december 28, 2014

How are you? (Please use three complete sentences to describe your current state.

i am sick... i have a pretty bad cough, and my voice goes in and out... GOOD NEWS: i have just recently started to work on a 6 pack.... and the coughing helps out a ton!!!!  hahaha, other than the whole sore throat, i am doing good!!! it has been a very different week, i dont think that there is another way to put it!!!!! it was not the most fun, but not the worst!!!!

Are you feeling better or worse than you did on our Christmas conversation?

I am feeling a lot worse after our conversation, it is super difficult to talk, my throat is always dry and makes me cough, i also have runny nose... well, it can only get better, or i guess it might get better over time... i guess we will see how that goes....

Besides the Skype conversations, what was the best thing about the last week?

well... to be 110% honest.... this last week has just kind of sucked...

How are your IBDs doing?  Still on track for the 10th???

one decided she didnt want to be baptized, she felt she was being rushed... so we told her she doesnt have to be baptized then... so we are just teaching her still.

Any new investigators???

NOPE.... we have been struggling getting any new real investigators... i think we have gotten one or two in the last maybe 5 or 4 weeks.....

How is the new place???  Have you gotten all settled in???

the new place is way good... still havent gotten moved in yet..... we are still missing time to do that.....

Do you have a distance to go to get to your "area"?  Do you have specific boundaries you teach within???

no, we just walk around until we are headed home, then we sakay(*ride) from there...

How is Elder Head?

we are both sick, but he is just getting over the hill of being sick....

Anything else you want to share???

MOVING SUCKS!!! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO DO IT..............................

ummm.... yep!

December 21, 2014

How are you???

FREAKING EXHAUSTED!!! but, other than that i am doing good!!!! it has been another slow week, we now have a teaching pool of 2 solid families, and a ton of LA's... it is just starting to get a little harder........ we need more tudloans(*people being taught)

What was the best part about the last week???

ummm... we finally were able to give the Barangan family an IBD and they accepted it!!!! 1/10/15!!!! i hope that we are able to help them get there!!!!!!

How was the ward Christmas party???

it was super fun, my memory card though..... it has a virus and deleted everything................. freak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i had so many pictures and stuff to send this week..... it is just super irritating!!!!

What are your plans for Christmas Day???

we are going to have work just like normal!!! but for dinner we are going to go to the Barangan family!!!

How is Elder Head???

HE is doing very good, stressing a little about the language but is progressing a ton!!!! he is BISDAK(fluent in cebuano) already!!!! it is awesome how good he is at the language!!!

Are our prayers softening hearts or do we need to pray harder and who should we pray for???

1. Barangan Family still they are still getting ready for their baptism on 1/10/15
2. Frances Ortiz she is also planning on being baptized on 1/10/15... She just needs a solid testimony of the BOM

What, other than writing to us, is the best part about P day???

RUNNING AROUND LIKE A CHICKEN WITH HIS/HER HEAD CUT OFF..... THAT IS PROBABLY THE MOST FUN!!!!!

You mentioned you and Elder Head blessed the Sacrament.  Was the Cebuano language version already in your brain???

YEAH!!! i want to be able to do it in cebuano whenever i bless the sacrament at home now. i have only heard cebuano version for the last year.... it was just normal for me...

Do you think in Cebuano or English more???

honestly i have to translate have the stuff when i email into english, because i think in cebuano a lot more, i have dreams in cebuano, and it is just weird!!!

Are Filipino celebrations of Christmas a lot different than typical American Christmas celebrations???

yes, but not much, i dont know if they believe/ or know about Santa!!!!

Anything else you would like to share or that we should know???

nope.... not this week.....

ELDER LARSON THE OLDER's QUESTION:  Whats you biggest mission fear??

i think for me the biggest mission fear is that i will just come home the same as i left, and just not be any different.... just go back to the same things i did before and forget the people that i loved and served... forgetting to really LIVE MY RELIGION!!!

 

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

December 14, 2014

How are you???  Please use at least 2 complete sentences to describe your current state.

I am GOLDEN! super tired this last 2 weeks now the earliest that we have gone to bed has been about 12:00, then we wake up at 6:00... it is ridiculous!!!! um, i am super ready for Pasko!!! (Christmas) next week is SKYPE!!!!!! ahhhhh, only one more after that and i will be home!!!

What was the best part of the last week???

the 2 Christmas parties, we had one for the mission on Thursday, and we had another on Saturday for the ward! they were awesome, because we got to have some fun and grow together...

How is the work going???

it is going... i couldn't say if it is going good, or if it is going bad... we just have no teaching pool right now!!! we are working super hard to rebuild it!

How is Elder Head???

he is good, really looking forward to skype, and Christmas in the Philippines...

