So, today was my last P day... Last email home...

Yeah, so I'm counting down too. Still working hard, just excited.

This week was good.  Really busy with extra stuff. We had my last Zone Leaders Council, the Mission Christmas Devotional, the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, and a ton of baptismal interviews. Busy busy busy.

But it was still a good week. Great successes. We were able to share with a less active family, the mom is a member, her (second) husband and daughter are not. We have only met the husband, but the daughter is way prepared. She really wants to learn more and excited to read from the BoM. They were not able to come to church this week though, we'll follow up on that. We were also able to have the elders quorum president take us to a less active member near his house. Just the mom and one daughter live there now, and again the daughter is not yet a member. Just the mom was there when we visited. We just talked for a bit and then shared a small message. It was rather unsure if they would be able to make it to church because the mom said that the daughter (15) likes to just sleep all Sunday morning. While we were waiting outside the church Sunday morning the EQ Pres came up and said they had stopped by their house and that they were coming! Just still finishing breakfast. And they did come! It was pretty cool. We had several non-members attend church this week, but we couldn't count some as investigators yet because we haven't actually taught them yet.

Another surprise at church, we had a very unexpected visitor. Michael Tilanas and his mom. Again, we were waiting for the church to be unlocked and I see two people walk in the gate that look familiar but I wasn't sure who they were. When they got close enough I realized that it was Michael. He had told me that he wanted to come and visit some Sunday before I went home. I was nice to talk with them again. It was great to see how much Michael has grown, not literally of course. But his knowledge and understanding of the church and the gospel has grown. He is really good in the classes because even though it wasn't his home unit, he was not shy at all to share his insights and answer questions.

So, today was my last P day... Last email home... I'll get to tell you about this upcoming week in person. We will have a baptism on Friday and the Ward Christmas party on Saturday. Should be good.

Love you all!

Elder Phelps

All Are Invited!

Jordan comes home on the 20th of December after leaving the Philippines on the other side of the world on the 19th. His flight (Delta #2004) is scheduled to arrive at the SLC International Airport at 7:05 PM. Anyone who would like to come and be among the first to welcome him home is certainly invited.

Lyle

The Time is Ticking, and it Just Seems to be Getting Faster

Our week was pretty good. We'll start with Tuesday. Tuesday was district meeting.  As zone leaders we go and visit the other districts in our zone. So this Tuesday was my last at the Alijis District meeting.  So we had to move our normal tradition of eating at Greenoz Pizza to this week. We normally eat there on the last Tuesday before transfers.  Greenoz makes huge pizzas, like as big as the tables. And it's just down the street from the church here in Alijis.  Elder Eastin and I are planning to order one the Saturday before I come home.  Might be hard to finish with just the two of us.

Wednesday we had leadership training for all the district leaders and zone leaders. It was way good. Learned a ton.  Elder Eastin and I have been striving to apply what we learned there and we are seeing success from it.

The rest of the week was pretty normal. We worked hard and things just happened.  One really cool thing that happened was that we taught an investigator for pretty much the first time and invited her and her member husband to come to church. We also invited her to be baptized.  She said yes! That's not the cool thing though. She did come to church! It was way cool watching her walk in. Her husband however did not come; he's gonna take just a bit more work.

Mom asked: "We will have a good coat at the airport for you to wear home. ok?"  Yes OK!! Bring my nice formal black one or that orange and tan colored one. Those are both really warm. I will certainly need it.

Ok, so I like that you tell me about your preparations for my return, because it makes it feel real. Sometimes it just feels like a dream that December is actually here and that this all has to come to an end. But then also it makes it a bit harder to focus, but usually by Tuesday (tomorrow) I'm totally focused again.

Still staying pretty focused, but some days it is pretty hard. Last week there must have been four or five days in a row that I had dreams about coming home.  I had dreams like that back at like my six month mark, but they were more like nightmares.  Because in them i would be freaking out inside thinking, "I shouldn't be home yet!  I've still got 18 months!"  But now it's not like that, it's just like, "yeah, I'm going home.  It's time.  Mission is over."  I guess that's a good sign that I have been successful and gotten done what I needed to get done.

It also doesn't help that when we attend leadership councils and trainings that people ask what it feels like to be this close to going home. Like Sister Bevans. The Bevans couple and I are friends because we were in the same district back in La Carlota. They are way cool and fun to talk to. Gonna try and make my way up to Canada when they get home... Attend their homecoming.

The time is ticking, and it just seems to be getting faster. The 18/19 th is just getting closer and closer. The 18th will be the last real day because we will go to church and then go pretty much straight to the mission office. And that's the end. Yup...

Elder Phelps

Companion Separation Anxiety

WOW, what a week, and I mean ours. We were busy all week. It was pretty awesome. Teaching and all was pretty normal stuff. Just working hard and getting a ton of lessons. But not just lessons, helping people to come unto Christ.

One thing I just want to say is that I love my companion, Elder Eastin. He is so awesome. We have a great time together. We work hard, we work well together, we joke and have fun, and we also have good discussions the few times we aren't talking to everyone around us. It's usually lying exhausted in bed talking for like five minutes before we fall asleep. We had a good discussion the other day about companion separation anxiety, feeling strange when you aren't with your assigned comp, even on exchanges. It just feels good to be back with your companion. Even when I went with Elder D'Addabbo, who is my best friend here, I was excited to come back to Elder Eastin.

We had our zone activity today. It was simple and way fun. I was really happy that the others all enjoyed it too. All we did was go to the Mansilingan Chapel and play some planned games. We played Human Bingo, Jeopardy, and some others. Everyone had a great time and it was just good to relax and get to know the other missionaries in the zone a bit more.

Yesterday was stake conference here in Bacolod South Stake. It was way fun too. I know so many people in this stake. Been assigned in two of the areas here and been on exchanges in some of the others, as well as conducting baptismal interviews. It was great to see all those. Especially those that I had interviewed. Really proud of them. As I was talking with many of the members from Handumanan they commented that I had lost weight! I guess I have been losing more with how hard we have been working. It was pretty cool to hear that. I heard the same thing today from Sister Baluyot at the zone activity. We were waiting for others to show up and they walked in and that was one of the first things she said, "Elder Phelps, you lost weight." Hopefully I'll lose some more in the next three weeks before I come home!

One really cool thing that happened this week was the investigator that came to stake conference. The husband is a trisikad driver (I don’t have time to explain it), they are poor, but live close enough to the church in Alijis to walk. We were worried about having them come. But we told them to prepare and use their faith that they could make it to Mansilingan. And shortly after conference started they walked in!! We were way happy to see them.

I love you all!!

Elder Phelps

Alijis Branch becomes Alijis Ward!

November 21, 2011
This may sound bad of me, but I don't really remember the "sleepover" Andrew and I had before I left. I don't doubt that we did one, just a lot has happened in the last two years.  Sure do miss that guy though.  If Mom ever lets me go when I get home, I may never let Andrew go.

I remember those scout game sleepovers at the house.... they were... fun. Most of the time. I don't think I know any of your scouts anymore... They were all still in Primary when I left. Something they have been trying to work on here in the Bacolod South Stake is setting up the scouting program. There is a Boy Scouts of the Philippines, but the church doesn't always sponsor it. Where the church is more developed they have it, like in Manila. President Tobias served as a scoutmaster. In one of our interviews a while back we talked about the scout movie Follow Me Boys. He was very happy to find out that I worked at scout camp. Scouting is awesome!

You asked for my thoughts on D&C Section 4 since you guys are speaking on it in church Sunday….

2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand  blameless before God at the last day.

"all your heart, might, mind, and strength..." It can be pretty hard to fully be/ do what that phrase means. But it is also very rewarding when you do. There is also the promise that if you do that you "may stand blameless before God at the last day”. Meaning if you aren't totally committed and focused to the work, you will stand accountable at the judgment day.

3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;

This means that D&C 4 is not just limited to the set-apart full-time missionaries, it is for any and all members of the Lord's church. You can also look at the word "work," just what is "the work" that ye are called to? Moses 1:39! That is certainly not limited to the missionaries.

5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.

6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.

The qualities and attributes expected of us as the Lord's servants. And you certainly need all of them as you pursue this great work. One is not greater than the other, and from my experience, at least as a missionary, you will use all of them everyday, and sometimes it will be a challenge. Especially the patience with investigators sometimes.

And that's my insight to D&C 4. We recite it every Tuesday at District Meeting.

Elder Eastin and I worked really hard this week and were abundantly blessed. We were able to find a ton of new investigators and most are pretty good. On Sunday we went to pick up and walk to church with some of our investigators. We got to their house just around 8 and helped them get ready. We helped Sister hang up the laundry and then we pumped water for them to shower. It was really fun. What I really hope came from that though is that we showed that church is important and they need to plan better so that they can come to church, and on time.

This week was a special branch conference for the Alijis Branch because we are now Alijis Ward! It's a big step forward. Now the goal is to step it up, pick up the progress, and move faster. Becoming a ward is not the end, next is splitting the ward. Elder Eastin and I have made some great plans on how we can help the ward members catch the vision and the desire to do this. Get the drive, move forward and have the work blossom! They can do it! Everything is going their way!

