Everlasting Beginnings

Hey Familly!

I can't believe that this is it. This is the final email I’ll send from the Philippines as a full time missionary. I'm not really even sure where to start. I guess I’ll just start this email like I start all the other ones. 

We began the week with more zone interviews. Elder Thurber and I pretty much spent most of both of those days at the chapel. It's been great having interviews though because you get to see all the missionaries in the mission. 

The biggest part of the week occurred on Thursday, which was MLC. It was a great meeting. We talked about numerous subjects, including goals for 2015, budgeting, using time wisely and many more. President Ostler never ceases to amaze me. He is such a great teacher and great example. He taught a little bit about integrity, a quality he has really developed himself. He mentioned that one of the meanings of integrity is being the same person wherever you are; school, work, church, at home, ect. This is an attribute that is not very common in the world today. I've placed that on my top list of attributes to develop right next to charity.

We extended an invitation to a sister training leader companionship to teach about budgeting during the meeting a few days before the meeting. At the end of their portion, they began to pass out a little handout to all the missionaries. When the missionaries looked at the handout, they would immediately start to laugh. We were pretty excited to see what everyone was laughing at. They finally made it to us and gave both Elder Thurber and I a copy. Turns out they had photoshopped pictures of Elder Thurber and I on 100 peso bills hahaha they thought they were pretty funny. They came up to us after and said, "that's what you get for calling on us to teach in MLC!" It was pretty hilarious.

It was a great MLC to end on. Eight of those in attendance are heading home this week (that's a lot). At the end of the meeting, President called on a couple to bear their testimonies. I was one of those he chose. It was my first "going home" testimony and it was pretty tough. Not gonna lie, I got a little emotional. Overall, it was a great experience. We also had some of the best food we've ever had at an MLC so that was just the icing on the cake. 

On Saturday, I attended a meeting called "the Finish Strong" meeting. I was supposed to attend in December, but I wasn't able to because I was on Palawan. It was a great meeting though. President and Sister Ostler talked about all the things that would come our way when we get home like choosing a major, career and finding your eternal companion. I learned some very valuable things from them both. Right after that meeting, we turned right around and took part in the "new trainers" meeting where we oriented and taught the missionaries that have been called to train the new missionaries coming in on Wednesday. Great stuff. 

Later that night, we had a couple great experiences. We found a former investigator in our area book from Africa and decided to give him a call. When he answered his phone, he got really excited and told us to meet him at his house in an hour (that never happens). We obliged. It turns out that he's very ready to receive the gospel. He has numerous questions and he's really trying to find "the truth." We only had time to share a quick message with him, but we are excited to see his progression over the next little while. 

After that, we flew over to our next appointment with some of my best friends here in Makati: our recent convert, Nino, his non-member friend, Bucai, and 2 other members from Makati 3rd, Edward and Diane. We had a great dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant and then returned to Nino's apartment to share a message. It was one great lesson. Boca has had some exposure to the church in the past and was ready to listen and learn. We decided to share about the Book of Mormon for numerous reasons. It was amazing. Everyone was involved and the spirit was strong. It was impossible to not feel the truthfulness of the things we were sharing. You can bet I’ll be staying in touch with them, Probably forever. 

Sunday was a very difficult day. I was asked to bear my testimony in one ward and then say the opening prayer in the next. I am so lucky to be serving with the wonderful members of the Makati 3rd and 4th wards. I have truly loved working with them. There was a lot of goodbye's, which was very tough. I am so grateful that face book and Skype exist so I can stay in touch with all of these amazing people. I had a very special moment after church. We were teaching Wilma, Lynn and shahmire (3 of our recent converts). Throughout the whole lesson, Shahmire was not really himself. He didn't talk as much as usual nor did he crack any jokes.I turned to Shahmire and commented, "you've been pretty quiet. Do you have any questions or is there anything you would like to add?" He looked up, cracked a half smile and just said, "I'm just really gonna miss you Elder Obray." It was a very special moment. 

I can never express in words how much it has meant to me to be a full time missionary. I can't say I have loved every second of it, because I haven't. It has been by far the most difficult 2 years of my entire life. However, it has also been 2 of the most rewarding years of my entire life. I often reflect on the promise found in Preach My Gospel which states, "More happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labor among his children." I have felt of that happiness. I have truly come to realize the blessings of the gospel in my own life. I have embraced the desire to share those blessing with everyone around me. I love how that blessing is conditional upon interaction with others. We can never find true happiness by ourselves. I've been lucky enough to realize that with these amazing Filipino people. I sure am glad that "in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings."

Nor can I express in words how excited I am to be reunited with you this upcoming week. No matter how hard saying goodbye can be, the thought of being reunited with my family wipes the tears and calms the soul. Thank you so much for your support over the last 24 months. I cannot even wait to see your beautiful faces again. I'm so happy that the next phase of my life will be spent with all of you close by. You're not gonna be able to get rid of me so easily next time.  

