Somebody stop this camel!!!!!!
Hey everyone.
So first off. I'm super confused. Did the Giants WIN the World Series? Or did they just get IN? Dad said that they were 2-1 as of the 1st. If they won it, I'm stoked. I'm so glad to be a Giants fan and glad that I got off the burning Diamondbacks bandwagon to join my hometown team when I did. It was when we played the Angels in...what was that....2002? I stuck with them for a while now. Nice to have a world series under my belt.
Second off. WHAT UP KIDS!!!!! ONE YEAR!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I MADE IT!!!!!! Not gonna lie. There were some times when I thought this mission was going to take forever!!! So it has seemed slow at times. But now I look back and its just fast! On Halloween the other night I was thinking about last Halloween and remembered EXACTLY what I did. Tyelar, Jenny and I took Jayse and Nathan out trick or treating and then came home and watched Halloween on TV. I remember Mom told me that I needed to be smart about when I was going to bed and got a little irritated when I said she was worrying too much. That Halloween movie sucked. That was the night Mom and Dad watched Dracula on TV too. Dang....that was a year ago?
So shoot. Lets see. To answer the rest of moms questions. One. I have not yet received the package yet. But that doesn't mean you should cancel sending packages. Sister Bailey (the sister in the office) said that they can sometimes take 6-8 weeks to get here. If that's true then it should be right on time. Sweet. Two. My new companion is great. Elder Atanacio from Sao Pablo. He's Tagalog. Its kinda tough to speak to him because he mixes lots of Tagalog in his Visayan. He's really nice and just corrects if things are done contrary to the white handbook--which was once. I chewed some gum on a jeepney and he called me out on it. But I laughed and told him that I was allergic to gum so its all good. hahahahahahahahaha. He laughed too. We had our ZLC (Zone Leader Council) yesterday. It was a monthly meeting with all the zone leaders, president, the APs and the finance clerk. The finance clerk is a giant ex-military mechanic who tattooed his own arm. Yeah. He's like a fat Rambo. And he doesn't talk. He just yells. That was a terrifying experience. When he sat down you could hear exhales around the room from the ZLs. I was holding my breath too. hahaha. it was way fun though because most of my mission buddies were there. A lot of us became zone leaders at the same time. So we got to hang out a bit and have some fun just talking. The food was pretty good. You know, Chicken Parmesan, french bread, pasta salad, garden salad, and then a little apple crisp. You know. Things that I NEVER THOUGHT WOULD TOUCH MY LIPS FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS!!!! IT WAS HEAVEN!!!! I wasn't gonna say anything but Sister Hansen's chicken parmesan didn't touch yours mom. And her apple crisp was good but Elder Doxey (who is from Galt and knows Adams family really well) and I were talking about some Kids Inc. APPLE CRISP. Yeah. I capitalized that because that stuff is a fruity grenade of flavor.
So right now I'm reading the Gospel of John before Christmas. That was what Elder Andersen asked of us. So thats what I'm doing. I suggest we all do it. Buhaton ba ninyo mobasa sa ebanghelyo ni Juan sa dili pa karong Pasko? or in English...Will you all read the Gospel of John before this Christmas? haha. Only 53 days till Christmas. They start counting down till Chirstmas and kinda start celebrating Christmas here on September 1. When I found that out I thought, "This is a country of little Grandma Tedescos!" hahahahahaha.
ZL is tough stuff! We have only taught one lesson in 5 days because we are opening up a new zone and we are helping open an area that is BRAND new. As in they have never even heard the gospel up there. Pretty cool to be entrusted with that. Hope I measure up. ZL is a lot of work. But its better than DL. I didnt have to give a workshop on Monday. hahaha. I was getting really tired of giving those. I love teaching but I was running out of stuff to talk about. So its a nice change. I'm over finances though for the zone. Not my favorite. But I've honed my thriftiness over the last year. So...not too worried.
What else? Elder Seupule dropped that family of 8 the other day. He texted me and told me that they just weren't progressing well enough. I'm not very happy with his decision. I think part of it is that he doesn't understand what they say and doesn't know that they believe what we say. Part of it also is his fire and brimstone side wanted to drop an investigator. He always talked about dropping one. I think he really wanted to. Which makes me sad if he dropped them for the thrill. You know?
