Fulfilling Dreams in the Philippines

4-16-17
Good Morning everyone! Well for most of you, it is night time already haha. How are you all doing? Please email me and let me know! I wanna hear from you all. My week has been a wild week. Not a whole lot has gotten done this week, but that is because of something that I should've realized would cause a bad week. This 'something' is what I want to focus my email this week on. In this email I want to be honest with you as well. I hope this email helps each of you somehow...

I want to focus my email on obedience. This past week hasn't been very successful because I haven't been Exactly Obedient. Something I struggle with is waking up @6:30ameveryday. Also getting out to work on time and also using my study time wisely. On Thursday night the entire Kabahay (Missionaries in the Apartment) got together and set some goals. Today is Friday and I testify that because of our obedience my day has been completely changed. Today we woke up @6:30am and called the Sister Missionaries to have a District Pray to keep everyone awake. Then I read the Book of Mormon for 15 minutes as President Bangal recommended to us, from a quote by President Ezra Taft Benson. It helped start my day to a great start. Then after showering and getting ready for the day I studied The New Testament for 1 hour and The Book of Mormon 30 minutes. Then Elder Vazquez held a great Daily Planning session planning the best lessons we could think of for our investigators. We received revelation to use copies of the Book of Mormon to give out to those we talk to on the streets and those that we TC (or Testify of Christ). We made a goal to give out 5 copies a day and if we don't reach that, the extras go to the next day. We have seen the importance of using the Book of Mormon instead of Pamphlets because it is The Keystone of our religion. Elder Vazquez and I had a wonderful weekly planning as well. The spirit was strong with our planning. So we left on time, @1:00pm and had a great attitude in mind. This really shows how 'Attitude is Everything!'. We went on our way and found a lady, a family, and these women, to give copies of the Book of Mormon to. In only 1 hour and 30 minutes! What a blessing! We had the amazing opportunity to serve these 3 older men as well. The 244 staircase I talked about last we is hard for everyone, especially older people and when we saw these 3 older men carrying 3 bags each as well as these lard picture frames we offered to help. They we so exhausted and tired and thankful for our help. Because we responded to the first prompting of the spirit, we were able to make their day easier. We also bought them water. They were really happy and I was so thankful that my prayers to have the opportunity to serve was answered. We went on the day to teach 3 more wonderful lessons as we had planned. Unfortunately we only got to give out 3 copies of the Book of Mormon so that makes 7 tomorrow! Kaya Namin! of We can do it!

Obedience is key for us to have the spirit with us. Being obedient simply makes our lives better. It really does. My day is only one example but we can try for ourselves and put away things that prevent us from being exactly obedient. Not next week, not tomorrow, not later, but NOW! God needs each of you NOW. Sometimes it is hard, really hard, to keep Gods commandments, but it is worth it. Thomas S. Monson once told us to "Choose the Harder Right over the Easier Wrong." He is right, it is hard, but it is right. Just as it says in the Hymn 'Choose The Right'... it says "In his light, choose the right! And God will bless you ever more." President Henry B. Eyring one said "We need STRENGTH BEYOND OURSELVES to keep the commandments in whatever circumstance life brings to us. The combination of trials and their duration are as varied as are the children of our Havenly Father. No two are alike. But what is being tested is the same, at all times in our lives and for every person: WILL WE DO WHATSOEVER THE LORD OUR GOD WILL COMMAND US?" So, Will We? We all need to choose NOW. We can't keep our Heavenly Father waiting for us. Our obedience determines who we become in the future and what paths we take in our lives. President Thomas S. Monson shared the experience of Alice, from the movie 'Alice in Wonderland'. He said about her experience "You will remember that she comes to a crossroads with two paths before her, each stretching onward but in opposite directions. She is confronted by the Cheshire cat, of whom Alice asks, 'Which path shall I follow?' The cat answers, 'That depends where you want to go. If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn't matter which path you take.' Unlike Alice, we all know where we want to go, and it does matter which way we go, for by choosing our path, we choose our destination." He used from 2 Nephi to support this statement. In 2 Nephi 31:18 it reads "And then ye are on the strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost."

