Working in the Area

Hey everyone!

So this week was mainly all in our area! We’ve seen progress in some of our investigators and have continued finding lots of new people. We often go through the day now just teaching lessons and really only go tract doors next to people we are teaching. It was a great week but our main challenge continues to be getting people to church. I feel like the past few weeks we’ve been sacrificing more and I feel like we’re working smarter than I ever have before in my mission. We’re trying to put all the things we’ve learned over the course of time here in our missions into play. I feel we’re giving people very great opportunities to accept the gospel and at times it’s kinda sad seeing excuses people make. It reminds me of all the excuses I make and how my Father in Heaven must feel working with weak people at times haha. I know that He loves us and is only saddened by our poor decisions because he sees what blessings and growth we reject ourselves of. I’ve really loved this week though mainly because of all of these great people we interact with every day. The members continue to help us out and I know God will do what He needs to do with this area in His timing.

I had a great exchange with Elder Desabille back on Tuesday. We went to the Lobo family and had a cool talk with CJ’s mom. CJ told us he wants to serve a mission but he still plays tons of computer games. We’ve continued playing basketball with him early in the morning and we’re gaining a cool relationship with him. Elder Desabille is an awesome Elder here in the mission and I’ve noticed when he teaches he shares his personal experiences more than the average missionary. In the past he also played tons of games- on his day off he would play from 6am until 3am the next day haha. He gave Sister Lobo tons of advice on how she can continue to help CJ stop gaming so much. It was a cool lesson to be a part of.

We met a 17 year old named Jadelle and she has been super great so far. She reads assignments and let us teach her 4 times just last week. When I think of the baptisms I’ve had throughout my mission they all were excited to see us missionaries when we showed up at their house. How people react when we show up at their house usually gives me a pretty good idea of how interested they really are. They also are totally fine having you come visit at least 3 times a week instead of only catching them once every week or two. We’re excited to keep teaching her- she mentioned if she could have anything in the world she would just want to see her dad again. Talking about the temple with her was super powerful and we realized we need to be introducing the temple earlier with our investigators!

This week I was thinking about when people say “I know God has a plan for me.” We know that He does know each of us and knows what we need. He knows our desires, strengths, weaknesses, and like a father here on earth with his child, he can see what the kid’s future may be like based on what he knows. He has a plan to help us return to Him. We sometimes forget however that it really is up to us if we will accept His plan. His plan is for us to follow His commandments so we can return to Him. We follow his plan for us when we follow Christ and apply His atoning sacrifice in our lives. It is not His plan when we make wrong decisions and sin. We can’t say, “ah He knows my weaknesses and knew that I’d make this mistake.” His plan is set before us, but whether we follow that or not is up to us. He has given us our agency- a gift that He won’t take from us. By divine design, He reaches out to us at times to help us get back on the path (we see this many times with Laman and Lemuel) but all in all, it’s up to us to accept His plan and do what’s necessary to make it back to Him.

Well that’s all for me! Have a good week everyone!

Elder reber

*** No pics from Parker this week so I borrowed some from Sister Fermanis. She is so great at sharing wonderful thoughts with the perfect pics to go with them. Life in the Philippines is good. 

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Espanola, Palawan and Angeles, Pampanga

Hope everyone is doin good! Elder Mitchell and I had a pretty action-packed week! Monday we had a lunch with the evangelista family in the ward and said goodbyes to Sister Montano- a visa-waiter who served in our ward but will now be heading to her mission in Melbourne. We then headed over to the airport to catch a flight to Palawan! That night we worked with a few Elders over in Puerto Princesa. I worked with Elder Harris, an Elder who’s still in his training. His Tagalog is probably better than mine when I was 6 months in the mission! He said he studied the language “a little” before the mission. Well whatever it was that he did it really worked! I also studied the language “a little” but that meant learning about 3 phrases which I wasn’t even pronouncing right haha!

