Pony Boy Express: Fast Week!

Family and Friends,

This week flew by! I guess that is what happens when you work hard everyday and try to utilize every minute. I really enjoyed our new missionary follow up training that we had.. It was cool to see all my batch mates from the MTC! President Lopez's training really helped me and gave me some good insight on how to improve myself and stay positive at all times in this "wilderness". Blessings have just been arriving in Elder Wilstead's and I's area! We have been blessed with so many new referrals and investigators, some literally just showing up at church. Bishop has seen our hard work and we can truly see that he is trusting us more and more each week. Because of that, he has given us tons of referrals and really just has a helpful "do anything for you" kind of attitude. Hard work pays off in the most interesting of ways. He is hilarious. He is one of those bishops who just throws it down, and tells you how it is. I love it... well what i understand of it :P haha!

My language skills have been improving greatly this past week. I only speak Ilonggo during proselyting hours and it just helps my knowledge of this language increase drastically. I have had much more effective language studies as well. I am trying hard to memorize new words and phrases and it has helped so much. Elder Wilstead has been very helpful in correcting my language skills and giving me tips and tricks to improve. We do practice teaching during companionship study which helps me so much. It's still difficult.. but awesome to see progress, i love it!

Of course hard times arrive, but you just pray harder and work harder and it all works out. I truly have felt that my prayers have improved leaps and bounds this week. Honestly that is so important... you really need to conversate with your Father in Heaven. He wants to talk. He wants to hear and feel our sorrows, joys, and accomplishments through our prayers. We saw the fruits of our labors this week on Sunday at church. We had so many investigators come to church for the first time. Sister Antonano (her husband was baptized a few weeks ago) came to church for the first time! She has an amputated leg and because of that she was really nervous about church. She came in her wheelchair. Our church building has the chapel upstairs which created quite the dilemma. Elder Wilstead and I and her husband carried her up that stairs in her wheelchair. That was such a great thing to be able to do. She really enjoyed church. I spoke in church this sunday again (in ilonggo) about Christ and our trials. If we put our trust in him... all our trials will end up benefiting us.

We really focused on the Savior this week in our teachings and it showed with how much our investigators improved and wanted to keep commitments. I am loving this experience. It has its ups and downs.. but! its great. I truly love how this is helping me establish great habits.

We killed 3 rats this week. We bought this hardcore trap that worked wonders.. ill send pics! We are turning into some skilled rat murderers. The power came back on Tuesday night... best moment of my life! haha. Oh wanna know something great? people love basketball here... so i know everything that happens in the NBA finals! hahaha. sometimes you see little snippets of it while you walk past houses. Awesomely enough the internet cafe i am emailing at is listening to the game on the radio! GO spurs! Its weird.. P-day comes and i forget everything that has happened the past week. hahah. oh ps.. transfer day is wednesday.. but since i am training that shouldnt affect me!

Now for the spiritual stuff! So my studies this week have been amazing unreal! and guess what... if you can't say the same.. .you need to change something! So i had some great studies about Lehi's dream! 1 Nefi 8! Go read it.. these are a few things i realized that are helpful.. notice that they grabbed hold of the "end of the rod" not the middle or finish. the end! we all start our spiritual journey somewhere. remember that. Notice also that the people going towards the tree of life were holdingfast.. while the people heading to the great and spacious building were "feeling their way" Ie- no direction. So if you feel that you have no direction, its a lack of holdingfast! The tree of life is the love of God. It is something we can obtain and have at every moment. It is a foretaste to eternal life. The iron rod.. is the word of God. I know we have all sung that song, but have we really likened that to our lives? We hold fast through our study of the scriptures. There is a reason Elder Wilstead and I hound our investigators everytime to see if they are reading! that is how they progress! that is how WE progress! without the word of God in our daily lives.. we will "feel our way" to a place we wont want to be.

K so this one just bear with me.. and dont think all of the sudden that i liken everything i read to marriage, BUT.. Apostles have said that, "the most important work you will do in this world, will be within the walls of your own home". So i think i found the formula for perfection in a marriage. And yes this is when what i talk about is done with exactness.. so obviously its work and takes repentance. But! here we go! For myself i have decided this... true love (which every one has their opinion on) is this... (and you can quote me on this) True love hinges off the desire to help people truly come unto Christ by living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. All the marriage help books, seminars, counselors, etc etc.. dont have one thing. The pure love of Christ centered at their teachings. This gospel does. Another note.. true love requires BOTH people to be truly striving to be more like Christ. If it's just one.. heartbreak, sorrow, confusion, and pain will continue. Decide now (whereever you are in your marriage) you wont be the 1 who isn't trying. That's my little rant to you. And it may not mean much because A. im not married B. im only 20 years old and C. i dont have tons of wisdom BUT.. im positive this can' t and will not hurt a marriage. i testify of that.

Lastly, remember. Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. How strong is your connection? This is the eternal gospel people.. we are so in trouble in so many ways without it! Love you all so so so much! you are all wonderful people. keep on keeping on.

Palangga,

Elder Stagg

our "laundry room".. ps handwashing clothes is just.......... thebest! positivity right?

we enjoy ourselves! man i am so sweaty in all the pictures.. thats the Philippines for ya!

just getting my rat murder on.... yeah i look evil in this picture, but i had to do it. hahah. yeah that trap is legit! plus you just get to stare the little devils in the eye and know that you won! i love it! oh the bucket part.. .yeah thats the execution block!