Weekly Update!

October 14, 2015 

Sorry for not emailing last week. We had a power outage all day last Wednesday and were only able to get to Escelante for 30 minutes to email there. General Conference was great! We got it in English too! One problem with that though. Can you think of it? The people here don't speak English! We had over 1000 peeps at the conference here and hardly anyone understood it! I myself loved it haha.

The weird (crazy) lady came across my path again... As I shook her hand she grasped it tightly, sniffed it, then KISSED it! WWWWWEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah and the kids also really like me too! They like to grab onto my long monkey arms and swing! I know I am tall and nice, but it gets kind of weird when a group of kids surround you just to swing on your arms.

The lessons are going great! Brother Ernesto went to General Conference and seemed to enjoy all he understood-haha. He is scheduled to be baptized on Halloween (2 weeks)! I am excited for him! We will be baptizing little sister Mikah on Saturday, and she has asked yours truly to do the honor! Excited ako!

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(Elder Noprada and me with little Mikah)

I have begun a new "study" on faith hope and charity. It is coming along very well and I hope to mail it home when I am done translating my scribbles so that hopefully my mother can type it up and share what I have found. (Oh btw, Mother, I have a request for you!) 

I woke up this morning with a bad bloody nose... it has stained my white polo :( BOO

Yesterday was great! I led the day (so we did what I wanted to do mwahaha!) We had great lessons and a sufficient amount of FTEs (Find The Elect or OYM Open Your Mouth). I found a tranquil place here so we took some selfies! I shall send a few pics.

(Selfies!!)

All is well here and I am still alive haha! I met four Americans the other day and half of what I was saying to them was in Cebuano not by choice haha. 

I truly love my mission and I have been blessed with so much! I wish the best for you all!

-Elder Morris

Longest/Most Difficult Week So Far

September 29, 2015

So I have been a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for 3 months now and let’s just say that the past week has been the longest/ most difficult week so far.

Each week Elder N. and I do what they call "your first twelve weeks". This includes learning the lessons and making the new missionary lead discussions, lead in planning, use the phone etc. Well what I have noticed as well is that each week also has new lessons to learn that aren't from the twelve weeks. This week’s lesson that I (and Elder N.) had to learn is on dealing with a kauban (companion). As far as the details of what our "disagreements" have been I will try to keep them to a minimum. I have learned so much about the importance of patience and turning the other cheek. I have fully come to be aware of the comments that can be made to get a point across as well as fully intended to insult and upset others. As I have come to see these things in action the thing that has helped me a TON is to just hold my tongue. To be completely honest, I do not like to hold my tongue. It makes me feel passive and like a push over. But we learn in the scriptures that those who do not have the spirit of contention are far more blessed than those who do have that evil spirit. I was quite amazed at myself (not to boast) when a question was shot at me yesterday intended to justify and to insult me and the first thing I did was wait. Not answering right away allowed time for me to think about the situation and to think of a more reasonable approach that will calm things down.  As we finished our discussion last night we were able to finish on good terms and hopefully things will change for the weeks to come. 

Currently, I am still in Toboso for another 6 weeks. Another transfer and then afterwards I may be shipped off elsewhere on literally a days notice. On Tuesday nights every 6 weeks we receive transfer calls stating that in the morning we need to pack and head to our new area to meet a new kauban. Things are going great here BTW!

So where to begin with the stories?!? As of right now (night time in America) there should be a full blood moon! I saw the bright red moon here last night and might I say it was cool kaayo! The next full blood moon will be in 2033! (I know this because I sinned and paid attention to the news at a members house). It honestly looked pretty dang cool!

This past week was Family Week. We woke at 4 a.m. to get to Escelante by 6 for a stake wide gathering in which we played lots of games, had a minor parade through the streets, and ate loads of food! It was a good time and the stake president and bishops were all glad that us 30 something missionaries were there. These three kids followed me everywhere and always clung onto me – haha! It was quite adorable but at the same time it restricted me in my associations with others. 

