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

October 12, 2014

How was your "Half Way" Celebration???  What did you do???

It was just like any other day, we did missionary work... we also did have dinner at one of our Investigators houses. In which i bought the food, i bought 2 kilos of Pork Chops to feed us... which is surprisingly cheep here!!! I spent about 400 pesos to buy 2 kilos of pork chops, 2-2 liters of coke, and some cookies... it was super cheep!!! Sister Jingle added a ton of SILI*(small pepper SUPER SPICY) halang gyud*very spicy. but then Elder Edoloverio(my wonderful companion) challanged me to eat one raw, well last week at the Perez family i ate one, and i felt like i was going to die from the spicy. But this one that i ate was no terrible, i ate it and i only cried a little.... haha, i blamed it that i was so happy that i was at one year!!!

What (other than the Half Way Celebration) was the highlight of the last week???

The highlight is that on saturday and sunday we had GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! that was so awesome to listen to all of them!!!

How is the work going???

The work is going well, we have a baptism this Saturday, she is from a Part Member Family. SISTER BETHSHEVA FABE, she chose me to be the one to DUNK her, i feel super honored but at the same time i feel bad for Elder Edoloverio, cause he has been here longer. so i was trying to convince her to choose him...

What (other than emailing US) is the best part of P-day???

well, i dont really know... some weeks are a ton better than others, but usually the best part is being able to go and work at the end of the day and to start the week off with a couple of lessons....

Do you have anything special planned for the next week???

This week we have our one baptism on saturday, but other than that we do not have much planned... we just have lessons, and then we come home and sleep... that is about it!!!

Today is supposed to be pretty good weather in your area.  Do you see much sunshine in between the rainstorms??? 

Good weather?! as in no rain?! that will be a first in a while!!! usually if it is rainy we dont see the sun for a couple of days... it is super awesome

Is the rain constant or just bursts of really hard rain with nice in between???

It is usually HARD RAIN with no breaks, so CONSTANT HARD RAIN!!! it makes life a little me more basa*wet. but it is more interesting.

Do the flooded areas just keep filling up, or have they drained???

The flooded areas drain, but then the next storm they are filled right back up with super dirty water!

Have you heard of the movie "Meet The Mormons" in your area???

I have not heard of it, except through LDS.org... how is it?! have you seen it?!

Please list FIVE adjectives to describe your current state.

I AM GOOD, TIRED, EXCITED, and... i dont know. i forgot what adjectives are... just kidding. i just dont know what else i am right now... libug na lang ko!!!

GOOD-this last week has been one for the records....

TIRED-waking up at 5:00 to play basketball is super exciting, but towards the end of the day is no fun!!!!

EXCITED-this week we have a baptism, and it is only 12 days until TRANSFERS!!! ahhhhhh

Please use FIVE adjectives to describe your companion.  (We would like to get to know him better too!!)

UMMM, gwapo, buotan, HARD WORKING, KUGIHAN and PAGKAMASULUNDON...

GWAPO(HANDSOME)-he looks good

BUOTAN(NICE/KIND)-he is super kind to everyone

HARD WORKING/KUGIHAN(DILIGENT)-every day he is ready to go out and work

PAGKAMASULUNDON(OBEDIENT)-he makes sure he follows mission rules always!!!

What language did you watch Conference in???  Who did you watch Conference with???  Where did you watch Conference???

We watched it in English, and Cebuano. i downloaded it to my SD card. so i have heard the conference in english, and cebuano now. i think i might try and download it in Tagalog today...

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

October 4, 2014

How are you? (Please use 2 complete sentences.)
I am good, my knee has been super sore, but mainly because there has been some major storms rolling through. Also i had a case of LBM, my stomach is not feeling too good, but it is starting to feel better slowly!!!

