Yesterday I was at zone leaders council. We have it in week one and week five of every transfer. It was great. The president introduced the new transfer focus. It had been "Sanctify Yourselves" but now it's "Avoid All Appearance of Evil".
We had sweet food that Sister O prepared for us and we also got to go to the beach and played cricket and rugby. I am not a huge fan of playing rugby with two really competitive and big Samoans but it was a good change of pace. The beach was beautiful. Weird that usually I am on the east coast of the Philippines and on Monday I was on the west. It's right in Laoag.
Sister O asked if we had been drinking enough water. We are told to drink around 3 or 4 litres a day which sucks when even your filtered water still doesn't taste very good.
Last Monday we cleaned the apartment and did our usual p-day chores. Tuesday we had an exchange with the Lasam elders. I was with Elder. L (who I exchanged with in Piddig while I was in Vintar) and we stayed in my area, Camalaniugan 1. We got punted all day though.
On Wednesday we waxed the floor after getting our district reports from Aparri. The floor looked great and sister O was very impressed with it.
We were walking back that night from an appointment and some drunk guys threw a beer bottle at us from across the street. It landed at my feet and shattered. We stopped and then they started shouting some pretty profane english words at us. One guy even shouted "I'm gonna kill you Joe!". And then this big guy in a Rolling Stones shirt started running over to us. Turns out he was running over to see if we were okay. Then he asked us to wait and went over to the drunk guys and then he came back and said, "Oh that's just Chubbs. He's kind of drunk". Well, I guess if it's just Chubbs it's okay...
We learned that our cool fellowshipper might not serve a mission anymore. It was his biggest dream and he would sometimes even take our name tags to wear to look like a missionary. He says he might join the army instead. He said it's a hard decision. I thought about that and realized it's not at all.
Anyone who understands the doctrine of Christ and His Church knows the answer to, "Should I serve a mission or should I -blank-?"
It's just overcoming pride and acting on that knowledge. He'll have to figure that out for himself - just like I did. We fasted for him.
We had interviews with the president on Friday during district meeting. My interview with the president was awesome! It always is. It was nearly an hour long. Those interviews do amazing things for the missionaries here. He's a great man.
On Friday we had a correlation meeting with the District Presidency and we needed to be there. It was a little frightening as it was my first time and I am fairly new. It was a huge growing experience for me. I also had to make the reports for the meeting and then present them and it was way tough, but I trusted that I would be helped and the Lord absolutely helped me. That's what a mission does- stretches you, gives you new experiences and shows you how the Lord can help.
There was also a new guy at church who had been hanging around outside and the members saw him and invited him in. He went to all three hours.
The ride to Laoag was way too long as usual. The worst was that they played four Stephen Segal movies in a row! It was terrible. I even hated those back home.
I am still absolutely loving my mission. No doubts there. I am eternally grateful I came. Thanks for your help.
I love you all soooo much. Take care of yourselves and each other.
-Elder Dustan
Monday, January 30, 2012
Search & Rescue Unbaptized Men! - Week 37. Serving in Camalaniugan
Thanks for all your emails - I loved them! Right now there is a high school kid behind me that is reading everything I type but like phonix reading and it's wayyyyyy funny!!!. Every Sunday night every area texts their key indicators to the DL and then the DL's send them all to us. Along with the Key Indicators are goals to improve them and an action plan. Most of them are natives and the reports are in English. This makes it difficult for those not strong in English and makes me wonder how we must sound in Tagalog. We got the best one ever last night. It said "Goal: 8 new investigators. Action: We request form. In our clerk. And search and rescue unbaptized men." Elder T & I got a kick out of it.
We taught one of our new investigators named R this week. He's really nice. We teach him in his friend, B's house who was, until recently, not active in the Church. He has recently been to the temple. He has overcome some difficult problems and now everyone knows and respects him so much.
We helped him with his lesson for Sunday. He speaks Ibanag, a language that lots of people in our area speak. It almost sounds like birds chirping. There is Ilocano too but mostly Ibanag. We can only say a couple things in Ibanag though. Sometimes they speak both and then mix in a little Tagalog as well so we don't get half of what they say.
