BACOOR - TABING DAGAT (Sea)

Hello Po,

Well, I'm officially working in a new area and it is crazy different then my last area. Most of the area is super dense city; however, as you go north you reach the dagat (sea). Over the water are a bunch of homes made completely out of bamboo. They are super cool!! It's kind of crazy that people live in these homes!!

My new companion (Elder Egli) and I are working super well together. We get along SUPER well. He is from Tri-Cities, Washington and has been out for about 17 months now. His Tagalog is phenomenal and he is super funny. People love him immediately because he has a gift with talking to people. I am learning so much from him already. He is teaching me to be brave enough to talk to everyone, and how to make my Tagalog more natural. I want to be as comfortable with the language and people as he is.

Highlights:

-We witnessed a fist fight. It was actually really scary. We were gonna stop them, but it escalated very quickly. Luckily before it got too out of hand a massive Filipino ran out of his house and pulled the men off of each other. It was crazy!

-Yesterday I led the area even though everything here is still very new. I took a brand new Elder on splits, and for being new his Tagalog is decent. We had a pretty successful day.

Ultimately, I'm getting used to all the recent changes, and I'm really excited to be even better this year than I was last year.

MY INVITATION TO YOU: Read Luke 1:37. How can this knowledge bless your life?

Elder Hemmert

Garcia Family (moving)

This is the Garcia Family. They are the family (see post: https://elderbrittonhemmert.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-miracle-of-cold-turkey-for.html) we baptized in November. They are amazing. We helped them move to their new home. It was a 3 km walk, and we carried heavy crates and bags of stuff. They upgraded from a wood shack to a small concrete home that is in a dense compound. It was so hard to say goodbye.

The World is Ending! (or so I thought)

Maligayang Bagong Taon! (Happy New Year)

Francisco. An amazing investigator we were referred to by a
member. He will be baptized in Feb once he is married.
It was so hard to say goodbye.

Well the world felt like it was ending in two different ways this week: (Sorry, it's a little long. If you Don't Have Much Time, then scroll down and read the invitation)

1. First off, NEW YEAR'S IS CRAZY HERE! The belief here is that at the beginning of they year they must make as much noise as possible in order to scare off evil spirits. Well, let me tell you, they were successful. At 11:55 PM on December 31st I woke up to extremely loud explosions coming from outside. Most of my roommates ran to our backyard and climbed the 20 foot water tower behind our home in order to see over all of the homes. We were above all the nearest houses and could see for miles. The explosions came from all sides and were some of the biggest fireworks I've seen. As we sat watching, the explosions became progressively more numerous. It came to a point around 12:10 AM that the fireworks were above our heads and all around us. people were on the streets revving engines and banging pots together. Smoke from each explosion began to fill the air, until it was so thick that every firework looked more like bursts of light rather than their normal distinct appearance. It was by far the coolest New Year's i have ever experienced. If I didn't know it was New Year I would have that

Sister Gina Reyes. Super amazing lady. Her home is a
tiny shack. The roof is only 5 feet tall. She has 3 kids and a
husband. She will be baptized with one of her boys in
Feb once she is married. I hope the rest of her family
will follow her example. It was so hard to say goodbye.

the world was ending (It felt a little like the Ikalawang pagparito ni Jesucristo).

View from Sister Reyes roof.

2. The Second thing that made me feel like the world was ending was because I was transferred today. My new area is Bacoor 1. My original area was in Molino 1C, and I love that area so much! For the past 3 months I have been walking those streets and helping people come closer to Jesus Christ. I loved everyone we were teaching and everyone in our ward. My only hope as I leave them is that they will continue to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have come to love these people so much, and it is so hard to say goodbye to them. All I desire is their Eternal Happiness. I know the only way to Eternal Happiness is in and through the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. I'm so sad to leave these people, but mostly I'm just so grateful I was able to meet them in the first place. I have seen people find happiness as they followed our invitations to read from the Holy scriptures, pray to their Heavenly Father, and attend Church. I only hope that they will continue, because I know if they will, then they will feel the love of God in their life.

MY INVITATION TO YOU: Forget about yourself every once in a while, and desire the happiness of someone else. Serve those you love, and those you have a harder time loving. Desire their happiness before your own, and then you will find happiness also.

Elder Hemmert

Elder Hemmert keeps finding larger spiders.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

MALIGAYANG PASKO PO at MALIGAYANG BAGONG TAON!!!

or in English: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Malaya Family. A less active family we reactivated.

First off, Elder Pedersen and I bought about 100 large candy bars and 150 small candy bars and spent all of Christmas Day wishing people Merry Christmas and handing out candy. It was super fun! Everyone is so nice hear. Everywhere we went people offered us food and often would stop us on the street and give us food even though we had never met them before. By the end of the day I probably put on 10 extra pounds! It was such a fun day! We also shared short messages about the birth of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. We taught one man in particular named JoJo. He had a terrible stroke a few years ago and can no longer stand and has difficulty speaking. However, he understands very well and has a very kind heart. We shared with him Alma 7:10-13 about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and as we shared he began crying. He feels he has made too many mistakes in his life, but I know that

Brother Villeyamoore. An amazing member that is exactly the same as
Curtis Hemmert. He is literally the filipino version. I always call him
"Tito Ko"(my uncle.) He called me "Pinson Niya" (my nephew.)

through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all of our pain, guilt, and regret can be wiped clean. Jesus Christ should be our main focus during this season and in every season of our lives. Because the fact is, we all make mistakes. We all experience sicknesses. We all suffer heartache. We all wish life could be easier. The fact is, Jesus Christ felt all of those feelings that we experience. He has felt our joy and our sorrow. He suffered for us. And because he suffered for us and felt our pain, he knows how to help us. When we feel alone, when we feel like no one understands us, remember that your Savior, Jesus Christ, knows everything you feel. He gives us reason to celebrate this Christmas, because through him we can receive everlasting

happiness! He is the Prince of Peace!

Check out this video:https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-12-1000-a-savior-is-born-christmas-video?lang=eng

Elder Hemmert

Mission Change

New Mission Boundaries were announced for Elder Hemmert's mission. The most hilarious part of this is Colby is going on a humanitarian trip this July/August to San Pablo, Philippines. This area has just been added to Elder Hemmert's mission. Will be interesting to see if they cross paths. Most likely, no, but still fun to laugh about!!! It is in the Lord's hands. ;)

Picture and Message from Sister Mary Lou Allen

We went with Elder Hemmert and Elder Pederson on Christmas Eve to the Garcia Family (See post https://elderbrittonhemmert.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-miracle-of-cold-turkey-for.html.)They are such good, impressive young men and we love them!

That picture was taken practically in the dark because there were only two small candles for light. No furniture except some wooden pallets that the family pulls out at night to sleep on. No electricity, stove, fridge. Really, hardly any belongings. No windows or actual doors. Tarp on the living area floor, probably acquired from a discard from a grocery store. I don't know how you could know this family and not be changed forever.

Britton's (LIVE) Testimony

It was the only Christmas Gift we cared about this year...GETTING TO FACETIME our BOY! Elder Hemmert is doing great! We had 45 min the hear about his adventures and it is amazing the comfort that comes just from seeing him. Not exactly sure how my parents did this back in the old days when my brother went off to serve his mission in India without emails/facetime/etc!!!!! Grateful for modern technology and the blessings of our sweet Elder and his service.

Elder Hemmert sends his love to all of you! Here is a video of his testimony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVhVrKSrsd8&feature=youtu.be