My shoes are broken. I took pictures but have no way to send them right now. Lost my card reader. They are messed up bad. hahahaha. I've been putting it off for a while now. Like, 6 months. My other pair is fine. I started really taking care of them and shining them a lot. I can see my face in them. Its sweet. I just use them instead of a mirror when I shave. haha. Just kidding. They aren't that shiny.
Alright. So I'm gonna close now. Had two people get baptized Saturday in Polambato. Really happy. Have a lot more coming up. Elder Seupule is lucky.
Love you guys.
Elder Treadway
366 days to go.........................to be continued.................
Elder Treadway
First baptism in the Ocean
Cebu, Philippines
October 27, 2010
Subject: a short one. more next week.
hey so this is a really short email. we have to be at a family home evening in a bit and this day has been CRAZY!!! just got into the internet cafe. so today was transfer calls and i am opening up a new zone! i'm a new zone leader in the new zone with elder antanacio. i'm excited about the move, the new zone but not so much the new comp. elder antanacio is INFAMOUS in our mission for being so obedient that he is a jerk about it. and i mean, i'm obedient. but i'm not a stickler. like, he goes out of his way to correct other people. and he is very uptight. maybe the Lord wants me to teach him how to have fun in the mission while still being obedient and effective.
things this week have been alright. no broken hearts. i'm at breaking point with our branch president who refuses to communicate with me or acknowledge my presence. thats his choice. i'm getting transferred at the right time.
sorry that this email is so short. hope you understand. we were stranded in san remegio all day long for a zone activity. i think i saw a caveman over there it was so....whats the word in english for no technology? cuz thats what the place was like.
love you guys.
GO GIANTS!!!!
brandon
hey so this is a really short email. we have to be at a family home evening in a bit and this day has been CRAZY!!! just got into the internet cafe. so today was transfer calls and i am opening up a new zone! i'm a new zone leader in the new zone with elder antanacio. i'm excited about the move, the new zone but not so much the new comp. elder antanacio is INFAMOUS in our mission for being so obedient that he is a jerk about it. and i mean, i'm obedient. but i'm not a stickler. like, he goes out of his way to correct other people. and he is very uptight. maybe the Lord wants me to teach him how to have fun in the mission while still being obedient and effective.
things this week have been alright. no broken hearts. i'm at breaking point with our branch president who refuses to communicate with me or acknowledge my presence. thats his choice. i'm getting transferred at the right time.
sorry that this email is so short. hope you understand. we were stranded in san remegio all day long for a zone activity. i think i saw a caveman over there it was so....whats the word in english for no technology? cuz thats what the place was like.
love you guys.
GO GIANTS!!!!
brandon
October 19, 2010
Whats up family!
Remember that family that was like 8 people and super prepped for the gospel? Yeah....well, they are getting more difficult. After our encounter with the husband of one of the sisters who BLEW ME UP with Matthew 16:18 about Peter being the Rock of Christ's church and stuff, we were ready for a comeback. So we went back and it was just the really confused guy and his nephew. So we started talking and stuff. Realized that he just needed to pray to know. So I looked him dead in the eyes and did something that I have never done before. I said, "If you want to know that this is true, you have to pray. So let's get on our knees right now and pray to know if this is true. And I testify to you in the name of Jesus Christ that you will receive an answer.".............WHAT?!?!?!
So we go into the other room and kneel down. Just the four of us. I explain how to pray again. Then I offered up a prayer to give us all the assurance that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is Christ's restored gospel. As I was praying, I felt that fire inside me. It was awesome! It just reaffirmed what I knew to be true. I even opened my eyes a little to see if they were feeling it too. So I ended and Seupule went. He did the same thing. Then brother Roldan offered up the prayer to ask. After his prayer, no one moved. We all just kneeled there in silence. Then I asked, "What do you feel?" He looked at me sincerely and I could feel his desire to know as he said, "Nothing."
.......................wait. What? I thought that my boldness and acting on the Spirit like this was supposed to work! But I realized later that he did feel it. I know he did. He just didn't know what it was. And his questions need to be a little more specific. So the next Elder is going to have some fun with this family.
Its been one heck of a week. Two new committed for baptism with a baptism this Saturday, next Saturday and the Saturday after that AND the Saturday after that. Nice huh? 9 committed in all.
So lets see. I'm getting Christmas questions. So here is a solid list:
~Wembley neckties or similar styles
~Dri-Lux or mesh garments (LS bottoms and L tops)
~"The Great Apostasy" by Talmage and "The Articles of Faith" by Talmage
~Money? Could always use money
~Sour Patch Kids
Thats a good start. I'll add to the list next week. I'll think of some stuff.
