"For all this there is a reward in heaven." - Week 107. Serving in Sarrat

We just got back from the beach after a zone activity and now we are rushing to get back to our apartments on time. We have a mission curfew today because of elections which apparently get crazy here.

The beach was great. It was raining this morning and we thought we might have to cancel but it stopped and cleared up. We played soccer. It was weird, that this was the last time I would see a few of the missionaries. I already said goodbye to Elder K who came out to the mission field with me from the MTC. He is way up in Cagayan - don't know when I will see him again.

I read Doctrine and Covenants section 127 verse 4 yesterday ("And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven.") and I am going to do my best to end my mission with a bang. This week will be awesome. I feel like it is slowly starting to hit me now that I am actually leaving. It's weird.

Church was pretty good for us yesterday. We had two of our less active families attend and one of our other members brought her 17 year old non-member sister. We taught a good lesson on faith and M, our recent new member, gave his first talk. It was a good one too.

We are in our apartment a lot over the next two days due to the elections so I am going to do a lot of planning for when I get home and also a lot of language study. As for when I get home, I think just keeping it simple will be nice. I doubt I am ready to watch a movie right away, but if a playoff game is on, I might watch a little.

Anyways, I gotta go. Sorry for the lame email but hey, I will see you soon! Have a great week guys.
Elder Du

Got Milk? Don't Make Me Cry! - Week 106. Serving in Sarrat

This week was a little rough but it had some good highlights. We had a lot of good appointments set up but we got punted like mad. Worst time of the year to get punted because it's so ridiculously hot out and our water supply is still pretty low. Fasting was tough yesterday as 24 hours without water is not easy - makes you really appreciate it more at the end of the day though and you get to end your fast. We talked about how good we have it back home and how, when we get home, we will probably fall down in front of the fridge and cry. Seeing milk again will really be a tear jerker.

I went on my last exchange in Vintar this week. It's too bad that D wasn't there as she went with the youth to youth conference. It was still so good to be there. We found some pretty cool investigators and also got to teach the U's. I don't know if you remember that family. Way back at the beginning of my mission I went and taught them. It was my first time away from my trainer, Elder S. The church members of our ward in Laoag had a missionary work day in Vintar and I went with a bunch of them. It was an awful experience where no one helped me teach and I couldn't speak the language yet. Well, we taught them and they are so cool. Tatay, whom I met once before but ran away from us, is now in the new branch presidency. He was at work when I went there but Nanay and all three kids saw us and came out with their copies of the Book of Mormon and sat down. They are way fun too. They get the missionaries to kneel down and pray with them at the end of each lesson, even though it's just a dirt floor. You can feel the spirit so strong with that family.

We taught a Muslim man in Vintar. He is from Iran. He met and married a Filipina when he was working in Dubai, He had a business there but it tanked with the rest of the economy in Dubai so they moved to Vintar and started a store, which was where we taught them. He was way nice to us. He doesn't speak Tagalog or Ilocano at all. We taught about how God sends the Holy Ghost to guide all his children, no matter where they are from. We taught from Galatians 5 and he loved it. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he was way excited. Ayways, they are going to continue to teach him which is pretty cool.

We are still teaching S and we finished lesson 3 with him. He loved it but then he got back onto,  "Why is there a need for the Book of Mormon - is the Bible not enough and the complete word of God?" We had already previously  explained all that but he has a hard time with it. So we explained it again. He responded, "Are you telling me the Bible is not complete?"
"Yes", we said. Then he started putting words in our mouths and said,  "So you are saying that anyone who does not have the Book of Mormon has no relationship with God?" We assured him that we are not saying that at all. We tried to explain again but he was deciding to be offended and then told us he wanted to tell us his story. He said that he was a bad person before with anger problems and addictions but then he started reading the Bible and it changed him. "But you are still telling me I don't have a relationship with God!" he said. We calmed him down and tried to explain it yet again. We went back to him yesterday though and he wasn't as friendly to us. So we hope he is not done with listening. We have a good lesson planned to help next time though.

We met the coolest family!!!!!! They are so fun to talk with and they joke a ton but they really want to listen. After the lesson their daughter asked us at what age a girl could go on a mission and seemed really interested in it. The mother is really cool too and really wants her family to listen to us and set up the appointment for us and said, "I will make sure they are here." The tatay had a stroke over a year ago and still can't talk and isn't able to move his one arm. Nanay said he is usually really shy but he came out and shook our hands which really showed her that he is really good with us being there. We will teach them again later.

Yesterday all the youth (they were all at church too!) got up and bore their testimonies! They loved youth conference. It had a missionary theme and they all got temporary name tags and went out and actually taught people two by two. They LOVED it. They all got up and said how much they want to serve a mission. Our potential missionary pool (which was 1 when we got here) has now increased to about 7. We are planning to do a monthly missionary fireside for the youth to keep the fire alive. M, our recent convert, went to youth conference and loved it too. It was his first time using a shower as he has bathed in the river for all 15 years of his life. He also stayed in an air conditioned room for the first time as well as his first time in a swimming pool.

Things are going well here. Thanks for the emails. Even though I have only three weeks left, it is still way nice to hear from you guys.
Love you guys!
Elder Dustan

I'm Gonna Wolverine You Elder! - Week 105. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys. This week was pretty solid. We continued teaching that guy who wanted to return the Book of Mormon we gave him the first time. It's going pretty well. Our first lesson this week was about the Restoration. We taught it like this: there are three basic things needed in the true church of Christ: organization (which includes prophets and continuing revelation), pure doctrine rather than the philosophies of men, and authority from God to act in his name.” Then we went over each one,  quoting from Joseph Smith's history and the testimony of Joseph Smith found in the front of the Book of Mormon. Then we just testified of it and were very calm and loving and then asked if there was anything else he would like to ask about and he sat back and said “no”. His questions were still very pointed at derailing our teachings. But then when we went back two days later, he had read all of 2 Nephi 31.

 We taught about baptism and focused on the gift of the Holy Ghost and then he said, “"Elders, I have a question.”" It kind of put us on the edge of our seats and we prepared ourselves to calmly answer his question. Then he asked, "How am I to know if the Holy Ghost is with you and if what you are saying is right?"” The spirit was really strong in that lesson. The past lessons as well, but they were more intellectually stimulating with a bit of spirituality. This lesson was so powerful. He really has changed. We then invited him to be baptised once he knows for sure, and of course, to pray for an answer.  We also invited him to come to church. He said he can’t go to church because he teaches Sunday school in Piddig at his church and he needs to fulfil his calling as others depend on him. I was way impressed but also wasn't sure what to do about that. He will be a great member of the church.

We are still teaching E and M and they are doing well. M is pretty close now to being baptised.  Anyway, we are teaching baptism tonight and are going to invite them both to set a date. Teaching M is way fun. We taught about the priesthood and then asked if he had any questions and he paused and looked way deep in thought and said, “"Elders, is it true that Wolverine had a brother?” He’s so random. Then he kept talking about how he was going to wolverine us and made wolverine a verb in Tagalog “(iwolverine kita”). Funny guy.

We have been praying to be lead to people to teach and the other day we walked by this huge house and talked to the mother. She said her husband was working, driving a trike. When we were getting her name and giving her something to read, her husband pulled up. The typical Filipino man would have kept driving and pretended it wasn't actually his house or at least say he’s busy. But he pulled up and invited us in”. We taught them and they are so cool. They have three kids and are about 35ish I think.

That’s pretty much our week. Thanks for your emails - they were awesome. So good to hear from everyone. Have a great week guys. I love you lots!
Elder Dustan

Elders, ...Just Relax and Feel the Spirit - Week 104. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys, got lots to tell you about this week - mostly about the baptism yesterday! We spent most of the week preparing for it. President told us that we had better make sure every baptism is very well attended and also well planned. We made invitations and handed them out to over 40 people - most of which were families. We made sure that the branch mission leader chose speakers and set up the program. We made sure that the room was all set up. Then on the day of the baptism we went there in the morning to clean with our branch president. He's really hard working and a good guy. We made sure there was a picture of Christ, flowers and a nice table cloth.