Anyway, R shows up just after we finish helping B with his lesson and we start teaching him. When those two are together though, they start telling stories. One story was about a guy who got bitten by an ahas (snake) in the bukid (rice field) and died. Then they killed the snake and ate it.
Our toilet has no seat and is really small with no flushing capabilities except pouring water down it. The best part is that the light in the CR (for "Comfort Room") doesn't work so we have to do our business in the dark.
We did training on Wednesday for both districts. The AP's and the president were at the second one. It was a little nerve wracking as it was only my second ZL training but I think it went well. Turns out that some missionaries in one area were having some difficulties and the president heard about it and decided to cancel his appointments and take the 6-7 hour drive here and meet with them. That's the kind of guy he is.
We meet with a less active member way far from here but still in our area. He is so cool - nicest guy ever. His story is pretty amazing too - he prayed to God for answers to questions that had been troubling him. He said he was thinking about the different churches he knew about and remembered seeing the elders a few days earlier. He told God that if the elders knocked on his door that day, he would know it was a sign and be baptized. Minutes after his prayer, the elders knocked on his door so he told them he wanted to be baptized. The elder who baptized him told my companion that they were really far form his house but he felt a really strong prompting that they should go to that barangy that day.
One day last week, after our visit with him, he insisted on taking us back to town. As he started to drive us back he saw a man walking past his house - it was another less active member. So we stopped and said hi and then he said, "Hey, come to church tomorrow!" So he came and participated too!
We also had a leadership broadcast from Elder A of the Seventy about the new focus and the different roles within it.
Anyways, it has been an exhausting week but we are both so happy.
We've been putting our own words to the song "Chop Suey" by System of a Down lately and it's hilarious - just anything we want to say to each other. It all started when we heard a Tagalog version of that song and it was great!
I am just realizing that the Church and the gospel really make life so much easier. We see that too, with the members here that are fully converted. Even though they work in the bukid everyday and may never have a vacation from it and neither will their sons and their sons' sons, they are still able to have incredible joy in their lives.
Some people we teach can't summon up the faith to do what we ask as they fail to see that the gospel isn't another burden for them but helps lighten all other burdens in life.
I am so happy in the Lord's work and will forever be happy as long as I choose his "yoke". I just love how the gospel helps me infinitely. It helps the richest man and the lowliest bukid worker. I'm grateful to you for helping me realize the importance of the gospel. I love you each so much.
-Elder Dustan
We taught one of our new investigators named R this week. He's really nice. We teach him in his friend, B's house who was, until recently, not active in the Church. He has recently been to the temple. He has overcome some difficult problems and now everyone knows and respects him so much.
We helped him with his lesson for Sunday. He speaks Ibanag, a language that lots of people in our area speak. It almost sounds like birds chirping. There is Ilocano too but mostly Ibanag. We can only say a couple things in Ibanag though. Sometimes they speak both and then mix in a little Tagalog as well so we don't get half of what they say.
Anyway, R shows up just after we finish helping B with his lesson and we start teaching him. When those two are together though, they start telling stories. One story was about a guy who got bitten by an ahas (snake) in the bukid (rice field) and died. Then they killed the snake and ate it.
Our toilet has no seat and is really small with no flushing capabilities except pouring water down it. The best part is that the light in the CR (for "Comfort Room") doesn't work so we have to do our business in the dark.
We did training on Wednesday for both districts. The AP's and the president were at the second one. It was a little nerve wracking as it was only my second ZL training but I think it went well. Turns out that some missionaries in one area were having some difficulties and the president heard about it and decided to cancel his appointments and take the 6-7 hour drive here and meet with them. That's the kind of guy he is.
We meet with a less active member way far from here but still in our area. He is so cool - nicest guy ever. His story is pretty amazing too - he prayed to God for answers to questions that had been troubling him. He said he was thinking about the different churches he knew about and remembered seeing the elders a few days earlier. He told God that if the elders knocked on his door that day, he would know it was a sign and be baptized. Minutes after his prayer, the elders knocked on his door so he told them he wanted to be baptized. The elder who baptized him told my companion that they were really far form his house but he felt a really strong prompting that they should go to that barangy that day.
