Baliw Siya

Hello everyone! 

So I am sorry to say that there is not much to say this week... It just starting to get to that point when everything starts getting the same every single week and not much changes because I have been in the same area!

Transfers is on March 13, and at the point I might be transferred but I am not sure if I will be I might go 6 months in this area! phew! thats a long time but thats okay, I really like this area, and I will be sad when I have to go, but I am excited to experience new things. 

I had my first Invterview has a District Leader and it was really awesome! so spiritual! This was a kid who was 13 years old and reminded me so much like Joseph Smith, his story was just like Joseph Smiths. It was remarkable to see the Spirit hit him so strongly and have such a strong testimony about the church! He told me that everyone needs to be baptized and how critical it is that we keep doing what we are doing. Then after asking him why he wanted to be baptized and sharing with me for 20min he asked me a question that I didn't think he would ask. He asked me how did I come to know the truth that the church was true. It was a really powerful experience and I am very excited for him and for his baptism. I believe he will be a leader in the Church here in the Philippines, and serve a great mission. 

Then something funny just to throw in real quick. One of the Investigators of the Zone Leaders proposed to one of our Sisters by letter. We didn't give her the letter we read the letter because we all ready know this guy is a little bit creepy, and he just confesses his love for this sister and how he has a ring for her and want to have kids with her and the whole 9 yards! Baliw Siya! ( He's crazy!) yeah we were just freaking out, and couldn't believe this guy, he has only seen the sister once! So that will be fun for the Zone leaders to deal with haha! 

Sorry everyone, next time I will make sure to have a better e-mail! Love you all and miss ya! 

-Elder Kikel

A Sister in our Ward made this for us. All of us Elders in Lucena! 

My captain Moroni statue!

Thats my desk... oooo.. aaaahhh...

Me and my previous Zone Leaders. Elder Inlayo on the left, he is from Canada but was born in the Philippines. Elder Boyd on the right and he is from Sandy, Utah. He recently just became the new AP in our mission. 

Look at this delecious food I made! (Instagram) 

Us goof balls!

Our Jerseys' that we made in Lucena! Lucenites!

 Me and one of our Investigators Johnathan. ( He use to be a Gangster)

Like a boss. Rice for Dinner.

Elder Strobelt enjoying himself a snack.

The Work Continues

Okay here we are in the land of the Philippines reporting more and more action week by week.

How many e-mails will have have by the end of my mission?

First off, I just want to say that everyone who is sending me letters from home, I am receiving them and I love reading them, they make me smile! I won't be able to send letters back home just because it is soo expensive to send a letter oversees and it takes a lot out of our support that we shouldn't be spending. So i am sorry that I am not writing letters back but I am receiving them and I do read them! Thank you for all of your support and love I really do appreciate it!

Anyways so to start off this weeks e-mail I have been called as a District Leader here in the Lucena. it was pretty random actually because it is half way through the transfer and we all ready had a District Leader, but some crazy things went down and I got a call on Thursday from the APs and they just told me that I am the new District Leader and just to jump right into it haha so okay now I am the new District Leader! I am pretty excited, honestly I have been kind of waiting for this experience. I have been told that Its not to bad, and it is really fun. I just have to report numbers to higher authorities conduct District Meetings, and go on exchanges with everyone in my District. So that sounds pretty fun to me! Looking forward to it!

So the results from  our week of Exact obedience was pretty successful we saw many blessings, and a more sensitivity to the spirit this last week. We had a lot a cool things happen that were just plain weird, but we knew that it came from our desire to be exactly obedient. Of course we are not perfect and towards the end of the week it turned back into our normal routine, which is still obedient of course but we just kind of lost the focus of being exactly obedient! Which wasn't good, but after this week we have a stronger desire to be more obedient as missionaries!

Here was a pretty cool experience:

So we were tracting houses and we came across the 17 year old, and we were just talking to him about the restoration and how it can help him and stuff like that, and after I got done talking to him I asked how he feels about what we have said, and this is what he said to me in English. " honestly man, I can't understand a thing your saying." WELL there goes my confidence in my language skills.... hahahah I laughed pretty hard, the kid speaks perfect English. So I try again in Tagalog to share a little bit about the restoration, saying pretty much the exact same thing. I then again asked him to tell me how he felt about what I was saying and he said, once again in English. " okay... now I feel like i want to go to your church." haha what the heck! ha it was cool to see the spirit hit him and help him realize our purpose. He didn't come to church but we are going to try and follow up with him.

