7th week in the Philippines already??

It is hard to believe that Elder Head is beginning his 7th week in the Philippines! They say time flies when you're having fun.....at least these last couple of weeks he has been having fun :)  Ryan emailed us last night at 11:58....and when I asked why they get to the Internet cafe so late he told us that he has to do all of his laundry by hand and it takes 3 hours!! Good times :)  It appears that 14 months into your mission your emails get even shorter :)
Maybe when he get back to India and uses washing machines again we'll get more info from him. The batch of missionaries that left before Ryan for visa renewal returned to India last week.....we hope this means Ryan and his batch mates will follow, shortly thereafter :)
He's his brief update:

Hello everyone! 

Well, things here in the Philippines are good.. I just really miss my mission. I really want to go back to India. 

We had stake conference this week and that was good. It was all about missionary work and how important that it is that the members and missionaries work together to reach the Lord's goal and expectations. 

The interesting part of this week was that a typhoon hit the Philippines and everything got super flooded! Our area was soaked and so Tuesday we had to stay inside because of the flood and Wednesday and Thursday we were out helping those members and investigators that were affected by the flood. That was pretty cool!

Sorry that this week's letter is short. But things are good here. I still don't know Tagalog. Haha. 

Bye!! 

Elder Head

Happier in the Philippines!!

Hello everyone!! 
Well.. The Philippines ain't so bad after all!!! Haha! 
    My companion is Elder Olbes from Duvao!  He speaks English so we have nothing to worry about! Haha he has been out for about 11 months and will hit his year mark next month. He just finished training an American Elder so it isn't too weird for him to have to speak English a lot and do a lot of translating, which is good for me. He is a super awesome companion. He is really quiet, but he is very obedient. And that makes me more happy than anything. I love that he just wants to work. 
    This week was a way good week! I was a little bit nervous that it would be a disastrous first week for the transfer because I didn't know the area at all, but it turns out that I knew more than I gave myself credit for because I got us around the area just fine! We talked about it and we decided that the best way for us to go forward is to work through the ward council and the members. Tracting isn't a good thing for us because my companion is super shy and I don't know Tagalog so working through the members is super important.. Does anyone have some good ideas as to an effective way to get referrals? I think the best way to learn how to get referrals is to ask some members, so if any one can help that would be awesome! 
    My companion and I were able to go to Ward Council Meeting and talk with the ward council about the missionary work that is going on and we took about twenty minutes giving a detailed report from our side about what was going on in the ward. One of the ward missionaries turned to me after we sat down and said that the ward is excited that they have missionaries that are taking things serious. The past missionaries had good relationships with the ward, but weren't doing anything serious for about a year now. So we gained their trust and we hope to run with it! 
    It's amazing the turn-around that has happened for me. I was so miserable last week, but now I think that I might actually miss serving here in the Philippines! Our new chapel for my ward opens this week and that makes us very excited because before it took about an hour to get to church, so it was hard for our less-actives and investigators to come to church, but now it will only take about twenty minutes to get to, so we are really hoping to get some serious work going on up in here! 
    Well, that's all for my weekly report this week. Love you! 
Elder Head

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!!!

Philippines-week 5.....didn't get an email

We didn't get an email last night....maybe transfers? 

Week 4 -Philippines

Hello everyone! 
    This week was a pretty boring week! My companion and I got into a few spats this week and so he decided that he can't go out if he doesn't have the Spirit, so needless to say we spent a lot of time in the apartment this week. I am just so excited for him to finish his mission. He finishes next week and Monday will be our last day together. I like him as a person, but he is just too much for me. 
Haha I'm sorry that this week is going to be a boring letter... Just not too much went on! 
    We were able to go to the temple this past week and I am super happy because I didn't realize how much I missed it! You guys at home are super lucky and I'm jealous of you! In the session, the three missionaries that I was sitting next to just slept and it made me so angry! The people in India would give anything to have a temple and here they have one, but the missionaries don't even appreciate what they have. It was super frustrating and made me realize how blessed we are in the U.S. 
    It's been a little bit of a roller coaster time here in the Philippines and I can't wait to get back to India and work! 
Love you! 
Elder Head

Week 3 in the Philippines....2 p-days this week :)

Hello everyone! 

Thanks for all the emails of love and support! It makes me happy and I feel blessed knowing that so many people are rooting for me on the other side of the world! 

    This week was a much better week for me. At the same time it was still a very good learning experience. I don't know if I told you, but my companion is going home in three weeks and so he kind of has no desire to do the work. Monday through Thursday, all we did was go to the internet cafe. All he wants to do is play World of Warcraft. So I can't let him go alone and so I would follow him there and watch him play. It was the worst 4 days of my entire mission. I didn't do anything wrong, but I knew that we were wasting our time and were not doing the things that we should be doing. 

    Each day I would study from the Doctrine and Covenants afterward to try and feel better towards my companion and the things that he wanted to do and I would feel some peace, but none that would keep the guilty feelings away. Thursday night I finally decided that something needed to be said. I knelt down and prayed that he would understand and then I went to talk to my companion. To my amazement, he totally agreed that what he was doing was wrong and expressed a desire to change. We talked and set some goals and made some plans as to what we could do to change and I felt really good! 

