August 31, 2014

How are you??? (In MORE than 10 words please!)

i am a.... ok.... haha, i am good, there was a ton of stuff that has happened this week that i will have to tell you all about.... This week was FIESTA, which is super awesome, we had 14 meals in 2 days... SO MUCH FOOD, almost all of it was BABOY*pig, and KAN-ON*cooked rice. i was so full!!! it was so much food, we had 4 dinner appointments in a row.

How is your companion???

My companion is super good! we have been rocking it... We have had a ton of good things happen, and some not so good, but all is good.

How long have you two been together???

We have been together for almost 3 months, since about June 8th...

How long has he been out???

He has been out 1 year, this last week, or as known as my SENIOR BATCH. he entered the MTC 6 weeks before i did.

When are the next set of transfers???
transfers are this next week... which means that P-day will be on WEDNESDAY next week..

Are you anticipating staying put and together as before???
We should be separated, i will probably be transferring. but we aren't 100% on that, i just have been here for 3 transfers, so it is about time to transfer.

How is your landlady???  Is she on track with her baptism date???
LONG STORY>>>>>>>>>

SHE is super awesome, her baptism is this Saturday, we taught all the lessons in 2 weeks... the zone leader was over at our house for exchanges, and we were telling him that we were ready to baptize her, and that she just needed the interview then she was ready. right after we told him that he went out to "play with her monkey," then they talked about something. so later in the evening we had the baptismal interview and she passed, then i asked her who would be baptizing her, and she said that the Zone Leader(not going to name names....) had already talked with her about him baptizing her. So then we found out that we have to do a lot more things, like make sure that she is living the L.O.C. because she is not married... lets just say that we have to do the "dirty work" and then the zone leader who had no input gets to baptize our convert. so 3 years down the road when someone asks her who baptized her she can say "Elder ....." but not either one of us that are assigned in the area, and taught her the lessons... but the one that is the baptism robber, he just lives off of other missionaries so he can baptize.....!!! WALAY KLARO!!!! So aggravating

How is the teaching going???

the teaching is going super good, we have some new investigators (14 of them). they are from HALOTANGAN island(probably not spelled correctly) they are so amazing, every time we go over to visit them they all grab a bench, or they just sit on the ground while we visit. we have now visited them 3 times... they are lobster fishermen, they travel where the lobsters do. they are so amazing.

What was the Best thing you ate in the last week???
lechon baboy, a lot of it!!! also a bunch of pork adobo.

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

dugo-dugo. just enough said.....

What was the HIGHLIGHT of the last week???
my highlight is that we had 3 days of FIESTA, and then on thursday, we had 5 lessons total because everyone was partying. then the next 3 days we taught 15 lessons!!!!

also on Tuesday night we got to watch a 98 kilo pig get ihaw-ed, it took about 5 minutes of the pig screaming bloody murder at 10:00 pm until it finally stopped...

EXTRAS:

1. FIESTA!!! 3 days of no lessons, videoke, tons of food, and super drunk people!!!
2. 5 lessons taught in 4 days...
3. I got bit by a monkey on the back of the hand, it was super painful, but now it is ok...
4. Got to help ihaw/kill a baboy*pig. 98 KILOS!!! almost 200 pounds!!!
5. BROKEN BIKE again!!!
6. we saw/met a 10 year old, that was smoking like a chain smoker, he was with 2-16 year old kids that were doing the same, we tried to convince them of the bad that they were doing, it didn't work.
7. we have an investigator that we made a goal to cut down on his dili maayo nga mga kinaiya*bad habits. he went from 15 packs a week to 8, he also went from 8 bottles of alcohol a week to 1, and stopped drinking coffee.
8. BAPTISM ON SATURDAY!!!!

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

August 24, 2014

How the heck are you???  Please use MORE than 6 words to describe your current state without using "fine" or "tired".

I am really good, this week we had a ton of NINDOT*cool things happen. we have a new IBD(investigator with a baptismal date). she is our Landlady, and has come to church 3 times, before we even visited her... Then she basically gave herself the IBD, we told her the soonest that she could be baptized and then she told us that she wanted that date!!!

I get the feeling that Pangalo Island is mostly rural except for the resorts...Is that true???  What do the people do to make a living there??? 