Love you guys! We had some rain the other night from the big storm up north but nothing abnormal.
Brandon
Remember that family that was like 8 people and super prepped for the gospel? Yeah....well, they are getting more difficult. After our encounter with the husband of one of the sisters who BLEW ME UP with Matthew 16:18 about Peter being the Rock of Christ's church and stuff, we were ready for a comeback. So we went back and it was just the really confused guy and his nephew. So we started talking and stuff. Realized that he just needed to pray to know. So I looked him dead in the eyes and did something that I have never done before. I said, "If you want to know that this is true, you have to pray. So let's get on our knees right now and pray to know if this is true. And I testify to you in the name of Jesus Christ that you will receive an answer.".............WHAT?!?!?!
So we go into the other room and kneel down. Just the four of us. I explain how to pray again. Then I offered up a prayer to give us all the assurance that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is Christ's restored gospel. As I was praying, I felt that fire inside me. It was awesome! It just reaffirmed what I knew to be true. I even opened my eyes a little to see if they were feeling it too. So I ended and Seupule went. He did the same thing. Then brother Roldan offered up the prayer to ask. After his prayer, no one moved. We all just kneeled there in silence. Then I asked, "What do you feel?" He looked at me sincerely and I could feel his desire to know as he said, "Nothing."
.......................wait. What? I thought that my boldness and acting on the Spirit like this was supposed to work! But I realized later that he did feel it. I know he did. He just didn't know what it was. And his questions need to be a little more specific. So the next Elder is going to have some fun with this family.
Its been one heck of a week. Two new committed for baptism with a baptism this Saturday, next Saturday and the Saturday after that AND the Saturday after that. Nice huh? 9 committed in all.
So lets see. I'm getting Christmas questions. So here is a solid list:
~Wembley neckties or similar styles
~Dri-Lux or mesh garments (LS bottoms and L tops)
~"The Great Apostasy" by Talmage and "The Articles of Faith" by Talmage
~Money? Could always use money
~Sour Patch Kids
Thats a good start. I'll add to the list next week. I'll think of some stuff.
Love you guys! We had some rain the other night from the big storm up north but nothing abnormal.
Brandon
October 5, 2010
Hey everyone.
So things are great! Just got out of the temple and just withdrew all my cash to go to the mall. I'M ROLLIN IN PESOS KIDS!!!!! I'm gonna get a new backpack, some new shirts, some socks, some protein mix (on my Christmas list by the way), I just bought some sweet Carabao horn belts, and bought a book at the Distribution Center. I never realized how close my birthday is to Christmas! I would really like copies of 'Articles of Faith' and 'The Great Apostasy' by James E. Talmage. I'm almost done with 'A Marvelous Work and a Wonder' and just bought 'The Miracle of Forgiveness'. What was I reading before my mission? Nothing this good. haha. I guess I could really go for some new garments. The garments here in the Philippines SUCK! I bought a pair and it feels like I have a ring of fire around my chest and...southern hemisphere. So some Dri-Lux is on my list. Aaaaand....idk. I really love Sour Patch Kids. I know you think thats ridiculous Dad but its like the only candy I CAN'T buy here and it just so happens to be my favorite! BTW, Grandma, thanks for the candy package. Got it this week. I shared it with my investigators. They loved it. But their faces when I gave them the Sour Punch Straws was AMAZING!!!! I don't think I've ever seen someone's face get that twisted from sourness!!! hahahaha. And I can always use money. Seriously.
So my investigators are great. Just last night we taught the Conson family. One of the only FULL families that I have taught. Its actually the only one. Its a mom, dad and 4 kids. They are awesome. Sister Alkana is Baptist and Brother Manwill is Catholic. We had a great lesson last night about the Plan of Salvation. Sister Alkana is the spirtual leader of the family and her hangup was that she REALLY has been searching for a long time to know what happens to us after we die. So we skimmed over the plan of salvation and taught from death to the Kingdoms of Glory. They loved it. Looking back I'm cringing that I dropped the ball and DIDN'T invite them to be baptized again. It was perfect. But we're going back to teach it all again as review next time. I'll do it then. The kids were dying because I was on exchanges with the American missionary from another area. His language was AWFUL!!! The 8 year old snorted halfway through the lesson from holding in his laughter. hahahahahaha. I just told the Elder to keep going. Hope to have them come to General Conference this week. That's right. We get it a week later.