Any strange and wonderful things going on for the holidays in the Philippines???

not too many, just a ton of Christmas carolers, they are everywhere, and they all want pinaskohan(Christmas gifts)

Anyone we can pray for or names to put in the Temple???

1. Frances Ortiz- she finally came to church, after about 4 months of being taught, she is our only IBD, and Progressing INV.
2. Barangan Family- they are super prepared, they just need to finally say yes to the baptism...
3. us.... we have been struggling a lot this transfer.... we have no teaching pool, and it is super difficult!!

Anything else you want to share...???

(from President Tanner)

"I would remind you of a couple of things:
Please inform your families and friends that beginning February 2015, you will not be communicating with them in "real time" or "live chat". Please help them realize that it goes against the spirit and intent of the world-wide mission rule to only communicate that way twice a year. Please be prayerful about this if you are struggling with it. I know in my heart that this is the right thing to do, but I hope you can each feel it as well so that you can persuade your families that it is a correct principle. Please refer to Page 20 in the Missionary Handbook: "As your call letter states, you are ' "expected to devote all your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs." ' I have seen the results of maintaining a very close, weekly tie to family and friends through "real time" communication and I testify that it can be very distracting to accomplishing the work you came to perform. Please understand that this is not in an effort to frustrate you or your loved ones, but only to help you each focus on the work you are here to do with as few distractions as possible."

(bold is added)

(this is probably going to be really difficult for my family, but i know that it will all work out for the better!!!)

JUST SEND ME AN ACTUAL EMAIL WITH QUESTIONS, and LET ME KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING!!! I WILL REPLY TO IT, but I CAN'T "CHAT" ANYMORE!!! BEGINING FEBUARY 2015

​CHRISTMAS IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. ​
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4aFwoNOa68
2. ​it is one of the most fun times ever!!! it is so amazing!!​

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

December 7, 2014

How are you???

ALIVE STILL!!! haha, just kidding i am doing well, it has been a very weird chain of events the last few days... I am sure that you all have more info than i do. other than that i am still alive. i dont even know where or what happened with the typhoon because it was supposed to get to us at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday morning. I dont even think that it hit us, or came close to where we are... Other than that i am good.

What was it like during the worst part of the typhoon in your area???

it was..... calm.... if i didnt know there was going to be a typhoon, i could not have said that there was one... it was so calm, no wind, no rain... it wasnt until really today that there was any real rain... or at least that we knew of.

Was there a lot of damage in your area???

almost none... there was just a couple of places that had part of their roof torn off.... but nothing compared to last year...

Did your investigators and members make it through Ok???

no one even had a scratch, it was basically a big let down from the baguio, stupid "RUBY", worst "date" ever. she totally flaked on us!!!

Were you confined to your apartment or did you go somewhere else???

we were just in our apartment, we also had 2 elders come down from the Bogo zone to stay in our house, because it was "supposed to go and 'destroy' bogo" again... So we just were in our house for the storm.

What did you do during the storm???

SLEPT!!!! it was 2 AM IN THE MORNING!!!! i am not losing my sleep over a typhoon, especially one that ran away from us... it was supposed to come and hit where we were, and then at the last second it turned away!!!

What was it like being in a typhoon???

THAT WAS A TYPHOON!!?!?! (obviously this one kinda got answered) i think that it had less rain than that one last transfer that just dumped 300T of rain in 24 hours... there was less destruction as well.....

Will you be doing CSPs to help with the clean up and repair???  (I am very proud that you know how to use tools and can help with those projects!!!)

well, if something actually happened, we would be doing a ton of CSPs, but that probably wont be happening...

So has it been hot with like 100% humidity or did the storm cool things down a bit???

yeah, it feels so amazing!!!! last night Elder Head used a long sleeve polo(church shirt) cause he got cold... haha, it was super amazing, i couldn't describe how good it felt for a couple of days...

How is Elder Head???

he is good now, he was way freaked out about the typhoon, (i was super excited, and looking forward to it). we have started working out doing pushups and what not... (STARTED my 10 MONTHS to SEXY)

What was the best part about the last week???

the best, i don't know if there was a best part there were several lows, this last week has been a very different week. Hopefully it starts to get better now!!!!

Did you guys have church yesterday or did everyone stay hunkered down???

yeah, we only had sacrament, and then we talked about what we are going to do for our ward Christmas party. it was still raining and had a little bit of wind. Elder head and i had to set up, and bless the sacrament... that was super legit!!! (WE DID IT IN CEBUANO)!!!! there were 78 people at church on Sunday....

STUFF

1. Ward Christmas Party this Saturday
2. Mission Christmas Party this Thursday
3. SKYPE in 17 days...!!!!
4. ummmm... i am starting to get in shape.... (not round anymore...) KEY WORD STARTING!!!