One day last week, after our visit with him, he insisted on taking us back to town. As he started to drive us back he saw a man walking past his house - it was another less active member. So we stopped and said hi and then he said, "Hey, come to church tomorrow!" So he came and participated too!
We also had a leadership broadcast from Elder A of the Seventy about the new focus and the different roles within it.
Anyways, it has been an exhausting week but we are both so happy.
We've been putting our own words to the song "Chop Suey" by System of a Down lately and it's hilarious - just anything we want to say to each other. It all started when we heard a Tagalog version of that song and it was great!
I am just realizing that the Church and the gospel really make life so much easier. We see that too, with the members here that are fully converted. Even though they work in the bukid everyday and may never have a vacation from it and neither will their sons and their sons' sons, they are still able to have incredible joy in their lives.
Some people we teach can't summon up the faith to do what we ask as they fail to see that the gospel isn't another burden for them but helps lighten all other burdens in life.
I am so happy in the Lord's work and will forever be happy as long as I choose his "yoke". I just love how the gospel helps me infinitely. It helps the richest man and the lowliest bukid worker. I'm grateful to you for helping me realize the importance of the gospel. I love you each so much.
-Elder Dustan
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The Rubber Shoe Club is Calling - Week 36. Serving in Camalaniugan
Good PM family! (a few filipinos here use "good PM" as an evening greeting... way funny).
I had a bit more of an eventful week this week. I got the package the M's sent me! It was sooooo great. I had the hot chocolate one night when I had had a bit of a rough day and it really cheered me up. They also gave me little shoe polish wipes that are great.
I got new shoes here as it's always so maputik (muddy) and rainy that I needed to get the dreaded "rubber shoe". All the native elders wear them. They look like a dress shoe but they are all rubber and kind of ugly. I used to make fun of my trainer for using them but now I have joined the club. They are cheap too - 200 pesos. Anyways, please thank the M's for me and tell them I love them lots too.
We also bought Martinelli sparkling grape juice my last day in Santa Maria and I thought of them. That was just before the Big Brouhaha... it was a real melee! (see week 34).
I exchanged with the DL in Magapit, Elder M, and he is wayyyy cool. He's fluent in English but we spoke in Tagalog the whole time which was a great confidence booster for me. I loved the area and the apartment was a nice wooden house that was so homey. I could see it back home, complete with a wood stove. It has running water too but you have to get up at 4am and turn it on and then turn the pump off an hour later or it floods the house.
The next day (Wednesday), we exchanged with the AP's and I was with another elder M. The other AP, Elder P, went home after his call was extended an extra transfer (he was soooo cool), and now it's Elder M from Tonga, who I remember vividly from the MTC. I was so impressed with him in the MTC. He wasn't cocky but he was still very confident in his abilities. He was only a batch ahead of me which seems so strange to me. We had a good exchange too. I didn't understand much of what he said in English so we nagtagalog'd most of the time.
The AP's mentioned to us that Sister O would be inspecting our apartment this week and that we should clean it up one day. We had already been frustrated by how messy it was and were already planning to clean a lot. So we didn't work on Thursday - just cleaned every inch of the apartment, which hadn't been really cleaned in two years. It was a long day and I touched some pretty gross things. We moved a big cabinet that was in the way and were going to put it in a different spot. It was reallly big and we had to lift it over a railing. We got it over but it was a huge struggle and just as we got it in place, the whole top part of the cabinet broke off and smashed on the ground. We then tried to put it together again and it looked so pitifully crooked. But when Sister O came and inspected, she was so impressed and said it was one of the cleanest apartments she's seen.
With them was an Elder M, an area authority who was speaking at our district conference. He was really impressed too and he and President O found my machete sitting on my desk and they were playing with it, making jokes about how it was used to motivate the elders. Anyways, I feel "sanctified" - that's what our transfer focus is. It's from Joshua 3:5.
