Week 91

Happy New Year

It is another grand privilege to write you all and to feel your love and support.

This week was actually pretty monumental because after being in Urdaneta City/Zone since May I have actually transferred and it was by far one of the hardest times to say goodbye too all the Members and Investigators and recent converts that I have gotten so close to the past 8 months.

But this new area is way beautiful!

I am now back in Alaminos Zone the farthest Zone from Urdaneta and my new companion is Elder Collins from Idaho who is only 5 weeks in the field so I get to finish his training up. As you can tell here I have gotten very white in the Office.

I also already love the people here so much. These kids had gummy teeth and they wanted to share so...

I am so excited to give it my all in my, most likely, last area here in Alaminos 1st Branch. If you have any questions for me just send me an email and I will be sure to update you in my next post.

I love you all and Happy new year!!!!

Elder Terry

Week 90

Feliz Navidad mga Kapatid

It is another great pleasure to be here and write you all this Christmas time. This week has been overwhelmingly filled with blessings and miracles and I am pleased to update you on just a few of the great things that happened this week.

Just this last Saturday we had a Stake White Baptism here in Urdaneta and even though we didn't have any real snow we did have a lot of white with a total of 18 Baptisms Candidates all in all in just one day. Actually every Stake in our Mission had a White Christmas so this has been a great week for us all here.

These were the candidates from our Ward, Urdaneta 2nd Ward, with our Candidates Tatay Diony, Nanay Tessie, Sister Carol, Sister Clarisse, Xyriel, Paul Benedict, and Paul Cedrick.

I like this pic of Elder Seve and I with our van. (the van's name is Mufasa)

Also this week we had an Interview for Baptism in another church building and we noticed the Ping pong table again and knowing that we have a curfew of 6PM on Christmas Eve. and would have lots of free time that night, we called the Bishop of that Ward and asked if we could take the table. He said no. We took it any way. Check it.

Joke Bishop said it's aight

Also I am pretty excited about my last video call home tomorrow. See you soon Fam.

Love, Elder Terry

Week 89

Hola amigos,

This was a great week filled with lots of amazing events such as our Christmas Conference and President and Sister Espinosa and us Office Elders have been planning this for some time now.

The Christmas Conference started out as a pretty normal Zone Conference with Missionary attire and workshops, but things changed after our lunch time which was a Boodle Fight  “a military style of eating,” in which food, piled on top of banana leaves laid out on long tables, is to eaten with bare hands, or it is better known (jokingly) as "Philippines Fine Dining"

We also gave out tons of gifts and Elder Evans the New Mission Secretary in Training showed up right in time to help us fold programs. As you open the gifts, inside was the agenda for the day, and also some Chocolate Kisses.

We had 3 pigs at the Conferences

After the food we changed into P-Day Clothes and moved onto our Zone Performances, Games, Gift Exchange, Raffle Prizes, and we even got to watch the Greatest Showman after all of that to end the day.

Overall it was a blessed week and we still managed to get out and have our Investigators get interviewed for baptism next week at our Mission Wide Baptism. YAY

Love you all,

Elder Terry

Week 88

Hello again,

I love and Miss you all especially during Christmas time, but I am super grateful for all your emails that you send to me.

This week was full of blessings and I want to give a special thanks to the Cordata Park Ward Laurels from back home in California for sending me these awesome posters for Christmas. I feel the Love. Thank You.

Also this week we realized that we had a ping pong table in one of our church buildings in our zone so we of course we had to test it out to make sure it worked. I won. NBD

On Saturday we went Caroling as a district to the houses of Investigators and Members and we gave out wrapped up Book of Mormons and Pamphlets and it was a blast.

To end this amazing week on Saturday night after singing I think I got food poisoning and then after church on Sunday I couldn't hold it in any more and I hurled in front of a bunch of members. Watching me blow my brains out they say kept saying, "Kawawa" which basically means "oh you poor baby" haha

I feel great now though. 😂

That's pretty much it.