Love you all!

Elder Phelps

Happy Birthday Mom!

Well, I already sent a specific email to Mom, but here it is again:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, this week was transfer week. It went mostly as expected. I stayed, Elder Johnson transferred. My new companion is Elder Eastin. He is also from Phoenix. He is pretty cool. I like him. We are doing great so far. Working really hard.

The way I described the progress of Alijis to others last transfer was that if it were an airplane, we were flying along smoothly and then a duck got sucked into the engine and we started heading down. Now we are heading back up.

We found a ton of new investigators this week and taught some really good lessons, unfortunately none came to church this week... Due to requirements set by the Area Presidency here in the Philippines, if none come to church next week and for the next four weeks, we won't have any baptisms this transfer. But that's not really the important thing anyway. As long as they do eventually get baptized. Elder Eastin and I are still exercising our faith that some of the people we found this last week have the potential, drive, faith and all that stuff to be prepared for baptism on December 17... my last Saturday.

I've got a feeling that this transfer is going to fly by. It's only been a week, but with the way we are working time just flies. We just got our zone calender emailed to us too, and they (the office) have a lot planned for us: exchanges, zone activity, leadership trainings, zone leader council, and specialized trainings. And let's not forget the special christmas conference!! That should be way fun. Last year it was just some short inspirational messages, food, and games! With a small gift from the Mission. Towels (bath or hand. Depending on which you want/ needed).

While we have been finding this week we have had many interesting experiences. Many that just come with meeting new people and especially people not interested in our message. We have heard pretty much every excuse, and they are all pretty lame if you ask me. None of the reasons to not listen to us was that they simply weren't interested, they would just lie and say they had somewhere to go or something like that. Also as we meet new people we are exposed to what their beliefs are, and you get some pretty strange ones. Especially the baptists here in the Philippines. They don't know anything. Even the catholics take on a somewhat baptist point of view if it meets their situation. Elder Eastin and I were talking about why people join certain religions and it just reminded me of something we discussed in my Theory of Knowledge class in high school. It was just after reading The Life of Pi. And the two different versions of the story. Which one do you believe and why? Many of us chose the story involving the animals because it made us feel better. It's the same way with religion, we choose what makes us feel good. Nowadays you can pick and choose a religion to meet your lifestyle. If you are lazy and don't want to feel obligated to actually do anything, there are a ton of religions out there for you! I just thought it was interesting.

Well, we are going to continue our hard, full of faith work this week!!
Love you all!!

Elder Phelps

We Struggled This Week

Yeah, so this week was a couple of big things. One, Tuesday was All Saints Day. That's a big thing here. Everyone goes to the cemeteries, and spends pretty much the whole day there. Then Wednesday was Zone Conference down in La Carlota. It was nice to walk down those streets again. Zone Conference went really well. My training was probably my least favorite; all the trainings were really good. Elder Hill (my companion Zone Leader) gave a really good one. He goes home tomorrow so his training was about being a successful missionary. Really good.


Not much happened the rest of the week. Despite our best efforts we struggled this week. We talked to a ton of people, just none wanted to listen to us this week. But we made plans to go back to them. We were walking through the only rice field in the entire area and two other guys came down another path and as they were passing asked if they could come to church. We told them they were welcome and we would love to visit them, but they were leaving their house at that moment so we planned to return to them.

Dad said, "If there are scary things about mission life you haven't shared to keep up from freaking out, I hope you've kept a good journal so we can enjoy the stories when you are safe at home with us."  There sure are some, and I have kept them from you so mom wouldn't worry. Had some interesting experiences, none that caused serious injury. Compared to some other elders I have had very little happen to me.

I'll let you know what happens with transfers (of course). I went to pick up the suit I'm having made. The pants turned out really good, final touches still need to be done on the coat. It was really good though. I might get another made... I don't want to come home in the suit I brought with me, it's too big now.

Well, love you all!!
Elder Phelps

Exchanges

October 31, 2011

FlightAware. I love that website. I never really had any flights to track, but I would just watch the activity around the SLC Airport and find out information about different airports. I don't know how it was for international flight though.


This last week was pretty ok. I went on exchanges with Elder Northrup. We were in the same apartment in La Carlota for six months. He is a very interesting person, talks a lot. But I still love the guy. We had a great time together. Taught some lessons and found some new investigators. He also told me about a movie that his family watched that Mom would really like. It's about this guy that has some strange disease and needs to take steroids. So he gets way fat and sick. He decides to go on a all vegetable and fruit diet. Then he tours the country. While he is touring he meets another guy with the same problem. He decides to do the juice thing too. They both end up losing a bunch of weight and their health condition improves. I forgot the title. I'll ask Elder Northrup next time I see him (Wednesday at Zone Conference).

So, our investigators that were married and baptized last week didn't come to church this week. We saw them Saturday night and they were planning on coming to church, so I was puzzled. Later last night we were talking with another member and they mentioned something about them, so I commented that they weren't at church. He made a surprised look then asked, "Elder, you haven't heard the news?" I said I hadn't. He was then very pleased to inform us that the wife had her baby! It's a boy! Hopefully we get to see them sometime this week. Now we have one less pregnant lady in our branch (soon to be ward in a couple of weeks). There are a ton of pregnant members in our branch right now. And they are all due in the next two months. At least two of them are first time mothers too. They are way excited.

Earlier today we held our second choir practice for Zone Conference. It went really good. We were able to recruit another companionship of elders, and that added a lot to it. I am way excited for Zone Conference now. Magnificent choir and I redid my training this last week. I went through it again this week and ended up throwing out a lot and adding in a bunch of new stuff. It is so much better now. There is still room for more though. But that is the beauty of it; my goal is to get the other missionaries talking and contributing. That is the best way for them to get the most out of it. I was talking to Sister Baluyot after choir practice and sharing some of my notes. She is way excited. She was in my District when I was in Ayungon. I told her that my training was going to be a lot like my lessons in District Meeting where I just purpose ideas and encourage the others to freely contribute. I guess the lessons turned out really well. It was always a revelatory experience, for everyone, especially as everyone contributed to the revelatory process.

Next week we will get transfer announcements. I really have no guesses about myself and Elder Johnson. I have some ideas about other people in the zone. I hoping that i'll get an interview with President Tobias and that will answer some questions; or maybe just add to them. Sometimes President is straight forward, but other times he likes to keep you guessing and play with your mind, at least about transfers.

I feel like I'll stay here in Alijis, because my companion Zone Leader, Elder Hill, goes home this transfer and they'll leave me here so there is a Zone Leader that knows the zone. But nothing is sure.

Elder Phelps

A Wedding and a Baptism!

October 24, 2011

Wow, I can't believe you got that letter (mission travel home letter). I haven't yet. Maybe tomorrow or next week. Or maybe forever from now, just so it isn't distracting. We saw another Elder from my batch today, and he asked if I had gotten the letter telling me to get my chest x-rays done. Haven't gotten that yet either. But those two letters are BIG signs that the end is near. It's so close...


Today we went to a tailoring place to get a suit made. Picked out some good fabric from a cheaper store and then went to the nice place for the actual tailoring. It should turn out good.

So, I'll just skip to the most exciting event of the week. We had a wedding and baptism!! It was way awesome. Maninoy na ako! It's kinda the equivalent of godfather, because I was one of the witnesses. It was just such a happy experience. Pretty well attended, great support from the members, the speaker could have been better though. It was some lady from a different ward. The overall idea of her talk was good, but just some of the things she said were way strange.

The baptism followed shortly after the wedding, and it was great. The speakers were good and it was just good. These two will never leave.

The sad news is that we haven't been able to find good progressing investigators fast enough to replace the ones we have baptized. So that is a big focus for us this week. Our current investigators are... alright... Some have potential and use to be progressing, but now have stopped moving forward, and are slowly sliding backward, because they aren't moving forward. Others have never really been progressing, but we have pretty much given up on them, just stopping by sometimes.

I guess it's not too weird that people back in the ward can't believe that it has been two years, I can hardly believe it myself. As for my homecoming talk, I don't really care when it is. If it's on Christmas, people don't need to come and visit. But it can be when ever, I'm flexible.

There was something I learned about myself this week, and now I forgot... Not really just something learned about myself, but some change in my personality, or how I handle some things has changed. There was something more specific, but I don't remember. Oh well...

Next Wednesday is Zone Conference. I'm excited for that. Some of the people left in La Carlota Zone are still there so it will be nice to see them. I admit I'm not looking forward to the trainings as much as I used to, but that's because instead of just receiving and contributing, I am giving one of the trainings.

Mom, don't bother with my room. I can take care of it when I get home. As long as I can get to my bed. I don't know what will fit me either, because my size has changed.


I was looking through my family photo album this week and Elder Johnson said, "Soon you wont have to look at pictures, you'll see the real thing." It was just one of those moments where it hit me that it really was so close. I've just gotten used to thinking of coming home as being far away, as if it never really got closer, but now it's almost here. Weird.
 
