Trust

Family and Friends, 

This weeks letter will be short.. and im not sure why. Nothing is wrong or bad.. i just feel like writing kind of a short letter.

It's weird how i feel like i close my eyes, and then im emailing you again. Life is but a dream right? So let's make it a good dream, not a nightmare. This is my simple testimony. God is real. I know it with my whole heart. Jesus Christ is his Son. He is central to everything. Our faith.. our repentance.. our hope.. our work.. our everything! we need to come closer to him. We must develop faith and rely on the enabling power of Jesus Christ at all times.

I love my companion. He is such a good missionary. He loves to work and loves to have a good joke as well. Also he is a great cook.. lucky me :)

The 2 other elders who were in our apartment moved out, so now its just us 2 in a big house. Oh, and my room has A/C now. i cant even tell you how much i love that. Everynight i dont have to sweat profusely. We will see how i feel once i see the electric bill. hahaha.

oh.. our water pump broke. so the past week i have been fetching water every morning. talk about a traps/ triceps workout. love it. hopefully the pump will be back tomorrow! hahaha.

im sorry to be negative.. but i HATE the computer shops here. im yet to find a good one.

i love you all

palangga,

elder stagg

Mission President Specialized Training

Pictures from President Lopez's Facebook:

Binalbagan Zone

In Defense of Abraham's Seed

Family and Friends,

The gospel is true. God is real. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is amazing. Thats my biggest increase this week... the power of the Atonement. It is real. It can change who we are. Change how we think and see things..! It's the power of Jesus Christ.

Well. Please pray for those in Tacloban. We will have some of the missionaries from there coming to our mission. Hearing and reading about the destruction there is just.. wow. breaks my heart. Please pray for them. Please pray for the mental well being of the missionaries who had tragedy there. Please pray for the Enabling Power of the Atonement to touch the people of Tacloban. Just pray.. daily. Will you do that? Thank you.

Had a wonderful training in Bacolod. My mission president, ive realized, is the exact personality suited for me as a missionary. His bluntness with rules and those type of things are great. Big thing i learned is the members are "yoked" with the missionaries.. help the missionaries in your area!!

Couple simple spiritual truths i learned this week. Shoot for steady. We dont become perfect in just one day. Life is about constant continuation and effort. Edit your life ruthlessly and then try your best, through the help of our Lord, to progress. Another. Plead for help. Literally. Kneel and tell our Father in Heaven your; problems, fears, weaknesses, blessings, wishes... then ask. Ask for his guidance and help. The power of prayer is real, i testify of that.

Funny note. If you miss me (which you better ;) ) go read the last couple lines of Alma 40:8. Hehe. Also, I decided hymn #337 is one of my new favorites. hahaha.

Well, i lost my planner this week. (all you RM's understand why this is awful). I literally retraced my steps all over Hinigaran. No luck. Patience is a heavenly virtue right? Well, new planner. Keep going. haha.

Side note. If you want to send me something for Christmas, this is it. Neckties and church socks. None of the people here have these. SO... i have need to give, but dont have a ton. Thats just my recommendation for Christmas.

Final Read. Romans 1:9.

Will you read your Book of Mormon everyday? It is so important. Focus on repentance daily. Be good. Go RSL. The Lord even looks out for your favorite sports teams when you serve a mission ;). I love you all so much.

Palangga,

Elder Stagg

service a couple weeks ago!!!

thisis on my desk! hehe :)

kind of old but here!!!

camera fun

my district!!

All is Well

Family and Friends,

 First off.. i appreciate the prayers in my behalf at the time of the super typhoon. On that regard, here in my area itself.. the damage was next to none. Negros didn't suffer that much damage. From what i have heard it is Tacloban that needs the prayers. SO.. here is my newly gained knowledge about natural disasters.. God's plan and his will is.. well, real. He has the power to control the winds and the seas... meaning, we need to align our will with His so that when these things occur, we arent scared or panicking. Here in my area, the storm was pretty bad, but there really wasnt any damage. We helped fix a wall of one home that had fallen down.. but there really wasnt any other opportunities for service. We were very blessed here in Negros. We did spend 2 days inside.. thursday-saturday morning. As in.. we didn't leave. Haha! Lots of time to update the area book and study! i Literally read about 10 chapters of the BOM in Ilonggo.. about 10 in English..and about 10 in the New Testament! I absolutely loved it. I love the Book of Mormon. Its such a powerful testament of the Savior Jesus Christ. It is helping me on a daily basis to come closer to my Savior. I invite you all to let the Book of Mormon become a centerpiece of your life. Learn from it.. live its principles! 

