November 19, 2018 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Elder Chan!

How are you doing? Great! The nights have started to cool off and I'm sleeping well!

Is this harder than you anticipated? It's definitely not what I anticipated, but it's as fulfilling and awesome as I could have hoped for! I love it here!

How is Elder Narcisso? Elder Narciso is one of the kindest and most patient missionaries I've ever met. We work well together and I'm learning a lot from him. We also live with the Zone Leaders, Elders Alquizola and Hoffman, Filipino and White Guy respectively. They're awesome. 

Do you have a regular apartment with running water etc.? Pretty regular yeah, we've been able to clean it up pretty nicely.

How is your ward? I love my ward!  They're all very helpful and want to help me with my Cebuano all the time.  They actually organized a ministering activity to get less-active/inactive members to come to stake conference. It was really fun working with them. I'm really trying to open my mouth and get to know them better. You know I'm usually a pretty introverted person, and that doesn't really work here and with missionary work in general.  I'm more and more confident the longer I'm here that the Lord has a plan for me.

Do you have to go to the laundry mat? Nope, we wash our clothes at the house. We actually have a little "Camel" washing machine. It's kind of awesome actually. To dry the clothes you put it in a little basket thing and it spins really fast to pull all the water out. Super cool I think. It doesn't dry them completely but its pretty effective. 

Can you see the ocean? No, we're in the middle of the city.

Do the zone leaders have a car they drive- do any missionaries drive? No, but the Assistant to the President Elders do. They drove us to food.

Can you read the Book of Mormon in Cebuano a little? I can read a bit, but the words are pretty deep. Most of the Cebuano's even have trouble understanding it.

This is birthday week for us! Lisa on Wednesday- I didn't get her anything at all. Emma on Thursday- we ate pizza at Lisa's house and I just gave her some cash because I'm boring like that right now. And Dad's birthday is today! We went and ate Yummie Pho- do they have pho in the Philippines?  I think I like it? I like if for the first few bites. HAPPY BIRTHDAY I forgot to say that last week. Whoops, sorry. I thought about it the day after it happened though (time change is a crazy thing). That all sounds awesome!

We ate pie for Dad's birthday and decorate for Christmas and Dad painted the dining room table white for me and recovered the nasty chairs! It was a lovely day! Adam helped me hang up the Christmas ornaments ion the ceiling and we missed you! Whaaaat! Thats Awesome!!!

This is the Lord's work. Of that I know for sure, way better than I know Cebuano. He is our Savior, the Redeemer of our souls. I've been reading and marking every mention of the Savior in my scriptures and every time that I mark my testimony of Him grows deeper.  I've come to find that I actually love reading the scriptures. If we read and study from them every day, if we attend church, if we always have a prayer in our hearts, we cannot fall.  It's so simple and easy, and yet by not doing that, we will find ourselves separated from the only thing that can bring true happiness in this life and the life to come; that is, the Love of our God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Ghost. This is not a man-made, fake church that we are a part of, this is a church directed by a Supreme Being. One who loves us and is aware of all we are and do. This is as real as anything can possibly get. I testify with all of my heart, that this is real, this is the joy and happiness that people everywhere are looking for, who are only "kept from the truth because they know not where to find it". I exhort you to share this glorious message, this "good news", with all those who deserve to have it. I say all this with the deepest love, and the greatest joy, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Chan