Week 10

Hello everyone back home or across the world serving the Lord.  

This week has been great.  We had companion exchanges on Wednesday.  I went to Calatrava-still Cebuano speaking but right next to the ocean.  It was awesome to smell the ocean and see all the palm trees.  Also they baptize in the ocean there.  I hope sometime on my mission I get to serve near the ocean.  

Elder Natural and I have had a good week.  We are getting better at making decisions together and having unity.  There are a lot of good people here in the Philippines.  They are very humble and don’t have many material things.  Families live in like one or two room bamboo open houses and their nicest possession is an old TV.  Some are lucky to have bigger houses made of concrete, but still being here has really made me appreciate all the blessings God has given to me.  For example now I have to wash my clothes with my hands.  I never realized how thankful I am for a washing machine.  It is hard work.  I use a board and a brush.  Cleaning the white shirts are the hardest, literally to get out stains and dirt takes me forever -probably about an hour for two shirts.  Because of this it is impossible to clean all of my clothes on P day.  I wake up at five on P day to wash and I also wash on Fridays at 5.  Then we wake up early on Tuesdays for district meeting.  It's ok if you know me then you know I don't need sleep ha ha.  I have learned a lot of patience from washing ha ha.  

Also, the nature here is great and if you know me then you know I love nature, that's why I call myself nature man ha ha.  Anyway, there are some great sights here.  Some beautiful rice field steps and views down into the valley.  I am up high by the volcano in Canlaon.  One area we go to is called Brgy Pula which is up high.  I have such a sweet view of the valley and the ocean far below.  Also I love hiking.  I get to hike here every day - it is awesome.  Sometimes I feel like I am just enjoying a great hike.  We have to hike on dirt trials and through rice fields to get to people's homes.  Also something funny here is that a lot of people don't have a specific address.  It just says what area they are from so when we try to find someone we have to ask a bunch of people and they point us one way, then other people point us another ha ha.  Also the stars and moon here are awesome at night so I am enjoying nature.  Sometimes I start humming a little Jack Johnson to myself when I am enjoying the nature and the animals.  Luckily there are no rats or spiders in my apartment so that’s good.  The scary thing is sometimes we here rats running in the pipes.  We have bug spray though so it is mainly just ants and some cockroaches in the apartment.  Also it is way funny that there are ducks that someone has by our home and when we leave our door open they come running in ha ha.  Also today we found a frog in the bathroom but it jumped out so it’s all good. My apartment reminds me of my cabin in Priest Lake Idaho.  There is a stream nearby, purifying water, showering with a bucket of cold water, but I am enjoying it. 

Now to the food - I have learned to love rice, I didn't care much for it but now I eat it with every lunch and dinner.  I eat a lot of meat, veggies, fruit, and rice.  The fruit is great, especially the mangos.  I am learning how to cook my own food ha ha and Filipino recipes. 

Anyway now to the work.  I'm not just here on vacation ha ha I am here to serve the Lord.  We have had a lot of success this week.  We have found some families on the list and from referrals that are really interested in the gospel, they are truth seekers.  This one guy we taught said he was way tired before we taught him and after he had so much strength and happiness.  We explained that he felt the Holy Ghost and the truth.  There are people here who are open and closed just like anywhere.  Eternal Life with our families is God's greatest gift to us but he doesn't just hand it to us.  That is why not everyone accepts our message.  Just because we have the gospel it doesn't make our lives easy but it gives us strength and a direction to turn and overcome our challenges.  Here are some scriptures to read and think about D&C 101:4-5,35-38, D&C 121; 1,7-8 , D&C 122: 7-9, D&C 58:1-6 about trials and hard times.  Then read 1 Nephi 3:7, D&C 31, 2 Nephi 4;34-35, 1 Nephi 15:24, D&C 123:17, Luke 1:37, Mor. 7:33, Alma 26:12,22,26-30, and Alma 32:41-44. I know it’s a lot ha but I hope you read them if you have time. They are great.  Whenever life is hard I think about the people who sacrificed so much for this church like Joseph Smith and the pioneers.  Then I think about Jesus Christ and His atonement.  Jesus Christ descended below all things.  It wasn't easy for Him he had to trust to God with perfect obedience.  I am so thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ - without it I am nothing or have nothing.  We need to apply the atonement because Jesus pleads for our souls(2 Nephi 8:22-25).  Without the gospel of Jesus Christ and the atonement I realize that I would have nothing.  I have the best family in the world and so many blessings more than ever, but I realize that all of my blessings, all of the happiness in my family is because of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Without it I am sure I would have a broken home.  Without the gospel I know I would be lost, I wouldn't be here, that's for sure.  Everything I have is because God is our loving Heavenly Father and from the gospel(Mosiah 2:41).  I know that these people here need the gospel.  There is no other way to true happiness.  I am so thankful for the privilege to serve.  Two years is only a moment in eternity and will go fast.  It will be worth it and as my friends and I in high school used to say "It's not always easy to live the gospel but it is always worth it."  I know that is true.  If I labor for two years and only help one person receive eternal life it will be worth it.  I hope more but just saying. We are having ups and downs though but I am enjoying it.  We are teaching great people and hope to have some baptisms in June.  The hardest part is helping the people come to church because they are busy on Sundays.  That's what I have learned also is that whether you are a missionary, the prophet, or just a normal person we need to build our testimony every day or we will fall.  That is why people fall away here is because they don't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, prayer, or church.  I am improving in the language.  The CLO has really helped my grammar and vocab.  I am applying what I learn each day when I teach.  We teach every day - it is awesome.  It is still really hard to understand the people though but that will come over time.  Anyways stay strong I have to go, I know this church is true.