Love, 

Elder Obray

Both Are Edified And Rejoice Together

Magandang hapon sa inyo lahat,

I just love Mondays. Monday is probably the craziest day of the week for us. It's supposed to be preparation day with time to unwind, but we always have meetings and assignments so we never really get a chance to sit back and relax. There will be plenty of time to relax when I’m retired. I can wait. I'm glad to hear you had a good week. Life sure is good, isn't it? It sure is over here in the Philippines. We had a pretty epic week and have an even more epic week ahead of us. We will be teaching a lot on Tuesday and Wednesday at interviews and then again on Thursday at MLC. It will be my 15th of 16th and final MLC. What's really cool is that Elder Haynie, Elder Washburn and Elder Clarito (all the Elders I’m going home with) will be at MLC at well. By the way, thanks for the Birthday wishes! I can honestly say that being 21 feels absolutely no different than 20. It's a great day non-the-less. One of the members invited me over for dinner last night and she made mashed potatoes and bacon. It was so great. We'll also be going to our Bishop’s house later tonight for a birthday shindig. I'm pretty stoked. I love the members in this ward so much. When you've been in a ward for this long and you can finally speak the language, you get to know the members really well. It's going to difficult to leave all the great friends I’ve made. But I’m just not going to think about that yet because it's still a long time away. 

We had some pretty amazing experiences this last week. One of the greatest experiences happened the other day while on exchanges. I had the wonderful experience to go back to Manila 1st ward. It was a great experience. It's great to see the results of the work the Lord did through you with your own eyes. We had a very spiritual experience with one member who was very active when I was assigned there. I got to know her really well while teaching her non-member husband. This active member ended up becoming less active about 8 months ago. I was so excited to see her and even happier because she was also excited to see us.  Thanks to inspired questions, we were able to find out the real reason she fell less active. We had one of the most powerful lessons I’ve had in a long time. At the end of the lesson, she stated, "There is a reason you had to come back. You woke me up." It was a great moment. Those types of moments are described very well in D&C 50, "Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understanding one another, and both are edified and rejoice together." I also learned a very important lesson when we were discussing why the course of her life had changed over the past 8 months. I asked her if she had been reading her scriptures and praying. She responded that when she stopped coming to church, she also stopped reading her scriptures and praying. A couple months later, she was swearing, easily angered and drinking coffee. We often underestimate the importance of the "little things" that are required for daily conversion. A testimony is something that has to be regained and strengthened every single day. The little things truly do matter.

The other two amazing experiences both revolve around food and foreigners. Well, let's just say that food is a great missionary tool. I've mentioned in some of my previous emails that we are currently teaching a young man from Sweden.  We had the opportunity this last week to go to his house and meet his family. It was amazing. They have been living in the Philippines for about 9 years and his mom is a very important employee at an international bank. They have a beautiful house. Probably the most beautiful house I’ve been in since I’ve been to the Philippines.   We had a wonderful dinner and had a great time socializing and discussing the gospel. They have very different religious views than most or all of the people of the Philippines. We had a good discussion the restoration and hopefully will be going back in the near future. 

The next experience occurred at a dinner appointment set up by one of our members. She has a couple friends from the Netherlands she invited to this dinner appointment. We ate at a very nice seafood restaurant (it still surprises me that I love seafood so much) and had a great time. It's so cool learning about the cultures from other countries. He was trying to teach us some Dutch words and it honestly sounded like he was clearing phlegm out of his throat. Fun fact for ya. During times of war, if the Dutch suspected someone to be a German spy, they would have him say a single ward that no one can say correctly. If they couldn't say it correctly, they knew he/she was a spy. We also came to find out that they actually live right down the street from our apartment in a condo unit. You bet we'll be teaching them again soon. They will hopefully be coming to church as well this upcoming Sunday. 

I have wonderful news. Brother Cares is now the Young means president in the Manila 2nd ward. He's the man. It won't be long before he's a Bishop. I also got an email from them today with pictures from their sealing!! Oh my gosh. They are the cutest family ever. I just love it. 

Life Is Good

We had a cool experience this last week. One cool thing about being in the only international ward in the Philippines is when someone cool comes into town that's a member, they visit our ward. Yesterday, a man walked up to us an introduced himself. He told us he'd be here for the next 5 weeks because a part of the traveling cast for Beauty and the Beast! Can you believe that? It's not a little production either. This show has been advertised for months. There's a huge billboard not far from where we live. This guy's name is Adam. He's also one of the main characters. It's been over a decade since I’ve seen that movie so I don't really have any idea about the story, but he plays Gaston. We're pretty good buddies now. He actually showed up to the Tagalong ward so he just hung around with us the whole time. It was pretty cool. He's also a returned missionary. 

A little bit later, we had another visitor. His name is brother Goodson and he's a legend here in the Philippines. He was one of the first 4 missionaries that came over to the Philippines from Hong Kong. He opened this place up. He was then called back to the Philippines numerous years later as the mission president. Pretty cool. 

Oh, and I haven't mentioned that one of our members is a famous super model here in the Philippines. Hollywood has nothing on Makati 4th ward. 

This week has been pretty crazy. We had mission interviews where President Osler meets with every missionary individually for about 20 minutes or more. We are there at the same time conducting different trainings. This week, we taught about the importance of learning Tagalong (for the foreigners) and English (for the natives and non-English speakers). We taught that class about 3 times a day and also taught a leadership training in addition to the language class. It's amazing, some missionaries here are trying to learn English and Tagalong. It truly is amazing. I could barely handle learning one language, let alone two. We have a couple missionaries from the Middle East who speak very little English and they amaze me every time I see them. They always have the biggest smiles on their faces. 

