Kamusta Kamo! - July 13, 2015 - Week 37

Kamusta Kamo!

This week I learned so much. So up until this past week I have felt like I have been working hard, being obedient, and over all an okay missionary. On Monday I couldn't stop thinking about why I have only had one baptism in the eight months I've been here. So I asked my comp what I maybe was doing wrong. He told me nothing. But for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about it. For me up until this point baptisms didn't really matter to me. All that mattered is that everyday I do my best to help someone in one way or another. But for some reason it started to bother me super bad. So on Monday night Elder Francisco sat down at our desks to plan for our week. We started setting our goals. Usually our goals stay pretty much the same. But Elder Francisco started throwing out huge numbers for goals. I told him that goals need to be achievable. He then told me yes but they also need to stretch you. So I said alright and just for the heck of it we wrote down numbers that were way bigger then I've ever had my whole mission. Then after we finished planning he said he wanted to pray. As he was praying he asked for help and guidance on how to achieve these goals. Then we went to bed, but the whole baptism thing kept bothering me. Then everyday when we woke up this past week Elder Francisco said lets go achieve these goals. Thursday came around and both us us were just ridiculously tired at the end of the day. We started going through our work for the week and noticed that if we worked crazy hard for the rest of the week we can meet our goals. So that's what we did. Sunday rolled around and we closed our week. We finished our numbers and noticed we exceeded all of our goals and doubled a few of them. We talked about the people that we met this past week. We noticed that all the lessons we taught and Book of Mormons we gave out, and people we talked to mattered and that there is nothing more important that we could do for those people. I noticed that I hadn't been putting forth my very best work. That was why I was being bothered. As an answer to our prayers and to our work we will be having a baptism on July 25th. We are super pumped. So we will continue to raise our goals every week and do everything we can to reach them so in turn we will be able to help as many people as we can.

Also this week I had a kind of cool experience with prayer. On Sunday we went to go give the sacrament to and Elderly woman. But the house next to her had super loud music going that was really profane. Right before I was about to bless the sacrament I said a little quick prayer for the music to turn off so we could feel the spirit. Right after I said amen the music turned off. We then gave here the sacrament and shared a message to her. Right as we were leaving the music came back on. I know Heavenly Father listens to our prayers even as simple as they may be. All in all this week was great.

Hope you guys all had great weeks as well. Love and miss you guys. :) 

-- 

Elder Jake Frandsen

Philippines Iloilo Mission

Battling ang Bagyo - July 6, 2015 - Week 36

So its officially typhoon season here in the Philippines. This past week typhoon egay came in. Luckily it just brought tons and tons of rain. We got a text from President on Tuesday telling us to still work as normal and that if it got worse he would let us know. So we put on our rain jackets and got our umbrellas and went to work. Then the wind started to pick up so the umbrellas were pretty useless. We got drenched. haha We got punted that morning so we decided to go the the beach and tract. The waves were HUGE! It made me want to do grab a surf board. 

Then on Wednesday we all went to San Jose for Zone Training which was awesome. We had a huge testimony meeting. The spirit was so strong. It reminded us all our purpose and why we are here on missions. Then us district leaders and zone leaders set new goal for this zone. Just in this past week we can tell everyone is working harder.

On Thursday the typhoon continued. In the afternoon a Barge came in to the beach to deliver supplies. Well it was awful timing. The next morning we went back and it was sunk. And it was carrying lots of crude oil which spilled. So now there is no fishing and the people that live on the beach will probably be forced to evacuate this next week.

This week we started teaching the mother of Brent. Brent is still on schedule to be baptized on the 25th. And at first his mom was kind of against the whole thing. Now she is thinking about being baptized as well. Because she can see how the things we teach Brent are helping him and making him a better person. 

I hope all of you had a great week an awesome 4th of July and everything else. Love and miss you guys tons.

