Birthday Boy

Yo Family and friends!

 

Is it me, or does he look like a giant in this picture?

So first off, thanks for all the birthday wishes.  Just normal missionary work.  Really nothing to exciting for my birthday.  haha A member gave me a pretty cool pair of shorts which was cool! Hahaha Then we have an elderly couple serving out here and they brought me a red velvet cupcake.  It was amazing cause it was Americanized and not made with rice! Hahaha  So that was super delicious!!!!  But other then that, not really much happened this week on my birthday.  I don't freaking understand the Filipino culture here.  When it is your birthday, you are supposed to buy stuff for everyone else and treat everyone to really good food.  I was like what the freak is that crap.  That's like the complete opposite of birthdays in America where everyone brings you really good stuff and buys you stuff.  So I said no to that. I wasn't going to do that.  haha  But I did buy some stuff and we made spaghetti, which is like a heavenly food here.  So that was pretty much my birthday.  It was fun but didn't really feel like my birthday at all. I can't believe I'm 19 years old now.  Woah I'm getting so old!! 

 

This is a REAL Kevin!  This isn't the one we sent to him!  I didn't realize this at first!

So first I'll answer your questions.  We have someone doing our laundry.  So I'm lucky there! It's nice not having to do it at all cause there are no machines at all.  Everything here is just done by hand.  Like literally nothing is machine operated at all.  So it's definitely weird but cool at the same time!! 

 

We are going down to Cabanatuan later today because tomorrow we have our last conference with President Martino.  I'm really gonna miss him.  He is definitely like the most amazing man ever.  When he speaks, I swear Jesus Christ is talking to you. He is so sanctified.  I have theories about visions he has had, but I won't get into that.   hahaha  But this is going to be a crazy week cause the new president is coming in and everything is gonna be changing.  Well, maybe, I have no idea!! 

 

Those are the shorts a member gave him for his birthday.

This last week we got some people on baptism dates.  If you could pray for a girl named Maylene, that would be great!  She is progressing so well and knows that this church is true.  But it's hard cause she is always gone for school.  She is supposed to be getting baptized on the 5th of July!  So keep her in your prayers!!  That would be great!  Also keep that family in your prayers.  The mom keeps coming to church, but the kids are just makulit and wont listen and come!!  Even though they live the gospel, they just don't come to church!!!  I haven't gotten your package yet so I guess you don't love me but thats ok. :p Hahaha  Just kidding!  Just remember the church is true and you guys make good choices and also congrats on the diet and losing weight! Love you guys!!

Baptism and fun

 

So this last week was a good week!! I'll start off by talking about the baptism that happened!!! We didn't do it in the ocean, but that's okay it was good!! He was so excited to be baptized even though he was only like a little kid.  He just really wanted to be baptized.  He has great family support so that was good!!!  

 

This last week we have been focusing on that Carbonel family still.  I don't know if they will get baptized in this month or not.  But they have great potential.  Keep them in your prayers and that would be great!!  

 

We are really making sure that our investigators try to actually understand what we are teaching cause the Filipinos are too nice sometime and just say yes to whatever we ask them or anything.  So they just don't understand sometimes.  So it's frustrating but it's good cause I actually have patience now! I know crazy right? Hahaha  But ya the meetings this week were good!! I did get to eat McDonald's which was like the greatest thing ever.  I loved it and was so happy!! 

 

So the meeting itself was great, I learned quite a bit even though I've had the meeting before.  I learned about how just really aligning your self with god and really miracles will happen!!  So that was so awesome.  Just make sure you read your scriptures greatest thing ever!!  I love it for sure!  Oh thanks for the happy birthday by the way!!  Crazy I'm like 19 years old now.  Woah that goes by so fast... I'm so old..... So for the p day thing we did we went to that great big waterfall again.  It was okay.  We got to go closer to the falls cause the water wasn't as high. But nothing to exciting.  Transfers is this week but no one is gonna be transferring.  I'm 99.99% sure because I'm training... so that's nothing to exciting, but who knows.... haha  Well nothing to extreme this week!!  Just my birthday upcoming and then more missionary work!!  I love you guys!!  Make good choices and remember that the gospel is true!!  Love you all!! (:

Talaga

Yo pamilya, tsaka mga kaibigan, kumusta po kayo...(Yo family, friends Stick, how you please ...)

 

We see Kevin a lot in the pictures this week!

Bale, ang week na ito ay iyos lang, wala talaga na nangyari dito. (Mind, this week is God the only, nothing really happened here.).  That's so cool that Jessie graduated.  I didn't know if she would make it!  That's so weird she's done with high school.... woah  What the heck, time is going so fast... what on earth is she going to do with her life now?  

 

Hmmm....I think the kids like him!

So this week was an interesting week.  The baptism didn't happen.  But it's going to happen this Saturday.  He passed the interview and everything, so that was good.  This week we will have a baptism.  Maybe it will be in the ocean.  I think I'm the one that's going to be baptizing him!!  So heck ya!  I get an excuse to walk into the ocean.... that's the good news! Hahahaha  Just kidding, but it will be really good!! 

 

Keven and the Caribou!

So not much time to email but I'll let ya know about the stuff going on here!  We have been teaching a family called the Uson family.  Please keep them in your prayers.  They have such great potential but they live pretty far from the church.  So they haven't been able to come.  But they are really awesome people.  I just loving teaching them so much!!  We taught them the plan of salvation and they were really interested.  So that was super good!!!  Also another family we are teaching is the Carbonel family.  Only the mom and 1 daughter came to church yesterday.  But they have also great potential to be baptized!!  So they are really the focus.  It would be great if you could keep them in your prayers!!

