The Tagalog Blog: IN WITH THE NEW! July 14th 2013

I love being a missionary,

I really do love being a missionary. It is incredible. Anyway, how is everyone? I hope all is well and good. Things are great here. We are right in the middle of transfers and things are MAGULO! I can't think of a great word to translate magulo, it means that things are like all-over-the-place, kinda thing. I am struggling right now with both English and Tagalog- I speak English all the time in the office and I forget easy English words and then I speak Tagalog after not speaking it all the time and I forget easy words- it is the worst! haha Earlier today I called soap- broth. Like soup broth haha. Because I mixed up sabao and sabon (sp). Easy mistake but it happens because everyday i speak so darn much english! It's okay, I am happy and blessed to speak when I need to speak. Elder Datu laughs at my Englsih and my Tagalog though hahaha- I am a MASTER AT TAGLISH though! I can speak Taglish like nobody's quan! Are you kukuning what I'm ilagaying? (Are you picking up what I'm laying down?) Okay that is a bit extreme Taglish but I love speaking Taglish to Americans, it is so awesome.

It rained there in Eagar? That is aweome, prayers work huh? It is good to hear that we had rain, we get plenty here in the Philippines. I hope that rain helped with the fires that are all over the state. We know as good as anyone that fires are no fun!

So Race gets married this week right? That is crazy! And awesome! Send pictures. Also, another big thing happens this week, my Tatay in the mission- Elder Vogelsberg goes home. I will drive him to the airport this week! I am so stinking sad he is going home! I owe so much to him as my trainer! He was the perfect trainer for me. He is such a good missionary. It will be sad to see him go, but I'll see him at BYU.

This week has been way busy. Our mission is split in half- when we still weren't split in half we had close to 200 missionaries- now that is in the whole mission before it was cut in half. NOW we are expecting just our half of this mission to have 230 missionaries!! That is 30 more missionaries than the old Naga Mission in just half the area. What does that mean? It means there are new opening areas everywhere! Wards are having 6 missionaries in it and new branches and groups are opening everywhere! Almost everyone in our mission is training (even extremely young ones) because we are getting about 30 missionaries arriving and only like 6 or so missionaries are going home, and it will be like that until we get to 230 missionaries! The work is HASTENING! The wave is here, jump on or you'll miss it! How exciting is that? Our mission is just exploding with tons of new missionaries! I love it! It is happening all over the world! We have people finding new apartments and opening areas and stalking apartments and it is awesome! President Reeder told us that the apostles told all the new mission presidents at the Mission President Seminar that, "There has not been a more exciting time in the church than right now except for the Restoration." And I am a missionary at this time! I love it! But the biggest vision the brothern seem to have is that of missionaries and members working hand in hand- so share the Gospel with everyone. This is not just the job of the missionaries, this is the job of all those who have been blessed with the knowledge of the truth.

Anyway my preaching is about over for the email, I think. But this week has been great, a lot of late nights and planning for transfers and things like that but it has been good. I am starting to enjoy this type of work more but I still really really really miss missionary work. We didn't get to teach much this week and this next week we won't teach very much either, we will be teaching missionaries, which is good and fun, but I miss investigators! Anyway, life is great.

The picture of the corn fields are way pretty aren't they? I saw it and, of course, instantly thought of Grandpa Sherwood. There are some things that no matter how many times I will see them, I will first and always think of Gramps!

Also if you will notice, and I am sure you will notice, of the picture of balut- the half-fertilized duck egg. We were going out to dinner and then Elder Datu said he really wanted balut, I said I was need a little munchy myself. So he bought balut and I got donuts!!!!! I enjoyed the donuts as much as he enjoyed the balut haha! Just look at that head! I can't believe I have eaten that before, and I want to eat it again before I leave. I think I will enjoy it better the second time.

We had Sixto's baptism this last week! I love the Ramos Family! I love them! Baptism is a very simple but a very specific commandment. It is also has huge consequences, whether you chose to be baptized or not, and then if you choose to follow the covenant you ahve made at baptism. I don't know why it was chose that we needed to be baptized and confirmed (born of water and spirit) to enter into the kingdom of God, but that is how it is. It is such a blessing in our lives and eternities. Sixto was so happy both at his baptism and his confirmation when he was given the gift of the Holy Ghost. he told me, "I feel different." After the baptism we went by the family and taught them a lesson about eternal families. We talked about how baptism can unlock the gate for heaven for an individual but for a family they need that and to be sealed in the temple. They have a date and goal set for next year to go to the temple! They are awesome, they don't have much of anything to call there own in this life as far as material possessions go but they have a treasure of truth and knowledge that no one can take from them. We are all so blessed, both physically and spiritually! I hope we are all so thankful!

Anyway, I need to go. I love you all. Keep me in your prayers, you are in my prayers! Have a great week, we will have a great one here. Thanks fore everything.

Elder Davis