These are a lot of quotes from Prophets and Apostles who testify of the truth. As for me, obedience is key for us all to gain Eternal Life. Just as I talked about in my email a few weeks ago, the commandments are becoming less important to follow, according to society. This is not good. We need to give warning to our neighbors of the importance of obedience. We need to rescue those who have wondered off the path as well. Because we HAVE the truth and we KNOW the truth and God has asked us all to help his children. So no I ask you, Are you doing your best to follow God's commandments? We aren't perfect, but we strive to be. If you give it your all and work hard, you can become what you wanna be in your future, but you have to make that decision now. I invite you all to be obedient to God's commandments starting now, and I promise you will see the difference in your life and in the lives around you.

4-9-17

As missionaries, we get a lot of questions about our missions? For Example... How long are you here for? Where was your last area? How do you learn Tagalog so fast? Why can't you watch TV or use Social Media? Do you get a higher calling in the church after your mission from serving a mission? Why are you called Elder? Who pays for your mission? Why are you serving a mission?

I could go on forever. These are just some that come to mind at the moment. In this email I want to answer a few of these questions with full honesty. I would like to answer the last three questions that I listed.

1. Do you get a higher calling in the church after your mission from serving a mission? No... In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint we are called of God to all callings through revelation and inspiration. As missionaries we are called to be representatives of Jesus Christ at all times for two years. We are to avoid all worldly distractions and focus on serving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. No one applies, or is hired for callings in the church either. They are called of God, like I stated before. Even the Prophet of the church. He is called of God and doesn't get paid. He receives an income from a percentage of church magazine subscriptions. Nothing from tithing or donations from church members. Many other churches have leaders who acquire money and income from their members tithing, which is not good. Tithing and donations is to grow the church and help others in need, not for a leaders personal needs, new car, or nice clothes. The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints work so hard to build the Lords church, not for wealth or personal needs, but for the members and for the Lord, Because they know this church is the only true church of Jesus Christ. They also know the blessings that come from helping the Lords church grow. It is as simple as that.

2. Who pays for your mission? Missionary work is volunteer work. Missionaries pay for their missions. In my current area we have a lot of stairs and hills we have to climb and one specific stair case has 244 steps... (We counted haha) By the time we get up the staircase we are dripping in sweat and are exhausted. Why would we pay do climb this stair case 4+ times a week? Because we know this church is the only true church of Jesus Christ. Why do we travel to places we have never been before? Why do we leave our families for 18 months (For Sisters) or 2 years (For Elders)? WHy do we agree to email family for 2 hours once a week and skype twice a year? Why do we choose to wake up at 6:30am and sleep at 10:30pm? Why do we knock on doors and get denied every day? We do all of these things because we have a testimony of the Restored Gospel, of the Joseph Smith, of the Prophet Thomas S. Monson, of The Book of Mormon as another testament of Jesus Christ, and of the Plan of Salvation! The Church that Jesus Christ established during his life is here again! For us all to gain a better life and return to God. Go Share The News! God wants us to be a part of his church and to invite our friends and families. In my mission I have had too many instances where we get laughed at or mocked, while all we try to do is share love and peace. Why is that? Because Satan is working hard to take down Christ's church, but Christ's church will never fall. Every sacrifice, obstacle, trial, and struggle in my mission is worth it, because we get to bring eternal happiness and the true gospel into the lives of others and that makes all the struggles and trials seem simple and small. Through the power of God we can do anything. He needs you now to share the truth about his church to the world!

3. Why did you serve a mission? Many missionaries have different answers but mine is because of my family and the importance of families to God. My family has the opportunity to return to God together after this life because of this gospel and I want to give this chance to everyone else. I want everyone to know that they have the opportunity to return to God after this live, not just themselves, but their families as well. Isn't that a blessing!? God gave us a plan that we can choose to follow here on the Earth. A guideline for us to live with Him again. How great is that! What we need to do now is follow it! Don't wait. We don't have time to wait. We have to grab this opportunity while we have it. We don't know what will happen tomorrow, so we need to hurry and follow God's plan for us. The blessing we can all receive from following his plans are endless! I have seen them in my life and know that The Plan of Salvation is God's plan for us, and that if we follow it, we, along with our families, can return to live with him.

