The Epistle of Daniel the Missionary to the Filipinos - Chapter 3

In the third and fourth months, 2015 A.D.

Recently my mission President asked each of us to be clean. This seems like a simple request, and it ought to be, but I have been well acquainted with much of the filth that exists in the world, as many of us have. As fun as playing in the mud may seem at the time, it makes you dirty, and it doesn't come out with a light rinse. I've been on the earth for many days, and I've not avoided all the pitfalls, but I can trace back a long line of good things that I've done.

Many days indeed have passed since, as a young man, I applied for college, and as a newly ordained elder, gave my first priesthood blessing, and as a newly called missionary, taught my first lesson, and as a full-time missionary baptized my first family. Indeed, many days have past since I learned to be patient. But I'm not done doing good or making any changes I should to my life and character.

With the landfall of March, I hope to be a new person. As children of Our Heavenly Father we are all intended to progress. If a day passes and we have not grown or learned or changed, even by small degrees, we are not fulfilling the measure of our creation.

God will, over the course of our lives, give us many chances to learn, grow and change ourselves when needed. We call them trials. Although, God would never inflict harm on us, he knows that all the love in the universe would never foster the "mighty change of heart" or the "broken heart and contrite spirit" that is required to return to live with Him, so he allows Satan to test and try us. 

Satan is real. Bad things can and do happen to wonderful, amazing people because there is opposition. He would love for us to believe otherwise. His work and his 'glory' is to destroy us.

Read and re-read 2 Nephi 4:16-35, and ponder on Nephi's words. Satan hates every one of us, more than we can understand, don't give place for him in your mind or in your heart.

And even all this by itself is not enough to come off the conqueror. In addition to all of this we must cling to our Savior with all diligence. Learn of Him, embrace Him and follow Him. He who is said to be the "Light of the World" is indeed the only source from which darkness flees. 

Let us not sit in darkness, hoping, by and by that the darkness will flee. But let us labor in seeking for the Light, that we may be ready.

Time flies on wings of lightning, we cannot call it back. Work while the sun is radiant. Work for the night draws nigh. As Jesus Himself said "I must do the works of Him that sent me while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work."

* * * * * * * *

Before my mission I did everything possible to avoid being labeled as childish, and rightly so, but we use the word 'childish' in such a way that it seems we have forgotten the Savior's words about the attributes of children. 

I happen to be very fond of children and seem to understand them on a level that is not very common. I enjoy talking to them, even when they cannot yet speak their mind the way they would want to I listen with all my heart, and look for ways to communicate. I then help them solve their little problems which seem huge to them. It brings me great joy when I can see in their eyes that they realized I helped them. 

I've had many such experiences on my mission which was not something that was mentioned in my call letter, at least not specifically. However, they are treasured moments that help me remember that we are all part of God's family and he blesses us when we serve each other. This service can take many forms and has no age limit.

One of these experiences was last Saturday at a church activity. It was the annual Relief Society activity, and there were hundreds of faithful sisters and their husbands in attendance. There was dancing and singing and food from every corner of the Philippines. I would have tried all of it, but most of it was gone when I went back for seconds. Anyway, there were many people there that I had never seen before. Members from other wards and other stakes, and many of them brought their kids with them. 

About half way through the activity I found myself just outside the doors of the cultural hall where the activity was being held. I was glad to be outside because of the hosts of people crowding the hall. As I was standing there I saw a little girl. She couldn't have been older than 2. When I looked at her, her eyes met mine and she had a distressed look on her face. I thought it was because she was not accustomed to seeing tall Americans, but as I continued to look at her with a questioning look on my face she locked her eyes on me and began to walk towards me. I was confused. I thought she was scared of me. In fact, I thought that was the very reason for the look on her face, but she approached me.

As she drew near she reached out her hand and I took it in mine. I was astounded as she then led me by the hand into the cultural hall, still distressed and upset, but now hopeful that I would help her. By this point I was very confused. I tried asking her questions to no avail. She didn't say a word. But as we entered the activity another member recognized her and noticing her distress picked her up. 

This member then explained that he would take her to her mother. Then he thanked me. I realized then that she was alone and looking for her family, and no one had taken notice of her, until I saw her, and somehow she saw something in my eyes that led her to think that I would help her. She walked to me, a stranger, and without words I helped her. I don't feel as though I really did anything. She led me, she walked to me, and she discerned my goodness and I was glad to be there for her long before I understood her problem. I was there to help.

I don't know her name. I don't know her family, I couldn't even guess what ward she's from, and I will likely never see her again, but sweet opportunities to help the Lord's little children are precious to me, and I will remember her. I will remember her FAITH when she saw me and believed I would help. I will remember her TRUST when she grabbed my hand with her tiny one and did not doubt that I was good, and her HOPE when she pulled me along not knowing where to go or how to her problem would be solved.

If you spend enough time with children you will begin to admire their childish attributes of trust, love-unfeigned, humility and faith. (just to name a few) It is one of my goals to become as a child in all such ways. When I grow up to be a man I want to be submissive, meek, patient and full of love. Even as a Child.

I know that I am a Child of God, and I pray that my age and status and pursuits never interfere with that knowledge, and same to you. :)

Mahal kita kapatid

-Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

2 weeks ago I had been in Pasay 4th Ward for 5 months, and I had taught hundreds of lessons, and talked to hundreds more people, but had no real success. I didn't view my efforts as wasted, knowing that I had been doing what I could, but I had come to the realization that a baptism was something that would have to wait until my next area. 

Then the sister missionaries told us that there was a family they were teaching that might actually live in our area, so we tried to contact that family. We then found out that one of their daughters had a scheduled baptismal date for April 18, and it was going to be our baptism. The diligent sister missionaries have taught Juliz 34 lessons in the last 4 months trying to prepare her for baptism. She was baptized on April 17th and by her choice I baptized her. She was confirmed on April 19th and I confirmed her. It was awesome, and now this 9 year old girl that I met less than a month ago is like a sister to me. She is so sweet and I hope I can remain in contact with her forever. 