Well, until next week! Love you all!!
Elder Phelps

Update on the Romero and Tilanas Families

October 17, 2011

So, our week was same old, same old. Every week just feels the same after you've been doing it for nearly two years. But it was a good week and for your sakes I'll find something significant to share.


Well, it rained, it rained a lot. So the new shoes were greatly needed. They got here on Friday, the package with all the candy came on Wednesday. We also had a baptism this week. Donamae Caparon. It was a great baptism. Her husband was the one to baptize her and their daughter that had been blessed as a baby. It was really sweet to watch. Even though we have had two other baptisms since I transferred to Alijis, this one really felt different because I acctually felt like I did something for this one. The last two, they were already converted, they had even already been interviewed. So, I just planned the program. But we have been teaching Donamae for a while and it was awesome to see her finally get baptized.

I also got some good news just earlier. We saw some other missionaries at SM, one had just transferred out of Cadiz and was happy to update me. If you remember the Romero Family, we baptized the father and one of the daughters, well, the good news was that since I had been gone the mother and the other daughter were baptized! I was way happy to hear that. In fact, I had sent them a letter last week.

I don't know if i mentioned it, but the Tuesday after my birthday I got letters from the Tilanas Family. They were all birthday cards with their own little messages. It was way awesome, so I wrote back to them also. Michael texted me when they got them. He texts me sometimes, but I don't respond. It's not allowed.

This week we have a wedding and a baptism. That is way exciting. also Zone Conference is in the coming weeks. We will be combining with the La Carlota Zone and meet down in La Carlota. It will be nice to go back, even if it is just to the chapel.

Ah, the computers next to us don't have head phones, and the users are playing sensless annoying music. I put on my headphones just to try and block them out, but it has little effect... They have poor taste in music...

This week should be pretty good. We will be putting heavy focus in finding, because we are baptizing.

We stopped at an investigators house this week and we saw a scene from a movie that Mom might like. It's from India so it might be a challenge to get it, and it wasn't in English, but had subtitles. It's called Every Child is Special. It's about this boy who has dyslexia. We only saw a scene, so I want to see the whole thing when I get home.

Elder Phelps

Conference...was AMAZING!

October 10, 2011

Ok, so still no package, but I really need it, so I am praying that it gets here soon. Elder Johnson is from Phoenix, Arizona. We are doing just fine.


This week was pretty interesting. We had Zone Leaders Council on Wednesday, and that was pretty amazing. Good ideas on how to help the zone, and some things we need to do. District Leaders Training was on Friday. I was able to follow up with some of our District leaders about what they learned.

Conference was on Saturday and Sunday of course. And was AMAZING of course. Lots of questions were answered. Some of those questions only came up in the last week, after conference had originally happened, but there were still answers. Amazing.

We are preparing for our up coming Zone Conference. Still not for a couple of weeks, but we (Elder Hill and I) are giving the bulk of the training. So, getting really prepared for that. I'm nervous but excited at the same time. It's pretty much the same as teaching District Meeting, just the whole zone, long time, and people expect more. But it will all be fine. Elder Hill and I have got this down. The only real challenge is that we aren't companions... so coordinating might be a problem. At least we see each other every Tuesday.

We will have a baptism this week, Donamae Caparon. Her husband is a member, and now she will be baptized. It should have been sooner, just little delays have come up. But now it's for sure! And then next week we have a wedding and a baptism! I'm so excited for that. I have worked a lot on my mission to get people married, but this is the first that has actually gone through! Almost, next week still...

So, I've been putting more thought into what I'll do when I get home. Mostly about school. I'm still unsure if I want to go to school right away, or wait until the summer or fall. Yeah, just thinking about it.

Anyway, this week should be a good week.

Elder Phelps

I Am Not A Hugger

October 3, 2011

Ok, transfers went almost exactly as expected. I got the phone call at 11:10 PM Monday night and got the announcements for the whole zone, which as zone leader, that's how it works in our mission. It was then my responsibility to call the district leaders so they could announce it to their districts. I had to wait until the morning cause they were all already asleep like good missionaries. So, Elder Felix transferred and I stayed! I am still zone leader. Elder Johnson is my new companion. He has been in the field for 6 months. So still kinda new. It's interesting...


So, we don't get to watch Conference until this weekend, but I'm cheating and downloading it now!! I can't wait for Saturday though!! And Sunday.

This week was pretty normal, but not really a good week. It was just "off" the whole time. Maybe it's just because it was transfer week.

We had two of our investigators come back after a two week absence. They had to go to their home town to get the needed paperwork for marriage. But now they have it all and will get married and baptized soon! YAY!! It was nice to have them back, and they liked being back at church. Their home is way far away from the actual city so they couldn't go to church.

As far as the storm goes, we have been having a lot of those lately, and there are more coming. Here on Negros we just got a ton of rain, no real damage. In Manila it was really bad. Lots and lots of rain. So much rain! Wading in water a lot this last week.

Yesterday we had a very interesting experience. We were waiting to catch a jeep back to another part of our area. While we were waiting this drunk guy was on the otherside of the street. He starts crossing, because we, as missionaries and white people, seem to attract drunks. So, he comes over and starts "talking" to us. I couldn't understand a word he said. He couldn't speak English or Ilonggo straight. Then he did the unexpected, and I have had many experiences with drunks so I know what to expect. He hugged me... He got really close and just hugged me... And I'm just standing there, any one who knows me well knows that I am not a "hugger." Like, it was a real embrace. He held me close, and rested his head on my chest (I am at least a foot and a half taller than him, and quite possibly twice his overall size). Across the street a group had gathered and was watching the events. Also there was a large business behind us and another group had gathered at the entrance. I just looked around at them, and they just stared back. So, in an effort to get this guy off me, I put my arm around him, and then tried to pull and push him off. But he came back. Then we saw the jeep we wanted and I pushed him off with more force and jumped on the jeep. Escape.

So, with transfers, Elder Hinckley was made the new Assistant to the Mission President. Now I have to take on more. Elder Hill is my companion zone leader, but he just became ZL so I am doing most of it so far, then have him take on more too. He also goes home this transfer, so next transfer I will have to do it all again. Zone leader is hard. You have to think about A LOT. And worry about A LOT. The whole zone to be exact. Their work, and their personal welfare, how you can help them progress and improve, and the such. But it's all good.

Looking forward to a good week.
Elder Phelps

PS. No packages yet, but I asked Elder Hinckley to keep a special eye out for them, because he knows how bad I need the new shoes. We have Zone Leaders Council this week so I can hopefully pick them up if they are here.

All Normal, No Extra Meetings, No Exchanges, Just Work

September 26, 2011

This last week was all normal. No extra meetings, no exchanges, just work. On Tuesday though, we went down to Bago to attend district meeting there. Elder D'Addabbo is the district leader there. It was a great meeting. He used and airplane analogy. It made me happy, would have made Pres. Uchtdorf happy too.


Everything is going great. Some investigators that we were really hoping would come to church didn't come. Two actually had a good reason.

One of our investigators has really changed, even from when I met her. Sis. Donamae Caparon. Her husband was a long time less-active member, but now they come to church every week, he has received the priesthood and she will be baptized, soon.... We keep having to delay it due to scheduling conflicts, like General Conference! As much as I love GC, it can serve as a pain in planning baptisms. In their family much has changed. The kids too. They are much more quiet in lessons and we have even had them pray. They get really shy when we ask, but when we aren't there, they pray. Their oldest daughter was blessed in the church and is now 8, so she and her mom will be baptized on the same day by their husband/ father. It will be a great experience.

We had some interesting experiences in finding new investigators this week. We seemed to get really lucky finding people who were leaving the country or heading back to Manila the next day. As in, the next day. Some of them have family that will be left here that we can hopefully visit. One such person we met through inspiration, inspiration to buy a snack. We stopped at this small store, bought some soda and bread. (Filipinos have all sorts of bread. Great little small ones, sweet and perfect for dipping in orange soda.) While we were sitting the lady we bought from came over and asked what religion we were, not really an uncommon experience. But she was really interested. She said she saw us walking on the other side of the street all the time and wanted to talk to us and ask where the church was. Well, now she did, but we found out that she was only here on vacation for a month and was leaving for Manila the next day. So we shared a bit and told her how to find the church in Manila. She said she would.

This week is transfer week, no idea what is happening. Pretty sure that I am staying, but I don't know about Elder Felix. It is possible that we stay together, but I think it is more likely that he will transfer. He can't decide if he wants to or not.
Anyway, we'll find out on Wednesday!!

Love you all!!
Elder Phelps

Blessings of Food

September 19, 2011

So, yeah, I turn 21 on Wednesday. I can't seem to actually process that in my mind. It feels kinda strange, and yet doesn't feel at all. And for mom, in the Philippines, you don't need to be 21 to drink. It all just depends on your parents. If they don't care, the kids start drinking and smoking really early. It's really sad.