Your Friend, Elder Scott

4-2-17

This week was good. Most of you got to watch General Conference this week! How was it? What did you like most from it? I haven't been able to watch it yet because here in the Philippines we watch it on the 8th and 9th. One more week! I am excited! :) I hope you all enjoy my email and feel free to write me back!

March 27, 2017: Blitz Day! Blitz is where all the missionaries in the district gather and go to one are together to find new investigators. It took place in Mine and Elder Vazquez's area. Us two went to appointments and the other Elders nd Sisters went finding in our area. The went finding for investigators and less-active members. The people we were scheduled to meet for the 1st few appointments weren't home. On the way to Sister Precy's house we got some Halo Halo. Halo Halo is a treat with a bunch of stuff mixed with crush ice. It is usually fruit and other things like Ube. For Sister Precy and her 2 grandkids we played the 20minute Restoration video. They enjoyed it. It was a nice reminder for them being recent converts. At 6:00 we had P.E.C. It went well. Bishop is always so funny during P.E.C. We went over our areas needs and goals with the leaders. It was a good day.

March 29, 2017: We had Zone Training today and it was great. The Zone Leaders had great workshops. I especially like Elder Campbell's workshop about Diligence. Diligence is one of the Christlike Attributes. Diligence is Steady, Consistent, Ernest, and Energetic Effort. It is all of that combined in an effort to do the Lord's work. As missionaries, we have to keep diligent often or we loose our motivation and energy to do the Lord's work. Sometime we get tired from walking up and down stair and hills al day and we start to give up. We need not give up! Even for those who aren't missionaries and have something in their lives that is hard for them. Don't give up. You can do it! The blessing that come from doing what right and doing what God wants us to do is far better than a little rest, or giving up on something temporal. Spiritual blessings are eternal blessings. Through God we can do all things! :) Anyway, it was a good workshop. Today we got to visit Sister Marcela and we discussed with her Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and The Sacrament. She agrees with everything and talked about the importance of baptism. She is great! She is excited for her baptism on April 15th. She also brought a list of questions she has thought about for us to help her answer. She is a hard thinker and had a lot of great questions. After we went to Sister Margarie. I met her for the 1st time last week and let me give you a rundown of what happened last time... Last time we went to her (Last Wednesday) I introduced myself and got to know her and then we saw these 3 men walking towards her house and we asked who they were and she said they are the preacher and 2 youth for her church that visit sometimes. My first though was "Great, This will be an interesting lesson." and then we talked to them and agreed to go inside Sister's home to share a message. They went first and prayed, shared a good message about Jonah and the Whale. She said "We are as close to God as our knees are to the ground, so we need to pray." and I liked that. Then after he prayed again to close and then they were about to leave and I got up to shake their hands and asked then if they could stay for our message because we were there for theirs and they agreed. ;) Then Elder Vazquez and I both knew what we were going to share. So we prayed to open then message and then shared these topics... Jesus establishing his church on the Earth, The Apostasy, Joseph Smith, and then Prophets in our day. We did great! :) We used some Bible Scriptures and then when it came to Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon we had pictures and everything. Also I used his quote he said earlier about the Distnce from God like the Knees to ground and related it to Joseph Smith kneeling to pray. The spirit was so strong. We testified of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being the Only True Church on the earth today and the Preacher wouldn't look at us. That's too bad. So we closed and gave a prayer again. It was so powerful! Then today when we went back Sister told us that the Preacher came back to her and told her not to Entertain us or listen to us anymore... She didn't listen and said we could still come back to teach her. It amazes me that a leader of another church will directly tell their members not to listen to another church... Anyway, we taught her about the Apostasy again and why we have a lot of churches here on the Earth now. It went well. We visited the Matbagan family next and Sister opened up to us about problems with housemates and church leaders in her church. We just tried to help her and invite her to pray and ask God for help as well. It was nice for her to open up so we could help her. We finished the night at the Dolatre Family's house. One of my favorite member families. ;) We taught them from Doctrine & Covenants 87:8. It is a great scripture. Sister Dolatre's daughters enjoyed the message too which was good. Overall, it was a good day! :)

March 30, 2017: Today was exchanges. I was with Elder Maners in my area. My area today was in San Luis Extension, and San Rouque. The first few people we tried to visit weren't home. We got to teach Sister Precy and her grandson's about the Book of Mormon to finish up the first lesson. It is to help them review what they learned before they got baptized. We headed to San Rouque to follow up with the referrals that we got from the Blitz on Tuesday. Most of them said they were busy or they ended up not being home. We did find a new investigator though. Brother Arturo. He is a 60 year old retired cop. We asked to share a 15 min message with him and he invited us in. The message ended up being 35 minutes because he had a lot of questions and we got to teach him about Families, Heavenly Father, and Repentance. He seems like he will be a great investigator! :)

March 31, 2017: Today was another good day in Dumpsite. For lunch we went to a restaurant called '50's Diner' and it was pretty good. Our first appointment was with Sister Marcela and we shared a great lesson about Enduring To The End. She then had a lot of questions for us again and we did our best to answer them. She is good at coming up with questions haha. We went to the Dolatre's and shared a message about Alma 43:45. It is about our cause as members and what we are fighting for. It is a great scripture for motivation. At 7:00 we went to the Ward basketball game. There were members and investigators there and it was a lot of fun! :) Even though I am not good at basketball, it was fun haha. When we got home I was looking at my pictures on my camera and then I dropped my camera as I got up and the lens wouldn't come out so i brought it to repair the next day and I should get it back soon.

Your Friend,

Elder Scott

3-26-17

Kumusta Kayo Lahat?! I hope you all had a great week and did your best to make other peoples weeks great as well. In my weekly email this week I felt inspired to talk about a few things. I hope that as you read this you will be inspired or moved, or that this will help one of you that reads this.

The commandments... What are the commandments? They are the oldest standard of guidelines between good and evil for us as children of God. Elder L. Tom Perry once said that in his judgment there are only four of the commandments that are taken as seriously today as ever. These commandments are Thou Shalt Not Steal, Thou Shalt Not Kill, Honor Thy Father and Mother, and Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness. He also said "That as a larger society we routinely dismiss the other six commandments." The first commandment it 'No Other Gods Before Me' and in today's world we most definitely has other religions and people worshiping other gods before our true God, our Heavenly Father. The second commandment is 'No Graven Images' and there are far too many people idolizing celebrities and wealth. Too many people trying to become someone who seems happier because they are wealthy or famous. In reality, the only way to obtain real happiness and joy is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not through temporal fame or wealth. The third commandment is 'Do Not Take the Lord's Name in Vain' and unfortunately I hear this commandment being disregarded every day... People, Adults, and Children use the Lord's name in vain in conversations and sometimes swearing. It has become normal. It is a commandment and we shouldn't do it, so why has it become normal? The fourth commandment is 'Keep the Sabbath Day Holy' and this one is surely not followed constantly. Sundays have become a day for sports games, work days, shopping days. Elder Perry said "We use it for virtually everything but worship." Sunday is a day of worship. Jesus Christ taught this himself and God has commanded it. We have six other days to work, shop, attend sports games, but we can't save one day to worship our Savior Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven? We can... Because we need to. The seventh commandment is 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery', Elder Perry said "We Treat sexual relations outside of marriage as a recreation, an entertainment." I have been in High School and know that Elder Perry is correct. This commandment is so important for everyone to follow. Teenagers and Young Adults especially because they don't realize first of all that this can cause many problems in life, but secondly, it is a commandment of God. The tenth commandment is 'Thou Shalt Not Covet'. Elder Perry said "Coveting has becometh far to a common way of life."

These Commandments are for our benefit, NOT for making our lives harder. They are from our Loving Heavenly Father to help and guide us to return to him after this life here on the Earth. I know these things to be true and if we all follow the commandments of God, we will be blessed enormously.

The next topic I want to share is Prayer. Prayer is OUR opportunity to communicate with our Heavenly Father! Not to a saint, or some other god or angel... But to our Heavenly Father. What a blessing that is! We get to speak with our God, and Creator. We should take this gift and use it often! Every morning and night, at every meal, whenever you feel down, or happy, and when you need help or want to help someone else. Honestly at anytime and anywhere. It is so simple! Ask him questions, tell him about your day, give thanks to him, and then leave some time for him to respond. In the FacetoFace that I just watched recently Elder Holland and President Eyring were talking about how we too often don't give God enough time to respond during our prayers. We just talk and then close our prayers, when we should do all the things I listed earlier and then leave some time at the end, some silence, for God to respond, through the Holy Ghost, to any questions or whatever else it may be, but we need to leave him time. Another great thing is Family Prayer. President Thomas S. Monson shared a scripture and thought with the world about Family Prayer once. The scripture was 3 Nephi 18:24 and he then gave a story and said "A prominent American judge was asked what we as citizens of the countries of the world could do to reduce crime and disobedience to law and to bring peace and contentment into our lives and into our nations. He carefully replied, 'I would suggest a return of the old-fashioned practice of family prayer.'" and then President Monson said "As a people, aren't we grateful that family prayer is not an out-of-date practice with us? There is no more beautiful sight in all this world than to see a family praying together. The oft-repeated phrase is ever true, 'The family that prays together stays together.'" This is true and can help our lives. Through family prayer our families can be changed and brought to happiness and unity. I'm not just saying this because I am a missionary. I am saying this because I have seen the ways it has helped other and myself and my family. It really can help, actually not 'can' but 'WILL'. Because we are praying to God, our Heavenly Father, who wants to help, guide, and bless our families always, but we have to speak with him and show him that we want him in our lives. Prayer is so simple and is a really blessing to us all.

Thanks for reading my email and I hope you all have a wonderful week and apply this message to your week. :) Ingat Kayo!

Your Friend, Elder Scott

3-12-17

Hello my friends. How has your week been? Email me and let me know how you are all doing. This weeks email is going to different again. I have just been so busy this week that it has been hard to type up my email everyday. I was asked by the Bishop here in the Quezon Hill Ward to give a talk on the Word of Wisdom on Sunday. So I would like to share with you guys what I have prepared and learned while getting my talk ready. I hope you all enjoy. :)

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads "19 What? know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Our bodies are given to us as a gift from God. We need to treat them as Holy Temples. We can do this be following the Word of Wisdom. By keeping bad things out of our body, taking in good things, and managing our body. Boyd K. Packer once said " Our physical body is the instrument of our spirit. In that marvelous revelation The Word of Wisdom, we are told how to keep our bodies free from impurities which might dull, even destroy, those delicate physical senses which have to do with spiritual communication. The Word of Wisdom is a key to individual revelation." That last part is key! In order for us to receive our own personal revelation we must keep our bodies pure and clean of harmful substances. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants gives the revelation given to Joseph Smith in Chapter 89. In this chapter it tells us about the 5 harmful substances we should not take in. These are Alcohol, Tobacco, Illegal Drugs, Coffee, and Tea. These things can damage our bodies and take away the wonderful spiritual experiences we can have. (D&C 89:5-9) This Chapter also tells us what we should take into our bodies like healthy food and exercise. (D&C 89:10-17) In the Tagalog language those 5 things that are bad for us are Sigarilyo, Alak, Kape, Illegal Drogas, Tsaa which if you take the first letter of each it spells SAKIT which in Tagalog means sick or not healthy. Which is perfect. In the Hymn book of Songs there is a song called 'In Our Lovely Deseret' and in the the 2nd verse it says "That the children may live long And be beautiful and strong, Tea and coffee and tobacco they despise, drink no liquor, and they eat very little meat; They are seeking to be great and good and wise." This song is a great Hymn and is true. If we stay away from these bad things we can become great and good and wise. In Doctrine and Covenants 29:35 it says "35 Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal or sensual." The Word of Wisdom is a commandment from God and is for our spirituality life after this life. Not just for us now. We need to follow this law just like any other law that God has given us. There is a great story in he Bible about a boy names Daniel. He was given the Kings Meat and Wine to drink along with his friends and Daniel and a few others decided not to take part of it, risking their lives not to obey the king. Because they did so they were blessed and their lives were different then those who did participate. David R. Stone once said, talking about the story of Daniel, " Let us clearly understand the pressures that the four young men were under. They had been carried away as captives by a conquering power and were in the household of a king who held the power of life or death over them. And yet Daniel and his brothers refused to do that which they believed to be wrong." This is so powerful. Would we do the same if we were in this situation? Every day we are tempted by these things. By these things that can not only harm our temporal lives but our lives that last forever. In the world today we have a lot of 'Traps'. Each of these temptations that the Word of Wisdom tells us to stay away from are around us every day. Today we have Television Commercials that portray Alcohol and Cigarettes as good. They show good looking people using it and still looking good. Same with magazines and other things that surround us every day. In Jeramiah 5:26 it says "26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men." There are man who set our bad things into this world, who know that the things they create and promote can destroy lives but still continue to promote the bad things. There was a man who saw all the great commercials and magazine ads and saw how handsome and healthy the people were and started smoking. Then he said the TV cameras ought to visit the hospital where he was now. Viewers would see a different story - A very sad butt true one. He also said "After smoking approximately 19,000 packs of cigarettes, I - we all - had turned out a bit different from those handsome fellows and beautiful young women." He is right. TV, magazines, and other media can fool us if we aren't aware of the truth behind these things. I invite you all think about this and pray about it. Also to balance out the blessing that can come from following this law and what can happen if you don't live according to this law. I know that The Word of Wisdom is modern revelation for us all and came from God through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that if you follow The Word of Wisdom that we can become stronger, happier, and live longer in our mortal life. Also that we can get closer to our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. I know that by obeying this law we can live with God and Jesus Christ again after our life here on earth. This is my invitation and testimony for you all and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Thank you all again for reading this email. I hope it has helped you all in some way. I hope you all have a great week. :)

Your Friend, Elder Scott

March 5, 17

Hello Everybody! How were your weeks? :) I had transfers this week and that made it a busy week. So I wasn't able to type all of the days this week but I hope you enjoy what I did type. Thank you all again for reading my emails and for emailing me. I hope you have a great week! :)

February 28, 2017: Transfer day! I am going to Baguio, Quezon Hill Area B! For those of you who don't know anything about Baguio, It is a big tour spot here in the Philippines and it is on top of a giant mountain. So it is really cold, for Filipinos that is haha. There hasn't been snow there yet. I am really excited because it is summertime in the Low Lands which means it's the hottest time of the year and I get to be in the coldest place in my mission! Woohoo! :) My companion is Elder Vazquez. He is a Filipino, Finally! I am excited to have a Filipino companion. He is really good at english and is really nice. He goes home in like 4 months. Today was an adventure though! It took me 6 hours to get from Narvacan to Baguio! Traffic was bad and we had to go up a giant mountain in a giant bus haha. When I got there I met my companion and went to the apartment. I got to unpack my things and settle in. Our first stop was at this guys house who was a little strange... He had been an investigator for a while and this time he said I just can't believe the Book of Mormon. There are things that go against Gods commandments in the Book of Mormon, is what he said. Then he had his son bring out cups of coffee to us and give it too us. I was NOT going to drink it no matter what! The Filipino Elders did, but that is because it wasn't actually coffee and this rude, strange guy was the Bishop! Hahaha! He pranked us good! He is a really funny guy. His wife came out and asked if he troubled us haha. The Filipino's were in on it and I and another American new to Baguio got fooled haha. Bishop's wife is really nice and so are his kids. I am excited to get to know them in the future. Then we went to a meeting at the church with Ward Leaders and Bishop and discussed our Areas. After Bishop said we can play some basketball so we did. Our church building serves as a building for 2 wards. So the other Elder's from the other ward met us and Elder Calo, who was in my district in Narvacan a whiile back, was there! Also one of my batch mates. It was a fun day and I am excited to work in the Quezon Hill B Area!