"And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
The president says if your apartment isn't clean you can't be ready to teach either. It's all a reflection of your life. I remember Mum saying that about my room one time - how if it was messy, it reflected the way I was living. Now I realize that's so true.
Now, on to the E family. I met them once a couple of weeks ago. They're really receptive - a whole family and they all make sure they drop whatever they are doing to listen when we come over.
We also got punted quite a bit this week. I got pretty sick with a really bad cold (which is getting better now) and then one day my payong (umbrella) broke in the wind and I got angry and tossed it in the ditch, littering and later felt bad.
Once my payong broke I was just done, just really fully annoyed and once we got back to the apartment, I went into the bedroom and prayed until I felt better. The best part is, I did feel better. I always do. Actually, I think it's just a natural cause and effect occurrence for everyone. If you pray sincerely to Heavenly Father, you will always feel better afterwards.
Pretty cool that since I was a child I have had the knowledge of being able to cure myself of anything that troubles me. I have always known how to pray. It really is a panacea (oooooo, nice word use!).
I am realizing now that when we teach people to pray that we give them the same ability to solve problems and lift their spirit. Sweet eh?
We stopped by at another investigator's and they had some fish in a bucket. Pretty big too - like my walleye. They had three of them. They then told us they caught them in the bukid (rice field)! Apparently the river floods once in a while and then the fish get into the fields and can't get out. They live in there for a long time (at least three weeks as I haven't seen the river flood since I've been here). So while they work in the fields, they also catch fish. I can't wait to learn how they do it though.
I forgot to tell you that at ZL conference I got some presents from the members from Santa Maria! I couldn't believe it as I didn't think I had made much of an impact there. Turns out, some thought I did and they couldn't believe that I was transferred so soon. That was really touching.
I also learned I don't really sweat that much (I used to think I did). Two filipinos have told me that, "You
don't sweat like the other white guys."
".......thank you?" I said.
I paid to get some pants made here in Aparri. 400 pisos! It's reallly hard to think in dollars now. Something will be 50 pesos and I'll say, "No, that's too mahal." (expensive) but really it's just over a dollar!
My area in Camalaniugan is good. People here are really nice but they rarely see white people here so we get hey joe'd a lot more.
Many people here are really poor too. I actually find myself trying hard to dress down a bit as I will be telling people that God will provide for them and if I am wearing an expensive tie while doing it, I feel like a tool.
Anyways... I think that's mostly it for now. As I was writing this though, Elder D yelled to me that his mom was reading the blog and was asking if he knew the one who got in a fight in Narvacan.
It's so good to hear from you guys every week. I love you all so much.
But will somebody let me in on what's up in the hockey world? I'm dyin' here!
All the others just chat about basketball and they all get updates. Just saying, elder or not, I am still very much a hockey fan.
Enjoy your week! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!
-Elder Dustan
I had a bit more of an eventful week this week. I got the package the M's sent me! It was sooooo great. I had the hot chocolate one night when I had had a bit of a rough day and it really cheered me up. They also gave me little shoe polish wipes that are great.
I got new shoes here as it's always so maputik (muddy) and rainy that I needed to get the dreaded "rubber shoe". All the native elders wear them. They look like a dress shoe but they are all rubber and kind of ugly. I used to make fun of my trainer for using them but now I have joined the club. They are cheap too - 200 pesos. Anyways, please thank the M's for me and tell them I love them lots too.
We also bought Martinelli sparkling grape juice my last day in Santa Maria and I thought of them. That was just before the Big Brouhaha... it was a real melee! (see week 34).
I exchanged with the DL in Magapit, Elder M, and he is wayyyy cool. He's fluent in English but we spoke in Tagalog the whole time which was a great confidence booster for me. I loved the area and the apartment was a nice wooden house that was so homey. I could see it back home, complete with a wood stove. It has running water too but you have to get up at 4am and turn it on and then turn the pump off an hour later or it floods the house.
