Memories of a Mission – Page 8 – "We will work for the glory of our Lord"

A hard day

Saturday, January 29, 2005

We had Zone Conference today. It was really good because we are celebrating the 200 year anniversary of Joseph Smith’s birth and so all of it was about him. I really had my testimony strengthened by the things that were discussed. We also watched a video entitled “Joseph Smith: The American Prophet.” It isn’t produced by the church but it really gave the story of Joseph Smith’s life. I also found out in interviews today that I’ll be the district leader when Elder Baylon goes off this transfer. Before I’ve always wanted, a bit proudly, to hold a position like that. The more I think about it, the less and less desirable. I’d much rather be a senior companion and not have to worry about the whole district.

On a different note, we had Bro Aldana’s interview with Pres. Beck yesterday at 1:00. Pres. met with Elder Cox and me first and we told him what we know and then they interviewed him. Elder Fesolai translated for him. The interview lasted almost a full hour. Well, he was again disappointed because he now has to go to church for 6 months straight before he will be able to be baptized. I know that the Lord has a purpose in this even though it’s hard. He was really hurt. I really wanted to see him baptized but that will be the job for my replacement I guess. That really hurt because I was hoping to see him all the way through. He has to wait until June now. Hopefully he’ll be strong and be able to continue to progress.

Adam29 January, 201525 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

I made a lot of mistakes

Thursday, January 27, 2005

I’m feeling a little bit down on myself and feeling sorry that I’ve made so many mistakes today. First of all I’ve been feeling unkindly toward Elder Cox because he’s all out of money including his P1500 savings and so I’ve had to pay for everything including his laundry. I know that it’s really not important that I have money but I’m still upset at him for it. Also I’m kicking myself because we didn’t make it to the school this morning to do the Bible reading. I made a bad decision to not get on a jeep when I had a chance and there wasn’t another jeep for over an hour and then it was too late anyhow to go. Also I’m upset because we didn’t leave the house after lunch until late. Our lunch stretched into two hours and it was just slow. Also I realized today that the work here is really falling because of my focus on this whole Bible Week thing. One good thing about today was that we had a really good family home evening with the Viloria family. We had Brother Viloria choose a story from the Book of Mormon story book and then we discussed it. He chose the story about Lehi’s dream. We read it with them and their children and it was really good. I really love that family and I really hope that I will get to see them at the temple before I have to go home. That alone would make me really happy.

Adam27 January, 201525 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

Trying to work the Bible Exhibit

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Well for being a P-day today sure was a crazy day. This morning we did our Bible reading up north of Calintaan in Bulangcoy. It again was strange because even the principal was scared to death of us. We speak Tagalog to them but I guess they’re just too petrified of two huge white people standing there. Well that went well and we went back to the apartment until 3:00. I started studying the “Preach My Gospel” manual again today. This time for my certification. I am again really liking it.

At 3:00 we headed over to the Bible exhibit. It was good except that no one showed up until 5:00 when it is supposed to close and also we had to go to visit Bro Aldana. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to be there at better time so that we’ll get to talk to more people.

We went from the Bible exhibit and dropped by the house to get a “True to the Faith” book for Bro Aldana and then got on a bus to Malitikwang where he lives. We shared a good lesson with him about serving in the church. We taught him about getting a calling and also about participating in Home Teaching.

We then went back to Calintaan and taught a really confused lesson to Bro Manalo. There are always so many kids running around and it’s always so loud there that I get all confused. Also every time we teach him the Tardios are there and, because he’s a little bit slow, they always are butting in to try to “explain” what I’ve said without him getting a chance to think. I wish they’d stop so he could actually communicate with us and not through an “interpreter.” This week has flown by so fast; I have no idea where all the time has gone. Elder Cox and I were talking about it and we decided that time goes faster when you’re really into doing the Lord’s work. We’ve been so busy this week and all of it has been good work.

Adam26 January, 201525 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

Becoming as a little child

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Today was a really fast and crazy day. We had district meeting this morning as usual but before that we did bible reading at the school in New Dagupan. Again I think it’s funny that the teachers and principal think that we don’t know how to speak Tagalog. This morning we shared about becoming like a little child. It went well. On the way in to San Jose for district meeting we decided to ride “sabit,” or holding on to the back, the whole way. We made it all the way and it actually was one of the fastest trips into San Jose that I’ve ever had. Our district meeting today was a Zone Development meeting and so Elder Fa’oa and Elder Campbell taught. It was good. After the lessons and all was over we had pre-zone-conference interviews with Campbell and Fa’oa. Then I got to play a bit on the real piano. That is definitely something that I’m going to start practicing again when I get home. I never realized how much I miss practicing. We tried to push the rest of the day faster but we had too much to do in San Jose. We picked up the banner for the church etc. We didn’t get out of San Jose until nearly 3:00 and then the jeep was really slow so we didn’t get back until 5:00. What a waste of time. On the way back we saw a jeep that had gone off the road and so we stopped and they pulled it back onto the road. It’s crazy how things work here, they just do what has to be done and then get on with life. When we finally got back to Calintaan, we went straight over to the church and put up the banner for Bible Week. This is already starting to turn heads and it’s great. In the little bit of time that we had left we went out to Niyayos and talked with the Zipato family. Brother is still nice but a little turned off from the premature baptismal invitation that I gave to him last time. His son, however, is starting to show some promise. We shared with them about Enos, and the son, Jun-jun, told us that that was just what he’d been thinking about lately. I think this family has some real potential.

Adam25 January, 201519 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

National Bible Week starts

Monday, January 24, 2005

Today was the official start of Bible Week. We started off with doing Bible reading at Calintaan Central School. The principal was kind of scared when we told him that we were the ones for today. I think he was afraid that we were going to be assigned to his school all week because when we explained to him that we’re rotating he felt better. The actual reading went well. We shared about the creation. I gave a prayer and it was kind of strange. I guess it went well though.

After lunch we used a lot of time getting the bible exhibit setup. We actually have a large part of it. Nearly all of the pictures that they’re using came from us and also we are displaying the student manuals for Old and New Testament. Actually, when we got there this morning to see what needed to still be done, we were surprised to see a Book of Mormon up with all the different versions of the Bible. I guess somebody started to include it and I’m certainly not going to complain. We actually explained to the Father that it wasn’t our “Bible” and we told him where it comes from. He told us that we should still display it and so we are. He also is going to have his people explain to others that it isn’t our “Bible.” He is really a nice guy and I’m really enjoying working with him.

The bible display used mostly LDS pictures we had in our apartment.

The Bible display at the catholic church

Tonight we did an FHE at the Siscar home in the mountains. We had trouble getting a ride there and we got there quite late. Consequently we left late and had to start walking the almost 5 miles back to the apartment. Luckily we got picked up by a dump truck and so we rode home in the bed of the dump truck and got home only 10 minutes after 8:00. What a crazy long day!!!

The story about the Book of Mormon being there already deserves a bit more explanation. When we arrived at the Catholic church that day, there was a line of stumps setup on the dais that each had a different version of the Bible on it. There in the middle was a copy of The Book of Mormon. Turns out it was actually a book that we’d given to a family several weeks ago. It was really good to work with the Catholic Father and build that relationship.

Adam24 January, 201519 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

“I guess this was a pretty dry journal entry”

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Church went well today. Because it’s the fourth Sunday today, I taught the lesson in priesthood from Teachings for our Time. I chose to teach about what the purposes of a quorum are. As a text I used a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry in October 2004 general conference. It went well I think but I was still a little hesitant about my Tagalog. Elder Cox gave a really good talk about prayer in sacrament meeting. He’s really a good Elder even if he does some things that annoy me. I’m just having another trial of my patience. He’s really nice and really good with people. We got to share a message with Bro Aldana today after lunch. I shared the story about Nephi shocking his brothers. I talked about how strong Nephi’s faith was. It went well. We also taught a really good first lesson to Brother and Sister Fantuyaw. Brother told us that he’s reading while he’s up in the mountain at his job. We have taught him before so we reviewed with him and also taught his wife. They are a really nice couple and show some good potential. We also wanted to teach Brother and Sister Dioso the third lesson tonight but Brother didn’t get home in time. We ended up teaching about prayer to A J Mar Manuelo. Wow!! I guess this was a pretty dry journal entry. Oh well, the truth hurts.

