6-25-16 & 7-4-16

6-25-16

Hi mom,

How is your week? I bet you are all busy , you usually are.

This week was great for me.  We did a lot of work this week.  This week was full of just finding and finding and finding.  I always find that I can focus a lot better if I spend time finding.  So this last week we have found some good investigators and less actives again.  I really experience a lot of really different things while I go tracting and finding.  This past week we had to walk through the same flood 4 times. I’m starting to get pretty used to taking off my shoes and socks and getting in the water that is close to knee high.  Its super nasty, but a little black water won't stop us from doing the things we need to be doing.  

We are looking forward to some baptisms as well.  We have one of our investigators, Sister Camila, should hopefully be getting married  so she can get baptized by July 9.  Her niece will also be getting baptized with her.  So we are super excited for that.  

This past week, I was doing a little bit of studying on the teaching of King Benjamin.  I really liked the part when all the people gather to listen to King Benjamin.  It says that they all gathered in their families and then they pitched their tents facing the temple.  That just had me think about how important our families are.  How of course the temple should be our goal.  Then it made me think of how I really do miss you guys.  I then thought of something that I heard once.  It was from a missionary broadcast, it was " We leave our families, so that others can have theirs, eternally".   I know that is so true.  We as missionaries sacrifice a couple of years so that others can live forever with their families.  What a grand and noble calling.  I am so grateful for this opportunity.  I also thank you all for your support and your love.  I look forward to seeing you soon.  

But this is all I have you this week mom, I love you and will talk to you guys later.

Love,

Ian

7-4-16

Hey mom,

Thanks for the email.  …….

Well I am doing great, just as normal.  I am actually currently in my last area... as a zone we took a trip to Wawa Dam for a zone activity.  That was awesome.  I sent a couple of texts and upon our arrival at Wawa we were greeted by some of my old members from the San Rafael ward.  It was so great.  I miss that area so much.  It is so gorgeous there and the members are the best.  Right now we are at a computer shop that I used to always go to as well.  So I am really happy right now.  

These past few weeks have been amazing.  Like I have mentioned before, we are hitting hard on the finding.  We have really been doing a lot of work, and we are really seeing the fruits of our labor. I am actually really sad that I will probably be gone next transfer.  The next missionary here is going to be one lucky guy.  I am definitely not leaving this area with nothing like when I arrived here.  

This past week we have really been focusing on some of our investigators on getting baptized by July 9th.  They really want to get baptized before I leave so we have really been working hard with them to figure out their marriage status before the 9th.  They should hopefully be getting married on the 7th of this month.  Hopefully I should be having 2 more baptism before I leave.  

This past week I was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants 138.  I was reading about how after the death of Jesus Christ, he went to the spirit world and organized his saints into groups.  They then went around preaching the gospel to the other spirits and even until this day do they continue this work.  I just thought about how amazing the plan of God is for us.  Through his grace and his mercy he gives us all a chance to come unto him.  Even the ones who have been lost and passed into the next life. It just makes me think of how we really need to use our time here in this short life to prepare ourselves and to prepare the lives of others around us.  

I am having the time of my life here.  I can't believe that I am under 5 months left. what happened to my 2 years!!! Thats crazy how fast time flies, when you’re in the service of the Lord.  I am so excited to see you all.  Tell me how you are all doing. Keep me updated with the wedding(even if Vince doesn't...).  I will talk to you soon.  

I love you and the family, give my best to the others and have a GREAT week!!!

Love,

Ian

6-5-16

Hey mom,

Thanks for the email.  You all sound busy which is good.  This week has been a good one for me as well.  This past Wednesday was transfers.  Elder Villanueva left to go to Hawaii and I got my new companion.  He's super quiet and doesn’t like talk or say anything.  But it's alright.


We also had a baptismal interview for one of our investigators, Sister Loida, and she passed.  So we have her baptism coming up on the 11th and a few more are following. So that is really exciting.


Then the other day, we had to walk through a flood, which is never fun.  We had set an appointment with a new investigator and when we got to the area where they lived, the whole place was flooded with about 8 inches of water, but we had set an appointment and we said we were going to be there so we ended up getting a little wet, but in the end had a great lesson.


So this last week I have just been on a finding spree.  That's for some reason all I have been wanting to do.  It is really the only thing that can keep me from being distracted and I am just tired of doing the same thing over and over again.  I mean we have a lot of good progressing but I feel like you always need to be finding as well, which can be hard if you have progression.  This last week we have really been working hard and trying to find.  This one day we were in the process of finding a house of a less active member.  We were looking forever. We then came to this street and we were walking down it trying to find the house and then we saw this other street branching off from the one we were on.  I felt that we should go down it, but when I looked down it there was literally no one on the whole street except for this one lady who was washing clothes.  So we just continued on.  I then noticed that some of the houses had numbers on it.  The number of the house we were looking for was 71. We were looking at 68 and the way we had come was houses 69 and 70 then it came to the corner where that other street was.  So I said, I think 71 must be in that street we were looking at earlier.  So we went back and when we entered the street, none of the houses had numbers on it.  So we went up to the lady who was washing and we asked her if she knew the person we were looking for.  She had no idea.  The numbers of the houses were actually all messed up on that street.  We then told her we were missionaries and asked if we could share a message with her and we ended up teaching her.  It was a great lesson.  She said that she believed everything that we had said and she wants her family to join on the next lesson.  We then left, and right when that happened, we received a text from the less active member we were searching from and she directed us to their house and we were able to find them.  It just made me think that I really do believe the Lord guided us.  I think we were meant to first find that lady and teach her on the street.  I remember something I heard, that the Lord will sometimes fail stop plan A so that you can do plan B.  The finding of the less active member was stopped and we found someone else and in the end we even found the less active.  It was a great experience for me.


