8/6

  This week has been super busy in the area.  Sometimes it feels like we don't have enough time to teach everyone.  Elder Gillette and I have been really working on not letting too many days pass between visits.  We almost never have scheduled appointments because the people always say "if you are passing by and we are here you can teach us."  I really haven't had too many scheduled appointments my whole mission and when we do there is a good chance the people forgot.  I can't complain thought because right now we have some good investigators.  

     Last P-day we bought a pack of colored pencils to give to our investigators so that they can mark things in the assignments we give them.  I don't care as much about what they mark and I do that they are reading.  This colored pencil tactic really works.  It is as if when we give them a Book of Mormon and a colored pencil of their choice they can't help but read.  It has been going really well so I think I'll continue it my whole mission.

     One cool lesson we had this week was with a 50-60 year old woman who just returned to her home in Balabac.  The lesson went so well.  It was as if she automatically believed everything we taught her.  At the end of the lesson we gave her her own Book of Mormon (along with a pencil).  She was so grateful for what we had taught her that she said that when she returns to Balabac she is going to share it with others.  Balabac is an island off the southern tip of Palawan and is technically part of my mission but there are no missionaries there because it's a little far and there are so many muslims there.  Anyway, it makes me really happy that I could share something that can mean so much to someone else.  Right now there are no full time missionaries in Balabac but the Book of Mormon is being shared there now.

     Another cool thing that happened this week because of the colored pencils is our one investigator, Aljan read his assignment and he prayed at the end of the lesson.  He may have also shed a few tears.  He still hasn't been to church but at least he is progressing.  I think he will accept the gospel some time but probably not while I'm here.

     Another day this last week while we were out we tried teaching a newer family but they were busy with their family business.   Their business is they run a small barbecue on the street in the afternoons and at night.  Because we came to them in the morning they were skewering stuff to get ready.  I think the specialty for that day was chicken intestines on sticks.  Because Elder Gillette and I wanted to have a cool experience we sat down and helped them skewer the intestines.  It was a little harder than it looked.  I'm not sure they appreciated our help too much but now at least they know we're friendly.  At these kind of barbecues they sell stuff like skewered intestines, fat, pork, chicken head on a stick, chicken foot on a stick, and some of those "eat first and then know what it is later".

That's pretty much all I remember from this week.  Thanks for the emails.
The church is different here than from Belize.  As missionaries we usually don't do much.  There is no translating or anything like that.  Rarely do we ever teach the lessons.  On a normal Sunday there are about 130 people in sacrament meeting.  Last May the branch became a ward.  We try to work with members but we haven't done any exchanges with them.  Elder Gillette is a good missionary.  He is obedient and nice.  He has been on his mission almost 6 months.  In this mission we don't really have senior companions.  I think it is better that way. 

     I'm excited that I will be home next summer to go up to Cooke city with you guys.\

Love, 

Elder Harkness

8/27

  I would have to say this week was probably the quickest week in my mission.  I can't believe it is p day again.  I have also been thinking about how this past week I have 10 months left on my entire mission.  It is so weird how the mission time passes.  It feels like I haven't been gone that long and that I still know you all as if I were back home last week. 

     This week has been another busy one.  We missionaries were invited by the bishop of our ward to give a lesson for a ward FHE on Saturday.  It went well and it was a nice change in schedule.  The FHE was on unity. We had a few volunteers come up an as teams of two they had to try moving a balloon in between their hips up to their cheeks without using their hands (I hope that makes sense.).  It was really funny to watch.  Another game was listing random items for the primary kids to get and return to the front an the first one to do it was the winner.  One of the things was to go grab their dad's hanky.  I thought "how do you know that all the dads have hankys?"  It turns out  everyone carries around hankys here.  I didn't notice that before.

     Earlier this week on an assignment from the sisters who are in desperate need of a new apartment we did a little "house hunters international" here in the area.  We spent the morning looking for different apartments and found one that was pretty good.

     A really good lesson we had this week was last night with the Grampa family.  We had a great FHE with them last Monday with them and everyone had a great time.  Last night we taught them the word of wisdom.  Brother Grampa has a bit of a problem with drinking and smoking and his wife doesn't like it.  He told us that hopefully he would be able to change his life.  That's when we knew it was the perfect time for the word of wisdom lesson.  It went well and we committed them to live it although Brother Grampa will most likely have some relapses.

     Things are winding down for this transfer and next p day will be my last in the area until I transfer to manila.  I am actually really excited to transfer even if it's to Manila because I have been in this area forever. 