What Else? We had a baptism on saturday. Her name is Jopay.. she is 8. Elder Cusili baptized her... or you could say drowned her. ahhahaah. Water in the mouth and everything. I dont know why but the people here never seem to understand that the actual act of baptism should be simple and harm free. hahah. Good laughs out here in the 'Pines.

So here it is.. the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so central to our eternal progression. Especially faith and repentance. These two principles.. along with the mercy and grace of God can change our lives. Its so simple and so true. Just apply it. Try it. 

Random note.. I learned something.. During church meetings/school/ any learning experience.. when we participate, we learn. Especially in spiritual settings.. when we participate, the Spirit can talk to us. We can receive revelation. We had a zone meeting.. and I was like the only person answering questions and adding to the conversation (dont ask me why).. but i received so much more spiritual insight. So next week in sunday school, instead of sleeping or texting.. participate!! Let the Spirit talk to you! 

Well.. again. I truly apprecaite the prayers. I know that Jesus Christ's redeeming and enabling powers are real. All good is manifested through faith and repentance in His name. I know the Book of Mormon can change your life. I know that prayer is a divine communication with our Father in Heaven. I invite you all to internalize and apply these things. I know that these things are true, because of the power of the Holy Ghost. I love you all, and know God loves each of us. 

Palangga,

Elder Stagg

ps-- im getting nervous to ever send pictures in fear that my SD card will get a virus.. sorry. 

Typhoon Haiyan

A "super typhoon" hit the Philippines Friday, November 8, 2013. Here are updates we received from Devin's mission president on Facebook.

Nov 6-
-After all our Zone Training Meetings this morning, missionaries are instructed to buy food for at least three days, water, candles and load-up their cell phones. I’ve instructed those missionaries who live up in the mountain to come down and stay with the missionaries in the city- in case there is landslide and the road become impassable. Missionaries who are leaving their house are asked to secure their belongings left behind. Those near the shoreline are also moved inland. Sisters are well secured including our couples. Starting this evening at 6- all missionaries are expected to be home and remain indoor until after the storm. No one is allowed to go outside. I’ve instructed missionaries that we will assist only after the storm and not during the typhoon. I’ve also instructed our San Carlos District to cancel their temple trip to Cebu tomorrow. I have cancelled all interviews, appointments and visits until after the storm. Every companionship will report to their district leaders on their safety. District leaders will report to zone leaders and all zone leaders will update me tonight and on a regular basis. FYI.

-SUPERTYPHOON UPDATE: All missionaries are instructed to stay home. We are taking all precautions to keep our missionaries safe.

Nov 7-
We are still bracing for the big hit! All missionaries are staying home. Everyone is calm and studying and planning all day. Office staff staying in the mission office for emergency landline calls only. We appreciate all your prayers!

All missionaries are safe Thursday.

Nov 8-

-Friday AM Update: All 234 missionaries are safe! They are well secured in their homes. Missionaries from the mountains and along shorelines were moved to safer missionary apartments since Wednesday. Members were evacuated and moved to our chapels. I cannot give any detailed information from other missions. We might loose power soon. I may not be able to respond to all your specific inquiries. I will keep everyone updated through my FB. Keep us in your prayers!

 

-Friday Noon Update: Most of the island has no power. I am using my cell for this update. We are still 2 hours from direct hit but the wind and rain are incredibly so strong! All zone leaders have reported to me that all 234 missionaries are safe. A few we have to move to another place because of flood and falling trees. Visibility due to rain is almost zero. Wind is still intensifying. I have submitted our noon report to our Area Presidency. We are on typhoon signal number 4 now.

