Aaron: Kinda sorta freaking AMAZING missionary:)

Hey! Hey! Hey! :)  Kumusta kayo lahat?  Things, are still pretty good here in the Philippines.  The last few days have been pretty tough because we haven't been able to teach as many lessons as we'd like.
On Thursday we had a GREAT day :)  It was the day after going to the temple, having a P-day with other elders in our zone and playing bball with some members.  On Thursday we taught some great lessons to our investigators.  I was able to open my mouth and express my testimony in Tagalog much better and we had asked one investigator if he would pray about getting baptized.  So things were going really well and we were in a good mood and really excited to get back to work on Friday.
Thursday night we had a great planning session and were hoping to teach 8 lessons on Friday, keeping really busy and getting a lot of work done.... But Friday was SOOOO pangit!!! (Ugly:P)  We ended up walking around to appointments and everything for 8 hours without teaching a single lesson!!  Every lesson fell through because people either weren't home, were busy, or even hid from us so that we would go away haha.  SOOO lame!  It was a rough day and I hope I don't have too many like it.

So last week I told you about Alma and how amazing he was as a missionary right?  So now I should be telling you about how awesome Ammon is right?  Wrong! :)  Even though Ammon is an EPIC missionary and I love his story, this week I learned a lot more from the story of his brother Aaron.
Ammon was super successful as a missionary am I right?  Chopping off bad guys arms, converting kings and queens, bringing an entire nation to a knowledge of their God.... WOOT! :)  But Aaron wasn't all that bad either was he?  While Ammon was the one who converted King Lamoni, king of the Land of Ishmael, Aaron converted the king of the entire Lamanite people!  How's that for a successful missionary? :)
Although Aaron's mission ended up being amazing, it sure didn't look like it would turn out that way in the beginning.  He and his companions suffered some BIG time trials before they found success.  While Ammon was in the Land of Ishmael working miracles and converting kings and queens what was Aaron doing?  Did he have the same success?  Nope!  In Alma 20:30 it says that he had "fallen into the hands of a more hardened people and they would not hearken unto their words."  They were "driven from place to place until they came to the Land of Middoni... where they were taken cast into prison."  Yikes!  Not quite as happy as Ammon's story, eh?  How do you think Aaron felt when he heard about Ammon's success?  Haha, I can imagine him saying, "You had HOW many baptisms while I was stuck in prison??" :)
Even though Aaron's mission started out tough, like I said, it ended up great.  From this I learned that even when you work your hardest you may not find success.  Don't get discouraged, better days are sure to come.  Don't EVER compare yourself to other people, in Aaron's case Ammon, this will only bring discouragement.
Another thing I respect Aaron for is what he gave up to become a missionary.  He was a prince!  If he had stayed in Zarahemla a couple more years he would have been made king!  He made a huge sacrifice and left a great life behind in order to become a missionary.  I wonder if he and his brothers ever became homesick like missionaries do in our day?  I'm guessing.... Yes! :)
In Alma 20:29 it talks about Aaron's trials in prison.  He went from living the high life as the son of a king to "all kinds of afflictions."  At home he had all the finest food and drink he wanted; on the mission he suffered hunger and thirst.  At home Aaron lived in a palace; on the mission he was bound in strong cords in a prison.  Do you think Aaron ever had the thought, "Why did I ever leave home for a mission?" cross his mind?  Again I'm thinking.... Yes! :o)
Even though he suffered through all these HUGE afflictions, Aaron was "patient in all his sufferings."  What a great example, eh?  In Alma 17:11 the Lord promises that if we will be "patient in long-suffering and afflictions...I will make an instrument of thee in my hands."  Aaron was patient in his trials and the Lord helped him find success and bring about the salvation of many souls.
(Yikes, sorry this is SOO long, hope you haven't stopped reading yet :P)

Many of you are starting new journeys like Aaron.  You're either in your first years of college, high school, or having new challenging experiences in Parenthood.  Like Aaron it may seem tough at the beginning.  Like Aaron you may wonder why you're even trying, and why you don't just go back to an easier life.  But I KNOW that, like Aaron, even though things may seem tough now, if you are "patient in long-suffering and afflictions" the Lord will help you and guide you to success as you rely on Him.
So when times get tough, think of Aaron, and know that although things may seem tough right now if you're patient things will be AMAZING in the end :)

I love and miss you all!  Happy Thanksgiving haha!
MAHAL KITA!!

THE Elder Powell :)

P.S.
Oh yeah..... this might be cool to know.....  We're having our first baptism this week! :D  haha Ingat!

Philippines Photos, Yea!

Companion Elder Sidillo

Lunch meeting

Temple Trip

Getting around

Upside down house

Alma, Zone Conference, Mystery Meat

So this week was..... kinda sorta freaking amazing!  I'm catching the vision of what I have the potential to become as a missionary here in the Philippines.  Short on time though so scatter-brained, a few stories, and I'm out :)

Right now I'm reading in Alma about the Missionary Work of Alma, Amulek, and the Sons of Mosiah.  You know?  The best missionaries EVER? :)

Wow, Alma is an AMAZING missionary!  There are so many things that impress me about him but one of the greatest is his trust in God.  He and Amulek went through HUGE trials together.  When the wicked Ammonihahites are burning the believers and their writings Amulek expressed his fear that perhaps they would be burned too.  Alma shows amazing trust and says, "be it according to the will of God, but our work here is not yet finished, therefore they burn us not.  Wow!  Alma trusted that no matter what happened, even if it meant death, it would be the will of God and be for their benefit.  I really love his example and its strengthening my trust in my Heavenly Father.  No matter what trials or problems we face, we can take comfort in the fact that it will be for our benefit because God is looking out for us.

At our Zone Meeting last week Sister Sperry, our Mission President's wife talked to us about goals and asked a couple questions that really got me thinking.  She said, "When you are finished with your mission, what do you want to be able to say you've accomplished?"  I wasn't sure at first and was surprised I hadn't thought about it.  But I found the answer to this also in the words of Alma.  He said to his son Helaman in Alma 36:25-26 "Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors; For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God."  I want to be able to say, like Alma, that I have found success with the Lord's help.

Like I said... Alma?  AMAZING! :)

Oh yeah.  On 11-11-11?  I saw a cat catch a rat for the first time.  Pretty intense, just thought you'd like to know hahaha :P

Last week a member in our ward returned from his mission in Cagayan de Oro.  He came and worked with us on monday and was amazing!  He opened his mouth to everyone about the Gospel.  When he taught it was very clear and to the point.  I don't know how to explain it, but everything he did seemed to work out perfectly.  I got to catch a glimpse of what I will become in the next few months and it was really exciting :)

So another BIG thing happened on Monday.  It really rocked my world and I'm sure it will do the same to you.

My favorite food here in the Philippines so far is Tapsilog.  Tapsilog is a fried egg, the ever-present cup of rice, and a few strips of REALLY tasty meat :)  (Can you see where this is going?)  I eat it for basically every meal because we have a Tapsilogan (Restaurant) down the street.

So guess what kind of meat Tapsilog is made from (Let me give you a hint it isn't beef:)..... ASO????  Nope, it's not aso (dog) meat haha.  KABAYO!!  I have been eating HORSE (kabayo) meat and LOVING it for the last 4 weeks hahaha! :)  So cool! :P  They told me the other day what the meet was and I just about died laughing :)

So I found out a little more about my area of the mission haha.  Apparently it's the "armpit" of the mission, or the part noone really wants to go to :)  Not only that but we're in probably the smallest apartment in the Zone.  My mattress is SUPER thin so the bedbars stick in my back each night.  I've been paired with a native companion who's in his 4th transfer.  This is his first time training and we are in an area neither of us has been before.

Whew!  Sounds pretty tought eh? :)  The Lord must really be conditioning me for something great if he's starting me off in this tough of a situation.  Either that or I've got a lot to learn :)  Probably both haha.  I'm glad that I'm experiencing all of the tough parts of the mission now at the beginning so that I can LOVE the rest of my mission, knowing it's all uphill from here :)

Well that all folks! :)  Love and miss you all!  Hope things are good in the states!  Shoot me a Dear elder if you get the chance, I love hearing from y'all :)

BUGS! and more

So bug-wise this place is pretty boring (Thank Heaven!) :)  There aren't any big spiders or anything really freaky like that.  I've seen 1 or 2 BIG cockroaches in the street though haha.  And most houses have little lizards (Mga butiktik) crawling on the walls.  There are tiny ants EVERYWHERE too!  They drive me crazy! haha.  I haven't been using my mosquito net, repellent, sunscreen, or lip balm haha.  Sorry I'm a bad kid :o)  I have been using LOTS of Afterbite though haha :)  Maybe I should use the repellent instead eh?  The mosquitos weren't bad at first but now they're eating me alive!  No worries though, buhay pa.

Soo... we have running water (kind of) but not flushing toilets or a shower (We use a bucket and ladle for both.  I explained TP in Kylee's email) :)
Food I miss:  Mashed potatoes and Roast Beef
Thing:  Family, and America is SOOOO beautiful!!!!  We don't realize how good we've got it!  I'm deep in the city and it's SOOO polluted and there's a bunch of trash everywhere and I miss our mountains and everything haha.
Yep, there's plenty of water here, I should probably drink more but buhay pa :)
The hot dogs here are pretty strange haha.  Does that count? :)  Elder Sidillo wants me to eat balut and I almost did last night but I chickened out :P  Elder Cloward ate baked pig's blood though hahaha :)  He's serving in Fairview, it's a wealthier part of the city.  Elder Calinog's actually in my district! :D  I see him a couple times each week, he's great!
Our apartment is tiny!!!  Probably the size of the girl's room plus the downstairs toilet.  CRAZY!  I think we have one of the smaller ones in the mission too, Elder Cloward and Elder Calinog both have 4 elders in a 2 story apartment with 4 rooms.
I washed my clothes by hand the first week but I'm too impatient to wait for it to dry haha.  We found a laundromat and they do my clothes for 25 pisos(50 cents) per kilogram and I wash my garments by hand.

Week 1 ay Tapos na. SA WAKAS! :) (done)

Hiya!

So P-day’s basically over so I’ve gotta keep this supa short.  Sorry!

So in case you couldn’t tell from my last email the Philippines..... is CRAZY!!!!  And just a bit different than Pleasant Grove, Utah haha.  Also just in case you didn’t know Utah is SOOOOOOO beautiful!  Scratch that, ALL of America is soooo beautiful!  I miss my mountains and our temples and the snow (yes even the snow haha) and my amazing family and friends!  Things here have been a little tough for me so far but through help from Heavenly Father I’m beginning to become more comfortable.  Right now it’s 6:00 PM and it’s 31 degrees Celsius or about 88 degrees normal style haha, just in case you were wondering :P

I’m beginning to LOVE the Book of Mormon!  If we apply it to our own lives or the lives of people we care about it’s words are sooooo meaningful and beautiful!  I’d love to go more into detail but I don’t have time :(  Just read Mosiah chapters 23 and 24 and try to apply them to your lives and you’ll see what I mean.  Also, don’t just read your scriptures before you go to bed!!!  I did that before the mission and it was meaningless compared to what I’m getting from the scriptures because of the way I read them now!  Each time you read pray to Heavenly Father for the Spirit and to answer your prayers in the scriptures.  It’s amazing :)

So basically the kids here are what keep me going every day hahaha :)  May maraming kaibigan ako dito kasi Amerikano ako :P (I have many friends here because I’m American haha :o)  So I have to things kids said to me this week that I need you to help me with.  I can’t decide which is my favorite haha :)  

So one day we were talking with a group of 10 year old girls and one of them was rambling in Tagalog at me and I didn’t understand a word she said.  All of a sudden she said, “Bakla ka ba?” (Are you gay?)  hahahaha!  I understood that!  haha, it gave me a good laugh and I yelled “ANO BA IYAN??  Bakit sinabi mo iyan?” (What in the world??  Why’d you say that? :)

Later in the week I was sitting next to a 4 year old girl while we were teaching her mom when she looked up at me and said, “Umutot ka ba?  Amoy ka katulad tae!” (Did you fart?  You smell like poop!) hahahaha! :D  I think that one wins :P

I think the 2nds my favorite but lemme know what you think :)

A:  So it’s only really rained once this week and that was for about 15-20 minutes.  Can’t wait for a real storm! haha

A: I LOVE lumpia, chicken adobo is great and I’m starting to like rice :)  Magiging Pilipino ako!  Haven’t been sick at all, just REALLY tired haha

A:  I’m in the Panghulo Ward of the Caloocan Stake.  Elder Corpuz from the blog served in this Zone earlier this year so you should check his blog out again for Panghulo! :)  We washed our clothes by hand last week and hung them on the balcony to dry.  Wasn’t terribly hard and it worked well but I didn’t have time today so I sent them to a laundromat.  No giant spiders in the city! :D  Mosquitos bug a little bit but not bad.