The next day (Wednesday), we exchanged with the AP's and I was with another elder M. The other AP, Elder P, went home after his call was extended an extra transfer (he was soooo cool), and now it's Elder M from Tonga, who I remember vividly from the MTC. I was so impressed with him in the MTC. He wasn't cocky but he was still very confident in his abilities. He was only a batch ahead of me which seems so strange to me. We had a good exchange too. I didn't understand much of what he said in English so we nagtagalog'd most of the time.
The AP's mentioned to us that Sister O would be inspecting our apartment this week and that we should clean it up one day. We had already been frustrated by how messy it was and were already planning to clean a lot. So we didn't work on Thursday - just cleaned every inch of the apartment, which hadn't been really cleaned in two years. It was a long day and I touched some pretty gross things. We moved a big cabinet that was in the way and were going to put it in a different spot. It was reallly big and we had to lift it over a railing. We got it over but it was a huge struggle and just as we got it in place, the whole top part of the cabinet broke off and smashed on the ground. We then tried to put it together again and it looked so pitifully crooked. But when Sister O came and inspected, she was so impressed and said it was one of the cleanest apartments she's seen.
With them was an Elder M, an area authority who was speaking at our district conference. He was really impressed too and he and President O found my machete sitting on my desk and they were playing with it, making jokes about how it was used to motivate the elders. Anyways, I feel "sanctified" - that's what our transfer focus is. It's from Joshua 3:5.
"And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
The president says if your apartment isn't clean you can't be ready to teach either. It's all a reflection of your life. I remember Mum saying that about my room one time - how if it was messy, it reflected the way I was living. Now I realize that's so true.
Now, on to the E family. I met them once a couple of weeks ago. They're really receptive - a whole family and they all make sure they drop whatever they are doing to listen when we come over.
We also got punted quite a bit this week. I got pretty sick with a really bad cold (which is getting better now) and then one day my payong (umbrella) broke in the wind and I got angry and tossed it in the ditch, littering and later felt bad.
Once my payong broke I was just done, just really fully annoyed and once we got back to the apartment, I went into the bedroom and prayed until I felt better. The best part is, I did feel better. I always do. Actually, I think it's just a natural cause and effect occurrence for everyone. If you pray sincerely to Heavenly Father, you will always feel better afterwards.
Pretty cool that since I was a child I have had the knowledge of being able to cure myself of anything that troubles me. I have always known how to pray. It really is a panacea (oooooo, nice word use!).
I am realizing now that when we teach people to pray that we give them the same ability to solve problems and lift their spirit. Sweet eh?
We stopped by at another investigator's and they had some fish in a bucket. Pretty big too - like my walleye. They had three of them. They then told us they caught them in the bukid (rice field)! Apparently the river floods once in a while and then the fish get into the fields and can't get out. They live in there for a long time (at least three weeks as I haven't seen the river flood since I've been here). So while they work in the fields, they also catch fish. I can't wait to learn how they do it though.
I forgot to tell you that at ZL conference I got some presents from the members from Santa Maria! I couldn't believe it as I didn't think I had made much of an impact there. Turns out, some thought I did and they couldn't believe that I was transferred so soon. That was really touching.
I also learned I don't really sweat that much (I used to think I did). Two filipinos have told me that, "You
don't sweat like the other white guys."
".......thank you?" I said.
I paid to get some pants made here in Aparri. 400 pisos! It's reallly hard to think in dollars now. Something will be 50 pesos and I'll say, "No, that's too mahal." (expensive) but really it's just over a dollar!
My area in Camalaniugan is good. People here are really nice but they rarely see white people here so we get hey joe'd a lot more.
Many people here are really poor too. I actually find myself trying hard to dress down a bit as I will be telling people that God will provide for them and if I am wearing an expensive tie while doing it, I feel like a tool.
Anyways... I think that's mostly it for now. As I was writing this though, Elder D yelled to me that his mom was reading the blog and was asking if he knew the one who got in a fight in Narvacan.
It's so good to hear from you guys every week. I love you all so much.
But will somebody let me in on what's up in the hockey world? I'm dyin' here!
All the others just chat about basketball and they all get updates. Just saying, elder or not, I am still very much a hockey fan.
Enjoy your week! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!
