Week 47: Tuesday April 29, 2014

Family,

   I'm writing you a few hours later than usual. Today we had a workshop given to us by President Schmutz. We stayed the night here in San Carlos last night & we are going to stay here again tonight. Tomorrow are our interviews with President & as always I am very excited! However, it's a little bitter-sweet because this will be the last zone interview before him & Sister Schmutz return home. I feel like my mission has flown by, I can't even imagine how they must feel!

   These last few weeks have been great. Me & Elder Mozar continue to see progression in our area as we continue to work hard. It's such an awesome feeling looking back at where we started compared to now. It really makes me feel like I have made a difference & have helped the people here in our area. I have found this to be true in a much larger scale as well. Looking back at where I was in high school compared to where I am now is an incredible, almost surreal feeling. I am excited to continue to see the progression that I make throughout my life as I continue to work hard, improve, & grow.

   I can't even believe it, but transfer calls are already next week! These next few transfers are going to be interesting. More than half of the zone leaders that we have in the mission right now are going home either this transfer or next. It will be a very strange feeling not having them in the mission. They have left a great legacy for the rest of us to continue.

   Seeing that we are together with the whole zone today, we are going to play basketball! I haven't played a hard game of basketball other than once or twice on my mission, so I am excited to get out there & see if I can still shoot a basketball. I have also made that a goal for this last year of my mission (that's weird to say). I have been so bad at working out this first year but I have made a goal to workout everyday from now on. I have already started back up. I have been doing 50 push-ups every night for the last week & I couldn't believe how hard it was. I was embarrassed. My chest was really sore for the first few days, but now I am getting used to it & it is getting easier. I would like to eventually get up to 100 or 200 a night by the time I go home. You guys will have to help motivate me because sometimes I get lazy!

   Well, that's about it. Nothing too exciting this week. We should know what day we will be skyping within the next week or two. I will let you all know so that we can all be on the same page. I'm super excited to talk to you all again!

   I love you.

Elder Staheli

Washington Fields 11th Ward Easter Program

The following is an experience and testimony of Dylan's that he shared on the atonement, which was used in the 11th Ward Program on Easter Sunday.

From Elder Dylan Staheli serving in the Philippines: On Saturday we were at the chapel teaching an English class and this man, a member, walked in with this girl that we had never seen. Her name is Jean, she is 17, she has some gang tattoos and dropped out of high school this year, but plans to return next year. Anyway, we taught her the first lesson and it was great. She started crying, and she said the closing prayer. It was such a good experience for her that she asked if we could come and teach her family! Of course we said yes, so we are going to her parents house on Saturday. We went and taught her sister yesterday and the same thing happened. In the middle of the lesson, I asked her how she felt and she started crying and said that she felt so happy. 

I know that the atonement is real. I have seen it in others as I have served, & I have seen it in myself. I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have to repent & come closer to our Father in Heaven. I know that this is possible only through the perfect life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We must use His atonement in our lives every single day. As we do so, we become stronger. We become more like Him. The possibility of returning to life eternal with our Heavenly Father & our families forever becomes real. We must always stay humble & rely completely on the Lord. I know that as we learn to align our will with His in every aspect of our life, we find a joy that at times may not seem possible or even comprehensible. I know that our Savior lives. And because He lives, we too can live. I am so grateful for this promise & the atoning sacrifice of our eldest brother, Jesus Christ. 

Week 46: Tuesday April 22, 2014

Family,

   Wow, the letters this week were #1! I laughed my head off when I saw the picture that Jazzy posted... & even harder when I read the comments!  I agree with Ryan. I don't think there's any doubt that I win.

   Easter weekend sounded like a blast! I'm bummed that I missed it, but it sounds like you were all pretty scattered out anyways. It kills me every time I see a picture of Dax. He is getting so big & he is so cute! His facial expressions are priceless. I can't wait to play with him when I get home!

   This week has been kind of up & down. The work has been wonderful! We had two of our investigators attend church this week & they are showing a great desire to follow the gospel. One of them, Mariel, would already be baptized, but her husband is in the military & away from home right now. Before she can be baptized they have to be married, so it's just a waiting game at this point. I'm not sure exactly when he'll get home, but he still has another year or two it sounds like. She has a lot of support though. All of her in-laws are very active & she attends church with them every Sunday. She shared her testimony with us about the Book of Mormon & it was such a great experience. The other investigator, Anthony, is a 14 year old boy & also attended with Mariel & their family. I have found that generally, if you can convert 1 or 2 families in a small place like that, generally everyone else will be willing to listen & tends to get converted as well. It's pretty cool.