How was your week?
This last week we were killing it! We went on splits a couple of times! and we finished the week with 23 lessons... the only problem with our area is we have one entire part that no one wants us to teach them. (TIPOLO) on Friday we went on splits and ended up teaching 1 lesson total, even though we were both with a ward missionary. Today we went to the TEMPLE (i believe that this is #22 or #23 of my mission going to the temple

What was the best thing about the last week???
WE HAD THE BEST DINNER APPOINTMENT!!!  we had a very dato/Kwartahan (rich/wealthy) member take us out to eat. we went to an ALL YOU CAN EAT restaurant, and ALL YOU CAN DRINK (FREE REFILLS {over here there are no free refills}) I ate 4 plates FULL!!! I ATE crab, fish, pork, shrimp, sushi, rice, squid, octopus, ginamus, lobster, clams.

it was all so good, i know... dont be judging

I MADE SURE TO EAT MY 300 pesos worth of food... really it was super cheep for an all you can eat....

How often did you eat at members homes?
it depends some weeks we eat every night, right now we are trying to figure out a calendar or some type of schedule so it is even. the main problem is that all the active members and all the dinner appointments are in the sisters area...

Do you feel more settled in the city yet???
I feel more settled but... IT IS A VERY EXPENSIVE AREA!!! It is unreal and scary how much more money i have spent in this area so far... it is so sad how being in a city and being able to walk by an ATM. in Panglao there was 1 ATM, and it was in the other area. here i could pull money if i had it (and if i needed it) whenever.

How are things with your Comp???  Is the language getting easier for both of you to understand each other???
language is not a problem anymore, i just speak cebuano all the time, and i will mix in some english... it is super crazy living in a house with all Filipinos, and what is worse is they think that i am super DATO (KWARTAHAN)*rich because i am an American... as i said earlier in the letter, this area is expensive....
I HAVE SPENT 5,532 pesos in the last 13 days, our support is 3,900 pesos...

So are you in a 2 floor apartment in an apartment building???
yes, we are in a 2 floor building, we in an amazing house/apartment complex.. they are almost like town houses.



-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

October 1, 2014

How are you? (Please use 2 complete sentences.)

I am good, my knee has been super sore, but mainly because there has been some major storms rolling through. Also i had a case of LBM, my stomach is not feeling too good, but it is starting to feel better slowly!!!

How was your week?

This last week we were killing it! We went on splits a couple of times! and we finished the week with 23 lessons... the only problem with our area is we have one entire part that no one wants us to teach them. (TIPOLO) on Friday we went on splits and ended up teaching 1 lesson total, even though we were both with a ward missionary. Today we went to the TEMPLE (i believe that this is #22 or #23 of my mission going to the temple

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

WE HAD THE BEST DINNER APPOINTMENT!!!  we had a very dato/Kwartahan (rich/wealthy) member take us out to eat. we went to an ALL YOU CAN EAT restaurant, and ALL YOU CAN DRINK (FREE REFILLS {over here there are no free refills}) I ate 4 plates FULL!!! I ATE crab, fish, pork, shrimp, sushi, rice, squid, octopus, ginamus, lobster, clams.

it was all so good, i know... dont be judging

I MADE SURE TO EAT MY 300 pesos worth of food... really it was super cheep for an all you can eat....

How often did you eat at members homes?

it depends some weeks we eat every night, right now we are trying to figure out a calendar or some type of schedule so it is even. the main problem is that all the active members and all the dinner appointments are in the sisters area...

Do you feel more settled in the city yet???

I feel more settled but... IT IS A VERY EXPENSIVE AREA!!! It is unreal and scary how much more money i have spent in this area so far... it is so sad how being in a city and being able to walk by an ATM. in Panglao there was 1 ATM, and it was in the other area. here i could pull money if i had it (and if i needed it) whenever.

How are things with your Comp???  Is the language getting easier for both of you to understand each other???

language is not a problem anymore, i just speak cebuano all the time, and i will mix in some english... it is super crazy living in a house with all Filipinos, and what is worse is they think that i am super DATO (KWARTAHAN)*rich because i am an American... as i said earlier in the letter, this area is expensive....

I HAVE SPENT 5,532 pesos in the last 13 days, our support is 3,900 pesos...

So are you in a 2 floor apartment in an apartment building???

yes, we are in a 2 floor building, we in an amazing house/apartment complex.. they are almost like town houses.

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER