Week 12

The Mission is literally the best thing ever, but there is absolutely no possible way for me to explain what I feel, see, learn, and go through every single day and some days I get so caught up in the work, I have to force myself to just look around for a sec and realize that I am in the Philippines finally on my mission which is something I have been wanting to do my whole life. If this isn't motivation for any of you to just go out and chase your dreams no matter how difficult it may seem then I don't know what can help because if I can do it then I know YOU can.

So this week was awesome. this week was filled with splits and blitz in my area and in others and all the hard work seemed to pay off. We have 6 progressing investigators which means they are reading the Book of Mormon, praying, and going to church and we also got 4 less actives to go to church so that's pretty cool. It's also nice because Mabini is known for being the slowest progressing branch in the entire mission and we are actually the smallest branch too so I love love love seeing it progress and seeing people become happy through the gospel.

My companion makes me look bad​

Tatay Luminag a strong awesome member and us at a dinner appointment eating on the floor and using our hands​

was good​

Till next week

Love, Elder Terry​​

Week 11

This has been a very awesome, fun, and way hard working week.  Sometimes it is really hard to understand what people are saying and it's even harder to speak sometimes. For the most part I can make the best of it and suck it up, but other times it's just like haha, wow, what the heck, um, and nope. It forced me to just completely rely on the spirit in my lessons, and pray for the gift of tongues constantly.

This one hot day we saw this old tatay (grandpa) pushing his bike up this huge hill way far from where we originally planned to go to and after talking to him we just went down this random other path and went to the first house we saw. This guy named Edgar at the house had a problem. He can't read anything because he has really bad eyesight and he can't afford glasses because he has a major heart problem and he actually hasn't left his home in 4 years because of it. We taught him lesson one and I did it just the same as I usually do teaching him about families and the first vision and then after teaching I asked "how can you know that our message is true" trying to lead into prayer and he just said "I know this to be true because I felt it in my heart." We explained the holy ghost to him and how by the holy ghost you can know the truth of all things. The lesson behind this extremely humbling experience was that even though my Tagalog isn't perfect the holy ghost can testify of it's truth.

There's been so many of these amazing experiences and I know I am not a great writer so I know it doesn't even come close to truly describing the experiences that I see and face daily. I really do love every bit of it. My knowledge and testimony of the gospel has continued to grow and I never really realized how completely true and perfect it is until now. I can't wait to go out and teach and make great stories.

My mom told me to take pics like this

 there's jungle for miles on end

 dinner preparation

 Dinner party eating our goat.

Happy, happy fathers day
For fathers day here, the youth kids and women went up and sang to all the fathers (like 5 of them lol because I found out we actually have the smallest ward in our entire mission). I heard that my mission president likes me so he sent me to this small area. It's easy for me to connect with the Philippine people because they just don't take life too seriously and like having fun but when they care about something they go full out. Dad, the fact that you served a mission in Taiwan and had to learn Mandarin is crazy. I can't even imagine. I think you're awesome! see ya at Christmas lol.

the singers at church

Thanks for reading

Being a missionary is the bees knees lol

Love,
Elder Terry

Week 10

Quick email today because we're heading to a place called hundred islands for P-day, but don't worry pics will be added next week.

This was a very hard working week trying to find people we have already taught and it was very difficult because I learned that people love to hear our message, but for the most part they do not commit at all. We are teaching tons of lessons, but as soon as they need to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and especially go to church they lose interest. So that will be our focus for the next week. Keep the people of Mabini in your prayers to soften their hearts and understand the importance of these commitments.

Still looking back at it it still really was an amazing week with just having the opportunity to be here and be a missionary. One day we were out working in the biggest thunder storm I've ever seen or been apart of. We couldn't even hear ourselves think with the constant thunder and rain hitting the tin roof and later that day we helped a nanny get all the water out of her house because it was completely flooded. I had to dry my shoes for 2 days after.

Here is a picture of our neighbors who were preparing for a party

Language study translating from English to Tagalog

I'm probably going to die from the bugs before I get home

 Elder Amone the jungle model

This has been another cool week with lots of new stories and lessons that I'll never forget and I can't wait to get back out there and make new stories day after day.

Love,
Elder Terry

Week 9

Kumusta po lahat tao

This week was my first full week in my area and to expand on that my area is way far out part of the top left part of my mission and it had the smallest church building in the whole area and the least amount of people (30 active members), but that means the most amount of work needs to be done. most people in our area are are either catholic or belong to the church called Iglesia ni cristo. So the hard part isn't really teaching, but just getting into the door, but Elder Amone and I are so confident we kind of just walk inside the house and start teaching. This week had been way successful of having 54 new investigators in one week and 14 accepted baptism invitations, but we found that the hard part was them keeping commitments especially going to church so that is our focus for this upcoming week. I really do feel blessed to be in this mission and with this people because I know other missions don't have this kind of success.

Common asked questions to me....now answered

1. I ate balut at the MTC and it's a chicken egg that has been developing for a couple weeks.
2. It is rainy season here right now and there has been a lightning storm every single night, and I have had to run through heaving rain a couple times now, but I have an umbrella now.
3. I got a cream for the mosquitoes and If I don't use it I die and we also keep the spiders in our house because the don't bother us and they eat the mosquitoes.
4. The house we use does have electricity, but there are common rolling blackouts, and we have running water except in the mornings. no working showers or toilets though.
5. Elder Amone and I have not played rugby, but this guy is literally famous. Look up Richard Amone rugby from Australia.
6. There is AC in the bishops office and one small room, but it is no where else in our area....so It's hot
7. I was at the Manila MTC to fill out citizenship paperwork and get adjusted to everything and the food was fantastic there and also I got to do a session at the Manila temple, small, but beautiful...and in English

One of our walks to an investigator

 Our whole church building

 Pictures don't give the views justice

 Dinner appointment with a member

That is all for this week

Love, Elder Terry