Panglao Island is very rural except the resorts, there are a ton of PAYAGS*shacks made of bamboo. about 80% of the people make a living by either MANGISDA*fishing or working at a resort.

What was the BEST thing you ate in the last week??? What was the WORST thing you ate in the last week???

i dont know what the "BEST" thing was. but this week is FIESTA!!!! so that means that this week is going to be full of crazy foods and good foods.

this last week pretty much all that i ate was Pancit Canton, and Hard Boiled Eggs...

How many other people live in the apartment building you and the other Elders live in??  Are they interested in hearing what you have to say???

there are 6 different appartment buildings, with all of them being rented by Foreigners!!! there are probably 20 people that live in the complex. we used to have one investigator in the complex. they usually dont stay very long here....

right now there is a couple from Belarus and Greece, and then a ton of Americans. Our Landlady is super awesome!!!

Are the bikes holding up??  Did you get the tool kit so you can fix them yourselves???

Bikes broke down again!!!! i fixed 12 flat tires this week, and then on friday the bike broke down for the week, the rear gear shifter broke again!!!!! it didnt even last one week..... also ALL the rear gear pieces broke off... PASTILAN!!!

Do you hear any news about what is going on in the world or throughout the Philippines???

we hear NO news at all, and we dont even know the weather until it is hitting us... we have no clue that there is going to be a BAGIO*typhoon, until it hits us... it is super fun!!!

You said your Sunday services are at a members house.  How far is it to her house???

it is about 50 maybe 70 yards away from our house, it is super close!!!

Have you been able to get any investigators to church???

We have, there are a few of them that simba*worship/come to church, but they usually arent very frequent... they will come for a week, then not come again...

So how does that work meeting in someone's house.  Do you have the traditional 3 meeting block??? 

we do have the 3 meeting block, so for us SACRAMENT IS FIRST, then after sacrament we have the sunday school, and occasionally we as missionaries have to go and teach the primary class. or we go to the GOSPEL ESSENTIALS class. 

Are there member Priesthood leaders to conduct and bless the Sacrament or do the Missionaries do it each week???

we have about 5 priesthood holders in our group. they usually do it unless they dont make it to church... then we do. lets just say that the Sacrament prayers in Cebuano is SUPER HARD!!!! but it is possible

Is church all in Cebuano or a mix of English and Cebuano???

it depends on where we are, or if the people are wealthy, usually if they are wealthy they speak a ton of english.

How far away is the Mission Office??? 

it is about 5 hours maybe 6 away from our house. we would need to get on an hour long Jeepny drive, then get on a 30 minute motorcycle ride, then ride a boat for about 2 hours, then about an hour to hour and 30 minute jeepny ride over in Cebu...

So is it the Bohol Zone?? It is called Tagbilaran Zone, that i am in now. it is one of 3 zones in Bohol.
How often do you have zone conference???

We have one this week.... tomorrow actually. this is the 2nd one since president tanner got to the Philippines.

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

We met an RM, he served over in the Bocolod mission... we had a chat and told him how to get back to Tagbilaran City. He was super funny, we saw him pass by and he was super white, and he yelled out "KAMUSTA ELDERS?" and we both looked at each other... because no one ever speaks cebuano other than the locals to us....

Is there anyone we can pray for besides you, your brother, your companion, his companion, and missionaries in general???

i dont know, i would say no...

Any special names for the Temple??? 

nope, not this week

ADDITIONS:

1. we met a man from the Czech Republic, he was super kind to us.
2. I have one question... so if we have a Bayut*(homosexual cross dresser) investigator, IS IT OK TO "FLIRT TO CONVERT"? haha just kidding that is super bad... right???
3. OUR HOUSE FLOODED THIS WEEK!!!! WE CAME HOME EARLY FROM WORK, AND THE FLOOR WAS ALL FLOODED!!! WE SPENT 2 HOURS CLEANING IT UP then went back out to work.
4. BROKEN BIKE AGAIN!!!
   

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

August 17, 2014......love hearing from him

How are you??? (Try to express something besides "fine" or "tired") 

Well since i need to express myself other that just "fine" or "tired" i will... a couple of adjectives.... i am REALLY tired;) or in Cebuano *kapoy kaayo man ko! But in all actuality i am good, this week was pretty good, there wasn't 

really anything that was over bearing.

