Week 13

Hello everyone out serving the Lord across the world and back home.  

I don't even know where to start.  So much has happened since I have been here and it is crazy - I have been here for two months now.  But at the same time it feels like I have been here forever.  Anyway, like I said last time the nature here is pretty sweet.  One p day we went up to "Big Tree" it is this huge tree that looks like the deku tree on the legend of Zelda, it also reminds me of the tree of life.  That was cool.  

I am losing weight from all the hiking and walking.  I am getting pretty bony ha ha.  Everyone says I am losing it and I don't work out much anymore - I don't have any time but maybe I'll start.  I also tried Balut.  I was good, it just tasted like a hardboiled egg but the beak was a little chewy which was kind of gross.  

I think that the Lord sent me here to the Philippines to really help me to be patient and increase my faith.  At first when I got here I thought that missionary work was all about baptizing people and I just expected people to be getting baptized left and right.  With the rescue it has really opened up my eyes to the importance of enduring and continuing after baptism.  Some of the families we teach are like investigators though.  They were baptized forever ago and now they have a family with non member people in it.  I am learning to be patient with the people and also myself.  It is different here in the Philippines with the branch involvement -  it has been harder to get them involved but lately we have been getting them more involved which has been great.  Because of this we have been teaching with branch missionaries and leader on Saturdays and Sundays to less actives.  This has been kind of scary because Elder Natural and I have been splitting.  I really learned so much from splits to trust in the spirit.  I have gotten a lot better at the language from studying the CLO - I am getting pretty good at teaching the hardest part is listening and understanding, but I am really trying to improve.  Also Elder Natural is an English major so that doesn't help because he is so good at English it is a temptation to speak to him in English which I do a lot.  I need to start speaking the language more.  It is coming along though and with the spirit I can still know where the conversation is going and understand a lot and what to do and teach.  I have learned patience because there are so many ups and downs getting the less actives to return to church, sometimes they come for a while and then just stop, or sometimes we teach them all week and they don't come, and the people we don't teach come ha ha.  We also have found some really great and open investigators but we haven't been able to get them to come to church.  We are teaching them though and I know one day they will accept the truth.  My perspective has changed I know that no effort is wasted.   I already knew this but I think just from reading "Our Search for Happiness" it really opened up my mind to the plan of salvation and the importance of this work.  Every effort we make will not be wasted because even after this life missionaries teach in the spirit world and we are always growing, so don't get down when times are hard.  I am having a good time though.  And I also hope to help and baptize those people as soon as possible.  

Anyways with the rescue - one cool story.  We have been teaching this family named the Babor family and are helping them to return.  We testified of the atonement and repentance and they are returning.  One kid is 22 and hadn't been to church for four years and now he blessed the sacrament last week and plans to serve.  It is such a great feeling to see the atonement change lives and we hope to continue to have success and hopefully some baptisms next month.  Before I came on my mission I always thought that missionaries were perfect and what not.  Now I have learned that each day we can learn and grow and get better.  We all make mistakes I am definitely not perfect but as long as we are doing our best and trusting in God and trying to get better, that's all we can do.  I love the phrases "Come home with no regrets" and “exact obedience=miracles” but I have learned that a regret is something we purposefully do wrong because it is impossible to be exactly obedient or very hard at least.  One example of this was when we went to Bacolod and we were craving some Mac Dos or McDonalds, so we went and it was pouring, I mean pouring rain.  The streets were flooded, I was soaked, I had some great crispy chickens but we ended up missing the three hour bus to Canlaon and had to take another bus which was way longer and more expensive and sleep at another Elder’s home and take another bus in the morning. I joked, what would you do for some McDonalds?ha ha.  But anyways I am trying to learn from my mistakes each day and trust in the Lord to help me make a difference and become the missionary he wants me to be.  I love in the book "Serve With Honor" (sorry Cole I still have it :) that we need to take one day at a time.  If we are tempted and want to quit or slack off or go home, then say I will do that tomorrow, but then wake up the next day and give it your all that day and say tomorrow, which is when you get home.  I love that.  It isn't always easy and we aren't perfect but I know that if we trust in God we can improve every day. Elder M. Russell Ballard says in a talk called Mental Toughness, that we need to "become the creator of circumstances instead of the creature of circumstances." It makes me think of the football quote we had – “our Attitude determines our Altitude.”   Anyways I love you all and am thankful for your great examples, keep doing your best.  I know this gospel is true and am so thankful for a knowledge of the plan and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for you great eternal friends and my eternal family and I know our joy will be full when we meet again.

