Week 60: Tuesday July 29, 2014

Family,

   I always take the opportunity to evaluate myself during transfer week. As I have done so these past few days, my heart is filled with gratitude & happiness. It always surprises me to find that I have grown in so many different ways in only a matter of 6 weeks. It makes me so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. Through the atonement, we are able to repent & be made clean. We repent of sin; mistakes that we have made in our life that distances us from the presence of our Heavenly Father. But the atonement is not only for people who need to repent of big mistakes that they have made in their life. The atonement is here so that we can become perfect, just as Christ is perfect. By using the atonement in our life, which is a daily process, we become "refined". We increase in knowledge. We receive power from on high to lift us to much greater heights than we are capable of reaching on our own. It's difficult for me to think about the atonement that the Saviour made for us without tearing up. I am forever grateful.

   I'm sure you are all anxious to hear about transfers! After 3 wonderful months with Elder Harris, I am pleased to announce that I will be staying here in the city. However, Elder Harris will be transferring to the "promised land", Dumagete! His new area is such an incredible place. It's on Negros & it is such a beautiful place. The people are incredible. I am so happy for him. Since he is transferring, that means that I am going to have a new companion. My new companion's name is Elder Martinez. His name may sound somewhat familiar; I have mentioned him in previous letters. I cannot tell you how excited I am! He is probably one of my best friends in the mission. He's from Spanish Fork & arrived in the mission 1 transfer after me. This will be his first transfer as a zone leader which means I will have to train him & "show him the ropes". We have talked for a very long time about being companions & now the day has finally come! 

   As I mentioned last week, we had a baptism on Saturday! What a great way to end the transfer, right? It was such a cool experience & he has such a strong testimony of the church, especially the Book of Mormon. He has already read the whole thing! I have never seen that in my entire mission. He is receiving the Aaronic priesthood this Sunday & is excited to start working with us. He is going to make a great future leader in the church. Don't be mad, but I forgot my cord this week so you will have to wait until next week for pictures...sorry!

   Well, that's about all that has happened. It has been such a spiritual week. I am grateful for this time that I have had to serve with Elder Harris & I am so excited to continue on with Elder Martinez. 

   I love you all!

   Elder Staheli

Week 59: Tuesday July 22, 2014

Family,

   New pictures! Go check them out. We had a couple of service projects this week & some other fun things so go & look at them. 

   Well, we've been quite busy as usual & I'm really tired, so it's kind of hard to think straight. If some things don't make sense, just keep reading & act like I didn't type it. Like I said, we had a couple of service projects this week which were great & lots of fun! I really enjoy doing service projects & helping others in ways that we don't typically get to because we are out proselyting. I also sent some pictures of a delicious Filipino dish! The food here is amazing. I'm really going to miss having fresh fish, fresh fruit, & other yummy foods here in the Philippines. 

   On a more spiritual note, we have a baptism on Saturday! Elder Harris is going to baptize the investigator that we found last transfer, John (Kyle). I'm sure you all remember his story, but it has been the most incredible journey with him. He has come so far & he is so ready to be baptized. He told us that he went out knocking doors by himself the other day! We had to talk to him a little bit about that... Anyway, he is super excited to start working with us once he gets baptized. We also have some really great new investigators that I am really excited to teach.

   Can you believe that it's already transfer week again? This Monday is transfer call & then Thursday everyone will be traveling. I'm sure Elder Harris is going to transfer. He's been here for 3 transfers & there's no way that we are staying together for another one. Which means I'm probably staying right here in Kamputhaw! I have loved every single one of my areas in my mission, but I think that I have come to love this one the most so far. The work has been incredible, the temple has been amazing, & the people are the best! I hope I stay here another transfer. But if I do end up transferring, I can say that I gave it everything that I had.

   I feel bad, I feel like my letters are getting shorter & shorter each week. It's kind of hard to find new things to write about when you are doing the same things for 2 years. But even though it's the same schedule, you always seem to find unexpected surprises around every corner. Everyday is a new adventure!

