Lapit na ang Paskwa! (Christmas is Close!)
How is it going my family!? Another week comes and goes, as well as another transfer day. As for the big news of where I got transferred too......... I didn't. I'm still here in Valladolid! That makes a start of my 4th transfer here! I'm so glad I'm still here and going to be here for Christmas!
I've been so excited to get to work with our new Bishopric and getting transferred would have been unfortunate! The Bishopric went on Member Exchanges with us this past Saturday which was awesome. We're able to get more work done and get to know our Bishopric better at the same time! It was also a challenge because Brother Ordenario's English isn't that great! He's actually from Manila so he's more comfortable speaking Tagalog. So at church yesterday he gave some closing remarks and he pretty much spoke Tagalog the whole time. I had no idea what he was saying. I've gotten to the point now where I can distinguish whether people are speaking Hiligaynon, Cebuano, or Tagalog. But I don't understand them obviously! But I'm making progress! So that's exciting! I actually memorized the First Vision the other day in Tagalog just for the fun of it. I'll have to recite it in both Hiligaynon and Tagalog for you so you guys can hear how awesome it sounds!
This past week our numbers increased in quite a few areas! We still have our one Investigator who will be baptized on Christmas! We will always be having it at the Stake Center. A Christmas Day Stake Baptism! It's going to be so awesome! I'm so excited! We have other investigators as well who are working towards baptism but they will probably take place in January! I'm excited!
So as for new foods I've eaten lately. I've eaten more duck, chicken intestine and liver. And I also ate some Kanding the other day. Which is goat haha. The goat wasn't too bad, but the chicken liver was awful and the chicken intestine just kinda grosses me out! I'm still alive though so it's all good!
Other than that though there isn't much that is new around here! Still doing the same thing! Living the Missionary Life. Can't wait to speak to all of you in less than 3 weeks! Going to be great! Love you all!!
-Elder Walters
Monday, December 9, 2013
12.2.13
Late Kami Liwat (we're late again)
Sorry once again that we weren't on to chat again this week. We got an offer to ride to Bacolod from the couple missionaries who came to do an apartment check this morning. Can't pass up a free ride with air conditioning! We're here now, and I hope this email finds all of you in good spirits!
So this week is transfers, I really hope that I don't get transferred! I would really like to stay here in my first area, with all the people I've grown to love, for Christmas! Like I said last week we got a new bishopric and I'm excited to get to work with them as well! I can already see the impact the new bishopric has! We had PEC for the first time I've been here, yesterday. And also for the first time since I've been all 3 members of the Bishopric were at church before it started!
I'm also excited for this next month because we have investigators who will be baptized! Sister JellyAnn has been to church for 3 weeks in a row now! She comes with her less active friend Jhesnie, who has been coming back to church with her so that is awesome! Jhesnie didn't want to go to young women for some reason yesterday but even though she didn't JellyAnn still did! I'm excited for her to be baptized, and I can tell she is too! We also have other investigators who say they want to be baptized, they just need to come to church first! haha
So during yesterday I read a quote from Elder Dallin H. Oaks and I thought I would share it with you! Before you read this quite tho I want each of you to think of the how you picture the Final Judgment taking place.
"The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become."
After reading that quote my thought of the final judgment totally changed. When I first thought of it I kind of pictured it as us going through some of the good and bad things we have done in our lives, but when I read this statement it made me realize that that isn't exactly how it's going to go. It will be a judgment based on who we have become. We have our entire lives to repent of our mistakes and to become the best person we can and should be. Why not start today so that when we face the Holy one of Israel at the gate we can say that we have become the best we can. That your final you is better than the beginning and middle you! I don't why this quote had such a profound impact on me, but I hope it can change your perspectives as well. I love each and everyone of you! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We actually forgot about Thanksgiving until the morning of, but then we bought food and had our own Celebration just the four of us in our apartment that night! We had chicken, ham, mango float, and mango shakes! It was great!
As we get closer and closer to Christmas I invite each of you to remember our Savior and his love for each of us. And when you remember his love for you, how much easier it will be for you to share your love with others!
Love,
-Elder Walters
The Elders living in Valladolid for a week! Elder Cruz, Elder May and Elder Perez!
Teaching Paulan, JellyAnn and Jhesnie
Sunday School class!
Sorry once again that we weren't on to chat again this week. We got an offer to ride to Bacolod from the couple missionaries who came to do an apartment check this morning. Can't pass up a free ride with air conditioning! We're here now, and I hope this email finds all of you in good spirits!
So this week is transfers, I really hope that I don't get transferred! I would really like to stay here in my first area, with all the people I've grown to love, for Christmas! Like I said last week we got a new bishopric and I'm excited to get to work with them as well! I can already see the impact the new bishopric has! We had PEC for the first time I've been here, yesterday. And also for the first time since I've been all 3 members of the Bishopric were at church before it started!
I'm also excited for this next month because we have investigators who will be baptized! Sister JellyAnn has been to church for 3 weeks in a row now! She comes with her less active friend Jhesnie, who has been coming back to church with her so that is awesome! Jhesnie didn't want to go to young women for some reason yesterday but even though she didn't JellyAnn still did! I'm excited for her to be baptized, and I can tell she is too! We also have other investigators who say they want to be baptized, they just need to come to church first! haha
So during yesterday I read a quote from Elder Dallin H. Oaks and I thought I would share it with you! Before you read this quite tho I want each of you to think of the how you picture the Final Judgment taking place.
"The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become."
