Week 34: Tuesday January 28, 2014

Family,

   Wow, January is already come & gone! The days just seem to blur together & speed right past you. It's like Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast sometimes. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you might miss it." This seems to be more & more true everyday. 

   I know that you are all anxious to hear about the baptism! So let me tell you about it...it didn't happen. Everything was going great & they were excited to be baptized. We had their interview the Wednesday before & as I waited I must admit that I was holding my breathe. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen. I kept thinking about my blessing when I was set apart that talk about how many people would come close to baptism but would back out right before. Well, let prophecy be fulfilled. It turns out that the Rolan, the husband, still has a little bit of a drinking problem.  We have gone back to them a few times this last week & are going back tonight as well. The first visit after the interview, Rolan was quite discouraged. We taught him about the atonement & how we need to have faith that Jesus Christ can help us. After the lesson, I didn't feel like he responded very well. However, every time that we return, he seems to be happier & he is gaining a stronger resolve to beat this problem & be baptized. The baptism is postponed but temporarily. 

   We have also been teaching a young girl, Lexus, & I can't tell you how amazing she is. A few lessons ago we taught her about the Book of Mormon & I dare say that it was the most powerful & spiritual lesson that I have had on my mission. We taught her about Joseph Smith & the restoration, continuing on with the Book of Mormon. As I taught her, tears filled her eyes as she was taught by the spirit of the truthfulness of this gospel. I asked her what she was feeling & she expressed to me that she had never felt that way during any other time of her life. She excitedly accepted the invitation to be baptized! However, it will still be awhile before her baptism. She has an unusual situation. She is 15 & lives with her aunt, a member, & doesn't have a good relationship with her parents who are both non-members. I could explain the whole process, but it would take awhile & I don't have a ton of time. Needless to say, the rule of the mission won't allow her to be baptized probably for the next 3-6 months, in which time, I am sure I will be transferred. 

   I loved everyone's e-mails this week & I am so happy to hear that grandma is doing better! I have been praying for her. I always love pictures & it's crazy to see how BIG Daxton is getting. It's weird to think that, in reality, his birthday (& my 1 year mark) are coming up soon! It's also weird to think that the next time we get to "google hangout" is also in May. 

   Me & Elder Lagundino are doing fine. The work continues to progress! Dad, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I read your experiences with a native companion. Chad & Casey I'm sure have similar experiences as well. There are definitely cultural differences that are at times difficult to overcome. I shouldn't say that they are difficult to overcome, rather my patience is very much tested. I haven't had to deal with it so far seeing that my companions have either been American or Tongan. Tongans are just laid back islanders so anything goes with them. Filipinos, however, have a very different way of doing things. Often times with my companion, it's his way or no way. I have to help him realize that we can't always do everything the way that he thinks it should be done. I don't mean this in a selfish way, I just mean that there are ways that President Schmutz wants us to do things & he just doesn't fully understand why we do something a certain way. I am patient with him, because I remember a time when I didn't understand why we did or didn't do certain things as well. He is doing fine. In fact, he is a great cook & very tidy! He makes me food & cleans the apartment, so I don't have too much to complain about!

   We have a zone activity in Tanjay today, about 30 minutes away. I'm excited & I will try to remember to take some pictures for you all. Love you guys!

Elder Staheli

Week 33: Tuesday January 21, 2014

Family,

   I have had a great week here in Negros, & it sounds like you are all doing wonderful as well. SO MANY PICTURES! I love it! Thanks so much for sending them, they are just as good, if not better than anything words can say. So, the Seahawks & Broncos, huh? I would really like to see the Seahawks come out with a win, but I'm not sure if they can stop Peyton Manning. He's unreal. 

   As you all know, I had the wonderful privilege of sitting down with my Mission President this week to speak with him about my mission. What a great conversation! This man is so spiritual. Just being around him makes me feel like I am in the presence of an apostle or something. We had a wonderful conversation about my mission thus far, & he was especially impressed with the progress I have made, as I am & as I am sure you all are as well. He told me how it feels like he is speaking to a completely different person than when I first arrived. He told me about how proud he was of me. We had a meeting the night before with all of the trainers, & he told me how taken aback he was with the comments that I was making. He just smiled at me & told me that "the Lord has great things in store for you in this mission, Elder Staheli." Needless to say, it was a wonderful conversation. However, the best part is that he told me that I would be able to see Casey when he comes! He told me that there are some restrictions, & that he usually doesn't permit missionaries to see family, but he told me that he didn't worry about me at all & he said, "in fact, I'm sure seeing your brother would be a great blessing for you!" Casey, he told me that the restrictions are that I am not allowed to leave my area, meaning you will have to travel to wherever I am assigned, & that even though you may have a 3 or 4 day leave, our visit would only be able to last an hour or two. We can discuss in greater detail as the time gets closer. He also told me that I needed to let him know exactly when it was so that he could approve it. What a blessing it would be to see you, Casey!