Elder Mifflin 5/28/12

Week 9

Hello everybody.  

These past two weeks have been great here in the mission.  Last week I went back to Bacolod to finish my orientation.  It is a three hour bus ride to Bacolod and we had to wake up at three thirty am to get there in time.  We learned that there are 659,000 members in the church in the Philippines, the fourth most in the world.  The problem is only 22% of those members are active or 114,000 people.  Because of this we are focusing on rescuing the less active members in my mission or helping them get their testimonies back.  We have a list of all the members in the ward.  Some families are part member families, some have unbaptized children, some never received the priesthood, and so on. We focus on the lists and help rescue these members, along the way we find new people who are interested in the church and we teach them also. Anyways that is our focus.  

It was also cool to see all of the kids at orientation that arrived the same day as me in the Philippines.  On the bus ride home it was packed and I stood up for this lady.  She spoke Illongo and Tagalog and English.  I ended up teaching her about the church and got three referrals, I was scared at first but decided to not be afraid. We have been doing a lot of traveling lately though I haven't had a normal day very often.  

On Friday we went to San Carlos for a zone meeting. It is about an hour and a half drive.  I found a CLO -  it is something that teaches me Cebuano grammar so I study that on the bus.  We have been back to San Carlos many times for other reasons so I have gotten a lot of studying in and, also I like the scenic drive.  I have a good view of the jungle and ocean.  

On Mother's Day I was a little lonely and homesick but I know that it will be worth it.  On Sunday we were a bit worried because a lot of the people we have been working with weren't at church. It was also sad to see that only half of families were there, with some kids saying how much they love their mom and she isn't at church. Also we have new leaders here and we haven't been able to have our weekly meetings.  There is definitely a lot of work to do here. Then it was great to talk to my family on Mother’s Day and Skype them.  There have been a lot of ups and downs this week.  It has been kind of hard because a lot of our new investigators aren't interested anymore.  This one family we were teaching was so open and then the next time they told us they would never change from Catholic.  At least we planted a seed and left them a Book of Mormon.  But a lot of our investigators aren't interested anymore.  But my companion and I are working hard.  I am not making excuses - I know that the people here are good people they just need some help and I also know that there are people ready to be rescued and receive the gospel here.  

My companion and I have had some disagreements and made some mistakes but we are working through them and getting better.  I have been getting better at the language, it is coming slowly but the grammar packet has definitely helped.  I have learned to have more faith and patience here and trust in the Lord.  I know that if I am diligent and faithful that the language will come.  I try my best to participate in the lessons.  I can teach, testify, ask questions, and make commitments.  The hard part is understanding what they say back, but that will come over time.  Then at church this week my companion and I spoke in sacrament meeting.  I decided to do what I did in the MTC and do what I do in my lessons, prepare, but once the time comes, trust in the Holy Ghost.  I stood up and talked with only a Book of Mormon about faith for about five minutes.  It went well.  The concern is that our church attendance this week was really low and all of the less actives we taught weren't at church.  I have learned how important it is to build your testimony every day or you will lose it.  I know that we can make a difference here though.  We need to work harder and have more faith and patience.  