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

December 2, 2014

How are you???

i am good, feeling a little bit stressed for this upcoming week with the GIANT BAGUIO(*typhoon)!!!! especially for my mga tudloan(*people being taught).. their houses are not the most stable!!!

Where are you???
I thought you all would know where i am by now........ i am in the PHILIPPINES about 20.5 hours away from you, or about 7426 miles(11498.4340000 Kilometers)........ and 13 hours ahead in the time zone.... ;P hahaha, wow, silly question!!!

Did you get transferred???

I did not get TRANSFERRED, i will be staying in Mandaue 1st ward until after Christmas, and my birthday!!! So, that means i have another 6 weeks here!!! SUPER EXCITED!!!!

Who is your Companion???

ELDER HEAD GIHAPON(*as well), he and i are just staying here in Mandaue together. super lucky, 

Do you actually unpack and repack every 6 weeks, just in case???

usually i do, but not just in case, i repack every 6 weeks because i want to make sure that everything still fits in my suitcases.... :P

How far ahead do you know you are transferring???

2 days, we find out on Tuesday if we are transferring, and then on Thursday we have transfers.

Did you get hit with the last typhoon???

Yes we did, but it was no where near as bad as over in Valencia zone, and it was just a lot of rain and what not... it was not too bad at all by the time it got to us.

Are you glad typhoon season is almost over???

It is almost like it is just getting started!!! So this Friday(Thursday for you guys) there will be a pretty big Typhoon that will hit our mission... It is going to do a lot of damage here. So if It would be very helpful if you could keep the Philippines in your prayers. I will update you on how everything goes.

How is the WORK???

It was way good this last week, we taught 28 lessons, (led the zone). the only thing that happens is that we teach.... then teach.... then teach... nothing really comes out of our teaching, or at least not yet!!! it is kinda frustrating at times... we can teach 50 lessons in a week and nothing will happen!!!

Uncle Durv wants to know what the craziest adventure you have had to date is???

i thought of one!!!! it is from last year (DECEMBER 14-16) right after the Christmas party we went up to BOGO to build houses, and i was in charge of my group, so i basically told them everything, the only thing that i struggled with was the language...

later today my anak(*son) has the same opportunity to do some panday(*building) we are going to go and strenghten some of the members houses, as well as some of our investigators houses.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/new-west-pacific-threat-develo/38232221

"The scenario of strengthening Hagupit bringing life-threatening dangers to the Philippines remains a serious concern.

Hagupit strengthened into a typhoon early Tuesday night PHT (Tuesday morning EST) with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph (80 mph).

Conditions are prime for Hagupit to strengthen further, potentially approaching super typhoon intensity over the waters of the Philippine Sea later this week.

Prior to reaching the Philippine Sea, Hagupit will bear down on the island of Yap during the first part of Wednesday night (local time).

Residents of this island should prepare for torrential rain, damaging winds and dangerously rough surf. The weather will begin deteriorating Wednesday afternoon.

​

Beyond Yap, AccuWeather.com meteorologists have identified two scenarios for Hagupit. Both involve Hagupit becoming a powerful and dangerous typhoon. However, the Philippines will either have to brace for life-threatening impacts or will be spared depending on which track unfolds.

The first scenario would be a more westerly track, bringing the typhoon into the southern or central Philippines this weekend and in contact with a much more significant population."​

if you can see this, it shows that one of the potential things that can happen... well, if you look you can see that it might come and knock on our door step here in Cebu, especially here in Mandaue...

Anyone we can include in our prayers???

Just the ENTIRE Philippines!!!

EXTRAS:

1. Sister Joana (our baptism a couple of weeks ago) moved..... she didn't tell us when or if she was moving, she just isn't here anymore....
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQjUT4fBnyw
3. MALIPAYONG PASKO!!!!!

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

November 23 2014

How are you this week??? (Please use at least 3 sentences to describe your present state.)

I am doing good. this week was probably one of the most sucky (if that is ok to use as a missionary) that i have had... the only thing that kept us going was the baptism of Sister Joana on Saturday. We struggled with teaching all week, Elder Head was stuggling with the language which is expected, of course. it was just an all around hard week. right now i am super tired and sore, we got up at 5 A.M. to go and play basketball, i rolled my ankle, and got punched it the face(on accident he was going for the ball and missed a little bit...).

What was the highlight of the last week???

