I got Notin'

Hey everyone! How are things going!?

I am not really sure what to talk about today... nothing much really happen this last week. umm... work was simple, still trying to find an actual teaching pool, but the members are still really supportive and you know you got a good relationship with the Bishop if you are always at his house hanging out haha... shhh... This Bishop is really cool here, he was called as a Bishop just recently in January and he just always asks us how are work is every time we see him.

Nothin really funny or exciting happened this week kind of like last week haha, except we finally got our water back! Yes! except I think our water tank is broken and starts to overfill at night because we are not using the water and the stopper thingy doesn't work, so everyone morning there is just a big flood on the side of our house, which means our water bill is going to be insane! we are trying to contact the land lord and I have no idea how to call a plumber here in the Philippines hah! 

hmm what else.... 

Next week we have are Mission Tour again! we only have them once a year! I still remember that last one with Elder Neilson, this one is with Elder Bowen one of the presidents I think of the quorum of the seventy, I am not exactly sure but I am super excited. I was bummed at first that it wasn't going to be an apostle, but thats okay these seventies still know how to spirit bomb you just like an apostle would. I love these kinds of meetings because you just get so inspired! And I have recently been blessed with a bigger desire to serve which is awesome because that is exactly what I need in this area! I actually really like the area besides the fact we are teaching everyone's kids haha, but the members are nice, the ward house a strong foundation, and I see a lot of potential here. So If i happen to be here for 6 months I think that will be okay, which means I would only have one more area possibly, and then I am home! What the heck, it just goes by so fast!

Its been really hot here in Calauag but after reading Elder Wood's e-mails I don't think I can complain anymore because he has it pretty bad as well haha, His heat is just pure heat i think, is it humid in Mexico? probably is, so hes got it worse haha. 

anyways ill just leave it there and spend the rest of the time sending you all some sweet pics! I had some really cool ones but i accidentally deleted all of my pictures from my entire mission!!! *Face Palm* yeah I just about went Hulk Smash on our house.... 

Good news is the I have back ups of most the pictures but I don't know if I backed up the pictures from my baptism until now so thats why I was so mad haha, I am going to try and get them retrieved when I travel for mission tour. 

Okay now I really am going to end this e-mail. Mahaba pala ang e-mail ko. I was going to translate that into english but I don't know how to haha... umm something like "Oh so my e-mail actually was long" nah thats wrong  but anyways love you all thanks for you support as usual. Have a good week. 

--

Elder Kikel

-on the Lord's errand-

San Pablo Philippines Mission

Calauag continues....

Hey! Let's get started....

Things have been good in this area and I am going to start off with this thought; I was pondering about what I e-mailed last week to everyone and I felt that I was complaining a little bit about this area because I have been given another assignment with challenges. I have recently finished the Book of Mormon and have started again, and I was reading in the Book of Nephi when nephi talks about his brothers and even is Father murmuring at times, but never did Nephi complain, why? because he knew it was the will of the Father. Nephi received an assignment many times and even though we can imagine the difficulty of the task that has been given Nephi said " I Will go and Do!" and never complained. Thats how I need to be, despite the constant assignments from President, challenging areas, stress, frustration, constant prayers, and exercising Faith in Jesus Chirst, I should be honored and bless to know the not only does President Mangum trust me to do these things but the Lord as well, so I think myself and all of us should always go forth with a better attitude about our circumstances in life. 

okay what else... umm... 

The work has been okay, its still running the same. The ward has been really helpful, and I am actually really excited now to work in this area because for the first time in my mission I finally am in a ward the properly does the meetings, and their correlation meetings! With functioning leaders! I don't know if I have ever mentioned that before but that has been a problem in all my areas. The leaders and members of the Ward are very helpful especially on the topic of missionary work, this will make our work much easier. They have been helpful in showing us to farther areas, introducing us to less active members, and also coordinating ideas of how we can get referrals because that is the Ideal Situation (PMG) I was able to have another Personal Interview with President Mangum because he was in the area and he just told me straight up that I am going to be here for a while hahahaha soo that probably means I am going to be here for a little over 6 months if i go 4 full transfers here. Thats Elder Kikel just sitting in Outer Darkness getting his hands dirty. Most of my batch coming into the Misison like Elder Perez my companion in the MTC are Zone Leaders, District Leaders and stuff like that so sometimes its kind of hard seeing myself where I am but then again I know I helping President Mangum out that maybe they can't do ;) haha jokelang... 

All right I got a funny story for you guys listen up, I think you will like this one. So there is a famous saying in the mission that goes like this " If you haven't eaten Balut or pooped your pants, you haven't served a true mission." well I have come very close to fulfilling that statement last week... hem... haha

umm.... (Imagine me laughing) umm... haha... well a member was showing us where some less actives were and we were walking in the middle of no where in a forest like surrounding, and all of a sudden something just hit me like Mike Tyson! LBM (Loose Bowel Movements) and here in the Philippines its like laxatives you can't control it, and we were still really far from the house and I knew I wasn't going to make it.... I told my companion and the member we were with that i was going to blow, and the member we were with was a return missionary so he had his experiences as well, and in Tagalog he pretty much just told me to go poop in the woods haha, and thats what I did.... Good thing I learned valuable skill in scouts or else I would of forgotten the grab the tree and squat maneuver! hahahahahah and thank goodness for the emergency tissues I have been carrying around with me for the last year! So it was a close call but I am still on the run hahaha suckas! phew, it was a relief and an easy clean up! ;) haha 

Also its been SUPER hot lately and we have no water at the House! even though we have a pump! So this whole last week we have had to wake up multiple times during the night to fill up the giant buckets with water the drips out of a faucet outside of our house and also fetching water from a neighbor who has a well haha... my companion said this that made me laugh "Its like we're camping!" so that has been a interesting experience, and some of the perks if you serve in the Philippines! Some people say it might last for a couple months because there is a drought kind of thing going on! I sure hope not or its going to be a rough couple of months. 

Well thats all everyone, ill try and send some pics today, apparently the last typhoon to hit the Philippines was centered in this area, and it was destroyed its crazy. House completely gone, tore down, and destroyed. Massives trees uprooted and fallen over, just a giant mess and everyone repairing houses. I took a few pics and I will try to send them as well as others. 

Love you all have a good week!

 

Mom this one is for you! I totally forgot to tell you about it!

Remember that red spiky fruit that mikes brother showed us on my laptop! its called rambultan! and its so freaking delicious look it up on google images its a crazy looking fruit, and I also finally got myself to eat some durian that stinking fruit stuff, and it sure was stinking and it didn't taste very good either, after i ate it a few times it wasn't to bad but I don't see how the Filipinos think its soo delicious! IT really does stink super bad and makes it hard to eat haha Elder Bituen wanted to throw up when he ate it ha

Sweet room, yeah that green thing is my bed haha its not much but hey its a bed! 

Living room of our apartment! Here in the Philippines this is a really expensive house. It is sweet!

So I have been seeing these coke cans with names an it and I found one for Babe, I am not quite sure yet but can someone figure out for me who this coke is for ;) haha!

My companion Elder Calianga

a massive tree blown over by the typhoon

another house that was made out of Concrete!

a house damaged by the typhoon

 

--
Elder Kikel

-on the Lord's errand-

San Pablo Philippines Mission

Outer Darkness...

Well I got the news for yall peeps open dem ears and close dems mouts!

 

ha..

Well turns out that I was transferred to an area that is the farthest area in our mission! Calauag, Lopez! It is so far! it was over a 5 hour bus ride! Thats like riding to St. George with no movies to watch, crammed in a seat that doesn't even fit your knees! haha It wasn't a fun ride but I finally got here. 

So how's this area? Just like all the other areas I have been put in haha, No work has been done, area book hasn't been updated, house hasn't been cleaned, and companion that needs some help.

