Writing to Elder Dallin Carlson

You can go to the DearElder site and write to Elder Dallin Carlson, Philippines Cebu Mission, and it's free, through their pouch service.

You can also write through the pouch system in Salt Lake City.  Use a  single sheet of plain paper, write on one side (nothing can be included inside), fold it 3 times, secure with some tape. Use a regular stamp.
Address:

Elder Dallin Carlson
Philippines Cebu Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130

•Primerong pagandam nga adlaw!‏....7/24/2012

Apparently we only get an hour on email - it's not too hard because the computers we're using have timers. it's a Filipino invention, same as the one where you put in a peso and a specific amount of water comes out. it's been totally crazy here, lots of work to do - the other day during nightly planning, I was supposed to give the closing prayer but fell asleep right in the middle of it!

I had no idea I could sweat this much! especially since we played basketball this morning of our preparation day. I guess I arrived during the rainy season, so it's going to get even hotter! I usually take a handkerchief with me to wipe off the sweat - most of the Filipinos walk around with a towel to wipe off the sweat so it doesn't just sit there I love the people here, they are so humble and accepting of the gospel! kinahanglan ko paislub uban akong kaugalingon uban sa linguahe, apan sa mga tawo surprised kon kanusa magsulti ko. The people think I've been here for a couple months but then they find out that I haven't even been here for a week yet! tomorrow it will have been my first week, and it's awesome! We end up riding dyip-ni's (sort of like a super small school bus a bit taller than me standing next to it with long seats that run along each side of it) anyways, I love to i2l (invite to learn) there - I ask about them and introduce myself and my companion, tell about us and a bit about the church, and give them an invitation to the temple tour that we have kada huwebes (every Thurs) and also give them an articles of faith card. I've received so much from this gospel, and I want to give other people the chance to receive the gospel, and start to receive the blessings from the fullness of his gospel.

My trainer, or "akong tatay" (my Dad) or companion/kauban is a Filipino from Manila - he seems a bit taller than most Filipinos, but I still feel tall except when I'm around Elder Hale, who also lives in our apartment with his kauban as well. Apparently we have the best apartment in the mission - it even has a washer and dryer!

Oh yeah, we also got a couple new investigators! one of them was in a different area, but one of them we taught yesterday - I got to give her a Book of Mormon, and Saturday I'm going to give her the baptismal challenge! We asked her yesterday, but she was saying that it depends on how she progresses. It says in the Preach My Gospel to not hesitate, so we didn't and asked her the first lesson like it says! I really wished I had read that more before my mission - there's so much in there, even in the boxes that's so essential to the work.

Oh yeah, I found out that I can get dearelders here! it would be a lot easier than waiting 3 weeks for it to even get to me. However, I'm not sure how long it takes them to get them to me. My guess is a little under a week. anyways, the packages will have the customs paid by the mission home and so I'll pay them 40 pesos (that's how much it usually is) and receive the package.

hope to hear from everyone soon! (through dear elder?)

og misyonaryo sa ginoo,  si Elder Carlson

•Nag-abot ko! (I arrived!)‏ 7/19/2012

Just got permission to email really quick that I arrived safely yesterday - we just finished with the meetings and now we're going to go out and proselyte! I'm excited. on the planes, i got to proselyte to a couple people, and even placed a Cebuano Book of Mormon on the last flight! me and elder hale and Elder Fabiano and a Filipino went to stay with the ap's for the night and they had us go out and do some i2l-ing (inviting to learn) and we invited people to go to a temple tour where they go around the temple and learn about it and the church - then we went to the apartment and there was another elder where there was a general consensus that we were similar and that he'd be my trainer - the next morning, there was two of the elders in that apartment that would train, and two of us that stayed there that were matched up with them! My trainer/"tatay"("dad") is exactly the one I mentioned earlier that apparently is similar to me!!! I guess it was meant to be:) actually, I know it was meant to be - our mission president, President Schmutz, seems so close to the Holy Ghost and receives revelation for every decision.

excited kaayo ko!!!!!!!

andam ko sa trabaho!!!!!!!!!

gugma si Elder Carlson

P.S. it ends up that mail takes three weeks to get here and the same to get back, and packages can take more time depending on the carrier

there's no named streets, so everything goes by landmarks so everything comes to the mission home and gets sent out every once in awhile to the areas.

I'll be serving in the Cebu City 5th ward!!! It's going to be awesome!!!

p.s.s. p-day is Wednesday!

