartment, and unanimously agreed, "Yeah, we gotta clean this place, haha." So, we set to it. Now understand nothing was SUPER bad, just as you would expect from a group of four young men ranging in age from 18-22's apartment to look like... until we started under the staircase. This space is usually covered by two old broken toasters ovens, but when my companion started clearing those out he screamed that there was a giant ant mound underneath the stairs. We all ran to check and doubts started: we couldn't see anything going in or out of it, and it looked like poorly poured concrete, the kind a contractor would leave in spaces they know will never be seen or inspected. I got a broom, poked it, and found that it was rock solid. We all breathed a sigh of relief, discounted it as just ugly concrete in a weird cover and started back cleaning.

I went to take the toaster ovens outside but stopped; because the end of the toaster oven's plug went literally inside the "concrete", and I knew for sure the toaster ovens weren't there when the contractor poured the concrete. Calling everyone back, we pulled mightily on the cord until BOOM it came loose. We got a flashlight, peered inside and lo and behold... it was a rock hard giant termite mound. In the space where we pulled out the plug we could see the termites and other maggots trying to repair the hole. We quickly went to our "mom" (A.K.A. our super nice land lady) and asked for her help. I thought she would call a professional, but she and her friend just went at it with a machete, a shovel and a bucket instead. We spent the next hour cleaning out the nest.

Cleanliness is next to godliness, haha!!! Rest assured, it is cleaned and termite free now. Enjoy the pictures, and I love you all :P That's all for this week.

Feed your fire!
Elder Mikesell III

STILL IN ARINGAY, AS MANY CHURCHES AS AMERICAN FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS AND ANOTHER GROUP OF INVESTIGATORS

September 29, 2014

I'm still in Aringay! Me and Elder Tolentino will be together for at least another transfer. Aringay is great fun to proselyte in. The big problem is just combating people's lack of interest. There are SO many churches in the Philippines. The great apostasy is evident in America, but it is RAMPANT in the Philippines. Think to yourself how many fast food restaurants you see in Las Vegas, imagine each one of those is a different church. That is the Philippines, haha.

Here's another investigator group, along with the Luzon family: the Maligaya family. Brother and Sister Maligaya are a cute couple with two daughters, but they aren't actually married. It is very hard for them to get married because they aren't exactly wealthy.

I love you all sooo much!!

Love,
Elder Mikesell III

THE LUZON FAMILY FINALLY CAME TO CHURCH AS A COUPLE THIS SUNDAY!

September 22, 2014

Hello family! This week is the end of our transfer and the last 6 weeks have gone by wayyy fast. I'll know either today or tomorrow whether or not I'm transferring, exciting stuff, haha. Also, one of the Elder's in our apartment, Elder Sison, is going home today! He's been such a freaking stud. It's weird because a lot of the missionaries I knew in the beginning of my mission are starting to go home, including my trainer, Elder Wilson.

The Luzon family finally came to church as a couple this Sunday! I know they'll be baptized! Although, it may not be with me in the area. I believe in them to be able to find the truth for themselves. Please pray for them, especially Brother Luzon!

I love you all!
Ingat!

NEVER KNEW LIGHTENING COULD BE THAT BRIGHT AND CLOSE, THUNDER COULD SHAKE YOUR BONES, AND THE WIND COULD BLOW SO HARD YOU ACTUALLY GET SCARED

September 14, 2014

Not much has changed since the last letter, but I suppose these are the highlights:

-We had a typhoon last night which was pretty fun. We had to go home early from proselyting. It knocked out the power for most of the night as well. Super fun. I never knew lightening could be that bright and close, thunder could shake your bones, and the wind could blow so hard you actually get scared. But it's over now, no biggie, haha.

-There are 4 of us in our apartment. One of us, Elder Sison, was the assistant to the president for quite a while, but his mission is basically over. His companion will be joining me and my companion in a tripanionship for about a week.

That's about all this time :P I love you all. Please write me! Ingat!

ARINGAY - THE SMALL FISHING CITY WITHOUT A GROCERY STORE WHERE I CAN GET REGULAR PEANUT BUTTER

September 8, 2014

So, Aringay is the small fishing city I work in. It's between the ocean and the mountains of Baguio. The town itself isn't too rural, but it's small enough to not have a post office or grocery store where I can get regular peanut butter. The people here are VERY nice, and half the time are surprised to see a white person and almost all the time surprised that the white person in question can speak Tagalog. The Tagalog has gotten a lot better. I've been able to speak well for quite a while, but understanding what other people are saying has been very difficult. I'm finally getting it. It's really good to have a Filipino companion, as well, to help me. Elder Tolentino is from Quezon City, which is next to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. He speaks fluent English, and he's actually a lot more like me than both of the American companions I've had in the past. He did dancing and choir before his mission, and his whole family are members.

The family we need you to pray for right now is the Luzon family. All my other investigators haven't been keeping their commitments, so unfortunately, their baptisms have been postponed. The Luzon family's mother is actually the daughter of our last convert :) The father doesn't have a job right now, but he's looking. They have one son, very good people. Although, Brother Luzon is very quiet, it's hard to tell what he thinks sometimes. Sister Luzon is very prepared and has been coming to church for quite a while!

Love you all! Ingat!

Puppiesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

The best place to baptize ever, no clean up, haha!

A wig we found looking for slacks on p-day, my silly companion.

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS COUNTRY AND WILL DIE HERE!

My District!

I haven't updated everyone in far too long, for which I apologize, haha.

This week was extremely rewarding! Sister Mabait was baptized just this last Saturday! She lives in a very humble home and her husband works overseas. All of her children, except for her oldest, have been baptized, and her oldest son JUST left on his mission about two days before we arrived in Aringay. Her family is crazy, but we love it!

I've decided that there are only two kinds of weather in the Philippines: dry and hot OR wet and hot and occasionally typhoon force winds. I have also decided that I am in love with this country and will die here. I have some investigators you can pray for! Their name is the Matapat family. They live in a bahay kubo, or bamboo house with no power. They were visited by missionaries before, but they were too shy at the time. One of the counselors came to my companionship and told us that they wanted to be visited again because of tragedies that had happened in their family since then. Sister Matapat, the mother of the family, has been widowed three times now, and she's only in her forties. Their entire family accepted the invitation to be baptized in the first lesson and they all came to church! They have a lot of challenges, so please keep them in your prayers.

That's all this week! I love you all! Feed your fire!

Elder Mikesell III

The sister missionaries convert, John

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Happiness

This is a fruit called rambutan. You don't eat the outside, but the inside has kind of a citrus flavored jelly... it's wayyy good!

My companion was sleepy, haha