Manigong New Year to Everybody!

Dear Family,
Well, the call was great, despite an hour and a half waiting at the internet cafe and then having to take a trike back home because I couldn't remember my social security number to give to those persistent online fishers. But I triumphed in the end -- man over machine, and made a connection. I didn't get the email in time about the scype thing. Seguro on the next go-round. I'm sorry -- It must have been about 11 PM over there. It was enough to hear all your voices. Don't sweat the camera, I think I can find one here in San Jose hopefully in a week or two.
We took a little time to run here to the cafe -- we'll be headed back to the ward christmas party after this. President Puzey told us to attend. Ours was a whole day affair, and lunch was AWESOME. Bicol Express, Chicken Curry, Palabok (pampahabang-buhay -- swakto sa akin dahil kahapon ang kaarawan ko), and Telapia(fish). Most of us ate with our hands, under the shade of the palm trees at the church. The members took pity on me when they saw I wasn't that good with my hands and rice, and they found a spoon for me. Embarrassing -- I'll have to practice the hand thing at our house. It was great to meet the members because I'm new and so is my companion. They all remembered it was my birthday and everybody kept filling up my plate and giving me leche flann and malagkit. Which was alright with me, a little more dessert never hurt anybody. It's a lot of fun to talk with everybody and the kids all get a kick out of giving the American a high five. The kids here are great, I'm not sure what's different but I sure enjoy the kids. It's great to be able to speak a little Tagalog and take part in the conversations.
Christmas day was a great day -- we only had a few appointments but it turned out to be a golden day to "talk with everyone" and we met some people that are really ready to listen. One of them is brother Angeles. A few days ago we met one of his sons, and gave him a pamphlet. His dad must have seen it, and he read it, and when we showed up, he welcomed us in before we even asked. He told us about what he'd read and he wanted us to explain about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Since then he's read in the Book of Mormon and prayed, and things are looking really good. After the first visit he wanted to come to church and he kept apologizing on the second visit that he hadn't made it. This week we'll have the ward mission leader pick him up. Gerald Gonzales made some great progress this week. I'll include part of what I wrote about him:

"This week was a great time to find and teach. At weekly planning, Elder Dampios and I set a goal to go out of our way to talk to people in our path. I felt strongly that the Lord would place His prepared people in our way. And He did. On Christmas day we met many people that were ready to listen. The spirit of Christ(mas) was at work. Although most people we talked to had no feast or family to share it with, they were happy and willing to share their time with us. We set a new baptismal goal date for Brother Gerald Gonzales and are helping him prepare for the interview. On our last visit, we gave him Enos 1 as a reading assignment and on the return appointment, we reviewed it. He shared what he'd learned, and I was surprised to see that what he'd read had had a profound effect on him. We had asked him a week ago to fast as part of the preparation for baptism and last night he told us about his experience. He told us that he had prayed and fasted for forgiveness, and he told us that his experience was something like Enos'. He said that he was troubled by his sins, but by the time he prayed and closed his fast, the weight he felt bearing down on him had lifted, and he said he felt peaceful. I am impressed with his testimony, and I think he is well prepared for baptism."