Tuesday we had a full day exchange with the Zone Leaders over in Puerto. I worked with Elder Tuiatua and we had a blast. Their area is Santa Monica 1^st ward- my second area!! Since he’s new to the area and didn’t quite know where everything is at we spend the whole day finding the people I used to teach! We went and found Joshua and his family out in their coconut forest and they were so excited to see us come. I was surprised they remember me up until now. We also went and found Sister Morata and she committed to a baptism date! I’m not sure why she wasn’t baptized in the past but she seemed to have great potential. We had a family home evening that night at a member’s house and I got to see lots of friends I made while I served there. I was surprised at how much they’re building over there now! A spot that used to be a huge field is turning into a really nice neighborhood. I love working with Elder Tuiatua- we had a great day and it was interesting to see progress in myself from the last time I was working over in that awesome area.

Wednesday we had zone conference with all the missionaries assigned in Palawan. Elder Mitchell and I talked about consecration for this cycle of conferences. I’ve seen many times on my mission when we’re willing to make extra sacrifices then it makes all the difference in yourself. That other people are more important to you than your own personal needs. I like the analogy of 211*F vs. 212*F. 212 is boiling temperature where water turns to steam. It is a temperature that can cause giant machines to operate- but at 211 it won’t move. Lots of missionaries have a desire to do what’s right and they are often very close to 212, but not quite there. My whole mission I’ve tried to find one shortcut that will bring many baptisms and much success into the area. I haven’t found this one thing yet- but I’ve learned that it is the many small things that we can improve by small degrees that will eventually add up and get us to 212. I feel like to gain a desire to sacrifice so much we need to have hope that the efforts we give won’t be wasted. We always hear as missionaries “you reap what you sow” but I often think to myself if I really believe and have hope in that promise. I know that good things do indeed come from efforts we make even when those good things might not be seen by us immediately.

D&C 123: 16-17 is a favorite that I’m sure I’ve shared a few times in the past.. 16 You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.

17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

Wednesday night we made our way to Narra to stay the night. Thursday morning we woke up and took a shuttle to Espanola- an area that opened up 3 weeks ago! I spent the day working with Elder Vinculado and Elder Beltran. I was once companions with Elder Vinculado so it was sweet bein with him again. Love that guy. That place is kinda like Busuanga- the people are super nice! We taught tons of lessons and got many new investigators. When we first got there we started heading to the first appointment and we walked past an elementary school. There were hundreds of kids performing a filipino cultural dance. It was super cool seeing them all dressed up. They all eventually finished later that day and we happened to be on that road again. I think I got about 500 hi fives in a few minutes haha! Not very many white guys make their way over to espanola haha.

It was weird thinking that we were closer to Malaysia than we were to the mission home! Also, there were some hills that had so many palm trees on them that you couldn’t see the actual hill. The nice people though was the best part though for sure

Friday we had a flight at 1pm to head back to Manila. We got there and the flight got delayed until 4 so we left to grab some lunch. When we got back they informed us that the flight would be at 7pm. Ah! Well that time came around and they informed us that the wheel of the plane was broken and the mechanic had just shown up but they didn’t have the proper tools for him. They shuttled us to a buffet and treated us to dinner then shuttled us to a hotel right on the beach! We got a good sleep and they informed us the flight would be at 10. We got up at 5:30 for breakfast and got to the airport by 7:30. Of course the flight got cancelled again and long story short we ended up on a flight to Clark airport in Pampanga! We flew there (Angeles mission) then took a 3 hour bus down to Manila! We finally got home at about 7:30 that night. Luckily we didn’t miss too much work because it was P day but it was still tried our patience just a little haha!

Sunday we had an amazing lesson with our investigator named Eric. He was at church as well! He was a referral from Nanay Angie :) That 80 year old is a little nuts (she texted us about convos she was having with dogs while we were gone) but hey we’re super thankful for her and how much she’s actually helped the area! He had questions like why God doesn’t give us answers and blessings right away, what is our purpose of being on earth, etc. It was a blast helping him find answers! Excited to see how he does these next few weeks here.