I was thinking this week - Why does the Lord give us trials? Why isn't it always so easy? My answer God gives us trials to grow, there are always ups and downs in life, you can ask why why why…  or you can trust in the Lord and ask Him for strength and act, attitude is everything, be patient and diligent because there are trials every day, (There is always going to be another mountain .. it's the climb ha ha), but I know that with God nothing shall be impossible, I know I am here for a reason, I can make a difference, I can learn this language, now it's up to me to make it happen, I have the Lord's promises, the Lord will provide a way, but we still must act to achieve our potential.  Don't pray for the Lord to take away your problem, but pray for strength to overcome them.  I am excited to serve here and know I need to be here. 

Love Elder Mifflin aka Nature Man

Week 8

Hey! 

 Ok, so where to start so much has happened this week.. lets see, last time I talked about washing my clothes in a bucket with my hands, I am so thankful for a washing machine back home, it takes forever and my knuckles were all cut up, plus I didn't even finish all of my clothes until like thursday or something.  I might get a board and brush this week for washing I heard that is better.  My companion is a good good.  He is showing me to cook chicken adobe and other things.  We eat a lot of rice.  For breakfast though I was able to get eggs, pancakes, and bread, I only drink water, oh how I miss that my cold milk, but its ok two years isn't much in eternity right. 

We have been doing a lot of teaching and we are trying our best to work hard.  We are helping less actives and also finding new investigators from the part member families.  We found 9 new potential investigators last week.  We will see what happens.  There is this one family that is very interested, also a relative of the Sister who was baptized in the river is very interested, also this man who really has a desire to know the truth, so we will see what happens.  

We are making goals to be better teachers, like teach to people's needs and understanding and teach by the spirit to find out how the gospel can help them.  Also when we invite people to make commitments we give them a notecard where we have assigned them something or we have them write it down themselves. It has been effective.  

On tuesday we had our first district meeting.  It was good . After we had lunch with the district president who used to be the branch president in Canlaon.  He is awesome and bought us food.  We ate right next to the ocean.  I could see Cebu, what a sight but sorry no swimming.  Also Tuesday night when we were teaching it was pouring rain so hard, but luckily we were in someones hut and it was over once we left.  Most people accept us in but Tuesday night this old lady was way against our church, she is part of the Iglesia church.  Even though I don't know much I bore my testimony of the truth to her, I am happy that I did, maybe one day it can help her.  Then Wednesday we were in Bacolod all day because my companion is a zone leader and they had a meeting.  I had Mcdonalds again. It is a long drive so we had to wake up at 3:30 and sleep on the bus.  We also woke up early for district meeting and a couple other times for laundry.  Let's just say when it rains here it pours, Thursday when we were teaching it was pouring, luckily I left my nice scriptures and notebook at home because everything was soaked in my backpack.  It was way muddy and rivers of mud.  But we pressed on and kept teaching and it cleared up after about an hour.  

Like I said I am improving in the language.  I am trying to improve but it is a challenge because we don't have all of the resources that we did for Tagalog like our language guides and grammar and vocab.  Actually our mission gave us a little language guide which is useful but not as good.  I have been trying to figure out the differences from Tagalog from my companion.  I am learning, but the problem is that my companion learned it differently so he can't really help me with grammar and stuff.  

Then Saturday was really hot and we started our fast, no water or food.  It was a challenge definately and we walked so much on Saturday.  We walk a lot and hike, on Friday we hiked on a trail for a while to get to this house.  Also I have seen some nice sunsets by the volcano.  I have been teaching and testifying and asking questions but it is still hard for me to understand what is going on.  Then on Sunday I was so tired sore and hungry. But like Isaiah 40:31 my strength was renewed after the sacrament.  Also a missionary came back with his family and I met them they are from Orem and she said she will call you.  I bore my testimony in sacrament.  The members were surprised by how much I knew, so was the return missionary but you know me I still demand better I need to learn more and be fluent.  Also sunday I stepped up to the challenge and gave a priesthood blessing.  It was bisaya and English mixed.  I have also extended an invitation to be baptized but he is going to pray about it.  