A:  The language is SUPER tough and I have a tough time understanding people in Tagalog OR English because it’s a different accent and I am kinda deaf haha.  I’m finding that the more I try to speak the more I’m able to say.  “Don’t let what you don’t know get in the way of what you do know!”

A:  Study and lunch from 8am-1pm, proselyte from 1-9, eat, return to apartment, sleep, do it all over again.  CRAZY!  Love Pday haha.  Walk alot and ride Jeepneys alot.  Maybe between 2 and 3 miles a day :)

I wish I had more time but I gotta go now.  I love and miss you all SOOOO much!  God be with you till we meet again!

Mahal Kita!

Elder Powell

Philippines! I made it.

Holy oh my freaking goodness I'm in the Philippines!!  This place is crazy!  SOOOOO different from home.

So the flight to Hong Kong?  A BEAST!!!  I Slept for the first 5 hours (the flight attendant was trying to take my order for dinner but I couldn't hear her or keep my eyes open I was so tired haha) but after I woke up I couldn't fall back to sleep for the whole rest of the flight! :/  That flight was on a bigger plane but the seats were all super close to each other so I had no room for my legs and it was kinda sorta miserable pero buhay pa (but I'm still alive :)

We got to the Manila Airport and were picked up by 2 Brothers.  One took our luggage and the other took all of us in a van.... And I got shotgun!! :)  It was SOO cool!  Just driving here is an ADVENTURE!  The roads are every man for himself and basically lawless haha.  The cars, buses, jeepneys, motorcyclesc and bicycles all compete for the empty spaces in the road and everyone drives as fast as they can without crashing haha.  It took us about an hour and a half to get to the mission home even though it's only about 30 kilometers from the airport (not sure how many miles that is sOry:)

We got to the Mission Home and met President and Sister Sperry.  They're both SUPER kind and super fun.  Serving under them is gonna be fun.  Oh yeah... There house is air conditioned!  It's SOOO nice! :)

Umm... yeah, in case you hadn't guessed yet... it's SUPER hot and SUPER HUMID here in the Philippines!!!  It's crazy!  And they're telling me it's still winter hahaha.  No worries, buhay pa.  But I might die in April :P  That's when they say you sweat non-stop no matter what you're doing.  Oh yeah..... I'm kind of IN LOVE.... with my electric fan!  haha :P  Every time we get home at night I give it a big sweaty hug and say, "Namiss mo ako?" (Did you miss me? :o)

The heat isn't the only thing that's different here.. in case you didn't guess :)  I swear I'm the only puti(white) person in our area! (I know there are whites in other areas cuz they're missionaries haha :P)  But yeah, everywhere I go EVERYONE stares at me and most of the kids and teenagers will say "What's up man??" or "Hey Joe!" or "What's your name?". hahahaha :)  It's hilarious! :)  The kids are SO small and have squeaky voices haha.  I love saying "Up here!" and giving them high five's :)

So the city is HUGE!!!  Every time we leave our street I would be completely lost without my companion.  There are SO many people!  We're just in one area but I swear we've passed 100s of 1000s of people by now in jeepneys!  I LOVE riding in the jeepneys :)  Driving in America's gonna be pretty boring when I get back haha.

So I'm not sure what area Elder Cloward ended up in but he has a Filipino companion.  Elder Calinog is in my District though (WOOT!:) and Elder Staples is in our Zone.  They both have companions from America.

My trainer/first companion/Tatay(Father:) here in the Philippines is......  Elder Sidillo!  haha.  He's Filipino, from Cagayan de Oro in Mindinao.  He's been in the field for 5 months.  I am his 3rd companion and his first trainee/son :)  He's really kind and really outgoing with other people.

So far I've had a bit of a hard time adjusting.  This place is SOOO different and SOOO hot and the language is SOOOOOOOOO difficult!!  It sounds nothing like what I learned in the MTC!  They all speak so fast and have strange accents so I can't really understand much yet.  There's SOO much to adjust to and I was really down on myself for the first couple days.  Today was Pday so I had time to relax, read my journal, my Patriarchal Blessing and remember who I am and why I'm here on a mission.  Don't worry Mom, I'm doin fine now ;)  I am going to have hard times but as I turn to the Lord and stay positive I will become comfortable with the culture and the language :)

Hope that answered most of your questions :)  Keep the questions coming!  I know you have a BUNCH more :)

I love you all TONS and miss you all TONS!!!! :)  Thanks SO much for the letters!  They were really fun to read and they're really giving me strength here in the Philippines.  MAHAL KITA! :)  Kita kits :)

the new beginning.

