malamig na ulam

What? That’s so awesome that Kenzie got to play the piano with Jon Schmidt. Does she still take piano lessons? I think I told you this last year but I regret not learning the piano.  I play occasionally when I have time, I can play Love at Home and I Believe in Christ one handed, but that’s pretty much it

 Last Monday after the trip to the falls we went to a birthday party and I brought no bake cookies, everyone loved it. We also ate dinner there but we were late, so we had malamig na ulam and matigas na kanin

Tuesday one of the members worked with us and we got to ride in his tricycle. Then we went to his house for dinner and ate tenola. Seriously the best ulam ever. But we don’t have the right ingredients for it in America

Wednesday we went to Dingalan and played basketball in the morning then had DDM. It was the first time since the MTC (almost an entire year ago) I actually enjoyed a game of basketball. In the afternoon we taught RJ's stepbrother.

Thursday we went to Bugnan, it was the same as every other time we go: We had to say hi to all the members  and teach the same less actives who still don’t come to church.

Friday I worked with Elder Hawaikirangi in our area, it was sweet. We taught Tatay  and he tried to tell me we were all wrong because Emperor Constantine was the one who changed the Sabbath Day. I tried to explain to him but he didn’t really get it. So that was a fun discussion. Then the rain came and it didn’t stop. In the middle of the road it was almost to my knees. Elder Hawaikirangi said he's never seen rain so deep before (He got here in January). Last week we had some investigators (a family) come to church last week and today they mentioned they got offended by the relief society so they don’t want to come back anymore.

Saturday we went back to Bugnan, and an RM from Bicol and he was assigned in Gobaldon a few years ago. Everyone wanted to talk to him so that basically destroyed our work. Before we left we had a small party with soup (hot soup on a hot day. perfect combination). Then I dropped our cell phone in the river on the way home, so that was pretty cool.  And we actually have a baptism scheduled for Sept 15.

 I love you!

Elder Williams

 They are not allowed to take pictures during missionary work time so most of his pictures are from P-days. 

 

waterfalls

Hello family,

We went to the waterfalls today.  Yeah the falls today was way better than Camiling Zone. I'm uploading pictures so check the server. 

 So Monday after the day was over I made some no-bake cookies, Elder Abuan and RJ said they were 'masyadong matamis('too sweet')  so I made another batch with less sugar, they were the best! Then we were playing ping-pong at the church, and the rain was ridiculously strong, I couldn't believe it. The storm got so bad the power flashed on and off for several seconds. I don't know if this was a joke or serious, but both RJ and Elder Abuan blamed it on a ghost so we went home
Tuesday was sooo boring. Elder Abuan woke up and was so sick I made him go back to sleep, he basically slept the entire day. I never told you this but my first weekend in college all my roommates went home and I was nag-isa (alone) in our dorm. I was such a loser I didn't even walk into the hallway or anything. I can confidently say it was the least productive day of my life. Tuesday I did a lot, like read books and cleaned our apartment, but the day never seemed to end.

Wednesday we went to Palayan for DDM.  At DDM the APs were there and they talked to Elder Abuan about his sickness.

Thursday we went to Bugnan and it was awesome. We ate lunch at a members home.  Also, when we got home Elder Abuan went right to sleep, he didn't bother to take off his shoes or necktie.

Friday we taught this less active guy Tatay, he basically knows everything but hasn’t really come to church since his wife died. Then he asked us "Why did God create our spirits? What was the purpose behind our creation?" Then he answered his own question (like he does every week) and basically said we were created so that God would have someone to worship Him.

Saturday we went to Bugnan again and had an FHE, it was awesome! We played Charades and our team lost so we had this punishment where we had to speak (not sing) the words to Called To Serve. I was the one who had to do it and I gave it like a speech, it was sweet. By the end of it everyone was laughing and cheering, but I know most of them didn't understand because it was English.

Sunday we spent all day in meetings, the stake president showed up and basically told us all the things we are doing wrong as a branch. Then I made more cookies because tonight we are going to a birthday party.

Check the server for the planking pictures, I had a really good one today

So we're basically out of time because of the crappy internet shop we have. Remind me to tell you about it next week.

I love you!

Elder Williams

"Maganda pala dito"

I don’t know if I can write too long of an email. I forgot my camera AND my journal. 

