Sunday April 21, 2013

Kumusta Kayong Lahat?!? Howdy Howdy galing sa Philippines! How is everyone? Hopefully everything is great there. First off, what terrible news about the bombing in Boston and the explosion in Texas. It just hurts your heart to think about those effected by those incidents. What sad news. Makes me thankful for how easy my life has been and how kind of people I have always been surrounded by, including here! These people are so so kind. Anyway, my prayers go our to those families! Now, I have never had a week of my mission that I have walked as far as I have this week, in like manner, I have never had a hotter week of my mission than this one. It was SO HOT! There were a lot of "records" this week. We had more "punts" (people not home or busy) than ever before. We also hit our "highest lessons in a week" for our new area! We were so highly blessed to FIND and TEACH so many of God's children. We found two families this week that are so interested in the Gospel and I can't wait to keep teaching them. This week was a great one, like always! And Elder Villamor (aki) is still doing great. I LOVE TRAINING! Before I forget... shout out to Rylee and Chelsee MALIGAYANG KAARAWAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (or) HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sorry for the lateness and the earliness! If i could sing to you I would! But no one wants to hear that haha. Also, Mothers Day is soon no? And this is my last transfer before my year mark! ANG BILIS!!! So fast. It will be fun to see you all on skype! So I want to tell you all about Tatay Abner. He is the old man that speaks great english and came to me and asked for an English Book of Mormon. We have been teaching him for about 5 weeks now. He is SO SMART, but a little lacking in faith. He is my favorite person I have ever met in the Philippines. Almost every time he sees me he sings, "Arizona Moon" some old song haha He is an awesome old man with a classy cane. He is very knowledgeable and despite his MANY questions we have been able to answer them. The problem is however that he won't pray. He has had some bad experiences in his life and that, combined with his "own wisdom" makes him not want to pray. We have gotten close at times but, still nothing. I have truly come to the truth said in "preach my gospel" that "No one can know a spiritual truth without prayer." I hope that there is NO ONE in this entire world that has never not asked God, if their church is HIS church. If you have never asked, I would invite you to ask. I would have no testimony of this church if it weren't for God answering my prayers that it is true. "Ask and ye shall receive" is nothing but true. And we know through the power of the Holy Ghost. What a simple promise and what incredible results. I am so grateful for prayer. I know this church is true, and I know it because God answered my prayers when I asked. Anyway Tatay Abner needs to pray and it just hurts my heart every time that he doesn't. He can go to church as much as he wants and read the Book of Mormon until he is blue in the face, but God can't answer if we don't ask. Good ol tatay. I'll get a picture with him before I leave this area... hopefully dressed in white haha. But that will only depend on if he will pray. You can do in TAY! Now let me explain some of these pictures. First of all I haven't laughed as hard as I laughed when Elder Villamor fell in the mud in a long time. We were going through the rice fields "surprise surprise" when I made a pretty far (and pretty impressive) jump haha afterward Elder Villamor yells out, "kaya mo ba iyan?" And as I am yelling "HINDI" "No" he jumps.... comes well short! I laughed so hard I almost fell in the rice too haha. those paths are super thin haha. The best was when his shoe stuck in the mud. It was a good thing he was laughing too haha. It is hard for Philippinos to not laugh. I love that about them. Great sunset no?? It is like that near everyday! I love seeing that everyday! AND THE SPIDER!!!!!!! That little guy was in our bathroom! And when I say little guy it is because he is "little" to me. But he is still about 4 inches across EASILY! He was hiding on the other side of our mirror so i grabbed the mirror and a broom and we had a chase in the living room until I finally killed it. You have never seen 4 boys scatter so fast as we did when that thing hit the ground running haha. We have a good video I will show you in JUNE 2014 haha. those spiders are so big and so fast and so scary. Now the picture of me and Elder Villamor and Ryan! Ryan is a "short term" investigator we had the privilege to teach. He was found by the missionaries in Manilla and then he was "vacationing" here in Ocampo for about a month and the missionaries in Manilla referred him to us. Our first visit, HE basically bore HIS testimony to US! He is awesome. He had the opportunity to go to the Manilla Temple with his missionaries and he said that he never felt the way he did while he was at the temple. His testimony of a "little far boy from New York that saw God and was called as a prophet" is incredible. He prayed. Come on Tatay Abner haha! Also in that picture you can see a good example of the houses we teach in. That is tarp on the walls. Bamboo and Grass roofs with dirt floors and tarp where it is needed. I don't know what I will do at our carpeted house. I'll just sleep in a tent outside when I get home! And his little son "Ryan NASH Agato"! He is named after Steve Nash! How cool no? Makes me miss the little nippers back home. Don't ask me why he is wearing pink, maybe that was the only clean shirt haha. Or his favorite color, who knows. Anyways Ryan will be baptized soon there in Manilla! Hopefully his wife too! Well I don't have much else to say other than, the church is true. Share it with everyone. I hope all is well there! We will skype soon and I am excited. Elder Villamor is really excited to talk to you in Tagalog... me too haha! I hope grandpa's calves all got on the ground okay. I miss that more than about anything. But I don't miss anything too bad. This work is way to great to miss things back home. I love you all soo much and pray for you every single day! "In all of living have much fun and laughter, life is to be enjoyed not just endured." - Gordon B Hinckley Great advise. Life is short and we have eternity to look back at it and reap the rewards of our actions. Love you all a bushel! Elder Davis And to make me feel like I am still part of the fam damily... It is hotter than hell here!



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