Wagkung Maturantan

Hello every one. Just an FYI yes i know i am going to be hit by a typhoon tomorrow that is why my title this week is Don't worry in Tagalog, that and I thought that million times this week.

      So this week really has been a roller coaster. I started the week Tuesday when with the other american outside as he was finishing his laundry (with 4 people sometimes we run out of time on p-day to do all the laundry) we come back in and his companion is passed out on the couch in the corner I make the comment "man he is out" without a minuets pause my companion says "my bad" both me and Elder Renchar look over in shock thinking he meant he had knocked him out only to find that my companion had dropped a pan preparing it for lunch. Now whenever one of the 4 of us say my bad we all start dieing of laughter.

    Unfortunately Even though we were following the spirit we didn't have nearly the success this week as last week but I saw the hand of the lord in my life still. Wednesday we had a zone conference and got a box full of aklat ni moromons which was good because we needed it we had just given our last one out the day before.  We returned to the apartment and the new mission nurse sister Davis (no relation we could find) visited us to check our apartment. She was supper approving of how clean it was and our variety of food we had. We as apartment pool all of our budget for food and together buy everything. this is way cheaper because we buy it in larger quantities also we are able to learn more recipes.

   We have been teaching a group of about 12 kids from 10-12 years old and they have been supper receptive. We invited them to church Sunday and said we would pick them up at 8:15  we were rounding the last corner at 8:20 to find a group of 7 of them walking towards us skipping running and walking to get to Church. the were so exited to go to church they couldn't wait for us. This is one of the most exiting moment in the world to see that not only were they willing but  they took it upon themselves to make sure they were there on time. They staid for all 3 hours and then asked if we could return later that day and teach them some more. 

   Friday we had a special health meeting and as we were coming back from Candon we had the whole zone on one buss about a quarter of the way back the buses transition broke down. The conductor and the bus driver jumped out with a tool kit on the side of the road and started fixing it. so we as a zone were stuck on the side of the road on a bus for another hour. we taught some of the other people on the bus but then we had an hour of bonding time in the zone Lucky we got to get out and walk around there was a basket ball court there so we walked around there but we just got to know each other. Then an hour later we jumped on the bus and the bus started driving again (very roughly but it was moving)

   This week we were super guided by the spirit as we wen t teaching and as we continue to explore new areas. I am supper exited because the people who came to church Sunday are progressing so well they love the gospel. Most of them have a baptism date set for the 17th of November then some more have it the 24th of November and they are supper exited for it.

     It has been great here even though sometimes it has been rough. because I'm in the Philippines there is always something to smile or laugh about. And you know all those rumors I heard about the Philippines over and over again that I would wipe with my hand, I'd eat lots of rice, and other weird and different things. There all true I had balut again and almost every meal I have rice.

      Preparations for Christmas are in full swing here and I love It. Houses have Christmas lights on them. Barangys have all sorts of decorations in there squares. It is amazing. we use it to teach all the time, the people here are so prepared and we have been guided to those who are even more prepared.

     I mentioned Barangys earlier. A barangy is almost like a village. we are assigned to a Manisipality called Balaone. It is just a large collection of barangys. To get from our house to where most of our teaching appointments are is about and hour and a half and that is not even half of our area so it is pretty expansive. We still are exploring new areas, and as we do we are so blessed to find more people ready for the word. It is so funny as we walk down the street people love us they say high elders or high brother all the time. Every little kid we pass wants a high five.

    My scripture this week comes from Alma 34:39

39 Yea, and I also exhort you, my brethren, that ye be watchful unto prayer continually, that ye may not be led away by the temptations of the devil, that he may not overpower you, that ye may not become his subjects at the last day; for behold, he rewardeth you no good thing. 

  I challenge you to be diligent in your prays and pray often as you need to be able to feel Gods hand in your life.

Elder Davis

Ps I know I'm being hit by a storm tomorrow we are ready for it and are not being evacuated. but I may not be able to email next week.

PPS here is the link to my pictures

 Laundry day...