A couple of awesome things happened this week. There is this investigator, Arlyn Arceo. Her two sons were baptized my first week here in Alijis. She had to be interviewed by President Tobias, and he said that she needed to come back in two weeks and be interviewed again. So, on Monday she was interviewed and passed! When we asked who she wanted to baptized her and she (jokingly as we later found out) asked if Elder Hernandez could. He taught her for 6 months. So I asked him if President would let him, and President said yes! It made for a great experience. She was happy that Elder Hernandez baptized her, and he was happy to baptize one of his former investigators.

Well, actually that was pretty much the awesome thing this week. Other than that, we got huge blessings of food this week. We just got fed a lot this week. On Sunday, we went to Handumanan to get Elder Felix a Patriarchal Blessing. He doesn't have one yet, long story. Anyway, in Alijis we had a high council visit, and he is from Handumanan, so we caught a ride with him! And then they learned that we were going to another place to do a baptismal interview without having lunch first, so they offered to feed us! In my transfer asigned in Handumanan I never ate at their house, but now I transferred and they offer to feed us. Strange, but we were happy to have food, otherwise we weren't going to be able to eat until we got home at night. They are a nice family.

Yeah, that's our week. This week will be pretty normal. Even with my birthday. We celebrated earlier by going to Pizza Hut with Elder D'Addabbo and the other Elder Phelps. AH! That was another highlight of this last week. We had exchanges with them. I went with Elder Phelps! It was awesome! The two Elder Phelps got to be companions for 24 hours! Yeah, we told everyone that we were twins, though we look nothing alike. It was fun. He is a good missionary, I'm very proud to have him in our zone. And have the same name! Another interesting thing, Elder D'Addabbo and I have the same first name and Elder Phelps and I have...well...the same last name. Strange.

Yeah, Dad, I pray for you everyday.

Elder Phelps

Zone Leaders Council

September 12, 2011

First off, was going to tell Dad to not forget about LDS ERS. We have a member here in Alijis that works at the one here in Bacolod, so talking to her reminder me that I should tell Dad about that. But now I don't need to, you are already going! Yeah, that's it.


Um, I did remember the birthdays, I never forget a birthday. I wrote it down in my planner three weeks ago when we got the new ones. But I wasn't sure on ages.

Dad, 1,200 people in a sacrament meeting! That's a ton! Here even in a stake conference they don't get near that. Which is kinda sad. Because there are a ton of members in the whole stake, but many are inactive. Others think that stake and district conferences aren't important...

This last week was nothing special. The exchanges back to Handumanan were fun. It was back in the same house, but Ward 2. It was still fun. Got to see some members from Ward 1. The investigators are a lot better this time. And so is the elder that I went with. They are doing so much better than last transfer. Ward 2 is taking off! Ward 1 is continuing in the progression that started last transfer.

Zone Leaders Council was fun too. It got me way excited for the coming months and weeks. If everyone catches the vision that President Tobias has, the mission will progress expodentially. It may even be translated! At least if people didn't still use their agency to reject our message of eternal happiness. But we will still experience great success.

Other than that, one thing I really enjoyed about ZLC is that for the first time since our first transfer day on this beautiful island our batch was all together. It was fun talking with everyone was way fun. We got to catch up and stuff.

So, yesterday we got some bad news. Two of our investigators that were supposed to get married and baptized this Saturday are not going to be able to. Problems came up. But earlier we got some good news. One of our investigators had her interview with Pres. Tobias and passed! So she will be baptized this Saturday! YAY!

And that's pretty much it.
Elder Phelps

PS: Man, I was kinda hoping that you hadn't sent my package yet. I was going to have you send those shoes. Cause my working shoes got this awesome hole, stepped on something and it poke a hole. I tried to find some shoes here, and I found some that kinda fit, but not really. And they are over $100. They aren't that nice of shoes. So right now I am just enduring.

Our Investigators Are Experiencing Great Blessings

September 5, 2011

This last week was just fine. Nothing Really amazing or fantastic. Just normal work.


Though we did have good success in investigators attending church. Not quite as high as we wanted, but we got some that we have been working on for a while. And even though it was testimony meeting, I feel that it was a good experience overall. Still had some weird things though.

Two of our investigators are experiencing great blessings. Ryan and Rica Mabalon need to get married before they can get baptized, and getting married in the Philippines is the most ridiculous process in the world. The worst part is that no one really knows what you need to do. In my experience as a missionary I have now learned all the requirements, but complications still come up. Despite it all, the marriage will go on.. on September 17.

Things that really stood out this week were things from my personal study. We are currently doing a Book of Mormon challenge. So I started re-reading it, again. But as I read 1 Nephi chapters 2 and 3 something new popped out. We all know 1 Nephi 3:7, but if we look at the last half of chapter 2 and 3:1 we can see how Nephi was prepared to say "I will go and do." He was coming from talking to the Lord, he had just obtained the promise that if he and his seed keep the commandments they will prosper in the land. So, I'm thinking that that provided certain motivation/ confidence behind the "go and do" response.

Another thing came to me as we were teaching Ryan and Rica. We were talking about Lehi's dream of the Tree of Life. As we were talking I notice that people were feeling their way to the great and spacious building, so even with the mists of darkness, they could still see the building, but not the tree. It's just like our life here, we can see the worldly things, but the ultimate goal of Eternal Life is sometimes hard to see. We are just going on the word of God from the scriptures and living prophets that the tree is there, and we'll get there too if we just keep going.

That's really all I can think of right now.
Ready to tackle a new week. It's gonna be a long one, I can already tell. We've got exchanges this week, I get to go back to Handumanan!! For one day. And then we have Zone Leaders Council. That should be fun... I'm looking forward to it, but also not...

Love you all!
Elder Phelps

PS The restaurant is kinda just a fun idea to play with. If I was to go with it, it would be because the pilot thing didn't work out for some reason. And I would be more on the business end, with a hand in the cooking too. But mainly hire chefs. Just a fun idea.

We Worked Hard and Feel Satisfied with the Work

August 29, 2011

Sounds like SF was really fun for mom and dad. Nice to "get away" from "it all" every once and a while.


This week was a decent week for us. Even though things weren't quite as good as we wanted, we worked hard and feel satisfied with the work. We know and the Lord knows that we worked hard.

Two of our investigators have been out of town all week trying to get things worked out for their wedding so they can get baptized. It was disappointing that we couldn't teach them, but they were getting very much needed things done. On the other hand we were able to set some good schedules with hard to meet with investigators and they didn't fall through! And two that we were really hoping would come to church came! We texted them and told them that even if they were a bit late it was ok. We were so happy so see them walk through the doors. Another great success is and has been a work in progress. There is a sort of less active member, his wife is a non-member. She was very against anything to do with the church. But apparently since they held a FHE back in December things are thawing out. At first she would not let her husband go to church, then she started letting him. They eventually made the deal that the kids get two Sundays with him, and two Sundays at her church. We visited on Saturday. Just the husband was home, but we had a good talk with him about how we might be able to help. We made a rough long term plan. Half way through our gospel principles class he AND his wife walked it. I was teaching and had a hard time focusing back on the lesson. She seemed to enjoy things at church too.

So yeah. Elder Felix and I are experiencing problems. His stomach is really small, so he can only eat so much. It's 'cause he and his trainer ate so little. I'm trying to encourage him to eat more. With the week menu planned out now it should help a bit. I'm trying to exercise, just jumping-jacks, and maybe a few push-ups. But we are always so tired. It's hard...

Elder Felix is awesome. He's a great comp. Um, today we were looking at stuff in the National Bookstore, Elder was buying some post-it notes, I was looking at cook books. I found this one that is way awesome, but I'll get it at home because it is cheaper at Barnes and Noble. It's called The Professional Chef, put together by the Culinary Institute of America. It is way awesome.

So, recently, meaning the last couple of transfers, I have been thinking about what I want to do with my life. Becoming a pilot is still number one choice, but business with a restaurant is back up. I love cooking and the idea of a restaurant sounds way good. Whenever I talked to Elder Barrott about it he was all for it, encouraging me to do it. Um, I'm also very thankful for mom. Always encouraging me to cook, and teaching me of course! It will be a blessing for the rest of my life.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Love you all,

Elder Phelps

Bad Week for All

August 22, 2011

Wow, sounds like we all had a bad week this last week. Lots of unexpected, and for the most part bad, news. Yeah, last week was transfer week. So, I had a similar experience to Dad. Rode (on a jeepney) to Mansilingan for district meeting. We had a really good lesson. Had a meeting with the zone leaders. Really good talk with Elder Hinckley. Then he got THE call. It was the APs. Transfer announcements were (finally) here. We already had all the names written on the board, he just needed to write the results next to the names. Part of the announcement wasn't a surprise, but the other part was. I was stepping up to Zone Leader, and that was my last day in Handumanan... I was shocked, depressed, and a bit insulted. Shocked because I had only been there one transfer, depressed because I already had many friends. And insulted because bad missionaries transfer after just one transfer, and we had done great things! Found a ton of new investigators and brought the number of our lesson up dramatically. And they are good progressing investigators too! So, we went home, I packed, wasn't hard because I hadn't really unpacked much. Then we went and visited a few members and investigators.


