Philippines 10-27-13

Hello everyone! 

This week was a little bit of an uneventful week for us.. A lot of hard work and we had Zone Interviews with President Revillo!

On Thursday we had Zone Interviews with President Carlos Revillo. President and Sister Revillo are both from the Philippines and they are the first native Filipino's to preside over the Philippines Quezon City Mission, which is usually done by a foreigner. President worked abroad in Hong Kong and so his family all speaks really good English. He is actually younger than Dad which is pretty crazy that he is serving as a mission president. It is really cool. I like him. 

My interview was pretty standard. He told me that the reason our visas are taking so long is because the Indian government just switched their procedures for visas and so the most ineffiecient government in the whole world has to try to implement a whole new system.. President said that they were expecting us to leave three weeks ago, but they are just taking us day to day. Because of the new system, they aren't sure when we will get our visas.. yay.. 

Haha so that's all the big news! We worked hard this weekend and had 3 investigators at church and 8 less-actives. It was really good. A few weeks ago they made the Ward Mission Plan for the 2013 year (in October) haha and so the Bishopric has been going on visits and so they have been crucial in helping people come back to church. 

That's it for this week. Keep up the good work everyone! The church is true! 

Love,

Elder Head

Philippines still :)

Hello everyone! 
I forgot to write a few things last week that I'll include in this weeks. Conference was awesome. There were a lot of technical difficulties, which doesn't surprise me at all, but other than that it was awesome. I really loved the talks in the Priesthood session and my favorite talk was by Richard G. Scott about the fathers of the Stripling Warriors and the power of the Atonement. That is one thing that I have really come to appreciate is the power of the Atonement. 
This has been a really tough time for me waiting here in the Philippines. I have had more struggles and trials than I ever have had in my life and it has been tough. But even through all those times, there have been two constants that have really helped me to overcome the trials -- my family and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As I have the opportunity to study each morning, my latest studies have been marking scriptures that refer to the Atonement of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon, and learning from Preach My Gospel on things that I need to do to improve and become better.
I'm grateful for the refining moments I've had. Is it hard? Yes. Is it a struggle? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. I have felt the love of my Savior on my mission and I know that this work is true. I know that the Savior has stood in my place, has felt my pains and the weight of the troubles of my soul, and that gives me solace. I don't worry about when I go back anymore. I try to focus on why I'm here. I try to refine and improve in hopes of returning, but that is not the driving factor for me anymore. I do the things I do for the Savior and because I want one day to hear Heavenly Father tell me, "Behold my son, in whom I am well pleased." 
I'm grateful for this gospel and the healing power that it has. I have seen tormented souls and troubled pasts washed away and made clean as they accept the healing of the Savior's Atonement. For those who are struggling, for those who have trials and problems, for those who feel they have lost hope -- don't. Always remember that there is Someone there who understands, whose arms are always wide open to accept and comfort, to heal and bring peace. I know that my Redeemer lives and that He loves me. A lot. 
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Elder Head

Still safe in the Philippines :) - he's officially been there 3 months!

Hello everyone! 
Sorry for the late email.. I know that Mom was having a heart-attack when I didn't email on Monday... But when Tuesday came around.. I thought for sure that she would be on a plane over here to Manila to come find me... Haha but luckily she doesn't know how to find me here, so... :) 
I'M STILL HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES. 
It has officially been three months since I first came here to wait for my visa. It took me about this much time the first time around, so it isn't unexpected, however it is inconvenient. I get emails from all my Indian friends and it makes me miss India! I like being here because I have met a LOT of really cool people and I have had unforgettable experiences, but I want to have more experiences like that in my assigned mission... :) 
This week was okay. Nothing too exciting happened this week. We are actually supposed to leave for India this week, but that is what they have said for two weeks in a row now, so we kind of don't really believe them anymore. I went on exchange with the ZL's this week and we tracted for like 5 hours. I don't like tracting. It isn't useful in India so we don't do it very often, but here they do it a lot. It is so awkward! But sometimes it is necessary... Well.. Not too much else happened this week... 
Pray for my visa! Fast if you want! Haha 
Love you! 

Elder Head

Elder Head aka well digger.....the Philippines week 13 :)

Hello everyone! 
How was Conference? Any big news announcements? Any new temples? We get to watch Conference this week and so I don't know anything about what is going on! It was just a year ago that I was sitting in the little chapel in my very first area watching Conference with some of my converts... How I miss those days! 
I'm still here in the Philippines. That's okay. It has been a really fun and interesting experience. How many people can say that they legitimately served in two missions for more than a few months? That has been a really cool blessing. I have learned a lot by experience and also from differences that I have noticed between this mission and ours. I have learned a lot and I am very grateful for the blessings and experience that I have gained.
This week was an okay week. We are still trying to figure out how exactly to work the area. Our area is pretty small and only one out of the three of us knows Tagalog, so tracting is kind of out of the question. One thing that has worked so far has been working through our Area Book with former investigators and part-members. I am a firm believer in teaching part-member families because that is where I have seen a lot of success on my mission. We found 12 new investigators this week, so let's hope that things keep getting better! 
We did a service project for a family and we dug a well! But none of the 5 of us actually know how to dig wells, so it was like an hour of digging and then two hours of fixing what we had dug. Haha they wanted the well to be the width of two cement blocks, but we decided that it would look better at about the width of 5... Haha but it is their fault for asking missionaries to do it and not professionals! 
It has been fun. But I will be so happy to go back to India, especially because I miss Indian FOOD. 
Love you! 

Elder Head

Well Diggers??

No! They're missionaries :)

Pondering??

Declaring...

Waiting!!