We had a bowling activity earlier with all the Elders in our district. It was awesome. Bowling is honestly one of my favorite things. I'm starting to rethink the BYU application. I might just be a full time bowler. I'd love your support on this one. I really do love the Elders here though. One of them is actually from Layton Utah! His name is Elder Bell and he went to Northridge. I'd never heard of him until I met him here. We've lived about 5 minutes away from each other our entire lives and don't meet until we're on the other side of the world. Life is so silly sometimes. 

Never Delay A Prompting!

The highlight of the week was on Saturday when Elder Thurber and I went on exchanges. You'll never guess where I worked, yep, Boni 4! It was one of the best days of my life. Honestly, it was such a great experience seeing all the members again. I'm going to give you a breakdown of all the major events that happened so you can fully comprehend how amazing the day was. Upon my arrival at about 8:20 at night, Elder Francisco (the missionary I worked with) took us straight to Jenna ‘s house. When we got there, we saw MJ through the window and her face lit up. She ran further in the house and then a few minutes later she comes running out the door with Jenna. I was so happy to see them. They are honestly the cutest family ever. Unfortunately, Edmar is still abroad so I wasn't able to see him. We only stayed for a couple minutes and chatted for a second. She invited us back the next day for lunch. We started the day off at the bakeshop where Junjun works. I love that kid. He's doing great; workin hard making the best bread in the Philippines. We then met up with Junard (one of my best friends here in the Philippines) and declared repentance to the people of Bonifacio. A while later, we made our way to the house of Jamie and Ciara (do you remember them?) and had a wonderful lesson. They are doing so great. If it had been the first time I met them, I would never have guessed the Ciara has only been a member for a couple months. We talked about the temple and they expressed to us how excited they are to get sealed as a family. We exchanged information so you know we'll be skyping after the mission. After our visit with them, we made our way back to Jenna's for lunch. We met up with Jio (one of my other best friends here) along the way and he's still Jio. A little later we were able to visit Princess with Jenna and Jio and had another great lesson with them. When we walked into their house, all the great memories came flooding back into my head about the good times Elder Diamse and I had sharing the gospel with her and her family. As we were walking back to the apartment at the end of the day, Jenna told me that I need to come back to the Philippines next year when their family gets sealed in the temple. It's little statements like that that make me love missionary work even more. It doesn't get better than this (at this point in my life). As I sat thinking about all the people I’ve taught and grown to love, I was filled with an overwhelming joy. It's going to be very difficult to leave this country and these amazing people. Luckily, that's still far into the future. You build relationships on your mission that are very strong and will be cherished for an eternity. I'm starting to get a glimpse into what was meant by the scripture "how great shall be your joy with [them] in the kingdom of my Father." Thinking about those amazing people that I have been blessed to get to know and share the gospel with brings me great joy. I can only imagine what it we will be like when we meet again in the "Kingdom of [the] father." 

The rest of the week was great. The work is progressing at lightning speeds. We met with Wilma, Lynn and Samuel yesterday and it was pretty much the best lesson ever. Yesterday, Samuel told us a really good experience he had last Sunday that tells us how amazing these three members are. Samuel was trying to decide whether he should attend church or not. He only had enough money to make the trip to the chapel. He decided that he would skip out that week and attend the following week. As the morning continued, he felt more and more inclined to go to church. He finally make the choice to get dressed and go to church. He recounted that he though in his mind, "the Lord will provide." Samuel ended up having an amazing experience at church. After church ended, he didn't have a way home. We called him over to join in a lesson with Wilma, Lynn, Elder Thurber and I. Great lesson. Afterwards, Wilma and Lynn came to the rescue and were the answers to Samuel's prayers. Even though it was out of their way, they took Samuel all the way back to his house. Samuel concluded his story by saying, "I should have known better than to think twice about going to church. The Lord always provides." After he said that, I looked over at Wilma who had tears running down her cheeks. She then told us her side of the story. After our lesson, she felt prompted to ask Samuel if he wanted to ride with them. She initially planned on having the taxi take them all to her house and then that would be the end. As they were approaching their destination, Wilma heard a still, small voice whisper in her ear, "take care of Samuel." They arrived at Wilma's house and they started to get out. Then, the voice whispered again, "take care of Samuel." She told Samuel to stay in the taxi and paid the driver to take him the rest of the way to his house without knowing that he didn't have any other means of getting home. The Lord truly does provide. This amazing story reminded me of a statement by President Monson that goes something like this, "there are few things greater than learning that you were the answer to someone's prayer." Whenever I feel prompted to do something, I always remember that statement and think, "Maybe i'm supposed to answer someone’s prayer by doing this act." Never delay a prompting, you might just be an instrument in the Lord's hands in answering a prayer. 

The Lord Truly Answers Prayers

Another week has flown by here in the Philippines. It's amazing how fast weeks go by. We had a crazy week with transfers, new companion, New Years and all that other fun stuff. I have a ton to tell you today.

I got an email from Bishop this week. He informed me that I'll be speaking in sacrament on the 15 of February. That's a wake up call. I'm super stoked for my topic. I'll need to try and put the last 2 years of faith building experiences into a short talk. Wish me luck. 