• Katapusan hapit na! (almost the end!)‏...7/09/2012

kamusta kamo!

it's crazy to think that I've already been here for about otsenta ka semana and I have one week left before I leave on diessyete sa julio (July 17)! At this point, it might be best for people to write me through dearelder.com using the address they can get from my mom at hellofriendcc@hotmail.com

It's so weird to think that in just over a week I'm leaving to a area (Cebu) and language (Cebuano) i hadn't heard of before. I wonder how much it will be like the movie "Other Side of Heaven" - I know that Cebu is developed and Americanized, but I'm wondering about the bukid (undeveloped areas / "boondocks") surrounding it. Hopefully it isn't too similar with me being American and all :P

I've learned how to make some interesting drinks with the soda and juice they have at the cafeteria here - one day I felt like trying for a green drink - mixed blue powerade with yellow/orange colored juice, and called it the incredible hulk. then someone noticed how I was getting creative and showed me how to make a drink - I think it was called evening sky- but you put in some sprite, a touch of fresca, fill it with blue powerade, and after adding some grape juice, making sure it doesn't mix, then you have a drink that's purple lower ,and blue on the top part :) then one time as I was making the evening sky drink, someone showed me that if you do part fresca, a touch or two of root beer, and orange strawberry banana juice, you get a drink that tastes just like bubble gum! knowing about all these drinks makes me feel like a connoisseur of pop/juice here at the MTC :)

This week, as everyone knows, was the fourth of July. Here at the MTC, they had a speaker come in and talk to us about independence, etc. - he did a very good job, and made sure to address the foreign missionaries here and talk about independence in general. then they let us go out and watch the fireworks from the "stadium of fire" from the back of the MTC campus.

I'm going to miss the Elder that's in our branch that has a sling, Elder Meng. he'd play volleyball with his left hand and whenever he got a good hit he'd say, "yeah! fear one-arm!" and then I'd have trouble playing because i was laughing.  I'm pretty sure he's heading out to the field today.

This Friday our teacher told us that lessons in the Philippines will probably be similar to primary lessons and that we'll have to think outside of the box with analogies, activities, pictures, etc.

The trial was that last week I had been feeling down and not sure why. and after that me and my companion got assigned to the solo sister in our district - she's an awesome missionary and a really good influence. Before this my companion took the rules as guidelines and he would try and leave gym early for showers, etc. but now she's doing everything with him that I couldn't. it's as if he listens to her 20 times better than he ever did to me. she truly strives to be exactly obedient and my companion seems to have reacted better to that than anything I've ever said or done. with him, I've become more like him, talking and showing my emotions less and taking the rules as guidelines. now it's hard to try and be exactly obedient to all the rules. to be honest, the reason that the letters have gotten longer is because i found a way around the timed email window but Sister Christiansen just reminded me that I should be exactly obedient so my letters will probably be a quarter of this size next tim

• Maayong buntag, kada-kinsa! (good morning, everybody!)‏ 7/2/12

kamusta 'mo? [kamo] (how are y'all? [you all])

it's been busy kaayo dinhi, sama sa kasagaran :) (very busy here, same as usual :) )

at the bookstore here, I was able to get the missionary rulebook/handbook and a smallish songbook in Cebuano! The songs must have been a pain to translate in such a way that they`d fit with the note`s and symbols matching up because it`s sort of a loose translation - for example, high on a mountain top is top of the mountain :P

It`s crazy the connections you can find here - when I got to host new missionaries on Wednesday, I got the opportunity to host one of the other guys from my hall!! I was excited :) I hosted 3 missionaries - the first was a missionary from Spain headed to new jersey - he had arrived the day before so we went to his temporary dormitory and switched all his stuff to the new dormitory, then got him all his books, and took him to his classroom, all the while explaining where everything is and how awesome the MTC is. then I hosted Elder Coleman Madsen from my residence hall (headed to Alabama) and did everything like that except for the temporary dorm part, and last of all i hosted another kid and told him what I forgot to tell the other missionaries - when new missionaries come every Wednesday, they have ice cream at the cafeteria! he replied, ``oh, I love creams of ice!``

Then we got the new Cebuano district and spoke Cebuano to them and they were just like, what?? lol it was great :) then there were also two groups of Hiligaynon speaking - they are the first group to learn Hiligaynon at the MTC! It's kind of hard for them though because only a couple of the Phrase/Vocab Tall books have been printed so far. at least they all have the other materials like the grammar book!

We're trying hard to set an example for the new districts with SYL (speak your language) (for Cebuano, it'd be more like SIL/SIP - sulti imong linguahe/pinulongan), being in class/on task, etc. It's hard to believe that we used to be at that level of Cebuano almost 7 weeks ago!

But as we're coming to the end, we need to sprint to the wire, because the way we end at the MTC is how we start our mission so we need to not get preoccupied when we get our mission plans. our teacher said it's the same with areas, and also at the end of our mission - we need to finish strong at each area so we can start each next area strong; then at the end of our mission, how we finish that is how we start life.

to end this letter, I will bear my testimony in Cebuano, then the same thing in English

Nasayud ko nga tinuod ang simbahan. nasayud ko nga buhing tinuod nga propeta si Thomas S. Monson. Nasayud ko nga gihigugma kita sa Dios, ug nga nagantus si JesuKristo para kanato. mapasalamat ako para sa pamilia nako. Sa ngalan ni JesuKristo, amen.

I know the church is true. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a living true prophet. I know that God loves us, and that Jesus Christ suffered for us. I am thankful for my family. in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  pagkasinsero,(sincerely,)Elder Dallin Carlson