 Water Purifier/storage

 Church

 Apartment Pictures

 The blue sheets are his (I know because I bought them...)

Saan magsimula!

Hello every one for anyone wondering what my title is it is, "Where to start" in Tagalog because that is what I thought when I went to write this.

This area has been different because we are opening it but this has just showed me how much the Lord has helped me and see his hand in my life even more. We started the week with no investigators and ended with three investigators with baptismal dates, as well as several other investigators very interested in the gospel.

    Monday was my first p day in the flied. we went shopping in the market it's pretty cool here. I did my laundry by hand (which works better then by machine because I got several stains I had been trying to get out for a few weeks out.)

Tuesday was one of the days we saw the Lords hand the most we started out with a district meeting that made me feel pretty bad about myself and my work because of the stats shown. But when we returned and got to work in an area we hadn't worked in before (our area is supper expansive.) The first lesson we had was someone who was super prepared. By the end we had invited her to be baptized and she accepted. We had several experiences like this throughout the rest of the of the day.

      The next day almost all of our appointments fell through but when we returned to those we had met the day before we found they were exited to see us and had lots of questions.The rest of the week kinda followed this manner . One of the best experience we had with people was with a pair of nanys (a respectful term for an older woman.) We walked up to them to introduce ourselves and they excitedly started asking questions. Turns out a friend was a member and they knew a lot and had lots of questions. They absolutely loved everything we taught and accepted a Book of Mormon and a return visit. We returned and they had so many questions from the section we had them read we answered them and shared a lesson about the Plan of Salvation because that is what they had a lot of questions about.

     Yesterday we had 2 investigators (an 11 year old and 12 year old) attend church and loved it. It is so exiting to see them progress.

Saturday we attended the baptism of 2 of the investigators of the other missionaries in the area.It was a great reminder of why I am here and what my purpose as a missionary is .

     For those wondering I mostly eat in the apartment and members don't tend to feed us but I have been blessed with an amazing native companion who can cook super well and so we eat pretty well because rice is cheep and that is what Philippines eat plus we get a lot of good Ulam (anything that goes on rice in Tagalog.)

     So all in all the Lord has guided me so much and I have felt the Lords love in my life .

My spiritual thought comes from 2 Nephi chapter 27 vs 23

   23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith. 

   Look for the miracles of the lord in your life and as you do I know you will be blessed even more and you know even more of how god helps you.

Elder Davis

Ps I've drank more soda especially Pepsi here than any other time in my life. They love it and any time they have the missionary's over they have it.

1st area week one!

Hello every one!

    So sorry I didn't get a chance to email last week. My transfer to the field landed on my normal Pday in the Manila MTC. A lot has happened here this last two weeks. I'll start last week in the MTC. So I told everyone about my "investigator" sister Jing Fey so she was having a rough time and we didn't know what to do but after a very good lesson led by the spirit we return  to find that she had turned her life around dumped her boyfriend and got a job she then committed to baptism. This just confirmed the need for the spirit in our lessons and for the guiding power  it has in everything even in a practice investigators teaching. Then the rest of the week was just any week in the MTC we all had a good time but then Tuesday came. Tuesday night we got to try balut a dish that is very common here it is a duck egg that is fertilized duck egg that the duck has started growing they then cook it and serve it just like a hard boiled egg. To be honest it tasted like a hard boiled egg to. Then we left for the field the next day at 5:30 so we got up at 4:30 and had breakfast jumped on a bus spent 4 hours on a bus and went to San Fernando where the mission home is. 

      We spent the day in an orientation then spent the night in the Assistance to the presidents house the next day we met our Trainers. My trainers name is Elder Sefuentes. He's a native Filipino. But get this My first area, and me and my companion are opening a new area. Missionaries have been here in the past but not for a few months. The hard part is the Philippines have absolutely no address  system so we can't locate any of the old investigators so we are starting from scratch. The members here are amazing though we have talked to several of them the branch here is small only about 150 active members but the spirit with the ones we have met are amazing. This just testifies to me to me that you don't need to be in a very popular area of the church to have the spirit of the Lord. Sunday we spent the day with one of the members of the branch who led us around the area and introduced us to some of the members because right now we don't even have an area map. We were so blessed to have Sister Angle and the other two members with us they know the area and I know she was sent to help us . She herself is applying for a mission being a convert herself from a set of other missionaries.