The good news from transfers is that I only transferred to Alijis, just one area over. So I will still have chances to visit Handumanan. This first week has been really difficult. People here really loved the missionary that I replaced. Everyone, myself included, thought he would be staying. This transfer is his last. Every new person I met this week was disappointed. It was very hard to feel welcome. Some even cried... I almost cried, 'cause I didn't want to transfer, and now I wasn't wanted here.

AH!! Nothing is going right right now! I don't know what to think anymore... My mind is so clouded and unorganized right now. Nothing seems to fit. Everything conflicts.

Ok, bright side. Always look on the bright side of life. I'm now a uncle in the mission! I'm follow-up training. Elder Felix is my companion now. He is Filipino, and we are totally awesome together. We just have one small conflict.... He wants to gain weight, and I want to lose weight... Our goal is to change body sizes, except height. So the deal is that I cook (as usual) and he ensures that I do some exercising every morning.

Sorry that the email is so short, I just don't know how to put down what I am feeling. I wish I could find the answers that I need. They'll come...eventually...
Handumanan was perfect. Just what I needed after leaving Ayungon.

Elder Phelps
Oh, PS. Transfer day is now on Wednesdays. Just so you know.

District Training

August 15, 2011

Dave Tate is program director at BLAB! He is the MAN!! Nice to know that there are still some that remember Fish up there.


Yeah, Andrew gave me a pretty good rundown of all that happened at camp. Sounds like it was one of "those weeks." We all know what "those weeks" are and yet you can never really describe it. I was thinking a lot about camp this week too, knowing that that is where Andrew and dad were all this week. Lots of good memories. Sorry some boys made immature and made stupid non-multicultural comments there. You see similar problems in elders in the mission some times. There are those elders that just really don't like the Philippines and the people here. It's really sad to watch them not enjoy all that is around them for the next two years! I personally LOVE the Philippines and the people here!! There is no other people like them in the whole world.


That's also too bad about Andrew's triathlon, but i'm still proud of you Andrew. Good job!!

 
Our week here was pretty interesting. Tuesday was district meeting, same old same old. Then we went to the mission office for cargo, and the stuff I ordered from the LDS online store last week was in! Well, half of it was. The two quads I ordered (for 51 pesos! [about $1]) are out of stock and will get here when they get here. Not really worried.

Wednesday our district had a specialized training. It was way good. Presented by the awesome Elder Hinckley. Though I was disappointed that the APs did not attend, but Elder Hernandez had told me that they wouldn't because this week is transfer week and they needed to start preparing. All understandable. Transfer week is terrible for the office.

The rest of the week was just there. Nothing really awesome happened. It wasn't a bad week, but it wasn't as good as I had been planning/ hoping. Saturday though, we stopped by an inactive member's house to follow up on teaching his wife. He wasn't there, but before we could say anything the wife said that they were planning on attending church on Sunday. We found it surprising because we haven't had the chance to start teaching her yet. And they did attend church, the whole family. It was a great experience because the members were happy to see them, and they showed it! They had people talking to them , sitting with them and inviting them to a cooking workshop this Saturday. Right now were are getting a good amount of help from the ward in our work, but our work is to help them, so they are really helping themselves. Unfortunately is that the help is coming from like three people right now. But it use to be just one, so there is progress. There are others doing other work that we just don't see, so all is good.

All in all the week was good. Right now I have a lot on my mind, and the least of it all is transfer announcements tomorrow. It's not really something to wonder about, I'm pretty dang sure I'm staying (I just got here!), but I'm not sure if Elder Davidson is staying or going. But yeah, that is certainly the smallest thought on my mind right now.

I miss you all very much. AH!! Just remembered. So on Tuesday I picked up that stuff, right? Well, Elder Hinckley walked in and was returning the form for departing missionaries (for someone else in his district), and Elder Hernandez asked the two of us if we got ours too. (The three of us are batch) Elder Hinckley and I both responder no, so Elder Hernandez asked us to wait a minute. He went into the back room and comes back out and hands us copies of the same form. On this form it asks if your name and stake president are correct, what your parents email is, and which airport you want to fly into. It also has your departure date. So it's official now, 19 December 2011 I will be on a plane leaving this island and people I love to head back to other people I love. It was rather shocking to receive it. I was thinking it would come in September or October.

Anyway, Love you all!!

Elder Phelps

Exchanges This Week

August 8, 2011

Sounds like a good week back there in Utah. Our week was alright too. Some good things, and some challenges.


So, we had two exchanges this week. I went with the elders in Handumanan 2, and that was fun-ish. The nice thing was that we live in the same house so I still got to sleep in my own bed. But the next day as soon as that exchange ended another was to begin, with the zone leader. That could have been way fun, because we were exchanging with Elder Hinckley's companionship, but because you can't leave two juniors alone (especially when one is a trainee), I went with Elder Garcia. He is way cool though and we had a great time.

It felt weird working in my own area after the two days of not being there. But the big things this week was the baptism of the two John-Johns. Well, it ended up being only one John-John... The other's family isn't really supportive, so long story short, he will get baptized, just maybe in a week of two.

The baptism was really good, or so I heard. We left and went to the other John-John's house. But we made it back as they were changing. John is a great convert. He is so ready to progress in the gospel. He has been progressing to baptism and now it is time to keep going, new goal: Celestial Kingdom! We are helping get the ward in place to help him, and all converts after him, stay active in the Church.

So, yeah that's it. AH, wait never mind. I think its funny that members ask about me. And as for "camp in the Philippines," it really does feel like you are camping some times. Most roads we walk down are dirt (well, mostly mud actually), wash your clothes by hand, hang dry (it stinks [literally and figuratively] when it rains all day), and many people live in houses that provide less protection from the elements than a tent does. Although, unless you have aircon, keeping warm at night is not a problem, keeping cool is.

I hope you think a lot of me while you are at scout camp, and of course I would love to come with you on outings next year!

Love from the Philippines!!

Elder Phelps!

Mission Standard

August 1, 2011

Wow, you all had a busy week. The only one I didn't hear from was Kat... (HINT HINT)
I feel like I got all possible views of the week, except Kat's...
I get regular-ish emails from everybody, except Kat...

Yeah, that ought to do it.

So, our week was pretty good. I'll explain what I consider to be the highlight of our week. First, some background. The mission has what is called the mission standard. It is the numbers of lesson/ baptisms/ new investigator, etc. that we are supposed to get. The idea is that this is the base level. Something to get to and then pass, rise higher. Back in Ayungon we were doing pretty good. Got here in Handumanan and expected things to be good, because (1) there is like ten time more people here and (2) the ward is fully functioning. But I was mightily disappointed. Things weren't looking so hot. So we set goals to work our way up to mission standard. Which is a general practice. But last week, on Wednesday, Elder Hinckley sent a text that we need to stop goaling below mission standard. We should goal and have faith to "go and do." So I showed the text to Elder Davidson, he was just as non-confident (forgot the proper word to use) as I was in doing such a thing. We had been pretty far from the standard the last two weeks. Never the less, we set the goals... and set out to work.

As the week neared the close, I decided to check on our progress to our goals. I found that we almost doubled our lessons taught and found more than double our new investigators! Ultimately we still fell short but we made leaps and bounds. Elder Hinckley came to do some baptismal interviews for the John-Johns. When he finished and was signing the forms, I told him about the numbers. He was way impressed. He sees our numbers every week so he was very pleased with the great progress we made.

That's really all that stood out this last week.

Oh! We had zone conference on Thursday. (Which makes getting good numbers all the harder. It takes up most of your day) But conference was awesome. Got to see some familiar faces from La Carlota, cause they had been transferred too. President Tobias interviewed everyone. Which he is suppose to do every three months, but this was my first in just over a year... Either way, it was a good interview. We talked about the district, and just things in general. He gave clues about his plans for the future too. He explained that the zone leaders have both been in this zone for a while now and that I should "be ready." We also talked about scouting. He was talking about good leadership and used the "Follow Me Boys" movie as an example. I was happy to tell him that I had seem that movie.

I have plans for the district, that I'm going to put into use tomorrow. It's simple and works very well with primary kids. Candy! They will be rewarded for doing things they are supposed to and contributing to the meeting. I wish I didn't have to do that, but I can't figure how to get half the district to take the meeting seriously and learn things from it. They aren't just there to sit, it is suppose to help their work. So they need to take notes and record the revelation they receive.

So, that's it for this week. I'm gonna go get a haircut...

Elder Phelps

PS. I'm buying some stuff off the LDS Online Store. It will come from Manila. It's cheaper in pesos...

Also, in next package, pleases send ties, but not too nice of ties. I'm going to give these ties out to like recent converts and stuff. I already gave out the ones that I have that I don't really like...

More Success, More Disappointments

July 24, 2011

Wow, that's quite the week. Way busy with some very interesting events. Our week was slightly less exciting...

