There were a few things that Peter brought back home from the Philippines that will hold fond memories of his mission for years to come. His worn out shoes had to be the best and worst things we have ever seen! In the mix of treasured items are:
missionary name tags, various money collected. swords from Capoocan, shells from Abuyog, personalized missionary tag key chain from President Martinez, ties worn religiously, Bibles in both Cebuano and Tagalog, traditional mission belts all the elders wore, various Cebuano Book of Mormons including an original edition, journals, Preach My Gospel used during the mission, various programs from Missionary Tours and Leadership conferences, customs form when entering the Philippines at the start of the mission, and shirts that had meaning during his mission. It was a highly spiritual weekend with Peter baptizing Madeline and then giving the most remarkable homecoming talk we have ever heard. It was powerful and genuine and truly heart felt. Lots of people came out to support Peter both during his talk and during his open house! Welcome home Peter!
There were many miracles that took place in order for Peter to get home safely. A huge tropical storm came into the Philippines region right as Peter was getting ready to head out of Tacloban and into Manilla. They were able to get on an earlier flight to Manilla and then their flight from Manilla left earlier to get around the storm before it hit Manilla. Their plane was diverted to Incheon, Korea to refuel before heading to LA. Needless to say, we were all a bit on edge for the day and half that he was traveling. It was reassuring to keep tabs on his AirTag and then flight tracker to see where he was. It was such a sweet reunion when he finally landed in Colorado Springs! LEAVING TACLOBANLEAVING MANILLAARRIVING IN THE USAHello Everyone, This email should have been sent a long time ago, but here it is. I just finished my mission to the Philippines and have been in the United States for about a month now. It was a very bitter sweet moment coming home. Of course, I gained a lot of amenities with my return, but I also had to say goodbye to many lifelong friends. I have reflected again and again on my mission experience, and I am glad for each of the many trials and experiences God has given me. There were many times on my mission, almost daily, that I wanted to give up and go home. However, I told myself before I left that I would never, for any reason, go home. Especially in my last area, there were many days when unbridled exhaustion and fatigue caused great pain for me both mentally and physically. My last two companions, however, taught me a great deal in being positive. I learned, even more, that I believe in a gospel of hope. A hope for things, as described by Moroni "not seen." (Ether 12:6) Coming home was a little scary at first, and it sure has been an adjustment, but as I have learned to better balance my time and spend time in the temple, it has given me a clearer image that Jesus Christ's atonement really is over all. The problems I faced in the Philippines were so different from the ones that I face now. Where in the Philippines it was a lot more staying alive and being dehydrated, America is a lot more deceitful in its trials. It is a lot easier for people to lose hope because the trials are not always obvious. It was quite a shock coming back to what felt like the real world after being so long in a rural area. There is so much going on and a lot of it doesn't seem very hopeful. However, as I have listened to the words of the prophets, I have that same feeling and clarity that I had on my mission. I feel the truthfulness of the gospel radiate throughout my soul. I gain a firmer testimony, even still, of the restoration and the work of God on the earth. On my mission, every day was a choice to have hope. There was one experience I had where my companion and I biked around 25 km into the mountains only to be rejected by the person saying their phone game was more pressing. That day we biked over 60km and had almost no appointments. It was so easy to get discouraged, but I learned that being discouraged and murmuring is a choice and being positive and hopeful is a choice. Being hopeful isn't a blissful ignorance of the realities of your situation, but a positive outlook and expectation that things can work out for your good and then working towards it. The gospel teaches us in Alma that we should "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good." (Alma 37:37) What an amazing promise. There were days, when we would lay down on the side of the highway and feel terrible. Spotty vision and sore legs almost took us over, but in those moments, we would always have two choices, be miserable and look to the worst, or choose joy and look to the best. Sometimes, I choose to be miserable and would complain. I would murmur about how terrible it was and how awful people often treated us. Throughout my mission, however, I found a better way. I choose to be positive, even if it was slightly forced, and it made all the difference. It improved my relationship with my companions and gave me greater success. It caused to me to have greater joy and gratitude for my blessings. I know that as we look forward to Christ’s coming, it will give us the capacity to have hope in the everyday parts of our lives. I know my redeemer lives and that Joseph Smith was His prophet. I know that the atonement of Christ is a reality, and as we come closer to Him by making covenants with Him, we will feel the strength of His atonement. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to serve because I gained a stronger knowledge of these things. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. (Written December 11, 2024) WEEK 91 & 92 - BONTOC TO ABUYOGWEEK 93 - ABUYOGWEEK 94 - ABUYOGWEEK 95 - ABUYOGWEEK 96 - ABUYOGWEEK 98 - ABUYOGWEEK 98 - ABUYOGWEEK 99 - ABUYOGWEEK 100 - ABUYOGWEEK 101- ABUYOGWEEK 102 - ABUYOG (LAST WEEK)Hello Everyone! Sorry I have not written an email since I first got to this area, and now, I am on my way out. It has been a rough 3 months here in Bontoc, but I got through it. Sadly, they decided to close our area and so I will whitewash another area in Leyte. I will be switching languages again back to Waray Waray. It is pretty exciting because this is probably going to be my last area. I go home in three months and so I will see you all pretty soon! The last few months have been a tremendous lesson in patience and perseverance. I have been living in a very crazy place. Sometimes it floods around our apartment, and we can't go outside. Despite these challenges, we kept trying and we saw miracles in the end. Due to the difficulty of the area, we had to be really creative on how we approached missionary work. On top of our normal missionary proselyting, we created a mini-MTC for the youth and tried visiting all the members on the member list. It seemed kind of fruitless at the time, but we have seen the fruits of it in the long run. I have never been so tried in patience and persistence, but in the end, we saw how much it affected the members and they all were very grateful for our efforts. We worked very hard, but it felt like the whole world was fighting against us. I have come to realize even more that it is not the large things that cause change but rather the small and simple acts. We put on big events to try and help others come unto Christ, but in the end it was only the weekly contacts and visits that really made a difference. It is also similar in our own lives that when we are unable to do the small daily tasks of repenting, Satan will slowly take hold of us. One of the reasons I struggled so much in the past few months was my inability to have quality scripture study and prayer. Even though I read the scriptures and pray every day, it wasn't quality. In the last few months every sort of problem came at me from physical obstacles like disease to mental stresses and terribly frustrating situations. The more tired we get, the harder it is to say meaningful prayer. The closer we get to the edge of our limit, the more tempting it is to put our arm in the hand of flesh, but those are the moments when it is imperative that we trust in God. In the bible there is a story of a certain widow of Zarephath. She had so little in a time of great famine. The prophet came to her in her time of great need and asked for a little bread. She, in response, said 12 “...As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. " Sometimes in our life we feel as though we only have enough bread for ourselves. The cruise of oil we have left is barely enough for the day, yet the Lord God will continue to ask for our sacrifice. It can seem unfair how much the Lord requires of us in our most dire moments, but this requirement is for our benefit. 13 “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first..” 14 “For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth...” 16 “And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.” The Lord multiplies our harvest as we put our trust in him. Just like the widow of Zarephath, we can see our small sacrifice multiply into a plenteous bounty. Our cruise of oil may seem to be wasting, but as we continuously put out trust in His commandments, it will never fail. I have seen how the Lord has multiplied my small sacrifice in Bontoc, and I know He will do the same for all of you. Of these things I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. WEEK 81 - BONTOCWEEK 82 - BONTOCWEEK 83 - BONTOCWEEKS 84 & 85 - BONTOCWEEK 86 - BONTOCWEEK 87 - BONTOCWEEK 88 - BONTOCWEEK 89 - BONTOCWEEK 90 . BONTOCHello Everyone! Sorry it has been quite a lot of time since I have written an email. The mission seems to get busier and busier and as a result, faster and faster. The last two months on Biliran Island were unbelievably hot. It reached over 90 degrees almost every day and it was truly punishing. We were doing our fair share of biking up mountains around the island, and it just about broke my body. Mountain biking in slacks was never meant to be done. Luckily, I had such an amazing companion who really helped me get through it. We had almost all of our progressing people stop meeting with us, but we were able to help many people come closer to Christ and feel His love. I have since been transferred out of Biliran and am now in Bontoc, Southern Leyte. We are whitewashing the area, which means that instead of the usual exchange of companions, we are both new to the area. We were dropped in nearly completely blind, and we were sent to our area without even knowing where our apartment is. With the help of the local members, however, we were able to find our apartment. It turned out to be this small little house at the end of a dirt road. Almost all of our neighbors live in bamboo houses. We really are in the middle of the jungle. The first few days in the new area were a little rough to say the least. The last missionaries seemed to have left like there was a natural disaster and the apartment was void of many essential things. As a result, we spent a good amount of time cleaning and buying supplies for our apartment. When we got to the apartment, there was only one fan. This is a problem since our house is a rectangular prism of concrete with a tin roof. Some may think this design resembles an archaic oven. That is a good observation because that's exactly what it is, but instead of cooking meat or