The Wonderful Allacapan Life

Every time it hits Monday, I'm always amazed about how fast time flies here in the Philippines! Another great week finishes with a lot of success, growth and lots of things learned! I'm still amazed about the growth of the branch here in Ballesteros district, especially in Allacapan. As a zone leader, it's really cool to see how everyone's progressing. So here's how my week went:

Tuesday: We decided to surprise Ballesteros district by going to their district meeting. Sister Libre (a new missionary still being trained) was very surprised and nervous because she was the one training, and didn't realize the zone leaders were actually going to come. It was a good district meeting and Sister Libre did awesome.

Wednesday: We had exchanges with the Ballesteros district, and this time I went with Elder Reamon. The exchange went well, Elder Reamon is really good at just talking with people and is very motivated to do all aspects of the work, including finding, which can be grueling sometimes. So I appreciate that about him.

Thursday we had another exchange, back to back, with the Abulog elders. I went with Elder Pu'efua, a Samoan elder who is from Samoa but moved to Utah when he was young. We actually had a fun finding activity where we set up a juice stand in front of the school and gave out juice to the students. 

At first everyone passed by us and it was kinda awkward, but a lot of the members came and helped us out, so we gave all of our juice out and now have some potential investigators for the future! The rest of the day was successful too.

On Saturday we are happy to report that we had a successful baptism! Sister Donnafe and Sister Grace were happily baptized around 2pm. A couple of hours earlier we were doing our best to prepare due to a flood in the girls' bathroom. The water was barely a little higher than my knees. They had a good experience and the Spirit was very strong.

When Sunday rolled around they were confirmed as full time members of the church and we couldn't be happier. What makes things better, is we have another baptism coming up this Saturday, for our investigator Angela Ancheta! We're super excited for her, and this last Sunday we were even more excited due to a lot of our new investigators coming to church! 

There were a few that we taught this week that already wanted to come to church, and sure enough that Sunday there they were. One has already told us she wants to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and several others have very high potential. 

It's a lot of work to take care of the 10 investigators we had at church, but we're happy with how many opportunities we have to help people come unto Christ. 

So in conclusion: Life is going great! Although very busy, it's very enjoyable. Every week we go to a different area for interviews for people wanting to be baptized, lots of meetings, going on splits several times a week with the members and teaching awesome people. I love it all and I know I'm very blessed to be here in Allacapan. 

We got another exciting week coming up with Zone conference, traveling for more interviews, more awesome work and the baptism this Saturday. 

The work really is hastening here and I'm blessed to be apart of it! I know that this work is true and I know I am here because of a 14 year old boy who wanted to know the truth. Now I'm here helping several other people his age discover the truth too. 

That's all I got for this week! Like always, Love you all!

Elder Espiritu

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

Exchanges with the Ballesteros Elders 

(Elder Madsen and Elder Reamon)

Exchanges with the Abulog Elders 

(Elder Nungay and Elder Pu'efua)

Working with Denz and CjoyImage 

 Donnafe 

Nanay Grace

Allacapan branch baptism 

The Work is Still Hastening

On Tuesday we had 2 meetings we were able to attend. One was a district meeting and the other was a Missionary Coordination meeting with the District President. Both were awesome, and I got to meet President Credo. He is a really good example of what a leader should be like. 

We talked about the goals of the District from last month and what we did to improve, and talked about the weaknesses and struggles too. He is very on top of things. Ballesteros district is very close to becoming a stake. They just need around 59 more baptisms (especially future priesthood holders) and 3/5 branches are already qualified to become wards! The church is really growing here and I'm excited to be a part of it!

Wednesday we were supposed to have an exchange which we ended up canceling because both of the Elders got sick, so we just worked our normal day. 

Thursday we went on splits and I worked with Romel and Angel. It was actually a really good day and we went to most of the people we needed to go to. The first 3 lessons were all pure Ilocano and no Tagalog. So I did my best to follow along and got bits and pieces. That's the joy of the Philippines, with over 900 languages here! 

On Friday as we were reviewing what we could work on in our area, we discovered we have 31 uncontacted referrals. We need to work on that and on visiting all the people we need to. 

Saturday was also busy with interviews for baptismal candidates. I went to the other Elders' area to interview 3 of their investigators to see if they were ready for baptism. All three, though young, have already gained a testimony that this church is true. I'm excited for them!

As Sunday rolled around we were a little nervous to see who was going to show up because of District conference which was held in Ballesteros, about 40 minutes away from Allacapan. They did have a service to bring them there but there were a lot of members who were planning to come. 

To our joy, we had 6 of our investigators come to the conference! The conference was awesome and I learned lot, especially from the Seventy who visited us. 