I will start with the Companion. Elder Calianga is his name and he is actually a really cool guy, we have a lot in common (games) yeah we are both nerds. So we got a long really well, we were able to sit down right away and talk about our expectations and our weaknesses and all that fun stuff, and it turns out that he isn't really the reason why i was Emergency transferred, he is a good Elder and there is just a few things that we can work on, he is really willing to work and do everything else so thats good. I actually have no idea why I was Emergency Transferred but I'll give a little background of the Zone I am now in (lopez) This zone is known as the Outer Darkness, and who lives in Outer darkness? bad people do haha... and so it is here that all the pasaway missionaries in the mission are here in the Lopez Zone, I am not saying all the missionaries here right now are pasaway but it has its reputations, and the stories that I have heard are just unbelievable and I will not repeat them in an e-mail. So maybe I have been placed here to add some strength to the Zone, I am not sure I traveled directly here I didn't have an interview with President or anything. So a few obedient missionaries amongst the many pasaway missionaries is all ready taking affect, I feel alone, really alone, and under attack haha. I am like the only foreigner in this Zone, and the missionaries have their little secret combinations over here its crazy, I can't believe it. Elders have all ready started to make fun of me for being obedient, ridiculed, laughed at, and teased. Ain't no easy task but Elder Kikel is on the Job and he aint going to be fooled' and guess who my new District Leader is... Elder Oliva. My first companion in Mindoro haha yeah thats been pretty fun... (not really) he was there when I got off the bus and the first thing he says is " welcome to my Kingdom" and I just thought "oh great..." haha... this will be fun. He goes home in a couple weeks, so missionary work is out the window for him. Its sad really but he can make his own choices and will recognize what he has done later in life, or in the next. 

Work wise it has been just the same as my other areas haha. No investigators, no teaching pool, and a weak relationship with the members. Area book hasn't been updated for months, and no work done in this area for the last six months as well. So... here we go again with the same process as last, fix, repair, and plant... haha thats fine I am ready and willing, its what has been asked for me to do so which means I need to do it. I will just make that plane flight that much more relaxing haha! 

Oh fetch... and the apartment looked like it hasn't been cleaned in years!! It was so bad, and so depressing to come too my first day. It is actually one of the nicest apartments I have seen the mission it is sweet. Its like 10 times better then my apartment in Victoria, but its just so dirty! So what did we do? We cleaned it for 2 days straight! no work! I am starting to get good a this cleaning stuff. Now its clean and its looks amazing, I love my companion for being willing to help me clean it and clean it the right way the first time! Dad, I now understand when you constantly said that to me, I was so hard headed before haha... sorry. ha. 

The members are really nice here and they are super excited for me to be here for some reason... (I wonder why)

I am like super hero here! hahah its crazy! its like this city has never seen a white guy before! Even though there has been white missionaries here before but the people are just so shocked to see me. Everyone asks me how tall I am and where I am from. Everyone just stares at me. Everyone calls me Superman haha. Not to mention the girls here.. a freak... haha where ever we go girls take on look at me and start giggling and whisper to the friends, and they like cat call me in a sense and its super weird! Kids follow us forever on the streets, old guys calling me out saying " Hey Joe!" My companion says I am like celebrity here everyone all ready knows who I am.... haha as I am writing this e-mail there is girls outside peepin through the windows and waving at me haha.... Its crazy here I am going to get kidnapped are something! Nah... My companion who is Filipino that I forgot to mention told me that if you are as tall as I am and white I could get any girl I wanted in the city. Its really weird and different. I am going to come home and no one is going to notice me the same way and I am going to feel like a ghost hahah! Its a good laugh everyone now and then but mostly annoying because you can never get an oym in all they want to do is talk to you laugh and giggle. 

Well thats about it for now I hope you are all doing well back at home, and keep strong because the world is going down the Toilet!

--
Elder Kikel

-on the Lord's errand-

San Pablo Philippines Mission

Transferred na Ako!

Well the Title says it all ( I am no transferred) I don't have much time to give an e-mail today because the AP's called this morning and told me I was Emergency transferred! So which means I had to pack up everything immediately and head off to the port tomorrow morning, with barely anytime to visit the members.... I was really sad. I think I got emergency transferred because I have another special assignment so it probably means its going to be another Elder Oliva deal... but I hope this time this Elder is willing to change and work on stuff, or it could be something else I am not sure at all. It worked out just perfectly because last week we lost all of our investigators completely! The Lord has blessed us and the we receive lots of referrals and came across some new prepared investigators that will mostly likely be baptized, which means the work will keep going.

I am really going to miss the area and everything about it, I don't have time to describe my feelings but I have expressed them before, and Ill never forget this area and everything about it, it has blessed truly. My new area is in the Lopez Zone, I forgot what that actual area is called but everyone says that Lopez is the armpit of the mission because there is nothing out there and its the farthest zone in the mission, so I think i got myself a challenge ahead of me! Bring It! 

Well thats all about it that I have for you this week, sorry it couldn't be more, and for mom and dad I will have to send you an e-mail next week. Such a rush! haha love you all and till next time!

--
Elder Kikel

-on the Lord's errand-

San Pablo Philippines Mission