LAST WEEK IN AMMONIHAH, CEELBRATING AT HALO HALO DE ILOKO, GOING TO MISS LINGSAT WARD AND LOTS OF FUN WITH BAMBOO!

Me and the elder sitting next to me both knew we were transferring, so we decided to have a last hurrah at a groovy little restaurant in my area called Halo Halo de Iloko that would usually be too expensive. The specialty there is a Halo Halo they serve in a coconut! Halo is kind of like ice cream but better. These are my blood brothers here in the mission, Elder Moreland, Done, and Krustch! This area was way hard, but these guys made it a fun time, haha.

This is officially my last week in Ammonihah! I have received official news that I will be transferring to an area called Narvacan, and the area which I am going to specifically is rumored to be doing verrry well, which will be a welcome change! I am excited! I have yet another Filipino companion, from here in Luzon. I haven't met him yet, but I will of course send you his bio info and picture this next pday. I'm definitely okay with having Filipino companions though, seeing that I have my whole life to hang out with Americans and speak English but a VERY limited time to work with Filipinos and speak Tagalog, or Ilokano, which is the major dialect of the area I'm going to... cheers for learning yet another foreign language when I just barely become adequate at the first, haha!

I am verrry much looking forward to my new area, but there will be many things I'll miss from this one, namely my companion, the ward, and the close proximity of fast food. Focusing on the second: I love Lingsat ward! They are easily the best ward I've served in since getting here (don't tell any of the other units I've been to) in regards to unity and working with the missionaries. I love the members here, especially the ward mission leader, Brother Ram! The members are beings so nice to me, too, on the way out. Lots of dinner appointments, haha. I have no idea what the area will look like, what the war will be like or my companion or the apartment, but you'll get the whole story next week.

Love you all!
Feed your fire!
Elder Mikesell III

Fun with bamboo, Part 1...

Fun with bamboo, Part II... 

Fun with bamboo, Part III... The bamboo construction is a waiting bench
for the jeep buses that go through the area.

Fun with bamboo, Part III... 

This insect is what translates from Tagalog to English as "house spider". They are horrifyingly fast and can jump. This is the closest I've ever been able to get to one without it running. I love the Phillies :)

The picture of the old grandma made everyone present laugh until it hurt.

This dog is the object of the most pity I have given to any creature on earth.
There are lots of these dogs here in the Philippines. We call them zombie dogs because there's
some sort of contagious disease that only affects them, but this one is down right horrible.  

ACCUSED BY A CRAZY PERSON OF STEALING ORIGINAL BIBLE, APARTMENT CIRCLED BY MILITARY HELICOPTER & HAVE TO TRAVEL TO MANILA FOR FINGERPRINTING

March 1, 2015

Found these outside of a Seventh Day Adventist minister's house in my area.
The language is Hebrew. I couldn't resist.

It's been quite an eventful week! Amidst the grandness of missionary work, I've run into two signs during proselyting, and now forgetting things mid-sentence, were harassed by yet another crazy person (of which there are many here in the Phillies) this time by an older man who accused my companion of stealing "the original bible" and rejected my companion's pleas of innocence by calling him a liar, had our apartment circled around by a military helicopter during our scripture study, and learning by way of announcement that me anda group of sixty other missionaries will be journeying to the capital city of Manila for fingerprinting which we didn't accomplish at the beginning of our mission like the new folk do, by flying in early and getting it finished during their stay at the Manila MTC.

I sense a wonderful irony about putting the vet and the pound next door to the city slaughterhouse, haha.

The Dentist. Seems legit. 

In other news, my mission is going dangerously fast. I only have about a week left in this area with my current companion, my third (out of four) general conferences is next month, I'll hit month fourteen in two weeks, and my second and last birthday in the field will be celebrated soon. (By the way, if anyone was thinking about doing anything for that, the only thing on my wish list is ties... I'm addicted to ties. Best friend award would go to anyone who could acquire a Harry Potter/Gryffindor tie, the diagonal striped red and gold one... I'm sure there are pictures on the internet you could reference... and it would hopefully be of good quality and not the kind that they sell at Savers with Harry Potter costumes... and the more the merrier. When in doubt, ask Chase. Or check out the ties I wear in my pictures.)

Me and my ward mission leader, Brother Ram. At first contemplative, afterwards, silly.

However, I'm noticing the time is going fast because it fills me with a sense of urgency. The time is far spent! It's sickle time!

Lastly, I've discovered my new favorite scripture in all scripturedom. Alma 5:46-48... If you haven't done it yet... do it:)

I love you all. Doing my best.

