Elder Head in the Philippines - Mission office training :)

Hey Mom and Dad!

So in the office, our P-Day is on Saturday.

This first week here in Liloan was SO tiring. It was a real adjustment. Haha. There's a lot of new things I had to learn. The day that I got there, we started to work. Writing off credit card receipts and other transaction, ordering checks, tracking purchases made by the mission, redoing area adjustments for missionaries, and we have an area to work in as well. It's pretty busy. But I love it so far. My companions, Elder Black and Elder Saluta, are both such excellent teachers and I've already been learning so much about finances and especially about missionary work.

We had an office meeting at the mission home on Friday and we were fed spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread, corn, and REAL milk for lunch. It was the greatest thing ever. As well as just seeing the bigger picture of just how many things need to be working in harmony to even allow the mission to run is just amazing.

We are living in the transfer house, which is a pretty big house and is pretty nice as well. It even has a shower. On Wednesday (my first full day in the office) I was so tired after work that directly after planning I accidentally fell asleep on the mattresses down stairs in our apartment, missionary clothes and all. I woke up at like 1 am, got up, took out my contacts, brushed my teeth, and got into my ACTUAL bed. This work is surprisingly tiring.

In our area it's just sakto. There's not too much city, but we're also not in the middle of nowhere. The people here are so nice and even though we can't work the whole day and work only in the evenings, we're seeing success here in this area. We'll hopefully have 5 baptisms next week. A family that they met tracting, and a family member of another member in our ward.

I'm super tired, but grateful to be here. I've felt so much help and support here, from my family here in the mission, my family at home, and my family in my Heavenly Home.

So that's it! Sorry that I don't have pictures this week. My card reader is at the apartment still. Also, about contacts, don't worry about it. I'll be good. This is only the second pair of new contacts that I've used on my mission. Haha.. So I've still got like 1 and a half boxes left for each eye. I do need some more solution though. I can't remember if I took 2 containers of it, or just 1. Are the packages on the way?

Love you!

Elder Head

Elder Head in the Philippines - Baptisms, goodbyes & a transfer $$ :)

So we've had a very abnormal week. On Friday, we found out that I'm actually going to be transferred tomorrow. Which is different from the transfer day of everyone else. The reason for this is because our financial secretary, Elder Black, goes home next month and I was chosen to be the replacement as financial secretary. The reason that I'm being transferred in the middle of this transfer is because he needs 1 month to train me with all the financial stuff and computer stuff and yeah. I'm kind of nervous but excited to do it. I'll learn a lot from Elder Black and Elder Saluta (The companion of Elder Black right now). We'll be in the office every day until 3 pm and afterwards, we'll go out to work.. Elder Saluta and Elder Black are both pretty long here in the mission so they're pretty seasoned teachers. So I'll be in Liloan instead of Pajo ward starting tomorrow. So I'm being Emergency transferred tomorrow. It doesn't mean that there's an emergency (I'm not dying Mom, I promise). It's just an irregular transfer that wasn't announced initially.

That means that this week was my last week here in Lapu Lapu. Which makes me sad, but I'm excited to help out the mission. The past few days have been goodbyes, which was SUPER sucky. I don't like goodbyes. We'll say goodbye to the rest of my recent converts today.

On a good note. We had 2 baptisms on Saturday, Brother Arnie Mangona and Sister Ilonah Dela Cerna. I baptized Arnie and Ilonah was baptized by her father-in-law, Edgar Dela Cerna Sr. Then on Sunday night, we had a family home evening with them. I love their family. The Dela Cerna's have been like my family here in Pajo. I'll miss this ward.

I'm grateful for this opportunity that I had to serve in Pajo. I'm also grateful that I've been given the unique opportunity to be the financial secretary here in Cebu East. I'm praying that I'll be strengthened by the Lord to help me to accomplish what's been asked of me.

Love,
Elder Head

Elder Head in the Philippines - Things are good & handsome :)

Hey Everyone!