It was a good week. I got your package this week! Did you ever get mine? I’m afraid it might have gotten lost (do things like that happen often)?
Can you send me a no-bake cookie recipe? We’re going shopping at a really good grocery place and a member here is having a birthday soon so I need to know what to buy mamaya. (later)
Tuesday was a really boring day. We weren’t motivated to work because transfer announcements were on Wednesday.
Wednesday we had transfers. Elder Abuan and I are still companions!! We went with the elders in Dingalan to Bugnan for lunch, and the zone leaders just called us and told us who would be transferring. Kind of boring with only four of us, but oh well. Afterwards, they went back to Dingalan and one of the members in our branch gave them a ride. They took our key because they left stuff in our apartment. Nanay Garcia (the lady who used to wash our clothes but doesn't anymore because she charges too much, we need to learn to budget better) is the only other one with a key. So we went to her house around 8:30 after our work in Bugnan and got the key from her. She lives really close to us, so we just went home after that. They Dingalan elders gave our key to that member. Anyway I know what I said it really magulo (confused) but what I’m trying to say is we are down to one key right now.

Friday we had a 'film showing’; we showed the movie The Testament at the church, it was awesome! We had tons of people show up and this one family we started teaching, they brought their kids and before they left the wife said "Maganda pala dito" (Turned beautiful here). The entire day was spent cleaning the church and going around to people's houses inviting them; we only taught tatay Daelo, a super smart less active guy. He knows more about the millennium and second coming than anyone I’ve ever met. He also meets with the Jehovah’s witnesses a few times a week, so I don’t know what his deal is.
Saturday I got the package! Sister and Elder Lutz were the way to Dingalan and stopped at our apartment in the morning. but the problem was, we didn’t have a key (see Wednesday) to get into the house because we gave our only key to RJ so he could wash our clothes for us and he left to buy laundry soap, so I took it with me across the river to  Bugnan. We ate lunch at the DeLeon's house (the place we slept at a few weeks ago) and afterwards opened the package. People here have a weird obsession with snow, so we tried the snow you sent and Sister Marivi asked if we could make snow for her plants in front of her house. So we made some and she sprinkled it around. Then we looked through all the pictures (which were awesome! Except the part where it makes me want to come home so I can race again) and everyone said me and McKenzie have the exact same face (but I’m pretty sure that’s because I'm the only person in this side of Nueva Ecija with blue eyes). Then we left the package at their home while we worked. Did I tell you about the less active Family? It's a less active family who we've been teaching for a few weeks, literally everyone in Bugnan tell us to re-activate them. She told us she couldn’t come to church because she had a meeting on Sunday, so we shared a few scriptures (2 Nephi 1:10, jacob 1:19), told her she had free agency, and invited her to pray about it.
Sunday we hardly worked again, we just sat in meetings all day and then did weekly planning at night (because we were cleaning all day friday). But the less active Family came to church!!! When we left her house on Saturday I honestly did not expect her to come. She spent the entire lesson justifying why she wouldn't go, but something must have changed. I wish there were words to describe how happy I was. It’s been a good week.

ps I’m not flooded, we are in a second floor apartment and in the mountains. If our apartment gets flooded, it’s probably the end of the world.

ps we need to go now. Thank you for this opportunity to serve a mission

I love you
Elder Williams

1 year 1 month

I’m trying to upload pictures but it’s not really working. I am getting a few of them though. Look in the folder labeled "Cabanatuan"

So on Tuesday I worked in Bongabon City, another city in our zone, with Elder Masuela. His companion and Elder Abuan had a meeting in Cabanatuan. it was cool but Elder Masuela was kind of lazy.  We met the ZLs at their house and got to Bongabon at about 8:15am. He slept until 11:30 then we ate lunch and laid around until 2:30. At 2:30 he took a shower, and then we went to work. We were in the middle of one lesson when the ZLs called and said they were finished with their meeting and we needed to meet them at their house. So then we went to another less active and sat there for about 15 minutes before we left. By the time we got to the ZL's house and Elder Abuan and I went back to Gobaldon, we basically had no time to work

Wednesday it rained again. It was like hurricane type rain, the van we were in had a hard time getting home. We went to Palayan in the morning to hear announcements from the ZLs about the meeting on Tuesday, and then we had to go to Cabanatuan again to withdraw our support money. We didn’t get home until 4pm. I worked with Elder Rabino (from Davao) in our area. He’s a super new missionary and so he basically just followed me around while I taught. 