My soul in vehicular form.

Just a bit of the Philippines for those unfamiliar. The house/store is called a tindahan where they sell just about everything you need. This is the Filipino version of a gas station. Most tinahans have them conjoined to their home. 

One of the lower class parts of my area. 

Brother Chan, one of the strongest converts I've ever met! The man is iron in his testimony. 

One of the strangest fruits (possibly vegetable) I've seen this week.

4 HOURS & 300 PESOS GOING BACK TO THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, APARTMENT WITHOUT POWER AND WATER FOR LAST FEW DAYS & A HUGE FAN OF CHANGE

Hello friends and fam!

This week was an interesting one. Among the highlights are the fact that I had to spend four hours and over 300 pesos (quite a chunk of change) going BACK to the botanical gardens to check with the care taker whether or not the monkey that scratched me had been vaccinated or not and the fact that our apartment, due to a series of unfortunate events, has been without power or running water for the last few days. In regards to the former, the monkey (although still a mean hearted and bitter soul) appears by all means to be healthy and as to the latter, it's been a great experience. I've become quite proficient at alternative cooking methods, showering and dish washing, haha.

However, my time in this area is definitely limited. My entire mission I've been 4 1/2 months (or three transfers if you're mission language savvy) in each area, and this is my last 3 weeks in this area if that holds. Although the work is a bit... challenging here, I'll miss a LOT of things here, including being so close to the mission office, the fantastic ward, my district mates and of course proximity to fast food. However, I'm a huge fan of change! Essentially:

I'll go where you want me to go dear Lord
Over mountain or plain or sea
I'll say what you want me to say dear Lord
I'll be what you want me to be.

Love you all :)

Elder Mikesell III

Watermelon is yellow in this country. No one can give me a definite answer as to why... Elder Mikesell: giant lizard rider. Missionary cooking methods. The dish is pasta. The mug is hot chocolate.

My last area and evidence thereof. Monkey family :) awww. Owl gang. Cats are privileged to have mustaches here. 

BOTANICAL GARDENS ZONE ACTIVITY, BIT BY A MONKEY & SMASHING TIME ON THE MISH

February 16, 2015

Me and my companion in San Fernando

I'm going to slow down and write a nice long letter with pictures attached :P

Hello family! Thank you first and foremost for the prayers on my behalf. I had a much better week this week than the week previous. Two weeks ago was the worst I've had on my mission (statistically), but last week was the best week I've ever had in this area (statistically)! Regardless of those things, I am, of course, having a smashing time on the mish :) Many missionaries are excited to go home because of prospects like dating, music, movies, and son on, but all I see is having to get a job again, rent, money, school, taxes, that kind of stuff. No, no, no, no, no! I'm quite happy on my spiritual/jungle adventure out here in Le Phillies :P

The highlight of my week this week was our zone activity! Me and my companion had the wonderful burden of planning and executing said activity for the 26 missionaries in this, the San Fernando Zone, and we had a scavenger hunt type deal planned out until we heard about a botanical gardens type deal out in the mountains that was supposed to be well worth the trip. We ran the risk and took the zone there instead, and I was soo happy when it didn't blow up in our face, haha! The gardens were amazing. I forgot my camera :P but I'm considering going back before I leave this area just to go. I'll try and get as many pictures as possible from the missionaries. Also, fun was the fact that they had a little zoo! There were monitor lizards, motits (which is kind of like a native foxlike monkey) owls, eagles, and monkeys! One of the monkeys reached out to shake my hand which I foolishly took. He betrayed my trust by trying to bite me, and I sustained a small wound on my finger to the great laughter of my comrades. I disinfected it ASAP and was way afraid I would have to go to the missionary recovery center in Manila for rabies testing, but (happily) the mission president's wife (who handles all the health stuff) didn't think it was necessary.

Now for the investigator corner!

Pray for these folks! (They are code names, but Heavenly Father knows who they are. I'm sure he'll get the right blessing to the right people if he has a mind to, haha.)

The Ube family: 24 and 34 with two kids. (Does the age gap remind you of anyone in our immediate family? I told them about it actually. They thought it was funny.) Not married. Met them through their half paralyzed father-in-law who we've been visiting in their home. Sister Ube is quite interested, but Brother Ube's interest might not be so potent.

Thank you all :) Enjoy the pictures. I know you would want better pictures of my companion, so here's one of him and me together. Also, this is the chapel I'm assigned to. Keep feeding your fire!