March 1, 2017: I can't believe it is already March! It all goes by so fast! We had District meeting and it was pretty short because our District Leader, Elder Maners, didn't have anything prepared because he is a new District Leader and just got transferred here with me. So after we went to a place called Easter Weaving and it has amazing Hand Made stuff. The place where they make all the stuff is right there in the store! I am probably going to buy a lot of stuff for my family there. They will make great souvenirs for my family. Then after we went to the main street in town and there is a festival going on right now on that street. I felt like I was in NYC, but without giant buildings. There were a lot of people and not just Filipinos... American, Africans, Australians, and Europeans! It is a big tourist site. It was a lot of fun there. We ate lunch there and then went to work. We went with Bishop to a members house to bring the Grandma a wheelchair because she can't walk. I love doing service for people! :) Then Elder Vazquez, Elder Navarro, and I went to work alone. We went to some investigators and Less-Actives and got to teach them. Some of the big difference here compared to Narvacan is that there is NO flat place here! Everything is up and down a ton of stair or hills! It is really tiring. Also I am not as 'Famous' here like in Narvacan because people are used to seeing Foreigners here. I think I am going to like this place. It is also nice that it is cold here It gets between 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit here. It was extremely cold last night! Anyway, our last appointment was at a members house. All the Priesthood holders that are adults were invited for a dinner. It was really good! We played darts too. It was a fun night. One thing I ate today for the 1st time is Shwarama. It is Beef that is put on a pole and the employee just cuts meet off of it when people order it. It is delicious! You have to see the picture to know what it looks like. It was another fun day in Baguio. :)

Your Friend, Elder Scott

2-26-17

My email this week is a bit different... well, completely different. This is because I felt like a change and was inspired to type a different message for you guys. Today is February 23, 2017 and today I want to share with you an important message about service. Today I learned a good lesson about service. Around 5:00pm we went to Rivedavia to teach the Tadpac Family. We are helping prepare little 7 year old Ryan for his baptism. We planned to teach about prophets to them, but when we got there they had a lot of corn that had its skin taken off. The Father of this family is working abroad and is not home and the oldest boy is only 10 years old and the mother has a new baby. It is hard for this family to grow a corn field, collect the corn, shuck the corn, and take the kernels off the core to make chicken feed all by hand! To be honest I didn't think much of the big pile of corn at the front door, but I should have! I should have jumped up and asked to finish the pile for them. I had been taught better growing up. My parents did a great job at teaching me and my siblings the importance of helping and serving others but I guess I was blind to it. Elder Youngerman asked if we can help and she happily said "Yes, That would be so helpful." this mother of 4 young children with a husband that is never home needed help and I didn't realize it. This changed my view of the importance of service. We had to take the shucked corn and twist it in our hands to get the kernels to fall off. It was really tough! It hurt and was hard. I though... "How does this Mother and her kids do this? I am having a hard time doing it!" I didn't give up though because I realized how important it was to this family. So for the next 1 hour and 30 minutes we tackled this pile of corn. There were kernels all over the ground ready to be packed for chicken feed. At the beginning of the work my hands started to hurt. They started to get blisters, peeled skin off my thumbs, and sometimes my thumbs started to bleed a little, but I did not give up. My thought was... "I owe this to this family. I didn't realize at first that they needed this service so I owe them." I also thought about Jesus Christ and the ultimate sacrifice he gave for us ALL. I am doing this for a family in need of help and Christ served all the world! "A little pain and blood ain't gonna hurt." I thought to myself. I can't believe I almost missed this opportunity! this corn for corn feed will bring income to this family and if I wouldn't have helped they would have been behind on their income. What I am getting at with this experience is that we CANNOT miss these simple opportunities. I say 'Simple' because they are so simple compared to the sacrifice and service of our Savior Jesus Christ. We have opportunities all around us but sometimes, like me, we don't realize... but we can! We need to open our eyes and SEARCH for these opportunities. God will provide us with them if we are willing to serve. My testimony is simple... I know that when we serve others we change lives. We will change lives of people that we don't realize we are helping. We will take the burdens off the lives of others. The service we do for others is the least we can do. Like it says in Mosiah 2:17 "When ye are in the service f your fellow being, ye are only in the service of your God." It is as simple as this and I know this to be true with all my heart. I would like to share with you a beautiful testimony on the topic of service from my dear friend, Elder Baliwas.....

Elder John Baliwas(Philippines Baguio Mission) I remembered serving people on various community services. My happiness become vibrant and my love for them glows brighter as the Sun, As we unite to serve one another, we accomplish much more together than we could on our own, It is thrilling to be engaged and unified as we serve and assist in the LORD'S WORK, Serving is a Blessing, The opportunity to serve is one of the great blessings of membership in the Church especially on the mission, The Lord has said "If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me," and we serve him by serving others. As we serve we draw closer to God, We come to know Him in ways that otherwise might not, Our Faith in Him increases, Our problems are put to perspective, Life becomes more satisfying, Our love for others increases as well as our desire to SERVE, Through this blessed process, we become more like God,and we are better prepared to return to HIM. As President Marion G. Romney taught "Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made." Serving requires faith, the Lord bless us in our efforts, The natural man or woman in all of us inclined to allow us to excuse ourselves from serving for reasons such as "I'm not ready to serve; I'm too old and I'm tired I need a break." Brothers and sisters, accepting and fulfilling a calling is an act of faith. We can trust in what our living Prophet of God, President Thomas S. Monson, repeatedly teaches: "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies" and "When we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled on the Lord's help." Whether we are scared to death or bored, the Lord wants us to go out, power up and serve, We are all in this great endeavor together...Your obligation is as serious in your sphere. No calling in this church is small or little. EVERY CALLING IS IMPORTANT! Let us serve, Let us rise up in faith in him, put our shoulders to the wheel, and move this worthy work along. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Great Exemplar, he gave his life to this Father's work. In the Grand Council before this world was organized, Jesus, chosen and anointed in the beginning, "HERE AM I, SEND ME" in so doing. He literally became the servant of us all. Through Jesus Christ and the power we receive through his Atonement, we can also serve, He will help us. I extend my heartfelt love to those of you who may not currently be able to serve in the Church in traditional ways because of personal circumstances but who will live your life in spirit of love and service. I Pray that you will be blessed in your efforts, I also express appreciation to those who magnify callings every week as well as those who soon serving a full time mission and accepting calls to serve. All contributions and sacrifices are valued, especially to Him whom we serve, All who SERVE will receive God's grace and promised blessings. Whatever our age or circumstance, let SERVICE be our watch-cry, Serve in your Family, SERVE A MISSION, SERVE your ward and stake, SERVE a stranger, SERVE your neighbor. JUST SERVE. JUST FORGET YOURSELF AND GO TO WORK!. May the Lord our God bless each of us in our efforts to serve and become true followers of Jesus Christ. I testify that HE LIVES AND DIRECTS THIS GLORIOUS WORK. In the name of our Savior JESUS CHRIST, MY MASTER, AMEN. < ELDER BALIWAS 2016-2018,Phils.BAGUIO.MISSION>...PHILIPPIANS 4:13..>

How great it is to hear from others their testimony about this gospel. I want to thank you all for reading this email and announce that I will be transfering this week. I wont know where till tonight, but I am transfering. It is sad and exciting at the same time. I am sad because I have to say goodbye to all my friends that I have made here. I am excited because this will be a new chapter of my mission, a new adventure to write about. My emails will consist of all new names and places. I wanna thank the people of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines for all they have done to make my mission experience a good one. For helping me with Tagalog, grow in this gospel, and become more outgoing. :) Thank you all for being so awesome! I love you all and will miss you. Ingat Kayo! :)

Your Friend, Elder Scott

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