Love Elder Mifflin aka Nature Man

Pictures

Elder Mifflin and Elder Natural

Elder Mifflin and Elder Natural with a family 

Elder Mifflin's apartment

Canlaon

Active volcano

Terraced rice field

Canlaon

Canlaon city

Elder Mifflin and Elder Natural in Canlaon

"The Big Tree"

Week 12

Hello everyone it has been a good week here in the Philippines.  

Monday Elder Natural and I went all out for our P day because it was transfers the next day and one of us could have left Canlaon.  We went up to this giant tree it is called the "Big Tree."  I sent some pictures.  It is so huge and seriously reminds me of the Dukee Tree on the Legend of Zelda.  It also reminds me of the tree of life because it is in the middle of a field with no other trees around.  It was a sight to see for nature man and I am very glad we went.  It was sweet to just relax and enjoy a beautiful sight.  We also ate pizza at this new restaurant.  It was so nice to have some pizza, I still miss all the fast food and junk food from home.  Then that night we had a family home evening with this less active family we are working with. They are a really nice family.  We have been teaching them and trying to get them to return to church.  We taught them about the Atonement and how we all need it in our lives and through Jesus Christ we can become clean (Isaiah 1:18), and we connected it to how we need the sacrament to become clean each week (3 Nephi 18).  We used an object lesson where you put soy sauce in water and then put in bleach and the water is clean. We likened this to the Atonement.  It went well and they really opened up.  The father is unordained in the priesthood and the children need to advance in their priesthood.  After the lesson the father told us that we had helped him understand why he needs the Atonement and that his family was going to return to church. The father and mother didn't end up coming to church but it was still really good because the kids came and we helped one of them be ordained a priest.  Also one of them that came is 22 and hasn't been to church for four years!  After the lessons we played games for the family home evening where we passed around this sparkler and tied two ties and whoever it landed on has to show their talent.  Of course they made it land on me each time ha ha so I had to show my talents.  I didn't know what to do so I just got in my track stance and told them I am a runner, but it was fun and went well.  

Anyways, it was transfer week this week but Elder Natural and I are staying here in Canlaon.  It will be his last transfer of his mission so we better make it a good one.  We have been helping the branch progress this week and have been excited about that.  We finally had a PEC with the branch president this week, we also helped organize meetings for MCM and get the branch missionaries more involved in the work.  We also helped the Aaronic priesthood learn their duties and helped the young men's president do his duty.  Also after church some members of the branch went out and taught some of the less active members, so that was great and we are happy the branch is more involved.  I also tried balut for the first time this week.  It wasn't too bad it just tasted like a salty hardboiled egg but with a little more texture ha ha.  It was a little gross to eat a half developed chicken or duck or whatever it is. Elder Natural took a video of it on my camera though.  There was also this part at the end that was really chewy but it was pretty good I think I'll have it again ha ha.  