Our other investigators the Antilegando family are doing AWESOME!!!! Two of them came to church this last Sunday. (They were 2 of 6!) Its Merly, her two kids Mel-Jed and Joy and her sister Maryjean. Mal-Jed and Jean came to church. We taught them about the Spirit World this last week and when we talked about work for the dead a little. I pulled out my Gospel Art Book and showed a pic of the Salt Lake Temple. Sister Maryjean gasped and turned to everyone else, put her hand over her heart and said, "Do you feel that?" .......yeah. They are that good. hahaha. We're teaching the dad tomorrow for the first time. We just need to get him all buttered up with the Spirit. It'll happen. PRAY FOR HIM PLEASE!!!! I have fasted, prayed, prayed in the temple, put his name on the prayer roll, EVERYTHING to get Heavenly Father's help with him. I'm nervous but have faith that it will be okay.
Then there's the Girls. The four girls we teach nightly. They are 8, 9, 10, and 11. Every night I leave them a Book of Mormon story and then we talk about it. Best idea I've ever had (with the Spirit's help). They pick a picture in the Gospel Art Book and then I give them the story. They have been DYING to hear the Waters of Mormon story. So I gave it last night. Those girls LOVE the book of Mormon. I was going to buy them each a Book of Mormon Reader in Cebuano but they were sold out. Next time.
Elder Seupule is calming down. He's starting to joke around a little more. Its good.
Love you all.
See you later Mountain Faces,
Brandon
So things are great! Just got out of the temple and just withdrew all my cash to go to the mall. I'M ROLLIN IN PESOS KIDS!!!!! I'm gonna get a new backpack, some new shirts, some socks, some protein mix (on my Christmas list by the way), I just bought some sweet Carabao horn belts, and bought a book at the Distribution Center. I never realized how close my birthday is to Christmas! I would really like copies of 'Articles of Faith' and 'The Great Apostasy' by James E. Talmage. I'm almost done with 'A Marvelous Work and a Wonder' and just bought 'The Miracle of Forgiveness'. What was I reading before my mission? Nothing this good. haha. I guess I could really go for some new garments. The garments here in the Philippines SUCK! I bought a pair and it feels like I have a ring of fire around my chest and...southern hemisphere. So some Dri-Lux is on my list. Aaaaand....idk. I really love Sour Patch Kids. I know you think thats ridiculous Dad but its like the only candy I CAN'T buy here and it just so happens to be my favorite! BTW, Grandma, thanks for the candy package. Got it this week. I shared it with my investigators. They loved it. But their faces when I gave them the Sour Punch Straws was AMAZING!!!! I don't think I've ever seen someone's face get that twisted from sourness!!! hahahaha. And I can always use money. Seriously.
So my investigators are great. Just last night we taught the Conson family. One of the only FULL families that I have taught. Its actually the only one. Its a mom, dad and 4 kids. They are awesome. Sister Alkana is Baptist and Brother Manwill is Catholic. We had a great lesson last night about the Plan of Salvation. Sister Alkana is the spirtual leader of the family and her hangup was that she REALLY has been searching for a long time to know what happens to us after we die. So we skimmed over the plan of salvation and taught from death to the Kingdoms of Glory. They loved it. Looking back I'm cringing that I dropped the ball and DIDN'T invite them to be baptized again. It was perfect. But we're going back to teach it all again as review next time. I'll do it then. The kids were dying because I was on exchanges with the American missionary from another area. His language was AWFUL!!! The 8 year old snorted halfway through the lesson from holding in his laughter. hahahahahaha. I just told the Elder to keep going. Hope to have them come to General Conference this week. That's right. We get it a week later.
Our other investigators the Antilegando family are doing AWESOME!!!! Two of them came to church this last Sunday. (They were 2 of 6!) Its Merly, her two kids Mel-Jed and Joy and her sister Maryjean. Mal-Jed and Jean came to church. We taught them about the Spirit World this last week and when we talked about work for the dead a little. I pulled out my Gospel Art Book and showed a pic of the Salt Lake Temple. Sister Maryjean gasped and turned to everyone else, put her hand over her heart and said, "Do you feel that?" .......yeah. They are that good. hahaha. We're teaching the dad tomorrow for the first time. We just need to get him all buttered up with the Spirit. It'll happen. PRAY FOR HIM PLEASE!!!! I have fasted, prayed, prayed in the temple, put his name on the prayer roll, EVERYTHING to get Heavenly Father's help with him. I'm nervous but have faith that it will be okay.
