SUNBURNS AND SMILES

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• We had two service projects this week which basically entailed flattening out a bunch of trash right behind a cemetery. This will become the home of someone we are teaching.
• We admired the largest catholic cathedral in all of Asia. It is in my area here in Taal, Batangas. Thebell tower and much of the church are under renovation which means it is not allowed to enter, but we somehow managed to get permission. From the top we could see over the whole city and ocean. Here is a video of Elder Hemmert sneaking into the church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QR6d7wT8w8
• The sun is out, my skin is burning, and I'm loving everyday. Definitely a Highlight each week.

We recently met our next door neighbor who turns out to be an inactive member for about 20 years. On our second appointment we brought two members. We were shocked to learn that one of those members was really good friends with the inactive, but they hadn't seen each other for years. As we spoke with the inactive, he explained that he couldn't go to church because he had too many sins in his life. We explained that the church isn't for perfect people, but rather for people that want to be better. In one week we taught him and his wife three times and shared with them about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and Repentance. This last Sunday they attended church. When they arrived they were immediately swarmed with members that recognized the inactive member. They all explained how happy they were that he had come back, and they introduced themselves to his wife. After church the two of them explained how excited they are to continue coming to church. I know that the Lord is preparing souls, and sometimes the preparation period is 20 years or more. However, no matter where we are in our spiritual progression the Lord is always calling for us with open arms.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: General Conference Weekend!!!!!

Prepare yourself for an uplifting weekend filled with the words of the Living Prophet and Apostles. I promise that if you will take the time to listen to them, finding answers to your questions, then you will receive revelation from God that is intended for you personally. Check out this website.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/events/october-2019-general-conference?lang=eng

Elder Hemmert
Lemery, Batangas

A HOPE THAT EXCEEDS DEATH

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• The storms last week were absolutely insane, and we came home soaking wet everyday. Fortunately those storms have now stopped and the hot sun has come back out. SO we are still coming home soaked each night, but it is due to sweat instead of rain.
• The Tagalog here has quite a few differences from the Tagalog that I am used to. People here in Batangas have different accents, which changes pronunciation of certain words and even involves using a few words that are brand new to me. I have adjusted quickly, and I'm doing my absolute best to copy the accents of the natives here. Pretty soon I'll be speaking like I grew up here hehe.
• The water hates us in our new apartment. We woke up Thursday morning to a small flood inside our house due to leaking water coming from our fridge. And then later that night we came home to no water in the house. Apparently we didn't pay our water bill, so our water was shut off haha. We ended up showering at our neighbors house instead.

Someone we are teaching recently went through a very difficult hardship. Their 6 year old daughter passed away due to Dengue Fever. This little girl was always so happy to see us and of course we were so happy to see her. She is deeply missed by us, and even more so by her family. We have been going back to the family often to support them through this trial, and each time we visit the father opens up to us about the pains he is experiencing. He described to us that he always cared for his daughter and did all he possibly could to protect her and keep her healthy. But even with everything he did for his daughter, he says, "A little mosquito was all it took to kill my daughter."

This father is going through a trial that outweighs all other trials I have ever experienced. As I look back I realize that my life has been all in all without any large hardships. Everything in my life seems to work out for the better. Even the small difficulties I have encountered have ultimately just been hidden growing experiences for me. I feel a great deal of sympathy for this man and his family, but I also feel Hope in the plan that Heavenly Father has created for us. Trials are often difficult to accept and endure, but they are ultimately there for our growth.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: I testify that God has a plan for you, and it does not end at death. We can enjoy the peace that comes from Hope even in our hardest trials, and I know that God will not leave us comfortless IF we seek his support. Because of the plan of our Heavenly Father and the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ "we may Hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations."

Explore the following videos and put your Hope in God:https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2013-05-009-a-mothers-hope?category=topics/hope&lang=eng

Ether 12:6

Elder Hemmert

A picture of the meeting house that the sisters go to for church

Elder Curtis trying to avoid getting wet in the flooded alleys of our area

The view of the ocean from the home of someone we are teaching

a little girl that asked if she could have my keychain, so I gave it to her

WHERE AM I?

Chilling in the sugar cane field

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• I TRANSFERRED! Honestly, I didn't want to transfer, and I really miss many of my friends from 

  

  Saying goodbye to Elder Fepuleai

   MA Cavite. But now I am happy to be in LEMERY BATANGAS. I have been super used to the city my whole mission and have only been assigned to small areas, but now I am in a province and my area is huge. My companion brought me down a "shortcut" in order to get to someone we would be teaching. This shortcut went through a sugar cane field, and was about 3 Kilometers! Not much of a shortcut in my opinion! HAHA! It's a huge change for me, but I'm loving each and every day. AND, I'm right next to the ocean, whixh is beautiful! I missed the beach SOOO MUCH!! However, storms have been WAY intense because of it.
• This last week has consisted of saying goodbye to all of my friends from GMA and meeting lots of new people in Lemery. I am one of the only missionaries that has not yet had a Filipino companion, so I was really expecting one. However, my new companion is ELDER CURTIS from Phoenix, Arizona. ANOTHER FOREIGNER HAHA!! We are having a blast together.
• ALSO, I am now Zone Leader which basically means I am responsible for watching over and supporting 10 elders and sisters. Ultimately it is a pretty small zone, and not too stressful.