So remember that story I shared about the crazy weird lady who wrote me a love note on the bus? SHE'S BACK! We ran into her yesterday! She chased us down this long empty road stating that she was just going for a jog (in a dress). We got on a motor cab and she still chased us! The twist to it all is that her bana (husband) showed up... He was really MAD! MAD KAAYO! He threw rocks at her, tried to punch her, and told her off like no other! I feel bad for her but at the same time I myself would be very mad if my wife was flirting with every white guy she saw and showed absolutely no fidelity in our marriage. This guy stalked me and Elder N. as well. As soon as we stopped he began to demand money for his cigarettes (I thought we were being mugged!). We were like "No! That is bad for you and we can't give you money to begin with". He was very persistent but so were we. I was bit scared haha but all ended well. 

The investigators here are very interesting. Um yeah... So we have one who is 15 and claims that her Catholic priest opened her third eye and she now sees ghosts. I asked if she saw the Holy Ghost but she said no :(  I have nothing further to say about this "belief" in seeing the dead. 

Sister Mika is going to be baptized in two Saturdays on the 10th! I am so excited for her cuz we have been working with her 3-4 days a week for the past 6 weeks and she is now ripe!

Sister Victoria, when we entered her house, asked for baptism on the 10th as well! Big heart breaker though because she had just came back from a smoke before we came, which pushes baptism back another 4 weeks, If you drink alcohol, smoke a cigarette, miss church, do anything contrary to what we teach your baptism gets pushed back one month. Sad! I could see the hurt in her eyes when we had to tell her the truth. I sure hope she has enough faith to keep her strong in the next month. 

We went to Brother Ernesto's last night. I just want to grunt, not towards him but towards everyone's attitude towards him a few weeks ago. He told us not to return and that he will stick with his religion and we asked him one last time to pray. I was then told by several people who I work with that we should just let him be. We should follow up once more about the prayer but take him off of the main burner. I didn't want to give up on him. Well he came to church 4 times in the past 5 weeks including the past two Sundays. He demonstrated a huge leap of faith last Sunday when he asked for a PRIESTHOOD BLESSING! Even members don't ask for those often and yet a man who everyone says won't accept us asked for one! Maayo Kaayo! Last night he told us that he is now understanding the apostasy and he asked us for a baptismal date! Don't give up on people when you think they are too hardened to hear your message. 

The people here are great and I wish I could share more stories about the cool peeps here.

So this week I finished the Book of Mormon for my first time since leaving on my mission. You honestly cannot prove it wrong. Those who strive to prove it false are being lead by Satan himself to do so. I stand firm in my testimony that this book is true, and through it we can receive salvation!

All is well here in the Philippines, still hot and the bugs are still big! 

I wish the best for you all and I miss you all back at home (or if you are currently on a mission and receive my emails Richards and Simmons). 

Amping!

-Elder Morris

And Done With My First Transfer!

September 22, 2015

As stated above, done with my first transfer! Even though I have to remain here in Toboso with Elder N. for another six weeks while I am still in training.  

This past week has been long and full of many...things-haha. The reason I emailed on Tuesday is because we went to Dumahetti for Zone Conference. That was fun. Road a bus for 7 hours to the conference. We didn't receive our funds for this next two weeks before we left so we were bankrupt when we got there and had to be humble enough to bum food off of people. The conference was good and I learned a good deal about being a better missionary.

I got to speak again in sacrament! Hooray for broken Cebuano! It went well and I was able to make the whole congregation laugh with one of those cheesy jokes that are usually said when one talks in sacrament.

This week we went to Brother Ernesto's balay to teach him and he told us that he hadn't received any answer and for us to not return. This did actually hurt a bit. We asked him to pray one last time and we left. This past Sunday he showed up to church! He told us that when he went to his Catholic priest about the apostasy he told him to not focus on it or "...those lying Mormons...”. Brother Ernesto saw that they could not answer his questions and so he has come back to asking us because we have the answers. We extended bunyag (baptism) and he said yes. I sure hope all goes well!