After reading that quote my thought of the final judgment totally changed. When I first thought of it I kind of pictured it as us going through some of the good and bad things we have done in our lives, but when I read this statement it made me realize that that isn't exactly how it's going to go. It will be a judgment based on who we have become. We have our entire lives to repent of our mistakes and to become the best person we can and should be. Why not start today so that when we face the Holy one of Israel at the gate we can say that we have become the best we can. That your final you is better than the beginning and middle you! I don't why this quote had such a profound impact on me, but I hope it can change your perspectives as well. I love each and everyone of you! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We actually forgot about Thanksgiving until the morning of, but then we bought food and had our own Celebration just the four of us in our apartment that night! We had chicken, ham, mango float, and mango shakes! It was great!
As we get closer and closer to Christmas I invite each of you to remember our Savior and his love for each of us. And when you remember his love for you, how much easier it will be for you to share your love with others!
Love,
-Elder Walters
11.25.13
Happy Thanksgiving!
So this week was pretty good! We had some good things happen at church and then also something kind of different! Yesterday we had a new Bishopric called!!! YEAAA!! Thankfully. In my entire 4 months of being our bishop had been here for a whole week and a half. He's been working in Manila the whole time. Talk about hard to accomplish things without a bishop. And talk about frustrating for the ward because they had no budget the entire time! It's kinda hard to have exchanges with the Bishopric when the bishop is gone and the counselors don't do anything haha. I'm so excited tho! Our bishop seems kind of nervous, but I imagine anyone would be when given that new responsibility! Should be a great new start! But who knows, I could be transferred in another week and not get to experience it anyways! I'm so excited to have a new Bishopric you don't even know! We even had dinner with Bishop last night, first dinner with Bishop haha!!
At church however during sacrament meeting one of our elderly members starting puking after he said the sacrament prayer. He was sitting behind the bench holding a bag and it just kept coming. Needless to say sacrament was delayed for a few minutes while everyone crowded around the poor guy in the corner, obviously not giving him air! Then they picked up his chair and carried him out of the Chapel and downstairs to a members vehicle and took him to the hospital! Talk about a crazy event in the middle of church! I've never had that happen before!
This week we extended quite a few baptismal dates for Dec. 25! What a great Christmas gift! Hopefully they all work out! Most of them however didn't come to church yesterday so that was a bummer, but it's still possible! We have a new investigator named JellyAnn who came to church last week with her best friend who is less active. She has a lot of questions and seems pretty interested! And it's great because she already has a friend in the church who is less active so we can teach both of them at the same time! She also has a really good singing voice. She sang for us at one of our lessons, it was pretty impressive, especially since most Filipinos can't sing very well haha!!
Also our zone leaders have been staying at out apartment the last 2 nights because the plumbing in their apartment is broken and needs to be fixed so the Couple Missionaries picked them with all their stuff and bought them over the other night. And last night the power went off right before it was time for bed, so it was SUPER HOT all night, so hard to sleep when you're hot and sweaty! And then the power came back on literally 5 minutes after we woke up! Talk about bad timing!
Well that's pretty much the news for this week! My favorite scripture for the week has been 2 Nephi 9:52. Our Heavenly Father asks us to remember the words of our God, we can do this by daily scripture study! And to pray unto him daily offering thanks for all that he does for us! I invite each of you to continue to do this as I'm sure most of you do this anyways! I just really like this scripture because it emphasizes the importance of doing it daily!
I love you all! Have a wonderful week, and Thanksgiving!
-Elder Walters
Just doing a lil shaving.
Elder Cruz got bored so he doodled on my foot!
So this week was pretty good! We had some good things happen at church and then also something kind of different! Yesterday we had a new Bishopric called!!! YEAAA!! Thankfully. In my entire 4 months of being our bishop had been here for a whole week and a half. He's been working in Manila the whole time. Talk about hard to accomplish things without a bishop. And talk about frustrating for the ward because they had no budget the entire time! It's kinda hard to have exchanges with the Bishopric when the bishop is gone and the counselors don't do anything haha. I'm so excited tho! Our bishop seems kind of nervous, but I imagine anyone would be when given that new responsibility! Should be a great new start! But who knows, I could be transferred in another week and not get to experience it anyways! I'm so excited to have a new Bishopric you don't even know! We even had dinner with Bishop last night, first dinner with Bishop haha!!
At church however during sacrament meeting one of our elderly members starting puking after he said the sacrament prayer. He was sitting behind the bench holding a bag and it just kept coming. Needless to say sacrament was delayed for a few minutes while everyone crowded around the poor guy in the corner, obviously not giving him air! Then they picked up his chair and carried him out of the Chapel and downstairs to a members vehicle and took him to the hospital! Talk about a crazy event in the middle of church! I've never had that happen before!
This week we extended quite a few baptismal dates for Dec. 25! What a great Christmas gift! Hopefully they all work out! Most of them however didn't come to church yesterday so that was a bummer, but it's still possible! We have a new investigator named JellyAnn who came to church last week with her best friend who is less active. She has a lot of questions and seems pretty interested! And it's great because she already has a friend in the church who is less active so we can teach both of them at the same time! She also has a really good singing voice. She sang for us at one of our lessons, it was pretty impressive, especially since most Filipinos can't sing very well haha!!
Also our zone leaders have been staying at out apartment the last 2 nights because the plumbing in their apartment is broken and needs to be fixed so the Couple Missionaries picked them with all their stuff and bought them over the other night. And last night the power went off right before it was time for bed, so it was SUPER HOT all night, so hard to sleep when you're hot and sweaty! And then the power came back on literally 5 minutes after we woke up! Talk about bad timing!
Well that's pretty much the news for this week! My favorite scripture for the week has been 2 Nephi 9:52. Our Heavenly Father asks us to remember the words of our God, we can do this by daily scripture study! And to pray unto him daily offering thanks for all that he does for us! I invite each of you to continue to do this as I'm sure most of you do this anyways! I just really like this scripture because it emphasizes the importance of doing it daily!
I love you all! Have a wonderful week, and Thanksgiving!
-Elder Walters
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