we just taught, and taught, and taught, and taught,....

Dear People that I Admire so Much!,

MAN OH MAN!! THIS WEEK HAS BEEN STRESSFUL!!! Haha! So yeah as you can see it was little stressful this week! I am definitely the son of Tonya and Randy Minson, because I stress about everything now that I am in a leadership position! Haha! I am doing better now! We had a lot of good things happen and we should be going on the right track! 

So this week has not had anything to amazing happen! We had lots of investigators at church and lots of good things happen! We have been working really at trying to find new investigators. And it seems like every Sunday, when we go on member missionary splits we find a ton! We are working really hard at trying to get our teaching pool big so we can find the elect! I have a feeling this area will be like Cadiz. It will be slow at first we might only get a couple baptisms here or there, but it won't catch on fire tell later months! 

We had exchanges this week! Sorry didn't get pics... of that... But it was with Elder Jaden Helquist! We had a good day and some great teachings! He is going home when I hit my 6 month mark! Which is just crazy to think of! I can't believe time is flying that fast! 

Well after that we just taught, and taught, and taught, and taught, etc. All week!  So we had 8 investigators at church which showed how much we taught! We are hoping for 5 baptisms in September. 

Sister Jeanlean has accepted a baptismal date for September 27! And her husband did as well, though he was a bit hesitant! So I am super excited for that! I hope to see that work out and I see that family grow! 

Ugh... I am really trying to think of things that happened, but i can't... It was a good week! Just really bland and not much happened! 

Well Sorry it took so long to write... lots of distractions! I am sitting next to Elder Helquist and we just keep talking! Sorry.. Well I love you all I miss you a ton! I have been working really hard I promise! I love and miss you and am praying for you everyday! I love you so much, keep those shoes on!! :)

Love,

Elder Minson

Here are pictures of our meal on Saturday at the Alajar family!
The light brownish one is.... STINGRAY!!!
It was delicious and so was everything else!

...a man of questions...

Dear Great Looking Family of Mine,

Man I miss you guys, can I just start with that? I mean being here is great, but seeing those pics really makes me excited to see you soon! So this week has been a very crazy busy and stressful week! We have been teaching like crazy and been working really hard to get progress in this area! We have seen the fruits of our labors! This week was really good all in all! I love the area now! My companion is awesome! We have great investigators! Just great all around! 

So we will start with the beginning of my week! Well Tuesday morning are when we have district meeting. This is when we get together as a district and work out problems of our investigators, and at the end the District Leader gives a training, which mean me... I loved it! I am not sure I have told you this, but ever sense my last area I have loved teaching people! I look forward to it everyday! This last training was on Asking Questions. Now I love the story in Matthew 16, when Jesus asks his apostles who they think he is. It really shows a truly inspired question and Simon's faith being tested through this question! I really shared about the qualities of faith, and helped explain how when it comes to questions we ask, we literally have to take from what they know/have faith in, and turn it into a question of the soul! I loved this topic and excited for tomorrow to do it again! 

Well this week was kind of sad to do investigators getting sick on Sunday... Lots of great lessons but sadly yesterdays numbers didn't show for it at church. None the less it was a great week filled with good experiences.

One was with Sister Jeanlean (formly written has Jennylyn, but was the wrong spelling). Her husband, Brother Briant, has been investigating for a long time with her. Brother Briant is a man of questions and wants to understand all at one time, and he is very Stubborn sometimes about these things! So before when the missionaries came over, he bombarded them with questions that are great, but very difficult to answer. Well from what you all know, if there is one person that is more hard headed then rest it is me! Haha! I seriously had one of my investigators who just got baptized in my last area tell me that! :P haha! Anyway, me and Brother Briant have built this really good relationship and he tells me that we are the first Elders to finally make sense to his questions! He would have came yesterday to church, but his kids got really sick with fevers! Next week Sister Jeanlean and him will both come! 

We have a baptism this week as well! Actually it is the younger sister of Brother Briant! Sister Miles! She is really awesome, she is 17 years old! She is usually really shy, but is fun to talk to! She will be baptized on the 30th of August! So YAY!! Every week with a baptism usually goes really fast! 

Well you asked me to explain how small talk and things go here in the Philippines. Well something great about being here is that they love expressions! Like Mr.Bean is one of their all time favorites here! So my expressions, hand gestures, and acting skill and it usually makes talking to people really fun! The kids are just crazy here! Not much discipline, so some are really rude, but for the most part they are amazing! Teenagers, are like normal teenagers and you have to act cool to get along with them! Adults and Grandparents are the best, because they just find a lot of in talking about life! It really is quiet normal here when it comes to conversation or it just seems that way because i have been here for a while now. :P Haha! 