 It was so inspirational seeing how many of the members here are converts the church is still really new and some of the members of the branch are the first members of the branch and seeing their faith is amazing.

  This week we have been non stop calling people and I don't mean on the phone. Instead of knocking on doors 

here you stand at where the door would be if they have a door and yell Tao Po which translated means People

 Respectfully. Through this we have taught many people and me and my companion plan on returning and checking
up on some of them this week. I know that we were guided to some of them and maybe some of them are ready and maybe
me and my companion are just one out of 8 positive

 interactions that they needed with missionaries. 

     This Saturday and Sunday we watched conference Saturday we had to take a 2 hour bus ride to the stake 

center to watch it but Sunday we were in the local chapel which is only a trike ride away a trike is literally a motor

 bike and a side car they are the main form of transportation here. But conference was amazing I felt the spirit 

and I learned so much. I look forward to 2 hours of church it will be so much easier for members and investigators

 to attend now especially in my area where people mostly live off the land .

    My message this week comes from 2 Nephi 42

42 And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that 

are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—

yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and 

consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will 

not open unto them. 

I know that if you come unto Christ and ask he will answer you

Elder Davis

(Ethan shared this experience with his Dad about eating the fish... in the picture I posted last time...)

No guts but head and all. That wasn't the one we bit the head off the one we ate the head off looked almost like
 a trout.They were good actually just tasted like crunchy bacon. We had a challenge to see who could stair down 
the fish and bite off the head we almost died of laughter at the way some elders did it.

And this is his reply to questions about laundry.. (We had heard many wash their clothes on rocks..)

No we have a bucket that we do it in if we do it by hand. but we have a washing machine I probably wont use it
 (it is too slow and doing it by hand is faster)
He also told his sister that they are showering with a bucket... 

From the Mission President

Dear Family and Friends,

We were delighted with the arrival of your missionary, Elder Davis, here in the Baguio Mission on 10 Oct 2018 .  He is excited about his mission and enthusiastic about entering the Lord’s service in this area. He has had an orientation session and is now serving in his first assignment with a trainer.

Your missionary is assigned in Balaoan  in Bacnotan Zone. The enclosed map will enable you to locate this area and follow each future transfer. We have also enclosed photos taken at the Mission Home.

We urge you to write your missionary regularly each week. Include encouraging news of family events and achievements, spiritual experiences and other matters which will bring joy and deeper commitment.  Omit mention of family problems or other matters which can only bring worry or concern.

May I point out that Missionaries serve with an eye single to the Glory of God. This means that their focus is entirely on the work of the ministry and they do this with great intensity.  Please do not mention how much time they have remaining to serve nor special things you may have planned to do with them when they return home as it will only distract their attention from their service to the Lord

This is a wonderful country and your missionary is in for one of the greatest experiences of his life. With your support and encouragement he will mature and progress beyond your expectations. He will develop a great love for the Filipino people. The people here have great love and respect for the missionaries as they strive to teach a better way of life.

We appreciate the opportunity to work with your missionary. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you or Elder Davis .  We love your missionary and want this mission to be a great experience for your entire family. If you have any concerns about the health or welfare of the missionary, please send an email to 2011646@ldschurch.org.

Sincerely,

President Bangal

Philippines Baguio Mission

Arriving in the field!

We didn't get a letter from Ethan this week other than....
I am here I will email more on p-day.... But his mission president sent this picture our for all the new missionaries that arrived on Tuesday. This week has been a quietly emotional one for me (mom). So this picture was very welcome!