-Elder Dustan
Like Eating Shoe Leather! - Week 35. Serving in Camalaniugan
This week we went to Laoag for a Zone Leader Conference. It took forever to get a bus. There are no real bus stops. You just wait somewhere on the side of the road and wave a bus down and if it's full, who knows how long it will be till the next one comes. I felt a little sick on the bus and Elders C and D felt realllly sick on the bus.
We finally got to Laoag and then we went to Robinson's Supermarket. That's the place everyone wants to shop at here as it's like a real mall from back home.. kind of.
They don't have shaving cream in Camalaniugan so I got some in Laoag. I was shaving with soap and my face was so sore. Then we went to the mission home and we had training from the AP's and President and Sister O. It was amazing.
At ZL conference we were told that eating cow skin is bawal (off limits). That was embarrassing (when Harrison phoned home for Christmas, he told us he had gotten sick after eating cow skin at a dinner appointment).
After ZLC, we tried to get a bus back and all the seats were taken on the last bus to our area! So we had to go to Claveria and sleep at the ZL apartment there. It was fun. We got to work there and it's a great area. We finally got back home on Thursday afternoon. We were gone 20 hours in all with ZL Conference and travel. Time goes so much slower when you're not working, that's why this week seemed to drag by.
I taught a newly endowed member and he was telling me about a dream he had in which Christ appeared in his house. It was an amazing dream and he was asking us what we thought it meant. I shared the scripture in Joel that dad showed me:
Joel 2:28 - "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:"
Then I told him that, as the head of his family, God will give him direction through the Holy Ghost to guide his family. I believe that's what his dream was for as his family is less active and he wants so bad to be sealed to them in the temple! That was a rewarding expeience.
People here are just so much more believeing than back home and I think that's why they are more susceptible to spiritual things.
We almost hit a Carabao (water buffalo) when we were in a jeepny. It was terrifying but once again, preserved by divine intervention!
We did nothing for New Years. We stayed inside from 6pm until morning because lots of people here go a little wild on New Years. We just sat around and told stories.
Thanks for all of your emails. I loved each of them! I love you and miss you all so much but this is a pretty sweet experience I get to have right now so we'll just have to wait to see each other again.
Take care of yourselves! Love you lots!
-Elder Dustan
We finally got to Laoag and then we went to Robinson's Supermarket. That's the place everyone wants to shop at here as it's like a real mall from back home.. kind of.
They don't have shaving cream in Camalaniugan so I got some in Laoag. I was shaving with soap and my face was so sore. Then we went to the mission home and we had training from the AP's and President and Sister O. It was amazing.
At ZL conference we were told that eating cow skin is bawal (off limits). That was embarrassing (when Harrison phoned home for Christmas, he told us he had gotten sick after eating cow skin at a dinner appointment).
After ZLC, we tried to get a bus back and all the seats were taken on the last bus to our area! So we had to go to Claveria and sleep at the ZL apartment there. It was fun. We got to work there and it's a great area. We finally got back home on Thursday afternoon. We were gone 20 hours in all with ZL Conference and travel. Time goes so much slower when you're not working, that's why this week seemed to drag by.
I taught a newly endowed member and he was telling me about a dream he had in which Christ appeared in his house. It was an amazing dream and he was asking us what we thought it meant. I shared the scripture in Joel that dad showed me:
Joel 2:28 - "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:"
Then I told him that, as the head of his family, God will give him direction through the Holy Ghost to guide his family. I believe that's what his dream was for as his family is less active and he wants so bad to be sealed to them in the temple! That was a rewarding expeience.
People here are just so much more believeing than back home and I think that's why they are more susceptible to spiritual things.
We almost hit a Carabao (water buffalo) when we were in a jeepny. It was terrifying but once again, preserved by divine intervention!
We did nothing for New Years. We stayed inside from 6pm until morning because lots of people here go a little wild on New Years. We just sat around and told stories.
Thanks for all of your emails. I loved each of them! I love you and miss you all so much but this is a pretty sweet experience I get to have right now so we'll just have to wait to see each other again.
Take care of yourselves! Love you lots!
-Elder Dustan
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