Elder Staheli

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

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

4.2.14

4.3.14

4.6.14

4.7.14

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Teaching the Children of the Philippines

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

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

3.18.14

3.20.14

3.21.14

3.24.14

3.25.14

3.31.14

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Week 42: Tuesday March 25, 2014

Family,

WHOA! So transfers were this week, & you will all be very excited about my new assignments! As I have mentioned the last few weeks, 2 new zones are opening up in our mission, the San Carlos & Escalante zones. They were taken from the Bacolod mission, & I think some parts are even in Bacolod. Everyone in the mission of course wants to open up these areas & have the opportunity to serve there. When transfer call came, I was very excited to hear that I will be serving in the San Carlos zone! Me & my companion, Elder Mozar, will be opening the area of Guihulngan. I am so excited for this wonderful privilege. Even more so, because I will be the District Leader in this new area! I had the chance to speak with President Schmutz briefly, & he told me that he has chosen me for this sacred & important responsibility because of how diligent & obedient I am. He told me how proud he is of the progress I have made since I first arrived & that he can see the change that has occurred in me as I have given everything I have to this work. I am so grateful for the trust that he & Heavenly Father have in me.

That means that I will be transferring from the old farthest area in the mission, to the new farthest area in the mission! I have actually been up since 2 o'clock this morning because we have a meeting today in Cebu for everyone who is transferring to the new areas. I am currently sitting at an internet hun in Cebu, running on about 4 hours of sleep in the last 2 days or so, so I hope this e-mail makes sense. As you can imagine, the next week or so will be extremely busy, so I unfortunately won't have time to upload photos this week. Look forward to next week though, because I have many! I focused this weeks pictures on the children of the Philippines. I want you all to see my very favorite part of living in this wonderful land, & that comes from the beautiful, happy children!

I loved the family pictures that you sent! Daxton's shirt looks just like something I would wear. It's weird to say, but I think he looks just like me too. Since that's the case, you'd better watch out Starr...the girls are going to be all over him!

Well, I can't really think of anything else to say right now. I don't have as much time today as you can tell. I am very excited & I ask for your prayers to help me magnify this calling that I have been asked to fulfill. I know that you all pray for me, & I'm grateful.

I love you!

-Elder Staheli