March 18, 2013 No letter...

Sorry Gang.
There isn't a letter today.
I'm guessing that this is the week that the zone went to the Banaue rice terraces.
If memory serves me, next week transfers happen.
Have a great week and may God bless you!

Hi, :)

This week, my health has been pretty much the same. I am really afraid of being transferred to a hotter place. I'm getting a little better. I used our house's air conditioning for the first time in 6 months last night so I could actually sleep. It’s so flippin hot!

Elder Valdez just read the part of your letter that said you mailed him the book, and his whole face just lit up with a great big smile. "Really???" was what he said. Thank you. :)

My low for the week, if my mind isn't occupied, it often wanders to after the mission and what it will be like. I'm getting a little trunky to be honest. I'm excited to be home with the family again and start school and all....but I don't want to come home. Life is hard, the fact that Elder Valdez goes home after next cycle isn't helping me any either. Ha-ha :) so thanks for the last line of your letter... “I pray for you all the time. I know as long as you are in God’s hands all is well no matter what happens. Keep working hard, your time isn’t done yet.”

Sounds like you've had a week! I have too! Elder Valdez and I were walking down the side of a rice field coming from bro. M-----'s house and a cow by the path went crazy! It chased us back to his house! We tried to go by again a few minutes later, but it started bucking like a bull and chased us again. Then we decided to walk through the rice field on one of the 9 inch wide foot paths. A bunch of kids saw the cow going crazy so while we were on the path in the rice field, they went to mess with it. There were like 10 kids without a single one above 9 years old. Next thing we know, all the kids bust out running in different directions with the cow bucking and going crazy ... hahaha :) dumb kids :)

anyway, Bro, M----- is a cool Find. One of Elder Valdez's referrals came to our area for the funeral of a family member. The RC gave us a referral as well so we went to talk to her to find out where the referral lived. When we went there, we met the mother (40+) Sister D----, of the girl who died. We shared with her a little about the Plan of Salvation. http://www.lds.org/topics/plan-of-salvation?lang=eng She stopped crying, looked extremely interested, and when I told her that she could be with her child again, she interrupted me and somewhat forcefully said "How?!" We set a return appointment with the intent to come back and teach her more. This past week when we got back, she wasn't there. Her boss in Hong Kong told her she had to come back to work. But we were able to meet the father when we went back this time. His reaction to our message was the same as his wife's. We are super excited to teach him! :)

So I don't know if I told you last week or not, but 4 of our investigators were baptized this past Saturday. All part member children/youth. I'm done with kids now though.

I love hearing about you doing missionary work. It’s amazing. I can only imagine what it’s going to be like to hear Eric doing this.

I love you! Keep it up!

-Elder Lundy

 

Picture taken at the Mission Home - Thank you Sister Carlos : )

 

Hello! :)

Things here went OK this week. The baptism in Solano went well and started late as usual. Not even Elder Woodruff could get the Filipinos to start on time though. The meeting in Bayombong went well too. The Branch President was able to give some good advice on splitting the area and offered some info that we didn't know... like Bayombong used to be 2 separate branches!

YUP! I did get to go hear Elders Hallstrom and Teh...but they didn't really impress me. The person who impressed me the most was Sister Hallstrom. She gave a very great talk about faith using some very good examples. The first example was Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in Daniel 3:14-18 –

“Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

My favorite example is as follows by my best recollection:

She told a story about a statue of a dog in a train station in Tokyo. This dog's name is Hachikō. The story goes that Hachikō’s master was a professor at the University of Tokyo. Over time they developed a daily routine. Every morning Hachikō and his master would walk to the train station. Hachikō’s master would then board the train and go to work. Hachikō would then go about his daily business returning to the train station at 4 pm every day to fetch his master. This routing went on for some time, then one day at 4 pm Hachikō was patiently waiting for his master to come home...but he never did. His master had a stroke at work and was brought to the hospital where he died a short while later. Hachikō went home thinking he might find his mater there, but he was nowhere to be found. A short while later the professor's family sold his house and gave Hachikō a way to another family. This family could not keep track of the busy Hachikō though. He would wander off every day to his master's house hoping to find him there waiting for him. After a while Hachikō seemed to realize that he wouldn't find his master at the house, so every day at 4 pm he returned to the train station and patiently waited for his master. This continued for 11 years. Sister Hallstrom described Hachikō’s actions like this: "I will return for you every day, BUT IF NOT (ref Daniel 3:18), but even if you aren't there, I will still be waiting for you."

Sometimes the Lord helps and supports us in our trials. Sometimes he doesn't help us so that we may grow. It is easy for us to be faithful when we see that He is helping us, but what about when he leaves us to ourselves so that we may grow? We must always be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and say, "We believe that our God can do all things, and that he can and will help us through our trials, BUT IF NOT, even if He chooses not to help us, we will still be faithful to Him no matter what happens to us!"

That is the greater part of Sister Hallstrom's message. I really liked it.

(I asked Elder Lundy how his ears were doing - because he has trouble with them when he goes over mountains. The Mission Home is on the other side of the mountain.)

My ears are doing well with having gone over the mountains so many times, even through the mountains do split in Lagawe. I’m sick from other reasons right now. It’s getting really hot and I can't get rid of this feeling of always being overly hot. I sweat non-stop. I have full body aches and a stiff neck. And we are always getting to bed late and we chose to wake up at 6 every morning so we aren't late to studies so I’m not getting enough sleep. Yup, woe to me! hahaha lol. No, I’m on the mend right now. It’s not all that bad.

Thank you so much for the package you sent! I do love the goodies. :)

Well, I got to go. I love you guys! :*

-Elder Lundy

 

Hey!

Zone Meeting went great this past week. We taught about Accountability and how it applies to us as missionaries. Elder Woodruff in particular loved it. He came up to me and thanked me for what we taught and for all the insights we shared with them. It really touched him. He had tears in his eyes when he did this. The Spirit was really strong, and I surprised myself with some of the stuff I said because of the spirit. I was helped to explain things beyond my own understanding. Great experience.

The training with Elder Ardern didn't happen for me. As his plane was about to land in Cauayan, the pilot couldn't see the airstrip so he went back to Manila! President Carlos gave us some training instead. He let everyone come back the next day if they wanted to talk to Elder Ardern, but Elder Valdez and I already had a baptism and a meeting with the Branch President of Bayombong to go to, so we were not able to go back the next day. :( The meeting with Elder Teh and Elder Hallstrom happens this Wednesday. Hopefully they won't have any bad luck with travels...

Mom, get better. Have you gotten a blessing yet? If not, do so. Christ suffered for all things, not just our sins. For all pains. Through faith in him, all pains can be made better. One of my recent convert Tatay was able to give a blessing for the sick, to two of his children this past week and they got better overnight. One had a cold, the other had measles.....

OH!!!!!!!!!! BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! 2 out of 3 of my Tatary’s got the Melchizedek priesthood this past Sunday!!!! All they have to do is wait till December to be able to get sealed as a family in the temple!!! We have another tatay that is going to be baptized on March 23rd. :) my 3rd tatay that didn't get the Melchizedek priesthood was because he was on vacation in another province... my branch president has interviewed him and says he is ready though. :)

Well I gotta go.

Love you guys! :*

 

Explain it simply...

Hey!

I think the linger-longer is a flipping brilliant idea, especially if missionaries are invited! J That needs to keep going till I get home...but I guess I won't be a missionary anymore... that takes half the fun away. Still a good idea though.

My week was pretty good. We had quarterly interviews with President Carlos. We got to teach a few more lessons than usual. Elder Valdez and I are putting in a little more forethought into scheduling appointments and it paid off. We hit 22 lessons last week. We got a little lazy with our finding efforts though, only 14. We are gunna try to kick it up this week. Its gunna be hard though. We get to teach a zone meeting this week.

Elder Ardern

Then on Friday we have leadership training with Elder Ardern of the Philippines Area Presidency in Cauayan. Saturday, weekly planning na naman.



Elder Teh

Elder Hallstrom



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then next week, we get to meet with Elder Teh, Philippines Area President, and with Elder Hallstrom, of the Quorum of the Seventy Presidency!!!

I get to see so many more general authorities here on my mission than I did back home. :)

(I asked Elder Lundy how his Cheese cake turned out.) Chocolate Chip Cheesecake = Napakasarap! (Delicious) It tasted sooo good!!!! We ate the whole thing in like 2.5 days. I probably ate about 2/3 of it... The Balubal Family is one of a kind here. The cheesecake wasn't anything super special to them. They bake all the time using ingredients that their daughter in America sends them. They actually offered me more chocolate chips because they were trying to get rid of them before they went bad. They said last time they had to throw a lot out because it went bad before they got to use it. I'm definitely going to have to leave them a thank you note though. They were very sweet to let me do that.

