GETTING LOST & MOVING OUT

Magandang Hapon Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines (Highlights):

-We obtained a referral to go teach someone in a part of our area that I have never been to. All we had was the name of the person and a street. Without a map or really much direction we headed off to find her. 30 minutes later we were totally lost! We asked every person that walked by if they knew the street or person, and each time they pointed us back to the way we had come from. Rather than heeding their advice we kept trudging along, and after two hours we finally found the street. The first person we found on the street ended up being her and she proceeded to introduce us to her entire family. We got close with all of them, and they even said they would attend church this week.

The biggest thing that impacted me this week involved a family of 4 that we helped move houses. Their old house was quite large and very nice. We boxed up their belongings and loaded them on to a small vehicle. Many of the items in their home they told us to leave behind. I figured they were just going to get the other stuff a different day, so we only loaded up a few items. All in all, the stuff we loaded would have fit in about 2 wheelbarrow loads, and that includes their bed mats. They were extremely sad to be leaving their home. We then drove with them to their new home. Once we arrived we loaded up our arms and walked down a narrow foot path to their new place. Between the 6 of us we could easily carry all of the stuff. We came around the corner of the footpath and they led us inside a boarding house which consisted of a narrow concrete hallway with rooms on each side. Their new home was one of these rooms. It was 6 foot by 12 foot, and completely empty. We dropped the stuff inside the door. They would be living here from now on. Their bathroom and kitchen would be shared with 15 other people and about 150 cockroaches as well. It hurt my heart to see them go from a home of comfort and cleanliness to something that as of right now they could hardly consider a living quarter. Members from the church and close friends quickly came over and helped them unpack their few belongings and brought food to fill their shelf. Arrangements were quickly made to repaint the walls and put in more lights. They promised to make the new place feel just like home. Although the situation was not ideal, we would all try to make the most of it!

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: The fact is, we will always be thrown curveballs. In fact, the only thing that is permanent is change. We are bound to experience change, and we might as well expect the unexpected. These 4 people I have spoken of never expected to be sleeping, eating, and spending day to day in the current place they are residing. However, they are still pressing forward. My advice, make the most of what you are given. If life is going great, then be grateful. If life is not treating you well, then remember, the sun will still rise in the morning. Keep pressing on and find happiness on the way!

Elder Hemmert

LOVE EVERYTHING THAT COMES YOUR WAY!

Kumusta Po,

Its More Fun in the Philippines (Highlights):

Wedding of Nanay Gina Reyes

-Today I went to the marriage of one of the people I used to teach. She will get baptized on Saturday. I'm so excited for her.

My email this week is a bit short, but I want you to know that I LOVE THE PHILIPPINES. This place is amazing! When I first entered the mission, cultural changes were different, weird and even uncomfortable. However, I recently learned something of great importance. I have decided to love EVERYTHING that comes my way. If there is something about the culture I am not used to, I have come to accept it and love it. If someone turns us down when we try to share with them, I choose to be grateful for the opportunity I had to meet them. There are many things that are new with the people, culture and language, but I have chosen to love it all. I find that as I learn to love the heat, love the food, love the language, and especially love the people; I have felt SOOOO MUCH JOY! 

MY ADVICE: Love EVERYTHING that comes your way!! If you feel frustration or sadness, try to address your feelings by loving everything that caused you to feel that way. We are bound to be thrown curveballs and feel frustrations, but if we learn to love these experiences, we can all feel so much more happiness. So my advice, LOVE EVERYTHING THAT COMES YOUR WAY!

Elder Hemmert

Elder Hart-Stephens w/ a 10 inch Burger

Happy Day of Hearts

Erik Ivan 9 years old

Maligayang Araw ng Puso, (Happy day of hearts. Or Happy Valentine's Day!!)

It's More Fun in the Philippines (Highlights):

-We had a baptism this week for a nine year old that comes to church every week with his guardians. He is a really great kid and was SOOO HAPPY to get baptized!

-Elder Egli and I got Super Bad Food Poisoning!! We ate some bad liver and ended up getting crazy sick. The whole night we were up "taking care" of the sickness. Then the following day we tried to work, but we ended up crashing super hard and weren't able to get much done. Luckily Filipinos are extremely nice, so they were taking care of us, giving us medicine and giving us everything they thought we needed haha. However, the next day we went to work and made up for the sick day.

New Companion Elder Hart-Stephens from New Zealand

-Also, my companion, Elder Egli, was transferred to Assistant to President. My new companion is Elder Hart-Stephens. He is from Auckland, New Zealand. I already know we are going to get along SUPER WELL!! He is super awesome!!

Kapangyarihan ng Panalangin: (Power of Prayer)

This past week we have been trying to find new people to teach and bring to the gospel (Good News) of Christ. We found a few families that said they would come to church. This past Saturday we opened a fast from food and water for 24 hours (as a way to receive blessings by our faith and work). We fasted and asked our Heavenly Father to please bless the people were teaching that they would have the means to get to church. We prayed for them by name. Sunday morning we waited for them at church, but when church started they still hadn't come. We went in and took our seats among the other people in the congregation, but my prayers did not cease. I prayed that Heavenly Father would provide the means for even just one investigator to come to church. We sat and the service began. Not even 3 minutes into the start of the meeting a miracle occurred as ELEVEN people we were teaching came flooding through the back doors. I waved for them to come sit with us and they did. They were so happy that they made it, and of course, SO WERE WE! I was smiling from ear to ear that entire time!