   The down part is that I got sick this week! I suppose I'm pretty lucky that I made it 1 year without getting sick. I'm even luckier that it only lasted about 1 day, & I wasn't really that sick. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I didn't actually end up doing so. I just had really bad stomach cramps & nausea. I didn't have anything to eat for a few days, but I don't eat that much anyway so that wasn't really difficult. Even back home I feel like I didn't eat as much as other people.

   Another "up" of the week is that Elder Uata, my MTC companion, has been working with us in our area for the last 3 days. His companion is going home this transfer & had to go to Manila for a few days to get some security things done. It has been such a blast working with him & talking to him! Like a shared in a previous e-mail, even though we had a very rough start in the MTC, I have come to love & appreciate him so much. He has been my favorite companion that I have had, hands down.

   We have another zone activity this week. We are going to play ultimate frisbee, soccer, basketball, etc. so I am pretty excited about that. It should be really fun. I forgot my cord to put my pictures on the computer, so you'll just have to wait another week. I took some really pictures last week at the big tree.

  I love you guys! I am excited to talk to you again in just a few weeks!

Elder Staheli

Week 45: Tuesday April 15,2014

Family,

   Happy Easter everyone! It's Easter in America which means it's holy week in the Philippines. It's probably the next biggest time of the year besides Christmas. There are many fiestas going on which means two things...A lot of drunk people & a lot of dinner appointments!

   This past week has been great. I had an awesome opportunity to go on splits with Elder Uata. Some of you may remember his name. He was my companion in the MTC. We all remember how much I loved him in the MTC... It's strange how a mission changes you. Looking back at all that we went through in the MTC & the struggles we had, I can say without a doubt that he was one of my very favorite companions. I hope that we have the chance to be companions again later in the mission. That would be a great transfer. It was also a wonderful opportunity to see the changes that have occurred in his life. I couldn't help but compare ourselves in some aspects of the mission seeing that we have been out for the same amount of time. I remember teaching "lessons" in the MTC in Cebuano & how we couldn't speak two words. As we taught this last week, we both taught & conversed in completely fluent Cebuano. It was a strange, exciting experience.

   Today we have a district activity in one of the areas in our district. Our original plan was to climb to the top of this active volcano that is in the area, but it takes about 8 hours to hike to the top. I was really disappointed & our back-up plan is to go to a big tree... I guess you can fit about 20 people around the trunk & climb it. That's cool, but it's no active volcano...

   We are continuing to find new investigators every week. This week we have found some very great potential investigators. We taught them the first lesson & they seemed very interested in learning more about the gospel. I hope they will progress.

   I about died when I saw the videos of Daxton! It kills me how big he is getting! He is walking, playing basketball (in the bathtub), & just doing big kid things! I cannot wait to get to know him when I get home. Starr, you better be ready because I'm sure that I will be over there everyday.

   It's been pretty rainy the last few days. We're in the middle of a storm over here so we have been trudging through the mud & wind. It's actually really fun & sort of surreal. It's also kind of a bummer, but thinking about it, I would probably rather work in this weather than in the scorching hot sun!

   I think that's about it for this week. Chantyl, I haven't met Elder Shaffer yet. Is he assigned here in Cebu? Chad, I'm so excited for you to finally graduate! Sounds like things are going well on the home front. I love you all & pray for you everyday. 

   

   Until next week...

Elder Staheli

Week 44: Tuesday April 8, 2014

Family,

   This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to travel back to Cebu for our DLC (District Leader Conference). It was very enjoyable & I was able to travel with 3 other DLs who are assigned on Northern Negros as well. It was about a 2 hour boat ride & then a 2 hour bus ride down the mountain to Cebu, but it was a great time to get to know them a little bit better. Elder Snyder is from California & he is just 1 transfer behind me, so we'll be getting home around the same time. I have really enjoyed getting to know him & I plan to head out to California after the mission & spend some time with him. We have a plan to have a Cebu mission reunion. A few of us who have gotten close are going to stay at his place in California & spend some time together. I think that it would be really fun & I am looking forward to it. Elder Martinez is another DL & is from Spanish Fork. I really like him as well. It sounds like we were pretty similar in high school. We like the same music, did some of the same things, etc. Of course, the meeting was wonderful; President never disappoints in giving amazing workshops. It was great to see Elder Glines! He's a great teacher & missionary. Elder Peck, the other AP is wonderful too. He's from Northern Utah & I have a picture with him. He is squinting his eyes & making the "gwapo" sign with his hand. They gave us a ride back up to Toledo after the conference, so it was nice to talk with them for a few hours. After it was all said & done, it was nice to get back to work in Guihulngan.