I can truly testify that God's timing is not the same as our timing, but now I see that not as a reason for patience, but also a reason for hope. Even when I thought all hope was lost, and I thought there was not any time left, the Lord stepped in and showed me that He can do anything with any amount of time.

I'm grateful for the sisters that taught Sister Juliz Naigan, and for the chance to be such a big part of her life. I'm often surprised at the love Jesus offers me; confused by His timing, but humbly accepting of it.

I love you guys,

-Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

I'm happy to report that my companion and I are still together and still getting along great, and last Friday, 2 weeks before transfer day my companion got a call from the Zone Leaders and they informed him that we were being emergency transferred to a new ward the next day. We're still in the same apartment, and we're still companions, but Elder Reupta and I are no longer assigned in Pasay 4th Ward, but have moved to Pasay 3rd Ward.

It's such a close transfer that our house is still ideally positioned to work there every day. One major difference is that Pasay 3rd meets in a different chapel.

However, as a stake they're having a volleyball tournament, and there was a game the day we were transferred. So on Saturday when we went to the chapel to participate in a Ward Family Home Evening, we saw the teams that were playing: Pasay 4th Ward, against Pasay 3rd Ward. My companion and I really didn't know who to cheer for. We sat with Pasay 4th, but we didn't cheer very much, aside from the occasional "Go Pasay". I didn't know what else to say.

So, after 3.7 transfers in Pasay I was preparing for the inevitable transfer to a new area and a new apartment, and to be assigned a new companion, I thought I knew what the future had in store. I thought I would be transferred on transfer day, but I guess that would be too predictable.

In other news, I finished the Book of Mormon again yesterday. It seems to get shorter and shorter. Alma is always exciting, and Moroni is a bit depressing. I'm haunted by chapter 9, but thank goodness for chapter 10. It makes me feel less alone when I think of what Mormon and Moroni went through. They witnessed the destruction of their own people, and were forbidden to preach unto the people because of the hardness of their hearts. They had distanced themselves from God so much as to obscure their view of good and evil. They exemplified the doctrine that the Spirit does not always strive with men. The wonderful gift of the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil, but even this sweet gift can be driven away by pride, and contention, and war.

I'm going to do all that I can to ensure that the Spirit does not cease to strive with me. I will stand in holy places and be not moved, and I will let charity fill my heart and mind, and I will follow the example that Jesus set when he said: "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed."

I'm trying to be like Jesus, I'm following in His ways.

-Elder Southwick

The Epistle of Daniel the Missionary to the Filipinos - Chapter 2

In the second month, 2015 A.D.

Your many emails are a pleasure to read and ponder. You are all very dear to me no matter where you are at this time. I haven't seen many of you for more than a year, and you might be happy to know that I'm not the same person I was.

I've changed in many ways, but you probably notice them more than I do. Especially because I'm too busy to really pay any attention to myself. I'm really enjoying missionary service, and I'm looking forward to interviews with the mission president this Wednesday. I'm super excited to see my very first recent convert family go through the temple to be sealed. That will likely happen in the middle of March, which is getting closer all the time.

I have not always been as obedient as a missionary ought to be, or as a child of God ought to be, but I've tried to cultivate in myself an attitude of exact obedience. In last First Presidency Message Thomas S. Monson said "the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and His children obey, they will always be right." I've tried to convince myself of that truth so that I will have the strength and the tenacity to be exactly obedient no matter what. All of the excuses become meaningless as I realize that the Lord cannot be wrong, and his guidance through prophets and inspired leaders is always given with our best interest in mind, even when we don't understand His ways, they are still right.

Now, on to the story of this week.

I've been rejected many times before. Knocking on doors rarely brings success even if it's a familiar door. If someone does answer the door, they usually have an excuse ready. Some common ones are "they are sleeping"; "they just got home"; "I just woke up"; "I'm busy"; "I'm Catholic"; "I was just leaving" and many others. Some are more understandable than others, but even the lame excuses can keep us from teaching people. So I was not harshly disappointed when, upon visiting his house on Sunday, an investigator of ours answered the door and said he was about to leave and take his family somewhere for dinner. My companion and I were, understandably, understanding of his situation, especially considering that we had neglected to call of text him or in any other way inform him of our coming. So we left with the promise that next time we would at least text him first to see if he's available.

Not even five minutes later, having walked a good distance from his house, he called us on the phone and told us to come back. He said he changed his mind. When we got back there he said that the word of God is more important than his plans to go out with his family. He invited us in and openly apologized for turning us away. It was probably the most appreciated apology that I've received on my mission. He probably didn't know that there have been hundreds of instances in my mission when I have been rejected, dismissed and sent away from others with much less valid excuses, but Bernie, out of the goodness of his heart told us to return and apologized.

After that we prayed with him and taught him about prophets. Throughout the lesson he agreed with the doctrines we taught him, and towards the end declared "I believe the things you've told me" I'm am hopeful that he will come to church this week and become truly converted to the truth that he so deserves. I won't forget this man, and neither will God forget those who call to Him, no matter how oft or how crudely you have rejected Him.

* * * * * * * * * *

First off, I will have a new companion on Wednesday. I think his name is Elder Harera. I'm excited. I love Elder Seculles, but I'm excited to have some changes. Also, one of my kabahay is my dating kasama sa MTC. I'll let you know how that goes.

But this last week we talked to a lot of people trying and trying to find someone to teach, and mostly we were unsuccessful. One day this week a member worked with us, but he's leaving to serve a mission later this week, so he probably won't work with us again. We did however, find some other members that are willing to work with us later this week, and I'm excited for that. My companion and I tried to share the gospel with many people, but only 11 kids came to church this Sunday, and 9 of them for the second time. I don't mean to be pessimistic, I would just be much more excited if their parents would come too, or if some of the other people who said they would come actually came. I do love those kids though, ​and they do enjoy coming to church.