Well thanks so much for the emails. I love you and miss you all! I hope you are all keeping your shoes on because I know the Lord will bless you if you do! Boys you are studds! Mom you are the best in the world, and according to Filipino's Gwapa! Which you are! :) Dad thanks for the great example you set, keep working hard and let that example shine! :) I love you! :)

Love,
Elder Minson

Called to Serve ... as district Leader. Stressed but up to the challenge.

Dear Family... that is far away, (I am really running out here!)

New Comp Elder Racaza and Elder Minson

Well sorry for the amount of pictures this week... it is only one because this week has been very stressful! Well let me start from the top, we got a call on Tuesday for transfers... so yeah new companion again! His name is Elder Racaza, he is only 4 months in the mission, and this is his second area! He does not quiet understand the language yet so yeah... I am picking up Tagalog now! Haha! We are working hard trying to get things going! We had some good experiences this week too! :) 

So I talked about Sister Jennylyn, and how she is one of my favorite investigators of all time. Well we visited them and her husband was there, we had a great lesson! Elder Vital told me that he... he wouldn't listen and all these things, but when I met him and taught him he was probably one of the best, most attentive investigators! We challenged him to church, and he went!! With his whole family!! It was amazing to see and I was so glad to be a part of it! God works in mysterious ways and sometimes it just comes at good times! 

Newly called District Leader Elder Minson
and the other elders of his District in Bago.
Sisters Apparently were not around

Well we are doing really well with everything out here, we got a pretty big area that we were given from the sisters! It is a bit crazy there, because we are still trying to get know the area that I had before, now we have this new area full with investigators from the sisters! Plus the ward is pushing us hard on reactivation as well! Oh and on top of all that I was made district leader this last transfer so i am taking care of 3 pairs of elders and 1 pair of sisters as well! So yeah we could use some prayers there! Hahaha! :)

I am doing very good though, we have a great thing going in one of our areas. It is a bit far out, but the people are great! We have this group of 13-16 year old teenage kids that go to church and will be baptized next month! They live under okay situations, but their parents are not good influences. They gamble and smoke and drink, but this had made the kids stronger and want to avoid it more and more! It really is awesome to see!! :) 

Well I don't have much this week, been very stressful, but it will all be good! :) I am taking on the challenge and hoping to see good results! Just keep praying for me and my investigators! I could use all the help I can get! 

I am so proud of you all! Brigham, you are taking on such a leadership role which is so good! Keep strong and focus on being the best you can be! Brody, sounds like you are partying it up! Enjoy that time while you can, but don't let it distract you! You are now in seminary which is an amazing thing and will help you build in testimony! Just don't let others take your standards down! Mom, I forgot to say last week but i am so proud of you and your grades in school! You really set the example for us! I am so proud of all you are doing! Dad, I am so glad to hear about the business going well! It really is crazy to see how blessings come to those who are faithful! I am happy to hear that the family is good and working hard, you raised us right! :) 

Well Family I don't got much more to say! I love you! I know this gospel is true and brings happiness and peace to those willing to search and obey! I am excited to see this area start to progress and see the many people here come unto Christ! I miss you and I love you all! Keep strong and keep those shoes on! :)

Love,

Elder Minson

Baptisms in Brocks last area 2 from the Padua family Sister Rosie (the mom) and
sister Bibilyn (From the Family of eight, other are still progressing)!
1 is Sister Angeles Alipongation

Surprise pic in todays posts

... and that is when the fire started.

Dear FantasticAMILY, (I am running out of things to say...)

Such a great week of events has happened! So I found out this area is not to bad after all! Well now it isn't! We fixed up the damage that was done and we are on the road to success! So this week was filled of progress! 

So my first week here I saw no progress and it was really sad, but we taught this one less active(Jenny Rose) who is 16 and she really wanted to go to Church, her problem is she was sick for 6 months straight, with TB. So we started teaching her and building her faith to go to church! It was really

Elder Minson and his Companion Elder Vital with the
Alajar Family, the 1st councilor in our bishopric!
We eat there every week!

good, then I asked if we could teach her family, and that is when the fire started. The next time we came back we taught her mom and her siblings, then we went next door to her cousins, then went next door again to a very long distance related cousin. Now that whole area is on fire! We had 4 people come to church and it is just amazing! We are now on a road to success over there.