  

--

Elder Jake Frandsen

Philippines Iloilo Mission

So This Week Consisted of Just About Everything - June 29, 2015 - Week 35

Well lets see where do I start...Cge so all four of us Elders here in Bugasong desided we were going to start the week off with an adventure. So we hiked and hiked and crossed rivers and hiked some more. Three hours later we arrived at Yapo! Yapo is a little village up in the mountains. When we got there it started just pouring rain! But that was normal for us so we just kept working. The people there are super awesome. We even had one family offer for us to just stay there over night because the rain was so bad and it was starting to get dark and the rivers had risen tons in the time that we had been working. But we declined the offer of course because its not allowed. So we started our journey back home. The rain just kept getting harder and harder. When it came time to cross back over the first river we all looked at each other and were like sooo who's going first? Haha Then they all pointed at me because I am the tallest. They said the tallest person goes first because if they don't make it we know the rest can't either. So I was like "fine...I will go" So I started the water quickly reached my knees then my waist and then my chest. I was really nervous because as I was doing that I remembered that Satan has power over the water. But then I remembered i'm a missionary and that I am being watched over. So no I didn't die. :) Then we continued hiking till we got to the second river. The second river wasn't as high but it was running super fast and strong. So I started across and I was trying to hold my backpack above the water so all my Book of Mormons and stuff wouldn't get wet. And then I tripped. In my effort to save the Book of Mormons, Backpack, and camera, I went for a little swim. And as I was trying to get my footing I lost one of my crocs :( I was super disappointed. But we all ended up making it across the river without any major injuries. After the river we continued our 4 mile journey back to the house. I had no choice but to do it with one croc (shoe) the rocks killed my feet though. All in all when it was all said and done I have ZERO regrets from that trip and we are planning to go back soon.

On Monday Elder Francisco and I did so Book of Mormon placing and tracting close to our house. We met a guy named Brother Nietes and his two twin boys named Rien Ford and Romeo. We taught them the first discussion and we felt really good about them. We gave them a Book of Mormon and told them to read it. On Thursday we went back to them to follow up and much to our surprise Brother Nietes had finished the Book of Mormon 100%. So we opened it up and it was all marked up with highlights, questions, and comments. So we taught the second lesson to all of them and extended a Baptismal Date. They all excepted to be baptized on July 25. After we were done Brother Nietes went and started talking to his neighbor who is hard core catholic. We over heard him bearing his testimony about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith to his neighbor. And he told his neighbor "Just read the book and you will know" And then he gave him his Book of Mormon. He was so prepared to receive the gospel before we started talking to him. He then asked for a Doctrine and Covenants so we gave it to him and went back on Sunday and he was half way done with it. He started throwing out words like Alpha Omega, Millennium, and other words. He barely speaks English but he was talking about those things like he was and institute teacher. This was such an awesome experience and testimony builder for me.

On Sunday we had one of our investigators come to church his name is Brent. He is 16 years old. After church he asked if he could work with us for the rest of the day. Of course we said yes. So we went and picked him up. It was just raining a little bit when we picked him up but then when we started working it started to down pour like crazy. I asked him if he wanted to stop and he said no way man! So we continued to work. We ended up teaching 8 lessons with him and every time he shared his testimony he had a huge smile on his face. We was so excited to just get in everyone's home and share what he knew. It really got me excited to teach as well. Because it was raining super bad after we finished one appointment we would run to the next home and just teach who ever would let us in. He can't wait to work with us again next Sunday. His baptism will be on July 25th. Missionary work is amazing! I love it!

Also this week I finally finished the Old Testament, and started the New Testament. Here in the mission we do this thing where we read the whole standard works in one year. Its kind of funny that the Old Testament takes half the year and that you can finish the New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price all in the same time it takes you to finish the Old Testament. Even though I still don't understand so much from the Old Testament I learned so much. And I can't wait to start again next year.