I'm happy to report that transfer week went great. We sent off an amazing group of missionaries this week to move on with the next parts of their lives. I'm sure going to miss seeing them around. It was especially sad to see Elder Diamse and Elder Hawkins leave. I'm expecting wedding announcements from them in the next couple weeks. They're going to move fast. Hopefully I’ll be able to hook up with them before too long after I get home. Maybe we'll meet at the Y! 

Enough about these past companions. Time to tell you about my new companion. Like I mentioned last week, his name is Elder Thurber and he's pretty much the man. We are just killin it here in Makati. We get along really well. He's from Virginia, but studied at BYU before he came out. He's a little overwhelmed at the moment with all the new responsibilities that have recently fell onto his shoulders but he's a great missionary and will do great. 

Had a couple amazing experiences this week. On new years eve we were call by President Osler to conduct an emergency transfer (when someone is transferred to a new area on a day other than transfer day). We were called to be the Taxi service. The missionary we were transporting lives in my old area, Boni 4. Upon arriving at the apartment we made our way down the hall and stood outside the apartment of the missionaries. All of the sudden a dog runs out of the next door over and skips our way. Right after the dog comes out also comes the owner of the dog. My face lit up when I realized it was Polo, one of my best friends from Boni 4. He recently moved to a new apartment right next to the missionaries. That's not even the best part though. He also lives with Elsi! The women I taught and baptized while assigned in their ward. He invited me inside his house and as I walked in, Elsi came out of the door and upon seeing me let out a squeal of joy and jumped on her tippy toes. She ran over and nearly tackled me. It was one of the most extreme handshakes ever. I was so stinkin happy to see her. She later told me that she had said a prayer earlier that morning and asked to see me that day. It was a humbling experience. The Lord truly answers prayers. 

Speaking of miracles. we have a baptism this Saturday!!! Her name is Sheila. She is 14 years old and is so awesome. She's extremely smart and is always happy. She's one of those people you just love to be around. She'll make a wonderful member of the church. Sheila lives right next to one of the strong members of our ward who has helped her out a ton. They are always willing to bring her to church and other activities. We are currently teaching Sheila’s mom and hope she will find the desire to baptize soon as well. It'll definitely happen with time!

.......and a Happy New Year!

Elder Avila is transferring! He has two transfers left and the Lord is going to have him train for those last two. Crazy. That means I’ll be staying here for the rest of my mission and will be getting my final companion. My new companion will be Elder Thurber. I'm super stoked to be companions with him. We were both in Bonifacio at the same time and he lived the floor above me so I know him pretty well. He'll be a great companion. I sure am gonna miss Elder Avila though. He's a great missionary and is fun to be around.

So you mentioned getting an x-ray in your email. Lindsay was exactly right. All the going home missionaries are required to get a chest x-ray before they head home to check for TB. It's actually quite funny that you mention that because I will actually be getting mine later today. Cross your fingers it'll come out clean. Just playin, I’ve never heard of a missionary actually getting TB so I think I’ll be ok. Another thing we'll be doing in the next couple weeks is fingerprinting. The word on the street is that you sometimes see missionaries from other missions so there's a chance I’ll be able to hook up with Elder Hale while I’m there. 

I had a great experience at church yesterday. In the international ward, Bishop Hill asked me to offer the closing prayer during sacrament. It was the first time in my life to give a prayer in Sacrament meeting. Wow. You bet that went into my journal. About an hour later, 5 minutes before the Makati 3rd sacrament started, Bishop Espi came up to me and asked me to speak about missionary work. I was happy to. I've spoken more in this area than I have in any other. I sure do love these wards though. It is a pleasure to be a part of this work and work with these wonderful members. 

This week's a pretty crazy one. In about 30 minutes we will be participating in going home activities with all of the missionaries that head home tomorrow. It's a sad day because all of my best buds head home. Elder Hawkins and Elder Diamse are included in those going home. It's going to be very sad when they head out. I'm spent a lot of time with those two and we have become great friends. They're both planning on going to BYU though so I’m sure I’ll see them again in no time. 

Well that's about all I’ve got time for today! We're just about to head out. Have a wonderful New Years! We'll be dodging all the drunken people and firecrackers! I sure love ya!

God is Mindful of Every People

What a wonderful week. Isn't the Christmas season the greatest time of the year? I just love Christmas so much. It's an amazing time to be a missionary because you can share the wonderful story of Christ's birth with every living creature you see. It truly doesn't get much better than that. Well I have so much to tell you today so I’m gonna dive right into this email. 

First things first. Christmas came early for me this year. I received the most joyous news that I have ever received this last week. In church yesterday I received a text from the zone leaders in Pasay north. They informed me that the Caras family will be sealed in the temple on January 9th at 7 am. Just writing that brings tears to my eyes. This is truly what it's all about. I have been looking forward to this day for the past year and it's finally happening. I could not be more happy for that wonderful family. Families truly are eternal. 

I learned a valuable lesson this week. That lesson was that you don't really know how important something is until you no longer have it. Unfortunately, I had to learn it the hard way when someone stole both of the side mirrors off our car in the middle of the night. Yep, some random person stole the side mirrors off our van. Isn't that so sad? I don't understand some people. I was thus forced to drive around the streets of Manila without side mirrors. That was quite the experience. A very scary experience. Luckily as a missionary you always have a companion. He was therefore my side mirrors while driving. Unified in all things. 

