First Christmas

This last week the branch had a christmas party at Roma beach.  We got to go with them and it was fun.  We loaded a ton of people into a giant truck and drove about 30 minutes to get there.  The scenery was beautiful.  The food was also pretty good. 

     On christmas we got up and opened some presents then went to church.  After we went out and tried to teach some lessons.  We have some really promising investigators and should see some more baptisms in January.  

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Love, Elder Harkness

Trek to Panitian

This last week was really good with getting new investigators and people coming to church.   

     We had a zone meeting this past week so back to Narra.  After a good meeting we came back to the house.  After we got back to the house we still had 45 minutes to go out and try to teach.  It wasn't successful but we did find some of our investigators and recent converts walking home from seminary.

     Wednesday we got 4 referrals from an excited drunk guy we met on the street.  He called all his friends over and told them to listen to us.  The drunk people here are so nice.  I also bought a bunch of bananas.  There are 3 main kinds of bananas here.  A thick kind, a small kind, and a long skinny kind.  I don't know the names so that is what I will call them.  The long skinny kind comes in green and yellow and it is my favorite but is also the most rare.  The bananas here are practically free.  The average is one piso per banana or about two cents.

     Thursday was somewhat of an adventure.  We have known about two families with inactive members that live in an area about 20 minutes away by trike in an area called Panitian.  We assumed that we would take a trike out there, somehow find the families, and then walk all the way back because we didn't think there would be any trikes out that far.

     We grabbed a trike and started heading out to Panitian.  I started to get a little worried about having to walk back because we just kept going farther and farther.  Eventually we went far enough that I started getting really concerned about having to walk back so we just told the trike driver to let us out there.  We were out in seemingly the middle of nowhere with just a few houses and a lot of rice fields.  We talked to a lady that was out in front of her house and she gave us a few directions.  We started walking in the direction she told us to go and then asked some other people if they knew the families we were looking for.  One of them told us to walk ten minutes the way we were going and that they would be near a high school.  I had some doubts that there was a high school anywhere near but we kept walking.  After probably an hour and a half of walking, searching, and asking we found a boy who took us to the house of one of the families we were looking for.  When we got to the house there was a 14 year old girl who recognized us.  She told us that she had been going to church but I really doubted that because I swear I have never seen her in my life.  We asked her some questions about the branch to see if she was lying and she wasn't.  We weren't able to find the other family but know the area that they live in so I guess we pretty much went out all that way for nothing.  The good news is that we were able to find a trike to take us back.  It was a good adventure though.

     Friday I had a cool experience talking to some people.  Elder Ramos and I came to a house with four people out front so we both decided to each talk to two.  I began talking to a man about the church.  He was nice and friendly and I was actually able to have a five minute conversation with him.  I understood almost everything he said and was able to speak back to him.  It was great.  He kind of wanted to bible bash but nicely.  He asked me about what day the Sabbath is on and I came to find out that he was a seventh day adventist.  I feel like that is the only thing adventists ever talk about is how saturday is the sabath.  It is probably because if they are wrong (which is true) it would destroy their religion.  I don't know how anyone could know that Saturday is really the seventh day.  I just told him that the only thing that matters is that we chose one day of the week to worship.

     Saturday we continued reteaching the Gerarmans and afterwards they fed us dinner.  I really like the Gerarmans.  They are really nice and love to feed us.  I tried chicken liver for the first time.  It was definitely interesting. 

     Yesterday we had 6 investigators show up at church which was really good for us.  One of them was Angelito Lepalam, the guy who has had all the lessons but his leg is hurt.  I think it is getting better slowly.  I just hope he will continue coming to church so he can be baptized.

     That is pretty much all for the week.  A few people just came over to watch me type without looking at the screen or keyboard.  I think they are impressed.

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Love, Elder Harkness

We also have a mouse/rat infestation in our house.  We set out some sticky pads and caught one the other day. The only problem is that the sticky pads don't kill the mice. 

     Thanks for the email and the pictures.  

P.S.  I really need the skype address.  I will be skyping christmas evening for you.  Around 8:00 am for me.  I don't know what time that is for you guys.

Our adventure to Panitian in the middle of nowhere.  There was great scenery.

A turtle we caught in our yard.

muddy pants.

Mission Tour

 I am afraid this week will also be a short email.  But hopefully next week will make up for it.   