This is Chelsey Powell, BJ's sister. BJ flies out to the Phillippines today. He is so excited. I was reading another blog the other day and came across this story on Missionaries and felt like I needed to publish it. I hope you enjoy it!!

Marks of a Man
As I jumped on board my flight from Miami to Salt Lake City, I paused a moment to catch my breath. Seated near the front of the plane was an excited young man, probably 19, sitting with his parents. His hair was short and his clothes new and sharp. His suit was fitted perfectly, and his black shoes still retained that store-bought shine. His body was in good shape, his face clear, and his hands clean. In his eyes I could see a nervous look , and his movements were that of an actor on opening night.
He was obviously flying to Utah to become a missionary for the Mormon Church. I smiled as I walked by and took pride in belonging to this same Church where these young men and women voluntarily serve the Savior for two years. With this special feeling, I continued to the back where my seat was located.
As I sat in my seat, I looked to the right, and to my surprise saw another missionary sleeping in the window seat. His hair was also short, but that was the only similarity between the two. This one was obviously returning home, and i could tell at a glance what type of missionary he had been.
The fact that he was already asleep told me a lot. His entire body seemed to let out a big sigh. It looked as if this was the first time in two years he had even slept, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was.
As I looked at his face, I could see the heavy bags under his eyes, the chapped lips, and the scarred and sunburned face caused by the fierce Florida sun.
His suit was tattered and worn. A few of the seams were coming apart, and I noticed that there were a couple of tears that had been hand sewn with a very sloppy stitch.
I saw the name tag, crooked, scratched and bearing the name of the Church he represented, the engraving of which was almost all worn away. I saw the knee of his pants, worn and white, the result of many hours of humble prayer. A tear came to my eye as I saw the things that really told me what kind of missionary he had been. I saw the marks that made this boy a man.
His feet- the two that had carried him, from house to house-now lay swollen and tired. They were covered by a pair of worn-out shoes. Many of the large scrapes and gouges had been filled in by the countless number of polishings.
His books-laying across his lap- were his scriptures, the word of God. Once new, these books which testify of Jesus Christ and His mission, were now torn, bent, and ragged from us.
His hands- those big, strong hands which had been used to bless and teach- were now scarred and cut from knocking at doors.
Those were indeed the marks of that man. And as I looked at him, I saw the marks of another man, the Savior, as he was hanging on the cross for the sins of the world.
His feet- those that had once carried Him throughout the land during His ministry-were now nailed to the cross.
His side now pierced with a spear, sealing His gospel, His testimony, with His life.
His hands-the hands that had been used to ordain His servants and bless the sick-were also scarred with the nails that were pounded to hang Him on the cross.
Those were the marks of that great man.
As my mind returned to the missionary, my whole body seemed to swell with pride and joy, because I knew, by looking at him, that he had served his Master well.
My joy was so great. I felt like running to the front of the plane, grabbing that new, young missionary, and bringing him back to see what he could become, what he could do.
But would he see the things that I saw, could anyone see the things I saw? Or would he just see the outward appearance of that mighty elder, tired and worn out, almost dead.
As we landed, I reached over and tapped him to wake him up. As he awoke, it seemed like new life was entering his body. His whole frame just seemed to fill as he stood up, tall and proud. As he turned his face towards mine, I saw a light about his face that I had never seen before. I looked into his eyes. Those eyes. I will never forget those eyes. They were the eyes of a prophet, a leader, a follower, and a servant. They were the eyes of the Savior. Nor words were spoken. No words were needed.
As we unloaded, I stepped aside to let him go first. I watched as he walked, slow but steady, tired but strong. I followed him and found myself walking the way that he did.
When I came through the doors, I saw this young man in the arms of his parents, and I couldn't hold it in any longer. With tears streaming down my face, I watched these loving parents greet their son who had been away for a short time. And I wondered if our parents in heaven would greet us the same way. Will they wrap their arms around us and welcome us home from our journey on earth? I believe they will. I just hope that I can be worthy enough to receive such praise, as I'm sure this missionary will. I said a silent prayer thanking the Lord for missionaries like this young man. I don't think I will ever forget the joy and happiness he brought me that day.
-Anonymous

BJ will be an amazing missionary. Please pray for his comfort and safety as he flies out tonight. We all wish him the best and can't wait to hear all the amazing, spiritual experiences we will hear shortly:)
Love you beej.