Sunday, March 26, 2017

The Claveria Life

My first week in Claveria is now over, and I already had a lot of quite different experiences here.

First off, I have heard that this area is one if not the prettiest areas in the mission. I can agree that it is definitely great. But the ride to it wasn't. In order to get to the area, you go through windy mountains for about an hour. I am glad another missionary had medicine and was nice enough to get it for me. Then we finally got to the area! Kind of just like any other area in this mission, but it has a lot of places to eat shop and things like that.


It is basically a little small village in the mountains, but pretty well off.At the bus station in Claveria, I met my new companion Elder Bulado. Elder Bulado is a 23 year old Filipino from Tacloban (the same place as my trainer). He is very "chill" and loves to talk to people. This is his last cycle before he goes home, but luckily, I don't think he's too trunky. He does love to talk so there have been many times where we have had long conversations. 

We have already talked about a lot of our lives to each other, what we want to do in the future, marriage and things. I also learned that he has a scholarship to a college for dance! He is really talented in the style of "isolation" or "popping". I've watched him and asked him to teach me. It's pretty hard to do but he is really good at it. Hopefully by the end of the cycle I'll be able to do a little bit of what he does.

So a short report on the other 2 in my apartment, we have Elder Nuada and Elder Langeveld. Elder Nuada is a Filipino and Elder Langeveld is actually from Utah. They are all pretty nice and hard working. They area also all really close to going home, and then there's me who still has a while though. I'm not complaining though, it is all good to me, I enjoy it. 

They do tease me a lot though but it's about being picky. The 2nd day we were here a member bought us squid which we used for food for the next couple days. I learned that I am not a fan of squid of any form such as adobo or fried.

As soon as I got here I learned that we actually have 2 baptisms coming up next week, and 3 more potential. So we put a lot of our focus this week to teaching them, preparing them for baptism. I ended up becoming friends with them really fast, and can already tease them if I wanted to. It's like we've been friends for a while.So a weird thing that happened this week, we have an investigator who is really awesome, and when we teach her it is great, but she has a problem that is going on right now. 

Turns out she has been accused by all of her neighbors of witchcraft, and I think might actually have to go to court for it. We were pretty surprised when we heard this, but I am sure nothing bad will happen. We don't think the judge will do anything, and they don't have any proof of her "witchcraft". She did come to church so we were happy to see her, that's just not something I was expecting to hear at all that is actually happening anywhere in the world. But it is, and I am sure it will all be fine.

On Sunday I finally got to see what our branch is like. I was pretty surprised to see the size of it. For the Philippines, their branch is quite large. Their goal is to soon become a ward, and I can see that being possible. All the members are all very nice, and I already became friends with them pretty quickly, so I am happy with that. 

There are 3 new missionaries in their branch now: Elder Langeveld (20 months in the mission), Sister Latu (a Tongan who just entered the mission) and then I (a little over 7 months now total in my mission), and I think they like us all. 

The first week was great. I am really happy to be where I am right now. I still have a lot to learn such as the area, and keep working on my Tagalog. Side note I realized I can still work on a lot when I couldn't really teach the story of Adam and Eve to a 10 year old very well. I still have a lot to learn, but this is a good place for me to be. 

I am happy here and happy to be on the mission. I say this a lot but I love this mission, I love the place so far, and I love the people. I can't wait to see how life goes here! So for now, this is what my life is like, let's see if anything happens next week! Love you all and miss you!  

**You can email Elder Espiritu at joseph.espiritu@myldsmail.net


Taggat, one of my favorite areas so far in Claveria




Another area we go to often in Centro



The apartment in Claveria





Elder Bulado and I (sorry it's very blurry)



Monday, March 20, 2017

The Short but Sweet Time In Laoag

Quite a different week this week, but it was all for good! These couple weeks here have been a little challenge, but in the end I am very grateful for them. I know I am continuing to learn a lot.