The highlight was the baptism of Sister Joana, I was lucky enough to be the one that got to go down into the water with her. It was a pretty good service, there were 3 talks, 1 ELDER HEAD, 2 BROTHER PAUL MULDONG(he is now our NEW ward mission leader) 3 SISTER SHEILA FLORES. they were all way good talks. then when we got down into the water, even though it was pretty cold. right as i held the wrist of Joana, she started to cry, it was so cool! but no one knew cause about 10 seconds later she was soaking wet with water running all over!!!

We saw pics from the baptism.  Was it at a chapel???  Do you meet in a regular chapel like the ones here???

Yes, it was at the Stake Center. we do, at least right now, in this area.... over in Panglao we just met in a house of one of the members. it is fairly big sized, it is about the size of the average chapel in Utah, but it is a stake center...

How is Elder Head???  Did he survive his Feared Filipino Food Fest???

He has survived... i have put him through just about everything that i can think of up until this point... i will keep looking for weird stuff for us to eat. We had some Durian pie yesterday, it was DELICIOUS! haha, for those of you that have had it.... you know the taste, and just talking about it just makes my mouth salivate... haha.... lets just say that "IT IS THE FRUIT OF THE GODS." "it tastes like heaven but smells like poo...."

Do you drink a lot of soda pop there???  Is it safer than the water when you are out and about???

i have been trying to cut down on the soda, but it is really good. we drink what we can afford..... some weeks it is soda, other.... water. they have these things called ATMs(automatic TUBIG*water machine), that usually have clean water... key word right there is USUALLY! but for the most part we are able to drink just about anything. if we eat somewhere, or something sketchy we usually will drink a soda.

How are the investigators???

They are still alive.... 

Have any hearts softened or do we need to pray harder for anyone???

ummm.... 

1. Alibo Family; they are awesome, they just dont understand yet that they NEED to become a member...
2. Frances Ortiz; she accepted a baptismal date, but said she had concerns, some of them being that her dad needed to consent to baptism(which he didn't) and she needed to receive an answer to the her prayers(which she did) she knows it is true, she just "can't" she also needs to make it to church. we shared with her MATT10:35-39, and later today we are going to go by and teach her.

What was the best food you ate in the last week???

well, i can tell you what the not best food that we ate... durian pie...

probably the best is our POT BROWNIES... we have no ovens in the Philippines, but we do have a stove top, we mixed up the brownie mix and threw it on the stove, and did a double boil thing.... i am a genius because it worked out amazing!!!!

How many ties do you have now???  Have you given a lot of them away???

I am down to about 30, i gave a ton away!!!!!

Aunt V wants to know what has been your favorite area so far???

I dont know if i can answer this one.... i have had a ton of favorite parts of each my areas so far.... but if i have to choose one(which i am sure you all might want me to, i will choose the MTC(is that ok?) i choose it because of the air conditioning, the unlimited food, the chocolate milk, the ice-cream on Wednesdays and Saturdays.... but in all actuallity, my favorite area has to be my first area in CONSOLACION 1B, i just had so much fun there, i wish that i was still there... our area was in the BUKID*jungle/mountains but we lived in the city, so it was super easy.

there is amazing stuff about each of my areas!

Uncle Durv wants to know what the craziest adventure you have had to date is???

well.... i dont really know if i have any.... define "CRAZIEST ADVENTURE" for me.... i have been trying to likay buang nga mga butang(*avoid crazy things).... especially crazy people(like literal crazy).

OTHERS

1. this week i got to go back and see Nicka, Kate, and Russell from my first area, about 6 months ago, they have gotten a ton bigger!!!
2. BAPTISM of JOANA!!

 

 

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

November 16, 2014... Bonus week. Yay

Sorry last weeks email is a little late, i thought i sent it off, but apparently i didnt! So for this week i will just kinda talk about the week because i dont have a set of questions to answer...

Monday- we had our thanksgiving feast(on the words of Christ), i was feeling very gutom*(hungry) afterword because we skipped lunch because we were running late. we also had NO work today because we had to do all of our P-day stuff (shopping, laba, and others)...

Tuesday- we didnt have much work... we had District Meeting until about 1:00, then lunch until 2:00... then when we went out to work, while at work be basically got sent away(PUNTED) from everyone we went to go and try to teach... that wasn't a first.

We also had a dinner appointment with the Bailey family(from Logan UT), it was so amazing, they fed us ENCHILADAS, and FRIED RICE, as well as desert was CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!! AHHH!! they were still warm when we ate them, the last time i ate cookies or anything like that was 13 months ago!!!!

Wednesday- we decided to actually go to work, we started working super hard, in total we taught 9 lessons, and had 5 new investigators today. we worked in TIPOLO, we usually struggled with teaching there before Elder Head got here, but for some reason Elder Head seems to be a magic trick, or i guess a LUCKY CHARM for Tipolo! We goaled to teach 10+ lessons, but we were both satisfied with 9!!!