Love Elder Reber

Apparently no need to send food his way- He seems to be doing just fine!!

Celebrating Sister Fermanis' Birthday!

Make changes if you want new results

Hey fam

Elder Mitchell and I had a good week with zone conference probably being the highlight. All missionaries on the mainland combined into one meeting so it was extra exciting to see everyone!

We tried a few new things in the area as well which brought some new results as well! President always says that if you want the same results then just keep on doing the same things, but if you want a new result you’re going to have to make some changes. I’ve realized that these changes for me are sometimes inconvenient, uncomfortable, or at first they seem like no good will come but oftentimes it all works out. If it doesn’t then at least we’re able to have that learning experience and better know what aspects are positive and what parts we don’t need to try again haha.

Anyways the main thing we’ve tried differently these past few weeks is really getting the members involved- both active and less-active. We’re having fun experiences as well as spiritual experiences with them then trying to help them give out a Book of Mormon within a time frame they feel is possible (usually a week.) We then follow that up and see how it went. As a result, we’ve gotten some new people to teach who are more ready than someone we meet while tracting. In the past I don’t think I’ve worked with members as much as I should have. Sometimes it feels like the time we spend with them doesn’t bring results. It is true though at first not much is seen from our visit, but we’ve noticed in the longer run of the past few weeks things have really started going because of it. I mentioned Nanay Angie last week haha- yeah she still has been working with us. She showed us to a few more less actives and some members who have lived here a long time have also helped us out with finding prospective-elders in the ward.

Remember the Lobo fam that I mentioned last week? We were able to keep working with them this week. We noticed that CJ (14) was kinda holding them back a little bit. Even though we were trying to joke with him he kept sitting on his phone while we taught him, his sister, and his mom. We knew he liked basketball and video games- yes you could consider himself a gamer. He sleeps all day and plays computer all night since the computer shop is cheaper at night. He agreed on playing basketball with us every morning though! That way he wouldn’t game all night too haha. About every day last week we went and picked him up at 5:30 then went and played. He finally started opening up more! Then Thursday we had a family home evening with them where the two kids were gonna teach us how to cook sisig. We got up at 4:30 to grab the meat and stuff from the market since people buy the face of the pig (the part we needed) really early. Later that night at the FHE we cooked it up and had a good lesson where CJ finally participated! Sunday they showed up at church for the first time in over a year! His brother Lee came back from their province Friday and was able to be at church as well. Then Monday in the morning we took the two of them to play basketball at the chapel with the priesthood of the ward. That all happened because one active member let us know who they were and where they live. We had no idea they were even in our area haha.

One thing Elder Mitchell is super good at is setting goals and making plans to reach those. Every hour we take a second to check our planners to evaluate how we are with the goals we’ve set for the day. It’s helped me remember how there’s a good, better, best and we’ve been able to be more effective. It’s funny because my whole mission I’ve kinda felt like goals are pointless and I didn’t do my part in giving them time and thought. I’ve noticed I feel a lot more organized lately and I’m learning how much they help you track progress.

Elder Burdeos had an aunt, uncle, and cousins from Honolulu come visit the Philippines since his aunt is from here. He got permission from President for us to head to their apartment one night to eat dinner and share a quick message. That was super awesome! They cooked up some pro Mexican food which is definitely something we don’t eat much of here. They’re pretty wealthy and while we were parking in the parking garage we saw a few Ferraris, porches, lamborginis, mclarens, and maserattis. We had to park next to a maseratti and did so extra careful so we wouldn’t scratch our sick Starex van ;) They were a really cool fam.

That about sums up the week! Got to conduct a funeral for the first time- actually I’d say it’s way easier than trying to be the pianist on a broken electric keyboard on a rocky table haha. On Pday we were walking through the city part of our area called BGC and they had tons of Philippine Army stuff set up to celebrate their reunion/anniversary thing. We saw some cool trucks and tanks as well as got to learn some new stuff about the history here! I’m thankful for the time I have to serve in such a great country with such great people.