It makes me feel like I'm doing something right every time I see them and realize they wouldn't know anything about the church if we hadn't introduced it to them.

If you don't mind, keep them in your prayers. Many of them want to get baptized. Pray for their parents to accept the gospel that they might see all of the blessings of the gospel as families. In this picture there are 5 different families, and there are more that want to come, but aren't allowed to. Pray for their parents to open their hearts and their homes. I'll do all I can to show them through their children that the gospel blesses families.

I know you weren't expecting for me to ask you to do something, but prayer is easy and it brings miracles.

I also learned in Gospel Principles class that if you don't feel like praying, you should pray until you do. I've had to do that before. It's humbling.

* * * * * * * * * *

I've had many interesting experiences this week, but I think I'll start with the most recent one. While reading through my emails I was surprised to see an email from a member in my first area. What surprised me even more was what the message contained. I found out that the mother of the family that we baptized in my first area, has abandoned her kids, and thus they will not be sealed in the temple next month.

It's hard to receive news like that. It makes me doubt my past effort in teaching them, and my current effort in praying for them. Did I not pray for them often enough or earnestly enough? Did I not do my part to help them stay active? I promised them that I would come to their family sealing and now I can't keep that promise. I love them. Did I not show that? What have done? What have I not done? 

I'm reminded of a scripture in D&C 18. Verse 16 reads: "..if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me in the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

To me, it could also be said: "..if your pain will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me that fell short of the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your pain if you should bring many souls unto me and they still fall short!" 

There were 8 hopeful souls, anxious, and preparing to be sealed as one. They were on their way... I'm not too upset about it, but I am hurt by what happened.

Anyway, in other news, yesterday we were visiting and picking up people to go to church. Our first 3 planned visits didn't happen. They were either gone or busy, but then I got the idea that we should pick up Sister Marinel, and when we got there she was waiting for us. 

 

We took her and went to pick up the kids that have always been willing and excited to come to church, however, upon our arrival none of them were ready yet, and some said they didn't want to come. 45 minutes later only 3 of them were ready to go, and after an hour 5 of them were completely ready to go. So we left with just the 6 of them, and I was happy, I know that it's not easy to go to church every week and sacrifice that time, and I was proud of the kids that had decided to join us. We all got on a jeepney and went to church. We dropped them off in their classrooms and went to our class. 

However, after 30 minutes a member told us to come out and see something. We got up and went out the door, and saw 4 of the kids that we left in our area standing in front of us. The children then explained to us that they had walked to church on their own. This surprised me and confused me, but it made me really happy at the same time. I hope their parents knew that they did that. 

After the classes, for the first time ever, they all sat in their seats and were generally reverent for all of sacrament meeting, even though I was not able to sit with them for most of the meeting because I had the surprise assignment of playing the piano for the whole meeting. It was surely memorable. 

So despite all of the ups and downs of missionary work, the ups are always the most memorable, and the successes are the easiest to see. My mission has had disappointments, but for the most part I don't remember them. I remember the moments when everything went right.

* * * * * * * * * *

It's been 8 days since I last emailed any of you, and for many of you it's been even longer. I could send a mass email to everyone I know, but I really consider each and every one of you before I add you to the send list. If it's been a while since you've received an email maybe this email has something in it that's just for you.

It's been 4 months since I've had a baptism, which may seem like a small drought, but in this mission we're expected to have about 1 baptism each month and the standard is actually 2 each month per companionship. I don't feel like a failure, I've baptized before in my mission, I'm just wondering if maybe there's something that I'm doing wrong.

I know that there are times when each of us must feel that way. If we don't it might be because we didn't read or understand or have yet to apply the principles taught in Elder Uchdorf's conference talk entitled "Lord, Is It I?" 

I have gone to the Lord in prayer and often confessed "Lord, it's me." and then asked "How can I change?" 

I've seen a lot change since I left home. I've had old friends get baptized, close friends leave on mission, good friends get married, and family members grow and progress in numerous ways. With all these changes I would hate to arrive home not a changed man. And with all the many changes that have and will continue to occur I need the Lord's guidance to know how to change myself in order to be successful in an ever changing world. 

Also, with all the many changes I would be living in fear of an uncertain future. Luckily, through trusting God, I'm not the least bit worried about what might happen after my mission. I know the Lord will prepare a way. I've seen Him do it before in my mission, and thank goodness, He doesn't change.

I would honestly love to share all of my experiences with you, but now I have no time for such an endeavor. I'll try my best to write about all of my experiences, if not in emails, in my journal or in letters. I'm really learning a lot from my mission, but at the end of the day, that's not even the main reason I'm here. So I have a lot to do.

See you soon,

-Elder Southwick 

The Epistle of Daniel the Missionary to the Filipinos - Chapter 1

In the first month, 2015 A.D.

Dear Everyone,

I'm really glad to be serving a mission here in the Philippines especially at this time. There are so many nice people who are willing to listen to missionaries. I only wish I had more time to teach them. Recently we've had a hard time getting members to work with us, and it's resulted in some untaught lessons and unproductive days. 

No matter what ward you're in or how many missionaries are in your ward or branch you need to work with the missionaries. If you don't know the missionaries serving in your area you should introduce yourself. Regardless of your age or gender or activity in the church, the missionaries need your help. Don't wait for them to ask you, ask them. The missionaries have a lot on their plates and they will be pleased to receive help from anyone, but especially from a member of the church who knows the doctrines and principles of salvation. No matter how small your testimony may seem to you it may mean a world of difference to someone. In addition, every time you share your testimony it will grow.

If you are planning on serving your own mission you need the experiences that can only come from working with real missionaries in real situations. Pray for the strength to approach your ward or branch missionaries and ask them what you can do to help them. If the missionaries themselves don't seem excited about missionary work, a member who is excited about it might be just what they need to awake their own desire to serve the Lord. Don't wait for your situation to change, change it.