CHALLENGE: Pick someone that you believe could use a little help right now for whatever reason, and pray for them BY NAME. Then after praying for them by name, get up and go do something to help them. Jesus Christ will answer our prayers only if we are also willing to act.

Elder Hemmert

Hello Po

Hello Po,

It's More Fun In The Philippines (Highlights):

-I went on splits twice this week and led the area both times. Although the language is still a struggle, but I'm finally feeling a little more comfortable. I can actually converse and joke with people.

-We saw a massive wagon made out of bamboo that was full of handmade goods, and it was being pulled by a massive cow on the highway with tons of cars around it! It was hilarious! So yeah, you could say the Philippines is AWESOME!

But the biggest thing that happened this week began a little sad. There is a 17 year old girl we were teaching that was preparing to be baptized on February 9th, but this past week her dad called her from the province and said she had to come home right away. She packed her bags and told us she was leaving. We quickly rushed to her house and discussed with her what her plan was. She said she was super sad to be leaving, especially because she was really excited to be baptized. We taught her that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is all over the world and that she could be baptized in her province. Now she is in contact with missionaries in her province and she is preparing to be baptized soon. Obviously we were sad that we could not be a part of her baptism, but we are simply happy to know that she will be baptized. We are excited for the day that she will receive that necessary saving ordinance. The ordinance of baptism in itself shows our faith in Jesus Christ. It shows our desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ. He is our ultimate example, and through faith in him miracles are truly wrought to pass. As we develop our faith in Christ we will desire to stop repeating sins and we will come closer to him as we are purified by his Atonement. He felt our pains and sicknesses. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He is the only begotten of the Father, and his gospel is our path to Eternal Life. I love him, and all I desire is that all people will come unto him and partake of his everlasting life.

Elder Hemmert

I'm Freezing at 80 Degrees!

Hello Po!

It's More Fun In The Philippines (Highlights):

-It is super cold here right now. The high is 85 degrees and the low is 72 degrees. I don't have sweat pants or a sweat shirt, so at nights I just wear my slacks and shirts to bed because of how cold it is! But the daytime is really nice, because I haven't been sweating since its so cold!

-I've gained 10 pounds from when I first entered the mission. This rice is doing a number to my body. I guess I just love the food too much!

How can my guilt from past regrets and sins be swept away and washed clean? This was a question I asked myself this week and began to explore in my studies, and I came across two conditions by which forgiveness is brought to pass (How Do I Know When I Am Forgiven by Tad R. Callister). The first condition by which forgiveness comes, as mentioned in Enos 1:8, is by faith on Christ. Jesus Christ's Atonement is ultimately what allows us to be forgiven for mistakes. He suffered all of our pains and took upon himself our sins, and through him we can be made clean. We must have faith on him to receive that forgiving power, and be relieved from guilt. Just like a phone must be charged regularly, we must always charge our faith by reading the holy scriptures, praying often, and participating in church. The second condition that frees us from guilt is that we have "no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." Obviously, this does not mean we must be perfect; rather, we must STRIVE for perfection. We must work to become BETTER than before. the beautiful thing about repentance is that God will judge us by what we have become and not by what we were. I know that our pains, sorrows and guilt can eventually be swept away if we will increase our faith in the Atonement of Christ and desire to choose the right. I know that Jesus Christ, the son of God, is our Savior and Redeemer, and he is the way to eternal happiness.

Elder Hemmert

Plumbing in the Philippines

Elder Hemmert sent this to his dad this week: 

Check out these photos of plumbing here. I feel like you would appreciate this hahah!!! Its awesome!! ANd when people dont pay, rather than simply shutting the line off they go in and cut the line. Then if the people start paying again they just go fix the cut and turn the water back on haha!!!

I'll Hold the Soap

Hello Po,

It's More Fun In The Philippines (Highlights):

-SOOOO, remember how I asked two ladies if they needed help showering because I thought they were doing dishes, well... I did it again.... It was an old nanay and she said she was going to shower, but I thought she said wash clothing (Tagalog shower is pagliligo and wash clothes is paglalaba, so obviously very similar haha). I offered to help her, but she said she was capable of doing it herself. Then after saying goodbye my companion told me that I had heard her wrong. I DONT KNOW WHY THIS KEEPS HAPPENING TO ME HAHA!

-We found a really crazy part of our area that is all squatter homes (wood shacks) that people have built. Right next to their home is a lake and some kids built a rope swing there, so we swung over the water with the kids. The kids LOVED that two Americans were using their rope swing! It put such a big smile on both their faces and my face. YouTube link to view this story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkCWa4Lb7KU 

-Lastly, we tried to get into a private sub-divison to go talk with a family in there, but the guard wouldn't let us in for some reason. It was quite frustrating, but then a lady in that compound came up to us and asked what the issue was. We told her we couldn't be let in and she was disgusted at the guard fro not letting us in. She was like, "WHAT! HE better let you two in! How rude!" It was so funny! The lady then invited us to join her for her friend's birthday party, and we happily accepted. We got to the party and everyone loved us! Filipino party's are awesome cause literally everyone is invited! Everyone was so amazed that there were two white dudes that spoke Tagalog. We got many of their numbers and addresses, and many of them asked us to return and teach them about our beliefs. We also got invited to another one of their birthday's next week haha! They were so kind to us, we are excited to teach them!

Elder Hemmert