So cool story, we got to go to Mandaue to see one of our investigators get married to his girlfriend so that he can be baptized. WHOO! Brother Marvin, Sister Laila, and baby Krisha are super nindot ("beautiful" as translated by Google).

Also, while we were in Mandaue I saw one of my investigators there at the stake center and he was baptized now! It was super awesome to see him. He always goes and works with the missionaries now which makes me happy.

In other news, we stopped at one of our investigators houses to teach him about the Word of Wisdom, but we couldn't teach him. Because he was absolutely drunk. Like drunk as drunk can be. So we set a return appointment with him and left pretty quickly. So that was kind of ironic this week. Haha

Elder Sapla is super gwapo. In fact, he set that as one of his goals this week,

Elder Head: "What are some of your personal goals for this week that I can help you with?"

Elder Sapla: "Elder, I want to be more gwapo (handsome). I even wrote it down."

He's super funny. Haha.

We should have 2 baptisms this week. Sister Ilonah Delacerna and Brother Arnie Mangona. So hopefully there will be more pictures this next week.

That's about it!

Elder Head

Mitch's district @ Mactan Shine before tranfers last week.

Elder Head met up with Brother Xavier, one of the investigators
 from his 1st area, whom has since been baptized :)

Elder Head in the Philippines - Transfer week & Temple Tour :)

SO.

Elder Sapla and I are staying for one more transfer together here in Pajo! The only problem is that I'm getting a little chubby... Joke. But they do feed us a lot here. Which is nice.

This past week we took a temple tour with some of our investigators. We did it with our Zone Leaders Elder Bayot and Elder Noquiao. We had 5 investigators come to with us which was super awesome.

So cool story. One of our investigators (Kate age 15 [her brother is a member]) just completely changed. Like 180 degrees. In the lessons before she was super shy with us, but after the tour of the temple, she just was SUPER tuned in to our lesson and she read like every day and even took notes of our lesson. It was the absolute coolest thing. Her baptismal date is August 29.

This week has been a lot just OYM (open your mouth) and talking with people. In our area in Ibo, we have so many people to teach, Less Active Members, Investigators, and Recent Converts. But in the other part, Pusok, it's basically a ghost town. Haha. So we are talking with a lot of people and have some return appointments for this week so hopefully we can even out our teaching pool.

So Elder Foote and his trainee are both being transferred together to Bohol. Elder Foote is now the District Leader over there and Elder Pairat (His trainee) is going with him. So I'm sad Elder Foote and I are no longer in the same district, but it was sweet while it lasted. Haha.

That's about it!

Elder Head

Elder Head in the Philippines - Stepping up planning & Tillamook ice cream :)

Hey Momma! 

So I tried to send 4 pictures but none of them would load so sorry for the delay here.

So this past week, we had to watch some movies for the first 12 weeks program and Elder Sapla and I decided that we really need to step up our game when it comes to planning. 

Also, this past week Elder Sapla and I have been trying to really focus on the Book of Mormon for our investigators, which is really frustrating sometimes because most of the people we teach either just forget to read or don't like to read. Then we ask them if they have prayed and asked if it's true, of course they say they haven't because they haven't been reading. So we've been REALLY stressing the importance of reading the Book of Mormon. In my life I've truly seen the fulfillment of the promise of President Ezra Taft Benson that the Book of Mormon will shield us from the temptations of the Adversary in our lives.

I tried to send you a picture, but it wouldn't load. Wednesday, we were fed by a member this week from America, Brother Doug Seymour. He made us spaghetti and then he bought Tillamook ice cream. It was basically the greatest dinner I've had in the past 11 months. Then he didn't have a freezer so he gave the rest of the ice cream to us and it was super delicious. It was a much needed break from seeing cheese ice cream.

This week is the last full week before transfers so next week I will be emailing on Wednesday.

Sorry for the short letter! I spent most of the time trying to work out the pictures from this week, but they just would not load. 

Love you!

Elder Head