Saturday was amazing. It was the baptisms of Samuel, Wilma and Lynn. Unfortunately, Noah wasn't baptized this last week, but he will definitely be getting baptized in the next couple months. It was such a great day. Out of all the baptismal services I have attended, this was one of the best. It was the very first baptismal service I’ve attended on my mission where everything was in English! It was kinda trippin me out. Lynn requested that I be the one to baptize her and I was more than happy to oblige. What was truly amazing though was Mike was able to baptize Wilma. They have the best story ever. It's quite amazing how far they have come and the steps they are making. Wilma informed me this last week that she and Mike will probably getting married (civilly) in June of 2015...in UTAH!! I LIVE IN UTAH. You bet I’ll be there. She told me that I better be there because she won't know anyone else. Wouldn't miss that for the world. Anyway, the baptismal service was so spiritual. The entire ward came to support Samuel, Wilma and Lynn. It was a cool sight. One of my favorite lines of the day was stated by Samuel. Right after he was baptized he told me, "Man, I didn't want to come out of the water! It just felt so good!" Samuel, Wilma and Lynn all had the opportunity to bear their testimonies after and if I hadn't seen the baptismal service, I would have thought they'd been members for years. I was quite impressed. One of the statements I love hearing the most is, "I've read the book of Mormon and I know that it is true." There are few things that compare to that. 

So I’m going to go off on a little tangent here about Wilma. Wilma grew up in a very religious household. Here entire family was very dedicated to their religious beliefs. She explained in her testimony that she reached a point in her life where she realized that something was missing. She searched a lot looking for the church. One day she came across LDS.org and felt something different. She began to research more and was struck by the story of Joseph Smith. She recalled that she felt exactly what Joseph Smith felt; confusion. Therefore, she did exactly what Joseph Smith did; she prayed. We all know what happens when true seekers of truth humble themselves before God and seek divine guidance through prayer. The rest is history. Now she's a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Now for Samuel. He told us about an experience he had while still living in Ghana where he met an American missionary of another faith. He volunteered to translate for this missionary while he was serving in their country. He spent a lot of time with him and got to know him very well. One day, this missionary told Samuel, "One day you are going to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." That statement made an impression on him considering it came from a missionary from another faith. He didn't think much about it though until he was walking the streets of Singapore and he saw two sister missionaries with nametags walking near a train station. He approached them, stuck out his hand and asked, "Hi, how can I be saved." The sisters calmly replied with a smile, "That's a great question. Why don't you come to our church on Sunday and we'll tell you." That Sunday, he did exactly that. Looking back now he stated, "I've never felt more welcome in my entire life. I knew then that I wanted to be a member of the church." That week he made his way to the Philippines, sought out the church and that's when we found him. He commented, "I now know that God has a plan for all of us and will help all of us return to him." 

Finally, Lynn. Lynn has gone through some very tough experiences in her lives. There were numerous occasions where she felt lost and unsure of the path that she should take in her life. She told us about one particular experience where these thoughts were the most intense with the stresses of finding a job on top of that. She fell down on her knees one day and asked the Lord to help her find out what she was supposed to do. A few days later, she found her answer. Those answers are named Mike and Wilma (yep, the same Mike and Wilma). She was hired by Wilma to help her around the house at the same time Wilma was starting to investigate the church. One day as Lynn was cleaning the house she spotted a book sitting on the table. She took a second and began to examine the book. She opened to the first few pages and began to look at the pages on the front. As she did so, an indescribable feeling embraced her. One thing led to the next and before we knew it, Elder Limocon and I were teaching her about the Restoration. Lynn made big steps very quickly. She was willing to do anything. "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth." 

The Calm Before the Storm

We are currently sitting in a computer shop during "The Calm Before the Storm." Typhoon Ruby (the Filipino name for the storm) has slowed down a bit and won't be arriving here until a little bit later this afternoon. Unfortunately, when storms slow down, it's not a good thing. It allows for a lot more rainfall and thus, a lot more flooding! Our area flooded pretty bad the last time a typhoon hit so we're expecting to be stuck in our apartment for quite a while. Don't worry, I’ll take pictures and send them to you next week. I'm glad to hear that everything is going well at home! I'm so glad to hear the Christmas season is finally upon you over there on the other side of the world. Christmas hit the Philippines about 3 months ago, but has drastically increased over the past couple weeks. I can't explain just how much I love the Christmas season. Hearing Christmas music, seeing Christmas lights and trees and, most of all, teaching about the birth of our savior are a few of my favorite things. Not gonna lie though, it doesn't really feel like Christmas without snow. 

Well this week has been very busy and very epic. We have been running around mad trying to get everything ready for this typhoon to hit. Not only that, but we also had MLC this last Thursday. MLC is always a big project. I'm letting Elder Avila take charge in most aspects of the work so he can get used to leading the area and getting all the fun office work done.  He hasn't really spent a lot of time with computers so it's been quite exciting teaching him how to use word, excel, powerpoint and also, how to type. Elder Avila and I had the great opportunity to teach again in MLC this past week. We had about 60 minutes to talk about Talking With Everyone. I sure do enjoy teaching. 

