6-12-2017

Howdy do to you, family! It's great to know that y'alls be stillz alive out deer in good o Virginee! The pictures of the sheep are so awesome, Peter's got swag with the hat and his wonderful date ;) It's really neat to hear about what you've been trying to do Mommy about listening to church music and stuff at the start of your runs, and the strength that you have been receiving because of it!! It's interesting that you mentioned goals- because I was studying it the other day and I realized the reason why there ARE goals!

We set goals above our current capabilities to help them increase, and once our capabilities reach our goals- those goals increase! I felt that was something that can be applied in becoming perfect, we focus on those goals which increase our current capabilities :D

MOMMMMEEEEEEEE HAPPY BIRTHDAY :D :D :D You're an old lady now!

Haha, hope your birthday goes great- and don't worry if sometimes you feel like a bad mom, maybe just forgetful sometimes ;) But you're the greatest Mom ever, so don't get down on yourself hehe! 

Anyways, I guess I'd better let you know about how my week has been! In simple words- AWESOME!!!

So the first experience and probably the one most fun to share is that we had a  baptism this week for E! It was on Saturday in the afternoon (right before a mutual activity so all the youth attended as well) and it was so cool! E was so ready for baptism! We had also invited our investigators to come, C and S both came and said it was a really neat experience!

Hopefully you guys like the pictures, E is a really goofy person (and really short haha)! To get an idea, her testimony was really awesome after the baptism and then at one point she said "I'm grateful to God that he listened to my prayer and let the Cavaliers win the Finals" (Because I guess earlier that day or something, the Cavaliers beat Golden State in the NBA) It was just really funny! We are now going to be focusing on her mom and helping her to also progress :)

We have upcoming interviews this weekend for C and J- which is super exciting as well! They have been progressing really well and are ready to be baptized!!!

     We had a funny experience as well this week, so in case you don't know... our investigator B had a troubled past and a lot of regrets, but has been finding peace in this message. Well anyways, he had a long greasy ponytail when we met him and wore clothes that were kind of grungy.... yeah he's clean shaven now and has a neat haircut and new clothes! It was a pretty funny experience because we went to his house and I legit almost didn't recognize him because of his new appearance!!

I think that what's been helping us a ton in the work right now is the fact that Elder G is very enthusiastic and it has been rubbing off on me :D Haha, the work is good- although it's hot and humid now #rainy season

With Lots of Love, (HEY, don't count down the days until I get home--- (Btw, I saw my release date... it's Nov 8th... so like 149days.)) Haha, just kidding- I feel lukewarm about going home one day, as much as I miss you guys--being a missionary is so awesome!

Elder Morris Blue is an awesome color hahahaha

PS- OH, I totes forgot, I finally got a picture with a jeepney this week- we were sitting after the baptism and I realized that I never had a picture with one, so we took some! And then on the way back from a special broadcast in Aguilar the jeepney was full so Elder E and I got to ride on the back-- it was pretty fun! (Don't worry, we weren't in a ton of danger--the vehicles here do NOT move very fast, especially the jeepneys)

6-4-2017

Haha, I was pretty shocked... that's the most we've had since I got here! It's kind of hard because it means that there is so much for us to do and seemingly not enough time to be able to do it! It's so funny to hear about shearing Phil- I actually miss the experience of wrestling down sheep xD It's awesome to hear as well that the missionaries there are cool- it's always pretty lame if the missionaries are boring!!! But anyways, I'm afraid now of going home and to church in Winchester just because I KNOW I"M GOING TO FREEZE.

I think it's funny Mommy, how I used to make fun of you for always being cold and I'm going to be stuck in that same boat when I come back from this hot hot country xD

Anyways, it has been another great week! I don't know if it's because of our work, or if it's just because Elder G is an awesome missionary, but we've been seeing a lot of fun times and good, spiritual moments here in Bugallon! We were also blessed to see an increase in Zone effort! Something that we gave as a challenge to the missionaries here is 10 lessons a day, and though not all of us reached it every day... it really made a difference in how hard we're working!

Anyways though, our biggest news is that E is getting ready for baptism this coming Saturday! We weren't worried at all about her interview because she really knows it all! :D We're so excited for that this coming Saturday, I can't wait to let you guys know how it goes!

Sis still doing as awesome as ever and came to church last Sunday! We were talking to her on Tuesday and she told us that she feels like she should be baptized :D That was a really awesome experience!
There was something pretty funny though that happened! So perhaps you remember C and B? So C had been having a whole lot of questions and doubts while B is the opposite, just accepting everything... so last Saturday we introduced them to each other---to make a long story short: we're moving C's baptism date to be with Bs! That's because they became really good friends really quick and he's helped a lot with her concerns in just one day! :) It honestly surprises me to think that one of our investigators is becoming a big fellowshipper for a different investigator!!

        It's just so much fun to be here in Bugallon- it's weird to think that I'm coming up on 19 months in the mission. But don't worry, I'm trying to make the best use of the time that I've been given!