A bird pooped on my neck. >:(

Went to the Libre house for a B-day party and there was A LOT of food and people (a lot of food isn’t always the case here so it was quite an eye opener). The Libre family is considered to be "datu" or rich. We have FHE there every Sunday and they always have some sort of sweet thing that is delectable. Last Sunday we had a mango float. It is one bottom layer of graham crackers crushed, sweetened condensed milk poured on top, and then a layer of mango shavings. Repeat this process until you have a trifle looking thing and then freeze it in the fridge. It is lami:) yummy.  Then on Monday I woke with this bad pain in my belly and well… let’s just say that no amount of going to the C.R helped. I blame the mango float as here not everything you buy at stores (the sweetened condensed milk) can be trusted. The Filipino quality check is more like a brief look over. Hours went by my body soon flushed out the toxin that was in me and I feel better now. Yesterday, Elder N. went down with a fever of 102. I got to play Nurse Morris a bit as he tried to feel better.

I killed a HUGE moth. I at first thought it was a bird that had flown into our house but after dousing it in pernephorin, I was able to see it was a gigantic bug! The spiders here are big too.

I have now started to book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. It should take me 2-3 more days to finish, so for all of you who I challenged to read the book before me...well you got a couple days left! As I come to the conclusion of the book I am truly pained to see the degeneration of people as they let Satan into their hearts. You can see these things happening in our lives today as well! It is scary but sadly going to happen. Just as Mormon states that he would lead the armies of the Nephites but he knew they would all be destroyed in the end, so too can we see that the world is ripening for destruction and soon shall have its demise and then Christ shall rule once more. If you don't believe me then pick up a new copy of the Book of Mormon and a highlighter and sit down and study it. If you can truly study it and finish reading it, I promise you that you will believe it is true. If you study it out right now, not going off of past experience, there will be no way you can truthfully say that it is wrong. The blessings that come from that book are much more desirable than we can ever imagine and I look forward to that great day when I can say that I am forever now living with my family and friends in heaven. Say what you will, the Book of Mormon is true and you can see the prophesies happening is this world right now! I wish for everyone to see and know what I know. The first and foremost step in knowing this is first reading the book, but more than just reading, actually study it. You will know for yourself.

I thank you all for the support and I wish the best for you all at home! AMPING!

-Elder Morris

Week 4 in the Field

September 15, 2015

                                   

Everything has been so fast. I feel like I have done quite a lot so far and realize that I still have 21more months! (TRUNKY! Jok lang!). I have to go to Dumaguete today so that is why I’m emailing early. We will be having a random Zone Conference with all of Negros Island missionaries. I'll be back to Toboso in three days.

There are a lot of fun things happening here and a lot of nice Filipinos to talk to. I honestly cannot wait until I can bring my friends and family here and to show them around. It is beautiful here and the culture is so interesting! We have huge fruit trees in my backyard here - haha. We have many (MANY) dragon fruit trees, banana trees, a papaya tree, guava trees, and an atis tree (weird Filipino apple thing). All of which are bearing fruit which brings up my next point: When you freeze half of a dragon fruit and eat it like it is ice cream after a long day... PRAISE BE TO THE LORD! I'll admit that even the dragon fruit here doesn't taste like anything but it is still nice to carve away at the frozen flesh.

The bananas here are actually good! Bananas at home don't compare (sorry Murica). We take them, fry ‘em in butter and coat ‘em in sugar.... SO TAMBOK RIGHT! But alas it is pretty good and being that it is fried, reminds me of home. The other fruits are in development. They aren't quite ready yet.

I saw a Jeepny drive by with two goats standing on top of it...weird! Two girls crashed their motor cycle into a store (IDK if I had already shared that). It was funny. Almost died again on the motor cycle cab thing. Christmas trees are up here as well as singing Christmas hymns in church. I am truly loving it here and I love actually having a Cebuano conversation. The gift of tongues is manifesting it as I have already had dreams in Cebuano haha and I can now get my point across without further confusion! Oh that great day when I return and dili estorya sa english (don't speak English)!