Then there's the Girls. The four girls we teach nightly. They are 8, 9, 10, and 11. Every night I leave them a Book of Mormon story and then we talk about it. Best idea I've ever had (with the Spirit's help). They pick a picture in the Gospel Art Book and then I give them the story. They have been DYING to hear the Waters of Mormon story. So I gave it last night. Those girls LOVE the book of Mormon. I was going to buy them each a Book of Mormon Reader in Cebuano but they were sold out. Next time.
Elder Seupule is calming down. He's starting to joke around a little more. Its good.
Love you all.
See you later Mountain Faces,
Brandon
September 28, 2010
So happy birthday to me huh? haha.
Its been a good week. and its gonna be a great day. no one should be worried about my birthday not being awesome. you know that i can make a party out of anything. heres what we're doing. one of the kids in the branch had his birthday yesterday so we're celebrating tonight at his family's place. its gonna be great. LOTS of food. i'm buying. and we're gonna watch the testaments and go sing karaoke. i invited about 8 of my investigators that live next to them. the testaments will be a good way for them to feel the spirit. even though they already know the book of mormon is true. we have about 19 investigators now. and they all are getting towards baptism. its awesome. the lord is finally blessing me for my work in my last area.
um..thank you all for sending me the things you have. thanks for the cash deposits. i'm gonna try and do thank you notes. it'll happen. i promise.
So last night we taught these girls that are committed for baptism. we finished teaching the first lesson to them and they were BEGGING for me to give them the next pamphlet. the girls are 8, 9, 10 and 11 years old. they came to church on sunday and loved it. they love reading the book of mormon and pretty much anything i give them. they wanted to know what was up with the old guy on the boat in the book of mormon pictures. i told her it was lehi and said the story was in there. they BEGGED AGAIN for me to give them the story. so i left them the story in 1 nephi 17 and 18. they are awesome girls. they KNOW the church is true and think the book of mormon is the coolest thing ever. they have a baptismal date on october 30 but maybe sooner. we have to wait 4 weeks in the philippines instead of the usual 2 so that we can make sure they are truly converted.
I want to tell you about ALL my investigators and how well they are doing but i just dont have the time! they ALL have a goal to get baptized. its soooooo great! I'm the happiest I have ever been in my life. this is better than seeing spider man 3 at midnight in a costume! SERIOUSLY!!!!
about the whole dear john thing. um...its not that bad. i'm kinda over it. i emailed her and told her how i felt and then it feels like she's freaking out a little and telling me how much she loves me and that me and him stand in different places for her. whatever that means. i didnt email back.
next week im going big time shopping to buy some things that i need. i need better shirts again. i've been working out and these shirts are too small again. apparently there are better shirts at the mall.
love you all.
GO GIANTS!!!
GO COOGS!!!
stay sweet. brandon
Its been a good week. and its gonna be a great day. no one should be worried about my birthday not being awesome. you know that i can make a party out of anything. heres what we're doing. one of the kids in the branch had his birthday yesterday so we're celebrating tonight at his family's place. its gonna be great. LOTS of food. i'm buying. and we're gonna watch the testaments and go sing karaoke. i invited about 8 of my investigators that live next to them. the testaments will be a good way for them to feel the spirit. even though they already know the book of mormon is true. we have about 19 investigators now. and they all are getting towards baptism. its awesome. the lord is finally blessing me for my work in my last area.
um..thank you all for sending me the things you have. thanks for the cash deposits. i'm gonna try and do thank you notes. it'll happen. i promise.
So last night we taught these girls that are committed for baptism. we finished teaching the first lesson to them and they were BEGGING for me to give them the next pamphlet. the girls are 8, 9, 10 and 11 years old. they came to church on sunday and loved it. they love reading the book of mormon and pretty much anything i give them. they wanted to know what was up with the old guy on the boat in the book of mormon pictures. i told her it was lehi and said the story was in there. they BEGGED AGAIN for me to give them the story. so i left them the story in 1 nephi 17 and 18. they are awesome girls. they KNOW the church is true and think the book of mormon is the coolest thing ever. they have a baptismal date on october 30 but maybe sooner. we have to wait 4 weeks in the philippines instead of the usual 2 so that we can make sure they are truly converted.