We got to end this cycle with a blast, because we had an Family Home Evening every day with a different set of family. All were very fun and we got to teach many different things. We also celebrated a members birthday on Tuesday, Sister Andrada's during zone conference this week, my companion Elder Salazar on Friday along with another member who had a birthday on the same day. All were very fun and I enjoy having family home evenings with all these people. I have grown pretty fond of the members of Laoag 5.

When Sunday rolled around, it was disappointing to see that only 1 of our investigators were able to make it to church, even though we thought we had a lot of people who were going to come. I understand it's hard to keep commitments and sometimes it's hard to follow through and go to a strange building at 8:30 in the morning, but that's just what we got to do.

That's exactly what our zone conference was about actually, was helping people understand commitments. Sometimes we feel like commitments are just a little side thing we do, but they’re actually very important. If they understand the importance of the commitment, they'll want to do it. Especially if they understand the promised blessing with it. It may take some time, but one day they will understand. For now, we just keep sifting for the ones who are ready!

So I have a surprise for you all: I am being transferred again! While teaching our investigator who came to church we received a text from one of the Assistants to the President that we will both be transferring! It's a little weird and very fast since we were only here for 1 cycle, but I know this is the will of God for me to serve somewhere else. 

Looking back at everything that has happened this cycle, I am glad that it all happened. I am a little sad that we didn't get to see a ton of progress, for what we started with, I would say there actually was progress. I know that we have a lot of good information that we can leave behind for the next Elders and even though we didn't get much, we at least tilled the ground for the soil to grow. It may be a very slow process, but I know something is happening. 

It says in Preach My Gospel in Ch.9, no effort is wasted. Even though it may feel like that, you have affected those you've come in contact with. Right now we just can't see it.

So I am happy and grateful for this short time to serve in Laoag, and I am ready for the new challenges of my next area! I am ready to learn and to gain relationships with more people in this mission. 

I do love the people a lot and I got pretty close to some families and members in the short 6 weeks I was here. It's sad to leave them, but this is part of mission life. 

For now I must focus on the work, and I am excited to go now to Claveria, which means I am going back to the border of Cagayan! I'm excited to be able to serve there and we'll see what the future has in store!

Elder Espiritu

**you can email Elder Espiritu at joseph.espiritu@myldsmail.net



Kevin's birthday 



FHE at the Dela Rosa Family


Zone Conference lunch with some of the Sisters


Sister Andrada's birthday


FHE at the Gaspar Family


Birthday of Elder Salazar and a member Sariah




Another celebration for Elder Salazar's birthday


Last Sunday with the Laoag 5 ward






Dinner at the Ragasa family 



Sunday, March 12, 2017

Continuing The Laoag Missionary Life

Well I would definitely say that I had a great experience this week, and life is still going well here in Laoag!

One day this week I got to have an exchange with my Zone Leader Elder Anderson. Elder Anderson is an American from St. George Utah, and has a lot of knowledge of the gospel. He's really smart. He decided to take me to this one investigator over in Lapaz named Arnel. 

Arnel is a Filipino who lived in Virginia for a long time so he speaks English very well. His backstory is he moved to America when he was a teenager. He had a girl he loved before he left and managed to have a long distance relationship with her for 15 years. Finally he moved back and married her. 8 months after their marriage, she died. He was mad at God after that and we are worried that after these 9 years he still hasn't been able to move on. 

It was quite a great experience with him. It was really nice to be able to teach a full lesson in English to him. We ended up teaching him for a long time about multiple subjects. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation with him and many different things. Most of what we talked about was how we need to seek learning by faith, and talked to him a lot about what Elder Bednar talked about. 

We likened it unto the seed and working out. For working out, you can't just believe you can get bigger, you have to act. Not only do you have to act, you have to make sure you're lifting the weight right. When you do, you will have a feeling that what you did was right. This is how it can happen with knowing the church is true. You just have to act. 

