5-22-2017
Howdy do! It's so great to hear from you guys again- it sounds like it's been a really good week out there with a bunch of adventures. I was confused by the picture with all the pitchers and stuff until I learned that it was 7-11 and you just got a whole ton of slurpees. That's so funny :D
The Alpacas look pretty gross without all the wool or whatever it's called, but they must be so cute in real life..!!
I'm just happy to hear that things are going good at home :)
Anyways, this week was AWESOME! We have some really great people to teach--but before that, the biggest news is that Elder L has been transferred back to Bayambang zone to a different area. It's weird because he wasn't even 3 months here before he transferred, but we're trusting President D's revelation!
My new companion is Elder G and he's from a part of the Philippines called Cagayen De Oro, which is in Mindanao- he's pretty new in the mission (Like 7 months) and is really awesome. He's 26 years old almost 27--so he's super old! It was a weird few days because I had to get used to speaking Tagalog all the time again, as Elder L and I just spoke English together, haha!
It's been real fun though, he's a great teacher and I can tell that we're going to have an awesome time these next few weeks!
The work here is still just as progressing as ever! C cried and was all sad that Elder L was gone, but we clarified that the missionaries may change but the calling and the message is the same- and she came to church last Sunday as well! For the 7th time in a row :D This week we're really going to push baptism and get her committed to it!
E and J also came to church again, and are still reading and praying, we're excited for their upcoming baptisms in June :D
We also had 3 newer investigators come to church, one of which is named B! He lives with a less active family and does "Oriental Medicine" as a job (Like acupuncture and stuff)- By listening to his life story and everything, we learned that he is REALLY interested in finding a "home base" in life that can give him peace of mind! We promised actually that he'll find that here, especially through the Book of Mormon! He came to church last Sunday and made a lot of friends because everyone here is for some reason interested in "home remedies" and so he also found a lot of potential 'clients' hehehe :)
Actually, we've really been finding success here and are having a great time! This week is going to be awesome, although it may take a little more adjustment for me to get used to Elder G- but it'll be awesome :) Ummmm... funny stories for this week? Well, before Elder L transferred, we decided to take a "First Presidency of Aguilar Zone" picture and it looks so legit xD Or that Nobody here believed that Elder L transferred, everyone thought that Elder L would be back tomorrow--that is until Elder G bore testimony on Sunday and told everyone that Elder L is really gone!!! That was pretty funny!
It's just been a great week, we're so excited to be missionaries and serving here in Urdaneta Mission :D
Take care all y'all crazies, love yah! Keep taking care and being awesome!!
Elder Morris
Ps- I got to look into some colleges and I realized that I don't have to worry too much considering that I can just apply for Spring/Summer semesters when I go home :)P
5-8-2017
5-8-2017
Howdy do to all of you! It's really awesome to once again hear from you guys :D It's so scary how fast time has been flying- like it feels like just yesterday I was here emailing you about the crazy guy sneaking into our bathroom. But it's been a week. And another "Crazy Guy FREE" week--we've been doing safe :D
I'm really happy to hear that you got to see Dexter, next time you go and see him- let him know that "Elder Sir Isaac the Awesome" says hey wazzup man :) And of course that I love him, hehe!
Anyways, it's so awesome to hear how things are going along back home, I see how some things might be stressful- but I really feel like you guys can handle it very well! It's super exciting that there are 16 new lambs this year :D That's a TON!!!
Well, this week has been REALLY awesome! We have once again worked hard in the work where- And had a really neat experience this previous Sunday when we had 3 investigators come to church- all of which are very progressing :D One of our investigators who came to church (Though not here---she went to visit Cavite because she had to fix some things back home--and so she went to church in Cavite instead) actually texted us on Sunday, and it was really awesome!
So the backround of this is that she told us that she would be in Cavite for a few days and wouldn't have much to do, so we invited her to take the Book of Mormon and read/ponder/pray and so she did. Which was really cool- so she texted us on Sunday and this is what she said
(Of Course, this is translated into English just so y'all know what it said)
Hi Elder, I just got home from church- You actually texed me but I didn't see or read it until now. I'm happy that even though I'm here I was still able to communicate with you. I did what the Study that you shared. Bit by but Elder I'm understanding it... and I was able to feel peace, and my feeling was light. I think that was it.