   The interview for the Jamito family is tonight, & if all goes well we will have a baptism on Saturday! They have a friend who lives about an hour away who is the branch president who is going to come down & baptize them. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed that I won't be able to do it, but in all honesty I don't even care. If they get baptized, that's good enough for me! 

   Sorry, no pictures this week! But thanks for writing. You are all in my prayers. 

Elder Staheli

Week 32: Tuesday January 14, 2014

Family,

   I can't tell you how much I appreciated all of your letters, pictures, videos, etc.! I am so blessed to have such an amazing family to love & support me in whatever I do. I pray for you all every night & thank Heavenly Father that all of you are such a big part of my life. I have many friends, but I have always felt so close to all of you. While other kids might have been out with their friends, I feel like I often elected to stay home & spend time with you. Families are meant to be the closest people in a persons life, & I know that this a truth for me. For some reason, I feel like our family is "unusually close." I just look at other people & their families, & they are all close & love each other very much, but for some reason I just feel like there is something different about our family. I'm not sure why I feel this way & it's difficult for me to explain, but the point is that you are all the greatest blessings of my life. I love you all so much.

   Things are going well here in the Philippines. This week has been unusually stormy! Apparently a storm blew over from Tonga & New Zealand? I'm not sure, but it has poured everyday this past week, & I can say that I have loved every second of it. Things are finally starting to clear up & I'm afraid the heat is returning. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. 

   The work is also going well. Me & Elder Lagundino are finding new people it seems like everyday. He is still speaking mostly Tagalog, but we are working on his language skills (English & Cebuano) & they are both improving! It's interesting being with a Filipino companion. There are many differences that I have noticed compared to being with an American companion. Cultural differences, no doubt, but sometimes he just does things & it makes me laugh. One GREAT thing about having a Filipino companion is that they are such great cooks! Man, it's like having your own personal chef. On top of that, they clean the entire house everyday...it's like being back at home with Mom & Starr! Overall, things are going fine here. 

   This weekend we are going to Dumagete for our zone interviews. We have these interviews every other transfer & I really enjoy them. It's a good time to just speak with President about anything. Also, he teaches a few workshops & they are always amazing. I'm calling it right now; when he gets home, he will be called as a general authority. The downside of having these things this weekend is that we have to move the baptism to next Saturday, which just gives them another week to think & possibly change their mind. Hopefully that doesn't happen...

   I have received many packages: one from Mom, one from Dad, & one from Grandma. Thank you all so much! It's always so nice to get American snacks & goodies. Dad, I really like the ties you sent! Thank you so much. Grandma, yes I receive all of your e-mails. I really appreciate them! To answer some questions, yes, generally all Filipinos are the size of my companion. Yes, I write in my journal. Not every night, but I am trying to get better at it. 

   For my birthday, the Sister missionaries came & decorated our door while we were at church. Don't worry, I saved them so all of you can see them when I get home. They also get me 5 new neckties! They are so great. They bought us pastries & made us blow out the candles. I say "us" because it turns out that one of my housemates has the exact same birthday as me! We both turned 19 on January 12. Kinda crazy.

   That's about it. Love you guys. 

Elder Staheli

Week 31: Tuesday January 7, 2014

Family,

   Thank you all for the birthday wishes! It's weird to think that I'm almost 19 years old. It's even stranger to think that I will be 20 when I get home, no longer a teenager!

I'm sure you are all anxious to hear about my new companion, & I have plenty to say & share. His name is Elder Lagundino. Just from the name I'm sure that you are aware that he is a Filipino & my first Filipino companion. I have now served for 1 week with Elder & I have had the chance to figure out a little bit what he is like. Needless to say, he is the epitome of a Filipino. His English is very little & his Cebuano is even less. He is an Ilicano speaker, but he is fluent in Tagalog as well, just like every other Filipino. This has made is somewhat difficult to communicate, as you can imagine. However, we can communicate a little bit in English & Filipino's typically learn the language very quickly, so I am not too concerned. He is very gospel smart & a great teacher. . . in Tagalog. But that's okay because I gave him some of my books to study Cebuano. 

   I must admit, at the beginning of the transfer I was a little bit "companion sick". I missed Elder Andus a lot. He has been my favorite companion so far & He lives in Utah & I have his e-mail, we plan to keep in touch after our missions so I am not too worried. The work is really progressing just in the one week of this new transfer. We have taught many people & have some new potential investigators. The Jamito family is continuing to progress & their date is still set for the18th of January. I am very excited! 

   I haven't received packages yet, but we have a zone training meeting tomorrow so maybe the zone leaders brought some back from Cebu. Other than that, everything is going fine. There isn't much to report on this week. Time just keeps flying by! I will try to send some pictures right now. Love you all!

Elder Staheli

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