This last week lesson wise, and numbers wise was the same but just with more spirituality, which helped a lot. It ended pretty sad though which wasn't fun to deal with but our Investigators Sisters Anabel and Elinor who were suppose to be baptized January 25 are just going downhill and were probably going to have to drop them here pretty soon. They say they know everything is true, and they read, and pray everyday. But they just want the baptisms to be "THE DAY"and they are just not ready to prepare for that because they have family problems, and they are to busy. They stopped coming to church and it just... sad. It was heart breaking to hear those words come out of their mouths. Just to see something that Elder Strobelt and I have been working so hard to help these people obtain salvation and happiness in their life, to help them be happy, and to know their savior in a more personal sense, and to see them kind of turn it down, is heartbreaking. Elder Strobelt and I pray for them everyday, and I pray for them so hard that they might be able to overcome their trials and challenges, but I guess its just not there time. So we will see what happens with them In the future.

The work must go on!!

So I can't think of anything funny that I did this week. I will try and remember to write stuff down thats funny and just plain different, to give you guys more of a laugh in my e-mails. but for now this is all I got! Thank you everyone!

-Elder Kikel

Just us Elders trying to be buff! The tall Elder next to me (Elder Crockett) is from Tacloban Mission, he is probably going to be back soon.

Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles

Well everybody its that time of week again,

 

I know I say it all the time but I swear P-day comes around so fast! It just blows my mind every time when we are reporting our numbers Sunday night going through what we need to do better and improve on, what we did good and need to continue to do. It just hits me that the next day is P-day! It's always exciting for P-Day. But, if you use your P-day right it still should be a busy day. Only sometimes do you get some time just to lay down and relax. Doesn't sound fun at first but then it kind of nice, cause then you never get to lazy.

 

So this last week has been better for me personally. Of course through the Atonement and the Lord giving my Daily Bread that I need to work day by day, I have felt peace and contentment in my life as a missionary. Upon some serious reflecting while I was in sacrament meeting, I really stepped back and looked at the big picture of what I am doing out here, and who I represent. The thoughts I had come to my mind helped me tremendously once again. It seems here in the Mission field, at least for me, that every time when you think you just can't take anymore, can't go any further, work any harder , or do anything more to improve, they Lord just oh so gently gives you a little boost of Spiritual Energy to get keep on going. I have a learned a lot these last couples weeks and I have come to a more full understanding of the Gospel and the Atonement in my life.

 

Our Mission President last week had us print off a talk by Tad R. Callister about being a consecrated missionary spoken at the MTC in 2008. Oh man was that a good talk, it has inspired me to go beyond Obedience, and to reach Exact Obedience on my mission. To be one of those missionaries who has left everything on the Alter of sacrifice, and to be eye single to the Glory of God. This is something we can not achieve instantly, it takes a lot of work and evaluation, and re-evaluation in your personal commitment to serve the Lord. Anyone who is planning to serve a mission soon should read this talk, it is really good, and will help you prepare for Missionary work. As Elder Strobelt and I were Inspired to act on the message of Tad R. Callister, and to strive to become consecrated missionaries. This week we are doing what we call a " Exact Obedience Week" were we are going to exercise every ounce of Obedience that we have to bring for the blessing from heaven to improve this part of the Lord's vineyard that he has put us in charge of. I have Faith the we will witness miracles this week if we will exercises all the we have as servants of the Lord.

 

We are going to go forth with Faith, and preach Repentance to these people. Whither the choose to accept it or not is up to them, but we will do all that we can to make sure everybody hears the Gospel! I am excited for this week, and looking forward to another year and a half of this stuff. Just imagine how much I have changed now, and I think how much I have learned, and I still have another year and a half! That is so cool, and I am so grateful for this opportunity in my life! Thank you for all the support everyone has give to me, I feel you prayers, and I love you all!

 

-Elder Kikel

Footprints

So this last week was a rough one, but instead of telling you why it was so rough I am going to tell you what I learned from it, because I think this is something we often forget to do when we go through such hard times in our lives.