The week was still good, but there were some major disappointments. We'll start with the open house. The open house was fairly well attended, however it was rather unorganized and I had a hard time. The unorganization was frustrating, it would have driven dad nuts (I think I've picked that up from him). But it fulfilled it's purpose. There were a lot of people that found things interesting and would like to learn more. The ones who decided that they don't want to learn more were there just to get an idea of what we believe, which is still good.

Another success was that a member in a less-active family that we have been visiting came to the open house and to church the next day! The whole family seems ready and willing to return to activity, they just need a little help and encouragement, which we are providing, and will soon get some members on board too.

We have a really good investigator, John-John. He is way good. Always asking good questions cause he really wants to know. And then he understands and uses what he learns. His two best friends are recent converts that are also really strong and all three of them have a desire to serve a mission. They come around with us too, when they have nothing else to do. His baptism will be on the 6th of August.

We also have another John-John investigator. He is good too, but not quite as good. His baptism was supposed to be this Saturday, but he was sick yesterday and couldn't come to church or his baptismal interview. So it will have to be postponed. So maybe the two John-Johns will be baptized on the same day.

The area and ward are alright. The ward is probably the best I have worked in. They are all organized and can do things on their own. The people here are interesting. There are so much more than back in Ayungon, but many are very unwilling to listen to our message... That kinda brings things down. We are still trying hard and doing our best to keep our spirits up.

The house is alright too. It's my first one with aircon in the bedroom, so it gets really cold at night, the other night I had a dream that it was snowing, and I strongly believe that the a/c influenced that. It's a nice house, we are just on the bottom floor, no one upstairs, the owner lives in Germany now. It needs some good cleaning though... and then some cooperation on keeping it clean.

Everything is fine here, Same old same old lang gid. Nothing is ever perfect and you are always trying to fix something.

Elder Phelps

PS Learned/ remembered a Tagalog proverb. Pag-gusto, maraming paraan, pagayaw, maraming dahilan. It means that it you want something, there are many ways, but if you don't want to do something, there are many excusess.

And yes, please send my card. Also, for next package, my only request is beef jerky (peppered palihog! [Please]) and a bunch of snickers. iyun lang...

This Week Was Way Simple

So, this last week was a good week. I feel mostly adjusted to the new area now. It is hard because it is so much bigger than Ayungon. But the area is great and so are the members.

Work is moving forward pretty good. We are still a little lacking in investigators, but are working hard to find people. We are holding an open house at the church this Saturday where there will be a tour and film showing (The Restoration). We gave the members a ton of invitations to give out to people. It sounds like it will be a success. I sure hope so...

For mom's questions, I can't really explain what a barangay is. But we are still part of Bacolod city, so it is not quite like WVC to SLC, but it is way close. Yes, getting my birthday package will be easy, we go to the mission office every Tuesday to pick up stuff like that. I cant wait for Harry Potter, sounds way fun.

You asked about tithing with the members here. Well, most react pretty well and respond that it makes perfect sense. As far as actually paying it... sometimes they slack there, and that is why not all the churches have aircon. But I have had multiple investigators that on the Sunday of their confirmation brought tithing with them. Also similar with in-active members returning, they come back and they bring tithing.

The week was way simple,not much to talk about... Sorry. Either way, we gotta go. I'm starving!

Elder Phelps

Transferred Out of Ayungon!

July 10, 2011
Well, I'll start with the biggest news. I transferred out of Ayungon! Excited and not at the same time. I already way miss all my friends there. It was a really tough good bye... So now I am in an area called Handumanan. It is a barangay (neighborhood? best explanation) of Bacolod. So we get to go in to Bacolod on Pday. Its way close so it just makes sense to. The area is nice. There are a ton of people, compared to Ayungon. But the area isn't doing as well. So we are looking to get it back up on its feet. There is so much potential here. The ward is way willing.

We had a Preach My Gospel class last night to discuss the ward mission plan, meaning to make one. We started with a paper that explained the big picture, then read from PMG. It explains perfectly the WMP on page 220. So we read through that. I knew where I wanted them to go with it, but I wanted to guide them, not just flat out say it. But it turned out even better. Though not captured as perfectly as I had envisioned it, a member came up with the idea that I had. They set goals and came up with specific plans and even a deadline! I was way proud of them.

So, my companion is Elder Davidson. He's a pretty cool guy from Wyoming. He is pretty much the same size as I am. President likes to put me with guys near my size. The elder I replaced is way small, so members were a bit surprised.

Like I said, work is slow right now. But we are working hard to change that. Hope to see progression soon.  The district that I am incharge of this time is much smaller, just six of us, all elders. Going to be interesting. From what I can gather, district meetings the last transfer weren't all that they could have been. But it seems to be small problems, and if handled right will be solved easily. The hardest is going to be the attitude of the elders. But it can be fixed. Hopefully we all can come to see district meeting as the "revelatory experience" that it should be.

Thats it for this week.

Love you all

Elder Phelps

Happy 4th of July / Happy Birthday Kathryn

July 3, 2011
First of all, Happy 4th of July!! And Happy Birthday Kat!!! There is also an elder in our zone whose birthday is on the fourth too! He's from Layton.

Wow, quite the week for you all. This week here was very interesting. And not really a good one.  We worked hard, a lot seemed to be going well, but in the end so many things went wrong. Once again everything was going good until Sunday. Saturday it rained REALLY hard (my shoes are still a bit damp...) That caused a lot of flooding, and in turn caused problems for members and investigators coming to church. I was way disappointed with church. Tried to focus on the positive, but it was hard. I usually have an easy time doing that, but it was way hard yesterday.

The biggest thing on my mind right now is transfers. It is hurting my head. Usually by the last week of the transfer I have a really good guess on what is going to happen, and except for last transfer I have been right. This time I have no idea. I was so sure that I was transferring last time that I had even started packing some stuff, but then I was wrong and Elder Reidhead was transferred. So now I just don't know. Everyone keeps saying that I am staying again. E. Barrott really wants me to, so there is still someone to cook lunch. If I do stay again I don'y know what to think. That means I will be three transfers away for the end of my mission and still be in my third area. All of my junior comps have three or more areas already.

I do love Ayungon, and there is still so much to be done. Teaching investigators and helping the branch. They have a lot of problems, and only so many people want to or even think they can help. I've been trying this whole time to help them "catch the vision" as President Tobias would say. They are capable of so much more than they have right now. If everyone would exert just so much (meaning a little) effort, miracles will be accomplished in this branch. It's easy to get discouraged when you feel that you are trying so hard, and yet nothing is moving forward because ultimately it all depends on them.

Well, I'm ready to face the future, whatever it may hold. I know that the Lord will be there to help me and the members when we need it. We just need to turn to Him.

Love from the Philippines. Happy Birthday to Kat again!

Elder Phelps

Teaching People, Not Lessons

Wow. That's quite the week. Sounds like a ton of fun soon.

All this talk of cooking things reminded me of something. I decided to take a page out of mom's book and write a three week rotating schedule. This last week was the first week, and it was a huge success! Only had to go to the market once! And we got everything we needed for the whole week! And the food was way good. This next week we are trying a new one, a sweet and sour pork recipe I got off the back of a can of pineapple. Should be way good. I'm excited for it. I can't wait to share all the filipino food with ya'll.

This week was an interesting week. Well, maybe not really. It was a pretty regular week... We did really good in applying things that we have been learning in district meeting, which is the whole idea of the meeting. So, Elder Lot'ahea and I have been working on teaching with more unity, and teaching people not lessons. And we excelled in both areas this week. Everything goes so much better when it works like that, guided by the Spirit. All of our lessons have been good, now they are better. Always improving.

Our investigators are all doing well. Mostly. We are having trouble getting some of them to church, but they are making progress.

Being District Leader is great! I absolutely love being district leader. It also helps that its in the district that I have been in for the last 8 transfers. And all the members are way great! There are still problems, but I am learning (as in like 5 minutes ago) that the biggest one is solved! I had really be worrying about it, and about the missionaries involved.

Transfer week is next week... I don't know what to think about it though. It seems like its come so fast, but that's because of the change of companions. When you have a comp for more than one transfer the next one seems much faster. I was looking at the calender and shocked to see that transfer week is next week. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be transferred this time. But you never really know.

That's all for this week. Love you all!!!

Elder Phelps

The Rainy Season Continues

First and foremost, HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD!!!! I think that we should get to call home for that too. But no go.

This week was really good. District meeting without the four sisters and the couple turned out like just a big companionship study. We had exchanges with the zone leaders this week. So I got to go hang out with Elder D'addabbo. He's from Arizona and is like my best friend here in the mission.

So we had a blast. The rest of the week went pretty well too. We got a bunch of good new investigators. And overall I would call it a successful week despite some disappointments caused by major rain. Yup, the rainy season continues and we will bring umbrellas along everyday. Saturday and Sunday the rain was pretty nuts. Parts of our area flooded and we had to walk through a lot of water. But it was all good. The major side-effect of the rain is poor attendance at church, for both members and investigators. That was a downer. But all Saturday I was rejoicing inside because San Enrique had their first baptism since I transferred from there in December. There have been really good missionaries there, but they have just been having some tough times.