   We taught a really cool lesson yesterday. We taught this girl named Evelyn & a bunch of kids. She is 19 has a kid on the way. It's always amazing to see the spirit work on someone during a lesson. As we taught, you could see here thinking & her eyes started to tear up. We taught them right on the beach. You could hear the waves crashing & feel the cool breeze. You know me, I love those cloudy, cool days. I put a picture up of it, it's really cool.

   As we taught Evelyn, I started thinking of how many times I have seen this happen to people on my mission, yet they never progress. During that lesson, I have never felt more love & desire for someone to just act & the spirit that they are feeling. So many people that I have taught know that the church is true, but they are too afraid to make the change. It's so saddening to see. I started to tear up as well as I bore my testimony to her. After the lesson, I went & stood on the rocks above the beach. The lesson was wonderful & full of the spirit, but as I stood there I wondered if she would be just another person to reject what she knows to be true. As I stood there, I realized that there is nothing that I can do. As long as I have given everything I have to bring the gospel to her, I have done my part. While I will still be saddened by everyone who rejects it, I can feel peace knowing that perhaps they will accept it at a later time or in the next life. I felt this while standing on those rocks.

   That's about it for this week I think. . . I put many more pictures up so you can go check those out. Daxton is walking!! Man, what a stud. It sounds like he needs to be able to walk already so you guys can have a rest. I remember thinking about how I would miss his first steps, first words, etc. I thought that I would feel sad that I was missing out, but I don't. I'm so happy. I love you all!

Elder Staheli

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Teaching the Children of the Philippines

Week 43: Tuesday April 1, 2014

Family,

   You'll be pleased to know that I am currently uploading LOTS of pictures to dropbox. Go check them out in a little bit. The theme is "Children of the Philippines". Just by looking at the pictures, I hope you can see, even if only a little bit, why I love this land so much.

   Well, this has been one of the first times that I have had a chance to sit down & relax since the last e-mail I sent, & I am planning on taking a nice long nap later today. Guihulngan is so great! It is such a beautiful place. Our area is pretty similar to my last few areas. There's a big market in the center of the town & as you go further out, it becomes much less populated. Yesterday we worked up in the mountains where the poor people live. It was such a cool experience. As we were walking around up there, we saw these two men building a house out of wood & bamboo, because they have no place to live. While they were working on the house, the wife was sitting in the dirt beside them, holding their new born baby. I offered to help & as always, they were resistant. It's not that they don't like us, Filipino's are just extremely shy people & do not want to put labor on others. They were resistant out of humility, not pride. Regardless, I grabbed a hammer & helped build there house. It's maybe 5 feet by 5 feet. I don't know how hard it is for you all to picture something like this, I know that I had this idea back home that nobody anywhere in the world still lived like this, but these are things that I see everyday of my mission that build my humility & love for these people. By the time we finished, I could see the gratitude in their eyes & they asked me where our chapel was. They want to come to church. I hope they do, but they live pretty far away & since they have no money to travel there, the chances are slim.

   We also went & visited a less-active family yesterday who also lives up in the mountains. When we arrives, the mother was busy cooking, cleaning, & being a mom while her 5 daughters were all running around their small home. We came in, took out a hymn book, & me & Elder Mozar taught them "I Am a Child of God". I sent a picture & video. I had the impression to teach them about Jesus Christ & Heavenly Father - the very basics - even to the mother. I explained that we are all children of God & that He loves us all. By the end of the lesson, the mother was about in tears. As we walked away, I could hear the kids singing in the background. Through my sweaty, sun torched body, I got chills.

   Sounds like there is a lot going on back home. Happy birthday to grandma & Josie! Chad, I'm sure you're excited to be graduating. Daxton is almost 1 & I've been out for almost a year. I didn't even think about it until Starr said something last week, but we get to talk to each other again next month! It feels like we just talked to other day. I'm glad everyone is busy, especially myself. If everyone is busy, it seems to make the time seem to go by faster. If I have more going on, I don't think about home as much & my mission is so much more enjoyable. I love being a district leader! Teaching a workshop at district meeting was such a fun experience. I'm still not sure what I want to do when I get home, but I may consider going into education? I think teaching would be enjoyable & I would be able to help & influence young people in such a positive way. If I were to teach, I would want to teach high school. I also think that it would be fun to coach a sport as well. It's just a thought that has ran through my head this past week.

   Thanks for the pictures & videos! It's so enjoyable to see & hear you guys. I love you all & miss you very much. Go check out out my pictures later, I'm still uploading some. Talk to you next week!

-Elder Staheli

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