I've spent way too much time waiting for my ward to help us with the work, but I've started asking them specifically. I'm trying to make the best of my situation, and that's all we can ever do.

* * * * * * * *

I've been greatly blessed over the course of my mission. I've rarely been sick; I'm yet to experience a hurricane; There was an earthquake a few days ago, but I slept through it; I've baptized more people than I ever thought I would, and my life has never been more full or joyous. 

At the same time, my apartment is 20 minutes away from my area; my camera got stolen last week; two of my pants have ripped in various places; I'm slightly behind on my laundry again; only one person came to church this Sunday; none of our investigators are progressing; I don't know where half of our members or investigators live; I hurt my back a few days ago; I still don't speak the language fluently; and my shoes are on their last leg. (Pun intended)

So why am I so happy? It's a fair question. My life isn't easy, and I rarely get to do any of the fun things that I used to do. What's so awesome about missionary work that makes it enjoyable even in the worst of times?

It's the smiles on the faces of the people you teach. It's the kids who call me Mr. Bean. It's the less actives that come to church. It's the members who sacrifice their time to work with us. It's the stories that I hear of people I've impacted without even knowing it. It's the scriptures and the strength that comes daily reading. It's prayer and all the blessings of strengthening my relationship with my Father. All these things make it all worth it. No trial can take away the joy and no pain can take away the peace. It's inexplicable.

If you think a mission is awesome you're right. If you think it's easy you're insane.

In conclusion, I miss all of you dearly. Even if I don't know you as well as I'd like to. Keep doing the hard things that bring joy, and the sacrifices that bring forth the blessings of heaven.

* * * * * * * *

It's so hard to type emails when you have a time limit. It's stressful and it makes me feel very rushed. I'll do my best though. I usually do alright.

This week was very exciting. On Monday we went bowling, and I single-handedly lost the game for us. There were 6 of us, and it was senior companions against junior companions. We were losing at first and then we pulled ahead in the middle, but when we got to the 10th frame we were tied. I had been doing well. I'd gotten a few spares, but on the last two rolls I hit less than 1 pin. and my companion, playing for the senior companions, got a spare and then a strike. His first of the game. It was pitiful. But afterwards we played billiards and Elder Seculles and I won.

I've been trying extra hard to be obedient this week, motivated by a group of children that we've been teaching. If they're ever going to truly progress in the gospel we need to penetrate their homes, and convert their parents, and we're doing very well so far. With their parents permission we took many of them to church last week. There were 17 of us total. The hardest part was finding transportation to the church. We waited with them on the side of the road for a jeepney that was going to the right place and had enough room for all of us. We waited for about 20 minutes and then an old SUV stopped. It was empty other than the driver. I was excited by the fact that we finally had a ride, but then I realized that there were far too many of us. This vehicle had 8 or 9 seats, and only because of the 4 makeshift seats in the back. But we did it. 18 people rode in that car about 2 km or so. 1 driver, 2 elders, 1 member and 14 kids. The lack of seatbelts only made it easier to pile in.

They had a great time at church they didn't all stay in the sacrament hall for all of the meeting, but they enjoyed it, and even more, I enjoyed sharing one of the most sacred parts of my week sitting next to the kids that I've grown so close to.

They enjoyed the classes as well. I believe they made friends, and their relationship with one another seemed strengthened. I can't wait to follow up with them and ask them about the things they learned. 

Sadly, not all of them obtained permission from their parents, mostly because of their age. I know at least one girl spent some of her Saturday night crying because she was not allowed to come to church with us.

But they're awesome, and they remind me of my crazy little brothers. They hang off my arms like I'm their playset, but I never complain. I have so very little to complain about.

Wow, time moves on wings of lightning. I need to get back to work and teach some more people. I'm sorry if you were expecting more this week. I'll try to send more next week and I'll be better about sending pictures too.

* * * * * * * *

From Nov.-Dec. 2014

I'm being transferred to Pasay (which is in Manila) on Wednesday. Tell everyone. I'm in the process of saying goodbye to all the members. I love them a lot. I haven't cried yet, but I don't know how much longer that's going to last. I gave a talk in the Magara Sacrament Meeting yesterday, I talked about, pag-ibig sa kapwa, and selflessness. I've been very selfless recently, so it was nice to share about it using real examples. I gave the whole talk in Tagalog, something I've been doing for a while. I don't know if it's exactly right, but I can always get the point across.

I loved the pictures that you sent to me. I'm very humbled to see how much I mean to each one of you. I'm grateful for all of the pictures and emails that you've sent to me. I've recently been terrible with replying to letters, being a senior companion is time-consuming, maybe I'm just not good at delegating yet.

I'm sorry for my lack of communication in general. I've been taking a lot more pictures, but sending them is a very heavy task. I'll be sure to share with you all of my pictures and adventures after my mission, I only have about a year left. 

Love you,

Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

I've been transferred off of Palawan. There, now you all know. :) On the plane ride over here I was sitting next to two random Filipinos. The one on my left had headphones in so I figured I ought to talk to the one on my right. I didn't know how to start the conversation, then I saw something she was reading; "395 Ways to Live a Better Life." One of the ways listed was to "attend a religious service at least once this week" another one was "read a religious book that's unfamiliar." When I read that I knew I had to talk to her. My love for her grew as I saw her desire to have a better life. I wanted more than anything to share the gospel with her, but I didn't want to do it wrong, so I said a prayer, just a little one to let God know that I needed his guidance. Then an idea came. I had a letter from a family in Roxas, and because the whole thing was in Tagalog, I decided that I should ask her to help me translate it. I already understood all of it except one word. "Nag-aantay" I gently got her attention and asked her what it meant. From there I was able to share some of my experiences in Roxas with her, and I told her that I was a missionary. She was very nice. We talked about the plan of salvation and then I brought out the only book I had not packed in my luggage: the Book of Mormon. She had many questions about it. Before I had a chance to introduce it she asked me: "Sino si Mormon?" or "Who is Mormon?" I had the opportunity to teach her about the history of the book. She became quite interested in it and asked many more questions. She also asked many questions about missionaries. I found out that she's going to Manila to be a pre-school teacher. When we landed in the airport we were still talking and she was leading the conversation. I got her phone number and her general address. When I told her that I was 20 she said she's 20 also. I asked her about her birthday and she said it's in December. Unbelieving I said "Anong araw?" or "What day?" December 21 she said. Thousands of miles from home I found a girl who is 9 days younger than me, and certainly now investigating the gospel, and I never would have known that and she would still be searching if I hadn't opened my mouth.