All is well here and the work is now starting to carve itself out. We are now having many meetings each week with the ward -  PEC, BCM, WCM, etc. I can see that by the time I am transferred out of Toboso this place will be better than when I arrived. As far as the investigators go...Eh it is good. We teach more less-actives. They understand our message and I know they believe but they are so stubborn! Mainly because they are offended... that's actually the main big reason as to inactivity here. I will share later my belief on inactivity.

We have a gator whose name is Ernesto. Imagine Grandpa Fry but a little more brown, less swearing, and actually willing to learn about our message. He came to church the other week and it made me so happy to see him but he hasn't come to church lately and he says it is because the Apostasy doesn't make sense to him. There is a tricky subject for you now. How do you convince a Catholic that there was an apostasy? Better question, how do you do it without an argument? We have here a RM (a bit older) named Brother Dodong. Now Brother Dodong will tell you that a bear craps in the woods. If you aren't doing your job he WILL get on your case about it and he won't spare any feelings. He is wise in scripture and in doctrines. He also cooks well and apparently is very funny. And we had this guy with us to teach Brother Ernesto. Well I honestly felt like we were trying to argue our way in proving our points that an apostasy did happen. I wasn't so sure what was happening during this leksion, pero I learned a new way of how to teach people. Most peeps learn by the spirit and by their feelings of the spirit before and after the lessons. Others need to see the doctrines and to be convinced. Well I have learned nga Brother Ernesto is one who needs to see the doctrines in the scriptures to be convinced, which in return makes me feel kind of bad because this isn't true conversion. It is convincing with the words of men and not the spirit of God. We’ll see how this goes because I know that he has felt the spirit in our lessons and I know that HE knows our message is true. Maybe he just needs a bit longer to be prepared by the Lord.

So  I have realized is how much sense the Book of Mormon makes. When you follow the stories and the "who's who", the story line makes so much sense and makes it very difficult to believe that Joseph Smith "made it up". I have finished Alma now and am on the final home stretch to finishing the book again and I hope by the time I have finished studying it I can truly testify that Joseph Smith was called and ordained a prophet of God like all LDS members should. As I continue to teach and to share our beliefs they make so much sense to me.  It makes sense to me that God created all through His son Jesus Christ; that we are the children of a kind and loving Father in Heaven and he sent us here to be cut off from his presence so that we may choose for ourselves the master whom we will serve.  He wants to communicate with us and by doing so he calls and ordains prophets to teach us. When Jesus Christ came even His own PEOPLE rejected him and chose to follow Satanas. So God took his church from the earth until the world was ready again to receive his Gospel once more. And here we are! A prophet has been called and we have received another witness of Jesus Christ that has NOT been translated may times and tampered with – The Book of Mormon. Oh how much sense it makes when you study the belief -  when you get a Book of Mormon, a highlighter, and study the book! So far, I can testify that The Book of Mormon is true! That through a prophet we can know all the mysteries of God because He wants us to know! Families can be together forever and I will never settle for anything less.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect; the people are not. If you have any concerns regarding the actions of members just remember in the book Moses 1:39 "For behold this is MY work and MY glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (emphasis added). This is Christ's church. God's church not the bishops or your neighbors church but Christ's. His doctrine is perfect. Mans doctrine is not perfect. Study the words of Christ and those whom He appointed and you will be directed. I know this to be true and leave my testimony in sa ngalan ni Jesukristo, Amen.

I hope all goes well back at home! Take care ya'll! Amping!

-Elder Morris

My Daily/Weekly Routine and Other Events

September 9, 2015

Maybe I should start this by sharing my daily/weekly routine… Every day, Elder Noprada and I buy three pieces of fried chicken from Sister Marzan (a ward member who is very nice and reminds me ALOT of Aunt Erin lol). We travel and teach with a member present and his name is July. He is very nice and has been a member for 2 months now.  Every P-day we give our laundry to these ward members who do it for us for 200 pesos. Every Sunday night we go to the Libre family’s house for FHE; they are considered "datu" (rich) because they have a nice house AND a car (not many peeps own a car). There we teach a lesson and receive brownies:) Makes Sundays a little more special:))) We do what we do to support the members in their businesses.

