Oct 21st and 28th

21-Oct-2013

This week went by pretty fast which I think means that I am getting over the homesickness and I am really starting to enjoy most things about Missionary life. I am trying new things and am getting into the Filipino culture and life, except for the language. It has actually gotten very frustrating not being able to say everything that I want to say. Because I have things I want to say like personal experiences or examples and I can't say them well or say them at all. The language is coming but it is slow. I have gotten a lot better at listening but speaking is a whole other ball game. But it will eventually come. This week wasn't very exciting. Our Investigators are dropping us and our less actives are not coming to church. It is very disappointing and saddening to see people that are not happy push away and reject the very thing that would bring them happiness and give them a purpose to their life. I really hope that this next transfer will be a lot more successful and we will be able to help a lot more people. I love this work but it is sometimes, like I said, frustrating.

One weird thing. You can buy bathroom tissue paper (TP) here, just no one and I mean no one uses it. If you go into a bathroom at someone’s house or a public restroom, there won’t be any paper in there to use.

Could you send more CTR rings to give away? Or, if you can find them could you send some PAT rings? It stands for "Pumili Ang Tama" or Choose the Right :) The kids like them when they aren't giving me a hard time for my white skin haha!

Sorry for such a short email this week I will try to make this next week more exciting. I love you and hope everyone had a good week also! The Church Is True!

Elder Ball

 

28-Oct-2013

MOM!!!!! First Happy Birthday on Saturday Nov. 2! I wrote you a letter but it won't get there until like 2 weeks after so I am emailing also! I just wanted again to say Happy Birthday and I love all of the updates you are giving me!!!! Thank you so much for writing me so often!!! How old are you now like 32? :) Sorry I know it’s only 29 :)

I love you so much and thank you so much for everything you have done for me and are doing for me! And I got that package you sent me! Thanks for the food!

I actually really like the food we eat here. I am in the heart of the city and so we have pretty much everything. I can get a lot of stuff from America here also. Except for milk. I really miss milk. They just don't have cows here. :(  I never thought I would miss milk. Yeah, but you don't need to send freeze dried food. Thanks, I will enjoy the stuff you sent though!!! :)

1ST TRANSFER COMPLETE!

Wow I am done with my first transfer in the field. It went by so fast but at the exact same time, and especially this past week, it was the slowest of my life. It was slow this week because a bunch of missionaries went home and all I thought about on the day they left was, they are going to see their families in 24 hrs but I am fine again and excited to get started on the next half of my training.

The Philippines is an interesting place. It's cool but in many ways very sad. One thing that gets me upset is it is okay for 12-14 year old kids to walk up to little tindahans or little stores and buy cigarettes and some whiskey and walk around smoking and drinking. It is illegal but nobody cares and the police don't enforce it. It is just accepted and okay. So whenever we see a kid smoking, we stop and talk to them about how bad it is.  Most of the time they just laugh but sometimes they feel bad and drop it. 

This week has been very frustrating. Nobody keeps the commitments we give.  We have 1 progressing investigator and none of the members in our ward want to help even if it is their calling. I just want everyone to have a desire to do something but I guess that's how we will find the elect. If they are willing to act and to follow through. There is this religion here called born again, (Born Again Christians).  They make it so hard for us missionaries. The whole idea of their religion is that if you accept Jesus as your savior you are saved and don't have to do anything else. So they never want to listen to us because they are happy being able to drink smoke and not go to church but say they have accepted Jesus.  I get so upset because I know how much happier these people can be. I know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth and if they would only act. This church is true and has the fullness of the gospel. There is no way around it.

This work is amazing and I hope I can change many peoples’ lives!  Hoping for a better and more commitment keeping week.

Elder Ball