Hello Everyone!
Sorry it has been quite a lot of time since I have written an email. The mission seems to get busier and busier and as a result, faster and faster.
The last two months on Biliran Island were unbelievably hot. It reached over 90 degrees almost every day and it was truly punishing. We were doing our fair share of biking up mountains around the island, and it just about broke my body. Mountain biking in slacks was never meant to be done. Luckily, I had such an amazing companion who really helped me get through it. We had almost all of our progressing people stop meeting with us, but we were able to help many people come closer to Christ and feel His love.
I have since been transferred out of Biliran and am now in Bontoc, Southern Leyte. We are whitewashing the area, which means that instead of the usual exchange of companions, we are both new to the area. We were dropped in nearly completely blind, and we were sent to our area without even knowing where our apartment is. With the help of the local members, however, we were able to find our apartment. It turned out to be this small little house at the end of a dirt road. Almost all of our neighbors live in bamboo houses. We really are in the middle of the jungle.
The first few days in the new area were a little rough to say the least. The last missionaries seemed to have left like there was a natural disaster and the apartment was void of many essential things. As a result, we spent a good amount of time cleaning and buying supplies for our apartment.
When we got to the apartment, there was only one fan. This is a problem since our house is a rectangular prism of concrete with a tin roof. Some may think this design resembles an archaic oven. That is a good observation because that's exactly what it is, but instead of cooking meat or bread, this one cooks people. The first two nights, it was like a broiler with one fan for two people. The second night was especially bad because the power went out for the whole village at 12:00 am and never turned back on that night. That was probably one of the hottest nights of my life. I laid on some plastic chairs in the doorway, hoping for a breeze, but all I got was a bunch of mosquito bites. Luckily, by the third day, I was exhausted enough to sleep despite the heat. Since then, we have repositioned some things in the apartment and bought a new fan. My body has now adjusted to the heat, and all is well.
One of my biggest struggles in the last few months is to continue to have hope even when there doesn't seem to be any. It felt like at every turn, something would go wrong. Just when things looked like they were going to get better, they just got worse. I have since learned however, that we need to make the most out of our hard situations and bear our afflictions with patience. Many of the trials in the past few months have made me get fairly frustrated a few times, but I have realized that it never really helped the situation. While reading in the book of Alma, I came across a verse that really stuck out for me. In Alma 26:27 it states:
"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
This verse was a hard pill for me to swallow. Why was I expecting success when I was not bearing my trial in patience? The men, to which this comfort had been given, bore such unbelievable trials that were much more difficult than mine. They, however, continued to have hope. Not in themselves or the situation, but in God. This was part of His plan. They had the knowledge and faith that no matter what happens, even if it came unto death, God was looking out for them. We need to have an equal trust. Concerning this topic, this scripture rings out in my mind from the 122 Section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
8 “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He?”
This was the word of the Lord to Joseph Smith while in Liberty jail. Those were some dire conditions, but it did not excuse him from losing hope in God's plan. The Savior descended into the dark pit of humanity's sins and sufferings yet remained true to His Father and had faith in His plan. He is the greatest of all and yet he suffered for even the least of us. If this is true then none of us should lose hope because He did not. This lesson has been a difficult one to learn for me, but I know that as I apply myself each day, I will eventually have a perfect hope. I know my Savior has born my burdens, and He gives me the strength to move forward. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sorry it has been quite a lot of time since I have written an email. The mission seems to get busier and busier and as a result, faster and faster.
The last two months on Biliran Island were unbelievably hot. It reached over 90 degrees almost every day and it was truly punishing. We were doing our fair share of biking up mountains around the island, and it just about broke my body. Mountain biking in slacks was never meant to be done. Luckily, I had such an amazing companion who really helped me get through it. We had almost all of our progressing people stop meeting with us, but we were able to help many people come closer to Christ and feel His love.
I have since been transferred out of Biliran and am now in Bontoc, Southern Leyte. We are whitewashing the area, which means that instead of the usual exchange of companions, we are both new to the area. We were dropped in nearly completely blind, and we were sent to our area without even knowing where our apartment is. With the help of the local members, however, we were able to find our apartment. It turned out to be this small little house at the end of a dirt road. Almost all of our neighbors live in bamboo houses. We really are in the middle of the jungle.
The first few days in the new area were a little rough to say the least. The last missionaries seemed to have left like there was a natural disaster and the apartment was void of many essential things. As a result, we spent a good amount of time cleaning and buying supplies for our apartment.
When we got to the apartment, there was only one fan. This is a problem since our house is a rectangular prism of concrete with a tin roof. Some may think this design resembles an archaic oven. That is a good observation because that's exactly what it is, but instead of cooking meat or bread, this one cooks people. The first two nights, it was like a broiler with one fan for two people. The second night was especially bad because the power went out for the whole village at 12:00 am and never turned back on that night. That was probably one of the hottest nights of my life. I laid on some plastic chairs in the doorway, hoping for a breeze, but all I got was a bunch of mosquito bites. Luckily, by the third day, I was exhausted enough to sleep despite the heat. Since then, we have repositioned some things in the apartment and bought a new fan. My body has now adjusted to the heat, and all is well.
One of my biggest struggles in the last few months is to continue to have hope even when there doesn't seem to be any. It felt like at every turn, something would go wrong. Just when things looked like they were going to get better, they just got worse. I have since learned however, that we need to make the most out of our hard situations and bear our afflictions with patience. Many of the trials in the past few months have made me get fairly frustrated a few times, but I have realized that it never really helped the situation. While reading in the book of Alma, I came across a verse that really stuck out for me. In Alma 26:27 it states:
"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
This verse was a hard pill for me to swallow. Why was I expecting success when I was not bearing my trial in patience? The men, to which this comfort had been given, bore such unbelievable trials that were much more difficult than mine. They, however, continued to have hope. Not in themselves or the situation, but in God. This was part of His plan. They had the knowledge and faith that no matter what happens, even if it came unto death, God was looking out for them. We need to have an equal trust. Concerning this topic, this scripture rings out in my mind from the 122 Section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
8 “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He?”
This was the word of the Lord to Joseph Smith while in Liberty jail. Those were some dire conditions, but it did not excuse him from losing hope in God's plan. The Savior descended into the dark pit of humanity's sins and sufferings yet remained true to His Father and had faith in His plan. He is the greatest of all and yet he suffered for even the least of us. If this is true then none of us should lose hope because He did not. This lesson has been a difficult one to learn for me, but I know that as I apply myself each day, I will eventually have a perfect hope. I know my Savior has born my burdens, and He gives me the strength to move forward. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
week 73 & 74- naval
week 75 - naval
week 76 - naval
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week 77 & 78 - naval
week 79 - naval & bontoc
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week 80 - Bontoc
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