Elder Mikesell III

NEW COMPANION IN ELF HATS, ONE YEAR MARK WITH PIZZA AND FEED YOUR FIRE!

Hello friends and fam! I've had some requests this past week, so attached to this email is me and my new companion, Elder Cu in the elf hats I received in a Christmas package, haha. One thing I've definitely noticed is that Filipinos celebrate Christmas long before it starts and long after it is finished.

Some other questions I was recently asked:

Q: Tell me about your new companion?
A: His name is Elder Cu! His granddad is Chinese, he's Filipino from Quezon City in the national capital region, his favorite foreign food is lasagna, he's 20 years old and is a licensed nautical engineer, and he's extremely low maintenance, which I'm a huge fan of.

Q: One year mark with pizza at the mission office? Very cool! Do they do that for all the Elders at their half way mark?
A: I paid for said pizza :P  The tradition here is that YOU treat YOUR district at your half way mark. It might be a Baguio Mission deal that doesn't happen elsewhere, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

Q: Are you still getting fed well?
A: Every Sunday the second counselor in the Stake Presidency feeds us. It's my favorite time of the week, except sacrament.

Q: Do you cover one ward or multiple wards?
A: I am only in one ward, the Lingsat ward here in San Fernando La Union Stake. So are three other companionships, haha. It's a bit different from back home. One unit usually has anywhere from three to five companionshps in it here.

Q: Any crazy things that you've had to eat lately?
A: The craziest thing lately was fried chicken and rice at McDonalds :P That's a popular deal here. Nothing too crazy recently.

I love you fam :) I hope everything's going well, including grandma's back and Kelly not being able to put her socks on due to advanced human-producing. Pray for you folks :)

Feed your fire!
Elder Mikesell III

SUHA WAYYY GOOD, STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE DOING BETTER AND NEWS A LITTLE SPARSE THIS WEEK

January 25, 2015

An investigator fed us a fruit I've never had before this week. It's like a giant half orange half lemon, and it's wayyy good. It's called suha.

Things are continuing to improve!

This week was even better than the last! If you remember those standards of excellence I talked about last time, we are doing better than last week! However, this is the last week with me and Elder Guiuo. He will be transferring on Wednesday. I genuinely enjoyed his and my companionship together. I have no idea who my companion will be, and it's kind of stressing me out a little, but that's all right!

In related other news, I celebrated my one year mark with pizza at the mission office where all my friends are (if it can be said I have any :P) and I also traded a tie with Elder Harris. It's a native Igorot Filipino weave. Cool stuff. I apologize that the news is a bit sparse this week, but really very little has happened. None of our investigators are progressing if progression can be marked by church attendance. As soon as there is, I'll give you their names for you to pray for them.

I love you all :)
Elder Mikesell III

MY DISTRICT!

My district!

January 4, 2015

THIS COUNTRY LOVES FIREWORKS & PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF MISSIONS

January 5, 2015

Hello fam bam and friends! First things first: this country loves fireworks, haha! I was kept from sleeping multiple times because of the hearty application of said material. Not only that, they don't just use fireworks on New Years Eve here in the Phillies, they do it several days before and after, haha, even during the day time.

BUT: this weekly letter will be less about anything new that's happened (because there's relatively little) and more about something that I've been pondering about and want to share.

The transforming power of missions.

I know that many parents and even children have huge misconceptions about how a mission can change and elder or sister. I am by no means perfect or even that great, but I can honestly say that these things have become real to me over the course of this last year. I can confidently say that I know that God lives, that this church is true, and that Jesus Christ lives, whereas before I could only say that I believed, and even then only passively. But I was involved only a few weeks ago in a clean up effort that followed an incident that happened here in my mission. A group of four missionaries got together without notifying any of their mission leaders and the results were sad. There's no need to specify what, but my knowing the full details actually depressed me for a little while. I was shocked that men who had pledged to a prophet of God that they would be servants of Jesus Christ could do things this wicked. Two of the elders were excommunicated. All were sent home immediately after one of them confessed because of the guilt he couldn't bear afterward. I actually worked with one of these elders on an exchange, before it was discovered by president but after the event had happened. I know all parents that sent those elders out had high hopes for their sons, eagerly expecting them to return in two years as transformed, now spiritual giants. Instead, they came home early, just in time for Christmas, none of them with an honorable release and two of them with the complete dissolution of every covenant they made and their priesthood with it.

I will make this comparison: cleaning bathrooms.

A parent can tell his son or daughter to clean a bathroom. In one case, the son or daughter is given just a rag. In the other case, he is given gloves, equipment, cleaning supplies and someone to show him how to do it.