So... the translation isn't perfect, but you guys get it hopefully. She's really been searching this and we have every reason to feel and see that she knows this is true now! It was a really neat experience and we're so excited to go back and teach her this week :D :D
Today, we're actually in Dagupan because we're going to get our suits today so expect some great pictures :D It's really funny because tomorrow morning we actually have a meeting in Urdaneta, so we're staying here until 6 and then are going to go and sleep in Urdaneta--it'll be way fun :D
Oh, and for the pictures::: We totally made and cooked some homemade Softshelled tacos last Monday- they were DELICIOUS :D
For the National Day of Service, we went to this one Less Active members home and cleared a whole bunch of weeds, good things the weeds were all vines, so with some elbow grease we could just roll them and get rid of them!
But that was about it for the week: I'm really looking forward to Mothers Day this week :) Love you guys so much!!! Seeya in 6 Months!
~Elder Morris
Whew! Sorry if this is a long email- hopefully y'all don't mind too much! I'm really happy to hear from you guys this week- it sounds like things are going along really well back home :) I had to laugh just a little about hearing about the missionaries back home in Woodstock- because I totally know missionaries out here that are just like that!!! It's pretty weird to be on the other side of the picture.
Anyways, It's totally awesome as well to hear about the Woodstock Youth and YSA all growing up and doing pretty fun things- it sounds like life aint slowin down for noone!
Have fun and good luck in training for your marathon coming up- I bet that'll go really well :D
-----I don't wanna hear about the temp. back home..... it never drops below 80 here xD Just kidding- I was talking with Elder L and we decided that we are just doing to die when we go home!!!
We'll be going to Dagupan next Monday to pick up the suits... so I'll be sure to send pictures when we get them!
Anyways, this has been an awesome week! So first thing- in regards to my "lost and found" scriptures that were returned to me this week! I had the opportunity to talk with the Elder who got them back and here is the more full story:
So I guess that they were walking down the street and then from a house this man called them over. So what happened was that this man is the driver who had my scriptures (knew it was the missionaries because I had an extra nametag on the cover)--- Elder N then said that they immediately taught this guy (twice now) and he accepted a baptismal invitation! It was just really REALLY funny how they found the scriptures just because of a really nice tricycle driver!!
But HOLY COW we have a story for you guys!!! This was last Monday when we were coming back from Lingayen on Pday- So Elder Lomax and I are coming back to the apartment--as we walk into the gate, the two of us are just talking and laughing about stuff when we notice something a little off with the apartment.
(The apartment has a covered porch in front)
The first picture I sent with this is what we found- but there was a MAN.
So there was this totally crazy, homeless guy just chillin' in front of our apartment. (I mean legit crazy... there are a few that just walk around the town here). It was the weirdest thing- he was just laying there, grinning at us! Obviously we didn't do anything to him because he didn't know what he is doing. But upon close inspection- we discovered he stole food from our fridge AND OUR PILLOWS-- Yeah, he totally broke into our house!
So then we walk around back to see how he got in, and the back door is open... then as we are walking through the house to see what else he did. THE CRAZY GUY WALKS RIGHT IN OUR FRONT DOOR. And so we do what anyone does, and shoos him out xD And we notice around that time that money we left on the table to pay for electricity was gone.... turns out he stole the money and bought a TON of coffee! (If you look in the picture, you'll see a LOT of coffee packets that are all open)
We then walked over to the police station to get some assistance (because the guy wouldn't leave our property). And they come over and check his little back for any money he might not have spent- all our money there was gone, so we were down. And then the police said they can't do anything about it because the guy is crazy :P
It's all good though, we got a crazy laugh out of it!! And then next day our Mission supply manager came over and replaced the locks on our doors so the guy couldn't get in again.
The weird part is we were talking to some kids and they said he was going to our home almost every day and going inside.... which explains why our bathroom was getting some unholy smell in it xD After that experience we walked into the bathroom, and it reeked of cigarettes- so we figure that the guy smoked in our bathroom....