I want to tell you about ALL my investigators and how well they are doing but i just dont have the time! they ALL have a goal to get baptized. its soooooo great! I'm the happiest I have ever been in my life. this is better than seeing spider man 3 at midnight in a costume! SERIOUSLY!!!!
about the whole dear john thing. um...its not that bad. i'm kinda over it. i emailed her and told her how i felt and then it feels like she's freaking out a little and telling me how much she loves me and that me and him stand in different places for her. whatever that means. i didnt email back.
next week im going big time shopping to buy some things that i need. i need better shirts again. i've been working out and these shirts are too small again. apparently there are better shirts at the mall.
love you all.
GO GIANTS!!!
GO COOGS!!!
stay sweet. brandon
September 21, 2010
Hey everyone! now that our email time is cut short and you all want to hear about how awesome things are going for me. so here you go. tell me if this isn't all good.
so things for me this week went alright. we had a crazy incident with elder seupule last saturday. we were doing a service project with the branch and so we were using pretty big knives called sundongs. so this car drives by and elder seupule is acting like he's stabbing the car. but he's a good 6 feet from the car. so no one saw this but me and i'm like thats not too awesome. so the car stops. and it clicks. oh crap. so the guy gets out and starts talking to a member and i see him point at seupule. so i'm like oh no. then he turns to seupule and yells "whats your problem kid?" in cebuano. so elder seupule doesn't understand. so he starts walking towards the guy asking, "what? what?" but the guy is scared of the grizzly bear coming at him holding a machete/sundong. so he gets in his car and seupule walks up to the window and taps on it asking him what the guy said. then the guy locks his door and starts to drive. seupule, wanting to know what he said, keeps tapping. eventually the car is about to take off and so he chases it and smacks the back...kinda hard. the guy drives off but seupule follows him.
so we decide to go home. on our way back to presidents house to grab our bags we see the car come back. and it stops in front of us and out gets 4-5 guys in their 50s with HUGE sticks of bamboo. and their tapping them in their hands like baseball bats. so its 5 on 2. actually 5 on 3 cuz we have the spirit on our side. so i turn around and tell them we dont want any trouble. and they tell me they want my comp. not me. so i tell them he's not filipino and he doesn't understand the language. so then they tell me that they want to take us to court. them against us. so we went to court.
the best part of this is that they have neighborhood courts. if there's a problem in the neighborhood, the neighborhood captain is the judge. turns out the neighborhood captain is the brother of the guy in the car. so i become the lawyer for my comp. i was soooooooooo stoked!!! i finally get to do some practice and get to debate! so long story short, i school this guy. in his language. i proved to him and to the court that my comp was not liable for his actions because his culture is so far off from this one. then the guy said he thought that he thought seupule wanted to hurt him. i told him that wasn't an excuse because we thought he was going to hurt us with his Outsiders band of bamboo wielding bad boys. (hahahaha. thats an awesome sentence.) so we got off. it was great. case closed. another case won by me.
other than that this week was lame. hahahaha.
we went back to our 8 investigators and they weren't home. we were bummed. too bad. not much time. i had to report the incident to president which took a lot of time.
everyone else......i love you too.
alright!
see you later mountain faces!
elder treadway
so things for me this week went alright. we had a crazy incident with elder seupule last saturday. we were doing a service project with the branch and so we were using pretty big knives called sundongs. so this car drives by and elder seupule is acting like he's stabbing the car. but he's a good 6 feet from the car. so no one saw this but me and i'm like thats not too awesome. so the car stops. and it clicks. oh crap. so the guy gets out and starts talking to a member and i see him point at seupule. so i'm like oh no. then he turns to seupule and yells "whats your problem kid?" in cebuano. so elder seupule doesn't understand. so he starts walking towards the guy asking, "what? what?" but the guy is scared of the grizzly bear coming at him holding a machete/sundong. so he gets in his car and seupule walks up to the window and taps on it asking him what the guy said. then the guy locks his door and starts to drive. seupule, wanting to know what he said, keeps tapping. eventually the car is about to take off and so he chases it and smacks the back...kinda hard. the guy drives off but seupule follows him.
so we decide to go home. on our way back to presidents house to grab our bags we see the car come back. and it stops in front of us and out gets 4-5 guys in their 50s with HUGE sticks of bamboo. and their tapping them in their hands like baseball bats. so its 5 on 2. actually 5 on 3 cuz we have the spirit on our side. so i turn around and tell them we dont want any trouble. and they tell me they want my comp. not me. so i tell them he's not filipino and he doesn't understand the language. so then they tell me that they want to take us to court. them against us. so we went to court.