I have to tell you about the greatest experience ever that happened this week. It all started on Saturday afternoon when we visited Samuel. He expressed to us that he found a job!! After weeks of searching and hardship, he's found a job! I was so excited for him! He definitely deserves it. He's so humble and willing to do the will of the Lord. However, finding a job was only half the battle. He know has to somehow find a way to get a workers visa which is not cheap. Then, on Saturday night we received a text from our bishop in the morning that stated the following, "We just received a text from Noah's explaining that his mom has cleared him to be baptized on the 13th!" Gotta love those kinds of texts. Like I mentioned last week, his mom has been insisting that he wait for a while. This is evidence that prayer and fasting can truly soften hearts. Wait though, it gets better. The following day (Sunday) after church Wilma came up to us and said, "Elders, I’m going to get baptized this Saturday (Dec 13th)!" She then expressed that her boyfriend has been working with the bishop and is going to be the one to baptize her. That nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was a very special moment. That is one of the experience I’ll look back on in the future and my heart will just melt when I do. Right after that, Samuel ran up to us and excitedly exclaimed, "ELDERS! One of the members has agreed to sponsor me and help me buy the licenses I need in order to work! I'm going to be able to get the job!!" By this point, I was so happy and excited and everything. But wait, there's more. Our bishop then pulled Wilma, Lynx (Wilma’s friend we've also been teaching), Samuel and us into his office. He then gave each of them an opportunity to share their testimonies and how they were feeling. It was one of the most spiritual experiences ever. After that, through tears of joy, Lyn and Samuel both agreed to be baptized this Saturday. Words can't describe the feelings I had nor the feelings I have now. I love this work so much. Luckily, it was stake conference that day so all the missionaries were at the church including the one that would be conducting the interviews for these amazing people. We pulled him aside, explained the situation and before we knew it, Wilma, Lyn and Samuel passed their interviews. My mind captured the picture-like moment as those three future members walked down the hall with their white baptismal clothing in hand, smiling from ear to ear, a moment that I will never forget. This next week will be a fun one. We have a lot to prepare and a lot left to teach! Noah's interview will be here in one of the upcoming days. The church is so true. 

The Lord is truly blessing me. These past few months have been a few of the most difficult and rewarding times of my entire life. I am so happy to be serving in this wonderful country. I'm so grateful for the people I’ve met. Some people look at a 2-year mission as a sacrifice, but the Lord blesses us far more than we sacrifice. I would never say that I have sacrificed these two years. I have gained more out of this time than I have at any other time of my life. A member of our area presidency stated, "there is no such thing as sacrifice in the gospel sense. The Lord blesses us so richly." It's true. 

A Feast Without Rice!

I'm glad to report that Thanksgiving was great on this end. The Keys invited us over for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and it was amazing! It's been far too long since I’ve had thanksgiving. I've only missed it once, but once is far too many. They had numerous families from the ward over as well. It was a fun time. It was Elder Avila's first thanksgiving ever. He finally knows what it's like for all the Americans because the only language spoken was English and it was a houseful of Americans. I felt right at home. It was also amazing to have a feast that didn't include rice. My stomach was actually full, not just bloated. It was an amazing day. I sure love the Keys family as well. They are a great family. 

I'll take some time here to give you a quick update on some of the great people we are teaching that I’ve told you about over the past little while. 

Noah is the man. He texted me this last week just to tell me how excited he is for his baptisms. Every time I see him at church he lights up. He loves the gospel so much. I'm super excited for him. 

My boy Samuel is doing pretty well. He's going through a pretty hard time right now looking for work. He was hoping to pick up a job pretty quickly right when he got here, but unfortunately, it didn't quite work out like that. He's pushin along though. One thing I love about him though is he always puts church first. He lives a good hour away from the chapel, but he always makes sure that he has enough money and time to be there on time. I know the lord will bless him because of his efforts. We're hoping he can be baptized on the 13th. 

Wilma is doing great.  She has made some huge steps this last week.  Her baptism is also set for the 13th of December.  

Sheila is an investigator I haven't talked too much about. She's a 13-year-old girl that lives next to a member family. One day, this member family brought her to church, she loved it and now wants to be baptized. We've been teaching her for the past few weeks and she's just amazing. She's extremely smart. Our focus right now is teaching her mom and brothers. We finally taught them for the first time this last week and it was great. It was a quick lesson, but the spirit was definitely testifying to everyone there. There's no way its presence could not be felt. She'll be baptized on the 13th as well. 

Genesis is another one our great investigators. Her mom is a recent convert that was baptized in another ward, but when moved here, fell less active. We luckily found her, and brought her and her 2 daughters back to church. One of those daughters is already a member, but the other is not. Don't you just love completing families?

Patrick is still doing great. He's pretty much my best friend. He's so ready for baptism, but is just struggling with some family situations right now. His mom (who is so against the church) will be coming into town this month so he's going to use that opportunity to invite her to church and I have no doubt that everything will work out. It's funny because he always mentions how excited he is to get married in the temple. His girlfriend is a member and it makes me chuckle how excited he is. He's got his priorities in the right place. 

Those are our focuses right now. I sure am blessed to be serving in the ward that I am right now. I would love to finish my mission here. Who knows what will happen. I'm definitely going to enjoy it while I’m here though. I'm really grown to love the members and all of the people here. Life is good. 