Since I got to Pasay, apart of Manila, I've met many interesting people one who is 2 days older than me and is one of our investigators and he's a Muslim. Crazy how things are here. This is my first P-day since leaving Palawan, and of course I miss the people, but I got to go to the temple today and see my grandparents who now work there. See Pictures.

Also a few days ago I got to go to MOA. If you don't know what that is look it up. We went to Burger King. It was the first time I've been there in a year. It was almost as good as I remember it. I'm very happy here. Don't worry about me. My life is great. I'm just a LRT ride away from my first area.. I wish I could visit. Maybe at the temple someday.

I got a package from my loving family on November 19. FYI, the candy and snacks are all gone now and the letters have all been read at least once thank you all for your love and time. Please keep me updated on your busy lives. I look forward to hearing from all of you. :)

Love you all,

-Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

Dear Family and Friends,

I've been in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Philippines for about 2 weeks now. I used to be in Palawan which is a big island that is more than a hundred miles from here. When I first came here I felt some of the same feelings that I felt when I first arrived in the Philippines. Here are the changes that I've had to re-adjust to these last few weeks:

1. Where there were lizards, there are now cockroaches.

2. Where there were dirt roads, there are now stairs.

3. Where there were dogs, there are now kids.

4. Where I once traveled by bus, I now travel by jeepney.

5. When I once heard thunder and dogs, I now hear traffic and planes.

6. My area was 37 sq km (23 sq mi), now it's 0.9 sq km (0.5 sq mi).

7. I used to see maybe 100- 200 people in a day, now I see thousands and thousands.

8. I lost my glasses in my last week in Palawan, and haven't yet replaced them.

9. I used to eat at a local restaurant on special occasions, today I'm eating at one of the biggest malls in Asia and my grandparents might be there.

10. I can send an email without waiting for an hour.

My life is great. I miss the way things were, but I'm happy with the changes; most of them.

Keep me updated on your busy lives. I'll keep you updated on mine. 

-Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

Dear Friends and Family,

For most of you I've been away for a long time. I sure miss each one of you. I've been doing great recently. We haven't had a lot of success in our area recently, but I'm not getting down on that. We might baptize a few people in January, but we do not plan on having any more this year. Right now we're just finding people that we can teach, we have about 30 potential investigators, but the hard part is finding time to teach them. They're always busy, or sometimes we can't teach them because there's no 3rd lalaki. 

I'm still feeling very lost in our area. I don't know where anyone lives or how to get there. If Elder Seculles gets transferred then I will surely perish. I actually know where one family lives, but that is the extent of my knowledge. The entire area is completely different than Roxas, and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the geography. 

Now, about Ruby. For some reason she's late. We were all expecting her last night, but she's still not here. She's close. it started raining about an hour ago, but that's all I've experienced so far. I am not impressed. However, some of the members in our area are from Dolores, Samar, which is directly in the path and has already been hit. They're pretty devastated..

In other news, I finally got some new glasses, they were fairly expensive, but I have enough money left to last until the next support cycle. I'm very glad to finally be able to see clearly. All that time living in a blur. All that time never really seeing things the way they were and at last I see the light.

I've also been rather sick the last few days. I've had a cold and a headache and a fever and I've been feeling weak. But I'll probably have some time to rest as we wait for the storm to pass.

I'm always surprised by how many people accept our message and want us to teach them. Missionary work is awesome here or at least it has the potential to be. If only more members were available to work with us. 

All that being said, it's very fun being a missionary. If you haven't tried it you should. :)

As for my family in America, I've been away for a long time, and I'm sorry that you have to spend another Christmas without me, but please know and remember that I'll see you all next Christmas.

Love you guys

-Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

At this time of year it's hard to not want to serve those around you. I want desperately to send each and everyone of you something for Christmas, but alas, I'm some seven thousand miles away from most of you. My love goes out to you. I wish I could do more than wish you a merry Christmas, but at least I can share the truth about Christ with those here with me and serve them. These coming days and weeks I will share the spirit of Christ with as many people as I can and I encourage each of you to do the same. It doesn't take much. You don't have to give all of yourself, just a small piece.

Sadly, I have been sick since last week and am still sick. As far as I know it's something called "reactive airways." Like asthma, but not chronic. It's been 11 days now and I still have some symptoms. I get tired and winded pretty easily and that makes it hard to do missionary work, considering how much walking we do. I was even sick on my birthday, and we didn't teach any lessons that day, but for 3 hours we tried to find someone who was available. We've only taught 6 lessons the whole time I've been sick, and 0 in the last 4 days. Count your many blessings. If you are healthy, rejoice and give thanks, and do things that we sick people can't do. I'm not bed ridden or anything like that, but I miss being healthy enough to do missionary work for hours and hours every day. Maybe you could pray for me. It couldn't hurt. I need all the help I can get. I'm taking medication and I have an inhaler now. I'm doing all I can.

I'm looking into buying a voice recorder to better record my life as a missionary. I'll let you know when I find one.

The missionary work this week was very minimal, but next week I'll have more to talk about. This week we have many scheduled choir activities, and I'm excited for those, now that I can kinda sing again. Early Merry Christmas to each one of you. 