This last week was a long one...that went by fast - haha. I did the unthinkable....I ate balot (baloot)...The rotten duck-fetus thing still in an egg shell. Mine was 18 days old which is the oldest you normally buy them!

I received a love letter from a (crazy) lady on a bus! That was weird...

All the kids LOVE the American! Everywhere I go I hear "Hey Joe!" Joe is what Filipinos call white people and yes it is meant to be racist and insulting. Last fast Sunday, Noprada and I went to the ocean to pray at the start of our fast (because it is that close) and when I opened my eyes a huge swarm of kids were right in front of me! So we played some games and took some pics:)

The missionary work is going great! I am becoming better at my Cebuano and can understand just a little now as opposed to none earlier. The investigators are great. We teach a lot of less-actives. We started teaching this older man named Ernesto. He is Catholic (everyone here is Catholic btw) and he came to church the next day after we taught him. He didn’t come to church last Sunday so we went to his house on Tuesday and talked with him/ taught a lesson. We had a very good lesson and the spirit did touch his heart. He had told us that he hasn't received a witness yet and when I testified about Joseph Smith the spirit flooded the room and he was brought to a state of happiness that can only be described as conversion. He came up to me right before we left and thanked me personally. I felt really good that I was able to teach and testify by the spirit.

I also mentioned about another investigator named Gabriel. He just decided to come to church after we talked to him on the street. In the past 4 Sundays he has come 3 times and each time we teach him, after church, he is happy and WILLING to learn! He walks 3 hours one way to get to church and to me that is a person who actually wants to learn about religion— a dedicated investigator:)  If all goes well he is to be baptized at the end of this month.

I got Elder Noprada into Magic the Gathering. He asks me each P-day to play:) I am also asked each other day to cook some fried chicken because apparently I cook good fried chicken. Last Sunday we mixed it with BBQ sauce just like General Tso.. that one brand that Costco sells and it is good. Many times we are far from the house and we need to go home but there isn’t a bus... so we walk! We walked for about an hour last night, got maybe 2/5 of the way home before a bus saved us at 10 PM! We are requesting for bikes.

I killed a gigantic spider this morning. The thing was as big as my hand. After dousing it in pernephorin it ran into a corner and died:). Cockroaches are everywhere here btw. They fly and bite. They too are fun to douse in pernephorin! Lizards are still everywhere as well, more often than cockroaches. Elder Noprada doused one in the chemical and It FREAKED OUT! I felt bad for it. Dogs are more common than humans here. There are tons of the four legged friends and they are pretty casual with people. The people here don’t really like dogs so much.

My tummy still feels awkward. (Probably because he ate the balot egg!)

It rains a lot...

Things are great and I am loving it here! When we climb the MOUNTAINS (not hills) to teach, I can over look the many green hills and see the ocean in the back ground. It is exactly as President Gordon B. Hinckley states "controlled chaos". The driving is chaos yet no one crashes. The houses have no address yet everyone knows where everyone lives. The food here...wouldn't be held up to American standards yet we still eat it - haha. With all the interesting quirks of this land I still find it to be an interesting place to live and I can't wait for what is to happen in the upcoming weeks.

Email me with what is going on back home in Murica! I want to know if anything big is happening.

- Elder Morris

My Personal Testimony: Message 1

September 2, 2015

Today I would like to expound just a little on an old prophet whose name is Abinadi. We all know this man when he stood in front of King Noah and testified that King Noah was wicked and taught false doctrines. Abinadi called him and his priests out and didn’t hesitate to call them to repentance. In Mosiah 11: 20-25, we hear from Abinadi as he predicts the people will be placed in bondage. The king doesn't like this so he throws him in prison. Then in chapter 12, the priests of King Noah contend with Abinadi and try to batter him with scripture in which Abinadi defends himself quite well with the help of the spirit. In chapter 13 he begins to teach the 10 commandments. 