--

Love, Elder Harkness

8/14

   This week we had interviews with the new mission president, President Fermanis.  We also had zone conference.  In my interview president asked me how long I have been on Palawan.  "9 transfers" I said.  He said that I will be going to Manila for sure this next transfer.  I can't complain though.  I will hit my year mark here about August 26.  I have been on Palawan longer than any other missionary here and there are about 60 of us.  He said there is still a chance that I might come back though.  He compares Palawan to the spirit world and Manila to the real world.  I think it will be fine though. 

     As for this week I have been a little bad with writing in my journal so it is a little hard for me to remember everything that happened.  Elder Gillette and I have been working really hard in the area and were able to get two investigators at church which is good for this area.  At zone conference I was able to talk with some of the elders in Quezon, my first area.  That area is still booming.  They had 23 investigators at church while my companion and my record while there was only 15 investigators at church in one Sunday.  I think it would be great to go back but foreigners aren't allowed to serve there anymore because of a terrorist group in southern Palawan that has gotten worse in the last 6 months.  The Quezon elders told me a family that I helped start teaching is now baptized.  It was the one family I wrote about way back I think in December about the wife who's dead mother told her that the true church would be the one that the first thing they talk about is God.  Its really cool because the first principle we taught them in our first visit was "God is our loving Heavenly Father".     

That is pretty much it for this week thanks for the emails.

Elder Harkness

7/30

  This last week was transfers and I am still in the area.  If things keep going this way my whole mission I will only have four areas.  It is okay though because it is missionary work wherever you are.  My new companion is Elder Gillette from Australia.  He is still new in the mission so it is still hard for him to speak and understand Tagalog well.  He speaks Tagalog with a bit of an Australian accent.  I actually really like it this way because it really helps me practice and exercise my Tagalog.  Elder Gillette is really nice and is also really obedient which is a relief. 

     I didn't get my new companion until Tuesday evening this week so I spent some time working in the other elders' area and one day a zone leader came and worked with me in my area.  When Elder Gillette first came to this area he had a really bad spider bite on his thigh that made it really hard for him to walk.  He said it felt like a screwdriver digging into his leg every time he walks.  We got him some antibiotics and they are working like a miracle.  In two days he was able to walk normal and we were able to walk at a fast pace again.

    

     In the area over the past few weeks we have been picking up lots of new investigators.  The trick is going back to them consistently.  Yesterday we had one of our new investigators show up at church.  His name is Michael Lorenso.  He is from and island off the southern tip of Palawan.  While we have been teaching him he has been really interested.  He tried to go to church last week but couldn't find a trike that would take him.  This week he made it.  We told lots of members that we had an investigator at church and the fellowshipping was really good.  I think Michael had a good experience and will come back next week.

     One cool experience that happened this week was while we were walking down a street I got a prompting to turn right and talk to some of the people in the houses on that street. I almost shrugged it off but realized I had better follow it.  We ended up finding a former investigator and also an address of someone who might be interested in our church.  I am so glad that I followed the prompting.

Love, Elder Harkness

7/24

This week went by really fast.  Transfers are here and Elder Arpon has finished his mission.  He was a hard worker and liked missionary work but at the same time it is great to have a change.  I will stay here in the area another transfer.  I'm not super area trunky but I have been here a really long time (since the beginning of February).   

     Last P-day we went to a beach in the area called pristine beach.  It was fun and there weren't many people.  We got a lot of cool pictures of us all.  During the week because it was my comanion's last week we had lots of dinner appointments with members and a few members took us out to dinner.  The bill was 1,400 pesos! I can live off less than that for a week.  The food was great though and it was really fun.

     One cool thing that happened this week was while we were out I saw a big spider spinning its web and I asked my companion if those are the kind the kids play with.  It was so he grabbed the spider and I put it in a little cardboard container and took it home. These spiders are big but they aren't venomous.  We were thinking of finding another spider and then having a spider fight, but I kind of got a little sick of having a spider and one of the elders told me I need to feed it and give it water which kind of makes it a pet now which aren't allowed.  I just threw it out the window and it probably now lives on the banana tree below our apartment.  I got some cool pictures.  I have now conquered my spider fear.

     One lesson we had this week was with the Lorenso family.  The father has really bad asthma and often has a hard time catching his breath.  There is also his wife and their 21 year old son.  They are really nice and like listening to us teach.  When we teach the mom says stuff like "oh I get it" and stuff like that.  They are really nice but will have to move along with all the other people that live in the houses under an unstable cliff that I mentioned in another email.