Thursday we went to Bugnan (across the river) and RJ, our branch mission leader just preached to everyone we saw. He reminded me of one of those guys you see standing on a soapbox in the park. He does that a lot when he works with us because he misses his mission a lot.

On Friday we visited tatay, one of our less actives who had a stroke and can't walk very well.

Saturday we went to Bugnan again and ate with a Family for lunch and then another Family for dinner. Coming home was really cool, too. We got to the river a little bit late and nobody was there with a balsa to take us across. So then Harold (the guy from last week’s story) totally did something dad would do:

Every night, the guys who nagtatawid just leave their mga balsa (the raft) on the beach until the next morning. So we are on the side of the river with no way to get across, and the last thing we want to do is stay in Bugnan again. So Harold went to one of the rafts, untied one of the tires, and sat us down on it.  Then he pulled us across the river. A few times he was actually floating as well because the river was so deep, a few times he accidentally kicked me

Sunday we didn’t do a lot of work, mostly just meetings and paperwork. Then we ate dinner at Nanay’s house, she’s the lady who washes our clothes for us. Afterwards we were going to teach them but her grandchildren were watching Sleeping Beauty so she asked if we could wait until it’s over to teach her. Elder Abuan was falling asleep while we waited; he had a really bad headache. So we came home around 8:30.

This morning we had a zone activity and went to some garden place with a bunch of statues of Jesus. I enjoyed being with the other missionaries, but I would have enjoyed it more if I was a Catholic

Below are pictures of Elder Williams apartment. He said it is the nicest place he has lived but hates that he does not have running water.

7-30-12

That’s awesome about Patrick! Man I’m  so excited! Tell him to email me and I'll tell him what to expect. I want him to be more prepared than me hahaha

SO this week was... sa madaling salita, pinaka (in other words, most)-the best!

Monday I had a canker sore that rivaled that of the one I had in college. I don’t know if you remember that but it was around Thanksgiving and lasted through Christmas. It hurt so bad. But it’s gone now, so no big deal. I also was feeling terrible on Monday; I had this really bad pain behind my eyes. But that’s gone as well.

Tuesday was sweet, we went walking to this new place and I found out Elder Abuan is so in touch with the spirit, it’s amazing. He stopped at this one house and the lady didn’t hesitate one second to let us in. So we taught her and her dad (who looks like he's 100 years old). Immediately afterwards, her neighbor came home and we taught her to! She was super mabait, (kind)  it was like talking to a member.

Wednesday was a bit frustrating. We went to Dingalan for DDM and had to take a trike all the way there, it cost like 70 pesos. Afterwards we were on our way home (we were lucky enough to get a bus) some really bastos (coarse) lady kept making comments about my nose. Once we started working, we went to Bugnan (the really far area, I’m sending a picture to help understand how far it is.) were teaching a less active (I am kind of sawa teaching them. They know everything they need to do, they just won't exercise faith and do anything.) While we were teaching, we got interrupted by a "Bombay." "Bombay" is slang for people from India who come to the Philippines and loan money to people then charge crazy interest. They're incredibly good at English and Tagalog. He completely destroyed the Spirit of the lesson. After that, one of the members asked for a blessing, and guess who didn’t bring any oil? So we spent a long time walking back and forth to members trying to find some olive oil. ON the way home, I accidentally left our cell phone in the trike

Thursday was much better than Wednesday. Around 8am our branch mission leader came over, then we gave him some money and he went to find our phone. He found it and came back around 9am. At lunch, we went to our branch president’s home for lunch and got haircuts. But it was super sketchy. He looked for some scissors, threw a plastic bag over me, and mentioned he is kind of new at it. We just went behind his house, between him and his neighbors. His younger brother was climbing up coconut trees while I was getting my haircut. I don’t know if you've ever seen a person climb a coconut tree, but man it was way cool.

Friday we taught the guy with the guns. He is seriously the coolest. Before we taught, he told us all about his imported gun holsters from India and United States. I don’t know much about him, but he's totally into some shady stuff.