BUT: it's still his or her choice whether he or she will clean the bathroom.

A mission can be an amazing experience where our conversion is deepened and we really start on the path that leads us back to our Heavenly Father, but the mission does not put us on that path like an escalator. A missionary on his or her mission is given an amazing opportunity to really become a disciple of Jesus Christ, but that does not mean that he or she will actually do it. There are many missionarys, ones that even finish their missions "honorably" who do not change at all on the inside.

Getting a name tag does not change who you are. It does not mean you no longer face temptation, pride, bitterness, envy, fear or lust. It does not give you an added +30 spiritual points. You are still you.

I know Jesus Christ is real. I know He can heal us through His atonement, and I love serving Him with the time He has given me to do so :)

Love you all.
Feed your fire!
Elder Mikesell III

FIRST CHRISTMAS IN THE PHILIPPINES WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF FIREWORKS

December 28, 2015

Me and fellow thugs / missionaries of my apartment Christmas Eve. 

This week was quite a week! The Philippines celebrates Christmas a bit differently than we do, but it's still quite fun! The biggest difference is the fireworks, haha, lots and lots of fireworks. Over the course of the week, I was able to Skype my family, be fed exorbitantly and watched the church's "He is the Gift" video about 50 times, but all of those things were wonderful! The "He is the Gift" video makes me feel the spirit every time I watch, especially as Mary looks up while holding the infant Christ in her arms as the drums stop. (chills). Other than that, it was a little difficult to feel the Christmas spirit without my family, or without even a hint of being cold, but that is honestly okay! I still enjoyed the actual purpose of Christmas, which is remember the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ!

Because the news is scant for this week, I would like to leave my very last email update of this year with my testimony.

I have come to know for myself that these things are true, independent of any person, people, group, organization, or influence other than the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is not imaginary, or just a concept folks made up to feel better about themselves or to make the unfairness of the world around them somehow make sense. He is real. He lives! He speaks to our prophets today as he did from Adam to Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson. I know from that same power that there is a loving Father in Heaven and that He works day after day to bring us home to Him :) In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Happy New Years!
Merry Christmas!
Feed your fire!
Gain light and truth!
Just keep swimming!
Elder Mikesell III

Me and Elder Guiuo getting Christmas gifts the day after from the Chan family in our ward!

CHOSEN TO WEAR THE MISSION SANTA CLAUSE SUITE (PROBABLY BECAUSE I AM THE FATTEST WHITE GUY IN OUR TRI-ZONE) & I FOUND MY NEW CAREER

My District

Hello fam and friends! First things first, the hurricane is like 500 miles away, so no need to fret :P Shout out to Kelly, dad and Kayla for emailing me and keeping me updated!

This week was one of the busiest weeks, evah! We had our tri-zone Christmas conference, and you will all be pleased to know that the mission president's wife chose me to wear the mission Santa Clause suite costume. This was probably because I am the fattest white guy in our tri-zone, but far from being offended I can sincerely say I was overjoyed. I believe I've found my new career. The only problem with the suit was its apparent lack of a beard, but you get away with what you can. The tri-zone conference was half dedicated to training and missionary matters and the other halt to food, gift exchanges, singing Christmas carols, meeting with friends in different districts, musical presentations, skits and watching a movie! We got to see How to Train Your Dragon 2! I was pretty dang excited. It was actually quite impressive from a writing standpoint. Kind of made me miss movies :P

Other than that in the pressing news, the news is actually quite scarce. Transfers will be announced tomorrow and my companion feels in his guty that he will be gone. You never know until you know, though. I certainly hope not because I love Elder Guiuo so darn much. The ward has been doing quite a wonderful job of making sure we are fed. I hardly have to buy groceries anymore.

In the latest investigator news flash, Brother and Sister Naghahanap are encountering difficulties. Because of problems with the birth, the price sky rocketed and Brother Naghahanap was forced to turn anywhere he could to find money. He also applied for church services but due to the discretion of the Bishop and the circumstances, he was denied. He hasn't been replying to us since and we're worried that he was offended. Please pray for him and his wife and their newborn, partially for their health and partially to soften their hearts!

Lastly, today is my 11th month mark. Just typing that sentence gave me this weird feeling in my stomach. All the cliche's because they are totally true: the mission goes by tooooo fassssst and the longer you've been out the faster it goes. I'll make sure to do everything possible so that there shan't be any regrets at the end of it!!!

Love you all :)

Feed you fire!

Elder Mikesell III

Brother Binyag's Baptism