Next week's email will be a bit better, but for now I just want to express my gratitude for all of the prayers that have been sent my way. I am so grateful for each one of you, and I wish you the best!

Elder Hemmert

Lemery, Batangas

Valencia Family

Binaday Family

Villocino Family

Joy and Rodel Cruza w/ their baby. Also starring Gladys and Alex.

Novilunio Family. Jojo, Marisa, Andrea, Claresa, and Lovely.

Perez Family

Perez Family

Last night in GMA, Cavite on our third story apartment looking out at Makati City. Me, Elder Brown, Elder Kunzler, Elder Fepuleai, and Elder Brown

Eating out with some of my close friends on my last day of GMA Cavite.

Traveling 4 hours from Cavite to Batangas

I SLAYED THE DRAGON

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• BAPTISM of Raphael Carbonell! Raphael is 9 years old and is just a bucket of fun. His parents are both members, but have not been back to church for a few years. We began teaching them three months ago, and quickly got them back to church. After a few months of teaching we helped Michael, the father, prepare and receive the Aaronic Priesthood (Priesthood or power of God that John the Baptist held and used when he baptized Jesus Christ). Now that Michael is worthy to use the Aaronic Priesthood, he was the one that baptized his little boy on September 7.
• THE DRAGON: Okay, let me explain. The mouse traps in our apartment occasionally get a small  ice here and there. Ultimately, they are babies and harmless; however, Saturday night I met the mother! It all began when my companion woke me up with his yelling, "There is a rat in the apartment!" I jumped up quickly and ran into the other room where I found the rat in a corner under one of the beds. The umbrella I grabbed on the way would not do the trick, so I picked up one of our concrete dumbbells. All in all the result was 3 minutes of back and forth wrestling. At one moment he was winning, the next I had him on his back. He refused to quit and took me with a few surprise moves. We exchanged blows, threw a few illegal moves and instituted another World War. At the end, the house was a disaster, but I CAME OFF CONQUEROR! We can now say goodbye to massive rats in our apartment!

As for a little spiritual experience, I want to share the story of someone I will call Mary. Mary's entire family are members of the church, including her parents and children. Mary has been taught by missionaries for 3 years, attends church each week, obeys commands, and ultimately is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. However, she is not yet baptized. We noticed that teaching her was without any effect, because she had heard the missionary lessons so many times, so we took a different approach. We simply asked her questions. We asked her why her family was important. How Faith in Jesus Christ has helped her family. We asked what made her desire to go to church each week. We asked what makes her stress in this life and what makes her happy. All in all, we simply talked with her and got to know her. Through simple questions we noticed that she had some past actions that she didn't want to share and she felt that she could never let go of that guilt and regret. We told her that each one of us is imperfect and none of us is without sin. We told her that we had no desire to know her past sins, but that we knew a way in which those pains and burdens could be washed out and forgotten. This would only be possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We shared how Saul, a christian hating and apostle killing man full of sin, was able to repent, change his name to Paul, and become one of the greatest apostles of Jesus Christ. We told Mary that we were there to help her, and she would need to trust us. As we spoke and as she responded to our questions we noticed she began to feel calmness. With that we invited her to use her Faith and be baptized in order to remove the guilt that she has been holding on for years. Mary let out a large breath, and with peace in her voice, she said that she would be excited to finally be baptized.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Sometimes we feel the weight of our guilt, and often stir over our regret. We wish we could redo our past actions, but don't realize that any easier option is available and it doesn't require time travel  to make right our wrongs. This easier option is repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Explore the following URL to understand Repentance a bit more: https://www.comeuntochrist.org/blog/gospel-of-christ-part-2-repentance

Elder Hemmert

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! TOO SOON?

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• CHRISTMAS IS HERE!! In the Philippines Christmas is celebrated from September until December. It is called the BER months. SeptemBER. OctoBER. NovemBER. DecemBER. So many of the people we are teaching already have Christmas trees up, and yesterday I wore a Christmas tie.
• There are grave sights here called apartment style graves. Basically it is the cheapest method of burial. The body is placed inside a hole in a large concrete wall, and after 5 years it must be removed and relocated to make room for the next person. It is an interesting method, but for many people living in the city where burial land is not cheap, it is all they can afford. If the family does not have money after the 5 years to reclaim the bones of the deceased person, then those bones are removed from the coffin, transferred to a rice sack, and tossed on a shelf in a warehouse. I'll attach a photo of the apartment graves.

We all encounter hardships, and are often faced with choices. We wonder which is the right option, and sometimes we stress over past choices we have made. We look back and wonder what could have been done differently instead of looking forward to what we plan on adjusting and accomplishing. It doesn't matter where we were, where we are, but rather where we plan to be. "Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of Hope, and a love of God and of all men." And then someday you will look back and feel the joy that comes from following Jesus Christ.

Elder Hemmert