Saturday.... BEST. DAY. EVER. Remember that time in September when it rained a lot and we almost got flooded? Today was way worse. So at 10:00am, RJ and Harold (our first counselor) came over and worked with us. It was super hot, the hottest it’s been in Gobaldon since I've been here. 11:30, we went to Bugnan and ate lunch at members home (one of the best members in our branch). I love Bugnan, we always get fed, and even the poor people will offer us food. These people have stronger faith than anyone I've ever met. They never miss a week of church. We rested from 1:00 to 2:26 (we are supposed to leave the house very day at 2:30.) then went to work. Our first lesson was a family, but we stopped at a members home, to schedule a teaching appointment for the neighbor. Then she told us to eat dinner at her home. So we taught the family around 3:30. Our plan was to go to a members home at 4:30, teach, then eat dinner then go home. While we were teaching the family, we literally watched the rain come over the mountains into the Bugnan Valley. It was cool to watch, and it was flipping string rain! So we got to the members house, and it was the two of us,  and a Sister , her 2 yr old son, and one investigator. We decided to wait for the other one (our investigators friend) and the rain got stronger and stronger. I texted our zone leaders and told them we might not make it home that night because of the rain. Around 5:00 his friend showed up and we started watching The Restoration, but the tin roof made it so hard to hear. Around 5:45 they went home and we started eating, and a Sister (the place we ate lunch) texted us and told us to go home with Harold, who would be in Bugnan soon. It was the perfect situation:
So we were here in Bugnan at the members home, and they were about to leave to pick up their two daughters from seminary, who went into Gobaldon (the other side of the river) for seminary. We would meet them at the river, and then take a trike back to our apartment. (About this time, peoples home started flooding and the river was getting higher and higher. This is the river where people pull us across, there's no bridge or anything.) So we got the river, and we are waiting for her daughters to show up with Harold. By this time it’s late and all the people who pull rafts have gone home. There was one old guy who said the river was up to his neck, nobody was getting across. So there we were with a worried mom separated by a dangerous river and no way to get home. At 8:00pm, I texted our zone leaders and said we wouldn't be able to make it home. They asked what our options were and they said to take a trike to Dingalan if we had no other choice, but they obviously don’t know much about our area, which is why I included the map for you to better understand. I explained the situation and they told us we can't stay at any members with children, especially girls. But it was the perfect situation. Both of the members daughters were on the other side of the river, and we were stuck at their house with us two, the two of them, and their 2 yr old son. The ZL's agreed to let us stay, so we went back to her house. She gave us some of her husband’s clothes, and then made some more food. I  read from the D&C study guide, then we made our beds, and the rain didn't stop. I also used a mosquito net for the first time ever.  It was so weird,,, I didn't even really feel like a missionary. It was like just being over at someone's house.

Sunday morning we woke up to a breakfast of eggs and rice, super delicious. Then they took us to the river, it was still super high, but old guys were pulling people across. So then we went home, showered again, and went to church.

That’s what happened to me this week

 Love you
Elder Williams

Magulo

Hello Family,

I was writing my letter to President Martino, and thinking about what to write.  Usually I bring my journal with me but this morning was sort of magulo (confused) so I forgot to grab it. While I think of what to say ask me some specific things you want to know. 

Kelsie wants to know if you funny bananas? Plantains? 
We are on the other side of the ocean from you right now so put a message in a bottle and we should get it?!
How are your lessons going?  How is the less active guy doing? I can't think of his name???
Kenz wants to know how the go going?
How is Elder Auban? 

The bananas here are napaka sobrang nakakatawa.( very very funny.)

If you send the bottle before tomorrow night it should get here before I leave Gobaldon. I’ll watch for it in a few weeks. Make sure you don’t put fish food in it so nothing eats it.

The less active guy? He's doing okay but he didn’t come to church yesterday, he went to Dingalan and we haven’t talked to him since.

the go is.... going. 

Here's something cool: Remember I told you we just have a huge tank full of water and we use that to shower and cook food and wash clothes and dishes and stuff? It ran out yesterday, so I didn’t get to shower. And we have no clean water because the mineral water place was closed yesterday. To make things even better, it rained ALL DAY yesterday. It hasn’t stopped for days, and last night it was so cold I could see my breath. 

Elder Abuan is still the best. Transfers are coming up on Aug 8 and I hope he doesn’t leave. Pray for him to be my companion again next transfer!  We had water this morning, but it was super dirty (it comes straight from the river) so we turned it on before we left to wash out all the dirt from the tank. Our laundry nanay (mother) is there now, so she'll figure it out. Right now it’s not too bad, but I haven’t seen the sun in almost a week. Nothing but dark, scary clouds. I can’t upload pictures because we are in Palayan right now emailing and this computer shop is very low scale. totally blows. I wanted to email in Cabanatuan so I could send pictures but the zone leaders wanted to email here because it’s closer. I think I sent some pictures of the apartment already a few weeks ago, but I’ll take some more this week.