What was your favorite scripture in the last week???

So my "favorite scripture in the last week was/is... 1 Nephi 5:2-4.

 2 For she had supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and she also had complained against my father, telling him that he was a visionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness. 3 And after this manner of language had my mother complained against my father. 4 And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I know that I am a visionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren.

this is a good part, because instead of arguing and saying that he is not a visionary man, he totally fessed up to it and then consoled his wife by giving his testimony.

How is the teaching going??? 

the teaching is going slow still, we have gotten 0 new investigators the last 2 weeks, and our teaching pool is slowly getting drained. so we only taught 20 lessons this week, we had 3 days of 2 or less lessons taught, (which is really rare)

Can we pray for anyone specifically???

i can think of one for sure, Sister Rosalee Bonita, she is amazing, she has a solid testimony of the book of mormon, but... (there is always a but) she said that she has already been baptized...... (CATHOLIC of course), we are slowly trying to work through it...

Are there any names you would like put in the Temple???

There are...

Rosalee Bonita (*Badge[nickname])

Vitaliano Bonita (*Alky boy[nickname])

Pablita Arbolares

Saturn Nino (*Turning[nickname])

Waren and Gorgonia Guirit

and i think that is about it.

What was the highlight of the last week??? 

so as i explain later, my bike broke, so we were on our way out to work and then we had the bike brake, then we had some rope, so we just tied it between the bikes and towed each other to the next area... it was super lo-oy.... or kalooy(pitiful).... but it was super fun!!!!

How long is the "rainy season" there???  You said there were 2 per year as well as 2 "dry" seasons.  Are they 3 months each???

Yes, they are about 3 months ish each, it really depends, usually right now is when it is going to be the HOTTEST, there are 2 SUMMERS, and 2 WINTERS(or BAGIO*typhoon SEASONS)

How is the coconut tree climbing going??? 

The coconut (LUBE) tree climbing is going good, we are going to go later today to climb them... it is super fun!!!!

Do you eat a lot of fresh coconut???  How do you know which ones to pick???

we do sometimes, some weeks we eat fresh coconut every second, for every meal. others we go on a dry streak and dont get it for a week or so... we dont really know, we just kinda let the Filipinos tell us which ones are good... we are slowly learning though!!!

Is there any other fresh fruit on your island???

there is a ton of it!!! there are watermelon, pineapple, apples, star apples, lychee, other native fruits that i cant remember their names.

 Is the fresh local fruit less expensive???

the local fruit is basically given away, the apples and foreign fruit is super expensive and not worth the price we have to pay...

OTHER NEWS:

1. we have had a ton of successes with our investigators this week.
2. i kicked a rat, got bit by a "TUKO", and crushed a crab walking across the street.
3. my bike BROKE (go figure) the rear shifter broke off!!! it sucked so bad because we were in the furthest part of the area... about 1 hour away from home!
4. Elder McQuiston and i decided to come back to the Philippines with our wives and make a Jeepny, and him and i will be the driver/conductor... you need to know the culture to really get this one....

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

August 10, 2014.... Hearing from him fills my heart with love

How was your week? my week was SUPER FREAKING LONG!!!!! i dont know what it is but the last couple of weeks has been ridiculously long!!! I feel like i got munched, and punched and scrunched, and i just really wanted to use the ending UNCHED... just me being random as always.

What was the spiritual highlight of the last week?

i honestly cant think of one, mainly because we didnt really have one. i guess the highlight was me giving another talk on sunday, i gave a talk on TEACHING THE GOSPEL. it was super difficult because i was super unprepared... i think that is talk number 8 or 9 on my mission so far. actually maybe more... i lost count!

OH YEAH WE DID HAVE SOMETHING SUPER COOL!!! we have a new investigator, we told her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and the next visit we followed up on that and she said that she did do it, and that she knows that the BOM is true, and that Joseph Smith was called to be a Prophet!!!! she was super awesome!!!(98% of the time they didnt even open the book to the assignment let alone prayed)

Did you have any adventures or fun activities in the last week?

well, we did sorta, elder McQuiston and i are working on climbing coconut trees, it is super difficult and scary as well! we also do a little bit of a race on our bikes....... if they are working.............