As for the phone call, I'll explain some of the things we talked about. Lupao is just a few kilometers away from a good sized mountain range. Most of the people we teach work in the "bukid" (field) planting/harvesting rice, and vegetables in the dry season. Right now there is a lot of work in the onion fields. The town of Lupao is surrounded by fields, bright green and terraced -- small bamboo huts are the only thing amidst the rice. There are a lot of Water Buffalo here, and white "cows" that are NOT cows. I'm pretty certain they're what veggie tales would term "cebu". They have a hump on their neck, they are all white, and they're pretty funny lookin. A lot of the natives ride their tractors around town, which are nothing like our tractors. I'll have to send a picture, but people climb on the back and hitch a ride.
The dominant language here is "Ilokano" and I've picked up a few words. Tagalog is secondary and some of the older generation don't speak tagalog. My companion speaks Vizsayan in addition to tagalog. He reads and studies in English but only talks in tagalog. We hold district meetings in english but aside from that it is 100% tagalog. It's a funny thing to be in a culture that watches english movies, can read in english, listens to english music, can speak pretty well in english, but only use tagalog. It really wouldn't be effective to speak english, though.
I think dad's question was about how we spend our time, if we teach a lot. We've been really blessed and in the past weeks our schedule has really filled out and we've started to really click with the members and we've really started to see the difference. We now have some RMs and the Ward Mission Leader working with us and we've got a decent investigator pool. We have 2 hours of work in the morning, and 6 1/2 in the evening. We usually get 2 teaching appointments in the morning and about 5 in the evening. Most of our appointments are close but having to walk takes time. I don't know how many lessons are normal in the rest of the world (uraguay? norway?) but about 30-35 lessons a week is pretty standard. We rarely have to resort to knocking doors but we have really been working hard to talk to everyone placed in our path and we've had great success finding people in that way. Then again, we've also been given some phony names. But I feel a little more at home in the work and I am getting a feel for what is effective and what is not. I am happy in the work and I feel that the Lord is giving me more and more capacity to be effective and to do "many good things of [my] own free will".
Yep, I'm still waking up at 6:30 sharp and excercising. I've come to really appreciate and respect the schedule and I work my best every day to follow it with exactness. I feel so much better when I keep the schedule. I'm still working on the 6-pack -- right now I'm doing my best with the one "ab" that I have. It's a half an hour of the mission work out -- X every morning.
Christmas was great. We worked just like every other day, and didn't have even one eating appointment. Most of our investigators still worked and had no feast or fixins. It was great anyway. I loved the packages and I bought batteries -- later tonight I'll try out the foot massager, that should take the stress right out of the day. The birthday package was great as well -- we don't have an oven or even a toaster, but I'll try to bake that cake pancake style and tell you how it tasted. Thanks so much family, it's been a great year!
Tell Nathan he's the best from me. I'm excited that we'll be out together. I'm looking forward to the pictures.
Thanks everybody and have a great new year! I'm having the best time and I'm loving the work. I've got a lot to learn and that's what's exciting. I'm glad everyone is doing well and that I got to hear all of your voices.
Have a great new Year!
With love,
Elder Loren Peck

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family,
I am in the Lupao Ward, San Jose Stake/Zone, Nueva Ecija. My new companion is Elder Dampios, from Davou, Region 11 Philippines. He is amazing, really diligent, and an obedient missionary. I feel like we're going to be able to do great things together. He's got a great attitude, and he's happy and masipag talaga. Which is great!
I spent the bus ride missing Aduas. It is really tough to leave everything behind, especially with Christmas and my birthday just one week away. Here's the update on Sister Luna and the Ison family:
We bid farewell to the Luna family on Tuesday and also filled out her baptismal record. If all went well, her interview should have taken place by now. All her grandchildren went crazy when I pulled out the camera and we took a lot of pictures. Sister Lyn Luna, a daughter and long time diligent member of the ward gave me a note and a keychain to remember them by. She was present back at the first lesson and cried for joy when her mother accepted the Baptismal Goal Date.
I can't write about all the investigators and members that I'm going to miss, but one of them is Jhei Yambot -- the young men president, and stand-in ward missionary and ward mission leader. He gave me a "bahay kubo" key chain from Bagio that has my name on it. Wow, he's just a great guy.
My very last appointment in Aduas was at the Ison family home. They'd brought some of their extended family from Hain to listen to us. We had a great discussion and referred their family to the missionaries assigned in Hain. I gave The Isons a few pictures -- the Logan temple and two of our family pictures, and wrote them a note. I bid farewell to them, and shook their hands. Brother Ison held on to my hand and told me thank you and smiled and told me to take care always. I told myself I wasn't going to look back as we walked down the dirt road, but I did anyway. They were standing on the edge of the street in front of their home, waving goodbye. I waved to them and they waited there until we were out of sight.
I've thought about them and pray for them. I look forward to writing them. It is strange to think that I cannot go back to them or see them.
We live at the base of some HUGE mountains -- covered in forest. It's the dry season, and on the dirt roads I feel like I'm walking in Southern Utah, dusty and hot, the sand is red as well. Lupao is a small city, but it's small and out of the way, and it feels homey. It's surrounded with "Palayan" rice fields. The ground is not flat here, so they are terraced, and bright green, and very beautiful. The weather is cooling down and the mornings even feel chilly. My first morning we woke up to a brown out, and I pumped water for my morning shower out of a bucket. When there is power -- it's still a bucket shower. My companion washes his own clothes and he's been teaching me. Up until now I haven't had to wash my clothes in a bucket. We'll live pretty frugally. It's easy to make it a week on about 700 pesos, or about 15 dollars. I'm excited about the area and there is a lot to do -- there is a lot of potential here in this area. Both my companion and I are relatively new here, and it's been great to get together with the ward leaders and start to see some good things happening.
I feel more at home than ever in this work. I love talking to people and getting to know them, and it's easier and easier to share the gospel. The changes have put me to my knees once again, and I am reminded where the true source of strength is. It doesn't feel like Christmas time yet, I've had a lot on my mind this past week and haven't had time to think about what time of year it is. The days fly by and there is always so much to do and the work is so satisfying. This is the best place to be, I know I am not wasting my time. The work is real and it's important. I know that Christ is the very head and I love to testify of Him. I love you, family. The mission is too short. The time and the changes and the opportunities come and go too fast. I am grateful for your prayers. I feel your strength. It's strange to think that I don't know where -- literally -- in the world I am right now. But it doesn't make any difference, the work of the Lord is the same everywhere, and it's the feeling, charity and love, that defines it and is the beginning of every good thing that happens.
Merry Christmas, family, I hope you all know how much I love you! Have a great Christmas --
With love, Elder Loren Peck