We had a branch home evening on Saturday, but we showed up like 45 minutes late because we worked in Bugnan and couldn’t find a cheap trike ride back to the Bayan. Friday it rained so hard we were afraid to leave the house. About the time we were supposed to leave it slowed down, then got worse as we started working. Elder Abuan didn’t get an umbrella and I was kind of annoyed that we had to share.

 

my time is up Pala! i love you! I'll talk to you next week!

(check the sever, i uploaded the video!) :)

Elder Williams

 I think every missionary has to make a cheesy video with their companion!

I can see it in your countenance

Hi! 

First of all I can’t upload pictures to the server because we are in some sketchy internet shop and it won’t let me get onto windows explorer. But I didn’t take a lot of pictures this week so it’s okay. 

Tuesday I was super annoyed the whole day, but it wasn’t too bad. In the morning we taught two new investigators, it’s hard to explain what I felt while teaching them. It was like I never had to stop and think of what I would say next, and there was something inside of me like it was too big for me. I felt sort of pressure inside me but not so much that it hurt. I wish the afternoon was that good, though. Our branch mission leader came with us and talked about how much he missed his mission so he basically talked to everyone and led all the discussions. He's a great missionary but I just wanted to work with Elder Abuan. Then we taught this lesson to a less active.  It rained SO HARD that night, too. While we were walking home, the rain was about a half inch deep on the highway. The highway reminds me of Iona Road going up the hill, it’s kind of sloped but not super steep, ya know? Imagine that with a half inch of rain and what the low spots must have looked like. Totally destroyed our work.

Wednesday was great; we left at 10am and worked on the other side of the river, in Bugnan. We ate lunch at the a members home the best family I ever met. This guy is kind of old, he never graduated elementary school but taught himself to be a carpenter and supplies the whole mission with beds and desks for the missionaries. Every week he bikes 30 minutes to church, and has to carry his bike across the river because he can’t pay to take a ferry across. Then our work got cut short because a huge rainstorm came in again and we had to cross the river back into Gobaldon before the river got too high.

Thursday we had interviews with President Martino, it was the best. I don’t remember if I mentioned this to you yet but Elder Abuan and I started this thing where we get up at 5:30am and read the BoM for an hour, then personal study and lunch we study again. I study different subjects during the day and it makes me feel like I’m in school, I just never go to class. I mentioned to president how much it has changed me as a person, and he said "I can see it in your countenance." In the afternoon I worked with Elder Bellen (one of our zone leaders) in out area, and I realized I don’t know the area like I thought I did, we walked a lot more than we needed to. The best part of the day was at lunch, Sister and Elder Lutz did house checks. Elder Lutz used his pocketknife to fix just about everything in our house and Sister Lutz was so appalled at the condition of our apartment she almost died. She saw we don’t have a shower and said to Elder Abuan "How in THE WORLD do you shower every day?" and Elder Abuan, in his cute, broken, Filipino-style English said "We take a bucket, sister.... and then just put water to our heads." She also was freaking out because we didn’t have a door on our freezer; I told her just about every missionary here doesn’t have a freezer door.

Friday we met this guy named, he's the coolest. He used to live in some rich place in Manila, then his mom got sick so they moved to the mountains to the cleaner air. He makes gun holsters by hand for the police and people in shooting competitions. Missionary Work is seriously the best.

Saturday we want back across the river, to Bugnan and ate lunch at another family there.  It was super-sarap na gulay, but flip their kitchen was COVERED in flies and it grossed me out, it was awful. we worked until 5 and then came back to the Bayan, and went to a bunch of peoples house and invited them to church

Sunday we went to church, and it was relatively quiet, for a sacrament meeting in the Philippines. Afterwards we had a meeting and I gave a workshop to our branch missionaries about the BoM, taught a the less active guy, then went home early to do weekly planning.

ps did you get my package yet? The pictures I sent were from Cabanatuan, I don’t know if I sent them already or not. 

Last requests:

Summer sausage, skittles, cookies.chocolate. beef jerky daw. (daw is a tagalog word for "he said") Elder Abuan would like some Oreo cookies and beef jerky. Elder Bellen said  "high class chocolates; bars. ganoon." Elder Masterson would LOVE some granola.

Ok well my times up now, I’ll talk to you next week.

I love you!

Elder Williams

I am not sure what is going on.....trying to be funny?