Hey all! 

I'm so glad that everything is going good for everyone! For this week has been pretty good! pretty fast and I'm looking forward to this one! 

So just a low down on everything! 

So our teaching! we are improving our numbers and finding more investigators. We realized earlier this week some things we needed to work out in our companionship to make it better and have the spirit with us more and more everyday.  We realized that both of us were just waiting for the other person to act or take lead.  For Elder Delos Santos he just wanted to sit back and have me lead so i can learn then for me i just thought he was trunkie and just kinda lost his motive(which there is still a little) haha but we sat down and talked and finally had some communication on what to do to make this the best 4 weeks of his mission. I straight up told him that I'm fine  with leading but at the same time I can't be babysitting. I cant be the only one planning or deciding were to go or who to teach or just what to do! cause that's what i was doing and I wasnt getting any help.  He would always just ask me where are we going. or you plan. or just little things.  But on wed we finally talked it out and have doing   alot better with share of responsibility of 2 people in a companionship. I'm still leading but there is more help on planning or just deciding important things.  

For me I learned a lot. I really learned that if there is no communication in a companionship this work can't be done.  its true. the spirit leaves and wont help one no matter how hard he tries. I felt like after I had support of him the spirit came back into our teaching and we were able to increase our numbers and just have a better week.  Of course we aren't perfect teachers or companionship but everyday we have been trying to progress. i still see some areas that could work out a little more and can work on that this week! 

For investigators this week! 

So first

Alota Family:

So the Alota family. I'm not sure if I've mentioned them but they are all investigators.  There are 4 of them. Nanay and Tatay(Mom and dad) then there son and his wife. Nay and Tay are probably in there 60's and his son Joven and his wife Likem are probably 30ish and have one daughter maybe 3 years old.  so we meet them a couple weeks ago and teach them about once a week. last week we set a baptismal date with them but they didn't so up to church. This week we are going to focus on helping them progress and getting to them to church! 

Angelo Dela Cruz! so far he is our only progressing investigator. This week we plan on getting him a baptismal date. We had a plan last time but we brought our branch president and he just messed up the lesson. He didn't stop talking! haha. so this week na lang! 

pero im not sure about him! I faith with him but whenever we teach him he seems like he's not interested yet he still comes to church and does our commitments! 

So my fun story of the week! We went up to this one barangy with our branch president cause we had a potential investigator who we were going to stop by but she wasn't there so we just thought sige ah. (okay) we'll just teach to the neighbors around.  So probably 90% of this area is Seventh Day and the just like to debate about the Sabbath day. Our first house went really good. she was 7th Day but she was very interested in mormons and our culture and how I knew the language and she just thought it was really cool that we would spend time devoting to the Lord! then the next house! Here is my story! 

So go up to the door yell "Balay" which is their way of knocking here then the open the door invite us in and the debate is off! this lady just is asking questions and opening her bible then I'm just sitting there not understanding really I just know the topic then I was like well I don't want to sit here. How can I prove this lady.  So I think think think. then say....

"sister. may ara ko isa ka pamongkot lang sa imo" (sister i have one question for you)  "sino natuga sang modern day calendar"( who created the modern day calender") her response tawo gani(people) then i just was like exactly that sister. so I mean that Jesus Christ didn't make this calendar. Whose to say there were calendars back in that day that.  In the bible it just says 7th day. So it's not important that the sabbath day is on sat or sunday but that its the first day because after the ressurection of Christ that's when the Aapostles took the sacrament. It really doesn't matter the day we have a Sabbath but as long as you have one a week and rest from you labors as the commandment commands.  She didn't know what to say but was just like that's not the commandment the commandment is Sunday.

So she just wanted to debate.haha.

But thats my week in a nutshell! 

Hope all is well this week for all of you! Language is still a struggle but I try not to look at that anymore and just pray that God will bless me! Don't worry I will learn this language. and if I don't.. I don't know! haha but that's not the important thing. The important thing is that I serve with all my heart might mind and strength. the Lord didn't  send me to master a language but to master the spirit. to serve diligently and obediently and in return I can receive blessing for me and more importantly be a blessing for someone else! I see my time moving faster and faster which kinda scares me but at the same time its good I just have to work harder to keep up with it! 

The Church is True. Its truly a blessing we have a living Prophet.  Think about it! That's all I have to say this week! 

I love you all and miss you all! 

Elder Sargent! 

P.S.- sorry about the spelling! 

Here is a Picture riding on top of a Tubo Truck! or the big truck the use for loading sugar canes! seriously these trucks are large! I'll take a picture this week of a full one! But this is our Branch President Pilicano. this is after going to a little barangy(town) and debating with many 7th day about the Sabbath day! the story ill include in my big letter! haha

hey family! so can I just say it was great to skype all of you last week! it seems like a month has pasted already. kinda a long week but it wasn't a bad week. I think time was just running a little slow! 

But this week has been good! its been a good week of just focusing on new investigators and trying to find some people to teach. Haven't had much success yet but we may have some good future potential. 

This past week we went through our area book both potential and past investigators and we probably went out with close to 15 names one day in one area and just went out looking for them.  we found out that probably like maybe 11 of those 15 died didn't live there anymore or nobody knew them! haha.  so we just contacted those ones and set up days to come back to teach but when we came to the day and time they told us no one was home! kinda frustrating. but we just had some time before our next appointment about an 45 minute walk away so we went and bought some bread from a bakery and then stopped at a house to buy some water in there little store and ended up talking to her and passed on a restoration pamphlet. so i guess no effort is wasted. she didn't seem too interested but anyway we may stop back! haha. so then after our 45 minute walk we showed up to teach a less active Bro. Pilipil(ive mentioned him before) who is a returning member but then he'll miss one week of church so his time starts over. haha. every time! but anyway he was still out in the sugar fields working so we had his daughter in law go get him but they never returned so who knows but we ended up  meeting a new family and teaching them. we gave them a pamphlet to read but they cant read so I just told them to look at the picture and we'll explain them the next time and they agreed to do that! who know but hopefully! I forgot their last name though. the names here are all confusing! haha they're all the same or all nicknames so it's hard to keep them straight! 

So that's my run down on this week. At Church on Sunday we had one investigator at church then later that night we stopped by his house and taught him. he was very smart with prophets. he's my buddy here in Bug-ang so we always talk and i told him to come to church and he did. haha. he's friends with a member in town who spoke yesterday in sacrament meeting so that was good! so hopefully something can come out of that! his name is Angelo Dela Cruz.  Mga 25ish id guess. he works at the elementary school as kinda the security electrician and janitor so he just kinda roams around the campus all day.  

This week has been. still working hard with the language and not giving up. some days its good on both aspects.  I was listening to a talk by Uchtdorf on Patience this past week a bunch of times. he gave it during a priesthood session maybe a couple years back but it is a really good talk on learning and growing and being patient! but yeah its definitely a good talk for anything! haha but I feel like I've progressed in speaking this week! We'll see has this week goes! 

Missionary work continues to be great no matter the trouble problems and area. its what I signed up for and I continue to push through it waiting for that day were I'm the best missionary I can be! It's in the near future I hope! haha. I remember thinking when I first arrived here in the Philippines thinking oh just wait till June or July and you'll be fine with everything! Maybe a little bit of a estimate error but it doesn't get me down. I have just over 17 months to succeed. I can do it! even if it takes me another year! I can still do it! and that's all that matters! 

Well family! know that I love you all and miss you all! I love this work and love my mission but most of all I love this gospel. its true and I know it! I just have to teach it now! I keep you n my prayers and know that I am in yours because of the support I feel!  I know Christ is our Savior Redeemer and Lord.  He wants the best for all of us so that's why he suffered for us! I hope you all know that to! Love you all again! 

Sorry about the spelling! 

Until next week! 

Love you,

Elder Sargent          

 

 

so these first two pictures are a shirt this guy was wearing. i asked to take a picture. he's not a member but he's a friend of mine in town and a new investigator so it wasn't awkward... haha but it says my the horse be with you then sa likod(on the back) siling niya(it says) cause you look like a horse! its tagalog but Elder Delos Santos translated it! haha. i though that shirt would be the perfect family shirt! if only i can find that shirt! haha

me and a chicken getting ready to eat it. we bought a chicken the other day to raise for about a month until its big and then we will kill it and eat it! im excited to learn how to do all this for when i get home! haha

Hey mom and dad. we found a internet shop open! haha. so we decided to get on and send our numbers. i just decided to write you a little note and tell you all how much i loved skyping! thinking back i think i was a little shy. dont know. maybe when i return ill just be silent around you all! haha. i think thats most missionaries. but anyways! until next week! 

I love you all and miss you all! Happy Mothers day! you are the best mom in the world! I didnt know that adam gave hugs to others except his girlfriends but since he is my best friend i'm sure he did it for me to you even if he didnt realize it! only adam could fill in for me. right! hope that makes sense! but serioulsy! thank you for all you do for me. i love you more then words can explain! 

until next week! 

Elder Sargent

Hope you a had a good mothers day!  

 

Hey everyone! Can you believe where the time has gone. I feel like this week just blew by! I’m now closer to my one year mark than the day I entered the MTC and yet again another transfer week this week! I really have no idea what is happening or what is in store for me. I may just stay with elder delos santos... maybe I’ll be a trainer... maybe I’ll be a junior ...maybe I’ll be transferred! I really have no idea what will happen.  So sorry this email is so late today. We went with the youth in our ward to a  hanging bridge. I sent some pictures! It was so fun! It hung about 50 feet in the air and was about 100 feet long! Pretty good size! All the youth went swimming and cliff jumping into the river and I wanted to join so bad.  But I was obedient and didnt! haha But we had a nice little picnic up there by the bridge and all the youth enjoyed it! Good activity for them! I wish we had swinging bridges and rivers in AZ! haha

 

But this week has been good! Numbers still continue to be low here but we continue to work hard and find more investigators. SO FRUSTRATING.

 

So I told you all about Sis lovely and that she was already baptized so we decided to fellowship and continue to teach and teach their children! So it’s been going good with the lessons to the children. They have some trouble remembering information but when we give them a hint or two they ususally have it! But the frustrating part is that a investigator has to go to church 4X in a row before he/she can be baptized so we went in with a good solid lesson on commandments and obedience. We had a really good lesson... like really good. We had them thinking about why they need to be obedient and why it’s important. The parents definitely understood and we committed them to go to church and they thought about it for a while and then they finally said yes that they would. I felt good about there commitment to going to church but Sunday came around and they didn’t show up. It’s like dang. What can we do now? They understand they need to go to church. We had a two good lessons with them especially on Saturday night and they don’t come. I feel bad for them. They are like really poor and so I understand their problems but at the same time the Lord understands a lot better and He will bless them!

As for our other investigators we continue to find and stop by their house but we've yet to get one to keep commitments! So hard.  As a missionary I cant give up! I just gotta keep working!

 

As for last week Zone Training with President Lopez.... AWESOME!! He's really a good guy. He just knows the doctrine to every point and teaches is so clearly!

 

Our topic was the Lesson 1 in chapter 3 of PMG, or in other words, the Restoration.  If there is one thing that he told us that stuck out to me the most in that lesson is that he said... "When we teach the Restoration we need to take the Sacred Grove with us"  He had us, that had been to the Sacred Grove, explain what is was like... the feeling the nature and everything.  He said as the spirit dwells still in the Sacred grove and we can take the Sacred Grove or that Spirit and teach people to really know! He also said the most important thing you can do after you do that is to kneel when you pray at the end of that lesson. He said think about it... Joseph smith kneeled on a dirt floor that day. Most of your houses you go to have dirt floors. It’s bringing the Sacred Grove into their lives even more! I really liked that and I’m excited for the next time I have an opportunity to teach the restoration to my next investigator. Also at that Zone training we had American hot dogs. Like pure American. Even with American Heinz catsup!  It was awesome!

 

As for me, I am doing good this week! The language continues to be a struggle. My conversational skills are okay. My understanding is still struggling pretty bad and also my teaching. I just can’t express myself. It’s so hard to teach in another language cause so many thoughts enter in your mind but you don’t know how to say them or if you try you just stutter and if you do know how to say them they still don’t come out clear. haha. I’m not down on myself or anything. I just keep trying. I just wish I could’ve have progressed faster. It’s alright though... I still have a long time. I’m excited to see what transfers bring though. I think Elder Delos Santos wants to be transferred, but for me it doesn’t really matter. I’m game for whatever right now at this moment! Maybe my feeling will be different in like 2 days on transfer day but I’ve just decided that whoever my companion is I’m just going to take lead. It’s going to be my mission.  I’m ready just to learn how to do everything through experience. I can’t wait around for things to happen to me... if I have been!

 

I know the church is true. Maybe I don’t know all the doctrine or all the ins and outs of everything in life yet, but I do know enough to say that this Church is True!   I know that I’m here in the Philippines for a reason. I know that I do have a reason here but I’m not sure exactly what that reason is yet so I continue to find ways to really know why I’m here.  I know that that day will come though when I know exactly why I’m here. I’m thankful for all your support in everything that I do and I love you all very much! I

Love you and pray for you even more!

 

Love,

 

Elder Sargent

then the last picture is our lunch! Cannon(rice) chicken adobo(famous dish here) and isda(fish) 

so earlier today we went with the youth to this area with a hanging bridge! the first time i did it. i was scared so i returned. the second i did it. the third i did it with no hands then the fourth and so on it was like i was a natural pinoy(philippino) crossing the bridge. there were people crossing it with like bundles of bamboo on there right shoulder. these people have incredible balance here! not sure how they do it! but this is me on the bridge.

the youth in our ward and there leaders. the leaders are Bro Dave and Sister April. Bro dave is sitting next to me and sister april is above me in the pink shirt.  they just recently got married in the temple. Bro dave is a RM from the illongopo mission and sister april is a convert. they've been married a couple years now i believe. they are really cool. bro dave is the son of the stake president here in sagay.  

hello all again!! how are you all???

 

This week has just been like what the heck happened kinda for me! as in some how total we only taught 10 lessons...like total! haha. we worked for like 7 hours everyday as well. Seriously no one was home except for the kids that don’t work. Everyone else was working. Or they just said they were busy and said to come back later but in the area you can’t go back that same day because the houses are too far away from each other.  So the first part of the week I was just kinda down. Felt like I was just wasting time and not progressing still. Then on Friday I just got done with my self doubting and what not and just started smiling at everyone...talking to everyone and if I didn’t understand them I just shook my head and acted like I knew what they were talking about. I actually think my conversational skills improved alot and a couple members seem closer to me I think! haha. I wish I would have figured that out like 3-4 months ago! haha. But as for this past week yeah I was just very mingaw(poor) We don’t know what happened.

 

But as for our investigators I think this area is just going to need some miracles soon.  I realized yesterday that I’ve been here for 4 months and I haven't had any baptisms. I then realized that I haven’t had one progressing investigator here yet. Baptisms I can handle. You know the time comes for those but at least one investigator that keeps commitments would be nice. I don’t know how to help these people. I feel like I could if I could teach like I can in English but that’s not working too well for me yet so I’m just waiting for some time in the mission to just be a teacher and not a robotic teacher.  Maybe it’s the area, maybe it’s me.  Not sure. But whatever it is I think it’s just going to need some miracles. 

 

But don’t worry! I’m not down. I think I found a groove for me to see progression and actually progress these next few months. I just gotta keep doing my thing.  I’m actually excited for this week cause I’m going to just live with no regrets. If I mess up who cares. I’m American, of course I don’t know this language but hey I’m giving it my best and that’s where the blessings come. Its like P-90X. That’s a hard work out.  You cant jump in on day one without working out before and succeed every repetition with ease. But as you keep doing it and going hard, by day 90 you’re just ripped. Maybe you didn’t see progression while doing the program but others did. Then when you look back you see a bunch! haha. That’s my new program. M-2yrX. M- missionary! It’s worked for others that have worked hard so that’s my program. Work hard. Play hard. Live with no regrets!! 

