Trainee...

•Training!! 3/20/2013‏

Hi everyone!
It's so crazy going from junior companion to senior and training in an area that I was only in for four weeks!  My (very) new companion, Elder Benjamin, has been trying to adjust to the new place/climate/culture/food/language.  It's hard to remember back 8 months to my arrival here, I'm trying to help him all I can.  It's not that easy though, because I'm not exactly perfect - there's only one person who was, and he lived about two thousand years ago, in the meridian of time.  I'm definitely relying on the Holy Ghost a ton, with training my companion and leading the area.  It's really good to go back to the basics, I'm trying to help him learn the language and deal with getting a little sicker whenever he eats and with simplifying the doctrine so he can have the ideas simplified to teach rather than a script.  He hasn't gained much confidence in the language, I'm trying to help him to stretch himself and learn more and not get lost and gain confidence - and he was only in the MTC 6 weeks to learn everything!  This new program requires that missionaries come in to the MTC very prepared -  not linguistically, but spiritually.  My companion may not be able to teach all the lessons, but he knows them.  and the spirit he brings with him is so much more important than anything else he could have brought to the field.
It's so crazy what happened to my trainee on the way to the Philippines though.....They got held up in LA and didn't get their baggage, and were there for three days, and finally got here and it was 2 or 3 more days before their luggage was located! He had to borrow shirts and wash some of his other stuff, but it all worked out in the end.  Meanwhile, back here, I went on splits with one of our ward missionaries during friday - my companion ended up getting to the mission home on Saturday, so it worked perfect to stay with the Zone Leaders Friday night!
But anyways, now he's here and we're doing our best to bring people to Christ, while he gets used to everything and I help him with that and try to figure out how I'm supposed to train him.
anyways, I've got to go!  Hope all's going well!
A representative of the Lord and a trainer of a fellowservant,
Elder Dallin Carlson

Danao Pictures

•IT'S A BOY! ‏ 3/13/2013

Kamusta tanan!

It's so crazy - I'm going to train!!  Here in our mission we say it's like having a kid because they're basically new in the mission and you teach them everything about (mission) life. :)   I can't wait to find out tomorrow who I'm training.  I also can't wait to get my blood test results to find out why I keep getting sick :P maybe I need to be more careful with water.

So yet another of my companions is being made a zone leader - crazy!  That's the third one now, that has been made zone leader right after being my companion - he said he learned from me how to strive to improve each day (he may have plateau-ed but he's improving a lot now).  It's going to be kinda crazy, leading the area and training here in Danao 2nd ward after only 4 weeks here - at least we have kuyogs (people who come with us) who know where everyone is - although we're not going to be able to do splits much with my companion being so new to the mission and to the area.  But when I look at the overall picture, us being together will fulfill my responsibility as a trainer which will help each person my trainee will come in contact with.

I'm also super excited about the new program! In some of my previous messages, I mentioned my concern for those members who are coming to church but are not active in the Gospel - I'm so glad we have something to fix that where we visit each and every member and make sure they're reading scriptures, strong in the faith, and basically doing everything required for the celestial kingdom.  The purpose of the missionaries is to bring people unto Christ, but we have to make sure that no one will come up short - as it is, roughly 80% or more won't even make it to paradise in the spirit world, because for that you have to be valiant in all things.  So we'll see about finding a balance with that and the investigators and the referrals we should be getting from re-activating the members in the Gospel.

The statistics we got during Zone Training were really interesting too - out of all the different ways that investigators were found, 59% of those baptized were found through members;  and while other ways have 1-3% success rate, 20-30% of investigators found through members - It brings back to mind how each member has a responsibility to share the restored gospel with all those who will listen.  This is not for the missionaries only - as David O. McKay said, "Every member a missionary" - so I encourage all members who happen to read this - share your testimony.  Because if you don't, that lack of effort will bring a lack of blessings and lack of salvation.  But if you do, those you bring to a knowledge of the truth will bring eternal happiness to you. So go forth with faith and spread the good news that God's true church with his authority again.  Invite them to be taught by the missionaries.

so yeah - g2g and get the blood test results - that's basically it! Hope everything's going well with you and yours!

Gugma si   Elder Dallin Carlson

PS   So my eye is healed now, I am thinking of getting safety glasses for night 

• Hapit na katapusan sa mubo kaayo nga transfer!‏ 03/06/2013

I've heard that everything's melting back at home - as for here, I always feel like I'm melting with all this extreme hotness!  Thank goodness for mga panyo (handkerchiefs[for wiping sweat]) :)   To answer everyone's questions about how big Danao is, by American standards, it is a very small city, like a Filipino Soldotna maybe.  I'm not sure how to explain it, you'd have to see around Danao for yourself :P
One of the things here in the Philippines is so many wires strung up for hanging clothes!  They usually try to prop them up with a small stick, but they prop them up so the short Filipinos can go under them - we taller Americans keep running into them at night!  Usually it's not a problem, but Saturday night, it was particularly dark and we were walking towards a potential investigator (hadn't been there before) and all the sudden I ran into one and it was right at eye level! Something jabbed my eye, and it turns out that right at my eye level, they had tied to sorta thick wires together over a really long distance for hanging clothes (during the day, it was night at the time) and the knot with the wires sticking out was right over the path! we were sure there was going to be blood, but there wasn't - my eye was just super red. we texted the mission president's wife because it hurt really bad and she said to tape gauze over my eye and go to an eye specialist Monday - so for Sunday, it looked like I was missing an eye :P   anyways, after spending a day and a half using only one eye (not that easy, let me tell you) I went to an eye specialist who told me that I had gotten a 1/4mm scratch on the cornea (it's only 1/5mm thick so if had only gone another 1/4 mm deeper I would've been blind in that eye) so she gave me a "bandage contact lens" to have in for three days straight and she'll take it out tomorrow - first experience with contacts!
so my eye should be good, and learning the area so that if I need to lead the area, I can after this super short 4 week transfer - it's so crazy with that and the mission getting split in July and all the missionaries coming in (president said mostly sisters are coming in).
So yeah - got to go hope everyone's doing well!
og kakuginhang misyonaryo sa Ginoo,
Gugma (love),
Si Elder Dallin Carlson

•Another Awesome Day in Danao! 02/27/2013

Yet another awesome day in Danao, and yet another week with Elder Raman :)  We're doing ok, except for my feeling a little under the weather, but at least it's bearable :)  We had a baptism on Sunday!  Actually two of them - one of them, Khevin Mata, wants to go on a mission and has already come with us quite a bit even though he was an investigator.  Then the other one has a family who has already been baptized but he had some addictions, but this gospel has changed his life and he is strong in the church - I can't wait to see him next Sunday in the new shirt and tie I gave him!  I'm working hard to learn all the names and places, it's just that there's so many of them!  Hopefully I'll get the hang of all this soon :P  Especially since I saw President Schmutz today and he mentioned how I need to be ready to lead/train at the end of my companionship with Elder Raman!   That's pretty crazy, I hope I can have more than one more week to finish learning the area and everything!
We're way out of time and have to go hope everyone's doing well love you bye!!

Elder Carlson

As far as the language goes, I'm comfortable talking to people and can get along pretty well, it's just that I'm always looking for stuff I don't really know yet :P  I can usually figure out what it means so I write it down so maybe I can figure it out and learn it later. 

As for the Chapels, they're definitely open style - we need any air circulation we can get with humidity and a full congregation!  most of the chapels have windows lining the walls, side by side by side, but the new ones being built have air conditioning.