After a long time of teaching him that, we hope he will be able to act in the faith that he already has. I am excited to see what happens to him. He has been investigating for quite a while. It was a great experience going with another American and learning about what he did on the mission, and I admire all the knowledge he has. 

Elder Anderson and I talked about gospel topics for quite a while that day, and there are now lots of books I want to study. For now, I am going to start with Jesus the Christ. It is a little bit of a struggle for me because it is over 700 pages and written in older context, but so far I enjoy it and plan to finish it eventually. Gaining a knowledge for myself is really going to help me out on the mission and in the long run. I have a lot to read, so I plan to keep reading these things after my mission.

So now to my area. We actually had lots of good experiences this week, even the hardships. We decided to try to find one morning door to door. At first, it was one of the most brutal and slightly discouraging moments. For an hour we went door to door, and every single house we went to was straight up rejection. I wasn't very happy at the time and almost wanted to just stop. But you can't have good without the bad. 

After quite some time we finally found a potential investigator. We happily taught and they accepted a return appointment. Soon after that, we found a lot of potential investigators and past investigators. The Lord does help us in our work, and the more failure you have, the more success you are capable of having. We extended a couple of baptismal dates to these people, and I am excited to see them progress! 

It also is hard for our area, because a lot of the investigators that we want to teach say they can't make it. A lot of them don't have time on Sunday morning because they have to work and support their family. We talked to the Bishop and he told us it was a very logical reason for a lot of people. So now we are trying to figure out a solution, but really it's just a leap of faith that people need to take in order to have a better life. Sometimes we can't see what's ahead, but if we trust in the Lord He can help us through everything.

We had quite a few dinners this week which were really fun. At one of them there were 2 little girls hanging out at the house. They started talking to me and getting me to play with them. Sometimes I didn't notice but I was able to understand everything they said and say everything I need to say with them. Throughout the whole week I was paying attention to my language skills and I realized that my language skills are a lot better than I give myself credit for. 

Sometimes I am a little harder on myself so sometimes it's a little more of a struggle. Of course I do struggle with lots and I still have so much to learn, but I realized I still have a pretty good knowledge. One thing that really amazed me was during a lesson with one investigator and the Bishop. 

Just as a reminder, the 1st language here is Ilocano, and not Tagalog. So of course the Bishop will talk to our investigator in Ilocano. As I was listening, I realized that I actually understand a lot of Ilocano, and was able to keep up for the most part when they were both talking. I couldn't understand everything and I definitely can't really speak the language of Ilocano, but there is more that I know than I thought. 

For Tagalog and Ilocano, I have gained a lot of understanding and just continuing to push myself to talk to people in order to speak better. Gotta keep getting back up even if I stumble a lot on some days. With these experiences I realized how much the Gift of Tongues has blessed me in my life, and how God really is watching over me. 

This area is starting to grow on me a lot, and I have enjoyed my time here so far. Every week I can find something new that I learned, and even though it can be difficult, that is just part of life. Life was never meant to be easy, and this time is to learn between right and wrong, and good and evil. 

If we make the right choices, we will be blessed. The mission life is definitely not easy, but I know it's helping me a lot. Once again, to those of you who are reading this, thank you for your support! I am not sure exactly who does read, but if you do, thank you. 

Until next week again, just keep pushing through! 

Elder Espiritu

**You can email Elder Espiritu at joseph.espiritu@myldsmail.net



Following in my Mom's footsteps



Snackin at a waiting shed with a less active member



Lots of fellowshippers from our ward: Kevin Bituen, Diane, Dela Rosa, Francis, Sister Persia, Sister Bagadiong, and RJ


Diane and her baby sister Riley (daughters of the Bishop)


Sunday, March 5, 2017

Plant Those SEEDS

Hello po sa mga kabigan ko, mga pamilya ko at lahat!

Again I am very happy with everything that happened this week, and I continue to love it here in the mission. I am starting to love this area more too. It's definitely not the easiest thing in the world. Still hard, but I am just adjusting better now!

