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

     

7/9

This last week has been great with a few new investigators that seem promising.  We have been trying to teach a less active member and his nonmember wife and they actually showed up at church on Sunday.  We should definitely start teaching her.  I just hope they will keep coming every week and be available for us to teach them.   

     The other week our apartment door handle broke so we got a new one.  We had to get the key copied because there was only one.  We went to two different places that had key copier machines but none of them had matches for our key.  For a week an a half we had a string of floss attached to the key and the floss was discretely hanging out of a window so we all could get in.  we realized that we would probably have to go to someone who would file it by hand like we did last time.  Last time the keys worked but not super well.  When we went to this other key copier he was actually a lot better than the last one.  Instead of just using a file he used an electric saw thing and then filed it a little.   All of  the keys work okay so now we all have one.      We also did some exploring in the area this week.  We recently got tarpaulin area maps and we realized that a large part of what we thought was the sisters' area is actually part of ours.  This is pretty nice for us because we have a lot bigger area but it really stinks for the sisters because their area is pretty small now and they lost some of their investigators.

     Earlier this week my companion had to take an English test so we went to the senior couples' house.  They are Elder and Sister Porteous from Canada.  It was really great for me because while my companion was taking the test the senior couple was feeding me apples, crackers, and cheese, and gatorade.  

     On Thursday we had another lesson with our one investigator, Aljan.  He had read Lehi's dream and we talked about that.  He admitted to us that he felt something was missing in his life.  He also said he knows that what we are teaching him is good because of the member family he lives with.  He still hasn't been to church but I think he has a good chance of becoming more interested.

     One funny thing that happened this week was while we were out walking one night I was trying to text the zone leaders something when I stepped into a 1x1 foot canal full of the most disgusting black frothy water in the world.  It got all over my shoe and some on my pants.  I was so embarrassed because people around me noticed so I said to my companion  "Okay, lets go!"  What I didn't realize was that when I stepped into the black water it splashed onto a lady nearby who was trying to light her cigarette.  We apologized and we walked away.  It's one of those things that when you look back on it it is really funny.

     On Sunday there was a foreigner in church and we talked with him.  He is from Lehi, Utah and is here on military business.  He might be here for a few weeks.

My companion is doing alright.  It isn't anything huge.  We also get along alright.  We will all meet the new mission president this week when he comes.  The missionaries say he is really chill and has a New Zealand accent.  One funny thing is the philippinos can often speak English really well but it is hard for them to understand different accents in English.  One sister couldn't understand the new mission president. 

Palawan is really beautiful.  I have seen some great scenery especially the mountains that I send you pictures of.  It is even more beautiful up north in el nido but I won't be able to go there on my mission. 

Thanks for the emails mom.

Love,  Matthew

Thats pretty much everything from the week.

Elder Harkness

7/2

 We did a lot of finding this week in the area and found some new investigators.  We'll see if they progress at all. 

     Last week on p-day I did a bit of a food experiment.  Here they have a dessert called Biko.  It is basically just sweet sticky rice.  I tried making my own version of it last week by putting the rice in the cooker and adding sweetened condensed milk.  It actually turned out pretty good.

     Tuesday was another milestone on the mission.  On Tuesday I had exactly one year left on my mission.  

     This week we also did exchanges again and I worked in the other area.  We saw a fruit stand and I bought a watermelon that is yellow on the inside.  I think it tastes better than the red ones we have.

     Another day we had a fun service project in the other area.  We were weeding and clearing out a member's lot of land.  I thought it was really fun.  By the time we were done we had created a 4 foot wall of plants on one side of the lot.  We used sticks, rakes, hoes, and machetes to get it all done.  Afterwards the members fed us.

     We taught Aljan, one of our investigators about prayer and knowing that what we have taught is true.  He is living at the home of a member family so it is a good situation for us to teach him.  Unfortunately at the end of the lesson he thanked us for what we have taught him but he isn't really open about changing his religion because he is catholic.  It makes me a little mad when people just don't get it.  There are so many churches here in the philippines and none of them can compare to our church.  I have seen baptists, 7th day adventists, wesleyans, Jehovas witnesses, church of christ, iglesia ni cristo, etc.  Our church is the only church in the world that is organized from the top to the bottom.  The catholic church here can't even keep its incorrect doctrines straight.  If this church were not true I know that there is no possibility that there could be any other true or complete church.  If our investigators just knew this I don't think they could reject what we teach them.

     This week we also were able to contact a referral from  the sisters in the ward.  We were pretty lucky because we contacted them the day before the moved back to the area of the sisters that gave them to us.  I think this was a bit of divine help.  I'm sure the sisters will have a good time teaching them.  I always think it is fun trying to find people in the area.  Its kind of like an investigator treasure hunt.

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We will meet the new mission president on the 12th when he comes to Palawan.  I see tourists here but only in certain areas.  There are hotels in my areas but and one resort but we don't go to those places a lot.  I met a guy from Russia who does tourism here.  The branch here is alright but the members don't work with us as much. 

Thanks for the email. I remembered it was yours and dad's anniversary this week.

Love,

Matthew

Love, Elder Harkness