We started off with teaching one of our inv, she has been struggling with believing that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God. so we read in 2 Nephi 3, about Joseph of Egypt and his Prophecy. We also taught some of our new investigators, they were all busy in their own little area, so we decided to teach a bunch of short, but powerful lessons...

Thursday- we had work out it Cabancalan, we decided to do some work there as well... we taught 6 lessons today, but they were a lot different, and most a little bit longer. today, i also started to get a little bit sick, developed a cough, and running nose. It makes it super hard to speak clear Cebuano, but they manage to understand what i am talking about...

Friday- we went to Tipolo for the first couple of hours then we went back to Cabancalan, because there were a lot of people that we didnt get to teach because they weren't home, or they said to come back tomorrow. Today we taught another 8 lessons!!! it was unreal, i got a little bit more sick as well... the first part of the day we taught 3-20 minute lessons. we have found that we actually get more through to them if we teach more frequently and SHORTER!!! after that we went to Cabancalan, we actually ended up giving 4 priesthood blessings there, there were some youth/kids that are/were sick. they(members) asked us to give them blessings. one of them was in bed all week and then on sunday we saw him at church... PRIESTHOOD POWER!!!

Saturday- we had a baptismal interview for one of our INV (Joana) when Elder Jandoquile came out (after almost 2 hours of being in there) he said that she didnt pass.... but i called him out on it, because he had the biggest smile EVER!!! She will be baptized this coming NOVEMBER 22. She chose that both of us will baptize her, we got it worked out, i will hold her hands and Elder Head will hold her legs and we will just throw her in!!! JUST KIDDING, she ended up choosing me to baptize her... it is such an honor and a privilege!!! So ELDER LARSON THE OLDER WILL BE have a BAPTISM as well this coming week!!! AWESOME!!!

I also went and got a chest x-ray, that took quite a while but in all actuality it was quick.

then to close off the day, we had stake conference, priesthood, and adult sessions. Elder Collada was presiding, he went and played hardball with the members about the LoT(Law of Tithing) and Fast offerings!!! it was crazy to watch him go!!!

Sunday- we finished off our stake conference, the only bad part is... BROWN OUT(NO POWER) which means NO AIR CONDITIONING!!! in the philippines when there is 1000+ people in 1 building and there is no air conditioning it is super HOT!! and to add to it i am sick... everyone was pouring sweat!! we passed out all of our pamphlets to use as fans!!! it was so HOT!!! ahh, for dinner we went to our Bishops house for dinner, because it was his Daughters birthday!!! it was delicious!!!

 

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

November 16, 2014... Missed last week (him not me)

You gypped us week, so the question goes back to first...  Please use 3 complete sentences to describe your current state.  Please do not use the words "fine" "busy" or "tired".    There are many adjectives in the English language.  Please use some NEW ones.

There are many adjectives, but i can only remember a few of them!!! i am really first-class/super-eminent! i feel very exasperated from the amount of work we have been doing. and i am tickled pink that this week is over and that it is P-day!!!

We just got back from our "thanksgiving" get together, even though it is closer to Kalagkalag than it is to the Thanksgiving. It was just all the missionaries from Cebu Island that were there today, there were talks given on Gratitude, and as well, there was ICE CREAM, and as well there was APPLE CRUMB PIE... it was DELICIOUS!!!!

(HOW DO YOU LIKE THOSE 4 Adjectives....?)

What was the best moment you had in the last week???

we have had a ton of "best moments." one of my favorites is that happened this week, is that we now have 4 IBDs(Investigators with a Baptismal Date) and we finally had a SIT down talk with our Bishop about what we can do to help him, and what he can do to help the work progress in Mandaue 1st ward!!! it was awesome to hear him talk about everything, and really work with us. it was the first time that this has happened on my mission!

Also, i got 6 pairs of pants (all tailored to ME), 2 polos/dress shirts (tailored to ME), and about 46 new ties for trading last P-day.... the only problem now is that i am running low on quarta!!! but that is ok, i have everything i need for a while, a VERY long while!!! that brings me up to about 100+ ties.... (I will be sending home some of them!!!

What miracles have happened in your world in the last week???

we have seen many miracles! too many to really keep track of the one that i want to say. we have just followed the promptings, and just kinda wandered around looking for someone, and what not.. we have had a ton of success in TIPOLO, which last transfer we would go all day without teaching, now we have to run between appointments so that we can teach everyone that we have!

Are you doing a lot of tracting???

It is unreal how much tracting we do! for the most part we try and fit in at least 1 hour a day. today our plan is that we will tract for 3 hours later tonight! that is about all that we do during our free time...

