Elder CarverPalangga ko kamo!Mom- Your emails are fantastic as usual! They always have so much information in them. I am adjusting great!! The humidity has almost stopped bothering me but it is still noticeable. I get bit by mosquitoes a lot, but it is okay. It is usually just my legs, but yes that was a nasty bite that I got the night before because I forgot to turn my fan on. I always have a fan on at night to blow the bugs away. That seems to work. The oils only work in the small concentrated range. I put them on my arms and my arms are bite free so I will probably start putting it on my legs too. Foot fungus hasn't appeared yet because I make sure my feet are dry before I put my socks on. The shoes may prove to be a concern in the future though.. I have already seen the Lord's hand in our work! It is prevalent in almost all that we do. I will try to send pictures this time, I have a few. Elder Parry's full name is Samuel Parry and he isn't aware of any blog that is being kept for him. The language is coming fairly quickly. Sister Lara and Sister Person (native Filipinas) both said that my Ilonggo is really good. They are two of the sisters in my district. We taught A again. He gladly accepted the second visit in which we began to introduce the Restoration. We gave him a Book of Mormon and we will be returning today to teach again. Sounds like Park City was a lot of fun! Glad you got to do that. Thanks for the Pictures too! They were great to see! I don't recognize the basement anymore! Enjoy the Characters of Christ! It is wonderful! Tell Ben Hello for me! I miss him too! Alison is doing great! She has a lot of people to write but she will get back to you eventually! I can't believe that Jed is heading to Peru!! That is so exciting. He is going to love the MTC. I also can't believe that Wesley is getting back! I remember when he left! Thanks for all of your prayers. I pray for you all always. So do the members that we meet with! Just know that there are a lot of prayers headed your direction!Nate- Dude..... I heard you went on your high adventure this week! How was that? Remember King's Peak? It was so great! I really miss spending lots of time with you. Talking with Elder Parry made me realize how much we did together. Remember all of the weekends we spent at Debate tournaments just hanging out being best friends? It was great! I am so excited for you to go on your mission and to experience what I have so far! It is a wonderful fantastic thing!I am glad to hear that Palangga ta ka is one of your regular phrases now! When you said it on the phone it was near perfect pronunciation too!Thanks! Other than my odd pair of shoes, everything is GREAT here! The fruit is to die for, the people are so nice, the members are incredibly faithful and we are taken good care of. I love it here!I am so glad that I made the decision to serve a full-time mission and dedicate my whole self to the Lord. This work is wonderful! Participate as much as you can back home in missionary work! You will not regret it:)Philippines.6100 Negros OccidentalBrgy. 22, Bacolod CityGalo St. Between Lacson and MabiniPhilippines Bacolod MissionElder Christopher CarverMom, could you send me another pair of shoes? Just a pair of brown proselyting shoes. Mine seem to have caught a moldy illness and want's to keep it no matter how much I clean them up. I'll be fine for a while, I would just appreciate a new pair. I wear a 9-9.5 Wide (size D if specific). Please send the shoes one at a time by air mail to ensure them getting here. All packages should be sent to:We were up in Maroka the other day teaching, that's the mountainous region, with Brother Sony.We taught Sister BB, who has taken missionary discussions for quite some time, and guess what!? I extended the Baptismal invitation and she accepted! From what Elder Parry has told me, she lies all the Gospel Principles and reads and prays daily, so she is ready for the next step; however, she doesn't come to church because it is too far. She would have to walk 30-45 minutes to get off the mountain and then pay for a trike to get to church. For one person that wouldn't bee too bad but she has 7 little children who want to go too, so that walk became harder and the ride more expensive. I know that if she is willing to make the step of attending church and show her faith, God will bless her. Our current problem is showing her how important going to Church is.This last week was an unusual week, as I understand it. We had two trainings: Zone and President's. In Zone training we talked about how to find people to teach through the members. It was good and kinda felt like the MTC again. President's training was great though! We discussed new potential proselyting methods. Each group was given a new method to put to the test. The first two discussed came right from the World Wide Broadcast in June: Church Building Tours and Facebook Proselyting. The assignment my group got is to start a basketball clinic! Basket ball is HUGE here so we are going to try to use that to our advantage. Our prospective age group is seminary and early institute teenagers. We are hoping this idea will be very successful! We will begin by having a 15-20 minute devotional and then 40-45 minutes of Basketball. It sounds like a great, fun idea to make people more comfortable with the Church.Kamusta Pamilya!!!Lots has happened in the past week! First, I can't believe that I have already been in the Philippines for more than a week! It feels like yesterday that I was talking to you all on the phone in the airport, now I am teaching the Restoration to real people in the Philippines. Wow! Time is already just slipping by.