We also have this family that lives right down the street from us, the De Leon Family. Now this is a part member family that has been taught for awhile! Now our main focus is on the main couple that owns the house, Sis Jennylyn and Bro Briant. Well Sister Jennylyn is like the best investigator in the world! She has been struggling to go to church and all these things before. Well when I came in we became friends almost instantly! She is so cool! She has 2 kids, BJ and Daniel, who are super cute! Well this week we pushed hard on her to go to church and receive the blessings! So that is what she did! She came to church! She is so cool and has been doing so good! She is feeling it and I know after this long wait she will be baptized while I am here! 

So the reason why above it only says Bago 1st Ward, is because president took us out of 2nd Ward. They didn't need us and that is where all the drama was! Now we can focus on the Ward that needs help! It was so nice on Sunday, we had some of the most organized meetings i have had my whole mission! This ward will progress it just needed some loving from the missionaries! Before my time the missionaries were not good with members and a lot got offended. So that is our focus, to repair what missionaries broke! The Ward is fantastic and is willing to work now! We have been trying really hard to get this happening and now we are seeing the fruits of our labors! :)

Elder Minson and elder Zobell
(Elder Zobell is returning home this week)

So that is all I have to say about that... Haha guess that movie? So I just want to let you all know I

Sister Bitter and Elder Minson
(Sister Bitter is returning home this week)

love you and am so proud of you! You are all amazing people and I am so glad you are enjoying life! I have been working real hard and trying to stay focused and just enjoy the work! It has been working wonders! I think I will be home sometime next week ;) haha! Well I sent some letters with Sister Bitter, she is also batch with Elder Garner. She will text Moms cell phone, I gave her the number and our address! I hope you are all doing good! I love you all to bits! Keep those shoes on! 

Love,
Elder Minson

Elder Minson, Brother Epoy and the twins!
They worked with us and they are awesome!

Brother Patrick who is going on a mission and he is from Cadiz 1st ward
Elder Minson, Elder Cusili
Brother Kevin a Branch Missionary from Cadiz 2nd Branch!

Brocks first attempt at Adobo. Apparently it is good.

 

 

I will admit I am really sad I left Cadiz...

Dear and Panimalay ko,

Alright, yes I got transferred and yes as you can see from the title of this letter I am in Bago City. It is really hard being new here because when we say that in Illongo it goes something like this, Ako si Elder Minson, ako ang bago nga elder diri sa Bago. Yes so this is the New City in the language! And yes it is very much more city then Cadiz! We are only 40 minutes away from Bacolod! So yeah... City......, we are covering a lot of area! This is the first area to be over 2 different wards at the same time! President usually assigns a companionship to a ward, but we have 2 wards... which makes things really difficult! 

I will admit I am really sad I left Cadiz... I had lots of baptisms lined up like literally over 12 baptisms!! So yeah I am a bit disappointed in that... but I will live! I think the hardest thing was leaving the people. I spent most of Tuesday saying good bye (President discourages it, but I had to). My investigators had lots of tears... and so did I! They miss me, but i have gotten updates from Elder Cusili and they are now even more converted to the gospel from my service! 

When I arrived here in Bago, we went out and taught... every investigator was confused and very few understood anything from what the elders had previously taught... so what am I meant to do here? Work and fix it! Haha! I see it all around here. The members are nice but the work is little... The progress is slow by this! I am trying really hard to build that up! So far I feel good!

Yesterday was a good day. The past 5 days I just let my companion, Elder Vital, lead the area and show me whats going on. He is my batch, I am still senior companion though. He is a timid person, he has very little fight in him! So I am a whole new world for him because I am as hard headed as it gets! haha! So yesterday I told him it is my turn! SO we went on splits with the members and I led a part of the area by myself. I did as Presidents training required and I found! I saw the potential yesterday and I am latching on that home as much as I can right now!

It has been rough and has been really hard to keep going here... The area just has very little, but i ma trying to keep positive and push it! I hope I can tell you more next week! I think by next week things will be going and we should have lots of progress! I am sorry I don't have much else to say... I am trying to get a card reader so I can send pics soon! Sorry there is none for now! Well today is Elder Zobells birthday and we are in the same zone so we are going to go have lunch with him later! And then we will be playing basket as a zone! So that is some good news! :) 

Well I love you all i miss you and am so proud of you all! Keep strong keep focused and keep being the best you can be! Keep the shoes on and I promise you will make it through the trials of your lives! :) I Love you all!! :)

Love,

Elder Minson