Adam23 January, 201518 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

Setting up the Bible Week Exhibit

Friday, January 21, 2005

Today was another day that was slow and fast at the same time. This morning we taught a piano lesson to Lennie Tardio. It went well and she’s really improving. Hopefully by the time I leave, she’ll be able to play every week at church. After the piano lesson, we finally contacted Elder Fa’oa about getting the banner made for the church. He said he’ll order it. It is a 4×6 banner and only costs P150. It will have “National Bible Week” on the top and then below “Salita ng Diyos: Saligan ng pagkakaisa at pagbabago.” That is the theme which being interpreted means “The word of God: Foundation of unity and change.” We also started working on the Bible exhibit. We have different pictures from different stories of the bIble with an accompanying verse. We also had a meeting with Father Redz to finalize the plans. Today at lunch we got carried away into a discussion of the millennium and signs of the times. That is all good and great but it just really pulls my focus away from the work. After lunch as well we went with Pres Isla, Bro Pulido and Bro Oreta to visit the inactives in Red Hills. It was really slow because they just walk slow and are never in a hurry. I felt again like I was wasting time. I’ve really been feeling more and more of a drive to work hard. Time is so precious and I don’t want to waste any of it. Hopefully I’ll learn how to be the most effective possible so that I’ll us being the Lord’s time wisely.

Adam21 January, 201518 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

Ups and Downs

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Well even after the good lesson yesterday he still didn’t have the strength to say no to an invitation to drink. We dropped by their house tonight as always and sister went to go get him and when she came back all she was “pasensia lang po” which means in effect sorry now but he’s not coming. I could only gather from this that he must be really drunk that he wouldn’t even talk to us. I don’t know what to do with that man. He has no strength and frankly I’m getting sick of working with him for so long and not seeing any progress in his word of wisdom. We did on the other hand get to teach a good discussion/lesson to Bro Aldana about enduring to the end. We also ended up doing a good review of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. He’s still doing well and I think that he’s really ready for his interview on the 29^th of January. My relationship is also improving with him. Partly that is happening because I’ve been improving in my ability to speak Tagalog and also because I just talk to him more now. Tonight we also had a good follow up and reading with J R Delfino. He is a little bit interesting to teach because he’s still young and hasn’t got the longest attention span in the world. He’s really nice though and certainly has potential.

Adam20 January, 201518 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

8-month P-Day

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Today is officially my 8 month mark in the mission. Eight months seems like a long time but it has gone by really fast and I can hardly believe that a third of my mission is already over. I’m also afraid that the rest of my time won’t go any slower but rather it will go faster and faster. Today was a good day except for the fact that I just sat around eating sweets all day and reading because it’s preparation day. I did get a lot of good letter writing don’t today to a lot of people that I’ve been meaning to write to for a while. I also had Bro Viloria give me a haircut today because it was getting really hard to keep it in good condition after all of the riding on the outside of the jeeps. He did a really good job. It’s funny that lately I’ve really taken a liking to short hair. It’s just so much easier to take care of. I also got some good cleaning done around the house this morning. I’m feeling more comfortable with this whole senior companion thing. I’m still not doing as well as I should be and I have a lot of things left to learn.

Adam19 January, 201518 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments

Planning with Pres. Isla

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

We had a really busy and crazy day today. This morning we went in to San Jose for district meeting. Elder Baylon taught an attributes lesson about virtue and a skills lesson about working with members. Elder Baylon is a great missionary and I admire him a lot. We also talked to Elder Fa’oa about the Bible week and he said that we should go ahead with plans for how to do it and he’d check with Pres. Beck to see if it is okay to participate. It should turn out to be really good for the church. After finishing out things in San Jose, we dropped our groceries at the house and then went out and visited Pres. Isla to coordinate what we are going to do. Pres. is really excited to help and to participate. He even told us that he’d love to give a prayer at the closing ceremonies. We’re working now on trying to get a banner for the church that says we’re participating. Also Elder Cox and I are going to help with a Bible display and with daily prayer and scripture reading in the schools next week. I’m really excited about this experience and opportunity.

Adam18 January, 201511 January, 2015 Calintaan No Comments