There were a couple of days that were quite boring in this week. But I still had some things to learn from them. I never realized how happy I am and how fun it is to teach people until there are no people for us to teach. In our finding we still meet lots of people who don't want to talk to us. Now even though it hurts, I just laugh it off. One person we saw through the window walking inside his house and tried talking to him, but he just acted like we weren't there and totally ignored us. With another house we told these kids to get their mother, and she walked out, saw us, then went right back in. Guess some people just aren't ready to listen.

When we do find people that are willing to listen though, it's very enjoyable but sometimes interesting and sometimes weird. One day We found this one old nanay who spoke English very well. We taught her all of the restoration and asked her very direct questions, but she stayed strong in her religious beliefs. She believes that as long as you're trying to worship God and remember him, all religions are fine. I admire her beliefs and am sad she didn't really accept what we were trying to help her know. Maybe eventually her heart will soften. Guess she still has a while though, because the last missionaries to visit her was back in October of 2000.

We had another interesting experience that happened to us this week. We have been going to this one investigator who is a single 20 year old mother with one child. One day we went to her house and she told us she was depressed. She then broke down and told us she has been trying to fix things with the father of her child, but he doesn't want anything to do with her anymore. He got a new girlfriend and told him he just doesn't want anything to do with her and the child anymore. The whole time she was explaining I had no words.

I wanted to help her so bad but I didn't know what to say, especially in Tagalog. I've also just never experienced what she is going through. After we tried to share 2 scriptures with her, mine was going to be D&C 121:7-9, but we never got to because her child was being way too misbehaved, grabbing everything, crying, spitting milk and gum on the floor. She told us that she wanted us to just come back tomorrow instead because she needed to clean and take care of her child. 

I didn't want to leave it like that, so I told her we would clean. She kept refusing. Eventually she brought out a broom and we took it and refused to let her clean. Afterwards she tried to mop and we took that too. We swept and mopped her whole house, and made it all tidy. She was very thankful and told us that was the cleanest her house has been. She said she wanted to treat us to lunch and be taught again later that week. She also said she would go to church. It was a fun day, but sadly she ended up being busy every day and we weren't able to visit her. When church came around, she wasn't there.

It's sad and slightly hard to get people to come to church but it's up to them. All we can do is just do our best to get them to come. It's up to them though.

One day as we were proselyting I was deep in thought. I was a little sadder because our area isn't the easiest to find people who are willing to listen. As we were exploring a farther area we passed by a big field with corn and rice. As we passed it, I was looking and marveling at how beautiful it was. After looking at it I started thinking about the area and the struggles of it. Then I thought about missionary work. We are always hearing about how even if sometimes the investigators don't accept our message, all we can do at this time is plant a seed. 

In my area, because we are starting from scratch, we just plant the seeds for now. Sometimes there will be rough ground where maybe the plant isn't ready to grow. We seem to hit a lot of rough ground in this area but that's why we have to just keep trying. We can find the softer ground where the seed is at least ready to be planted. It may take time, but that is what we are here to do. 

Eventually when we do plant the seed, even if it takes time, the seed will sprout and grow. Then one day it may be a beautiful and marvelous field. But for now, we just gotta keep looking for that soft ground, keep planting the seeds.

Although its hard work, I still enjoy being out here. Of course there are slower days and better days, but every day I am here I can find something to learn. My invitation now to you all is to try to be the ones to plant a seed into someone else's heart. 

This church is growing, and we can always help hasten the work! Once again I love you all, and thank you for all the support you have shown, even though I don't even know or have seen it! :) 

Till next week, be the example that God wants you to be!

Elder Espiritu

**you can email Elder Espiritu at joseph.espiritu@myldsmail.net




One of our investigators and her daughter


Just kickin back at the apartment




The Banty District 






Proselyting 


Just a cornfield 



Taking the family everywhere I go (the cornfield and path I talked about in my email)