the best part of this is that they have neighborhood courts. if there's a problem in the neighborhood, the neighborhood captain is the judge. turns out the neighborhood captain is the brother of the guy in the car. so i become the lawyer for my comp. i was soooooooooo stoked!!! i finally get to do some practice and get to debate! so long story short, i school this guy. in his language. i proved to him and to the court that my comp was not liable for his actions because his culture is so far off from this one. then the guy said he thought that he thought seupule wanted to hurt him. i told him that wasn't an excuse because we thought he was going to hurt us with his Outsiders band of bamboo wielding bad boys. (hahahaha. thats an awesome sentence.) so we got off. it was great. case closed. another case won by me.
other than that this week was lame. hahahaha.
we went back to our 8 investigators and they weren't home. we were bummed. too bad. not much time. i had to report the incident to president which took a lot of time.
everyone else......i love you too.
alright!
see you later mountain faces!
elder treadway
September 14, 2010
Hey mom and dad.
So this week has been crazy. Like really awesome. We've given a lot of service to the people and its starting to soften their hearts to the gospel. The harvest season is here for corn and so everyone is doing lubo (rubbing the kernels off the corn so they can grind it down into meal). So we've been going around finding people doing lubo so we can help and then talk about the gospel. We even got dinner last night and a return appointment after helping lubo.
We met with a new investigator. She's the cousin of the Young Womens president. It was a really great lesson. We focused on baptism. Then we talked about receiving an answer that these things are true and acting on it. Then we all went around and talked about how the gospel has blessed our life. The Spirit was incredible. Then I looked her right in the eyes and said, "Genevieve. If you study these things out and find for yourself that these things are true will you be baptized by proper authority on October 16?" She looked me right in the eyes about to answer and then someone yells from outside, "Gen! Come here!" So she said sorry and ran out. hahaha. I didn't break my gaze from where her face should have been and then I said, "Thats great. I know that the Lord will bless you as your prepare to enter his church through the waters of baptism." HAHAHAHA!!! We were all busting up laughing. It was such a great delivery and it fell flat! Kinda like the Cougars this week.....BOO!!!!! BTW dad, LOVE the play by plays and the recap you have at the end.
The best experience was that we had tracted into a young man and shared with him about prophets which he said that he knew nothing about. We set up a day to return and teach him. Well, we came back to teach and when we showed up he wasn't there. There were people moving in and out of the house like crazy. I felt like leaving and just saying that we'd check back another time. But it felt like the Spirit was keeping my feet stationary. Almost like I couldn't move. I felt like I needed to stand there. We didn't say anything. We just stood there for about 3 minutes looking like fools I'm sure. Then one of the girls inside the house invited us in.
So we sat down and we talked a little bit. They asked us what was our purpose here at the house and they told us that Lucky (the guy we were waiting for) would be home soon. So we introduced ourselves and the message to the people in the house. We told them that we knew that it could bless lives. We basically used every single one of those bullet points in How To Begin Teaching in PMG. I just treated it like we were there to teach them. Just then, Lucky walked in with his uncle! So everyone in the house told them to sit down and then they all asked us to share.
We started the lesson with prayer. We all stood up and I plead with Heavenly Father in my prayer to help the people we were about to teach to feel the Spirit and know of its truthfulness. So we started the lesson. It was incredible. The Spirit was so strong! Elder Seupule bore such strong testimony of the reality of Heavenly Father and the influence of the Gospel on families. Then I started the rest of the lesson. To make a long story short, they were full of questions. They had a desire to know! They were feeling that thirst and hunger that Amos talks about. Even one of the sisters told me that they had been searching just like Joseph had for the true church. They told us that they had heard just about every religion's missionaries and we were the only ones who were not confusing. Question led to question and before we knew it, we had taught them for a about 2 hours and 45 minutes. They didn't want us to leave. It was incredible. We got 8 new investigators at that lesson. And more are to join next week.
I extended the commitment to baptism but it was put down. They said that they really want to study it out and pray. When they know they will get baptized. They are really intent on finding out for themselves first.