He told us that even when Elder Rasband was called as an Apostle he was terrified. Even the very top can get scared. I learned that no matter what your calling in the church is, the Lord will qualify you for your work. We never need to be afraid if we have trust in the Lord! Just put our trust in Him and He will deliver us!

As for some great news, Elder Nichols and I have 2 baptisms this week! Grace Merabite and Donnafe. We have been working with them for awhile and it's awesome to see how much they've grown. 

We'll have a total of 5 baptism this week, 3 from the other Elders that I interviewed, and we're very excited. This work is true and I love seeing the change in people's lives! That's all for this week! Love you all!

Elder Espiritu

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

Boodle fight again

Just looking at them rice fields (that's what most of the scenery is here)

Ballesteros zone's surprise for Sister Andrada's birthday

Busy life, happy life

I remember once when I was at the MTC that while you're on the mission, the days are slow but the weeks are fast. I testify that that is true. As for this week it wasn't neccessarily long as in boring, it was long because we had so many things to do. 

We're still very busy here in Allacapan carrying out all our duties and all of our work and such. But it's all enjoyable. We had another long trip to Laoag for a meeting, lots of splitting up for work, more exchanges, and teaching at a school!

Right after emailing Monday morning we hopped on a bus and headed to Laoag. It went fast, tried to sleep through most of it but that didn't really work, but we made it. The following day we had our Mission Leadership Council. 

Like always it was a great meeting, we talked about seeking knowledge and divine light. It was physically (they always feed us breakfast and lunch) and spiritually filling. Afterwards we got on a bus at 8 and headed back. We got back to Allacapan around 12:30, but didn't get to the apartment until 1 since we had to carry 4 boxes of copies of the Book of Mormon in Tagalog, and someone's package. We are super happy since we finally got Tagalog copies after giving out English for several months, we're happy that we're able to give out the language that they can better understand (sometimes the Ilocano version is also too deep for them). 

Those boxes were heavy though. Fun fact: for the most part Tagalog words are a lot longer than English. The English book of Mormon is a total of 531 pages. The Tagalog is 777. So yes, they're bigger.

Anyways as for other things that happened, on Thursday I went on companionship exchanges, and this time I went with Elder Dollano who is a Filipino from Quezon province. The work went well and we had a couple of other members work with us too. What I really like about Elder Dollano is how well he can connect with people. His strength is definitely making people laugh. He's really good at that, and I respect it. We had a great exchange and a lot of fun. 

This week we have an exchanges with the District leader in Ballesteros, so that should be fun!

Whoever gets assigned to Allacapan branched is really blessed, because here the member missionary work is very strong. On Wednesday we went on splits, and even though almost all of our appointments fell through, we still had a couple of good lessons. 

Every Sunday we also go on splits and I had 7 members come along with me. They're really helpful, all good at teaching, and fun to talk to. I'm starting to create some friendships here.

Another highlight of this week was on Friday morning we were given permission to teach at a school! It's a small private school and the head over the school is actually one of our investigators. 

A couple weeks ago Elder Nichols and his last companion along with Elder Dollano and his last companion were able to teach the 8th grade class. It turned out to be very successful and we have a lot of progressing investigators because of it. 

This time we were able to teach 10th grade. Although a little quiet, it was fun to teach them. They were all respectful and it was a cool experience. Hopefully we'll have some success from that. We're still contacting all of the ones we taught.

Church on Sunday was of course great. We were happy to see 6 of our investigators come to church. It's only half of what we had last week but we were still happy because almost all of our progressing investigators came. All of our investigators are awesome and if they're able to come next week we will probably have some baptisms here in Allacapan very soon. 

The challenge for this coming Sunday is we have district conference in the neighboring town of Ballesteros, and it might be harder for them to come to church. We'll pray for the best!

Life continues to be busy but that's the way I like it. It's not boring. It can be tiring but it's all worth it. 

God's work is still hastening and I'm glad to be a part of it. I know this church is true and I can't deny it. That's all for this week! Hope for another exciting week! Love you all! 

Elder Espiritu

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

Mission Leadership Council

Our Sister training leaders, 

Sister Fontinilla and Sister Navales

 My last STL's Sister Licausi and Sister Hicks

My fellow Filipino Americans, Sister Veras and Sister Novilla

Exchanges with Elder Dollano

Teaching at Allacapan Institute

The things that happened this week

I'm running out of ways to label my email so that's all I got for this week. Anyways, my 2nd week in Allacapan is now complete, even though work wise here in Allacapan I maybe got 2 days in. We were crazy busy and other things happened, but the crazy busy life is way more fun than the same old same old! 

We had interviews to do, and exchanges in Laoag, sicknesses, working with several members in either pouring rain and blazing heat. That's about a good summary for this week.