Discover the Gift..

Love,

Elder Southwick

From Sep.-Oct. 2014

It's been crazy the last two weeks trying to communicate with you. I've been extremely limited on my email time due to lack of internet here in Palawan. There's plenty of internet cafes, but they're usually full or their internet is on life support. Today I'm emailing earlier than I usually would hoping to beat the crowd. It seems like it worked. I still don't have much time. I love you, and thank you for all of the emails you sent last week. I'm glad that you are all happy and safe. 

* * * * * * * *

I sure have been out for a long time. It really flies by, at least now it does. My new companion is always happy and smiling. He's been out for just 5 months. 

This week we had an interesting experience. We were teaching a lesson in Magara (about 20 km from Roxas) and we finished the lesson at about 7, so we figured we had time to have dinner with the Mesias Family, so we had dinner with them and left at 8. We expected to catch one of the buses going to Roxas, there's usually one about every 30 minutes, but we left late so there weren't any so we started walking. There were many vans that passed by. We tried to hail them, but they rarely stop. After walking for an hour and 20 minutes, we heard a vehicle approaching I didn't turn around I was certain it was a van and wouldn't stop, but it was a bus.. My companion is really nice and he never got angry or upset, but we continued walking. After walking for another hour and a half we saw a tricycle and even though we were too tired to hail it, it stopped. It took us closer to our home, but then we had to walk for another half an hour. When we were almost home (at 11:30) some of the members saw us and made sure we were okay. We finally got home at about 11:50. That was a long Friday.

But now we're fine. :) Love you,

-Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

Dear Family,

I'm so deeply infused in missionary work that it doesn't even upset me that none of you have emailed me yet this week. I'm sure you're all busy, and I'm doing just fine. I'm very grateful for the letters and packages that you have sent me. I will always appreciate any communication that I receive from you, but I no longer need it.  

I can walk on my own now. I used to rely on emailing, and now I rely on the Lord. I used to crave the chance to share a few words with a friend who lives 7,000 miles away, now I crave the opportunity to share the gospel with my new-found friends. Now don't get me wrong; I still love all of you and all of the friends that I left in America, but my life no longer revolves around you or them; it now revolves around my investigators, and the members here where I'm serving. 

Of course none of this is an excuse for you to stop communicating with me, just as it would not excuse a discontinuation of my letters of emails to you. You should still email me, and maybe not wait until Sunday, but don't be too concerned about it. I will not wither away without a weekly email from each and every one of you.

I will continue to write to you every week, and I will try harder to reply to your emails more fully and often, but don't be too concerned with me for the next year or so. Go and live your life. I'm thousands of miles away, focus on your own mission. I'll tell you about everything when I get back (I'm writing in my journal every single day), and I'll try to send more pictures when I buy a new camera.(If you've noticed there's been a drought of pictures recently. It's because my camera stopped accepting memory cards.)

If I take a step back and look at my overall situation, I should be upset. There are so many many things that are not going according to plan. You don't even know about half of it. Despite it all, I'm happy and strong and sure that my life is in order. I've been a' walkin' with the Lord for many a day; nothin' gonna stumble, stumble my feet.

Love you,

Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

Dear Everyone,

I don't want anyone to feel left out, so this week I decided to write a massive letter to everyone I could think of. I'm sure I didn't remember everyone so I'm sorry if someone you know got left out. Maybe I don't have their email.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm going to do this every week, but I feel like an update is due for many of you. 

I've been very busy this week: 

On Monday we had P-Day as usual. We emailed, got groceries and all the other usual stuff. We're supposed to start teaching at 6, but we had a few errands to run. By the time we were done with our errands it was dark. Here in Roxas it gets dark, like pitch black in most areas, about 30 minutes after the sun sets. There are very few street lights or stores that are open. Most of the town is asleep at 8pm. We decided to go home instead of walking around in the dark trying to find someone to teach.

On Tuesday we had to leave for Puerto Princesa in the afternoon to be there for the Zone Conference that started in the morning on Wednesday. So we had our studies in the morning and then we traveled for 30 minutes by bus to visit some of the newer members in Magara. It's on the way to Puerto so I thought we could just stop by. We hadn't visited them in about a week. Also, one of them had a birthday. We brought him a present (a small rain stick) and we gave all of the kids Temple Book of Mormon Reading Charts. Then we went back to the main road and waited for a bus. We waited for about 5 minutes and then a van stopped for us. Usually vans don't stop, but this one did. The driver came out walked around and opened the door, and we saw the 4 missionaries from Taytay. Their area is about 2 hours further north than our area. It was not our plan to ride with them, but we did. We talked a little bit about the work, but then we sat in silence and endured the 3 hours left of our journey. When we got to Puerto, Elder Moris and I went to the Mall in Puerto. Which is probably the only one in Palawan. We shopped there. I bought 6 ties (50 pesos each) and lots of other useful things that I couldn't find in Roxas. Then we went to the Zone Leaders apartment and stayed the night. 

On Wednesday we had our Zone Conference. It was the first one that I have been at where President Ostler was teaching. I learned a lot. I could write pages about what I learned there, but it sufficeth me to say, I learned a lot. 

On Thursday we had our studies and then we went to Abaroan which is about 15 minutes by bus and then 15 minutes by tricycle away from our apartment. We taught them about the Law of Chastity and they all committed to live it. Jared, Jerhson, and Alvin. They're all related to members, but they aren't baptized. Not yet.:)

On Friday we went to Magara and taught the Brother Española about the Book of Mormon. He's a new investigator. He seems very accepting of our message. Then we went to the Trasmil house, (where Jared and Jerhson live) and taught Jared, Jerhson, Alvin, Brenda and Justin Mae about the 10 Commandments and the Role of Prophets in the Church.