Many times it is a temptation and from the natural man inside us to ask " Why me?" when faced with adversity in our lives. The worst of things can happen to the best kind of people in this world. Some are able to handle it better then others, and some just do not know what to do, or why or what purpose contains in such calamity. In our relationship to our Savior Jesus Christ who knows all of our pains, weaknesses, and strengths, we should ask him, " What can I learn from this?". This is the reason why we face such challenges in our lives, is to learn from our experiences, and to gain experience in this life that we can take with us into the next. That is why a knowledge of this Gospel is so important to us in our lives, because it is the only thing we can take with us after we leave this mortal world. Everything that happens to us in this life is for our good and our experience (D&C 122:7) God knows us better then anybody else, and he will not give us anything that we cannot handle in this life. Sometimes, believe it or not we are given these hardships, challenges, and trails  in our life from God to be tested of our Faith, and to be Humbled. ( Mosiah 23:21)

In the hardest trials, and adversity in our lives we need to always remember the Lord, our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, and his Atonement. Since he has felt all the pain, sorrow, and tears, he knows it for himself and he has compassion on those that have to go through some of those things. But we must remember to humble ourselves and to think how completely helpless, and nothing compared to his Glory we are. (Mosiah 4:11) We are absolutely nothing with out Him in our lives. Absolutely nothing... and yet we still tend to forget Him, and all that He has done for us. I find this very offensive. After everything Jesus Christ did for the entire world, and some chose to continue to reject and ignore him, well they will be brought to judgement at the last day. This is why missionary work is so important, so that we can help people to come to know the greatness of their Savior and study about his life and his teachings, and come to know him in a more personal sense. We need to always remember Jesus Christ for their is a reason he is called the Savior, he saved us. He made it possible, for all of us, to be redeemed, to be clean, and to enter into his presences and the presence of our Heavenly Father with our Families forever. Now that is a pretty sweet gift after being so disobedient all the time, that's because he loves us so much. If you really take a step back and look at the big picture, you will see that he asks of us very little compared to others like in the Book of Mormon, and the Bible.

My dearest family members, and friends. I learned that in the biggest trials of our lives there is only one place to turn, and that is the Lord. We need to remember him and his Glory and his capability to give us strength and help us through his Atonement. Humble ourselves always, and to beware of pride in our lives.

I would like to share a story that a Sister missionary shared with me that I really loved. I get emotional every time I share it. I don't know where she got it from, but if some one said it somewhere all ready I'm sorry.

"There was a young man who had a dream. His dream what about him standing on a beach with the Savior next to him. He looked at the beach and where he was at, he could see a very long shore line, with the waves coming in and out, with beautiful mountains in the background. Your classic paradise. He then thought that the beach was a representation of his life and all the things that happened to him. There were footprints in the sand, and there were two pairs of footprints. He figured one was his, and the other was the Saviors. He smiled knowing that the Savior was with him in his life. Then he saw sometimes in his life there were only one one pair of footprints, and it was at the time of greatest hardship, and struggle in his life. He then turned to the Savior and said." Why did you abandon me in my greatest time of need? When I needed you most in my life, and you weren't there?". The Savior turned to him and said," Those are not your footprints, they are mine. Those are the times in your life where I picked you up and carried you through you trails and hardships." The young man began to cry when he realized how many times there were only one pair of footprints in the sand."

I testify to you all that if you will just only take a short time each and every single day to study the life and teachings our our Savior and Redeemer, you will begin to have a personal relationship with him, stronger then you think it could be without physically being able to see him. I know that if you will do this you will feel his love, recognize his spirit, and appreciate more for everything that he has done for all mankind. As I have started to do this slowly but surely in my mission which is just about 15 min a day I have all ready felt my relationship with Him grow stronger, as long as my Faith, and Testimony. I know that this Church is true and that is stores the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, and that Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet now, in our time. I know that the Book of Mormon has the power to change lives, and that it is true, for it has changed mine. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Brother, and I say all these things humbly in his name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Phew! You all better be crying after that one! I have spent my entire E-mail time typing out this letter!!

Okay, now for the more relaxed stuff.

So this is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me on my mission so far. So of course me and my housemates are all doing Insanity and eating super healthy and all the jazz, and were looking pretty good right? So we taking pictures with our shirts off with ties on to be funny, and stuff like that ( Stupid Idea ) but one Elder forgot to delete all of his and when he was visiting his recent convert she was going through his pictures and saw all of them!!! oh no!!! Wow... I can't believe it.... I was so ashamed... haha The Elder told me that her exact words  when she saw it was. " Why is Elder Kikel half Naked?" ( I had pants on) and they told me that she went on about how Macho I am hahahah freak. Thats not good. So now every time I go to church and see her she just giggles and laughs at me cause I am so embarrassed but she just loves to make fun of me. So moral of the story! DON'T DO STUPID THINGS! Especially on your mission hahah well I learned my lesson from that one.

Anyways I hope you all have a good week!

-Elder Kikel