   Love you guys,

   Elder Staheli

Week 58: Tuesday July 15, 2014

Family,

   Rainy season also means stormy season. I know that I've mentioned it before, but I love the rain. It's been really strong for the last week or so, & I think we are in the middle of a pretty good storm. It's nothing like the storm that hit last year, I'm sure. Me & Elder Harris already have some pretty fun experiences of not finding shelter in time & just getting soaked. I feel like you haven't lived your mission to the fullest unless you have a couple of stories like that.

   Well, I don't have much to report this week. The working is progressing. The only challenge we have at the moment is that we are working on getting a couple married so that she can get baptized. It's a big part of the culture not to get married over here, but often times people really want to get married, they just don't have the money or means to do so. This couple that we are working with has a great desire to get married & I am really praying that everything is able to work out. She is set to be baptized on August 9th but if they aren't married, we will have to move it back. Pray that everything will fall into place!

   We went on splits yesterday with a companionship & I was able to work with an Elder that I have always wanted to work with. His name is Elder Diamse. He's from Nephi & has been out for about 8 months. I don't think that I have ever met a happier, more positive person in my life! I have yet to see him without a smile on his face. It was such a great experience. Working with other missionaries is one of my favorite parts of the mission. I love seeing how missionaries change throughout the course of their mission as they give everything that they have to this work & as they allow the Lord to change them. Maybe I love it so much because I have personally experienced it & have seen it happen within myself. I also love helping the missionaries in anyway that I can. However, it often times seems that they are the one that ends up helping me & I always learn so much from the younger missionaries. Whoa, that's weird to say. I guess I'm finally considered an old missionary...

   I loved hearing about everyone's holiday! I'm glad Maddie's family was able to go down to St. George for a few weeks. This is actually one of the times that I'm glad I wasn't there. It sounds like it is uncomfortably hot right now! But I miss you all so much & I can't wait to join you all again for things like that. 

   Talk to you soon,

   Elder Staheli

Week 57: Tuesday July 8, 2014

Family,

   What a wonderful week it has been! This past week includes everything - work, bowling, baptisms, sealings, interviews, sushi, birthdays...it has it all! But to start, I want to wish everyone a happy 4th of July! I think I did last week too. I can't remember...But it sounds like everyone had such a good time. I'm glad. It feels weird when you all say that I'll be home for the fun next year. This week has be so spiritual & uplifting. It has almost brought me to tears a few times this week when I think about leaving all of this. This is my life. My heart is in Cebu.

   So to start, I guess I will talk about interviews. My interview with President McCurdy was yesterday & it was a wonderful opportunity to sit down & talk with him one on one. He is such a great man! I'm so excited to have him here. The work is going to be great. The best part of the interview is that he gave me permission to have Casey come down & see me! He was all for it. I already sent Casey the information so we will keep you updated on when that might be & what exactly is going on. I'm so excited to see you, Casey!

   The coolest part of my week happened when I received a text one morning informing me that a few families from my first area (Pinamungajan) were being sealed in the temple that day & requested that I attend. I had never seen a family sealing before. It was such a beautiful experience! I took a picture outside of the temple & uploaded it to dropbox. I was so happy to see these families that I worked with make the decision to enter the temple as a family. I am so proud of their hard work & dedication to make it happen. It's not an easy thing, but I know that they will never regret it. 

   We went bowling last p-day! I'm not going to lie & say that I bowled an incredible game, but it was so much fun to spend time with the zone. Some of them had never been bowling in their entire life & had a blast! It was really cool to see how much they enjoyed it. It really made me appreciate the blessing that we enjoy back home. Often times it is things that we take for granted & don't even think twice about.

   There have been so many miracles in the work this week! I will start with the best news... I have told you all about John, the guy who is having problems with his family right now. His situation is improving drastically. He has made contact with his family & they are working on the problems that they have. Through it all, it sounds like his wife has felt a small change of heart & may be open to listening to the missionaries again at some distant time. The best part is that because of the progress he has made, he is getting baptized! His baptism will be on July 26. It's such a sweet, peaceful feeling knowing that all of our hard work with him will all pay off. He has such a strong testimony. I love him so much!