Then there was the font. In Sarrat, it's a little concrete font behind the meeting house. There are two big trees that hang over it and continuously drop leaves into it so we had to go get our bed sheets and put them over the font to keep it clean. Sarrat is in the middle of a huge drought so now that it's the dry season, there is often no water at all. So we spent all day Saturday filling up the font and got no work in! But the point is, we got it filled.

At 5:30pm, people started showing up. We planned it so that the members would come a bit earlier than those being baptized so that when they get there, they are already welcomed by the presence of dozens of members. So we told the members that it would be at 5:30pm when we knew L would only get there at 6 or 6:30pm as he was coming from work (which he got from the church's Employment Resource Centre!) So most of the members showed up at 6. We also had two investigators there - E, a young man and M, a young woman. They had never met before but are the same age and at the same place in the lessons. We are hoping they will be the next baptisms in Sarrat. They hit it off and it turns out that they shared things they learned from our lessons with each other and talked about whether or not they are ready to be baptized, which is way cool.

Then we found out L went to get paid that night and would be later than we already expected. He showed up a little after 7pm! Just before he showed up, the other person getting baptized had just left to go look for him!

We figured we would take pictures once all those involved were dressed in their whites. It was like herding blind sheep. We said, "Okay everyone, we are going to take some pictures here." Then someone disagreed and they started arguing about where would be a better place to take pictures. Trying to get everyone outside to get pictures done was so hard. We would get some people out and then go to get others and then the ones that were out would go back in. To add to all the chaos, there was some random dog in the church just roaming around and it was one of those mangy ones that has some sort of skin disease. After a while, we finally got everyone out and did the pictures but as soon as one was taken they would scatter and start to head back inside before we had taken all the pictures.

It was late when the service started. The microphone wasn't working so it was hard to hear the speakers. The hymns chosen were way obscure and no one really sang. The kids were running around wildly, yelling and splashing each other at the font. We were really frustrated and felt like giving up as we had done so much to make the service as perfect as possible and it was tanking. Then President B texted us and said, "Elders relax. Just be happy they are being baptized. Just feel the spirit". So we sat back and tried to feel the spirit.

The baptism itself went perfectly. The investigators were really interested. That's when it all came together and we really felt the spirit. It really hit me how amazing it was. We had only just met M four weeks ago and now she was really getting baptized and among the most prepared people I have ever seen. Then the microphone started working just in time for President B to welcome the new members - it was perfect.

As soon as the service ended, one of the sweet relief society women who feeds us often, got up right away and walked to the front row and, with a huge smile on her face, shook the hand of each new member and congratulated them. All the other members followed after that. We were so proud and it made all the problems from before melt away - even the random dog.

Our investigators had a great time too and one asked, "When can we have our next lesson?" Great experience. We taught L the day after and he said that he has never felt happier than he is now and never expected he would ever feel this happy.

We went back and taught that guy who wanted to give us the Book of Mormon back. We taught the most flawless lesson on the apostasy of all time and there was just no room for doubt when we were done. We let the scriptures do the talking. At one point he said, "If God still speaks today, then you are telling me the Bible is not complete." We just said "yes". He got it. Then he said, "Okay, I would like to read the Book of Mormon." He was way cool after that.

Anyway, that was my week. It was sweet. Thanks for your emails guys. I love hearing from you - can't believe I will see you so soon. I love you all. Have a great week!
Elder Dustan

"By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them" - Week 103. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys! So this week flew by - for real! We spent a lot of time teaching our deaf investigator and making sure she was ready for her baptismal interview. She keeps cracking jokes that we don't fully understand and then before we even get what she said, she is busting up laughing. Then we just start laughing because she is laughing so hard - which in turn, makes her laugh uncontrollably. It's pretty awesome. It's a really rewarding experience to teach her though. She is so smart and has very strong faith. She really lives by "By their fruits ye shall know them". She got interested in the church because she saw the change in her son and then she tried it out herself and said she felt good and those were the fruits of the gospel. From then on she never looked back. Anything we share, she follows because she knows that it's the same gospel that brought forth good fruits in her life. When we taught her about the Sabbath Day she just accepted it and followed it. She got all that she needed ready before Sunday so she wouldn't have to buy anything on the Sabbath. She's way cool.

I don't think a whole lot happened on transfer day but afterwards, we went and taught L and he said that he went to the ERC (The church's employment resource centre) to look for work. They didn't have anything for him but they referred him to the bishop of a ward in Laoag. Then on Tuesday the bishop went to his house and gave him a job. He was so impressed that the church works like that. He now has a job north of Laoag but doesn't come home all week. We are going to get the sisters in that area to keep teaching him.

We met with the branch elders quorum president (Pres. B has told us to get more involved in helping to strengthen branch leadership). We taught a lesson about following the handbook. A high councilor was just assigned here to help with the missionary efforts so we are really excited about the progress.

We taught our 18 year old less active guy. He wants to go on a mission. The odds are stacked against him as his temple-sealed family is now broken up and there are multiple gambling rings beside his house. He is doing a lot to come back though and he came out and worked with us. We taught M, our deaf investigator with him so he had to write his testimony down which I think was a great first lesson for him. His testimony was awesome.

We met a guy this week who argued that organized religion is not necessary but that it was good enough to just believe in Christ. We explained why organization was important with the help of the passage in Ephesians 4. Once we were on the same page, we introduced the Book of Mormon but he would not take it. He said he loves Christ and will only read the bible because it's about him yet we introduce a book entirely about the one he loves and he treated it like poison. Tradition can be a real stumbling block. Eventually he accepted it and we are going back on Tuesday.

General Conference was amazing! I have never received more specific revelation at one time than this past conference - specially the priesthood session. I have a lot of things to think about and plan for before I go home.

We had our baptismal interviews and they all passed. So they are being baptized this Saturday. Weird too, I was saying bye to people as it would be the last time I see a lot of them! Can't believe it.

Anyways, things are going well here. We have a full week of work this week and we now have water in the apartment and the fans are fixed and we have food! Good 'ol Sarrat. Elder R, my new companion, is cool too. He is way easy going and we both have a pretty similar sense of humour. I loved being with elder O too. We did some great work.

Have a great week!!!
Elder Dustan

Last Transfer and a New Companion - Week 102. Serving in Sarrat

This week seemed to fly by. We continue to teach our deaf investigator. She is doing so well. She grasps everything we teach her so quickly. We are almost done all the lessons and this will be the quickest transition from new investigator to baptized convert that I have ever seen - exactly 4 weeks. She was seen by one of the members drinking a bit of alcohol and they told her that members of the church don't drink. The next lesson, she asked about it and we taught her the Word of Wisdom. She accepted it fully once she knew about it.

 One thing we are trying to do is help people understand the importance of accepting callings. There is a reluctance among some members to do so. We taught one member family, explaining the worth of a soul, then talking about how many Asians God made and that it shows that He must really love them, then how many Chinese there are that haven't received the gospel yet. Then we discussed how the Philippines is the bridge to the rest of Asia, so it's really important that this country gets prepared so that when China opens to the gospel, the Filipinos are ready to lead the way in. They are also really great at learning new languages so they will definitely play a part (all of this came from Pres. B's meetings with general authorities). Then we explained how the only thing that can help the church get stronger here is for each member to shoulder a load. It was such a great lesson and so powerful.

Elder O was transferred, so I am now with Elder R for the last 6 weeks of my mission. He is from Arizona, 6 foot 5 and a really nice guy. I am looking forward to the work taking off here and am excited for our baptisms on the 20th.

I went on exchange with two elders who were having a hard time in the work and with each other lately. They are both very new. The trainer feels like he doesn't know enough because he is so new. He is also very timid and his trainee, very confident and outgoing. We got punted and no work was happening. I would stop and talk to someone here and there and try and get us an opportunity to teach a lesson but the two elders weren't speaking up and no one was letting us in. Then after we got punted again, I suggested we make a game of it. As we walked to our next appointment we were to each pick one person on the street to initiate a conversation with, and whoever didn't do it, got a slap (playful slap, of course). Then right off the bat, one elder says, "That guys' mine!". It was an older man walking down the street. We walked across the road and started talking to him. Turns out his wife died and he was worried about whether there was life after death. He was also good friends with a bishop who served in the area. He was a really nice guy and they got an appointment set up. Then we talked to a few others and got on a role. I could see the elders' demeanor change. Where they had been fearful to talk to people, now they were excited about the work and to talk to everyone. It's so cool how that works. They just needed a first step and because it's something good, it brings a good feeling that drives you to continue.

Later we went and passed a group of young men all being obnoxious. The timid elder went over and asked if he could sit down and struck up a conversation with them. Even though it was in broken and simple Tagalog (that they made fun of at first), he pushed through and kept going. Then he told them all to gather 'round and he was going to tell them about the Book of Mormon. They ignored him so he raised his voice saying, " Hey, this is important. Come here!". They all came over and listened as he stood in the street and bore his testimony to them. He set up a return appointment with some of them and found out one of them is a member of missionary age. I was so proud of that elder. It takes some nerve to do that.

Anyways, that's my week so far. It was great. We had a great correlation with the stake president. He was happy because the work is getting better - so much so that the zone became two zones in Laoag. We are Laoag zone 1 (east side!).

Thanks for the emails guys. Can't wait for General Conference. I love you all tons! Have a great week.
Elder Dustan

Those Crazy Spaniards! - Week 101. Serving in Sarrat

This week went so fast. We went on exchange twice. Tuesday I went to Vintar again, this time with Elder C. It feels like yesterday I was in Santa Maria telling him about Vintar and now he's the one showing me around.

When we were there, we went to teach the dean of the biggest university in Laoag. Our fellowshippers were D and N (the two women we baptized when Elder S and I were in Laoag. N was the random nanay we gave a Book of Mormon to and then she read the whole thing and got baptized. Now she teaches Institute). It was sooooooo awesome to sit there with a very intellectual man and his equally smart wife and just discuss gospel doctrine. He had so many questions. Then to start the lesson, he said he wanted to hear the conversion stories of D and N. It was amazing! Less than two years ago I was just meeting those two and now I'm able to sit with them and have them bear testimony about the church. N even quoted from Preach My Gospel! The dean is the same religion as they were before, Aglipayan. I can tell he will be baptized. Vintar is doing very well. They are, one by one, baptizing all the family members of their new members and the church is already having the same attendance as we have here in Sarrat which has been here for 25 years.

 The next day we jumped right into another exchange. The elder I was with was very shy and quiet. He is training and having a bit of a hard time with that. Everyone we taught loved him though. He can barely speak Tagalog but when he teaches no one mocks him for it. They all hang on his every word. The people we teach here in Sarrat are so kind. I learned that Sarrat, in Tagalog, means ugly nose. In Ilocano is means horn. It came when the Spaniards asked, "What do you call this place" and the natives thought they were pointing at the carabao horn so they said, "Sara't nuang" or carabao horn. Those crazy spaniards!

 On Friday we went by to just see if a past investigator was at home and as we walked up to the door, his sister came over and without even hesitating, invited us to come in. We taught her and she was amazing. We set up a return appointment for the next day. She was there waiting and had read all the stuff we left with her. She understands things so quickly. Then we invited her to church. We dropped by Sunday morning to pick her up but our male fellowshipper punted us. She was waiting all dressed up in a perfectly modest skirt ready to go right on time. We asked her to wait while we then went to get a fellowshipper. When we got back to her house, she had left. She got to church on her own and she was sitting there - 9am on the dot, first person at church other than the branch president. She is so cool. She loved the classes and learned so much. We are planning on inviting her to set a baptismal date on Tuesday (she already committed to be baptized when she receives a witness that what we are teaching her is true but we never set a sure date).

We have been having trouble with our original baptismal dates but as one falls away, we are led to someone else even more prepared, like that girl.

We are teaching an awesome guy. His mum is deaf but she somehow manages to speak pretty well. Some members said she can't be taught because she's deaf. We have been teaching her and she will be baptized with her son on April 20th. She is so smart. We just do a lot of reading and she eats it up. We write out what we want to say to her. She also reads lips some of the time, and she and her son have their own kind of sign language so he helps her. She is so sweet. One day she just told us that she wanted to go to our church but has community meetings on Sundays so she wrote a letter to them saying she can't go to the community meetings anymore unless they change the meeting day - and they did! She wanted to go to church with us because she saw the change in her son.

The last lesson we had with them turned into a testimony meeting all of a sudden. Her son bore testimony to us out of nowhere, and then our fellowshipper told us that he used to be depressed all the time but now he is changed and he is happy. He worked with us for one lesson and was so happy he couldn't stop talking about it.

We have Zone Leader Conference later today and then will be getting ready for zone training meeting. Time moves so fast. I am reviewing the talks from last General Conference to get ready for this conference. I loved Pres. Monson's talk about considering the blessings. He encouraged us all to take an inventory of our lives and look for the blessings and those experiences that we may not have noticed at the time, but which really were powerful spiritual experiences. I noticed a few I had never thought of since they happened.

Thanks for your emails, guys. I love you all so much and can't believe I will be calling you soon and then shortly after that I will be seeing you! Thanks for all your support. Even among the foreign missionaries here, I am by far the most supported by my family. Good thing you can't overdose on blessings! Have a great week!
Elder Dustan

Liars? No. We Tell the Most Beautiful Truth of All - Week 100. Serving in Sarrat

We went to Vigan with President and Sister B, the assistants and the office crew today. We did some shopping but I didn't buy too much. Honestly, I feel like, if I buy too much, then it's like I am never coming back. Coming back to visit with you guys would be waaaay better than bringing home a bunch of touristy stuff, no? But I did get some things.

Then we went to the zoo. I realized that I hate zoos. The animals are sad. We walked by big holes in most of the animal enclosures. We walked down one street and hey, there's an ostrich standing in among the people! Fun though. I realized that while I was there I really missed Sarrat. Elder O and I really felt like we were back at home once we got back here. Crazy, considering that I had never heard of this place two years ago.

 We had our zone conference this week. We stayed up way late the night before getting everything in order for our training (not procrastinating - there just is no other time for preparing), then we didn't end up giving it at zone conference. But still we got so much direction from conference.  I was amazed this time with how the church works. I think I am generally pretty good with understanding things and I have been here almost two years and know a thing or two about the work. But there are certain challenges with some of our investigators that I have never really been able to understand. But at this conference it was all answered. The leaders of the church really do receive revelation and all we need to do is apply it because that revelation they receive is specifically for us. Cool to realize it so close to General Conference.

We got punted a lot this week. We even had one guy tell us that we are liars and therefore, God hates us. We told him we loved him and don't want to argue and he told us we are retarded. He was so angry - just being near him felt cold. All we do here is go around and share a message with people that lets them know how amazingly special they are and yet they often respond in that way. It's bizarre. Cool thing though - even with a ton of upsetting things, we had so much success this week. We had eight investigators at church and were able to start a Gospel Principles class (we had more investigators at church than members!). It's so amazing to see the changes in those people who are preparing to be baptised  It can't be imagined or faked. I can see how happy they are in stark contrast to the way they were when we first met them.

I was thinking about what to do when I get home. I'm hoping we could go to the temple on the Saturday. I would like to attend Institute, work with the missionaries for one day or even just a few hours. Can you also please make sure we have some rice in the house? I feel a little anxious about coming home but it hasn't really hit me yet. Still have eight weeks to do some good works.

We have some baptisms coming up so that takes my attention. Thanks for your emails this week guys. They always make my day. I love you guys tons. Hope you have a great week!
Elder Dustan

Cashews? Who Knew?? - Week 99. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys! This week was pretty sweet. Feels like it was only a day though - so short. We had our ZLC on Monday and Tuesday. This time there were no trainings, we just sat around the table and discussed stuff about the mission. Started at 2 and went until 6ish - just straight talking and sitting around the table. It was actually exhausting.  ZLC was good though. It was fun to be with Elders T, M and T from my MTC group. So weird that we will be heading home soon. After our council I was way excited to get back to Sarrat and get to work. We set a new goal for baptisms in the area and it's very big but specific and we are really excited about it. It feels good having a specific goal for baptisms.

We jumped right into it when we got back from Laoag and went to a less active family and set a baptism date for their sons. They were all excited to get back to church and get things in order.

We taught a lesson with a teenage boy who didn't really talk much. When he did talk, it was like a whisper. Then as we were teaching, his mother came out - eyes open really wide, walking with straight posture like she had just been scared stiff but with a huge smile on her face. She came over and shook our hands and then went back inside. Then, as we carried on with the awkward lesson, she came out over and over and over and shook both our hands and went back inside. It was weird and hilarious at the same time.

On Wednesday I went on exchange with  the district leader in Piddig. The fellowshipper who came with us was hilarious This guy would start laughing halfway through every sentence he spoke and he just thinks everything is hilarious. He also showed me where to pick cashews! They grow here!!!! Who knew?

We worked with the new senior couple in our area this week. They are from Idaho but really the sister is from Switzerland as she immigrated to the US. They came and met us here and we went to visit the old tatay and his wife who we water plants for. As we taught them, the senior missionaries took out a quilt which had the Plan of Salvation really clearly quilted into it. When they taught, it was so powerful. They teach so simply and they love the culture so much. They are trying to learn the language and they aren't bad either. They also helped us water the crops and the sister even wanted to copy me and go barefoot. It was really fun. They worked with us the whole day. They were also invited back to the family's place for lunch on Saturday. They made a huge feast (the missionary couple brought some of the meal) and it was awesome. It was all filipino foods and they loved it. They teach so clearly and powerfully, it's amazing. They really taught us a lot too.

We have a lot of good people we are teaching right now. Including a 40 year old father who really wants to listen and learn but he isn't very fluent in Tagalog. He's reading the Book of Mormon though and seems to be grateful to read it. We are doing well here and things are going well. I am loving the people and culture more and more. I love the Ilocano culture and language and foods too and I kind of feel bad for having resented Ilocano in the past. Also I have my last zone conference coming up. Weird!

Thanks for the emails. Love you guys!
Elder Dustan

Going FULL PINOY From Here On In - Week 98. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys. This week was actually pretty long but went fast - if that makes any sense. Got a lot of good lessons in though, which felt good. I started really trying to learn Ilocano and it's pretty fun. The people here LOVE when you try to speak it. As long as you are trying to speak their language, they won't make fun of you for it. When I learn a new word, I try to make a connection with the word and something else in my mind that will help me remember the word. A funny one is "duggong" which was a pokemon that I remember. It means booger in Ilocano so now I will never forget that one.

We had an awesome day on Tuesday. We had two morning lessons which were amazing. One was with that guy who worked in Saudi Arabia and is now back with sickness. He said he would love to be baptized once he learns the Book of Mormon is true. He is actually reading it and praying about it. We teach him all in English - it's weird. Then we had a lesson with this one guy who had a stroke. We taught lesson one to him and his girlfriend. I realized just how awful a stroke is and it freaked me out to possibly end up like that. They fed us after our lesson (which is rare with a brand new investigator). We had pinakbet which is a big Ilocano dish which I love. It's all veggies and some fish sauce called bagoong. We loved it so much that we decided to buy the ingredients and we cooked it twice on our own this week - way quick and easy to cook.

 We taught a family this week and the tatay doesn't speak much tagalog. He has two sons, 16 and 21. They were all there for our appointment when we went! Tatay and his one son were sitting down with the Book of Mormon when we got there! They are so cool. The eldest son came in a few minutes after we started and he was way into the lessons and then he asked, "Elders... can we be forgiven of all of our sins? And how?" (Gold!) We are going back on Tuesday.

On Wednesday we did language day -didn't speak English all day from waking up to sleeping at night. It actually was tiring. Nothing will ever replace my native language, as much as I love Tagalog.

We had dinner with the N family Thursday night. She is a widow and has a daughter in Young Women. A prospective elder came with us and it was a great dinner. Then as we left, after our lesson with them, I noticed one of my shoes was missing! It took us about 10 minutes to find it and then when we did, it had a big bite taken from the back near the ankle. A dog had some fun with it. I was a little ticked (they are my Eccos) but it also looks pretty funny - it's got a real bite out of it with the teeth marks and everything.

We were asked by a member to go and teach a less active family. We were a little judgmental of this member in the past because he is always late for church. Then we started to notice that he is only late because every Sunday he goes and picks up as many members of this one family that he can talk into coming to church. I felt bad for being annoyed with him. He asked us to help because the tatay of the family wouldn't come. We met him at the house and the daughter said that the tatay was sleeping. So this brother went into the house and woke the man up and brought him out and said, "Sorry, but you need to be taught. This will only take a few minutes." It was a great lesson too. Then when the lesson was over, the brother said, "Every member is told by the area presidency to rescue one person this year. You were baptized before me. I am sad that you aren't at church any more, and you have a lot of sons who need to grow up in the church. I am going to rescue you." (way straight forward, but it worked really well). We went to church with two of his sons all dressed up and they loved it. The brother was just doing his part by trying to get the area goals done as early in the year as possible. He is a good man and we were really proud of him.

I realized yesaterday that in something like 10 weeks I will be giving a homecoming talk. Then I got to thinking about what lessons I have learned on my mission. I am going to keep analyzing that until I go home and see how I have grown. Anyways, I am doing great and I feel good. I am going FULL PINOY this week until I leave, which means I am not eating anything I can get at home - like cereal (my comp loves eating Weetabix) or bread or anything. Thanks for your emails guys. I love you lots!
Elder Dustan

Takin' Some Cues From the Old Man - Week 97. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys. Thanks for the emails and the birthday wishes. Nothing really big planned today. An older couple in the branch invited us over for dinner but we have appointments and we also will be in Laoag getting food. So we'll just go out to eat. This week was great - well, actually we got punted from almost every lesson that we had planned this week, but when we were punted we were great at finding people to teach. For reals, we found some of the coolest people today.

One is a guy who speaks English fluently and worked abroad in Saudi Arabia but came back because he got sick. While he's here, he's just relaxing and recovering. On our first visit, he had a ton of questions but he was a little difficult to deal with. On the second visit, he had questions too but he was just really excited to learn. Turns out that he had prayed to find out why he had gotten sick, ("why me?") and then it hit him - God planned it so that he could receive the message we are bringing him that he would have never received in Saudi Arabia. He understood the first lesson really well and said he believes it but wants to read the Book of Mormon to be sure (perfect!). He is fun to teach and is a family guy too.

We also met a guy who is way prepared and smart and really good at English too. He used to give seminars at universities. Also, once when we got punted this week, we had a few minutes left and didn't know where to go, so we went up to a house and when they opened the door we just acted WAY excited and outgoing and really happy and when they let us in, it was like they didn't know what hit them. They were a beautiful family too! We actually have about 4 or 5 families we are teaching now which is amazing since it's usually hard to get complete families here. I feel really good about our work this week.

We taught this one girl that has a baptismal date now. We taught her about the Holy Ghost and she explained it back to us so well. She said that sometimes she wakes up in the morning just really happy and excited about the day and she is thankful for all that she has. Other times she wakes up and is annoyed and grumpy. She can tell when the spirit is with her. We are both feeling that now - we wake up every morning just so happy and excited to get to studies and to get out to work. I am so happy I didn't get transferred.

We heard that the southern-most stake/zone in our mission is going to be part of the Baguio mission, so Santa Maria will no longer be a Laoag mission area.

We worked with a couple of newer missionaries this week as they were in Laoag for transfers. It was really fun. They bring a lot of energy to the mission. Crazy to see just how outgoing and talkative these young guys are when they really can't even speak the language. It was also really weird to notice how they all look to me. Not that I am great or anything, it's just that they found out how long I have been out. In the last lesson, the four of us were teaching together and these two were just looking to me to see what I do. I remember being like that too - looking up so much to the veterans and the assistants. It feels like yesterday.

We have two areas in our zone that have been really struggling lately. We have been talking with the missionaries there about it and then discussed what they can do to improve things. Then this week they just went out and applied it all - all the things we said, all the trainings they received - and their work went WAY up. It's such a good feeling to see that, and know that they are feeling that sense of complete happiness and accomplishment. It's cool that my patriarchal blessing says that I will get joy from this work that I will not be able to get in any other way. It's so true - I am really feeling it.

Anyways, I gotta bounce. We have a lot to do. I love you guys and miss you lots.
Elder Dustan

Jesus Must Have Been Tired - Week 96. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys. Not too much to tell you this week. We just went to work. We're really happy with our work this week too. We have four new people we are working towards baptism with. On Monday we went to teach one of our baptismal candidates. His whole family was being prepared but then his wife got pregnant and is quite sick so she can't come out and listen anymore because she’s too sick. So we are just teaching her husband now. He didn't go to church last week and that was all that was stopping him from being baptized as he is really ready other than that. He also lives a minute away from the church.

We didn't want to teach about Sabbath day observance the day after he didn't go to church because we didn't want him to think we were chastising him. When we got to his house, Elder O started the lesson and then the thought came to my mind,” You should teach about the Sabbath day" and I got that feeling you get in a testimony meeting when you know there's something you should get up and say and you get anxious and your heart beats fast. But before this, we had really decided on not teaching that principle at that time. I didn't want to interrupt Elder O, but still it bothered me and I knew that we were to teach about the Sabbath day. Elder O continued on with the lesson, and then just as I was about to speak up, he paused and said, "Actually, we are going to talk about the Sabbath day." So cool how the spirit told us the exact same thing, yet before the lesson we were both set on not teaching it. It was one of the best lessons I have ever taught too. We felt really good after that one.

I went on exchange in Piddig this week. I remember going there on exchange back when I was in Vintar and hating it. I felt claustrophobic there and felt like the people didn't care. This time I was with Elder M (I was with his brother in the MRC). It was my best exchange yet and I left thinking, "How can I make Sarrat more like Piddig?"

 Elder M goes home on Tuesday as he is done his mission. His goal before he leaves was to get into this HUGE house in Piddig - a mansion that overlooks the valley and the river. The gate was open so we went in. We spoke English to the people there and they let us in and we met the owner. He is a businessman who lives in Las Vegas but was born in Piddig. He said all his associates and doctors and lawyers are Mormon. Then he told us to teach the people who lived on his compound (he was going out) so we did and taught a really cool family the whole message of the Restoration. It was one of the best lessons I ever taught. I will always remember these people. They were so attentive and were so amazed that we gave them something they can analyze to know if what we are teaching is true.

It was a great week of work. Then Sunday, most of the branch wasn't at church. We had branch conference and there was a lot of people but only because of all the stake leaders that were there.  Sunday school was full but we only had eight members there - actually that includes investigators. So we were a little disappointed (and that guy we taught sabbath day observance to and then reviewed it with him throughout the week, and committed him to church attendance like 5 times... didn't go again). So yeah, we are loving our work and getting a lot done and then not seeing many fruits of our labours as of yet. It's exhausting. It's more tiring when you give everything you got to people and then get little response in return. Jesus Christ must have been tired. But we are happy and still feel good about our work. We have at least 6 more weeks here as neither of us was transferred. Our plan this transfer, since we worked like crazy last transfer, is to go balls crazy with the work this transfer and get some FRUIT.

Anyways, I am learning a lot here. Learning how to deal with people, how to love them, how to keep a relationship going, how to go long periods of time without water (our apartment runs out of water often), how to cook sweet food, how to feel and follow the spirit always - lots of stuff. Too bad I only have two more transfers. This is Elder S's (my trainer) last transfer!!! Weird.

Anyways, thanks for your emails guys. I love you lots!! Hope you have a great week.
Elder Dustan

Who Wants Chocolate Covered Meat? - Week 95. Serving in Sarrat

I have the worst sun burn EVER right now! Hurts way bad. All that stuff I said about not getting sun burns in the Philippines doesn't apply I guess, when being out in the fun Laoag summer sun on a beach for three hours. Oh yeah, we went to the beach. We had our Laoag zone activity today and it was great. We played Ultimate Frisbee and one of the rules was that your touchdown didn't count unless you passed it to a sister (of which there are five) to make it fair. It was way fun. Then we played some Filipino games which always include sitting in a circle and having one person lose and mocking them mercilessly - fun too though.  We all brought food and after we ate, we played football on the beach. It was so much fun but too bad our time was limited.

Our week started out with punts - lots of them. We still felt good about the plans we made and about our efforts so it wasn't too bad. On Tuesday we went and watered Tatay R's crops again and got lost in service. Soon we realized we had worked too long and accidentally punted our fellowshipper who had biked to the farthest barangay in the area to work with us. He was pretty upset. We felt awful but it was just pure accident. We committed after that to keep our service to 45 minutes at each visit to the R's so that nothing like that happens again.

On Wednesday we had exchanges with the assistants. I worked with Elder A. He's the filipino elder that was Elder T's companion in Camalaniugan when I was there. I have worked with him tons of times already and it was still fun. He's hilarious. We taught an amazing lesson to a 25 year old guy. he asked amazing questions about the Book of Mormon. He thinks about the stuff we teach and tries to understand. It's marvelous.

 We also went back to this one guy's house that we had tried to contact before but he hadn't been home - only his house help was. This guy has a way nice house ("modern contemporary design") and also a couple of cars. When we walked up to his house that evening, he came out and was so excited to talk with us. He says he is being taught by some other churches and that they all tell him that they are the true church and if he doesn't join then he will be damned. So we went in and shared simply the whole first lesson. We asked, "Do you believe God loves you?"
"Yes", he said. Then we asked, "Do you believe he wants you to return to him?" The answer was yes again.
"Then don't you think that he would TELL you what exactly you must do to get back to him?" Then we shared the restoration and it was awesome. He invited us back. I will always remember sitting there outside his modern contemporary house, a line of bonsai trees behind me, and a nice warm breeze coming in and just feeling so calm and easy with the things we were teaching -  pure fruits of the spirit being manifest. He is such a cool guy too. He does all kinds of things with his son who is 14. They go biking together from here to Vintar, through Laoag and back! It's so great to see a tatay share interests with his son.

We also met a couple from Manila that is staying in Sarrat to help their nanay who is old. They saw us in a jeep a couple of weeks ago after we got some food (from Tacos del Norte, the only "real" Mexican food in the mission!) and were contemplating eating it on the jeep. We opened the styrofoam box and went to eat it but noticed all the people on the jeep watching so we put it away for later. When we met this couple, they were laughing so hard as they told us how it looked from their point of view.

We taught them, and the sister had a book out and was taking notes in the lesson. They gave us some dinuguan which is pigs meat cooked in pigs blood. We ate it last night and it's so good. It looks like chocolate covered meat.

We had a bunch of baptismal interviews this week and were all over the place trying to get to them and also get our own work in. Those interviews are always cool experiences.

Anyway, this was a pretty good week. I learned a lot and feel good about the work though there is not as much progress as I hoped. It would be so cool to show you guys around this place some time in the future and have you try all the awesome foods here. Ninety percent of the stuff that sounds or looks gross is actually awesome. We got two new missionaries in our zone (it's cool that I recognized them from when their profiles came into the office way back). One is a young kid from Utah and on his fourth day in the Philippines he got to go with his whole zone in a rented jeep to a nice beach. That's got to be such a great experience for him. The activity really helped me love our missionaries more - they are really awesome. I get mixed emotions between thinking of me leaving this place on a plane and wanting to cry and getting to the Ottawa airport and seeing you guys and being way happy. But I will be ready. Anyways, love you guys lots.
Elder Dustan

Thought He Was Golden But Turns Out He's a Gold Digger - Week 94. Serving in Sarrat

We had only one study session of time to prepare for for training our zone on what was covered at the zone leader conference. We were up until 1am getting it all done and then up at 5:30 to get to Laoag on time. It went well though. We got revelation relatively easy for our training. Fasting really helped.

Everyone was shocked by the new announcements but took it pretty well. Missionaries (like most people) don't seem to like change. The new schedule gives us a lot more planning time for lessons. We have already seen the difference in being totally prepared for lessons.

We broke our fast at McDonalds and as usual got more than we could eat - your eyes seem to get bigger when you fast.

We have lots of people to teach but we keep getting punted. We had no success in finding this week. We did go to Vintar to interview a couple for baptism though. I couldn't do the interview since I had taught them before, so I sat with Elder C and chatted.

We are still working on getting the R family ready for baptism. The father is way cool and could be baptised now if he wanted to but his wife is not quite ready.  We taught the word of wisdom. The tatay had already quit smoking but the doctor told him to keep smoking at least one a day to "stay healthy"! One of the neighbour kids has started coming into the lessons and is really interested. He asked me TONS of questions about the Book of Mormon and when you answer him he has the look of being completely absorbed by the answer.

We went back to see a really friendly guy we met before. As we are about to start teaching him, he says, "Yeah,I really need your help. I am not actually from here but the province south of llocos Sur. One day I found out someone was hiding gold under a tree near my house so I dug it up and took it and now they are after me. I need you to teach me." Well that was deflating - kind of crazy and funny, and way unexpected. We gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him to read it. We won't be going back though. Either he is crazy or a wanted man. Funny how great the missionaries are at finding these people and how bad the police are at it. Can't even count how many people we have found who have killed people and gotten away with it.

We had a great time teaching M, as usual. He is the coolest member - 67 years old and way active. He speaks great Tagalog for an old fogie. He's way funny too and loves his family so much. He was beaming two Sundays ago when, for the first time in years, his whole family was at church. He's the one we help by watering his crops.

Thanks for everything guys. I love you so much and still am very much enjoying every minute here.
Elder Dustan

Just One Last Cast Elder... - Week 93. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys! We just got back from Zone Leader Conference. It was great. They will be held on the first Monday of every month from now on. We had to be in Laoag at 7am Monday morning but we also had to attend our Stake Council meeting on Sunday night so we just stayed at the Laoag-2 missionaries' apartment. Monday we had all the training and then had lunch. Then we went and played games. We played rugby first, then baseball. We ended with football, which was the best part by far. we played "wrap ups" (where you have to bear hug to stop the play) but it quickly turned to border-line tackle.

This week has been so packed with stuff that it's hard to know what to write. Maybe I will just start with ZLC. The new thing is a new schedule which allows missionaries to prepare for lessons better. We also focused on chapter 2 of Preach My Gospel. We learned that there is a new dress code in place. The instruction from the area presidency is to find the learned and the well established people who can become leaders in the church. It's harder to do when you show up at their houses with ratty clothes and looking like a teenager, so back packs, vigan bags and "camel backs" (fancy word for fanny pack) are no longer allowed. Back packs - because we honestly look like high school students instead of missionaries. So to follow the instruction, Elder O and I went out this morning and got shoulder bags and I will look into getting a fancier watch and maybe a couple of shirts made. We also have some plans on how to find people who are more educated. We had some success with that in Laoag but here it's been more difficult, although we have had some success.

On Saturday we were walking after having been punted for most of the day - one that we had thought would be full of sure appointments. We were feeling a little down and then,  just as I was doing all I could to stave off pessimism and anger, we stopped and met a guy. He had been taught by the missionaries before and was happy to have us teach him again.

On Sunday we had the highest attendance at church that this place has seen in a long time. Awesome thing was that the members got way excited and kept saying "ELDERS! There are so many people here!" Then after church, a number of members asked to work with us and this week looks like it will be the week where the investigators really start progressing.

So often, our last lesson will end at around 7:30pm and then we are back near the apartment at around 7:45 with no one to visit. Finding at that time is really not productive. But we decided to stay out. I told Elder O about the last cast rule (how you often catch a big fish when you take one last cast - especially Dad at the pike quarry). He also shared some similar experiences. As we were deciding where we would go to find, we walked by a house, so we knocked at the door and a woman came out and told us to come in (unheard of at night here, EVERYONE says,  "It's late! You should have come earlier."). Turns out she was almost baptised in a different province but her husband died and the missionaries were moved out so it never happened. She asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon and asked if she could come to church. She was so excited for us to come back. It was such a direct blessing from God and such a strong confirming witness of faith that I almost couldn't take it all in.

We taught another guy for the second time. He was a little different this time and he started arguing with us. We reviewed what we had taught about apostasy and restoration and he seemed to get it really well. Then we asked if he believed the apostasy was real and he said no. So we asked, "Do you believe God calls prophets?
"Yes" he said.
"Do you believe so and so was a prophet in Old Testament times and that this prophet came after
him and this one after him?"
"Yes", he responded to all three questions.
"Then do you believe that Christ came to the earth and taught the people and established a church?"
"Yes."
 Then we asked, "Do you believe that God doesn't change and that he loves us and that's why he calls prophets?"
"Yes." So we asked, "Then who came after Christ and the apostles?"
 He said "....I don't know.....no one I guess." We asked, "Why do you think that is?" He replied "Well... I guess because of apostasy." Then the "TA-DA!" moment arrived when he realized he did believe what we taught him. It was great.

We also found a couple of sweet families. We taught them about the Holy Ghost and how it feels. It was the single most powerful lesson I have been in and the doctrine was so simple.

Elder T reminded me that we have only 3 fast Sundays left! I almost fell over with shock. Guys, I love you but I DON"T want to go home anymore! I am finally getting how to do this work and I don't want to stop.

Anyways, I love you guys tons and I miss you.
Elder Dustan

PS - yes Mum, I would eat balut again. It's less scary than bungee jumping!

Checking Up on the Vintar Gang - Week 92. Serving in Sarrat

Hey family. This week we got some great work in. The mission standard is to teach 30 lessons a week and as a leader area, we are supposed to.... well, lead. We haven't quite gotten there yet - we are one lesson short. We got punted all yesterday and just wanted that last lesson to hit the standard, as that was our goal (not number chasing but c'mon, one lesson away?). We got punted over and over again though and never got to teach that last lesson.

We did have an awesome week of finding though. It was like the old Vintar days! We found some really awesome people that seem really prepared. We also found some that are less so... Saturday we were punted and walked by a house with an older man sitting on the floor in the doorway. We approached him and introduced ourselves and explained what we do. Then we asked his name and he said "Saddam", so obviously I asked his last name and he said "Hussein", so I laughed. Then he asked angrily, "Why would you asks me my name if you were just going to laugh at me?". I was sure he was joking.

We are teaching the R family. Tatay is old but still full of energy. He's the one that has three teeth - one of which moves when he talks. He's so cool, he wants to go to the temple so bad. When we offer to do service for people, they usually say no because they are too shy but he said, "Sure, you can water my crops." Awesome! He has a little river that goes through his property and a bunch of buckets so we changed (we had planned for it and brought some clothes) and filled the buckets and watered his crops (papaya trees, tomatoes, peppers, corn etc.). It was a good work out. He said we could come back next week and do it again. He said it's a good thing we offered to help because he hadn't been able to water them for a while and they were about to die - poor guy.

Yesterday we set up to go with he and his wife to the house of another couple who are around their age who have been sealed in the temple. We talked about what to do to prepare and then started teaching the temple preparation lessons to them (we have been instructed to teach them).

Our teaching has been really great. We feel way relaxed -  just really comfortable with the doctrine and the
language. We went on exchange with the Vintar elders. I worked in Vintar! I caught up on all the people I taught and baptised when I was there. It was so great to see them.  All the Vintar converts are active and doing well, which was a load off my mind.

Sarrat is still tough. The members are stuck in a rut. The high councilor spoke on Sunday and mentioned that he met the original Sarrat missionary in Manila - the first one to serve here. He asked how Sarrat was and the councilor said, "Sarrat pa rin (still the same. It's still a branch). The RM was surprise and then the talk ended with, "Brothers and Sisters, this will become a ward when you do something about it. Amen". We love this place but we think they need some tough love.

 I love you guys.
Elder Dustan

Committed To Be Siyam Siyam Missionaries - Week 91. Serving in Sarrat

This has been a really tough week work  wise, although we have had some great success too. Our investigator family didn't come to church but earlier in the week they were all way excited about accepting a baptismal date for February. Then they punted us this week. Not too sure what's up with them yet.

I hate the feeling of walking to a progressing investigator's house and feeling all tensed, praying that they are not involved in things that will set back their progress. When I walk up to their house I am just hoping they still want to listen, that they don't hide or that they aren't drinking, etc.  My companion and I talked about it yesterday. This really is the most physically and spiritually taxing work that we have ever experienced. Constant worry about a huge group of people - like having 200 kids to worry about and you can almost feel the peoples' salvation on your shoulders.

We are teaching Tatay R to prepare he and his wife to go to the temple. He is possibly the coolest old man ever. He has like 3 teeth and sparse long white whiskers - like an old Chinese wiseman. He said he only has a few crops that he can afford to plant but because he follows the commandments, for some reason those plants give more and more every time he harvests! How cool is that? Now we are teaching his son's girlfriend as well.

We were walking home the other night and saw two young people walking and felt inspired to give out a Law of Chastity pamphlet! We carry one each and hope for hilarious but inspired opportunities to give them out. He was about 22 and she's around 17. We didn't know how to explain the pamphlet so we said that it's to help us in our families - which is true. They actually loved it though and we are going back to the guy's house (they don't live together).

We had our zone training meeting this week where we pass on the training from President B to the rest o the zone. It was all about chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel. At the end of the training we gave the kicker - a parable about a jeepney. When you get on a jeep there is a hired conductor at the back who takes the money and tells people to push down. He also helps if people have baggage. When there is little space left they are the ones who yell for everyone to squish in. They are often hated for it because they try to fit 9 people on each side of the jeep which is too tight but it's the standard. So when there are eight on each side, they bang the side of the jeep and yell "SIYAM-SIYAM!!"  (pronounced Sham-Sham), which is Tagalog for "nine and nine!" They also call to anyone passing by to get into the jeep to try to get as many passengers as possible.

This became our parable - that the jeep is running and ready to go and the jeep is the kingdom of heaven. These are the last days and the work is being hastened which is why there is a 300% increase in missionaries (which means a minimum of a 300% increase in people who are being prepared to listen to those missionaries!). We are the conductors. We need to be the ones that yell "Siyam siyam!!" and can always squeeze in one more. We should yell to everyone to get aboard and not miss any chance. At the end of the day the conductor gets wages according to the amount who rode in the jeep - as will we to an extent. Then we committed them all to be Siyam-Siyam missionaries! It was sweet.

We got punted all over this week and worked at finding a lot but we mostly got told to go away. We were guided to meet this one girl from Manila. She's 26 and has three kids but we don't know where her husband is. She's possibly the most down to earth person here though. We met her after we got punted and were walking aimlessly. For some reason she drew both our attention. We set up an appointment for the next day and she was really excited to have us over. We also dropped by this one house with two young guys, the older of the two was around 18. We gave them a Book of Mormon and left but felt impressed that we needed to go back there soon. Funny thing is, when we went to K's house (the Manila girl I just mentioned), it was the same house! So it all worked out perfectly. We are going back this week.

 I slapped a cow's neck fat this week too... a sort of challenge we have had for a while now.

I got to go back to Vintar to do a baptismal interview this week!!!! I loved being back there. They have a new meeting house being built. The neighbours of the missionaries gave their house to the church to convert into a meeting house and they moved to this tiny section in the back. They are so awesome!

 We also met a way cool old couple in their 70's who are sealed and endowed and very active. Way back when they met the missionaries, they told them to go away. Then the missionaries came back and were told to go away again - then they came back a third time and finally were able to teach them. Eventually they were baptized in the river. Nanay spins her own clothes so she made their baptismal clothes!

 I gave a talk yesterday on the apostasy in church. Things are progressing here slowly but surely.
I love you guys. Take care!
Elder Dustan

Bananas on the Moon - Week 90. Serving in Sarrat

Hey guys. Sorry but I have a little less time to email this week as I had to do the reporting of our zone numbers. This was a great week though. On Monday we found this guy named J. He's our barangay captain and now we are teaching him. We are still teaching the R family as well. On Monday we taught them about the restoration of the priesthood and how it blesses families. They loved it.

Tuesday was so-so. We had few appointments so we did lots of finding but had little success. The only guy we taught other than our appointments was a guy who has no job. He just sits at home and reads and drinks. All the other religions are teaching him too so we thought we'd jump in as well. He got up halfway through our lesson and went inside and took a shot and then came back out and sat down.

On Wednesday we had our Zone Leaders Conference. Before hand, we went to the palengke and I got some souvenirs - some really good ones. I'll decide whether to bring them or send them home. One thing I might do is what's called a balik bayan box. The pinoys that send stuff home from other countries send it or bring it in these huge boxes that are all taped up.

Zone Leaders Conference was sweet. It was all on chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel. For practice we went out and did an hour of finding. We taught the ex-mayor of Laoag. He was so nice. He said that the first vision is "spectacular". Conference training was sweet. President told us that there has been a 300% worldwide increase in missionaries. Don't how that works but still pretty cool. He said that they are going to put 4 missionaries in every unit but they will not put new missionaries in an unproductive area, so if you want your unit to get better, then you have to get your area doing better and then you can get two more missionaries. That's our goal for Sarrat.

Wednesday night we slept in my old apartment above the office. I had fun with my old companions, Elder K and Elder M. The next morning at about 5:15 the three of us went to M and E's. They were all sleeping and we woke the parents up when we got there. Funny thing is they didn't go back to sleep they all wanted to come and talk with us. They were so excited. It was really nice to see them. We chatted and joked with  M and E and it was just like it was before.

After Zone Leaders Conference, we went home and started to apply what we were trained on. The standard now is 8 new investigators a week. We got 17 this week! We taught a jewelry maker. He was really angry with us at first and very staunchly catholic. We just stayed calm and eventually we were able to teach him. Funny things is he LOVED the apostasy! We are going back.

Saturday we taught an old man who asked us to come over this week. He's the only member who asked us to teach him. He was sooooo nice (way fun too). I asked him how he was able to snag his wife (sounds better in Tagalog) and it was really funny - love at first sight. Then he said he's the lucky one. He asked us if we would help him and his wife get to the temple. They don't seem to have any issues as they are active members. I just don't think any one has ever helped them and they don't know what to do. They may have just fallen through the cracks.

One of our investigators told us she doesn't want us to come over anymore which really took the wind out of our sails. But teaching that guy and his family really made it all better.

On Sunday after church, a bunch of youth and young adults came and asked if they could work with us. That was great! I took the youth and the YSA went with Elder O. We taught Brother K the Plan of Salvation. I tried to get the youth to help me teach but they seemed to know very little about the Plan of Salvation. I think it woke them up to realize how much they suck (in a nice way). Bro. K told the youth that they don't know anything (SLAP!). So after the lesson I taught them. In the lesson I told them about myself and how I had been a bit like them. Then I pumped them up and also told them that if their generation goes away from the church then the church goes extinct from their country and plunges back into apostasy. It woke 'em up.

At one appointment we were teaching at, I mentioned the Terrestrial Kingdom and how it is compared to the brightness of the moon. The man went on about how scientists say it's cold on the moon but it's still good enough to plant stuff. He told me that they plant bananas on the moon. I really had to control myself and stop from laughing and peeing.

Anyways, things are going really well here. This is the best I have ever felt and also the most progress I have ever seen in myself or my area. We are really building from the ground up and it really helps us improve ourselves too.

So things are good. I miss you guys. Have a great week!
Elder Dustan

What? Dogs Setting Off Fireworks?? - Week 89. Serving in Sarrat

 On New Years Eve, after I emailed you, we were helping with some transfer stuff and we almost ran out of time for me to be able to teach M and E one last time - it was really frustrating. But it worked out and I got to see them. Apparently they wrote me a letter which I should get this week.

 That evening we were in lock-down and had nothing to do and there were some people there for early transfers so we got the flood lights out and set 'em up and then each of us put on a football jersey (we have a surplus - even I have two! One I bought because the name on the back is Harrison) and had a two hour game of football. Then we got cleaned up and went to bed but couldn't sleep with all the explosions. Fireworks are readily available here and not illegal so everyone and their dog was setting them off all over the city. At around 11:30 we went down to the parking area and watched. People were shooting really powerful fireworks all over the place like bottle rockets. They would also put them in the middle of the road and light them and then people driving by would just barely miss being blown up. It was really fun. Then we took in some pinoy tradition and had a midnight feast (President's idea, and they fed us).

On Tuesday we did transfers. I did my last driving in the Philippines and then they took us to our area. I left the office at noon and started working here that afternoon. There were only two light bulbs in the apartment (it's a very nice place though) and everything was a mess. We studied and set up an appointment with the branch president and then went out to do some finding until the appointment. Everyone told us to go away.

My companion is in his fifth transfer so he's still learning Tagalog (he's pretty good though). The branch president showed us around. We taught some members and then went home. That Tuesday night I felt as homesick as I did when I first got in the mission. Don't know why but it felt awful. We had quite a bit of work this week and met some people in the branch (this place has been a branch for a long, long time and it's in the Laoag stake).

 We did some cleaning at the meeting house and then on Saturday we had  a baptism (a 9 year old  who should have been a child of record but was late getting baptised . It was Elder O's first time baptising and the poor guy had to do it 5 times because the kid's toes kept coming up.

This week was  exhausting. Being thrown right into a new area and leading the zone is way tiring. We had church on Sunday at 9am but no one really showed up until 10 so we had no priesthood class.

We have been trying to apply things directly and exactly as they appear in Preach My Gospel and it's been working really well. We have 4 people we are planning on baptizing this transfer and two of them we just found.

 I got a letter from a girl that did my ultrasound at the hospital in Manila. She had written her phone number on the back of the ultrasound report. I felt bad when she gave me her number as she would expect me to call her - which obviously I can't do. So I told her if she wants I'd send her a letter - so I did. I wrote all about myself and how I decided to go on a mission and about the gospel and she actually wrote back! I think it's kind of hilarious. I realize that she may be having other thoughts about it so my plan is to be more clear about that and that I am just a missionary and friend. She mentioned in her letter how sad the death of her brother and father was so the next letter will be about the Plan of Salvation. Most random missionary opportunity ever!

That's pretty much my week. I love you guys lots. Have a great 2013!
Elder Dustan

The Transfer Aint Over Till the Ostrich Dances - Week 88. Serving in Laoag

Yo padres! I'M-A GETTIN' TRANSFERRED! So, here's how I found out: we were sitting in Priesthood meeting yesterday (Priesthood is first, then Sunday School and then Sacrament meeting is last) and President called and asked to talk to me. He told me I was being transferred far (so my heart dropped a little because my hope was that I would be somewhere close still so there would be a chance of seeing M and E). He then told me that I would be a senior zone leader and would also be training a new zone leader, so I assumed we were opening a new zone and the only place that is "far" and has no zone of its own is in Abra. I was a bit worried because 2013 is an election year and in an election year, Abra has troubles (the New Peoples Army), so usually western people aren't allowed there in election years. But then he told me that I would be in Sarrat (close to where I am now). He told me that our assignment is to strengthen the Laoag zone.

My companion is fairly new. I was in the office when he came into the mission. All I remember about him is that he's Hawaiian and I heard that he always speaks Tagalog - even to non-Filipino people. I think it will be a good chance to kick my language up a notch before I leave.

I am a little anxious about our new assignment as I have never been a zone leader for president B and it's very different from when the O's were here. But when I was reading the Book of Mormon yesterday, I found some great ideas and received some revelation that was so clear.

Earlier this week we went to Fort Ilocandia to get some pictures for the departing slideshow. There was a zoo there that we didn't know about! There was an enclosure with two ostriches and when we were leaving we walked by it and one walked right up to the fence until it was a couple of feet away from me (he could have pecked my eye out!). Then it started dancing! It squatted down and shook its wings and then started swaying its neck back and forth over and over for like two solid minutes! I got it on video and I'll show you when I get home.

We committed M and E to come to church and they said they have money from caroling. So yesterday when they weren't there it really hurt as it was my last Sunday there. Then a trike pulls up to  the gate and a pogi (handsome) kid in a white shirt and tie gets out, and it was M. He looked so good in his new shirt and tie (AND he tied it himself). E was also well dressed. M passed the sacrament for the first time and did so well. I gave him a copy of Preach my Gospel and he read through it for a while - he was way excited. He's such an awesome guy. I told them both that I was getting transferred and E kind of got grumpy and didn't want to talk about it. M was sad but we talked and he said he would work with the missionaries once a week to help them. Then after church, I got a text from E and she told me that she would miss me so much and thanked me over and over again. I am going to miss those two soooooo much. We are visiting them my last time tonight.


We ate at an investigator family's house last night and they are sooo legit they remind me of being home. I am excited to see them progress here. I will ask Elder K for updates. Anyways, I have to get going. We have lunch at a member's with the whole zone. I love you all so much. It was great to talk to you all on Christmas.  It gave me a boost for teaching!
INGAT!
Elder Dustan

Then we received this email on New Years Day:

So we are on lockdown right now as it is New Years Eve here and things can get crazy (that's why we are all to be in our apartments at 6pm). earlier today we were helping with transfers and stuff. We got finished around 4:30pm and then went out to M and E's. We spent some time talking and joking with them, taught them a lesson and then I had to say goodbye. It felt the exact same as when I left you guys at the airport in Ottawa. So weird that I feel like that for two random kids in some place I had never before even heard of or thought about. It was so hard to say goodbye to them.

Anyways, I have to get going. I am way sad to leave here but I guess it will be a good experience for me. I assume that I will either finish in Sarrat or only be there one transfer and then train for my last two in a new area (20+ missionaries coming in the February batch. Oh, and this transfer is 8 weeks because of the extension).
Wish me luck in Sarrat!
Elder Dustan