Love,

Elder Terry

Week 87

Tao Po,

It is great to write you again and talk about the great things that happened this week.

After our Baptism we had this week we took our recent converts to Mang-Inisal to treat them out for being such stud investigators. Kua Mark and Kua Joshua were just so excited to be baptized we just flew through the lessons and after their actual baptism the Bishop then announced that they will be giving their testimonies and that's when we realized that we forgot to teach them about what a testimony is. I ran up to them and after explaining a little bit what that was I just said, "as long as what you say comes from your heart" They then proceeded to give the most powerful yet simple testimonies I have ever heard. That small moment of listening to these brand new members speak from their hearts made me, and I am sure many other long time members, feel a great feeling of Joy, Love, Peace, and Motivation which really cannot be described. Super blessed to have been a part of that.

Christmas is truly getting close and that means lots of CHRISTMAS CAROLS and lets just say some kids are relentless. For instance, after just pulling up in the car and opening the front door I was bombarded with children sing "Ang Pasko ay sumapit". I had no candy to give and giving money is not allowed so I just gave a bunch of #lighttheworld Pass along cards and they seemed pretty happy about it...except the kid in the front.

I also helped cleaned the attic in the office

and this last Saturday as a Christmas parade was going on through the city we all lined up and gave out more pass-along cards.

Thanks Lovelies

Elder Terry

Week 86

It is another GREAT privilege to be emailing you all this week and be updated from your lives as well from the things going on at home in California like fires, shooting, Etc. I love it hahaha. Joke. I will send prayers because it looks like you all need it more than us here. Life here has been great and busy like usual as it was transfer week, but it has been a little less unbearable as the weather here actually seems to be getting a little cooler which I call a little tender mercy of the Lord. 😁

Also I am not the only guy from California here on the mission because I got to reunite with my dear friend, Elder Collier, this week as well as meeting the rest of his batch who are all studs.

THANKSGIVING UPDATE: For the incoming missionaries we got the closest thing we could to a Thanksgiving feast. We ordered roasted chicken and we made the Mashed potatoes and gravy. A LOT of mashed potatoes and gravy. hahaha

We also got to pick up some other missionary, Elder Mower, who came all the way up from Salt Lake to Urdaneta by himself in 2 days because he sprained his wrist in the MTC in Provo.

Temple Update: Gottem

Love Elder Terry

Week 85

Hello again Friends and Family,

It is another great pleasure to be here and write to you all and receive your Emails, Love, and Support. First off...Shout out to these pictures taken by Sister Claudia Aotriz with the intention of writing her book. These are just some of the passages taken from her book.

These were taken during our Christmas gift exchange to the Members and Non-Members  from the Dagupan Zone.

Update from the office is that Christmas is going to be the best it has ever been here in Urdaneta Mission filled with Parties, Movies, Games, Sing off/Dance off Competitions, and of course White Christmas (Mission Wide Baptism Day)

Another Update here is that the Temple Ground Breaking here in Urdaneta will Officially be on January 16th, 2019. Prayers are being answered here.😂

That is all

Till we meet again,

Elder Terry

Week 84

Hello Po!

I am happy to be able to write you all again this week and keep you updated on all the Events that happened this week.

This week we were very pleased to be visited by the New Philippines Area Presidency, Elder Wakolo, Elder Teh, and Elder Schmutz.(Good to talk to Schmutz again), and they were also accompanied by a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Cook. They each gave short and powerful talks that all really stood out to me, and I especially like how the Missions are now really emphasizing the power of members and that through obedience and working hard, the members will gain trust in the Missionaries.

This is us as a mission (with about 20 people missing due to a bus that didn't come pick up an entire Zone).

I also met and got a picture with my role model Jolly Bee. His food is aight. I like his breakfast bacon sandwich.

Because Christmas time is coming up there is a fair here in Urdaneta City and instead of riding those rinky dinky rides we just talked, gave out pamphlets, and took pics with a bunch of people.