The Philippines is BEAUTIFUL! Everything is so green! The food is wonderful, it was back home too, I loved the Filipino food Maxfields and Fairbanks served. I especially love fresh Jackfruit. It is way good and super DELICIOUS!
Laundry was hard but it was rather relaxing. It gave me ample time to think and ponder about what I want to accomplish while on my mission.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
AUGUST 11, 2013
AUGUST 4, 2013
Kamusta ang bisan sin-o!!
So, four whole days in the Philippines! I am surviving just fine so far. I knew missionary work would be hard, but it is a lot harder than I expected it to be. Really long, exhausting days, however they are more than rewarding!I absolutely love the work here! I feel like I have been stretchd and molded and will definitely continue to be. My progression in the Scriptures and Ilonggo has taken off again! I love it:) Here is some basic information you might like to know. I live off of roughly $5.30 U.S. dollars a day and I am a wealthy person here. My training companion is Elder Parry (no, not L. Tom). I am in the Fabrika area of the Cadiz zone. To give you an idea of how my area is like, it is beautiful jungle up in the mountains with an overlook of the sea. I can physically see the Ilo Ilo mission from my area. My area is on of the poorest areas in my mission. President Lopez described it like this. Fabrika is a third world community of a third world island of one of the poorest third world countries. People will commonly have absolutely no money. They will go without money for a few days and it's normal. But, they are truly the happiest people on Earth. They are so kind and loving! They always want to give what little bit they can. They always try to feed us, even when it means they won't have any food for themselves. Yes, in four days I have already experienced this more than a few times. The kids are hilarious! They all want "up here's" which just means a high five. My companion dishes them out all the time!! We get called kons (short for Americans) Joes (I think they relate it to G.I. Joe) and they call us Der!! (short for elder). The Filipinos are all about shortening words and nickname! My name is said Elder/Der Carber. The "v" makes a "b" sound like Spanish.
There are a couple of stories I want to share with you. First: there is a young man named A. We met him last night. We went to teach the S family. They consist of inactive members, investigators and recent converts. So our time is very wisely spent there. Their friend, A, was there last night. He is definitely Catholic. He had a cross necklace and did the cross sign after the opening prayer. He was very willing to listen and participated actively throughout the whole lesson. He wanted to keep reading from the Book of Mormon too! It was really neat because we had to travel into Cadiz for a baptismal interview (my companion is District Leader) so we got delayed one hour from our proselyting. So we showed up an hour late to the S family, in which we would have missed their friend. Anyway, we set up a return appointment for next Sunday and their friend said he would be there!! He is the first new investigator of my mission!!!
Next story. Also really cool. We were teaching the J family last night too. They weren't able to make it to Church because they have been out of money to pay for the bus for a few days now. They are recent converts. Brother Jwas sharing with us at the end of the lesson that he knew that if he continued to pray daily and read daily that he would find work. He was literally testing his faith right in front of us. And guess what happened!? Moments after he said that, his phone rang and he had a job offer!! Talk about a tender mercy of the Lord! It was such a spiritual night, last night and it was preceded by an incredible fast and testimony meeting that morning. The members have so much faith here and sacrifice everything for this Gospel. It is an incredible sight to see!
Now onto everybody's questions. Traveling was way long!! We were in the air for 16 hours total.... We flew from Manila to Bacolod to finish our last hour of flight. Everything is beautiful here in its own way. The culture is very different but I like it! It is definitely an adventure every day. It is very hot and EXTREMELY humid. My body doesn't stop sweating at all. I sleep with a fan blowing on me all night long just to make sleep possible. I am adjusting fairly quickly though. When I am sitting in a lesson, I will almost stop sweating;) That's considered quick here. Sorry I didn't get to call from San Fran. I literally had 5 minutes there and they were all spent connecting. They had to hold the plane to Tokyo for us.... The time change actually hasn't effected me at all. We stayed the night in Manila and got up extra early so that we would crash the next night and I have felt no jet lag since then:) Some parts about the Philippines are like I thought it would be and others not. It depends on what I am considering. The Fairbanks and Maxfields helped me prepare a lot!! Tell them thanks for me!! My companion is great!! He is from Lehi Utah. We graduated the same year and has been out here for 6 months now. I am the first missionary he has trained so it is a learning experience for us both. We get along great and he knows so much! I enjoy learning from him. My house. I live in one of the poorest areas of the Philippines but my house is one of the nicest ones in the mission. I don't understand how that worked out... I have a shower with cold water only, but it is fine by me because it cools me down. I see a lot of lizards! They rarely get quite as big as I thought they would but big none the less. The tokos (big lizards) are hilarious. They make freaky noises and eat the tikis (little lizards). We have on toko somewhere in our house but he is ninja sneaky so he stays for now. Not a lot of other critters though. I did see a really cool, yet dangerous, spider though. Just one. He was bright yellow and shaped kinda like a crab with a "Y" shaped shell. Cooking is great. LOTS of rice but it is all very good. I will be doing laundry later today so I will comment on that next week. Unlike most missionaries, I actually lost weight in the MTC. I now weigh roughly 215 (10 pounds less) with a 35 inch waist. We will indeed see how fast that changes. I went down one whole belt notch in the MTC. I still have a solid 17 1/2 inch neck though.