     Thats pretty much all for this week.

Love, Elder Harkness

Pictures:  At Pristine Beach.  Shell soup.  The "pet" spider.  Some delicious langka or jackfruit.

7/16

This week went by really fast.  Transfers are here and Elder Arpon has finished his mission.  He was a hard worker and liked missionary work but at the same time it is great to have a change.  I will stay here in the area another transfer.  I'm not super area trunky but I have been here a really long time (since the beginning of February).   

     Last P-day we went to a beach in the area called pristine beach.  It was fun and there weren't many people.  We got a lot of cool pictures of us all.  During the week because it was my comanion's last week we had lots of dinner appointments with members and a few members took us out to dinner.  The bill was 1,400 pesos! I can live off less than that for a week.  The food was great though and it was really fun.

     One cool thing that happened this week was while we were out I saw a big spider spinning its web and I asked my companion if those are the kind the kids play with.  It was so he grabbed the spider and I put it in a little cardboard container and took it home. These spiders are big but they aren't venomous.  We were thinking of finding another spider and then having a spider fight, but I kind of got a little sick of having a spider and one of the elders told me I need to feed it and give it water which kind of makes it a pet now which aren't allowed.  I just threw it out the window and it probably now lives on the banana tree below our apartment.  I got some cool pictures.  I have now conquered my spider fear.

     One lesson we had this week was with the Lorenso family.  The father has really bad asthma and often has a hard time catching his breath.  There is also his wife and their 21 year old son.  They are really nice and like listening to us teach.  When we teach the mom says stuff like "oh I get it" and stuff like that.  They are really nice but will have to move along with all the other people that live in the houses under an unstable cliff that I mentioned in another email.

     Thats pretty much all for this week.

Love, Elder Harkness

7/16

 This week went by really fast for me and everyone else in the apartment.  Before we knew it it was already Friday.  This email may be a little short because I forgot my journal and it is a little hard to remember everything without it. 

     This last week we had a good lesson with one of our new investigators, Sister Renalyn Grampa (yes it is just like the way we say grandpa). She has five kids and her husband works at a poultry place and is working a lot.  In one lesson we had this week she told us that she has searched a lot for the true church and that a lot of churches say that they are the true church.  We told her that she can know for herself that the things we have taught are true and that she doesn't just have to take our word for it.  I told her that none of the other religions that are saying that their church is true will tell her that she needs to come to know it for herself.  She and her family still hasn't been to church but it is a good start.  They live in a bamboo and wood house at the base of a cliff.  Last week a piece of the cliff fell off and landed close to their house and another piece looks like it will fall pretty soon still.

     For our other investgator, Aljan we were able to give him a cebuano book of mormon so he will understand better.  We weren't able to teach him this week.  When we are over there the whole family speaks cebuano.  It just sounds like tagalog that I can't understand.

     Last p day we went to the world war two place again where the American soldiers were burned. I saw an aerial picture from the war and noticed that it was my area.  It was cool to see how my area looked back 70 years ago.

     This week we also had the meet the president meeting.  We cleaned the church to make sure it was ready.  President Fermanis and his wife and their two teenagers came.  They had each of us missionaries stand up and tell the funniest story or experience we have had on our mission.  We were all laughing so hard.  I told the one I emailed last week about stepping into the canal and splashing a lady that was lighting her cigarette.  President Fermanis seems like he will be a great mission president. He seems a lot different from President Ostler.  I could tell they still have the culture shock and are unsure about everything.

     Last night I had a dream that I was home again.  It was so weird.  I wanted to feel the carpet and play the piano, look in the pantry, take a look at the dishwasher and washing machine and dryer, sit on a couch, drink clean water straight from the faucet, take a warm shower, use the garage door opener etc.  I know that I will never take these things for granted again.  I wish that you could all know how nice it is to have these things.

The mosquitoes aren't as bad here as they are in montana but there are some here and there.  The mosquitoes here are black and white striped and those are the ones that can carry dengue. 

      Meeting the president was good. He is a lot different from President Ostler he will let us listen to more music.  One thing that's different is that he wants us to read 10 pages a day of the book of mormon.  The first thing I thought when I saw him was "is the weight of the whole mission weighing on him?"  He just appears a lot different from president Ostler.  I think it will be good but I know he still has to get the hang of things.  He knows a lot about the history of the church and I can tell he has done a lot of reading in his life.

     Things are going good with my companion.  He isn't really trunky.  Transfers are next week

That is pretty much all for the week 

Love, Elder Harkness