Not much else to talk about this week. But last night I was once again reflecting on how long I have been in Ayungon. It has been FIVE transfers. That's a long time. I have been here since December 10, 2010!! It's June now! Elder Newman (Zone leader) and I were talking on Tuesday and he said that he requested to President Tobias that I stay here another transfer... He seems hopeful, but I doubt it will happen.

Yeah, that's it. Love you all!!

Elder Phelps!

PS. Coming home isn't that far away. I should be getting my "trunkie letter" soon. In the next transfer or so. It's when they tell you stuff you have to get done before you go home and you make sure info about your home unit is correct and select the airport you will fly into. And unless they send us a week early the schedule indicates that I'll get home December 21.

Tears Were Shed, My Eyes Watered Up Too

Forgot to do this last week, had a lot to think about. But Happy Birthday Dad and Natalie!!

Well, this last week testified to us all that rainy season is here to stay! There was rain pretty much everyday, and not just normal Philippines rain, but rainy season Philippines rain! Normally when it rains and we go out of Michael's house the ground is just wet. But multiple times this week we went out and stepped right into 3 or 4 inches of rain water! Lots of wading done this week. But at least it hasn't been more that 5 inches. Some members had some bad water problems, like a foot and a half of water in the house! But they are prepared for those kinds of things, so no prob.

The rest of the week was alright. The best part was that it was all pointing that Sunday was going to be a really good day. But our compass must have been wrong... Sunday was a big downer... Had fall from the high on Saturday where we had a baptism.

The baptism was way good. Short and simple. The speakers did a good job, it was decently attended and only had to do each person once! So now the Francisco Family is complete and can go to the temple next year! We are still working on the rest of the Emit family, and that is going to take some work!

As far as district leader stuff goes, I had a really cool experience on Sunday with an interview. Elder Newman texted on Friday asking if we could come on Sunday and interview the person who was supposed to be interviewed last week, of course we said yes. After experiencing trials just to get there (walking for an hour under the blazing sun because all the trikes in the area were carrying people to a funeral, then standing in the rain waiting for a bus) we made it to San Enrique. And it was all worth it after that. The candidate, Cinderella (yeah, that's her real name. She said that when she was born her mom was really into fairy tales), was way awesome. I had such a great time being uplifted by her testimony. She has gone through a lot and made the hard changes. I felt very early in the interview that she was going to pass. Tears were shed, my eyes watered up too. Yeah...

That's about it for the week. Love from the Philippines!

Elder Phelps

PS. Got package. Excited to open later! Love you all so much!

One house, Eight People, One Fan

06/05/11

Wow, really short week for ya'll. It was a good week here. Lots done, but somethings not done.

We'll start with Tuesday, no Monday. So after emailing and getting the info for district meeting we went home and I started preparing for the lesson. It didn't take very long, but I went back to it a few hours later and reviewed everything. And I got what I wanted, I received new revelation that helped the lesson a lot. And then Tuesday came. The meeting went fantastic and everyone said they loved it. I have such a great district. They all like to participate in the meeting. Makes it all so much more interesting than just one person teaching and the others all listening.

Wednesday was leadership training. So Tuesday night a bunch of us stayed at the San Enrique apartment so we could all get a ride with the couple to Bacolod. That was an interesting experience. Eight of us in one house, and only one electric fan... it was way hot and everyone got very little sleep. But Wednesday was great. The trainings were all way good and I'm going to apply it all to help me as a district leader and help the district as a whole progress. Thursday was also a good day, but at the end we found out that Raffy (Michael Tilanas' brother) was admitted to the hospital (which is more of a super doctors clinic) for typhoid fever. Friday was not such a good day, lots of rain and we got really wet. We ended up getting a ride with the Tilanas Family to the hospital to visit Raffy. It was great to see him. And also great to know that when he had been admitted he asked his family to bring his Book of Mormon. We had a good time visiting and then headed home. Saturday was an alright day. At the end we went to the Tilanas house (Raffy was home now), and Raffy shared some experiences he had while in the hospital. It was really cool. Ultimately the whole thing was a good thing for him.

Sunday was District Conference (like Stake Conference). And that was nice. Just had church right here in La Carlota, didn't have to travel to Ayungon so early. After the conference we had two investigators interviewed for baptism. They are two moms of some of our recent converts. One we had been working on for quite some time and now she is WAY ready for her baptism. She is awesome, and now their family will be complete and they can go to the temple next year and be sealed! The father passed away some time ago.

That's pretty much it for the week. This next week will be great!
Love from the Philippines!!

Elder Phelps

Transfers!....Not.

05/29/11

Well, I guess we'll start out with the important information, what everyone is asking about. Transfers! Certainly another great adventure, just not in the way we were expecting... I STAYED in Ayungon! And now I am the district leader. Yeah, going to be interesting... Elder Reidhead transfered, somewhere in Bacolod. My new comp just came from one of the other areas in the zone. Made transferring easy. His name is Elder Loto'ahea. Yeah, he's Tongan. My first comp that is bigger than me! He is way fun and way funny! So, I might learn some Tongan this transfer. Already learned a phrase or two.

This last week was rather boring other than transfers. E Reidhead spent tuesday packing then we went out and visited the Tilanas Family. Had a good time with them. Everyone was surprised to hear that he was transferring not me. We were surprised too. Going five transfers in one area, eight in the same zone, and seven in the same district. It's pretty nuts. I guess it was too nuts because I got sick... It wasn't like anything way bad, just sick. No fun :(    
So we didn't get that much work done this week. But looking forward to next week! Gonna work our butts off!

We were able to get back to a family we found on Sunday. We found them and taught The Restoration. They responded way well and you could tell they were into it. When we went to the Tilanas on Tuesday the mom asked me if we had visited them. So I said yes, and asked why she was asking. She then explained that she had talked to the wife earlier that day and she talked about out visit on Sunday. Said that they were way interested, especially the husband, which we could tell from when we taught them. Then she told us that the husband is Papa Tilanas' second cousin! So we've got some relative fellowshippers for them now. That's really all I have to talk about.

It's been interesting stepping up to the role of district leader. Recieving other missionaries weekly numbers. I got the text of the sisters numbers last night and just looked at it perplexed. Trying to figure out why they sent it to me instead of Elder D'addabbo. But then it hit me. It's going to be interesting. But good. My district is totally awesome and are all confident in my abilities. That helps.

Love from the Philippines!

Elder Phelps


PS. No Package yet.

Some Way Good Investigators

05/22/11

Sounds like a way good week there at home! Man. I wish I could have been there for Stu's wedding... Oh well.

Our week here was pretty good. We got to tech some way good investigators, and a bunch of them came to church! YAY!! That made us sooo happy. The overall attendance at church was good too. 62. Thats a good number.

Yesterday (Sunday), we went to visit one of our investigators that didn't come to church. He was sick. On our way back down we talked to a father, and taught the family. They were way accepting and understood it all pretty well. Which was nice because we had talked to some very interesting people earlier that day... Got one of them's life story and her view on agency. And all we did is ask if she knew a guy named Elmer. Then she just went off. Either way, Junior Santina and family are good. They accepted the invitation to be baptized! It was way nice how they just recognized some important things.

As far as transfers go... Don't know who yet, but we are pretty sure that it' gonna be me. It's a kinda sad thought. ALL the members are saying that neither of us should transfer...again. That means they love us. When we talk to them about why they think we shouldn't they start listing all the good that has come from our work. And this area really has progressed since I got here. The branch is stronger, and bigger... They all understand that missionaries come and go, they just don't want us to.

I'm not really sure what else to talk about. This week was good, but i already told you about the stuff that stood out.

Love from the Philippines!!
Elder Phelps

Mother's Day

05/08/11

It was great to call you all! I stinks that that that is the last one, but in December when everyone else is calling I'll be talking to ya'll in person! But that is still a long time away... And at the same time only 5 transfers away!

Not too much to talk about this week. We worked hard and got a lot accomplished. We got a new branch presidency, and once everyone gets over the change, it will work out well. Now we have a president that has active counselors, so it wont be just him doing everything.

We have a bunch of investigators and mos are progressing. There is one family that is doing way good. The Sison family. we found them a couple of weeks ago and they are just awesome. Great desire, always reading, and most important of all, understanding and believing it's true! Always feel good after a lesson at their home.

Another way progressing family is the Emit family. Two will be baptized on Sunday, and one we are trying to get married. That one is doing way awesome. Probably best in the family. She is almost done with the Book of Mormon, at first they were having trouble understanding, but she said that once she just read for so long it came to her and she was able to understand the deep words. The two getting baptized are really good too.

I don't really know what else to say. Seems like we talked about everything else on the phone... So short email this week, but awesome phone call.

Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there! Especially to mine who has done so very much for me!