How are your investigators? 

our investigators are doing good, there are very few of them now...

You have been through 4 typhoons now, what is that like?

these typhoons (bagios) are just super small so it is just a ton of rain and a little bit of rain!

What do you do to keep safe?

we go out and do missionary work gihapon(as well), even though there is rain and what-not...

Are your bikes holding up or are you back to walking?

bikes are broken as always, i need to buy some tools today so i can just fix it myself so it is quicker than taking it all the way to tagbilaran every week....

With all the rain and mud is it more muddy to walk or bike??

it depends on the day, but most likely biking gets us more muddy... mainly our backs and pants....

how much the island you are on compares to Hawaii??

well there are a ton of Filipinos, and a ton of Koreans... i think that our area is pretty close to what it is like in Hawaii, the culture is just a ton different!!!

SO... this week we dropped brother Hope as an investigator, for many reasons... it was super hard to do it, mainly becasue we have grown so close to him, we will continue to visit him of course

Last night we had some fun with a ton of drunk people... it is crazy how many people "DON'T HAVE MONEY TO COME TO CHURCH" but then they have money to buy alcohol. we have 1 investigator that spends 6,000 pesos ($138.68) on alcohol every month.... their average salary is about 300 pesos ($6.82) a day.... so that means 2/3 of his money is going to his drinking...

So elder McQuiston and i were changing a light bulb in our house, and the ceiling is about 12 feet tall so he was standing on a table changing it... lets just say, long story short, these tables in the philippines arent made to hold a 200 pound american missionary... and the table is no more!!!!

also the last thing is in the last 3 days i have popped 10 holes in my bike tires, 8 of them at one time!!! that is so crazy!!!!

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

August 3, 2014. I am not behind this week

How are you?

I am good, i have been a lot better, but i am doing good. this week, even though it has only been 5 days since last P-day, has been one of the longest weeks of my life let alone my mission.

What was the best thing to happen to you in the last week?
One of the best things is that i am at DAY 300 of  my mission, and i am doing really good, i have become a ton more fluent in the language but there are still a ton of people that say that i am not VIS-DOK(BIS-DOK)*or visayan dako, or in english FLUENT in Cebuano. Another good thing is that we have been doing really good as a companionship, i love elder McQuiston, he is probably one of my favorite comps, if not my favorite up to this point!

Are you staying relatively dry?

I am trying to stay dry, usually it goes pretty well, but there have been like 4 Typhoons in the last 2 weeks or so! (Glenda, Henry, Inday, and this one that starts with a J). usually we get pretty wet if it starts to rain because it just opens the gates of heaven and poors super hard!

How is the teaching/work going?

All i got to say is HINAY-HINAY BASTA KANUNAY, or SLOWLY BUT SURELY.

Do you do laundry on P day along with all the other stuff?
I do my own laundry pretty much every week if at all possible, usually it has to be broken down between days because we have to hand wash everything, it is super difficult and tiring.

Do you hang clothes outside or inside to dry?
The clothes hang outside until they stop dripping then i bring mine in and hang them on a clothes line tied in between the beds.

Do you have bunk beds?
We do have bunk beds, i sleep on the bottom bunk and have since i got in the mission. i have a sheet up blocking out the light and making it more of my personal area...

What is your "typical" P day like?

​Typical p-day is... we wake up at 6:00, then we get ready for the day, we start personal studies at ​

 

​7:00, then at 8:00 we have companionship study, until about 8:45, then we get ready for the day. at 9:00 we leave for Tagbilaran city(about an hour long bus{jeepny} ride). when we get to Tagbilaran we go to the top of BQ mall to email. at the end of email we go and shop for food/groceries, then we try and find something fun and effective to do with our time. At 6:00 we start doing missionary work.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

LIARS GO TO HEAVEN, IF THEY DON'T GET CAUGHT

THIS WEEK WITH BROTHER HOPE WE WATCHED A COUPLE OF ANTI-MORMON VIDEOS... brother Hope has been doing his research on the church, the only problem is that he went to youtube.com for the anwers and not anywhere else!

We have a L.A.(less active member) who really loves the scripture John14:15, and everytime we go over to teach him he shared that scripture and then he also shares the scripture in 1Corinthians 1:18

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER