10-23-3016

Dear Family
First things first... that 'cold oatmeal' that you saw in my last email is actually called Lugaw. It's rice that you cook in a lot of water and it makes it almost like a soup, you then mix things like garlic, pepper, ginger and other spices. It's actually SUPER delicious...maybe I'll cook that as well when I get home!!!

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY DEXTER!!!!!

Congrats Adam on being able to pass the sacrament for the first time... that's one of the best responsibilities, I feel, because you are helping people to renew their covenants with God :)

It's always so fun to me to hear about the news from the farm and all the happy experiences that you guys have been having, and sometimes sad for the hard times. But such is life, right? :) 

If you want to know something interesting... here in the Philippines they don't celebrate it on October 31st! They actually celebrate it on November 1st. Weird right? The culture here is really different... but it's fun. I think it's going to be weird to eventually go back home and realise how different the cultures really are!!! :)P

Anyways, I should probably talk about my week... I think that the biggest news for this week is the fact that my companion, Elder A going to be training a new missionary which means that sometime this week I will be being transferred to a new area!! President D also told me that this coming transfer I will be called as a Zone Leader, which honestly shocked me because I frankly don't feel like I could fill those responsibilities. But it should be a pretty fun adventure and I'm sure to learn a LOT of new things about myself! So I think that this coming email ought to be pretty interesting!

Anyways, this last Tuesday we were hit by another Bagyo, though it wasn't really strong where we were... just strong wind. I think that we were lucky though in not being wrecked by one of those storms. There wasn't any sort of cleanup work that we had to do. I'm just glad that the people here in Tayug were all safe and that all of us missionaries were quite safe! 

This week we have a really neat story in the fact that we attempted to hold a sacrament service in Santo Domingo (It's kind of far from the chapel and there are a lot of less active members) and it turned out to be amazingly successful! The less active families were almost all able to come to church and feel of the spirit. As well as two of our investigators from Santo Domingo who are actually really really kind to us.... they are these two Nanays who are really open to the missionaries! :) Actually, I was rather shocked yesterday in our Tayug service and our Santo Domingo service because President E literally called me out of the congregation to give a talk! (Elder A told him that he will be training and that I will be transferring... so he decided to just call on me to talk). A lot of people seem to think that missionaries are really good public speakers and don't get nervous or anything... I talked okay but honestly I was super nervous for some reason xD It went okay though, and I realized while talking how awesome members of this church are! But other than that, it was a pretty normal Sunday!

My funny moment (and kind of sad this week) came when we went to a less active sister named C and were about to share when her husband comes around the corner of the house.... and he was LASING. or drunk. I mean this man could barely even walk he was so out of it.

This man for some reason gets SUPER friendly when he is drunk and it was one of the weirdest experiences of my life... especially when he comes up behind me and Elder A and....and... kisses us on the cheeks. I got kissed 5 times on my cheeks by a drunk man (Elder A got kissed on his cheeks 4 times... one being scarily close to his mouth). I mean we didn't really move or anything because Nanay told us that when he's drunk... he can become very mean very quick.  It was quite frankly an awkward experience but by the end I had an even deeper conviction to follow the Word of Wisdom as long as I live xD I can officially say that I have been kissed by a man... on my mission... *shudder*

Anyways though, I really did enjoy this week... even though it was kind of crazy or stressful at parts. But that's life, it's a rollercoaster!  

Our successful part from this week is with the teenagers and kids of less active members and for our investigators. It was that we printed these Book of Mormon reading charts for them to keep track of where they are in the BOM!

Anyways, I love it here! These week should be AWESOME!!!!

Sige...iyan lang :) INGAT KAYO hah??? :D I love you guys so much, take care all the way over there in Virginia!

~Elder "Philip" Morris~

10-17-2016

Howdy do! This is going to be kind of short because me and my companion are going to SM Mall so that he can buy a camera (because his camera broke) and it's kind of far, so we gotta leave soon xD haha, I'm glad that I was safe too in the storm... but I'll tell you guys about that later in this email! It sounds like this week has been really great with a little bit of heartache thrown in... so awesome that you guys could go to Washington DC and learn so much about the different symbols and to learn more about George Washington! (Awesome by the way that pin that you sent me "Vote for George Washington"... the only sad part is that in the world how it is... I feel like he wouldn't be elected :P) I'm so proud of Adam for being such a good example . If there is something that I've learned here in the mission, it's how it feels to be among lost sheep and many of them enjoying the pasture away from our Good Shepherd. It's not something easy, but I've seen that with the right support and love, that things work out one day! Don't give up hope :)

I know that you have realized it, but it's something that we all see over and over again... that Satan will always push his hardest before something great happens! Example- The force that Satan used against Joseph Smith as he was praying before he saw our Heavenly Father. 

Anways though, I hope that things go awesome and that you will have a fun time dealing with the new alpacas! I cant wait to see them when I get home xD

Well.... I suppose that the biggest news for this week is the fact that we experience my first Bagyo (typhoon) since coming here on my mission. It wasn't super long, but we were locked down from early Sunday Morning to about 1pm. So church was cancelled and we had sacrament in our apartment! The rain and wind were SO STRONG that night (Saturday night) at like 4am and we got kind of wet. It was a pretty cool experience though, nobody that we know was put into danger and we were all safe! However, this morning our Branch Mission Leader texted and said that there is another storm coming this evening (though we don't know... #can't watch the news)

I was pretty bummed out though because we couldn't have church and couldn't take our investigators to church. But I suppose it's okay because we have next week to be able to do that!

         Anyways though, we had a really fun time this week in teaching and trying to keep doing our best here in Tayug! I'm officially 6 months here in the one area, which is super crazy and I totally feel like in the coming week or two that I will be being transferred :)p It has and still is such an awesome time being out here in Tayug in the Philippines and I've learned so much! My kind of sad story this week is when we were teaching this less active Nanay who hasn't come to church in so long and we found out that she has been smoking again! HAY NAKU!!! (Hay naku is kind of saying like... OH MAN... or GOSH DARN... or... I dunno) She's like 70+ years old too...so we retaught the Word of Wisdom to her and obviously invited her to stop smoking so that she can be healthier!

And we totally made ice cream this week, it was strawberry flavored :D

Anyways, this coming week I'll hopefully have some crazier stories to tell and a little more time to email ;) INGAT KAYO! :D I love you guys so much! Thanks for helping to support me while I'm here on the other side of the world!

~Elder Morris

ps-We have a member who we totally asked to make neckties for us out of handkerchiefs (I dunno if that's right... I think that panyo is easier.)

10-3-2016

HELLO PO!!! Ito si Elder Morris.... hindi ako gagamit ng Tagalog ngayon. What people say here when you speak a language they don't understand it "nosebleed". So they always laugh and try to speak English to me and then call it nosebleed xD Anyways, it sounds like a super amazing week for you guys! What an awesome opportunity for you guys to be able to go to Gettysburg and to also be able to go to New York! It's really interesting that you talk about America being the promised land... it reminds me this last week when we were teaching pastor E and he asked us how America could be the promised land if the promised land is in the Middle East. That land was promised to Moses and for Israel. Anyways, it sounds like it has been a really awesome week for you guys!

It's been a pretty great week for me as well! I'll have been here in Tayug for 6 months at the end of this transfer... so like October 20somthing. It just blows my mind as to how fast time has been flying by! This week I really learned a lot about this work and then the things that I can and need to still improve in myself.

I think one of the biggest things that happened this week is that I attended my first DLC (District Leader Council) and learned more about my responsibilities as a District Leader. It's actually a super fun calling because it has been giving me a greater opportunity to grow closer to the missionaries in my district. They are super cool!! 

OH, and J totally passed his baptismal interview!!!!!! He's going to be baptized this coming weekend. It's been such an awesome time teaching him... I found that it's people like that (the receptive ones) who just happen to make this whole entire mission worth it. I've started to realize that it is so fun to get to know people...!

Remember that Pastor that I've been telling y'all about? Yeah... he totally came to church again and this time brought his son and one of the youth from his unit! It was pretty awesome, to be honest I got surprised at the fact that they actually were really nice and open to the church! It was a really good Sacrament meeting  because obviously it was fast Sunday and the members gave some really powerful testimonies :) Haha, wouldn't it just be so awesome if we somehow managed to convert a whole church?! xD We feel like he knows that this message is true but wants to be 100% sure before he can act on anything... I mean let's be honest! If he decided to accept our message... he would forfeit his title as pastor, his money from the church, his house... basically everything!! But I do suppose that if someone has deep enough faith, that sort of sacrifice isn't a problem at all!

Ummmmm..... what else? Other than that it's just been a pretty crazy week and we've been trying to teach like crazy xD I think that part of the reason is that we got the news that the Urdaneta temple site has been chosen!!!! They will hopefully in the next few months have the groundbreaking ceremony! :D The work is really progressing!!!

Anyway, a quick update as to where I am... in a computer shop where there are a LOT of students who are playing computer games and not using any headphones... so it's super lound and kinda hard to think... oh well :)P I'll endure. IT"S SO LOUD xD

That's been MY week... and I'm proud to say that it's been great :) Sorry that this is so short, I don't really have too much time and I feel like my head is going to explode if I am here for about 10 more minutes!!!!!

Bye bye! (that's something that one totally says to kids before leaving) I love you guys so much!

~Elder Morris

ps- That family is the C family, they aren't members... but investigators who are really nice to us. Sister C is pregnant and due any day now! It was a super fun lesson and we shared about two words: Follow Me.

 At around the same place, I saw the most beautiful thing I've seen here yet!!!

I figure you guys would LOVE that goat because whenever I walk up to him, he literally turns his whole head sideways and looks at me... it's so cute!!!!!!!

And finally, they finally finished painting the awesome castle here in Tayug!!! :D :D :D


Ps- Mommy.... Elder L saw the pictures and asked if Dexter was your husband xD You look very young apparently! #younggrandmother #babyfacesforlife




Hi!.. it sounds like a crazy but AWESOME WEEK!!! That Barbarian Party sounds SO AWESOME... though I'm not sure you can really call it that unless all of you ate with your bear hands >:) That's what I want to do when I get home... one night Imma buy rice and cook Adobo... then we all gonna eat like Filipinos!!! Anways, It's so fun to hear about the stuff that happened this week! What a wonderful opportunity you have to go on the Tour and that sounds so fun! :) This is also gonna be a pretty short email because we gots a lotta stuff to do today and I'm almost out of time...

  I have to say first though... this week has been just INSANE and we hadsomeof our work taken out. So this last Tuesday Elder A got a really bad toothache and so we obviously went to the dentist. Long story short... Elder A got one of his molars removed. That got our work cut down by some two days because we got told that he shouldn't be doing a ton of work...so that was interesting. And then I got sick yesterday with some fever and aching body so I couldn't exactly work very hard. (Haha, I'm all okay now...)

  Anyway, I have a pretty awesome story I want to tell... first is about one of our investigators... or should I say the pastor of Seventhday Adventists! (His name is E...totally sounds like a drug... it's a mix of his parents names and his siblings.) Anyway, we went back to teach him and I felt pretty much overwhelmed! Here I am with my companion, two guys who havent really studied deeply in the Bible or gone to some scripture school... sitting with a pastor of many years who has studied deeply in the Bible. And he had a LOT of questions...! It wasn't too bad though because we had a member with us who knows how to discuss those questions (because he was training to be a pastor before he became a member). he was a really nice guy actually... it only felt like a debate when he started talking about the statement of Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book. (because in his view... if the BOM was right... the Bible was wrong) Anyways, we got the sorted out....

            AND HE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY.

  This Pastor came to church with us and actually enjoyed it! It was actually one of the coolest experiences ever... he then told us that next week he'll try to come again and bring the youth of his church so that they could listen to our beliefs! (I don't know if he would ever change his religion... but it was a really neat opportunity to teach and try to help answer his questions)

   We will hopefully also have a baptismal interview for one our investigators this weekend, his name is J and he's like 16 years old. It's also been really a great time to teach him... J was taught by other missionaries some 7 years ago but wasn't baptized because his father really was against the church. About last year his father died and his mother is incredibly supportive of his choices... so about 6 weeks ago they were actually referred to us through a member, and now he's progressed to the point of baptism. His time is coming up on October 8th... so we'll see about his interview :)

Other than all that, it's just been another week in paradise! The mission life is the best :)

INGAT KAYO!!!! Take care y'all!!!! I love you guys so much :)

~Elder Morris