On Saturday we went to Caramay which is about 35 minutes away from Roxas by bus. Then we took a tricycle ride for 10 minutes to get to the house of Brother Cacatian. He's married to a Return Missionary, but he's not yet a member. We taught him about Prophets and the Commandments and the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom, and he's committed to living all of them. Most investigators have some sort of problem with at least one of the laws or ordinances, but he doesn't seem to have any. He also comes to church every week. We actually met him at church and then we visited him at his home. Him and the Alvin and Jared and Jerhson are scheduled to be baptized on October 18, and they're really progressing. Brother Cacatian and Jared and Jerhson all want me to baptize them. I'm really grateful for the opportunity. I hope I can make their baptismal service a memorable one. I'm pretty much responsible for planning and carrying out that service. It will be fun.  After teaching him, we taught Jared, Jerhson, Alvin, Brenda and Justin Mae about the Law of Tithing and the Sabbath Day. They're awesome. They need baptism.

On Sunday we had church of course and for the first time in forever, Brenda and Justin Mae Bajan came to church. Even though their mom (who is a member) doesn't come to church. They were so happy to be there. The Bajan family brought them. They are only 10 and 8. I was lubos na masaya kapag nakita ko sila sa simbahan. Sinabi nila 'Magsisimba kami' maraming beces dating. Pero nagsimba sila. Noon halos iiyak ako.

My week has been awesome, but the best is yet to come. I hope to be able to share more about them with all of you great people. Don't feel like you have to send a huge reply to this. I only have an hour to read and send emails. :)

I'm very happy here. Don't worry about me. 

Love,

Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

Dear People,

This week was like many of the previous weeks except that on Saturday we had 4 baptisms.

Name                     Baptizer                   Age   Information

Jared Trasmil               Elder Southwick       12           Mom and Dad are Members

Jerhson Trasmil          Elder Southwick       10           Brother of Jared

Alvin Ogatis                 Elder Moris                        10   Uncle of Jared and Jerhson

Ferdinand Cacatian         Elder Southwick               45           Married to a Return Missionary

I don’t have time to tell you more about them, I’ve been handling a lot of the logistical things recently, and I’m always running low on time, no matter how carefully we plan.

I'll try to send pictures..

Love,

Elder Southwick

From July-Aug. 2014

This area is great. The members here are humble and helpful and happy. The church building is just like a small American one, except there's no basketball court inside only outside. And like all the LDS Church buildings here in the Philippines there's bars on all of the windows.

My apartment is much nicer than many of the houses that we visit. Our floor is tile instead of dirt or cement, our walls are flat and painted, and made of concrete not bamboo. And our roof is made of metal and wood, not leaves.

I've had many interesting experiences in the last few weeks. About a week ago I ate dog. Everyone said it was pork, but when I found out it was dog I ate a little more. I baptized two children with a sprained ankle and an injured right hand. On Tuesday I left the SD card with all of my pictures in Puerto Princesa, (3 hours away) then, luckily, I got an infection in my right leg so I had to go back to Puerto on Saturday to do some blood work and buy medication, and retrieve my SD card. I got to play the piano at a funeral yesterday. And I just found out that no one from my area is getting transferred on Wednesday.

Love you all. Miss you too.

-Elder Southwick

* * * * * * * *

I'm allergic to Penicillin. Did you know that? I sure didn't. The antibiotics I was taking were giving me chest pain, and I took 9 pills before I found out that was because I'm allergic to them. I took some different antibiotics and now I'm back to full health and my infection is gone.

The typhoon that hit the Philippines this week resulted in 30 minutes of heavy rain here in Roxas, if I was in Manila like I was 6 weeks ago I would experienced much heavier rain and stronger winds and flooding, but luckily I was among the last batch that was transferred to Palawan before the typhoon. The typhoon actually delayed transfer day, but none of that affected me.

I've had a lot of interesting food since I arrived here in Palawan. There are red bananas and red pineapples here. The red bananas taste just like American bananas, but I've yet to taste of the red pineapples. (Both are just red on the outside.) I also had some green oranges the size of cantaloupes. Those were interesting. Today I had dragon fruit for the first time. It was interesting, but I don't even know what to compare it to.

I've gone on splits a few times now. It's weird to be the only full-time missionary when we teach a lesson. Of course the members that I work with are awesome, and preparing to serve missions themselves. I feel like I'm almost a real missionary, with the help of these members I even taught the Restoration to someone I've never met before.

I'm blessed to have a great companion who knows the gospel inside and out and helps me to see where I need to improve. I want to be more like him. He makes it easier for me to be a diligent missionary.

I'm very happy to be here. I'm happy to see how proud you are of me, but I'm just a tool. Of course in the Lord's hand even a simple tool can be used to do great and marvelous things. We should all seek to become tools in the Lord's hands so that He can use us for His great and eternal purposes.

* * * * * * * *

I feel greatly blessed. The missionary work here is new and exciting. I'm often surprised when people say that they've never heard of the church before. It's exciting but also a little bit overwhelming when I get to then explain the restoration to them, and answer all of their questions. I'm really glad that almost everyone here already believes in Jesus Christ. The Spaniards did some of the missionary work for us. Many people already believe that Jesus Christ is their savior and many have a desire to be close to Him. 

I write in my journal every 2 or 3 days. I should write more often, but time is a precious thing. We'll see if I can find more time for it. There's definitely a lot of noteworthy things that have happened so far.

I want to encourage each of you to practice your Tagalog for the next time we skype. When Mom said "Kumusta?" Mark said "Your Mom speaks Tagalog?" He was impressed and I was touched. Tagalog is a beautiful language. Each of you should learn how to say at least one sentence or phrase in Tagalog. I'll share the First Vision in Tagalog. It'll be fun, but only if you actually do it. 

We have an investigator named Kelvin. He's little, only 7 or 8, and he's very serious. I haven't seen him smile. But he's cute. He even looks a little bit like Kelvin.