Well I think that is just about it for this past week. It was a great one and I hope it was just as great for y'all as well. Love and Miss you all so much. :)  

-- 

Elder Jake Frandsen

Philippines Iloilo Mission

Just Surviving Out Here in Bucasong - June 21, 2015 - Week 34

So yeah this has been an other awesome week here in Antique. We have a lot of new investigators. This week we tracted the whole beach front. There are so many people there. One of our new investigators name is Jousha, She is super interested. She told us she can't wait to be the next member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Also this week we have been doing tons of Less Active work. There are so many members here but tons of them are inactive because they can't afford to go to church. It makes our job kind of difficult because if I could I would give them money to go every week but it isn't allowed. We went to go teach one of our less actives this past week and they ended up teaching me. They brought up fasting. They asked me how many times iv'e gone to bed starving in my life I told them maybe once. They said they don't remember the last time they went to bed feeling full. They told me fasting here in Bugasong is completely different then fasting in America. She said we fast because we have no choice, we choose to fast instead of starve because there is no point in starving if they can fast. If they don't have food they will say a prayer and ask for Heavenly Father to prepare a way for them to have food. And then they start there fast. It really made it real how important it is to fast. I know now that through fasting and prayer we do receive blessings. 

It has been pretty much none stop rain here since I got here. So anytime I try and do laundry and hang up my clothes to dry well it doesn't work. Right when its about to dry it rains again. Haha. 

Bugasong is an awesome place with awesome people. I am super glad to be here serving and teaching them. I love the gospel I know its true. I know that only through this gospel can we live as families together for eternity. 

I love all you and have an awesome week! Miss you guys. 

-- 

Elder Jake Frandsen

Philippines Iloilo Mission

Another Awesome Week sa Antique - June 15, 2015 - Week 33

This week was a really productive week in Bugasong. Starting on Tuesday we had a zone training in San Jose. After that Elder Lafaele came to Bugasong and worked with me. I learned a lot from him. He is super hard working and the best part about working with him is he got me super motivated to work really hard in this area.

Also everyday this week we get up early and go play basketball in the morning which is super fun because we always meet new people to teach there. On Thursday, we came home from playing ball, and when we got to our apartment there were tons of broken beer battles and trash that someone threw at our apartment when we were gone. We aren't really sure why they did that but we are just glad we were being watched over and protected and that they came when we weren't there.

On Saturday we went to the bukid and well I slipped and fell in the water and got super muddy...my companion could not stop laughing at me. He will probably never let me forget that moment.

I really love the Elders in our apartment, especially my comp. He is super hard working and he knows how to have fun as we work. This week flew by super fast! 

On Sunday we had District Conference in San Jose which also happened to be an area broadcast from Salt lake City. Elder Neil L. Anderson gave an awesome talk on faith. Then after we went back to Bugasong to work with President Tandoy the Branch President. He is super shy and less active. When we got to his house he told us that he can't work with us but didn't give us any reason. So I was kind of being persistent and I didn't take no for an answer. After about 10 minutes of asking him I got really frustrated. I pulled out my scriptures and pretty much chastised him and told him Hey look you are the Branch President here in Bugasong! You need to start leading by EXAMPLE! If you don't work with the missionaries why should the other members?! How can you tell the other members to work with us if you don't even know what working with the missionaries is like. You have a DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY here in Bugasong. Its up to you how you want to use your AGENCY. Then we started to walk away and my comp looked at me like what the heck just happened. We turned around and President said wait...I will come with you. We ended up having a couple of really good lessons that day and I think it really strengthened President.

YES...THAT IS A PUFFER FISH! :-

-- 

Elder Jake Frandsen

Philippines Iloilo Mission

Welcome to the Jungle - June 8, 2015 - Week 32

This we has been an interesting one...