We also started teaching this family from a referral.  The mom used to be taught by the missionaries and had a baptism date.  They are a really nice family and I hope we can bring them to the truth.  Also the grandma lives with them and she is really funny and noisy.  The work here is good though.  Working with the less actives has a lot of ups and downs because sometimes we teach someone 2-3 times a week and they don't come to church and then we see someone for 5 seconds and invite them and they come so you just never know, ha ha but they are good people and we are trying to help them remember their testimonies.  We have been teaching a lot about the Atonement to help them remember their testimonies and why they are here.  My understanding of the Atonement and the gospel has grown a lot since I have been on my mission just from reading the scriptures, teaching, and learning to act and apply the things I learn each day.  I am reading 2 Nephi right now and really love the Isaiah chapters.  In 2 Nephi 19:12,17,21 and 2 Nephi 20 it says "For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still." Before it is talking about the consequences for the wicked, but this shows that there is always hope for repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how much God and Jesus Christ love us.  I also love Isaiah chapter 53 about the Atonement. I suggest that you read it, it is a great chapter and shows how much Christ loves us and through the Atonement we can have eternal happiness and families.  It also makes me think of John 15:13. I am so thankful for how much Christ loves us and know that we all need to apply the Atonement in our lives.  I am doing good though and I am learning to trust in God every day.  I hope all is well with you, I love you all and I need to go. 

Love Elder Mifflin aka Nature Man

Week 11

Hey everyone how is it going? 

This week has been a good week but if I could explain my mission in three words I would say... ups and downs... but that is just how life is.  First off last Monday I got a haircut ha ha mistake, all they had was a 2 and 3 for shaving so I thought that would be too short so I decided to just get barber style like Elder Natural.  I don't like it- I think I look dumb ha ha.  He cut my side burns and the sides way short and then cut a little on the top and didn't even cut the very front -ha ha worst haircut ever. Mom please send me the hair clippers in the next package.  

By the way I forgot to mention about the milk here. One time I got chocolate milk which was ok. So next time I bought two normal milks because chocolate is rare.  It is gross!  I miss the milk back home I couldn't even drink it. Also they have really good bread here. There is a bakery where it is really cheap and they have really good donuts and this chocolate-sugar bread.  Also, about some of the animals- there is a stray dog that always sleeps by our apartment.  His name is “zombie dog.” Every night when we come back he runs out to us biting his own tail - he legit looks like a zombie.  There are many stray dogs here but don't worry, they are afraid of humans. There are also roosters, man, I hate them.  They cock a doodle doo every morning at like 4:30 and they don't stop!  They just keep going and going. There is one by our house so I hear it every morning.  I am getting used to it though. There are also a bunch of cows, goats, and water buffalos everywhere.  

It is the rainy season now- it has been raining every day and is really muddy.  I have lost weight definitely, probably from the heat and the fact that we walk everywhere. We hike a lot- my legs are getting strong but my pants get looser each day ha ha. Also we had to go to Bacolod this week for a zone conference because my companion is a zone leader.  He had to get an x-ray because he is going home soon so we stayed the night with other missionaries.  I got to take a hot shower which was nice.  It takes 3 hours to go to Bacolod so I had a lot of time to study the language and I am also reading "Our Search for Happiness" by M. Russell Ballard. 

We have done a lot of hiking through the mud this week and taught a lot of people.  The hardest thing here is getting people to come to church. It is different here than in America. The people are all farmers here and many work on Sundays.  Also the church isn’t as developed here as it is back home.  For example, back in my ward everything is very organized and everyone knows their duty and the ward is really involved in missionary work. Here it’s not that the people are bad, they just need experience and knowledge of how to do their callings.  Elder Natural and I taught the young men’s president his duty this week and we also have been trying to get the branch involved in the work more.  We made copies of our less- actives tracking sheets and gave them to the leaders in the ward.  Every less- active or convert needs three things:   1.  friends 2.   responsibility   3. To be nourished by the word of God.  As missionaries we can do number 3 but we need the ward for the rest or we will never have true converts or rescue less- actives.  My understanding of the gospel and putting it to action grows every day.  I am learning how to have faith and much patience.  I like Ephesians 6:13-19 that is what I am trying to do- that is the key to being successful in life.  I know that this church is true and Jesus Christ is our Savior and we all need the gospel.  That is something I liked from "Our Search for Happiness"- Elder Ballard talks about how across the world we are all so different with cultures and languages etc., but he says that at the same time we are all alike, we are all children of God and need the gospel.  Anyways love you all I have to go.  Always trust in God. 

Love Elder Mifflin aka Nature Man