What is your best source for finding investigators???

we just kinda do it... we just go out everyday, and if someone even gives us the time of day, we instantly start a conversation with them. then we slowly do some BRT(build respect and trust), then we set a return appointment... it works out pretty well...

How often are you with members of the the ward you are in???

we are usually with them every sunday from 9-12... but other than that it is basically just Elder Head and I going out to work every day... they rarely help us with kuyog(coming with us to teach), and they don't really fellowship until we have an INV come to church, so our INV are super shy, and feel OP (out of place), which is why Bishop had the talk with us on sunday, seeing what he could do for us!

Do ward members go out teaching with you???

we dont really, just rare opportunities we get help from the ward

How many missionaries are in your area/district/zone???

We have the smallest Zone, it is 12 missionaries, there are 3 wards that our zone covers, so there are 4 missionaries in each ward...

Sisters JOHNSON, and DALO are comps

Sisters CADIMAS, and TOMAS are comps

Elder JANDOQUILE, and LOPEZ are comps

Elder JOEL, and LASTIMOSO are comps

Elder MICABANI, and AMATA are comps

Elder LARSON, and HEAD are comps

Elder Micabani, and Amata are the ZL's.

Elder Jandoquile is the DL

Do you do splits often???

Nope, not really, we try it once a transfer.... maybe more, we havent had it yet though... maybe this coming week we will go on splits, but i am not too sure yet...

How is Elder Head???

HE IS GOOD, HE HAS NOW GRADUATED by eating BALUT, the MOST FEARED food of the philippines.... lets just say that it isn't his favorite food ever (as you see in the pictures) i was just busting-a-gut! it was good, i ate it with him, but my balut exploded for some reason.

What events did you have in the last week???

we didnt really have any events this last week other than our ZTM, and then we had meetings until 3:30 on sunday.... Today/earlier we had our mission thanksgiving which we did more feasting on the spiritual things, than feasting on the food!!! ONLY 1 MORE YEAR LEFT;P and i will be FEASTING on the food!

What events do you have planned for the next week???

We have a few dinners planned for the week so far. we have 1 tomorrow with a family from Logan UT. they have lived here for the last 4 years, they have 3 kids, and are super awesome (The Bailey family), also we have a dinner appointment with our bishop on Friday, because it is the birthday of someone, i believe his daughter... other than that i dont think we have anything else coming up this week. Oh yeah we do have a baptismal interview on Saturday for next week, and also Stake conference is this coming Saturday, and Sunday for us...

Please share a scripture or quote that touched your heart in the last week.

WE NEED TO HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE!!!

-ELDER HEAD earlier today he gave a talk on gratitude for half the mission.

I like this one cause..... ALMOST THANKSGIVING!!!! and mainly cause today was our thanksgiving get together as a mission!

Anyone we can pray for???  Any names to put in the Temple???

Ummmmm...

1. Barangan Family-(Jingle, Jasmin, Caramaline, Raphael) the bana*(husband) of Sister Jingle wont sugot nga makabunyagan sila*(agree to let them be baptized) he works abroad.
2. Charmine- she is a bagong Investigator*(new) and is super ready for the gospel, she just has limited time to listen to us....
3. Alibo Family-(Agripina, Mary, Marianne, McRio) they are new investigators as well... they are amazing, they take notes during the lessons!!!
4. Arthur Pakidin-(Less Active) this past sunday was the first time nga nagsimba siya*(that he has come to church) in about 2+ years... he is awesome, just needs to have his heart softened...

 

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

November 2, 2014

Do Filipino's celebrate Halloween or some form of it???

They celebrate a thing called KALAG-KALAG. so on the 30th of October until the 2nd of November basically the entire population of the Philippines goes and sleeps in the cemetery!!! ummm, also i almost forgot, they have "ALL SAINTS DAY" on the 1st, and on the 2nd is "ALL SOULS DAY'. everybody had about 5 or so candles burning outside of their houses... ummm, there was almost no one dressed up for it!!! it was super different.

Is Filipino candy a lot different than American candy???

basically all of their candy is american candy made in Saudi Arabia! but they have different ones as well! either way it is all way good, we had some fruity candies the other night! they were DELICIOUS!!!

What was the highlight of the last week???

ummmm.... highlight, we taught 25 lessons!!! we also have 1 new IBD!!! Elder Head is going to have his first convert/baptism in about 2 weeks from this Saturday! we also had a ton of success teaching and doing everything! we did some tracting on Saturday and taught the Restoration to them, and then they started to say "GINOO MAN GIHAPON" which basically means "we believe in Jesus Christ". So i asked them a question that was along the lines of "do you know where you are going after this life?!" they answered no, and then assumed that i didnt have the answer to this question, so they wanted me to answer them right then but i said we would come back and share about that... it was so awesome!!!