Elder Seve and I in front of the Ferris Wheel that we decided not to ride after seeing a bolt fall from the sky and almost land on us.

Thank you all,

LOVE
Elder Terry

Week 83

Hello again Friends and Family,

I love reading all the emails you send and the support you all give. I can no joke feel your prayers and fasting working as I go throughout this work.

This week was quite interesting as we started the week out with ANOTHER level 3 storm that came by our Mission so we were not allowed to leave our house the whole day. I would have liked to have slept in, but I literally couldn't because the wake up at 6:30am schedule has been engraved in my mind, never to be removed. So I spent the free time reading books like "Saints" a great book about church history which, through the Spirit, has really brought and even stronger surety that through the Prophet Joseph Smith The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored.

This week was also All souls day which is a day similar to Dia de los Muertos, where people from all around come to their Living families and literally visit their not so living family and relatives at the cemetery. We spent the whole day there just finding new people and hearing their stories about their family and it was awesome.

Urdaneta Ward 1 and 2 Missionaries having a blitz/exchanges heading over to the cemetery.

Also hung out with one of the new Elders in the Mission, Elder Andrus, because he had Lymphonitus and his necked swelled up so bad he couldn't tilt is head in any direction. He was supposed to be here for only 1 day to get the medication and head back, but due to the quality of the hospitals here, it took 5 days of waiting haha.

Fun week,Till we meet again.

Love Elder Terry

Week 82

Hello Friends and Family,

It is a great honor to be able to write you this week. Not much happened but I got pics.

This was the Baptism of Nanay Omo her Grandkids and Sister Jenina our investigators from Urdaneta 3rd Ward. (P.S. I'm in 2nd ward now)

This is Paul the 3rd A.K.A. Spiderman

Us missionaries Invade Mang Inisal and we make them loose money I'm pretty sure because it's just grilled chicken and unlimited rice.

 

This is us doin what we do best.....Eatin

Love, Elder Terry

Week 81

Hello Friends and Family,

I truly do feel blessed to be here again writing you all again this week. I love the Emails you all send and the update and advice you give me and it makes me always look forward to this time of the week.

This week for me was spent way more out proselyting, contacting referrals, doing Community Service Projects, and basically just getting out of Mission Secretary Work and being outside. That is the secret to success in missionary work and I can tell you, doing that will bring so much joy in life. Don't get me wrong I love being the Mission (Secreterry), but something about just getting out there and serving is a different feeling and brings me the motivation I need.

This is a picture of the mission president, his wife and all of the office elders. This is currently the Facebook cover photo for the Urdaneta Mission.

This is me teaching

This is Elder Seve the Office Finance and my awesome companion.

We had a half day mission for our Ward and Brother and Sister Egypto (who used to be inactive) worked with me and we visited other Less Active members and they bore such powerful testimonies on the atonement and how now is the time to come back.

 

Happy Halloween from Elder O'Loghlin, High, Obias, and I

 This is the Urdaneta Zone celebrating great success.

That is all for this week, I love you all,

Elder Terry

Week 80

Hello Friends and Family,

It is another great pleasure to write you this week. Lots of things happened this week such as

A new transfer so us office Elders are in charge of all the new Elders and Sisters coming in. There was a total of 23 Missionaries that came in LAST transfer, 21 THIS transfer and 22 coming this NEXT transfer. They are keeping me busy haha.

I do love the work being able to meet all these new people and hearing their stories.

I also get to hang out with the Office Elders, AP's, and President basically 24/7 and we got free food all week.

Sister Espinosa got a dog named Bemo so all stress has completely left the Office. haha

General Conference was also really great because I took a ton of notes and the talk that really stood out to me was by Holland on Forgiveness. Forgiveness of yourself and Forgiveness others, and I am just excited to listen to and review conference again this week. I have been calling this Church the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints my whole mission so President Nelson's talk was like oh cool we are all on the same page now.

Great week
Love, Elder Terry