    The next day he had his exit temple trip and so he was gone the whole day, but Saturday he woke up and told me that it was not going to happen, that he was too tired. I was so sad and disappointed. We really bonded and I felt close to him on Thursday night and I thought we made a lot of progress. I decided to read the D&C again.. I've become quite the D&C scholar.. ;) haha but I had the opportunity to read D&C 76. That inspired me so much and I felt the Spirit so strongly and that made me feel better. I decided that after I finish the D&C that I will start to read the Old Testament. I figured that over the next three weeks I would have lots of free time. Right after that my companion came downstairs and apologized and started to get ready to go outside. 

    I was so happy! It's not a perfect or even ideal situation that I am in right now, but I am eternally grateful for the lessons that I have learned the last three weeks. It's interesting that the hardest times lead to the most blessings! ;) haha but I have learned a lot about the Law of Consecration. My district leader assigned me to give the training in District Meeting and that is what I talked about. Consecrating ourselves to the Lord should be each of our goals in life. That is what will lead us to eternal life. It's the only sure shot. My favorite example of that is Nephi and Lehi in Helaman 3:35. And the blessings are in Helaman 5:18-19. 

    I'm grateful for the opportunities that I have each day to learn and grow. My time here in the Philippines is the time that I have to personally learn and grow and I try each day to do just that. 

Love you!

Elder Head

We finally were able to email back and forth with Ryan last night :). He indicated that he forced his companion to go earlier to the Internet cafe.....we were so grateful! They get 2 p-days this week! They are going to the temple on Tuesday which will be so great for him. I can't wait chat with him tomorrow too :)  He is really working hard to find the positives from his time spent waiting for his visa renewal and said that this is the first time that he's really felt homesickness. I'm sure that this is because of his time watching his companion at the Internet cafe all week. He kept reassuring us that his companion was a good guy but just not focused on missionary work. We continue to pray for a speedy renewal process for him so he can return to India and do the work that he was sent there to do :)  We love you Elder Head!! ❤❤❤

Ugh....the Philippines!!

One thing that we were excited about Ryan going to the Philippines was that they are 14 hours ahead of us here in Utah. We thought this would mean that we would get his emails earlier on Sunday evening and we could email back and forth with him more awake :) This hasn't happened in the 2 weeks that he's been there.....he sends them at 3:30am instead. We just thought that perhaps they wait until p-day is almost over before they hit the Internet cafe.....until we got his letter at 3:30 this morning. I looked over at my phone on the nightstand and saw that he'd emailed and quickly read it. Needless to say my heart was just aching and I just wished that I would have seen it earlier so I could have chatted a bit with him. What a helpless feeling it is to have read his letter and wishing that I could call or better yet fly over to there and comfort him. Neither option was available so the next best thing was to shed tears and offer prayers in his behalf, which I did for the next couple of hours :)  What a blessing it is to have the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is always there for us! I am grateful that Ryan is obedient and loves sharing the gospel with those eager to listen. We pray that his visa renewal process goes quickly.....or he gets different companions too :) 

I loved the scripture that he made reference to in his letter in Alma 17:11

"And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands onto the salvation of many souls."

Here's his latest letter.....

Hello everyone! 

Thanks so much for all the emails and letters! It's those things that really keep us going. 

    Uh.. I really don't like being here. The Philippines is a cool place, but I am an India Bangalore missionary and not a Philippine Quezon City Missionary. I am just not cut out for the type of work that they do here. The people in my house just have no desire to do missionary work and the schedule is just stupid. They don't start proselyting until 1:00 PM. So I have really developed a love of the scriptures. I still wake up at 6:30 even though no one else in my house gets up and I get ready by 8:00, still alone. I do my studies alone until about 10:30 and that's when they get up and begin to make lunch. After they prepare, we eat at about 11:00 and then they all sleep again until about 12:00 and then they start to slowly get ready. We don't end up leaving until about 2:00 and proselyte for a few hours before my companion gets trunky and then our day is finished usually around 6:00. I have never been so frustrated in my entire life. Yet I just bottle it up and do my best to be obedient and do what I can.

    Yesterday was a bad day for me. Church was in Tagalog and so I don't understand anything. Everyone tries to tell me to learn but my companion has no desire to teach me and so that is not an option. And I just had a feeling of despair. Why was I here? Why did Heavenly Father send me to this mission? I had so much doubt and I was just really frustrated. I could not think of a purpose for my being here, until I looked through my study journal and I found that I had found an answer a few days before in my daily Book of Mormon reading. It is Alma 17:11. That brought some peace to me. After that I had this feeling to read the scriptures and so that's what I did. 

     Lately in my abundant free time I have been studying the Doctrine and Covenants and while I was reading I just had this sick feeling like I was unsure if God was there. Why would He send me somewhere that I was incapable of doing His work. Why would He intentionally send me somewhere that I would struggle and have such a hard time? In this moment of doubt, a little question that my companion had asked me earlier popped into my head. "Have you taken it to the Lord?" This really struck me. I never had. I had never had any doubt. But I knew that that was what I needed to do. So that's what I did. In my moment of despair, I dropped to my knees and just poured my heart out to my Heavenly Father. And after I finished I just knelt there at my study table, waiting for an answer. It never came. 

    At this point I just decided to continue studying my scriptures and as I did so I just had this amazing feeling of peace and warmth spread all over my body. I know that God is there and the He loves me. I know that I am never alone that He is always there for us. I am so grateful for the trials that I am facing. I don't know why I am facing them, but I know that they are for my own good and I will continue to do my best and leave the rest to Him. 

Love,

Elder Head