Do you guys have many opportunities for service in this area???  What kind of service???

we rarely have time to do service, and very rarely do it... we usually try and do just small things, like help people cut up some fire wood!

You said you live in a pretty large Ward, is it spread out over a large area???  
it is about 130 members average attending church weekly... it is not too big, we have 2 main areas... TIPOLO, and CABANCALAN/BANILAD.

Do you attend ward activities???

nope, we are too busy teaching and doing other stuff, it is not missionary appropriate....

How large is the Stake???  I bet there is some traveling involved in going to Stake Conference.

it has a ton of wards, but one thing is that it is about the same area size as any stake in Utah.... or about that.....

What was your best/strangest teaching opportunity in the last week???

already answered on part... we had a member pass away last tuesday, so on saturday we went by to say hello to his wife, they were married in the temple in Manila, she has been a LA for the last 8 years, we shared a little about the plan of salvation with her...

Elder head got lost in the conversation with Cebuano, and thought that only the brother that passed away was a member and that she wasnt... so towards the end he started to ask the baptismal commitment to her.... haha, it was awesome!!! it is crazy to see where i was 1 year ago!!! and now where i am!!!

How is Elder Head???  Please say you have not introduced him to ballut(sp?)!!!

not yet, we are planning on going sometime this week to get some balut!!!!

Are you having a great time being the Training Companion???  (Do they not use Senior?/Junior anymore?)

I am the Tatay of elder Head, so i am Senior, but i am trainer right now!!!

HOW ARE YOU??? (I bet you thought you wouldn't have to answer that question this week)  Please use  3 complete sentences to describe your current physical, psychological and emotional state!!!!

I AM OUT OF TIME!!! but i am MAAYO(GOOD), i wish i could write 3 sentences.... but i have taken way too long writing this week...

 

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

October 26, 2014

Are you ever amazed at how fast time seems to be going???

It only goes fast when i get caught up in the work, but if it is a slow week and we arent teaching too many people then it GOES WAY TOO SLOW!!!!!!!!!!

How are you??? (Please use at least FOUR DIFFERENT adjectives to describe your current state.)

I am good, i have probably worked the hardest, been the most obedient, and struggled the most the last 4 days with my anak*kid!!! Also... I have started to lose my voice a little, especially later in the evenings because i speak so much!!! Elder Head (my anak*kid) gets really nervous when that happens!!!! But other than that we are both doing super well!!!!

How is the new companion???  Are you immersing him in the language???

Well.... lets just say that he worked really hard on the language in the MTC, so he knows a ton more than i did coming out of the MTC. He likes to SYL(speak your language) which means that he uses a lot of cebuano when he is speaking in English. So far it has been a lot of me speaking and teaching, then he comes in and shares at the last, but he is starting to gain confidence and speaking a lot more!!!

Please tell us about the area you are serving in...???

We are in the middle of the City, we get flooded every time it rains!!!! ummm. there are 6+ malls in the area, there is also a swamp in the center of the area, the first night that we were going out to work Elder Head my gwapong anak(*handsome kid) took a wrong step and ended up knee deep in the swamp!!! ummmmm.... i dont really know, it is super city!!!

What has been your most successful way of meeting investigators to start teaching them???

Ummm. define "Successful"... for me it has just been that i am a white guy that speaks Cebuano, they usually start a conversation with me and then i talk with them for a while and then we teach them...... yeah.....

What was the best thing about the last week???

I FINALLY HAD AN ANAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he is so awesome!!! i can't even describe to you how amazing my anak is! he is almost exactly like me, he follows my lead, and just everything about him is awesome!!!!

Did you have any moments where you felt The Spirit particularly strong directing you to do/not do something???

I do, but then i dont follow them!!!! joke!!! i do, and then it is hard to decide what it is saying..... i try my best to do the right thing, or at least what i feel is the right thing to do...

We are keeping the Barangan family and Sister Francis in our thoughts and prayers.   How is it going with them???

it is going ok with them, we havent taught Barangan in about a week because it has been a very busy week and they have been doing other things..

Anyone else you would like us to pray for???  Besides the obvious you, your companion, your brother, his companion, missionaries in general etc, etc...????

ummmmm. i guess president Tanner, he has a ton on his plate right now, and is working super hard....

Any news news from your mission???   Are you getting together for any of the upcoming holidays???

we do not have much going on... we work, and then we sleep.... not really until christmas....

Do the Filipino's have more holidays than we do in the states???  What holidays do they celebrate???

i am not sure... cause America has A TON of HOLIDAYS... the philippines has a ton though as well... this coming week we have KALAG-KALAG(ALL souls day{halloween}) that should be interesting!!!