So this week was transfer day on Thursday. Yes, I was transferred. My new area is Bugasong, Antique. The area is on the other side of the island. My new area consists of jungle, mountains, beach, ocean, a monkey, and much much more. We are super far away from EVERYTHING. :) I am still the District leader here. We have 4 Elders in our apartment. My new companion is Elder Francisco. He is Filipino. He just finished his training just like my last companion. He is AWESOME! The missionaries that transferred out of this area were Elder Swanton (MTC Comp) and Elder Larson (my batch also). My area is mostly by the beach and mountains. Which is exactly what I wanted. :) This area is HUGE! 

Alright so here is the fun part. So on Friday Night my stomach started to hurt really bad so I called sister Aquino and asked her what to do. She told me go to the hospital in the morning. She thought it may be my appendix. So we got up early in the morning and went to San Jose to the hospital. After lots of tests. They figured out I got UTI (urinary tract infection). I think it was from the mass amounts of soda I drank in my first area. So they gave me some meds and just told me to eat healthier and drink more water. So don't worry everything is good now.

So yeah I'm super excited to work here in this new area. The church here is actually a Branch! With about 50 attendance every week. And an other plus about this area is no baptismal font...just the OCEAN :)

Well I will attach so pics so y'all can see some of the area. I love you all and Happy Summer to you all! Love you guys so much! :)

 Saying good bye to good friends in San Miguel

-- 

Elder Jake Frandsen

Philippines Iloilo Mission

Hi Everyone! - May 25,2015 - Week 30

Hey guys! Haha I can't help but laugh at the weather in Texas right now...this is actually good it makes it easy for me to explain the weather here, so take that rain and then add a little more and that's the daily normal here...haha the word for storm here in bagiuo. Its kind of weird because they use the same word if there is a Hurricane coming. So that means there isn't a huge difference between regular rain and a hurricane here.

Anyways so my week was pretty good we taught about 30 lessons this week. We taught Sister Theresa Guelos just about everyday this week. She is pretty much our mother here in San Miguel. Every time we go to here house she feeds us so much food. :) She is super sad that I will probably transfer next week because she will be on vacation in Hong Kong. She said we will have a huge feast before she leaves though. She is the first investigator in San Miguel...and she is still investigating. Its okay the main thing is that we don't give up on her. Even though sometimes its frustrating and stressful, I know that day when she walks into the waters of baptism the stress and frustration will turn into Joy and Happiness. 

This Sunday our attendance at church went a little down to 18. Everyone texted me right before the meeting started and said they can't come because it was to hot...I was super frustrated. Elder Lazo told me not to respond because he knew I would probably chastise them and maybe offend them. I was like what the heck! COME ON PEOPLE! THIS IS THE PHILIPPINES DUHHH ITS HOT! WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?! SO IF ITS HOT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE MORMON?! GET OVER YOURSELVES! I went on for probably 20 minutes. And then my companion chastised me...haha Sometimes the mission can be so frustrating. After you work hard all week just to try to get people to come to church and then they don't show up...Its okay I just have to remember that people have their agency.

So I am district leader right now...I have learned so much already from it. One of the responsibilities of the DL is to give a training to the district every week. Which means I get to prayerfully study on what to give a training on every week. I learn so much from studying for DM. Sometimes I feel like I get more out of it than the district does. 

So up to this point I have been praying and waiting for that point where I am comfortable with the language, comfortable with the lessons, with the people, the culture and everything. But this week in my studying for my talk to give in sacrament meeting I learned that that point will never come where I will be 100% comfortable with everything. So I am striving to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. If we are comfortable with everything here in this life there is no point in us being here. We are here on earth to learn and to grow spiritually and physically. I testify that everytime we are uncomfortable we need to endure and not give up. Our Heavenly Father gives us trials and tribulations to help us grow. If you do your best to endure through those things he will be there to help us. Just like when Peter was walking on water and right when he started to sink Jesus Christ was right there to help and lift him up. Don't back down! LEARN TO DO HARD THINGS! 

Well that's all for this week I love and miss you guys so much. Have an awesome week and I will do the same! :) 

-- 

Elder Jake Frandsen

Philippines Iloilo Mission