Hey everyone!
Since winter is starting and you might have some questions about the weather here, I'll start with that; here in the Philippines, as far as I know, the weather's the same almost year round except the hotter months around April to June - I guess you could call this the wet season, but for them season and weather is the same word here because there's not much of a difference for them - you ask what season it is and they look outside and tell you the weather because it's the same here :P I don't think I'll ever get used to how hot the weather is, though :P
I'm learning so much here in Naga! Being with an American companion, I get a lot of good advice because he went through the exact same things learning this language! Right now we're working on accent - in America, it's cool and people even act like they have one, but here it just means you haven't learned the language yet, and people even laugh a bit and tell me that I have an accent and ask if it's my first area. It's okay though - it just reminds me that I need to work on it. However, here I've been able to make a lot more progress with my vocabulary by using my pocket notebook all the time - I made my writing half as big, but the pages are still filling up! At least I have enough heavenly assistance to learn it about that fast as well - it's so amazing to see the help of the Espiritu Santo diri anaa sa Pilipinas. Another thing me and my companion have been focusing on is praying always, mainly just in my heart and mind; we can ask our Heavenly Father for help with anything, anywhere, anytime - we just need to remember. Our Father in Heaven wants to help us all, and he is ready to, but it is conditional upon our asking for it. We have only to ask for help in order to receive it. During one of our lessons yesterday, I realized that my learning the language is like others learning the gospel - in everything they're confused with, they can ask us or Heavenly Father for help, because if they don't pray or ask, they will stay confused and not really know. But on the other hand, if they do pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ if it's true, as it says in the Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:5, "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things".
Anyways, on another note, we have 12 baptisms in our area planned for November 10th! We're trying to combine it with all the other baptisms that week in one place, to make it more powerful and more memorable for the converts - with 25 or more baptisms at once, we may have to go to the ocean to do it! We're hoping we can make it happen and maybe get a picture of it in the Liahona. But in order to make that happen with 12 baptisms in our ward, we need to make sure all of them progress in the next two weeks and progress in the conversion in order to get baptized. But some of them we don't have to worry about at all, like two of our investigators named McSylvis and Sonnyboy (yes, those are their given names as far as I know:) they have both progressed a ton since meeting them last week; they prayed about it, know it's true, and have a great desire to be baptized (on November 10th). So we do have a number of investigators that are very firm in the path of conversion and will be ready on November 10th.
Speaking of conversion, I would like to echo the leaders of the church in encouraging all the members of the church to continue in their conversion - never become complacent in your prayers, scripture studies, or in missionary work. remember that one of the main ways to help your testimony grow is bearing it. You can bear it to anyone, anywhere, whether they believe you or not. I would especially extend this invitation to those preparing for a mission; one of the best ways to prepare for a mission is following the pagawhag Si propeta Gordon B. Hinkley when he said, "Every Member a missionary". One of the most important reasons for doing missionary work is that when you were baptized, as well as every single week when you take the sacrament, you renew your baptismal covenant as described in Mosiah 18:8-10 which says in verse 9, "and to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places that ye may be in," .
It's so busy here - so much that needs to be done! I just finished washing and rinsing most of my clothes by hand this morning, I'll see about hanging them up later - second time washing all my clothes by hand! Eventually I'll get the hang of it :P
hope all's well with eveyone! (if not, "did you think to pray?")
Og misyonaro sa Ginoo,
si Elder Dallin Carlson
Since winter is starting and you might have some questions about the weather here, I'll start with that; here in the Philippines, as far as I know, the weather's the same almost year round except the hotter months around April to June - I guess you could call this the wet season, but for them season and weather is the same word here because there's not much of a difference for them - you ask what season it is and they look outside and tell you the weather because it's the same here :P I don't think I'll ever get used to how hot the weather is, though :P
I'm learning so much here in Naga! Being with an American companion, I get a lot of good advice because he went through the exact same things learning this language! Right now we're working on accent - in America, it's cool and people even act like they have one, but here it just means you haven't learned the language yet, and people even laugh a bit and tell me that I have an accent and ask if it's my first area. It's okay though - it just reminds me that I need to work on it. However, here I've been able to make a lot more progress with my vocabulary by using my pocket notebook all the time - I made my writing half as big, but the pages are still filling up! At least I have enough heavenly assistance to learn it about that fast as well - it's so amazing to see the help of the Espiritu Santo diri anaa sa Pilipinas. Another thing me and my companion have been focusing on is praying always, mainly just in my heart and mind; we can ask our Heavenly Father for help with anything, anywhere, anytime - we just need to remember. Our Father in Heaven wants to help us all, and he is ready to, but it is conditional upon our asking for it. We have only to ask for help in order to receive it. During one of our lessons yesterday, I realized that my learning the language is like others learning the gospel - in everything they're confused with, they can ask us or Heavenly Father for help, because if they don't pray or ask, they will stay confused and not really know. But on the other hand, if they do pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ if it's true, as it says in the Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:5, "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things".
Anyways, on another note, we have 12 baptisms in our area planned for November 10th! We're trying to combine it with all the other baptisms that week in one place, to make it more powerful and more memorable for the converts - with 25 or more baptisms at once, we may have to go to the ocean to do it! We're hoping we can make it happen and maybe get a picture of it in the Liahona. But in order to make that happen with 12 baptisms in our ward, we need to make sure all of them progress in the next two weeks and progress in the conversion in order to get baptized. But some of them we don't have to worry about at all, like two of our investigators named McSylvis and Sonnyboy (yes, those are their given names as far as I know:) they have both progressed a ton since meeting them last week; they prayed about it, know it's true, and have a great desire to be baptized (on November 10th). So we do have a number of investigators that are very firm in the path of conversion and will be ready on November 10th.
Speaking of conversion, I would like to echo the leaders of the church in encouraging all the members of the church to continue in their conversion - never become complacent in your prayers, scripture studies, or in missionary work. remember that one of the main ways to help your testimony grow is bearing it. You can bear it to anyone, anywhere, whether they believe you or not. I would especially extend this invitation to those preparing for a mission; one of the best ways to prepare for a mission is following the pagawhag Si propeta Gordon B. Hinkley when he said, "Every Member a missionary". One of the most important reasons for doing missionary work is that when you were baptized, as well as every single week when you take the sacrament, you renew your baptismal covenant as described in Mosiah 18:8-10 which says in verse 9, "and to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places that ye may be in," .
It's so busy here - so much that needs to be done! I just finished washing and rinsing most of my clothes by hand this morning, I'll see about hanging them up later - second time washing all my clothes by hand! Eventually I'll get the hang of it :P
hope all's well with eveyone! (if not, "did you think to pray?")
Og misyonaro sa Ginoo,
si Elder Dallin Carlson
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