Thank you for the email.  All you sound like you are doing good.  I miss you and the family and wish I could be there, but I know what I am doing is right and for the benefit of others and there is nothing else I would rather be doing with my life at this time.


Keep up the good things you are doing.


Love,


Ian

5-22-16

Hey mom,

Thanks for the email.  I really enjoyed it.  You all sound busy.  I can't believe that this year is almost done, that’s crazy. oh and what happened to dad in those pictures!?

So maybe I’ll start off this email with a little cool experience that Elder Villanueva and I had. I first want to start off by saying that our prayers and our fasting have been answered! One of our investigators, Sister Camila, has been trying to find a way to get married so that she can get baptized. The problem was that she needed her birth certificate. We have been fasting and praying that she would be able to find it or find another way to be able to get married. Then the other day when we went to her house, she told us that she had a surprise for us. She told us how she went down to the municipal hall to ask them about what she could do about her birth certificate, because they could not find it. She then found out that you she can get married even if she doesn't have a birth certificate, she just needs her voter’s certificate, and she has it!!! We were so excited to find that out. The only thing that we are waiting for is now just financial. Sister Camila is now saving some money so they can get married and that should be happening soon. We are so happy for her. She really has shown her faith to our Father in Heaven and he has blessed her. She didn't just wait around for the blessing, but she went out and found them. That was such a great reminder for me as well. Most of time God has us find the solution to the problem. He just provides a way to make it possible.So that’s just a cool experience we had.

This past week has been alright though.  I have been lacking on some sleep.  It just seems that every time I lay down my mind doesn't want to shut off.  Its weird. but I am still good and functioning and doing fine.  We have been getting a lot of stuff done.  We have a baptism this week and 2 more next week.  Then we have 2 more in three weeks.  The last one is a mother and a daughter.  The mom could actually get baptized any day but her daughter wants to get baptized with her so they will both be getting baptized in about three weeks.  The problem is, that I might be transferring!  I will miss like it all!!! So hopefully it doesn't happen.  But it is what it is.  I’m just glad that I was able to do something good here.  When I got here, this place had nothing and it is good to feel that I will be leaving it better then it was before.  ……….

Anyway that is all I have for you this week.  Thanks for all you do.  Love you guys and talk to you later.

Ian

4-24-2016

This is one of our investigators, Sister Loida.  She's the one in the middle on the right.

Hey Mom,

Thanks for the email.  I always love to hear what is going on in your lives.  It sounds so busy.  

But this week for me has been a pretty tiring week.  Elder Villanueva and I have been working and working and working.  We have currently decided to switch some things up in our area because our area is just kind of dead.  So it has just been very exhausting and we have had to walk a looooooooot,  but it's still good.  We are looking forward to getting stuff done this upcoming week.  We should also be having some baptisms coming up.  We should hopefully be getting Sister Camilla baptized, but we are still waiting on her birth certificate to arrive so that she can get married.  She actually got it last week, but all the info was wrong so they had to send it back.  So we are just being patient for the time being.  hopefully she will be able to get baptized before Elder V leaves to go to Hawaii.  But we'll see.

So I guess I will share a scripture with you this week that seemed to stick out for me.  It's in Alma 37:6-7 if I remember correctly.  it is about how through small and simple means, great things are brought to pass.  I read that and thought how true that is.  Even the plan of God is simple, well in a way.  So simple that even a child can understand it, yet so complex it will take an eternity to fully understand it.  That means that we just need to continue in our learning and progress in the church, but slowly and a little by little.  We just need to make sure we are doing all the small and simple things in our lives so that we can learn and grow.  It's just all about simplification.  Even simplifying our lives. They don't have to be complex, just focus on the simple and small things and the plan of God for us.  So that is one thing that I have noticed this week.  I think it really stuck out to me cause we have been a little stressed out over our area because we have been trying some new things and not much is happening.  But maybe we just need to simplify what we are doing and just continue and not worry about things that are not happening but think about the things we can do with our time here.So thats just my little spiritual thought for you.

So sorry for the short letter.  I'm going to try and send you guys some pictures.  it would be great if you guys could do the same.  But I love you and the family.  Please make sure that they know it.  I will talk to you guys soon.  I am excited to personally wish you a happy Mother’s day on the 8th of May!  But love you all and I’ll see you!

love,

Ian

Bringing you the elders of the QCNM.

Zone conference with missionaries from Valenzuela and Baliwag.

President Nelson and his wife visiting the Quezon City North Missionaries

Ian really enjoyed hearing from President Nelson and the other speakers.  He is sitting right in front of Sister Nelson in the center a little to the left.