   Last Friday was Elder Glines' birthday! Naturally we all went out for dinner & celebrated. Me & Elder Harris were actually on splits that day so you won't see him in the pictures. The huge rugby player from New Zealand on my right is my batch. We were in the MTC at the same time & it was really cool to work with him. 

   Last but not least, I broke my involuntary fast of sushi on Monday. Don't be fooled. Just because I am in Asia doesn't mean that there is sushi all over the place. Very few places have it & when they do it is very expensive. However, one of the missionaries going home had his parents come & pick him up & they took us out to dinner one night. We went to a really nice restaurant & I ordered sushi. It was amazing.

   So much more has happened this week, but most of those things can't be explained. Everything that happens in a mission has to be experienced personally to be fully appreciated. I hope you can receive at least a small glimpse of what happens in my life everyday. There is nowhere that I would rather be. 

Elder Staheli  

Week 56: Tuesday July 1, 2014

Family,

   I am pleased to announce the safe arrival of President & Sister McCurdy! They landed Sunday evening in the middle of a fantastic thunder storm... Welcome to the Philippines! I have actually been spending a lot of time with him since his arrival. We met on Sunday & talked for a few minutes. They are both so nice! He is such a great man. I am really looking forward to finishing out my mission under his direction. It already has a different feel, but that is to be expected I suppose. He is so excited & just wants to get out to work. In fact, he came with me & Elder Harris to a couple of appointments on Mondaynight! We took him into a whole new world. While he didn't understand a word that was being said, he smiled & bore a great testimony to those whom we taught. We also had our monthly MLC yesterday. He joked about how it wasn't fair to throw him right into an MLC when he's only been here for 2 days, but he did a good job. It was a little different; mostly a getting to know you meeting. Afterwards we were able to attend another temple session. Amazing as always. You can tell that they are just exhausted & in a little bit of culture shock, but I am so excited to work with them both & build a strong relationship with them.

   I believe I have told you about Kyle, the great investigator that went a little crazy. He is still looking for his family & we are still teaching him, but we still aren't too comfortable baptizing him right now unless something happens & the problem is solved. He always texts us & asks us to pray for him. He is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! It's so unfortunate that that one decision he made has effected his progress in the gospel. We continue to pray for him & hope that he will be able to fix the problem with his family. 

   I remember telling you about another investigator that we had, Hernando. He is the one that had the dream about the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, he unexpectedly left for Davou so we haven't seen him in the last few weeks. Before he left he expressed to his mother the desire that he has to be baptized if he finds the Book of Mormon to be true. 

   Finally, the Melon twins! Yeah, their last name is Melon. Their names are Jody & Joed. They are 24 & are so great! They are actually the people that we took President McCurdy to. They have been progressing like crazy as well! They have come to the temple & they read & pray everyday! The lesson that President McCurdy came to, we committed them to baptism & they accepted! They said that they still have a lot of questions but they know that as they continue to read, their questions will be answered. I promised them that their questions would be answered & that they could know through the power of the holy ghost. They are set to be baptized in August. 

   Well, I sent some pictures this week including a picture of my bathroom. I know that you are going to be disgusted when you see it, but so you know: This is the absolutely cleanest bathroom that I have had my entire mission! We spent 3 hours scrubbing & this is the best that we could do. That big garbage can...that's what we shower out of with that little scooper. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. We are going bowling today so I will take more pictures. It's my first time bowling in over a year! 

   I started to tear up when I heard about Daxton! I pray for you all by name every night, including the kids. I will continue to do so. I am sure that this operation, as painful as it may be, will cure his problem & he will be fine. 

   I love you all so much. Time keeps going by faster & faster. It's scary sometimes. That just means that I have to keep working harder & harder. I love this work & I love these people. I don't know what I did to deserve all of these blessings, but I'm grateful beyond words. I wish you could all experience this. It changes ones life.

   Until next week,

Elder Staheli