Dalawang Americanos

Man, what a crazy week. I took a 2 hour bus ride down to San Fernando last Tuesday to pick up my trainee. Not gonna lie... I was kind of hoping that I would get a Filipino companion because then at least one of us would know the language haha. But, It didn't work out that way. I have an American companion from California. He is awesome. I am only 12 weeks in the field and am still very new with the language. But, the Lord will prepare a way. We have only had a few days to work, but I actually surprised myself with the language. I know more than I think I did. This is an awesome opportunity that I have to really figure things out here.

I also now have kabahay (roommates). It is super different. We split the area and it was honestly a little bit sad. The half of the area that the other companionship will be working in has 5 baptisms in the next few weeks. The area that I am in only has 1. Me and my last companion put a lot of work in on the other half the area. But, it is all good. The work is the same and the work is certainly progressing here in the Philippines. 

I don't have a lot more to say this week. We really only worked in our area for like 2 1/2 days this week. It will be interesting to see how this next week goes as we really get into the swing of things. 

The mission is awesome. I love the chance that I have everyday to share the message of the restored gospel here with the people of the Philippines. I love you all and send lots of prayers your way. 

Love Elder Thomas

Me and my comp Elder Hamilton

-kind of a crazy week and I didn't have my camera for most of it. But, I will send more pictures next week :)

 

Trainee to Trainer

Well... another 6 weeks came and went. We got transfer calls and I found out that I am going to be a trainer. It is a little bit scary because I don't exactly speak Tagalog all that well yet. But, I am more than excited. I don't know if my comp will be Filipino or American yet, but I will find out on Thursday after trainers training. It would definitely be a blessing if I could train a filipino because then, at least one of us would know the language haha. But either way. The Lord knows how we can best get the work done. He manages to get the work done with a bunch of 18-21 year old kids and it is seriously amazing.

I now have 4 people that will be at my house. They added another set of Elders to our area. I am a little bit sad because the area that the other Elders will take has 3 of our next 4 baptisms. But, the area that I am in has a lot of progressing investigators, so I am super excited. The work is all the same regardless of who does it. 

One of the funnest things that we did this week was ride a water buffalo. We found out that one of the members in our ward had a water buffalo and so we asked if we could ride it. It was super fun. 

We also went to another members house this week for dinner. We got there and they told us that if we want to eat, we had to catch one of their ducks. In our white shirts and ties, we ran around for like 20 minutes trying to catch a duck. We finally did. And then they told us that we were not really Filipinos unless we killed it. So, we held it while they killed it. It was wild. But, it was one of the best meals that I have had here. 

This week, I really thought about the temple a lot. Addie and Caitlin are going through the temple for the first time which is super exciting. The youth in our ward are planning a temple trip in a few months. It is awesome to see how excited they are. They are all working to raise money so that they can make the 7 hour bus ride down to Manila to the temple. I always took for granted the fact that I could get to like 5 or 6 temples within an hour drive. It is awesome. 

I love the gospel and the chance that I have to share it here in the Philippines. I am grateful for all of you and I send lots of prayers your way. 

Love Elder Thomas

 

How many people fit on a jeep?? One more

The best part of this week was that we got to go up to Querino. My comp is the district leader and we had to go out there for some baptismal interviews. My area in Santiago is like 2 hours away from a big city. We are kind of out in the ghetto. But, Querino is like 3 hours away from us and is like way out in the ghetto. The only way to get there is to get onto a van at 4:30 in the morning that leaves to go up there.

We got to the pickup place and there was a 14 passenger van. Then, we fit 19 of us on it and started our 3 hour ride up to Querino. Transportation here is wild. You can always fit one more person that you think into a vehicle haha. It was kind of rough, but it was absolutely beautiful. There are little bamboo huts everywhere. I was completely lost because the people up there really only speak Ilicano. I hardly even know Tagalog yet, so I was lost. But it was super fun. 

Another highlight this week was that we had 6 investigators that attended church. They are progressing really well. And we are now teaching a couple of families which is super fun. We have 16 people that are on date for baptism. We have almost more work than we know what to do with which is definitely not a bad problem to have as a missionary. 

We are almost positive that this next week, with transfers, we will get 2 more Elders in our area. I am pretty sure that I am going to train which might be a little bit rough. But, there are actually quite a few Filipinos coming in this batch, so there is a chance that we won't be completely lost. 

I love it here. The mission is by far the hardest thing that I have ever done, but I love every second of it. Sharing the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is really one of the most important things that we can do here in this life. I love you all back home, I think about you, and I send lots of prayers your way from this side of the world. 

Love Elder Thomas

Pictures:

The view in Querino

A trike with a Utah license plate

The kids we take to church

The spider we found at our house

Me and Elder Maddox dressed up for Halloween as eachother. We switched name tags, wore matching pants, and wore the rain coats President gave us.

 

Excitement back home

This week was awesome. But, most of the excitement didn't come from anything that happened out here in the Philippines. Addie and Caitlin both have their mission calls which is super exciting. It was the thing that I looked forward to the most for the last two weeks.

But, out here, the work is awesome. We have more progressing investigators than we know what to do with. We hear lots of rumors that next transfer (in 2 weeks), we will have another set of Elders in our area. That would be awesome. 

Some people are wondering about the storm that came through here. It was kind of lame. It rained for a while and got kind of windy but, nothing too crazy. We didn't have power for the day and kind of just at around and waited for it to pass. But, then we were back to work on Wednesday.

The highlight this week was that we were able to put a family of 5 on date. It was the second time that we taught them and we were teaching them about the Plan of Salvation. This is obviously a lesson that stands out to families and it really gives us purpose here in this life. So, they were super interested. In the context of the Plan of Salvation, we invited the family to be baptized. They all accepted and it will be exciting to see how they progress. 

I only have 2 more weeks until I finish my 12 weeks of training. Then, there is a good chance that I will be a trainer. That is kind of scary because I am still learning and the language is pretty rough still. But, we will get through it. I know that the Lord can prepare a way. It is his gospel and it will be taught regardless of our shortcomings. I have thought about that a lot. The Lord is able to teach his gospel throughout the whole world with a bunch of 18 and 19 year old kids. It is incredible. And the gospel is soo true. I love every bit of the experience out here. The good and the bad. I love you all and send lots of prayers your way. 

Love Elder Thomas

Pictures:

For Halloween, I dressed up as Elder Maddox. And he dressed up as me

we found a trike with a Utah License plate

kids playing soccer in the field

colored chicks

the kids

***Tried the whole hour I was here to upload pictures but it was too slow. I'll try again next week!