------Since that day, he hasn't come back... so it's all good-----
Anyways, we also found a pretty cool river in a far part of our area this week- so we did what anyone would do... and took a 5 minute break to take pictures xD
Finally, an update on our work here- we had some investigators come to church this week. Which is SO awesome! So two of them are investigators we only started teaching this last week= E and J... they both are young woman aged, and we met them because they are related to some of the members here. It was a miracle because they both are incredibly receptive and really are just absorbing our message! That has to be the highlight of our week- we really just saw the light coming into their lives. So Elder L and I are really expecting them to progress this week :D
It was actually funny, because we went back to Erika and asked if she read the pamphlet we left and she read the WHOLE thing and understanded pretty much all of it! (In case you wonder, that doesn't happen too often here) But it really was just a ton of fun :D
We actually had an awesome week this week!!! Love you guys so much, seeya in 6 months haha!
~Elder Morris
And, we finished President D 1 Month Book of Mormon speed read challenge (Which meant we had to read 18 pages a day) and it was really awesome! We marked everything to do with Jesus Christ and then things to do with "the Missionary Purpose" and my small Book of Mormon became a coloring book! It was really cool too, because I got kind of an overview view of the Book of Mormon and really got to understand it more as a whole :)
And, we finished President D 1 Month Book of Mormon speed read challenge (Which meant we had to read 18 pages a day) and it was really awesome! We marked everything to do with Jesus Christ and then things to do with "the Missionary Purpose" and my small Book of Mormon became a coloring book! It was really cool too, because I got kind of an overview view of the Book of Mormon and really got to understand it more as a whole :)
So if you guys ever want to have a crazy challenge-- try to read the Book of Mormon in a month, it's awesome ^-^
Love again,
~Elder Morris
4-24-2017
Funny moment in regards to the temperature- we went to a restaurant earlier and sat in front of an air conditioner that was at 70F and I felt like I was going to freeze my face off! It was super duper cold- and then we made the connection that it's going to be colder than that when I go home xD I think that y'all are gonna need to bring a blanket to the airport!!!!
Haha, just kidding- It's SO EXCITING to hear that the chapel is going to get an expansion! Hopefully what that means is that I'll get home to give my homecoming in a bigger building xD From what I hear, the ward back home is really doing good!
I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do or even can do to start thinking about colleges, to be honest I don't even like thinking about the prospect of me going home one day- as much as I miss you guys, I'm afraid of having to step back into the "real world" hehehe... maybe I'll give that some thought during this week :)
Anyways, in regards to my week, we've had a really fun time! Though it really was a lot of work in all that we do :D Elder L and I have been having quite a blast in teaching and serving- especially with our progressing investigators, the Arenas family! They are really awesome and have been asking some really good and surprisingly deep questions-thank goodness they are ones that can be answered!! It's really interesting, because we've been teaching people recently who are really striving to focus on the message and trying to understand it! (Because often times we teach people who literally just listen because they are being nice).
Anyways, there was a REALLY crazy experience this last week... so I got a call from the mission office and got some funny news!Haha, just kidding- It's SO EXCITING to hear that the chapel is going to get an expansion! Hopefully what that means is that I'll get home to give my homecoming in a bigger building xD From what I hear, the ward back home is really doing good!
I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do or even can do to start thinking about colleges, to be honest I don't even like thinking about the prospect of me going home one day- as much as I miss you guys, I'm afraid of having to step back into the "real world" hehehe... maybe I'll give that some thought during this week :)
Anyways, in regards to my week, we've had a really fun time! Though it really was a lot of work in all that we do :D Elder L and I have been having quite a blast in teaching and serving- especially with our progressing investigators, the Arenas family! They are really awesome and have been asking some really good and surprisingly deep questions-thank goodness they are ones that can be answered!! It's really interesting, because we've been teaching people recently who are really striving to focus on the message and trying to understand it! (Because often times we teach people who literally just listen because they are being nice).
thanks for sharing this experienced
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