I'm Not Ready to Go!

Dear Family,
My time is just about up. It's been a wild day, I found out earlier this morning that (against my will) I'm going to be transferred. They are going to have to drag me. This is what I'll be leaving:
Sister Emelita Luna (Part Member, 60 BGD: Dec 26, 09) She came to church for the 4th time and her interview is later this week. She is doing great and the ward is great -- they've been waiting a long time to see her at church. She's helping out with the cooking for the ward christmas party. She's had troubles as her baptism has come closer, and she had some last minute doubts because of all the problems in work and family that have come up this past week, but yesterday she was doing great and she says she's come through it and she's ready to be baptized. She studies the Book of Mormon and I keep thinking on the next visit that maybe she'll know more than me.
The Yzon Family -- They should be baptized on Jan 9, 2010, but it looks like Sister's visa came early as she made plans formerly to return abroad to work for a while. Hopefully she can be baptized before she leaves, we're working out the details. We have grown very close to their family and on our last visit Angelica, their 12 year old daughter, prayed and asked that "hindi aalis ang mga elder namin" (that our elders won't leave) It is going to be really tough to leave a family (again). But I'm so grateful I got to witness their conversion. Brother is down to 2 sticks and Angelica is still giving him a hard time about that because she wants to be baptized right away.

I've got a lot more to write but I'm out of time. I don't think I can say goodbye to Aduas. I know there's a lot more on the horizon.
Thanks family! I love you all and am grateful for the news.
Sincerely, Elder Peck

And just when I thought it couldn't get better. . .

Hey Chris, are those sneakers?

I only ask because sneakers are really big here. That is, if you have to wear "rubber shoes". Most of the time, though, it's purong tsinelas.
Rachel, happy birthday! But don't think about turning 16 any time soon, you saw what happened to Sarah! I mean, what's fun about life when ya' have to drive all the time?!? Hope everything's going great.
It looks like yoll'er all havin' a party (again).
I thought I'd get to the Post Office earlier, but it's really far, and expensive, and we ran out of time. It's been months now since we've made the trip. Thanks so much to everyone that's written, I appreciate the letters so much! Even if I can't always get back to them.