I'm not going to lie, our zone is pretty dang awesome. Elder Nichols and I are really happy with how they're doing. So there are 8 companionships (4 sets of Elders and 4 sets of sisters) and this last week we had a total of 74 come to church this last week! The average was 9 at church. They're awesome. So these last couple weeks we've been having to travel a lot for interviews for their baptismal candidates. Really keeps us on our toes!

On Wednesday, we worked in the morning, got sunburned until 12, then hopped on a bus that has very high powered AC for 4.5-5 hours to get back to Laoag. Once we got back to Laoag, we just missed a could have been world record "Boodle fight", which is where they put all their food together on giant tree leaves and eat with their hands. It covered several streets. We just missed it, but it's okay cause we got McDonalds instead. Allacapan doesn't have that. So we headed to the AP's apartment, and also talk to the couple missionaries (Elder and Sister Nelson) who promised to make me cookies the next time I come back. 

So this time I went on exchanges with Elder Morehu, a Polynesian from New Zealand. This is his 2nd cycle as an Assistant, and he is the same batch as my trainee. Since he is foreign he is about to hit his 1 year mark in March. 

The exchange was awesome, he's such a nice guy and a really good teacher. I was really impressed. He's really humble too and just overall an awesome Elder. Got a lot done, taught a lot of people, then at 7 had dinner and at 8 had to head back to our area on a bus. 

It might have been from going from heat to a really cold bus and also lack of sleep, but the next morning after travels I woke up with a pretty bad fever. I checked my temperature and ended up having a 102 degree fever. I was not happy since we really weren't able to work in our area this week and then I got sick. 

So I asked Sister Andrada about what I should do, so I took some medicine, slept, and luckily around 3, I had enough strength to work! I know God is really watching over me. The next day I was fine. 

On Saturday we had 4 young men work with us. It was a hot and tiring day. Several places to go, a lot of people not home, I got sunburnt again, but it was all worth it. It made up for all the lessons we didn't have due to being gone.

As soon as Sunday rolled around, we had 13 investigators at church! It's crazy how awesome and how blessed we are in this area. People come when we invite them, and we are really blessed. We have a couple of people on track for baptism this March, and Elder Nichols and I are super excited. 

Of course we couldn't do this all without the members help. The members here are a lot of help. We've received several referrals from them and haven't even had time to go to them all. They work with us a lot, especially on Sunday, you at least have 4-5 people work with you, sometimes up to 10+. They're awesome.

It's only the 2nd week here in Allacapan and even though I barely worked in this area, I feel I'm doing a lot better this week. Although I still miss Batac and a couple of other things, the work here is awesome and the people are so great. 

I still have a lot to do but I know I'm really going to enjoy it here. I know the work I'm doing is true, and I know I was sent by a prophet of God to help the people here come to know the truth. It's not easy, but It's worth it! I'm excited for another week! 

After this we'll be going back to Laoag for our Missionary Leadership Coordination! Until next week! Love you all!

Elder Espiritu

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

What I do when I work with Elder Morehu ;)

A small boodle fight at the apartment

Chilling in my ride 

Our average taxi here

Going coco for  coconuts with some members

Life in Allacapan

Magandang Umaga sa inyong lahat (o sa mga nandun sa America Magandang gabi) Ito po Si Elder Espiritu! Here I am, living the life of a missionary in a new area, the area of Allacapan. A lot has happened this week that'll definitely be fun to remember. I'll break it down for y'all.

Tuesday morning, I left Batac and headed to Laoag to catch a bus. It was heartbreaking leaving Batac, but I managed to do it. Once I got there there were about a dozen other missionaries transferring too, going to Cagayan. So we all got on and headed over. 

It was fun catching up with some of my friends like Elder Johnson, Elder Bottema and Elder Jenkins, although short. I got to experience the winding roads of Claveria again (which I'll end up doing every month now when I go back to Laoag for MLC) and after 5-6 hours I arrived in Allacapan. 

Once I got there, we headed straight to the apartment. The apartment consists of 4 different rooms, then on the outside is the bathroom and kitchen. Legit on the outside. We are on the 3rd floor, so half of the apartment is outside. When we got there, they told us they actually cleaned for awhile, but it's still pretty dismal. The best (worst) part about the apartment is the water. It's pretty golden... literally. The water's yellow, so we have to feed it through a filter of sand and coal. It's pretty interesting. I'm actually fine with it, and the apartment in general, but they say if I'm not careful my shirts will turn yellow. Let's hope not.

So now to the work in Allacapan: It's really busy. Every day we have so many places to go, it's non stop work. Which is awesome because it gets the time going, but really you have no time for a break. 

Elder Nichols and Elder Anuat (the last 2 missionaries here) had 6 last Saturday, so they've been working hard. But since they baptized all their progressing, we are back to the planting stage. Which is fine, because we have several potential investigators. We go to so many places and don't even have time for it all. It's great!

