Week 5 Philippines -Part 2 - He's still alive :) Monday 11:18 pm!!

Hello everyone! 
This was one of the longest and hardest weeks of my mission. 
My companion was going home and so him and my district leader were just being totally trunky. It was really hard and I wouldn't have cared if it didn't have anything to do with me. But it did and so I had to do something to make it right. I was doing my best to be obedient, but those kind of situations just kind of drag you into the middle of it so I found myself stuck in the mire. 
After thinking about it and praying about it I decided that the best thing that I could do for myself, and for the other two, would be to tell the mission president. So that's what I did last Monday. And I felt better and consigned myself to endless woe again for the next week until my companion left on Tuesday. Well that all changed when the mission president assigned the Zone Leader's to investigate if what I was saying was true...
On Saturday morning, my companion and the District Leader got up at 7:00 and went to the internet cafe. At 8:15, the Zone Leader's showed up asking where everyone was... Haha it was super awkward and they just sat with me while the other two were gone and the District Leader's companion was still sleeping. When they all came back, they were shocked. And as you can imagine, very upset with me. They said that I stabbed them in the back and didn't even give them a warning. The funny thing is is that I have spoken with BOTH of them multiple times about the things that were going on and nothing changed. What else was I do to? 
Well, needless to say, they didn't want to speak with me. So I just went about my business as usual. My companion called and spoke to the mission president and then went to his room for an hour or so and then came down and forgave me. He was really cool. The District Leader wasn't so good about it though. He still isn't talking to me. It's okay though. He is getting transferred tomorrow so I only have to endure another day. The sad thing is is that I have to stay in this area and only Filipinos are coming and I heard that they don't speak too much English.. We'll see how things go.. 
We did have a baptism this week which was exciting. The service was good and we had a fun activity after. The thing that I learned this week is that we must always be on guard. If we are being obedient and doing what is right, we have nothing to fear. There is no threat of getting "stabbed in the back." I am grateful for the way that I was raised. I have never been a rule-breaker and I have always been pretty cautious and I can see those blessings now on my mission. Thanks Mom and Dad! 
Love you all!
Elder Head



Thank goodness for technology and smartphones :)  Last night about 11:30pm I get an email saying, Hello?? Aww....what a relief! Ryan was still alive :) We asked if he'd been transferred and he said no but his companion had gone home. He laughed (well... as good as you can laugh through typing) and said "I'm the senior companion, but I don't know the area very well or the language...."
They are hoping to get back to India by the first week in September but we'll see. The batch of Americans that came before Ryan's batch was supposed to be back in India the first week in August but are not....  Ryan's new comp is Filipino and he said he heard he doesn't speak English really.....He said, "if he doesn't speak English I don't know what I will do. I literally might go insane. I even thought of trying to learn the language like John Groberg did in the movie,The Other Side of Heaven. Just reading and cross-referencing the Book of Mormon in Tagalog and English.....haha!!  It was so great to email with him back and forth! As always, Jeff was able to give him great advice and was a great sounding board as he too had some similar missionary experiences. We are grateful to be able to email back and forth with him as it gives us all that extra boost needed to push through a difficult situation. We love you Elder Head!!!