One last story. Yesterday morning we received a text from our bishop. It said, "Hey Elders, can you both speak in sacrament later today?" So yep, we spoke during sacrament yesterday and it went quite well. Our topic was service and how to serve. I focused on the verse D&C 4:2 specifically the part that states "serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength." It was interesting because I had a simple plan before sacrament started, but as I sat on the stand pondering, I was prompted to take a different course with it. I spent the next 5 minutes reconfiguring my talk, then I gave it. I shared about different experiences in my life that have taught me how to serve with those 4 qualities. One of the experiences I shared about was being the home teacher of Sister Call. I shared about the change we saw in her as the years went by, a perfect example of what happens through dedicated service. We might not always see the impact we'll have or the importance of a particular act of service from the beginning. We sometimes don't realize the impact we had after the service is over. However, the impact is real. That act of service may be cherished by the receiver over a lifetime. Numerous members came up to me after and paid me some very nice compliments that really meant a lot to me. It was a great experience. Keep on serving. It may change someone’s life. 

Well that's about it for today. I sure do love you all. I remember at the beginning of my mission, mom mentioned that I would only be gone for 23 more fast Sundays. Our ward had fast Sunday this last week due to conference next week so that leaves 2 fast Sundays left. Where has the time gone? Luckily, there is plenty of work to be done, numerous lives to be saved and a whole lot of difference that needs to be made in that time. 

The Work of Salvation

I imagine that it's that time of year over there where the fireplace is on and the family is gathered around in the living room, fighting over the white Christmas blanket hiding from the winter chill. However, just in case you're wondering, it's 86 degrees right now in this Island Paradise. 

Well this week has been another great week. It's been ridiculously busy with transfers. We were running non-stop trying to get everything ready for the big day.  Just to give you an idea at what we have to deal with when it comes to transfers, I’ll tell you a quick experience we had the other night. It was Tuesday night and we had to drive the going home missionaries to their hotel room. We just concluded the testimony meeting and it was about 9:15 PM. We loaded everybody in the car and raced off through the dark streets of Manila. Unfortunately, the city never sleeps so there was still stop and go traffic at that hour. We ended up making it to the hotel around 10:30 or so, dropped everyone off and then embarked on a great journey to return two sisters to each of their areas which are on opposite sides of the mission. We finally arrived home at around 1 am and jumped into bed to get as much sleep as we could. It felt like minutes later our alarm was going off at 5 am informing us that it was the day of transfers and time to get ready to head to the MTC to pick up all of the new missionaries. We tackled the busiest day of the transfer on 4 hours of sleep. The enabling power of the atonement is real. 

So one might think that after a week of miracles like last week, there's no way that this week could ever compare. I, myself, thought that at the beginning of the week. However, the Lord proved me wrong. Thursday, the day after transfers, our bishop from the international ward sent us a text saying, "Noah, a young men in our ward boundaries, has requested to be baptized. He has been going to seminary and has numerous friends from the ward. The Bremner family has agreed to open their house to allow you to teach Noah there. The lord is answering our prayers. Act quickly." Oh my gosh. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Again, I had to restrain myself from shouting for joy and "dougie"ing on the nearest table. I've learned some very valuable lessons from the experiences I’ve had in the past couple weeks about how to hasten the work of salvation in a ward. I truly believe that the success is coming to our ward because our ward council is directing missionary work and they are utilizing the full time missionaries, not the other way around. I'd like to share an experience we had the other day in a ward council meeting and then point out some important principles about the work of salvation found in the text I received from our bishop. It all started at a ward council meeting led by our bishop about missionary work in our ward. He shared a spiritual thought and then set a goal for the number of baptisms by the end of the year. He then encouraged everyone in the ward council to continually pray for this goal and seek opportunities to reach it. The standard had been set. Action then soon followed. The combined prayers from the members and us were immediately answered. Things just started to fall into place with investigators that we're currently teaching. Concerns just started to melt away. Baptism, which once seemed like a long term goal, became feasible in December. Now for the text from our bishop. The first thing to point out is the invitation from a member to join seminary. The next point is the fellowshipping efforts made by the youth enrolled in seminary and the parents of those students. Third, a member volunteered their home as a place of teaching. (Not only that, but they lived their lives and directed their home in a way to make their it a place where the spirit could reside amplifying the teaching experience). Fourth, an invitation to act quickly and accountability. We were able to teach Noah on Saturday and it was one of the most uplifting experiences of my mission. The Bremner family (which includes their son, Noah's classmate in seminary) was present and were ready to share/teach anything they were asked to. As full time missionaries, we led the discussion, but as often as we could, gave this wonderful family the opportunity to share. Right after our lesson, Noah and Connet (the son) left to a ward activity. He came to church on Sunday, had an amazing experience and is excited to be baptized on the 13th of December. The Lord pours out blessings when members and missionaries come together. There is no greater work than this. 

I sure do love this great work. I could not be serving in a better place. The Philippines Manila Mission is exactly where I’m supposed to be. The Lord truly does know his sheep. 

This Could Be One Of The Best Weeks Of My Entire Mission!

Well this week has been one of the best weeks of my entire mission. When I look back over the last 21 months, there are certain events that stand out above the rest. This week contains one of those events. Don't worry though, I’ll wait till the end to address that! However, there were numerous other things that happened this week that were just tender mercies from the lord. I hope that I can do this email justice. 

All right, let's begin. 