This is a short email, hope you don't mind :D I know this computer has viruses and so I won't send pictures this week- just imaging a piece of fried chciken in the middle of a field and that's me!!! We're also going to make the baptismal program for E today- so I gotta have time for that :)P

Love you guys,

Elder Morris

Philippines Urdaneta Mission

November2015-November2017

5-28-2017

Well howdy do! It makes me laugh that the first things I hear is that there is still a escape artist sheep---and good things it's gone! You guys need to save some of that Alpaca meat for when I get home, I totally want to try some :D :D

I realized in that picture with the catfish that I have gotten a *little* darker, and I really only mean a little---I miss those catfish! Adam and Peter have grown up a ton!!

It's funny that Jacob and Sammy are counting down the days (just for their news, as of today I have 5 months and 10 days, but who's counting ;)) Don't worry, I'm not homesick... we're too busy here for me to have time to be homesick! I'm really happy to hear about how Dexter is doing, I really can't wait to see him again--he'll probably laugh when he sees that I'm the color of fried chicken now xD

It's weird to think about all the things that have changed since I left (and how many things haven't.... #Jacoblovingbacon #AdamandPeteraregoofs #chickenbutt #farmwork #puwitngmanok #hashtags)

Anyways, All I can really say is WOW, it was a busy week, and I can safely call this week "Miracle Week" as I sit here and go over the last week with my new companion, Elder G! Something that we've been doing is striving to have power to achieve the goals that we set. And this week we were blessed with 13 investigators coming to church, many of which were "first time" visitors. I think that what my companion has been doing is what helped them to be comfortable. INVITE INVITE INVITE. Every lesson with anyone, we would tell them how happy we would be to see them on Sunday, and for investigators we encourage them to just try and see what it's like there- and then promise that they will enjoy it!

     And boy, we were surprised to see those precious souls come to church!!

  We visited some of those who went to church yesterday and they said that they really enjoyed it- and made a lot of new friends!

There is one investigator that I would love to tell you about, someone we actually met this last Tuesday who came to church yesterday, her name is S... one of our new investigators. In this week, I was taught me a lot about being sensitive to the spirit and about the calling as missionaries, with an increased testimony that people ARE being prepared for this gospel! So we just finished teaching one of our investigators and were walking down the street to get to the highway when a silly group of kids ran up to us and told us to go and visit this one home (one of the kids was this sisters son)... and so Elder G and I decided "Why not??" and called at the home, no sooner than 10 seconds pass when a kind sister of 31 years old comes out--without us even having time to introduce ourselves or to even say hi, she tells us to come in. It kind of took me back for a second because we literally just called "tao po" and she was letting us in. In the beginning of us getting to know her, we find out that she has never ever met the missionaries or "Mormons"- which really surprised me because she let us in with NO hesitation. A very spiritual first lesson passed and she gave the closing prayer, expressing afterwards that that was the first time that she had ever prayed from her heart- and was very happy about it!

Our second visit just amazed me, because she was so ready to receive the message of the restoration: after the closing prayer of that lesson (she once again prayed, and nearly cried)- she expressed what she was feeling and we helped her to identify that as the Spirit.

After a few seemingly breathless moments, she smiles with tears in her eyes, looks to the sky and quietly says

           "Amazing."

It truly was amazing, she then committed to come to church the next Sunday, and yesterday she came! She even brought her two kids and expressed that she really enjoyed it!

    -For Elder G and I, it was a miracle-

Our other investigators who came to church have similar stories: B, who was born into a rich family but after losing his parents.... lost everything through "riotous living" and now is searching for truth. We were sharing the other day with him and he expressed absolute desire to be baptized and have a "home base" in life! It's really awesome, he's the one who does home remedy and stuff--the other day we ran into him at a members home and decided to have our blood pressure checked, mine was 130 over 90 (which I guess is a little higher than it should be.. maybe it was just from a busy day of work!)

We are so excited for this month, because there are upcoming baptisms this June, which we are really excited about!!! The way Elder G and I have it planned, we expect and hope to have weekly baptisms starting June 10th! The work here is REALLY picking up, I think it was a revelation to have Elder G here in Bugallon! The  closest one we have is E, she's been progressing consistantly and awesomely since we met her!

So long story short: This week was Amazing :) Elder Gand I have become really close friends pretty quick: and I decided to just tell everyone that I'm from Manila (b/c I'm just so tan, hahaha) and the scary part is that a LOT of people actually believe it xD

But that's really all that I can say about this week, and this coming week is going to be incredibly busy--Elder G and I have a lot of work to do!!! :)

I hope that things keep doing well back home, don't stress over the little things! That's one of the biggest things that I've learned while being here, is that there isn't a reason to stress over things that don't matter: but to enjoy every minute of it :D

Nagmamahal,

Elder Morris

Ps- Interesting food for the week: Hard-boiled quail eggs! They were way good, just imagine a hard boiled egg, but reeeeeallly small!!

      Oh, and we totally found this HUGE grasshopper outside our apartment, it was way cool xD