Anyway, I have to go. I am working hard and trying my best but you will see my journal when I get back because there is still so much to tell.  I love you and know that we are all children of God.  There is one language; the Spirit.  I know that these people and everyone need the gospel for true happiness and it is so important to stay strong every day that is why people go inactive cause they forget.  P.S. I saw many spiders as big as my hand.  

Love Elder Mifflin

Week 6 & 7

Hello 

The rest of the flights were great.  On the way to Manila I sat by a Filipino, I practiced my Tagalog with him and ended up teaching him about the church.  He is a Muslim from the south but now lives in Manila. I got his referral.  Manila was so hot and humid when we got there it was crazy.  I was so so thirsty we also had to pay like 100 each for our bags because they were only supposed to be like 15 kilos.  Then on the flight to Bacolod I sat next to this philipino who was catholic and he just started talking to me about the differences of our churches.  I was able to teach him the restoration in English. He was interested but thought it was weird to give me a referral so unfortunately I didn't get one.   

Then once we got to Bacolod we met the mission president and the Assistants. We drove to Bacolod city and stayed in a hotel because the mission home is being worked on.  The food at the hotel was really good just like chicken, rice, meat, and stuff.  Then we went to the church and had meetings with President Tobias.  Then the next day we had orientation.  It was good. Then we stayed at the hotel again.  We ate KFC at the church earlier and had another good
meal that night.  

Then the next day we found out our trainers and where we are serving.  My companion is Elder Natural.  He is a Filipino who is done with his mission in July.  We are assigned to the Canloan area in the San Carlos Zone on the northeast side of the island.  They speak Cebuano there or bisayan.  They are really similar I guess so the dictionary Connor gave me was inspired.  It is kind of hard though because now I have to learn a new language.  Tagalog will help me learn it faster but all the words are different.  The sentence structure is similar though.  It is an area up in the mountains by the volcano.  It is a small area with dirt roads mainly.  People mainly ride around on dirtbikes and motorcycles or those tricycle cart things.  It was so awesome on the bus ride from Bacolod it took three hours but was a beautiful drive.  I had a good view of the ocean and the sunset looked like a work of art.  It is like Hawaii here, a bunch of green trees everywhere and sugar and rice fields.  It was funny when we arrived with my two bigs bags, we got a ride on the motorcycle and they put our bags on top on the rocky dirt road. There is no way that would fly back home.   

Our home is nice.  A lot better than I expected.  It has two floors but isn't very big.  It is pretty clean though, no cockroaches or huge spiders or rats, i guess those are closer to the volcano.  There are little geckos in our home though.  Showering with a bucket is nice and refreshing even though the water is cold, and don't worry I bought toilet paper.  Anyway, the first day we went and taught a Sister and her family who was getting baptized the next day.  They had a one room bamboo hut and we all sat in a circle. I prayed and bore testimony in Tagalog.  They understand it but don't speak it so I need to learn Bisaya.  They are really nice people here though.  We have been teaching a lot.  I am doing my best to learn the language.  I can bear simple testimony, but I have also used Tagalog and English.  I am surprised by how much English they know.  A lot of them are really good.  They sang their Hymns in English at church and the sacrament was in English but they taught in Bisaya.  My companion speaks English.   

Also I had Mcdonalds back in Bacolod but here there isn't fast food.  I mainly eat rice with fish or meat.  The Sister we taught ended up being baptized in a nearby
river because the water wasn't working at the church.  It was cool we had to hike across the river jumping on rocks.  The members were really nice at church.  I have a little notebook where I write down all the words I learn, and that they teach me.  The ward fed us lunch on Sunday.   

We are focusing on rescueing less actives and part member family on our mission.  We aren't allowed to tract.  We have a list of people that we go see and we find new investigators on the way, we have gotten two new ones since I have been here that seem interested. When we walk around to teach we go on little trials to get to peoples homes, it is like a hike, my shoes are all dirty.  Also we had to drop off these other Elders at their apartment one day.  We rode a bus down
the mountain, it was a curvy windy road, it looked like the road to Hana.  It was great. 

But anyway, it is really hot here and it is supposed to be cool up in the mountain but I am always moist.  It is good though, I am trying my best to learn the language so I can help with the lessons but I have been able to help from the things I have learned in the MTC to tell my companion what to say or what to teach or what to read.  Anyway, I have to go I love you all and hope all is well. Also when I teach I feel great because I know we have the truth
and the people need this.

Love Elder Mifflin aka Nature Man