Week 2 in the Philippines MTC

Hello every one 

This week has been short but its just the way the Manila MTC set it up for the new missionary's here. Anyways even with it being short so much has happened this week. A lot of people have been asking about the food so I will answer that question. The food here is amazing I have had a lot of native food here so a lot of rice but I love it. Last Thursday night we had a full fish and ate them head and all. We have had all sorts of great dishes. I absolutely love it. 

           The people here are amazing. On Sunday We got an opportunity to go and spend a hour and a half on the temple grounds. I got to talk to the native Filipinos and it was amazing. They are so nice and so happy. Literally everything makes them laugh it was the best. They taught me a lot about both the culture and the language then when I went to leave a few of them asked for a picture with me, that led to the rest of them asking for a picture , which led to one giant group picture with a bunch of natives and my entire district and a few others.

         Last P-day I got to spend some time in the Manila temple and do an endowment session. For those who don't know the endowment is one of the ordinances members perform in the temple. The best way to explain it with how little we can say about it due to the sacred nature of it is given on LDS.org "When you joined the Church, you received two ordinances—baptism and confirmation. Likewise, the temple endowment is also received in two parts:

In the first part, you will privately and individually receive a preliminary ordinance called the initiatory ordinance. The initiatory ordinance includes special blessings regarding your divine heritage and potential.

In the second part, you will receive the remainder of your endowment in a group setting along with others who are attending the temple. During this part, the plan of salvation is presented, including the Creation of the world, the Fall of Adam and Eve, the Atonement, the Apostasy, and the Restoration, as well as instruction on how all people can return to the presence of the Lord. Some of the endowment is presented through video and some by temple officiators." 

                If you are interested to learn more you can email you and I'll answer as best as I can or you can read more on HERE. So I got the amazing opportunity to go and perform endowments in the Manila temple. It is actually really small each endowment room only holds like 25 people per endowment room, however it is absolutely beautifully inside everything is so ornate and amazing. The spirit there was so strong and I leaned so much. 

        Our teachers here are so amazing, literally the brother never stops smiling. I look out the window in the door and I see him looking in and he just has such a big smile. The sister is so sincere about everything I can feel her love for us and for everything we are doing. We are teaching them as "investigators." They have chosen an investigator from there mission and they portray them and then we have to teach them. The investigator me and my companion have been teaching is somewhat of a hard case but it has made me grow stronger as I try to find ways to help her see our love and Gods love for her and the importance of faith in her life. I have come to love her and feel of Gods love for her and how much he wants her to come unto him and partake of the blessings of the Gospel. I am constantly praying to find ways to help her. 

      In my last brief email I mentioned giving a Book of Mormon out in the airport and I got lots of questions about that so let me explain a little bit. The entire 13 hour plain ride any time I was not sleeping I was studying the scriptures or language. While I did that I was constantly praying to know who on the plane the Lord would have me talk to and share the Gospel. I was feeling no strong urge or promptings to talk to anyone. Then at the end as we were leaving a brother came up to me and asked me about our beliefs about the Bible vs the Book of Mormon I shared with him that we believed that the Book of Mormon was a book translated by the power and authority of God and that because of that it was completely correct. I explained that we also believe the Bible to  be true but due to the fact that it had been translated so many times by so many people without the power or authority of God that there were some things missing and not translated right, because of that the Bible was missing some of the beautiful truths that the Book of Mormon has. We had a talked for 15 minutes waiting to get off the plane and as we left I felt that now I needed to give him a book of Mormon. I quickly dug the one I always carry with me highlighted Moroni 10 :4-5 I read the verse to him and extended the challenge to read the book of Mormon and to pray to know if is true. The man accepted the Book of Mormon and said he would and we parted ways.

       The thought that I would leave with you is 2 Nephi 9 : 21-22

21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.

22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.

I would invite you to take advantage of this and come unto Christ and look to him to help you in the hard times as well as in the easy times he can help you in all things and I would invite you to use that and come closer to him

Elder Davis

PS I attached pictures because google drives is blocked there are some pictures of our rooms they are so much nicer here