Thanks for the update on the family Mom! Sounds like everybody is doing great and still the same as usual! I love you all! Glad to hear that Grady is finally growing;) Ethan needs to stop so that I still have a little brother in 2 years! Sorry that the basement is going so slow. Please tell President Perkins and the rest of the Stake Presidency hello for me! They are great examples to us all. Also send my hellos to the Bishop and his counselors! It sounds like Ali and Nate have done a lot of growing up since I left. Keep it up you two!! I look up to you a lot! Congrats on the Book of Mormon, Mom! It wonderful and I love it. Everybody should read it! They should have people that invite others to read it..... :). I don't know if you have watched the Characters of Christ yet but watch that before you start your reading over again. Jed and Alden. You need to watch the Characters of Christ while you are in the MTC. It changed the way I read and study my scriptures and definitely brings everything home! Jed, good luck with your MTC experience in the next couple of days!
I love you all!!
Palangga ko kamo!!
I can't wait to hear how you are all doing next week!
1 Nefi 1:1.
Elder Carver
JULY 31, 2013: Letter from mission president
Aloha!
We warmly welcome your missionary, Elder Carver , to our Philippines Bacolod Mission. He arrived safely and in good spirit.
My wife and I will love your missionary as our fellow servant. It is my desire to assist your missionary to reach his missionary potential.
Kindly take note of the following:
1. You may add me as a friend on Facebook (Marlo Oliveros Lopez) to give you a photo perspective of our mission. I should be posting pictures of our missionary soon.
2. The first 90 days is usually the most difficult period of his missionary labors. I encourage you to email our missionary consistently and include uplifting and encouraging messages from the family members.
3. I need your assistance in encouraging our missionary to be exact in his obedience to the mission rules. Obedience brings blessings but exact obedience brings miracles.
Our heartfelt gratitude for sharing your missionary with us. I promise that I will take good care of him .
President Marlo Oliveros Lopez
We warmly welcome your missionary, Elder Carver , to our Philippines Bacolod Mission. He arrived safely and in good spirit.
My wife and I will love your missionary as our fellow servant. It is my desire to assist your missionary to reach his missionary potential.
Kindly take note of the following:
1. You may add me as a friend on Facebook (Marlo Oliveros Lopez) to give you a photo perspective of our mission. I should be posting pictures of our missionary soon.
2. The first 90 days is usually the most difficult period of his missionary labors. I encourage you to email our missionary consistently and include uplifting and encouraging messages from the family members.
3. I need your assistance in encouraging our missionary to be exact in his obedience to the mission rules. Obedience brings blessings but exact obedience brings miracles.
Our heartfelt gratitude for sharing your missionary with us. I promise that I will take good care of him .
President Marlo Oliveros Lopez
JULY 30, 2013
Hello family!!
I just wanted to take a second to let you know that I made it to Bacolod just fine!! Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk in San Fran. So far so good. President Lopez gave us just a few seconds to email home, letting you know that We made it safely! I will talk to you on my P-Day, whenever that may be.... Anyway, look up Marlo Oliveros Lopez on Facebook. He said he would be putting up pictures of us all tonight! The Filipinos are really the happiest people ever and way funny!! My sense of humor fits right in:) JULY 27, 2013
So, Saturday night prior to leaving the MTC. We were given permission to email our families while doing whatever laundry we had left to do. Needless to say, here I am!! I just wanted to thank you all for all of your support. I love getting my weekly emails and letters from all the many people that send them. I love you all and enjoy hearing what is happening in your realm of the world. I have been so blessed here at the MTC and I am sad to say goodbye to many of the people I am. I have grown to love all of the people here! I know that I will love the Filipino people just as much, if not more. I have witnessed so many miracles here and know I will witness many more to come. Tomorrow during my sacrament meeting, Districts 45A and 45H will be singing a departure musical number. That is both the Ilonggo districts (I am 45H). We will be singing I Need Thee Every Hour. That song is so powerful!! It is also a testimony to what I know to be true. A couple other Hymns that have really impacted me here are Hymns 112 and 268. If you don't know the tune, I invite you just read and ponder the lyrics. They are so powerful! If you do know the tune, I would invite you to sing it. There is an unknown power in the Hymns of the Lord. Sing them often, even if you are like me and aren't very musically inclined. I sent a few pictures home, I hope you enjoy them!! Nate, feel free to wear the Philippines shirt! I only wore it a few times;) I love you all and can't wait to talk on Monday!!! Until then, take care and confide in the scriptures. A few that have really impacted me lately are John 8, Moroni 7;10, and Alma 18. Please read them when you have time. They all testify of the love of God and the power of the Gospel. I would like to share with you my testimony in Ilonggo one last time before I become immersed in that language for the duration of my mission.