 

This last week we just had normal work and nothing to exciting, but this upcoming week ill be going down to Cabanatuan for the trainers and training meeting.  That will be fun.  I'll probably get to eat at McDonald's again which is freaking awesome.  What a blessing!!  Later today we are going to the beach.  We are going to be playing games on the beach so that will be super sweet!!  Also it's at a resort, so I'll probably order some food that's Americanized.  It will be so amazingly delicious!!  I might withdraw some money again just cause I seem to spend a lot of money here.  Sorry about that!! But it's just so good!!  I also bought some shoes to walk around in for p day so that way its easier. I'm excited for that!  Crazy talaga how fast the time goes by!  I think i have like 16 months in the mission left and I got here.  I swear like yesterday.... 

 

Make sure you get the Tanner's email so I can keep in touch with him! That would be great!!  Also for James.  So i can email that Asian.... :p hahaha 

 

Kevin is reading the scriptures!

Kevin is learning the ukelele!

Oh the new mission president is coming in like 2 weeks.  So that is going to be so weird.  There's  some rumors going around of what's going to change.  But I don't feel like anything is going to really change.  Just more strict is what I'm feeling.  It's going to be a little more strict which will be pretty sweet!! So that way the freakin aso (pasaway) (disobedient) missionary's wont get away with much. Well, just remember that the church is true and that I love you guys!! Remember make good choices!!

Kevin Made it to the Philippines

So this last week....what a weird and great and awful week!!!  So first to start out, I'll start by saying Happy Birthday to Sydney!!  Tell her happy birthday from me!  And I got your package.  It was great.  It's hard for me to send anything to you guys here.  So it might be a while cause there is no where to send anything in the area I am in.  So sorry about that!! 

OK, so about this last week!  We had a meeting in Cabanatuan on Tuesday.  We learned what the topic for this month is about.  The topic for us right now is on how to become a visionary missionary and what a visionary missionary does in order to fulfill his purpose as a missionary.  Oh my gosh, I just want to say that the spirit was probably the most amazing thing in the world.  It was just like constant revelation coming into my mind and new understandings of the scriptures that I had read.  I was struggling to write it all down because it just kept piling in and in and in!  It was definitely the most amazing experience ever!!  We talked about a visionary missionary just doesn't go through the mission and never says anything.  It is not enough.  He is constantly finding new ways to improve himself and to become a better servant to the lord.  So that is what I am working on. It is when I think I have done everything that I can.  Then I go out and I do even more because that is what the mission really needs.  We need people who never say there is enough work going on.  We keep on going out and share the gospel with the people!  

After that meeting we came back to Baler.  Probably the worst ride of my life.  I had no leg room at all.  Then Wednesday, we had a meeting and just shared everything that we learned with everyone.  That was just great and went really well!!! 

So now I'll get into the bad stuff... (sorry)  So we were out proselyting Wednesday and we came to Brother Eric's house, the guy from the district.  We were teaching his family and when we arrived my foot was just like really sore.  I wasn't sure why.  So I didn't think anything of it and just taught.  After it was hard to stand.  So I kind of limped the whole way home.  I woke up in the morning and felt fine, so I went out to go work.  Everything was great, but then, when we were coming back it was hurting again.  So I kinda limped again.  Then at about 9:30, I tried to stand up and I couldn't.  I couldn't stand up at all so that was awful.  I didn't know what to do, so I took some medicine and it was okay.  But it still hurt.  So I just fell asleep and didn't worry about it.  Then Friday rolls around.  In the morning, I was completely okay.  So I was happy that I could go out and work. So we went out and worked.   At like 8:15 it was just awful.  I really limped badly all the way home.  So we got home and I laid down.  Then after a while, I tried to stand.  It was just awful.  I couldn't stand or walk at all. So I called our zone leaders and they had the mission presidents wife call us.  I talked to her and let her know what was going on and how I couldn't like walk at all.  She told me to take a lot of medicine and then get a priesthood blessing.  So I asked my companion and he gave me one.  That night was the most painful night of the mission.  I really thought at times I was gonna have to get surgery cause we didn't know what was happening.  I woke up Saturday morning and it was like nothing happened at all. It was completely okay.  I couldn't feel the pain at all.  I was so grateful for the power of prayer and the power of a priesthood blessing.  It was the most amazing thing ever.  It went from thinking I needed to be hospitalized to having no pain.  All because of the power of the priesthood and the power of prayer.  So it was just another testimony builder to me that if we truly involve the Lord in what we do, then he will bless us in so many ways!  So don't you guys ever forget that!!  That is the most important thing.  To involve the Lord in everything we are doing!!  

Sunday we actually had 4 people come to church that were our investigators .  A family of 3 and a part member kid! T hat was really cool.  The kid is getting baptized Saturday.  The family of 3 hopefully will be on the 28th of June!!!!  Keep them in your prayers!!  Their names are the Carbonel Family.  It would be great if you guys could pray for them!!  

Kevin!!!

As for P day today we aren't really doing anything at all.  Just relaxing cause everyone is just exhausted.  So sorry, no exciting pictures!!  But I did get your package.  I took a picture with Kevin for Jessie!!  (This is an inside joke.  Jessie bought a fake pigeon at Walmart once and named him Kevin.  It was Jessie's "mascot."  And it went in the package to the Philippines!)  I'm gonna make a collage with pictures of Kevin then send it home for Christmas hopefully. hahahaha  So that has been my week!! remember that the church is true!! Love you all!!

Elder Pogi

More Kevin!!