I absolutely love the quote you sent this week.

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” – Albert Einstein

It’s perfectly true. I’ve seen it with the gospel, Tagalog, and in many other instances. I'm reminded of a quote in preach my gospel...
“It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it.” – PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR

I love you guys! Have a great week!

-Elder Lundy

Hey!

We announced to Elder Lundy that his younger cousin received his mission call and will be leaving on his mission at the end of June!

That’s awesome about Tommy! Tell him congrats for me! Seeing as he leaves before I get home, tell him that I’ll see him in 2.5 years... lol. Also, make sure he passes the John Bytheway book on to the next missionary in the family. I think that would be Eric...

I'm sorry about your house search and all that. I know it’s hard on you guys. All I can say is pray and fast...Besides, I’ve seen time and time again families here that don't even have a steady place to live but they are happy. They are so poor that they don't know how they are going to eat tomorrow. But they are still happy. Worldly things don't bring happiness, obedience to God's commandments bring happiness. A scripture also comes to mind.

3 Nephi 13:19-21, 30-33” Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

I say this not at all in chastisement, but in love. I’ve felt several times that I should share these verses with you guys about this topic, but I shook it off each time. I love you. Be happy!

I did the impossible today. I made a chocolate chip cheesecake!!!
I'll taste it tomorrow and let you know how it is! :) I got a member to let me bake it at their house. The Balubal Family (the richest people in the branch....)
(Elder Lundy says this, because it is unusual to have an oven in the Philippines.)
I gotta go now. I'm running late.

I love you guys! :*

Hi!

My b-day was pretty good. :) My FHE just turned out to be a birthday party. lol That’s all the branch felt like doing. hehe :) being 22 is weird. I feel old now. It’s like my last connection to the teenage crowd was just severed. I'm officially out of that group now.

So Mom I had a moment a little like your week, this week....

This past Thursday at Zone Conference I felt something very strongly. It was one of those whisperings of the Spirit President Carlos always talks about. He never said it, but I heard it. It was a very clear feeling. I heard, "You can do so much more. You haven't given everything you have yet. Kaya mo pa." It put me to tears then, and I’m starting to tear up again as I write this.

As I look back at who I was, and what I was capable of when I was new in the mission, and compare it to now, I'm ashamed. The Lord has strengthened me. I have been taught Tagalog. I have gained a testimony. I have started becoming a master teacher. I'm worthy of the companionship of the Spirit always. I have power when I teach. I can do so much more now than I could a year ago... The Lord knows just how capable I am. He has given me my every talent and ability, but what have I given him? I’ve given Him 90% effort my whole mission. I've held back.

During our last weekly planning I was overcome by all the time we lose as zone leaders and everything we have to try and do, and how can we possibly give our best effort in our area when we are focusing not only on 1 area, but 7. I was planning on asking President to step me down after this cycle so I could finally give everything I had... but that wouldn't fix anything really. I can always give everything I have no matter where I am, no matter what situation I am in. I understand that now.

I have more to give. I won't hold back anymore. I love the Lord and I am thankful for all He has done for me.

You’re right about the Shaners. They are going crazy right now. What president is doing is he is first going to double up on missionaries in area that are weak or need help. Than when they are all doubled up, he is going to start creating new areas.

 

This is from the Shaner's Blog: “This past few weeks we have been working SO hard trying to secure apartments or upgrade existing ones in preparation for the INFLUX of new Elders and Sisters in March. I capitalize influx because up until now, we have normally only gotten maybe a 4 or 5 'net' increase of Elders or Sisters each batch. They arrive and it is fairly easy to plug them into the spots that were vacated the night before by the Elders and Sisters who went home. Up until now, it has been a wash for the most part however, with the age requirement change in October, more Elders and Sisters are applying for missions earlier and this next batch that will arrive the end of March will be our first experience with the increased numbers. We will send about 6 or 7 home and get in return 25 at last count.”

Well, I’m off to buy the ingredients I need for funky Frito fruckies again! :)

I love you so much!

Have a great week and don't accept any other result! :) :*

-Elder Lundy

 My Nanay's are the 2 right by me...

they are the ones that put on the party for me.

Nay Dalilis, and Nay Bayatan.