Kabalo ako nga, matuod ang Simbahan ni Jesukristo sang mga Santos sa Ulihing mga Adlaw, Kabalo ako nga, matuod ang Libro ni Mormon kag pagpasag-uli ni Jesukristo. Kabalo ako nga ginpanumbalik sang Dios ang kamatuoran paagi kay Joseph Smith kag Manluluwas si Jesukristo kag buhi sia. Kabalo ako nga, palangga kita sang Dios kag kilala kita ni Jesukristo. Sa ngalan ni Jesukristo, Amen. JULY 25, 2013
Kamusta Pamilya ko!
So, here is the plan for Monday. I will be calling from the SLC airport for sure and maybe if I get time at the San Fran airport. I will buy a phone card here at the MTC. I am way excited to talk to ya'll! However, if you want to ask me a question while talking on the phone, I request that you begin by saying "May Pamangkot ako" I will then answer with "Ano Pamangkot mo" and you may proceed. It will be fun to try and I will probably forget it but let's hope for it!Monday, July 22, 2013
July 18th, 2013
Holy cow!! I get my travel plans tomorrow! I am expected to leave on the 29th which is in 11 days!! Time is literally disappearing between my fingers! It feels just like yesterday that I was dropped off at the MTC curb side! Yesterday I was able to host for the incoming missionaries! I hosted 5 new elders. It was hard work! I definitely appreciated my host a lot more for his help afterwards. Okay, to answer last weeks question; who is Aminadi? Here is the answer that I found: In the brief explanation of the Book of Mormon it explains that at the start of the book of Mosiah major spiritual experiences were recorded in the Large Plates of Nephi because the Small Plates were filled. Mormon abridged the large plates to accommodate for the most important stories. The foot note takes you to Daniel 5 in which a similar story, I assume, takes place so there wasn't a need for Mormon to include a story that was already included in the Brass Plates that the Gentiles and Jews would already have. Rather neat story though! It's funny that you poke fun at my English because I have really struggled to structure my sentences right in English the last little while. I like to structure everything the same as Ilonggo, it is much easier! The language and grammar actually make sense, every one should speak it! For example the sentence Nagpanumbalik ang Dios sang ebanghelyo paagi kay Joseph Smith says that Through Joseph Smith, God restored the Gospel. However, the direct translation is: Restored God the Gospel through Joseph Smith. The general sentence structure is Verb Actor Object Location/Recipient. Ang marks the focus of the sentence. So great story! The night before Elder Parker left we ran into each other again! He happened to have his camera on him so hopefully it will make it your way eventually. Also the very next day I saw Doug Parker, I think. It was one of Elder Parker's older brothers, I am just not sure which one. Hopefully you hear about that too. Some great scriptures for this week are in the book of Alma, a couple of the last few chapters. The epistles between Captain Moroni and Pahoran are incredible. Also, Proverbs 31 is great! It describes the kind of woman I would like to marry in the future.
Grady - Sorry about Millsap! That's just how the NBA works I guess. How are the Angels doing? They weren't doing too hot when I left... Way cool about the Hungry Games though! To be honest I haven't been homesick. I hear from you all every week so it is fine! Friends that I have seen: Tori Ruesch, Logan Beck, Abby Godfrey, Sam Stratton and Ben Leiski (SP?). I really want to get to the Philippines! A bunch of my friends that I met here left on Monday for the Philippines and it made me want to go really bad!
Nate - Thanks for your confidence! You have grown a lot these last four weeks too! You are a great example to me and your other siblings! Keep it up and you will be far more prepared that I could have ever been for the Mission Field.
Dad - Thank you so much for your email! I love the thoughts you send and the support you give me. Even though you didn't have the opportunity to serve a mission, I still think you are one fantastic missionary. Look at where you got me! Thank you for your example!
Mom - Swallows, yes I will be hosting next week. I will definitely look out for Elder Swallow! Tell him good luck with his talk for me!! Friends, yes they will make or break you. Thankfully, mine helped make me :) They are all wonderful! I have heard from Misty and Amber. Please send me pictures of the basement! I would love to see what progress is made. Glad to hear that my room is being used for something;) 3 Nephi 5:13 is a great scripture! President Hollist shared it with me before I left. You're welcome for the help in you personal progress! Anyway that is all for this email!!
Until next week!
Until next week!
Elder Carver out!
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