We're going over to the senior missionaries place to cook the upside down pudding cake. They're stoked. I'm stoked. My comp has no idea what it is. The senior missionaries are awesome. They treated us on Monday to burgers at this great place in San Remeigo. The USA-Turkey game was on. Me, Elder Peck (the senior missionary) and Elder Bruneel (my buddy who just went home to play for BYU this season) were stoked that we caught the game. Elder Peck was into it! It was like watching a game with you dad. All three of us were cheering. Kevin Durant was just making those guys look like fools. haha
All in all, good week. Today should be fun. This afternoon this group of kids in our area asked me to play baseball with them so I'm going over there to play. I've gotten to be really good friends with those kids. There's this 11 year old girl that is the tough kid in the neighborhood. She's my little homey. haha. She's really competitive. Like me.
Love you all.
Brandon
So this week has been crazy. Like really awesome. We've given a lot of service to the people and its starting to soften their hearts to the gospel. The harvest season is here for corn and so everyone is doing lubo (rubbing the kernels off the corn so they can grind it down into meal). So we've been going around finding people doing lubo so we can help and then talk about the gospel. We even got dinner last night and a return appointment after helping lubo.
We met with a new investigator. She's the cousin of the Young Womens president. It was a really great lesson. We focused on baptism. Then we talked about receiving an answer that these things are true and acting on it. Then we all went around and talked about how the gospel has blessed our life. The Spirit was incredible. Then I looked her right in the eyes and said, "Genevieve. If you study these things out and find for yourself that these things are true will you be baptized by proper authority on October 16?" She looked me right in the eyes about to answer and then someone yells from outside, "Gen! Come here!" So she said sorry and ran out. hahaha. I didn't break my gaze from where her face should have been and then I said, "Thats great. I know that the Lord will bless you as your prepare to enter his church through the waters of baptism." HAHAHAHA!!! We were all busting up laughing. It was such a great delivery and it fell flat! Kinda like the Cougars this week.....BOO!!!!! BTW dad, LOVE the play by plays and the recap you have at the end.
The best experience was that we had tracted into a young man and shared with him about prophets which he said that he knew nothing about. We set up a day to return and teach him. Well, we came back to teach and when we showed up he wasn't there. There were people moving in and out of the house like crazy. I felt like leaving and just saying that we'd check back another time. But it felt like the Spirit was keeping my feet stationary. Almost like I couldn't move. I felt like I needed to stand there. We didn't say anything. We just stood there for about 3 minutes looking like fools I'm sure. Then one of the girls inside the house invited us in.
So we sat down and we talked a little bit. They asked us what was our purpose here at the house and they told us that Lucky (the guy we were waiting for) would be home soon. So we introduced ourselves and the message to the people in the house. We told them that we knew that it could bless lives. We basically used every single one of those bullet points in How To Begin Teaching in PMG. I just treated it like we were there to teach them. Just then, Lucky walked in with his uncle! So everyone in the house told them to sit down and then they all asked us to share.
We started the lesson with prayer. We all stood up and I plead with Heavenly Father in my prayer to help the people we were about to teach to feel the Spirit and know of its truthfulness. So we started the lesson. It was incredible. The Spirit was so strong! Elder Seupule bore such strong testimony of the reality of Heavenly Father and the influence of the Gospel on families. Then I started the rest of the lesson. To make a long story short, they were full of questions. They had a desire to know! They were feeling that thirst and hunger that Amos talks about. Even one of the sisters told me that they had been searching just like Joseph had for the true church. They told us that they had heard just about every religion's missionaries and we were the only ones who were not confusing. Question led to question and before we knew it, we had taught them for a about 2 hours and 45 minutes. They didn't want us to leave. It was incredible. We got 8 new investigators at that lesson. And more are to join next week.
I extended the commitment to baptism but it was put down. They said that they really want to study it out and pray. When they know they will get baptized. They are really intent on finding out for themselves first.
We're going over to the senior missionaries place to cook the upside down pudding cake. They're stoked. I'm stoked. My comp has no idea what it is. The senior missionaries are awesome. They treated us on Monday to burgers at this great place in San Remeigo. The USA-Turkey game was on. Me, Elder Peck (the senior missionary) and Elder Bruneel (my buddy who just went home to play for BYU this season) were stoked that we caught the game. Elder Peck was into it! It was like watching a game with you dad. All three of us were cheering. Kevin Durant was just making those guys look like fools. haha
All in all, good week. Today should be fun. This afternoon this group of kids in our area asked me to play baseball with them so I'm going over there to play. I've gotten to be really good friends with those kids. There's this 11 year old girl that is the tough kid in the neighborhood. She's my little homey. haha. She's really competitive. Like me.
Love you all.
Brandon
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