Love Elder Phelps

Pasalamat Festival in La Carlota

05/01/11
Well, this last week was way interesting. Found it way hard to sleep most of the week. This week was Pasalamat Festival in La Carlota. It centers around the city plaza and had multiple parades during the week. Our house is way close to the plaza so we could hear everything, and it was loud! Wednesday night there was a stage set up right in front of our house and a live band preformed until nearly 2 am. It was a very rough night of sleep.

The festival made work just a bit more difficult. Everyday tons of people would go to La Carlota. So finding was down. Those we did talk to did not want to listen, at all. We found a lot of hard hearted people this week....

Our lessons that we did have were great though! We found this one family last week, and we taught them twice this week. They are way good. They are reading from the Book of Mormon and have way good questions. One of the sons will be returning to Manila on Tuesday and asked if it would be ok for him to take one of the BoMs we gave them. Naturally we said "of course!" They are a way great family. The father attended our second lesson with then.  We gave them a Book of Mormon. He had good questions too and was interested. This last time he wasn't there, but the rest told us about things that he said after we left and how it was way different than his reactions to missionaries from other churches. Can't really restate what he said; doesn't translate well, but it was good! They want to progress as a family. They said they will come to church next week. As for the one going to Manila, he said that there is a church close to his house there. We told him that if he sees the missionaries there to not be shy and flag them down.

That was the good experience of the week. Everything else was pretty normal. This week was area conference though! but we found out all the details last Monday, so it wasn't announced in church.... So we told every one we saw about it. And we actually had a good turn out! Pretty much everyone we told came! The people that we kinda expected the branch president to tell, didn't...

Area conference was way good. Elder Teh spoke, counselor in the area presidency, then Sister Julie B. Beck, Elder Cook, and President Packer all spoke via satellite from Church Headquarters. It was all really good.

Yeah, that's pretty much it for the week. It was good, looking forward to the coming week. Especially the phone call home! I'll call Monday morning here, so Sunday night there. Between 8 and 10 here. Not sure what that is back home...

Love you all!
Elder Phelps

Work Pays Off

April 24, 2011
Wow, sounds like a very interesting week. Supposed to be relaxing, but spent a ton of time working!
We'll we also worked our butts off and it paid off. We got 25 lessons this week! Most with a member present. The last couple of days have been exhausting. We had some good experiences, and somethings could have been better. We had a good number of investigators at church, but were expecting more.

Church was an interesting experience... The branch president was sick, and his counselor didn't show up (hardly ever does). Branch president also isn't the best at calling on speakers a week in advance. So I called a speaker that was supposed to speak the week before but wasn't there so I had to take her place, now it was her turn! She did a good job though. Figuring out who was going to preside was fun too... Until 5 minutes before the meeting started there were no key holders there, but then the YM President showed up, he is also a former branch president. So he presided and was the concluding speaker. Other than that the rest of the block went pretty well.

Before we could leave the church it started pouring rain! And we hadn't brought umbrellas because it was way nice weather when we left in the morning. We ended up waiting for an hour! But we didn't let it get our spirits get down. We found some way smart people. They are both mechanical engineers that work in Saudi Arabia, home visiting the family. They were way into the lesson and we were able to answer some questions they had about the church. They gladly accepted a Book of Mormon. They are going to be here for a while so we are going to try and teach them. The day continued.

We were able to meet with a family we talked to last week. They were way good too. They had read the pamphlet we left with them and it was just making things clear for them. The mom had a bunch of good questions, including what it takes to join the church, so we invited them to be baptized and explained some of the other steps they would have to take. They all accepted! There was one guy, a son, that walked in late and seemed like he wasn't really paying attention, but I noticed that he was nodding his head was we were talking, at the end of the lesson he was paying attention and looking right at us.

As far as Joy Delatori, the good contact from last week. We were only able to teach her once this week, but it was good. She accepted a Book of Mormon and said that she would read. She is still doing well, it's just been with all the craziness of Holy Week it has been hard to get her at home. Holy Week is nuts... Many strange ideas...

We were able to find and teach two more families, and will go back to them.

About the temple, that is way right. Good inferring Dad. That was addressed in a talk in conference. I forgot who it was that gave it, but it was way good. I have come to realize that too, being here far from a temple. The members here don't usually have to sacrifice THAT much to go to the temple, but sometimes they do. Elder Reidhead and I were talking this morning about how much we miss the temple. It's crazy, definately one of the first things I'll do when I get home, right after going swimming!!

With Elder Reidhead and I staying together, again, it seems like transfers havent even happened since January. It feels weird to not have things change. But at least I'm with Elder Reidhead, we get along really well and work together really well. We build on each other's strengths, making us stronger, and we make up for each other's weaknesses. Many members have said that we are a great pair and should just stay together for the rest of the mission. As good as that sounds, and as much as I love Ayungon, I want to transfer eventually. But it's weird, I only have six transfers left, including this one! That's going to go by WAY fast.... Maybe too fast....

I'll just put that out of my mind and keep working hard! I love you all!

Elder Phelps

Together for Another Six Weeks

April 17, 2011
Well, this last week was a very interesting week. It was transfer week, which wasn't as exciting as I had been expecting it to be, but it was really surprising. I guess I should start with that. So, they went through the announcements on Tuesday, Elder Reidhead and I were one of the last to be announced. Pretty much all the others had been what we expected, so Elder Newman (zone leader) asked what we wanted to happen to us, and as a joke we said that both of us were going to stay in Ayungon again for a third transfer as companions, and Elder Newman just said, "Yup, you're right!" It took me a couple of minutes to realize that he was telling the truth. So here we are, Elder Reidhead and I are still together for another six weeks. But we like each other and work well together so it's all good. All the members are happy that neither of us transfered, which is also a good sign.

That was the big news of the week. everything else was pretty normal, well, as normal as it gets. We had a bunch of good lessons and our investigators are progressing well. Though we did have a smaller number than we wanted attend church, it was still good and we followed up on them as to why not. Most had good reasons that we had already been warned about. So now we are going to help them start today to prepare in such a way that they will be able to attend next Sunday.

We did have another good experience visiting an investigator that I wasn't feeling like it would really go anywhere. We had talked to this guy last week and he was busy but said we could come back another day. He is gone all during the week so we just talked to his wife and rescheduled. On Thursday we went back (took Michael with us so we could enter the house and asked a nearby member to join too), we shared the message of the Restoration with her and you could tell that she was feeling the Spirit. It was a way good lesson. At the end we invited her to be baptized, she said that it sounded great and she had no problem with it, just needs to talk with her husband. We said that of course she should do that and that we want him to hear this too, and be baptized with her. Good experience. We tried to go back last night, Sunday is the husband's day off, but her husband was already asleep, so we said we'll come back another day. Encouraged her to talk about the Restoration with her husband.

That's pretty much our week for ya'll! it was a good one. Looking forward to the rest of the transfer!

Elder Phelps

Special note on transfers. Once you have been in an area for four transfers, like I was in Cadiz, it is highly unlikely that you will do that again. It almost never happens that you stay with a companion for more that two transfers together. And with this transfer both of those have happened to us. So now Istand this far in the mission with still only three areas, while others of my batch have many more. But I like it like that.

General Conference

April 10, 2011
This week was a way strange week. We had zone conference on Tuesday. It was great. Lot's of good trainings given. Then we got a fun ride home with the Bevans couple. They and the four sisters were in the cab of the truck while the rest of us piled in the back, it has a cover, with windows so it wasn't too hot. I and the other Elder Phelps got very close in that trip, he was laying on top of me the whole time. He is pretty cool, way fun to talk to. We got back to La Carlota pretty late, so a bunch of us went to the couples house (mansion) and had ice cream to celebrate Elder Newman's birthday.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday went alright. We taught the dad of one of our recent converts and gave him a baptismal date. He has some issues to overcome, but he can do it. Then we went to a referral and taught them for the first time. Within the first five minutes of the lesson we invited them to be baptized (that's what one of the trainings from zone conference was about). So we did it and they accepted! Mom, dad and four daughters, two are over the age of 8.

That was the highlight of work this week. The ultimate highlight, and yet downpoint was General Conference. Saturday Michael was the only member from our area to come. But it was way good that he came! He got a ton out of it. Especially President Monson's talk at the end of priesthood. It was like he was speaking straight to him. It was a power outage on Saturday from 8-5, so we ran the generator in the church which powers most of the lights, the video for conference, but NOT the A/C so it was blazing hot in the chapel.

Sunday things were better. More members came, not as much as should have, but at least they came. Saturday we were at the Tilanas home and invited their cousin to come with them on Sunday, she said yes. I didn't think she would really come, but she did! So she would have been our only investigator in attendance, but since we haven't actually taught her yet, it doesn't count.

So, this week is transfer week, and normally we would know by now who is going to transfer, but they decided to change it up and not tell us until Tuesday.  They give us less that 24 hours to wash clothes by hand and pack everything up. So that is going to stink. Elder Reidhead and I are expecting that I will be the one to transfer, so I'm just going to start laundry today, but still won't be able to get it all done. I wonder where I will be transfered to....

Love from the Philippines!
Elder Phelps