Til next week!

Elder Reber

A council rather than a training

Hey!

This week was awesome!! We had lots of time in the area and were blessed to see lots of people grow and progress. Monday night we met an sweet less-active family who we didn’t know was in our area! A member actually texted us asking us to go visit them. Their name is the Lobo family and it consists of a mother, 18 year old son CJ, and 12 year old girl Bea. They’re super super nice and were excited to have us come. The son is really into computers and gaming and we’re going to work with him to help him get interested in the church again. He said he’d come out to teach a lesson with us sometime so that should be fun. This week we’re doing a family home evening at their home with some members and the kids are going to teach Elder Mitchell and me how to cook some nice sisig.

After that lesson it was time to head home but we decided to knock on one more door nearby. We went to their neighbors and met a college student named Rowen and her friend Sebastian. We quickly taught the Book of Mormon, gave them both a copy, and left. As we left we found out that she’s actually the cousin of sister Lobo! On her own she read the introduction and actually looked for the reference scriptures that were in the parenthesis. Yesterday we brought 4 of the YSA with us to go meet and teach her with us it was super fun!

I went on exchanges with Elder Pehacek over in his area Friday and Elder Mitchell worked with his companion in ours. They had a sweet experience! They visited a less active and as they left they heard someone call out “Elders!” They met a guy named Miller from Phoenix, Arizona who was looking for the church here in Makati. His mom is a filipina and his dad is American. He was with his mother in the province for a vacation but after some sad events he got stuck up there for awhile! He met the missionaries over there but then moved over to our area the day before he saw elder Mitchell. He’s the man!! He has a baptismal date set for the 24^th and has given up so much in preparation for baptism. He graduated high school at age 9, college at age 13, and has been to Harvard, Italy, and France for schooling. I wouldn’t have guessed he was a genius just because he acts like a normal guy. We plan on having President come teach him this week :)

Funny thing for the week. We visited this awesome grandma named Angie in the ward the ward a few weeks back and last week she came up to us at church saying she wanted to work with us. Haha she’s kinda strange but we decided hey why not. “fortune-teller lady” is her nickname haha. Well she worked with us twice this week and took us to 6 referrals haha! An 80 year old lady was leading our area! It’s crazy how fast she still walks and how much she is willing to talk to people and share the gospel. It gets better though. Sunday she goes up to bare her testimony and as she makes the turn up on the stand I was slowly saying “oh no! no way… oh wow!” She was wearing her missionary nametag!!! Haha we were both in the back in tears yet everyone else didn’t seem to notice anything different. Right off the bat Angie quotes two Doctrine and Covenants scriptures about missionary work perfectly then next thing we knew she started singing her favorite church EFYish song! And we’re not talking just a few lines here we’re talking the first verse, corus, second verse, corus, bridge, corus type deal. Best few minutes ever! To top it off after sacrament she came up to elder Mitchell and I and gave us Christmas presents. Yes, they were neckties wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. Nanay Angie is the best!

Well that will about wrap it up! We had a great MLC which was more of a council rather than training and messages the whole time. We all sat at tables in a circle and were able to discuss what the mission needs moving forward and what changes we can try to make to improve. A big take-away is for the leaders to minister rather than administer. Rather than just calling missionaries to collect numbers, talk about their area, etc we are trying to be more real with them and how they’re really doing. The goal is to become friends with the other missionaries to where they can trust them and remember what they did. Reaching out one by one like the Savior did. I’ve realized that the leaders I remember most were those who genuinely reached out to me and seemed to really have a desire to better get to know me. One thing Elder Mitchell and I are going to try this week is calling all missionaries in their training just to see how things are. We’re excited for the changes in the mission!

Love ya all!

Elder Reber :)