I just found out that a girl I taught in Manila was baptized a month ago. I'm so happy for her. I wish I could have been there, but I'm still really happy for her.

Maraming salamat po sa inyong mga emails, mahal-mahal ko kayo. Makakita ko ng mga biyaya ng gawaing misyunero sa aking buhay at sa inyong mga buhay. Ingat po.

* * * * * * * *

Some of you have been better at communicating with me than others. I'll assume, for now, that that's because you're too busy writing me letters. Elijah's letter just arrived and it was awesome. I'll reply to it today. I slightly prefer hand written letters to emails. If you've received a hand written letter before you'd understand why.

One of the best ways to strengthen your relationship with anyone is to communicate with them. If you want someone to feel like they can trust you and if you ever want anyone to understand you or your feelings you must tell them. Use your God given ability to speak (Exodus 4:11-12) and write (Acts 15:23) to bless and strengthen those around you and your relationships with them.

Dad sent some great pictures of all of you boys all dressed up. I miss being one of the boys. Elijah, you're getting tall, don't stop. You guys better be having fun together. Don't wait for me to get home to have fun. :)

I heard that you're still praying for me consistently. Thank you. The Lord has been watching over me.

Keep doing what's right. You only receive blessings when you are obedient (D&C 130:21). If you're truly converted to Lord and His gospel then you will have no more desire to do evil (Mosiah 5:2).

I've been called by God as a special witness of the truth and divinity of this work, but don't take my word for it (Moroni 10:4).

* * * * * * * *

It seems like you guys are having a lot of fun trips and such. I hope you had fun in Legoland. You are very blessed to get to go to fun places like that. I'm glad you're all getting so big. I love you all. I'm trying to be the best missionary I can be, in part because I know that many of you look up to me. I want to make you proud. You should know that deciding to go on a mission is not the easy part. I have to decide every day to be a missionary. Going on a mission is no great feat. Anyone can pack a suitcase and step on a plane. The part that makes a mission hard is that your family, your leaders, your friends, those that you teach and the Lord expect you to be a disciple of Christ and a righteous servant of His in every thought word and action. Oddly enough, if you have the Spirit with you even this strenuous feeling can be lifted. I've begun to see that with the Spirit I can bear this load with ease. The hardest thing for me right now is the language, but I know that if I truly dedicate myself to learning it, that the Spirit can help me overcome this hurdle as well.

I've been an Elder for 1 year and 364 days. Tuesday will be the two year mark. :) I've only been a missionary for a few months though. I know I have a lot left in store. I'll try to share with you all of the experiences that I have here on my mission. Either now or after I've returned home. 

You should know that I love you, so I'll tell you: I love you!

* * * * * * * *

It's great that you're all keeping busy. I can't wait to be a part of that busy-ness again. It seems like I'm in a different world, but I feel greatly strengthened by the constant communication that I have with you.

I wish I could have been there for Elijah's talk. I sure love that kid.

Anyway, I remembered an experience that I had when I first got to Roxas. I was walking with my companion, and I saw a big house ahead of us. I said "That's a nice house" then asked my companion "Who lives there?" he replied "That's a hospital".

Maybe that gives you a sense of how primitive my area is. I was surprised, but a lot of things here are smaller than I'm used to.

Another thing that surprised me when I got to the Philippines is how many people like my arm hair and my nose. I've had people ask if they could have my nose. The Filipinos think that they have flat noses so they love how pointed my nose is. And there have been countless people that have run their fingers through my arm hair. Most people here have arm hair that's barely visible. I thought it was weird at first, but now I just roll with it. It usually happens a few times every week.

Right now, I'm on exchanges with Elder Eera. Elder Espano and I were not getting along, and not talking to each other, and on Saturday he threatened to "smash my face in" so I'm on exchanges until the zone leaders come up here to settle things. He's not dangerous he just doesn't like me. Elder Eera is awesome. I'm doing great.

Amanda said that I should tell about something that I do every day of the week, so I'm going to try.

Tuesday: We taught 3 lessons, and our first lesson was to an investigator. She said she was moving so we expected that she wouldn't be there, and she wasn't, but her house wasn't there either. It was taken down after she left.

Wednesday: We taught 3 lessons again, to 3 different people. We did a lot of walking. I wish we had bikes, but the highway that goes from one end of Palawan to the other goes right through our area, and it's busy, and the trucks and buses go quite fast.

Thursday: We taught Kelvin and Zedrick and Dorely. Kelvin is a 10 year-old that we just started teaching. He hasn't come to church yet, but he's really interested in our lessons and he reads from the Book of Mormon (Ang Aklat ni Mormon) occasionally. He's best friends with Zedrick an 8 year-old that I baptized recently. And Dorely is a 60-70 year-old that has been taking our lessons for a few months, but he hasn't come to church because he works on Sunday. They were all together for one lesson. We taught about the atonement. We taught 2 other lessons, but that's the one I remember the best.

Friday: We had our studies in the morning like we always do, but then we had weekly planning like we do every Friday. But most Weekly planning sessions last 3 hours and this one lasted 6 hours. We planned for 2 hours then I started updating the area book and my companion fell asleep so I had to do all of it by myself. 3 hours later my companion woke up and then we talked about 2 or 3 of our investigators and then Elder Espano said it was time to close. We have about 25 investigators, but Elder Espano didn't want to spend time discussing their needs. After that we went and bought a new faucet, because the night before the old one exploded. After that we didn't have time to teach anyone. Sad day.

Saturday: Elder Espano got mad at me because I tried to correct him. We taught the Plan of Salvation to all of the same people as on Thursday (some of them had already heard it before, but it was a good review), then we had an activity at the church and then we started exchanges.

Sunday: I spent the whole day teaching in Elder Eera's area. We had dinner at a members house.

That's only 6 days, but I'll work on doing better next week. I've been writing in my journal everyday, so there are some good records there.

I love you guys

-Elder Southwick