Early this last week, we received a text from some missionaries on the other side of the mission that would make any missionary rejoice. They informed us that a guy from Ghana randomly showed up at their ward last Sunday who was taught by missionaries in Singapore and was "about to get baptized." Answer to our prayers. The next day we cruised cross-country. Upon arriving at the address given to us by the missionaries, we heard a voice yell "Elders!" We turn around to find two men from Ghana with ice cream cones in hand and huge smiles on their faces. That was the first time we saw Samuel and Eric. We started to chat and made our way to a nearby chapel to talk about the gospel. As we began to talk, it was evident that these two men were prepared by the Lord from an early age for this very moment. I have never met anyone so ready to receive the gospel. They had met the missionaries a week before flying to the Philippines. The missionaries taught them three times and they had already started reading the book of Mormon. Samuel began to share how he had already gained knowledge that the book of Mormon is true. A quick story about our 2nd meeting with Samuel will really show how prepared he really is. We decided to share with Samuel about the Word of Wisdom. Upon concluding the lesson we committed him to live the word of wisdom. He responded, "of course. When I get home, I'll throw out all the coffee we bought yesterday." Miracle. 

The next amazing event happened last Thursday. We had a super busy morning with numerous meetings and choir practice. Right after our final meeting concluded, I received a call. The Canadian man on the line excitedly greeted me and explained that he just arrived in the Philippines. He's a member of the church, but has been inactive for about a decade. He explained that he drove by one of the chapels earlier that day and decided that he wants to come back to church. Later that night, Elder Avila and I visited him and had a great discussion. We learned about his life and quickly discovered his new found drive to return to church. He came to church yesterday, sat down next to me and exclaimed,” I am so happy that I decided to come back to church." 

All right, you're probably thinking, "there couldn't possibly be anything else that happened last week as good as those last two experiences." Just like my boy Brad Paisley says, when you think it can't possibly get any better, it does. Last week, I receive a text (never in my mission have I received such amazing texts and calls) from the zone leaders in Bonifacio. They excitedly told me that Jenna, the wife of Edmar, my favorite family ever, is getting baptized. That news alone made me the happiest man alive. Luckily, there was more. Then continued to say, "Jenna has requested that you come back to the ward so you can be the one to baptize her." At this point I was on top of the world. I was so stinkin' excited. I immediately texted president Ostler and asked permission. He responded, "It would be wonderful if you could be the one to baptize her. Last Saturday, we made our way to Bonifacio. As we approached the chapel, memories came flooding back to my mind. When we walked in the chapel, I was greeted with smiles and pictures by some of the ward members. It was a joyful reunion. Jenna had not yet arrived so I went to change into my baptismal clothing and then waited for her arrival. A little while later, a crowd walked into the building. At the back of the crowd I see Jenna stand on her tippy toes with a huge smile on her face frantically waiving hi. In her other hand was the hand of MJ, her young daughter. It was one of the most tender moments of my entire mission. I cannot express how happy I was at that moment. Unfortunately, Edmar is working abroad right now so he wasn't able to make it.  I then began to realize that the crowd that she was with was her entire family, none of which were members.  It was amazing.

The baptism was one of the most memorable baptisms I have ever attended. The first speaker of the baptism was Princess, our last baptism before I transferred. She spoke with confidence and clarity about the importance of baptism. The actual ordinance was picture perfect. The look on Jenna's face as she came out of the water is unforgettable. I will never forget that beautiful day. That's a memory I will cherish throughout my life. How great is full time missionary service. 

I guess you can say that it was a pretty good week. It's one of those weeks that make every hardship and every trial worth it. I love being a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. I love you all so much. Have a wonderful week. 

I Will Sure Miss Sister Call!

This is a pretty tough email to start out. As I read your emails, I couldn't hold the tears. As I write this email, memories flood my mind of tender moments I’ve shared with Sister Call. I can see myself as a young man sitting on her couch, shaking as I struggled to present my first home teaching message with her. I remember the realization that even though I was the one that shared the lesson that day, Sister Call was the one that taught me. I always left uplifted spiritually and emotionally. It feels like just yesterday, Dad and I, as a newly ordained Elder, visited Sister Call at her home and gave her a blessing, the first blessing I ever participated in. I'll cherish the words she spoke through streaming tears, "thank you so much." My soul is filled with joy as I relive the moment I peered out over the congregation while giving my farewell talk and spotted Sister Call sitting on the left side of the gym. Little did she know that she was the one I was most excited to see. I'll never forget the impact she has made on my life, the example she has set for me and her kind words of encouragement. I'll never be able to repay her for the things she has done in helping me become who I am today.  Sister Call will always have a special place in my heart. I'll always be her missionary. 

Went on two exchanges this week to some interesting parts of the Philippines. The first exchange was back to the Compton of Manila, Tondo. I didn't think it was possible to construct an entire neighborhood out of garbage and other random objects, but I was proven wrong. This place is known in the Philippines as being the most dangerous part of Metro Manila. It was super exciting. We began changing that town one person at a time. It was a fun exchange and I saw sights and smelled smells that I never thought existed. By the time is was time to head back to Makati, I didn't want to leave! 

We had another Choir practice this week. Dang, we are started to get good. A choir of 150 missionaries speaks in a way that nothing else can. It's pretty powerful. That being said, we have a lot of work to do! I'm so excited though. It's going to be a blast.