Are there as many critters in this area??? (Remember we have seen the scorpion you held, the monkey that bit you and the geckos that climbed the walls of your apartment and ate the mosquitoes....)

there are not very many geckos... oh yeah that swamp, there is rats, frogs, goats, cows, pigs, and A TON of CHICKENS!!!!

Besides emailing us, what is your favorite P-day activity???

ummmmm. eating, then going out to work, and teaching!!!! most p-days are just lame........ i dont know!

 

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-OCT 2015 

October 21, 2014

How are you???  Please Use 2 COMPLETE SENTENCES TO COVEY YOUR PRESENT STATE OF BEING!

I am doing good, i found out that i will be TRAINING this transfer, so later today i will be going down to the MISSION HOME to pick up my anak *kid. This week was a little bit harder because our teaching pool has dropped off, and to add to the fun, we had a BAPTISM!!!

How is the work going???

The work is going good, it has been going slow, and it is going to be a rough couple of weeks until we rebuild our teaching pool!!! We are planning to TRACT, FIND, SEEK, SEARCH, LOOK, TALK, and EXPLORE.... well yeah...

What was the highlight of your last week???

We had the BAPTISM of Bethsheva Edralin Fabe, it was different, we had planned that it would start at 3:00, but then no one even showed up until about 3:30, so it started late. Attendance at the baptism was a total of 9 people; 4 missionaries, 1 bishopric(and his wife), the bunyagan*(person being baptized), her mom and lola*(grandma), and our WML(Ward Mission Leader). I was the one who performed the Baptism, lets just say that the water was a little bit cold!!!

So on Sunday, i was texting bishop during sunday school and priesthood, and right before sacrament started, asking who would be the one to confirm her. I told him to have Elder Edoloverio confirm her, but he said that i would be the to confirm her... THAT WAS ONE OF THE COOLEST FEELINGS EVER!!!! I COULD NOT DESCRIBE THE FEELING IF I TRIED MY HARDEST!!!

Will you please share a scripture with us (even just the reference would be ok) that touched your heart this week???

ummmmmmmmmmm..... i dont read still.............. haha dont be angry!!!

JUST KIDDING, I HAVE GROWN A LOVE FOR READING!!!!

2NEPHI28:30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

This last week i was asked to give a Workshop for our District Meeting, I gave it on "Improve upon your Talents," and i used that scripture and a quote from President Brigham Young; "President Brigham Young said that the Lord 'gives a little to his humble followers today, and if they improve upon it, tomorrow he will give them a little more, and the next day a little more. He does not add to that which they do not improve upon.'"

It was a really good workshop they said..... that was super fun!!!!

What was the best food you ate in the last week???

MANG INASAL!!! it is a restraunt here, i wish we had it in the states!!!! it is delicious, i got a Pork Barbeque, it is so unreal!!!

What was the WORST food you ate in the last week???

I ate some pan*(bread)... we ran out of Gasul, so.... WE COULDNT COOK THIS WEEK, and we didnt have any dinner appointments planned, so we basically survived of pan*(bread)

Have your taste buds become fire proof???  (A lot of spicy foods from what you have been saying?)

YES, SPICY DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ME BLUSH ANY MORE!!! I love it so much, every time we eat out i always ask for EXTRA sili!!!!

How is your companion???

He is good, super sad that he will be leaving Mandaue, but excited for the new change, and going to Comotez!!! 

Is there anyone in particular we can pray for???

1. The BARANGAN family, they are amazing, they just dont want to accept baptism yet...
2. Sister Frances, she knows it is true, she is just caught up with work, and can't simba*(come to church)

Do you find ways to PRODUCTIVELY use your machetes in the city???  (Do you still have your machetes?)

I have them still, but they are in the bottom of my suitcase right now, they are just waiting to come home!!!

What are your CSP (Community Service Projects) like in your area???

they consist of a new kind of CSP (Companionship Sleeping Programs) just kidding, we dont have any CSP's that are actual CSP's.

I do bumba*(hand pump) water from a puso*(well)

What has been the most surprising thing you have learned so far about the Filipino culture???

Most suprising, well seeing that i cant tell you that because then i would become BUGOY*(disobedient) i will just keep that one a secret, maybe i will tell you when i get home... if you want some advice, read the BOM about the APOSTACY in 4Nephi.

TRANSFER WEEK!!!!1 - WHERE are you???

I AM IN A COMPUTER/INTERNET CAFE, in MANDAUE CITY!!! JAJA!!! I am going to be here for a couple more transfers, because i am going to have a KID!!!!!!

2 - Did you two get separated???

YES, ELDER EDOLOVERIO is going to Comotez Island, one of the most desired areas in the mission... His new companion is so amazing!!!

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER