Well, I'm on Negros! There is a city in Negros called Dumagete which is the so-called "Promised Land" of our mission. It's where everybody wants to go. They have American food, cars, it's not that hot. . . I even hear they have Dr. Pepper over there! It sounds mysterious. I want to go there. Then there is my area, Bais. It is the most bukid area on Negros, so I am back in the middle of the jungle. Having said that, I can also tell you that it is absolutely the most beautiful place that I have seen in the Philippines. The views are breathtaking. I will send you some pictures after I send this letter.
Before I forget, I just want to say that I received the package that mom sent & the pictures that grandma sent. I'm also so stoked that Desert Hills took state! In all honesty, I thought Pine View would have beat them with Wilstead at QB. Regardless, I am pleased with the outcome. I wish I could have been there! Chipper sent me some pictures. It looked awesome.
Okay, back to my mission. As I said last week, my companion is Elder Andus & he is coming from Tocloban. He has been out for about 10 montlhs. His area was about 40 minutes away from the city & center of the most damage, so he didn't get hit as hard. His house even survived! He showed me pictures though, & the damage was extremely extensive. We talked about going to the city after it all happened & it was pretty bad. He said it smelled terrible because of all of the dead people just laying all over the place. There is no water, no food, no shelter. People were robbing stores, including missionaries, just to get food. He could here gunshots & people being killed. It sounded like such a crazy situation. I am honestly a little jealous that he was able to experience something like that, but I'm sure you are all glad I wasn't there. Anyway, he is from South Jordan & went to Bingham high school. He is very funny & we get along great!
Since we are both new to the area, that means that we are opening the area! It's a brand new area & it is our responsibility to find & teach people. The area used to be one big area, but has been split into three. We have two other Elder's in our apartment & they are both Filipino, so I am speaking a lot of Visaya. It's great though, because I can ask them questions if I don't know a word or if I am confused about something. We had a coordination meeting the other day to figure out exactly where the split of the areas were & to transfer teaching records into our area book. After all of that, we have a grand total of 5 people in our area book. For those of you who have served missions, you see the task that lies ahead. Normal missionaries plan out their days according to people that they are going to teach that day. We plan on going around & talking to people on the street almost every day of the week. It's incredibly challenging, but I the same time, we are already having some great success. I have a few stories to share with you from this week.
The first story is about that Andaya family. The Andaya family was given to us when the area split & we have started teaching them. We had a lesson with them last night & it was incredible. We started teaching them & we started with the first lesson since they have not yet been taught. We started teaching them & asking them questions, & the lesson went great. The father shared with us his testimony of prayer & how he always prays that he can provide food for his family, find work, etc. He was pretty emotional & it really brought the spirit. After the lesson, we asked them what they were thinking & feeling & they expressed to us that they believe everything we taught them. We gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon & without even reading it they told us that it's true. I hope they feel the same way after reading it! The only problem is that they expressed to us their devotion to Catholicism. We aren't especially worried because this is the case with almost every single person that we have or ever will come in contact with. I really hope they get baptized.
The other family is the Jamito family. This story is great. Chad, you mentioned an experience in your e-mail that just made me laugh, because me & my companion had almost the exact same experience last night with this family. We found this family on Sunday while we were out looking for people. We taught them the first lesson on Sunday so we were continuing on. We were sitting there teaching them a great lesson, & all of a sudden....the power goes out! As I have stated before, power-outages are extremely common here. The power went out around the beginning of the lesson so we taught the family in the thick blackness of night, in the middle of the jungle, with nothing but a small candle in the middle of the room. The lesson was incredible. They told us that they had a neighbour where they had previously lived who was a member & they had been wishing for a few years that the missionaries would find them & teach them. Like my experience a few weeks ago, me & Elder Andus were the missionaries who found them & taught them. They also asked us about the temple. They had seen pictures before & were curious. After explaining a little about it, they expressed to us their desire to enter the temple as a family. There, in the darkness of the night, in a jungle in the Philippines, we committed them to be baptized, & they accepted. Almost immediately after we said "amen" to close the lesson, the lights lit up the house & we could clearly see the tears in their eyes.
There are times when missionary work is extremely difficult, as it is now in opening an area with no one to teach, & there are times when everything goes right. There are times when I want more than anything to just be back at home, able to take a hot shower, eat regular food, play my guitar, & climb back into my own familiar bed. There are times that make me sad when I think of leaving this place behind. Next week marks my 6 months in the field, & since there has been an increase in missionaries, new & those coming from Tacloban, I will probably we sent home 2 weeks to a month early, so my time is only getting shorter. It's been an unforgettable journey thus far.
I can't wait to see you all in a month! Don't laugh at me if I start to cry. I know you all will. Well, at least Starr & Madison. Hopefully I will be feeling a little better by then. I have a bit of a cold. Seriously? Who gets a cold in the Philippines?
Okay, I will try & send pictures now. Hopefully it works. Cross your fingers! Love you guys.
Elder Staheli
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