 

Cant believe it has been 6 months on my mission already! Crazy. 1/4 done! Man time just goes by fast. But it’s good. I like time running fast but I just gotta run with it! I love this place here. The food, the people, the scenery. Sometimes it’s not the best but overall it’s the place to be! haha. I love this gospel..  the scriptures, the prophets, the happiness and the joy that I benefit from having it!  The church is true people. If you don't know it...figure it out. If you do know it..cling to it. That’s all I can say!

 

Looking forward to this next year and a half! I love all of you

 

Love,

 

Elder Sargent!

 

Me and elder pulsipher just trying on some crocs at the crocs store in bacolod! haha

this is me in bacolod last week. we ran into a missionary couple and they happen to be in uncle rays ward up in bountiful. i guess he was their home teacher.

Hey Everyone. sorry my letter is a little late this week but ive been in bacolod all day cause Elder Delos Santos needed a Xray for his depature in June so we have been at the Hospital all morning waiting then lunch and a alittle shopping but i didnt buy anything cause i didnt find anything. i was looking for a nice indoor/outdoor basketball like a spalding or willson but they didnt have anything good. i was also looking for a pull up bar but it was like 2000 pesos and huge so it wasnt worth any of my money! haha. but lunch was good. i wanted to go to Mcdonalds and get a Hamburger but we decided to go to a chicken and unlimited rice place cause it was much cheeper. it was way good though!

So Jealous mom and dad are in La Jolla right now! after my mission in the month of November i plan on going there then maybe hitting up the Christmas Devo in SLC! haha thats my plan for after mission but for right now i just got to take it day by day and progress to become better missionary.

So this week has been pretty good. a lot better then the last and it was pretty good. So just pretty much the same thing over and over. the Investigators we are teaching still aren't progressing when the say they'll do stuff. 

Bro Jomare- amo na gihapon(same as always). we continue to stop by and he continues to enjoy our lessons and ask great questions but he wont come to church. he has a baptismal date now for may 18th but just cause he doesn't keep they commitments I'm not sure if it will happen.

Sis Lovely's kids- there 10 and 8. not much to progress. we are just trying to work with the Parents and get them to church. they said they would both go and we even texted them Saturday night and they still said they'd go but they didn't. we stopped by later that day and they just said yeah we didn't feel like it. we didn't have money. just the same old same old. 

We taught a few first lessons this past week so hopefully i can report more to you all on them next week.  we taught a lot this week to new investigators trying to find some that we think are ready and willing to act on our message so hopefully we can continue to find more and teach more and have some success in this area! haha.

Its not the people that are bad. the people are great. just humble people that are poor but just there life style they aren't willing to give up anything for anything. they would just rather sit around all day and not really do anything. They say they will but in turn they don't. That's the hardest part about this area. Its just the people don't see the importance on acting on things because they never have had to act for anything. they've just grown up that way so i cant blame the people but just the lifestyle and the lifestyle of the area! budlay gid sia(its very hard)! haha!

But the work is going better. its a lot better with Elder Delos Santos then before my first 2 transfers.  Its hard to believe almost 6 months are now done and time will only get faster.  This past week I've seen myself through different eyes. I've been trying to connect with the people a lot better and find simple ways to connect with them and when i do that they seem to open up to me better and listen to me more.  I've seen the Future Elder Sargent and the impact that I can have on these people if I don't ever give up and give it my all to do this work but more importantly  do this work for this people here. I think the mission will only get better now and now is the time to really just go for it and do all I can to learn everything there is. if i wait any longer I fear it will be to late! so that's my plan! and as  do that I can promise my self that this will be the best two years of my life!

I'm thankful for all of your support and love that I feel here across the world! I'm thankful for this gospel and the happiness and the joy it brings to me and for the knowledge I have that it can bring that to other people.  I'm so thankful for my progression that I have had this week and pray that it will only progress more and not decrease! Salamat ko sa tanan mga bugay nga ang ginuo nagahatag sa akon adlaw-adlaw.(im thankful for all the blessings the Lord gives to me daily. I know this work is true and I'm proud to be here in the Bacolod Philippines Mission!

Love you all!

Elder Sargent

P.S-  Sorry waay pictures... waay time to send them! (waay-no/none)

 

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing good. I’m doing okay! This past week was a little rough for me but General Conference definitely turned that around and now I’m  doing great! 

 

So last week was just kinda hard for me. I felt like I was just being tried in every way possible. Just little things were getting under my skin. I was just struggling with the language  just little differences in the culture with me and Elder Delos Santos. Just being way tired and just the members.  I can’t really explain it but I just think I was very stressed with everything... just feeling behind the pace... not really sure if I’m progressing like I should or could but yet I feel like I try everything I can but things don’t come to me even when I pray hard and work hard. I really think this last week was just the Lord’s way of testing me and humbling me even more to really call upon Him and wait for His time.  But hopefully this week goes better and I know my purpose more because I feel like I was able to get a lot of unknowns-questions I had answered at conference. Funny how you pray for one thing but your answer was actually something way different. I still haven’t watched Saturday or Priesthood cause President wouldn’t allow us to go. I was a little mad about that just cause it’s only the Prophet and Apostles speaking to us, but I guess I’ll just wait for the April Liahona to get to me so I can read them. 

 

But besides last week we had an interesting week.  haha

 

This story illustrated here will just explains this area to perfection:

 

So all week we were excited to go teach Sister Lovely again and we did. Her and her husband (Bro. Joel- member:but inactive) have been living in Manilla for the past like 25 years so they were just all speaking Tagolog meanwhile I’m sitting there just lost but just kinda whatever cause it was Tagalog but once we started the lesson Elder Delos Santos asked if we could speak only in Illongo or Cebuano cause I don’t know Tagolog. haha (i dont know illongo or cebuano either!) jokes. just illongo! But the lesson was mostly Cebuano still. But I was able to follow.. didn’t really understand. But as we started the lesson we were just laying out all the ground rules for baptism and then out of nowhere she’s just like I’ve already been baptized. We were like what??? THE LADY HAS ALREADY BEEN BAPTIZED!!! idk know why she didn’t tell us but we were just like are you kiding me! haha. It was kinda funny but we are still going to teach them all again cause they don’t remember anything and they actually have two kids that are above 8 years old we may baptize if the lessons go good!! haha. That just explains this area. Sometimes its just like "do these people think" haha! I think things are only going to get better from this area. People have said that Minapasok is the hardest area in the mission just cause its way bukkid the people are uneducated, unmotivated, and don’t do anything. Maybe Tyler Sumner Can relate to that! haha. what was his first area by the way!

 

But family I guess that’s my story for the week. The other investigators weren’t home the 2-3 times we stopped by this week so that was a little bad but hopefully we can get them this week. 

 

So family! I know that this work is true. I know that this church is true and is run by Jesus Christ! It’s such a good feeling to have that knowledge. I realize happiness comes to those that know.  What a true fact. Like seriously this work is very challenging at times. Especially for the brain. Sometimes I want to quit and just go home but for some reason I’m still always happy. I never knew why but I’ve realized that it’s because again happiness comes to those that know. What I know, I can’t deny.  Because I know these things, I know there is a bigger picture that I can’t see and I know that I just have to endure and give it my best. It’s like in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible... those that believe and have faith are healed through miracles or produce miracles. I know that miracles can’t be produced without Jesus Christ at the center of everything.  I know that and that’s what brings me happiness!

 

I love you all. I miss you all. I love this work and continue to love... its all my life!  Just not right now!

 

Love you all!

 

Elder Sargent!

 

I guess you could call us the Mormon Batallion or just the MPA(thats the rebel army that lives in my area!) no big deal! haha