Some facts about being a zone leader in Ballesteros zone: Everything is far apart and pretty expensive to get to. This last week we headed to the neighboring town of Lasam for district meeting which ended up being 140 pesos round trip. If you convert it to US Dollars ($2.80) it's not a lot. But trust me, once you've been here long enough that's a lot for a trip.

Another day we went down to Abulog which was 120 pesos ($2.60) for an interview and stayed overnight. It's far, but the interview was fun, and the apartment in Abulog is huge (even though we didn't sleep well since we had no pillows). It's weird thinking about how long I've been here and the money conversion. 

Random fact: I spend around 1,500 pesos ($30) a week as a budget. So daily that means I can spend around 214 pesos if I keep it even. That evens out to $4.28 a day. I didn't really think about that until now. 

Anyways when Sunday rolled around we had 10 investigators at church, which was awesome. I was super happy. I also met a lot of the members who were pretty cool. Later that day we had a mission prep class then we went on splits.There are a good amount of church members. The attendance was 142, so I'm happy about that. 

As some of you know, my companion is now Elder Nichols who I met when I was in the MTC. Now when you're a foreigner it's rare to have another foreigner as a companion, especially from your batch. He is now my 4th American companion and 2nd from my batch. He's from Utah, and went to Riverton high school, and enjoys playing ultimate frisbee. He's a nice guy and hard working. We'll be fine together.

So as a conclusion for this week: I'm definitely still in the adjusting stage. The work here is awesome. I do miss my last area a lot, members work and all. But I know this is where God wants me, and I have work to do here!

I know this work is true and this is the way to bring people unto Christ, and the way to everlasting life and exaltation. Although change can be rough and hard to adjust to, I can do it. This'll be my 6th time doing it! I'll continue to do my best and work! Love you all!

Elder Espiritu

The Batac Catholic chapel

Allacapan

Taking a picture with all the kids in Abulog

Elder Nichols and I

The Allacapan Apartment 

The bathroom and shower room

The kitchen

The water filter (otherwise the water is yellow)

My closet (we don't have cabinets)

The water here

More Changes

As I live longer throughout the mission, I realize I always need to expect the unexpected. I keep moving forward and make the most of the mission! But hey, Happy Valentines Day, and fun fact: I have now technically finished a Sister's mission (18 months worth)! Life goes fast, as did this week. What would you say happened this week? Well I'll tell ya!

The first thing I want to share is a cool spiritual experience we had last Tuesday. We went to district meeting, and since it was Sister Taumoeupeau's last week, she gave the last training for the cycle. 

As part of the training, she had each missionary bear their testimony of the Book of Mormon. I can tell you the Spirit really filled the room as each missionary bore his/her testimony. It was awesome seeing each and everyone's individual experience with the Book of Mormon. And we all know it's true. It was an awesome district meeting!

As for some other fun things that happened...I went on a date for Valentines day! Just kidding, it was an exchange this time with Elder Young. 

Elder Young is an American from Mapleton Utah! He actually knows a couple of people I know there. He's around 10 months in the mission, but we're the same age (I'm older by a month). He decided to go to college first and play soccer. We had a really good exchange and taught a bunch of lessons. He's a good teacher and has a lot of potential. He's a fun district leader too and we relate to each other's life stories. He's a cool missionary!

So as some of you know, this week was transfer week. It's always filled with excitement and some anxiety as to who is going to transfer. Usually they send the transfer Saturday night or early Sunday morning. As we were waiting we all guessed who's transferring. For my part, my guess is almost right except for one that I wasn't expecting: Me. 

Around 9:10 Elder Morehu texted while we were at Sacrament meeting telling me I was being transferred. I was pretty shocked, especially since I've only been here for 2 cycles (3 months) I told the Bishop and bore my last testimony to say goodbye. It was a lot of hard goodbyes and unexpected. 

The rest of the day I went around to some of the families who have been very good to me to say goodbye, such as the Domingo family, the Carpio family, the Ulits, the Yapos, and the De Leons. Although hard, I gotta move on. I know the Lord wants me in a different place. 

4 Cycles left and I gotta make the most of it! 

For my next and possibly final area I will now be returning to Cagayan, to Ballesteros zone! I'll be assigned in Allacapan with Elder Nichols, another Elder from my batch! I have heard nothing but good about Allacapan. 

It's a great area, awesome members, maybe a nice apartment and yellow water (literally). I'm ready for a new adventure and there are souls out there for me to help! I know this church and this work is true, and can't wait again to see what's in store for me! 

Elder Espiritu

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

Ethel's birthday party

The Batac District

Exchanges at the Domingo family with Elder Young

The De Leon family and Elder Young

Dinner with the Carpio family

Teaching Marvin how to tie a tie 

The Ulit family

The De Leon family again