Now we all know that King Noah killed Abinadi and didn't accept the word of Christ but what stands out to me most is that twice did Abinadi prophecy of his own death. In Mosiah 13: 3 he states "...God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time." also in 13:9-10 "But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved. But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a shadow of things which are to come." We see here that Abinadi knows that he will die by preaching and nontheless that he knows he will die by fire! He knows and taught that the wicked will suffer an endless torment of fire and he states that what happens to him will be a shadow of what is to come (fire to the unrepentant sinners). He knows he will die because of his teachings...so why does he continue?

We learn in Mosiah 17: 2 why Abinadi taught the King and priests. Alma! Alma was a priest of King Noah and he believed on the words which Abinadi taught. It is through Alma that we have this story (Mosiah 17: 4). We all know Alma to be a great man and through him countless people were brought to the light of Christ. To my understanding, Abinadi didn't see what Alma did so he never got to see the fruits of his labors and sacrifice, but through him thousands if not tens of thousands (if not more) of people came unto Christ.

The point behind this is that we may not see the result of our works right away. We may never see our results at all! But this shouldn't stop us from doing our job. Every member a missionary! Bring others unto Christ through your example and as time passes you may convert people and SAVE THEIR SOULS! Study the story of Abinadi AND look at the fruit of his labor.

I know these things to be true and close this letter in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

-Elder Morris

Week 3 Down!

September 2, 2015

(It isn't as fabulous as Las Vegas but it will do!)

I have now been out for almost 3 months; in the Philippines for 4 weeks and Cebu for 3 weeks. So it rains a lot here... All of my clean pants and shoes are all muddy now. The rainy season is starting to pick up. If I could send you videos I totally would because we are hiking through jungle and muddy mud ALL. THE. TIME! I have also grown a new love for sugar cane. It is harvest season here for the sugar cane and so there is a lot of the stuff everywhere! You just reach down on the road, pick one up, and bite off the bark and wala! -  you got yourself a sweet road trip snack. 

So this week was great! Last Saturday I had the opportunity to baptize 12 year old Rezamia. She is a very sweet little girl and very receptive of our teachings. As I was leaving the font, Satan snuck up behind me and pushed me down! I tumbled to the earth in a big heap of... American. I whacked my shin on a door and that hurt... a lot! 

 (Elder Noprada and I with 12-year-old Rezamia)

The teaching is going great! I have been able to speak Cebuano very well lately and I have noticed that the harder I pray for help with the language the more loose my tongue is. I’ve had the chance to do splits with other missionaries and as I talk with the foreign missionaries I have come to learn just how hard it was for them all to serve a mission and the things that they went through to be here. We as first world missionaries are asked to pay for our own missions because a lot of the foreign missionaries come from poverty; they are in no way able to pay for themselves so the church provides for that. I have met loads of missionaries whose families disowned them because of their desire to serve. Almost all of the missionaries here have only one parent too due to death of a parent either before their mission or who died while they are on their mission. I have no idea what it is like to lose a close family member and I in no way want to lose one especially while on my mission so I commend those who have lost someone they love while on their mission and stayed. It takes a lot of faith to continue in your calling. 

I almost died too (at least I thought I might).  Elder Noprada and I sat on top of the motor cycle cabs they have here and the guy drove really fast over muddy roads and I was honestly scared that I was going to fall off and maim myself! My hand was stiff and pure white from clenching onto the roof of the vehicle for my life! 

(Yeah....looks fun with all the real danger and opportunity of DEATH!!) 

The bananas here are VERY SMALL! Smaller than my finger! They are sweeter here and are nice when you fry them in butter and sugar :) Tambok ako haha! (I’m fat). I’ve also had many times where we get to spend time with some members and have fun (as well as teaching them) PARTY-PARTY! 

 (Yeah, you probably though I was lying about the bananas!)

It has been a long and great week! I am enjoying my time here and I cannot wait for my future adventures and lessons learned! I wish the best for you all and good luck in all you do!

Love your Elder,

Elder Morris