     Monday we were in Puerto Princessa for mission tour.  We had Elder Haynie, an area seventy, speak to us.  It was pretty good.  Tuesday we had our christmas party.  It was really fun. We played some games and sang songs and had a christmas play.  I also got a tie pin and socks.  After the Christmas party we took the 3 hour drive back to Quezon.  Elder Ramos was so carsick he threw up multiple times.  I felt bad for him.  I was surprisingly not carsick at all.

     The rest of the week has been pretty ordinary but still pretty good.  We realized that some of our best investigating families actually are related.  We will probably try to find all of the extended family members and see if they will be interested.  It is a little crazy to find out that they are all related and are all pretty good investigators.

     We got a new investigator this week just in time for the rain to start pouring down.  We were walking around trying to find new people when we saw this man sitting in the doorway of his house.  He told us to come in and really wanted to listen to us.  After the lesson it was still raining and there were rivers and streams popping up all over the place.  It was pretty fun to attempt to stay dry.  

     Last night Elder Ramos and I were out talking to people when we came across a semi-drunk guy who was pretty friendly.  He said that me and my old companion, Elder Beltran talked to him on the street and set an appointment with him and then never showed up.  I honestly can't remember that but he does look familiar.  Since we see and talk to so many people each day I can't always remember them and they are sometimes surprised when I don't remember them.  This happens especially with trike drivers.  Anyway, we told him we will come back and we will see how it goes.

     

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Love, Elder Harkness

I will skype you all for christmas.  We don't have an official time but It will probably happen on monday morning for me or sunday evening (Christmas evening) for you.  Can you guys send me the skype address?  I think I might need you guys to make me a skype account and then send me the username and password when you email me next. 

     I am doing pretty well but I am still worried to skype you all.  Even though I have almost been on my mission 6 months I still sometimes get homesick.  It isn't as bad as before though.

     Thanks for the email.  I got the christmas package last monday.  Thanks so much.

Love, Matthew  

Out working in the rain.  I had to get a picture.  Notice the stream and the soaked pant bottoms and the good attitude.

A recent convert moved up onto this hill that overlooks the land. 

This is how they do the power lines in some places here.

We came across this snake that was at least 6 feet long on the side of the road!  Luckily it was dead.

While walking through the market I saw some red bananas and so I bought them to try.

 This is how we get to houses over muddy areas and over the ocean.  It is kind of dangerous and once a piece of the wood I was standing on broke off and I dropped a few inches.

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Puerto Princessa

This email will probably be short because I don't have my journal on me right now so I can't really remember everything that happened this past week so I will do my best  I also probably won't have all the time I normally have to email so I will write fast. 

     Right now I am in Puerto Princessa for mission tour and for the christmas party.  It has been pretty good so far.  We got to stay in a hotel here and they had HOT SHOWERS!!!  I will never take a hot shower for granted for the rest of my life.  Last night I took a shower for about 20 minutes.  It was awesome.  Never take things like that for granted.  In my first apartment we took bucket showers where you take a half gallon ladle and scoop water up and dump it on yourself.  I am lucky to have an apartment that has a shower head.  

     It is a little weird being in a more modern society in Puerto.  There are a lot of cars and restaurants.  There is also some traffic and I actually saw an airplane flying which I never see in my area.  

     This past week we have been focusing more on finding "lost investigators" or people we find in the area book who we don't know but have a teaching record.  It is kind of a fun way to find people.  We are working with some great investigators and families.  The only problem is getting them to church because they either have to walk about a mile or take a trike with is expensive for them.

      One cool thing this past week was I tried sugar cane.  We were out trying to find people and teach lessons when we saw a man holding a plant stock shaving off the outside.  We decided to talk to him.  He wan't that interested but he shared some sugar cane with us.  It is very fibrous like soft wood.  You bite off a little bit and chew it.  It just tastes like sugar water.  Then you spit it out.  It gave me a little bit of a sugar headache but it was cool to try.

Sorry no pictures this week.  I don't have my camera on me because I left it at the hotel.  The hardest thing to get used to is probably just missionary life.  I think that is the same for anywhere in the world.  I am actually comfortable with the area.  I thought I would feel really bad for the people because of how poor they are but I don't think they think of themselves as as poor as we see them.  They just think we are super rich.  They seem content and have what they need.  Missionary life is a little difficult at times because of how regulated our schedule is and all the rules.   

     My favorite thing about living in the Philippines is that the people are generally nicer and more friendly than in the united states.  It makes being a missionary a lot easier.

     Thanks for the email

Love, Matthew

      

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Love, Elder Harkness