Dear Family,
I thought last week that things couldn't get any better. But they did. We had another great turnout at church again yesterday, 7 of our investigators came to church. Among them were:
Sister Luna (Part Member Family, 60 years old) -- this was her 3rd time in a row at church. She gave up her Sunday business at the Palengke (which some would call a huge sacrifice) in order to come to church, and instead of telling us how hard that is, she told us how much better she's been feeling. She's always been a reader, and now she said that she's put aside her novels in order to study the Book of Mormon. She's read up to Jacob, and she doesn't just read it, she looks up words in the back and repeats her reading when she doesn't understand. She's eating up the lessons and keeping all the commitments. She told us yesterday that she plans on becoming more active than her member children, and hopes that her example will help them all make it to the church that she says she knows is true. She bears her testimony to us every visit, and I'm blown away with the progress she's making. Her baptism is scheduled for December 19th, 2009. She already has a lot of friends at church -- the members are all happy that the acting head of the Luna household is finally taking the discussions and coming to church.
The Yzon/Javier Family: (Brother Abraham Yzon - 38, Sister Javier -39, and Angelica - 12) Because of the divorce-less Philippines law, they will have to be interviewed by President Puzey before baptism. They've already met him, and if they plan on staying together their whole life, they should be good to go -- but they won't be able to go to the temple -- at least not yet. That's a heart-breaker, but Heavenly Father is at the helm, and we're all doing everything we can. We taught the Word of Wisdom a little less than two weeks ago, and since then, Brother Abraham has cut back from 20 cigarettes to just 5 a day, and he's given up coffee altogether, much to the happiness of Sister and Angelica. Angelica is very mature and bright for her age, and she has friends and even old school-teachers at church. She gives her dad a hard time because they are waiting on him to be baptized as a family. As soon as the cigarettes are completely gone, it's just a matter of waiting 4 weeks in order to be baptized. Brother Abraham is a good guy, he's quick, sincere, and has a great sense of humor. His personality reminds me of one of the Thatchers. Last night we were all had a good laugh at their home -- they're a humorous family -- and then Brother Abraham said sincerely, "Elders, I can do it. I can get rid of the cigarettes." The spirit is always so strong at their home, and they've faithfully kept every commitment "with exactness". They are talking to their extended family and referring them to the missionaries in their respective areas. As far as their family here, the Yzons have invited them to their small home this evening for Family Home Evening. Elder Cobacha and I planned the lesson and talked about games earlier in our study, it should be a great time. We don't have to worry about the Yzons because we know that they are doing everything -- coming to church, reading and praying daily, personally and as a family, and we feel that the spirit is taking a bigger and bigger role in their family life. Last night I couldn't help but notice how much they've come together as a family. In the Lord's time, I feel confident that things will work out with marriage and the temple. They are an incredible family, and I am so excited about them. Their baptism is currently scheduled for the 2nd of January, 2010, but will most likely take place on January 9.
Our other investigators are relatively new, but progressing. Things really start to happen in someone's life when they make it to church. We are truly being blessed in this area, and the members are the real missionary work. They have great referrals and go out of their way to fellowship our investigators. I feel like we are just a small part of the ward mission effort, which is what really ought to be happening. The days are flying and the work is very satisfying. I have never been happier. I can't think of anything that could be better. Elder Cobacha and I are getting along great, and I have learned so much from him. I've got a lot of respect for him. I really hope that this coming December 17th, there won't be any changes, but I'm not the one calling the shots. Whatever the Lord has in store is fine with me. I'm happy knowing that great things are happening right now, and that even if I'm not here to see it, Sister Luna and the Yzons are on their way to making the covenant of baptism, and they will then be entitled to the companionship of the Comforter, Teacher, and Protector -- the Holy Ghost. I'm grateful that I was assigned here in this time. This has been the best time of my life, and It's been an incredible time of learning and spiritual growth. Mom, good luck this week in the calling. Being released must feel an awful lot like transfers. I wish you the best, and want you to know that you, and Dad, have been the greatest examples to me in fulfilling callings in the church and living up to what the Lord expects.
I love you all, family, and hope that you all have a great week!
Love, Elder Loren Peck