-Typhoon Update as of 4:30 PM: we do not have electricity, cable and Internet. All 234 missionaries are safe. We are currently going through the other side of the eye wall and later on the tail of the typhoon. Rain is extremely heavy and wind is super strong! Members and non members are packed in all our chapels. They are collecting water from rain for drinking and food preparation. Our missionaries have sufficient water and food supply. Our branch presidents and bishops are also monitoring their safety. Everyone is calm and planning all night for our weekend community service. Our prayers are intense and our faith is full!

-WE SURVIVED THE SUPERTYPHOON! All missionaries are accounted for and everyone is safe and in high spirit. We are preparing and planning for our community service tomorrow. Missionaries are staying home tonight- there is no electricity. They return to their homes and proselyting areas tomorrow morning. As soon as internet services become available, missionaries will email their families beginning Monday. Together with our couple missionaries, we will tour the entire mission tomorrow to check up on missionaries and members. We appreciate your prayers and your faith in us! Aloha!

Nov 10-
Report on Missionaries and Members Visit: All missionaries are safe. We had a mission-wide community service all day Saturday. Cadiz, Sagay, Escalante and San Carlos zones are the hardest hit. They do not have electricity- electric polls are all down. It will probably take a few days to a few weeks to restore power. Phone towers are also down in these areas. Couples assigned in these zones will make regular visits to deliver water and evaluate situations. Missionaries in these zones will not be able to email families- all internet services are down. We are having Mission Presidents Specialized Training this week in groups of 3-zones beginning Tuesday until Friday. These trainings will all be held in Bacolod City and will give our missionaries the opportunity to email their families. Living conditions will become more difficult ahead of us but our missionaries are powerful and dedicated servants of the Lord. We appreciate all your prayers!

Dead Dogs, Cemeteries and Apostles

Family and Friends,

This week very well could have been one of the most interesting of my mission. In all the weirdest ways possible. haha. The subject line should say it all. So i will start with the first one.

Wednesday, is a day that changed my mentality.. probably for a lifetime. We went to a lunch appointment at a member's house. We were waiting around outside.. enjoying God's creations; air, friends, life... when suddenly i see an old Filipino man walking by us with a noose looking rope and stick thing. I thought maybe it was for fishing or, idk. Next thing i know he is returning.. this time with a dog in his catching contraption. I thought wow, how sad. He is dragging that dog, hopefully it will be okay. I asked Elder, what is he about to do? His only response was, patay (die). next thing i see is a big giant stick being brought down with great force upon the dog's neck. Yes, i watched it get killed.. but wait, it gets better... He then presumed to tie its legs between 2 trees.. and, skin it! yes.. like a deer! and yes.. i watched and took pictures. (those will arrive at a later time possibly). It was one of the most horrifying this i have ever seen. I saw the cycle of a dog going from alive.. to killed.. to skin.. to dinner. And no, i didnt eat it. But wow..all i have to say is, I.Am.In.The.Philippines.

Next awesome thing. So here in the Philippines November 1 is All Saints Day. Everyone.. and i mean everyone.. goes to the cemetery and light candles, give flowers, pray,etc. Naturally we went and proselyted there! Just going up to random people and saying.. hey we are gonna teach you about the plan of salvation. Good experiences. Lots of new investigators.

3rd. Apostles. Yes, i shook hands with Neil L. Andersen! What a blessing! He is a super cheerful and jolly guy. He gave a great training about sharing the gospel with all people. IT was a wonderful experience.

Sorry my emails are getting progressively worse.. hah! i feel like time is just slipping out of my hands. Plus all the computers here suck. haha. and about the shirts i wear looking yellow.. thats just a part of the mission here in the pines. Thats what happens when the water you wash your clothes with isnt clean. haha. dont worry. I love you all. I hope you all are reading the scriptures.. and repenting daily. I amlearning that those 2 things are of eternal importance on a daily basis. I love you. God loves us all.

Palangga,

Elder Stagg