bread, this one cooks people. The first two nights, it was like a broiler with one fan for two people. The second night was especially bad because the power went out for the whole village at 12:00 am and never turned back on that night. That was probably one of the hottest nights of my life. I laid on some plastic chairs in the doorway, hoping for a breeze, but all I got was a bunch of mosquito bites. Luckily, by the third day, I was exhausted enough to sleep despite the heat. Since then, we have repositioned some things in the apartment and bought a new fan. My body has now adjusted to the heat, and all is well. One of my biggest struggles in the last few months is to continue to have hope even when there doesn't seem to be any. It felt like at every turn, something would go wrong. Just when things looked like they were going to get better, they just got worse. I have since learned however, that we need to make the most out of our hard situations and bear our afflictions with patience. Many of the trials in the past few months have made me get fairly frustrated a few times, but I have realized that it never really helped the situation. While reading in the book of Alma, I came across a verse that really stuck out for me. In Alma 26:27 it states: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." This verse was a hard pill for me to swallow. Why was I expecting success when I was not bearing my trial in patience? The men, to which this comfort had been given, bore such unbelievable trials that were much more difficult than mine. They, however, continued to have hope. Not in themselves or the situation, but in God. This was part of His plan. They had the knowledge and faith that no matter what happens, even if it came unto death, God was looking out for them. We need to have an equal trust. Concerning this topic, this scripture rings out in my mind from the 122 Section of the Doctrine and Covenants: 8 “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He?” This was the word of the Lord to Joseph Smith while in Liberty jail. Those were some dire conditions, but it did not excuse him from losing hope in God's plan. The Savior descended into the dark pit of humanity's sins and sufferings yet remained true to His Father and had faith in His plan. He is the greatest of all and yet he suffered for even the least of us. If this is true then none of us should lose hope because He did not. This lesson has been a difficult one to learn for me, but I know that as I apply myself each day, I will eventually have a perfect hope. I know my Savior has born my burdens, and He gives me the strength to move forward. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. WEEK 73 - BILIRANWEEK 74 - BILIRANWEEK 75 - BILIRANWEEK 76 - BILIRANWEEK 77 & 78 - BILIRANWEEK 79 - BONTOCWEEK 80 - BONTOCHello everyone! I hope everyone has had a great week. This week was very busy, but I gained a lot of experiences that I won't forget.
I had the opportunity to go on exchanges to an area called Almeria. It is one of the most mountainous areas on the mission. Biking there was a challenge to say the least. I was with Elder Bunyi and we went to a ton of great appointments. They have a lot of people who are willing to hear the word of God. After getting back to my area, I was super exhausted, but we still got a lot done. Last week I had the amazing opportunity to witness the Lord's care and kindness towards me in my time of trial. Like I have forementioned, I was quite tuckered out after exchanges. This left biking in my area to be quite the challenge and I was in a less than an adequate mood. While biking up one of the steepest parts of my area, my chain not only popped off, but the spokes of my tire broke. This was the first miracle. It gave me an opportunity to laugh at myself, and to take a good break from biking. Knowing that I wouldn't have to bike up the hill and there was nothing I could do about it was quite the morale boost. After continuing to walk up the hill, another miracle occurred. We ran into a large group of members. They had been ministering to some of the people nearby and we just happened to be passing by. Seeing us in a little bit of a pickle, they helped us out. They told us to leave our bikes with them and they would take them back to our apartment. They helped me get the grease off my hands and told us to keep going. That day had been very difficult for me. I was very tired physically and mentally. In this time of extreme strife, God shewed forth his hand to remind me who I was serving. I don't think my night would have ended any differently if my bike didn't break, the work would have been accomplished all the same, but God saw fit to remind me of His love. I was reminded that there are many people, even those I don't know very well, looking out for me. I was reminded that God does not want us to push ourselves, or our bicycles, past the limit. I was reminded that I need to pace myself and have patience in my trial. Paul counseled the Corinthians to have charity, that it was one of, if not the most important attribute that we can carry. Paul gives us a definition of Charity. He states in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 that: 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth I would like to repeat the words of Paul. Charity never faileth. In our darkest moments, it is our charity that helps us feel the love of the gospel. It’s the attribute that helps us understand what the Savior feels for us, and why He atoned for us. In my trial of exhaustion and heat, God's charity did not fail. He cared for me and showed me that He did. He ran to my aid. He succored me in my weakness. I implore you to see the Lord's hand in your life. You are His sons and daughters. He will not forget you, for He is the one who has led you to this very world, and if you let Him, He will lead you somewhere better. I know that He loves me perfectly. That He bore all of my iniquities, believing in me, hoping that I would repent. He endured the unendurable. He is wonderful. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Hello Everyone! I'm so sorry it has been a long time since I have written an email. A lot has happened since I have last written. There has been a lot of changes to where I am and what I am doing. At the current moment I am assigned to the island of Biliran. I have since become the zone leader of Biliran and am in charge of all the missionaries on the island. This is one of the smallest islands in my mission and it is also known to be the most rural. I am currently in Naval and have switched back languages to Bisaya. However, this island is known as the Tower of Babel by the missionaries, and the language will often switch with every person you talk to. This has allowed me to continue speaking Waray-waray. What an amazing blessing. Last week I had the opportunity to do exchanges on another part of the island. In some parts of the island, they sell fish and other goods on motorcycles that tour around the neighborhood. It is very similar to an ice cream truck, but instead of a fun song, they have horns made out of conk shells. Every morning you will hear the conk shells announcing the presence of all the merchants, and everyone will go outside to buy their morning fish. For a district activity we went to a place called Ulan Ulan falls. We rented a small tricycle to take us, but it couldn't fit all of us so me and another Elder ended up having to jog a good way up the mountain before being picked up again. It was super fun, and the view of the waterfall was definitely worth it, but it was exhausting. That was the first time I had run in a while, and I can conclusively say that I am not in shape. It was hard for me to realize that I was not in shape until I had started running. I hike and bike across mountains on this island every single day, but it wasn't until I started running that I could tell how out of shape I was. Sometimes the Lord will send an activity our way that can test our spiritual fitness. Like our bodies, our spirits need to exercise and sometimes a trial will make us realize just how spiritually unfit we are. These trials are not meant to punish us, but to help us remember the God who gave us life. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites followed the word of God, but God also promised to them that if they began falling away, he would send their neighboring nation, the Lamonites, to "stir them up in remembrance" In 2 Nephi 5: 25 it states: "And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction." This a wonderful blessing of God that shows his long suffering and love towards his children. Sometimes we are doing what we think we need to be doing, but our perceptions of ourselves don't always match up with the Lord. Sometimes we may be exercising, but it may not necessarily be helping us get in shape. We can become lazy, slothful, and ignorant of our true situation while simultaneously becoming prideful in our fitness. Without a more eternal perspective, how will we ever grow? This is where the Lord will come and help us realize the truth of where we are. In Hebrews 12: 6 it says, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth..." As we realize that our trials are not meant to put us down, but to realign us, we will be more willing to accept the growth that can come from them. These constant reminders are one of the many tender mercies of the Lord. He loves us enough to hurt us, to redirect us, to remind us. There is no greater love than His. He doesn't just want us to be who we are now; He wants us to be better. He wants us to become alike to His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only way that we can achieve that growth. His atonement is what makes it possible. I say these things in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen. WEEK 64 - CAPOOCANWEEK 65 - CAPOOCANWEEK 66WEEK 67 - CAPOOCANWEEK 67 - BILIRANWEEK 68 - BILIRANWEEK 69 - BILIRANWEEK 70 - BILIRANWEEK 71 - BILIRANHello Everyone! Sorry this email has been a long time coming. The past few weeks and months have been filled with a tremendous number of adventures, both joyful and sorrowful. We have been so busy that we have had to resort to the wildest of shenanigans to keep the work going. Instead of fixing a leak in our aircon, we made a device to catch the water. When our power went completely out, we used our stove fire to heat the iron to unwrinkle our shirts. The amazing cuisine that has kept us alive, is almost entirely made out of hot dogs and eggs. At the current moment, My companion and I have two families that have a goal date for their baptism. We have been hard at work in an attempt to help them prepare for the covenant they will make. In the meantime, we have found a plethora of new people, each with their own unique set of circumstances and problems. I have come to recognize how harsh the world really is when looked at through the secular view. I have seen so much suffering here. Broken homes, abandoned children, and the rampant spread of poverty always accompany the day’s work. In the Book of Mormon, we read of a dream had by the prophet Lehi. In his dream, he saw a road that leads to the Tree of Life and many diverse roads leading to death and destruction. The only way to make to the tree without falling away is to the hold to a rod of iron which extends itself from the world to the tree. Lehi describes two types of people that make it to the tree. Those who "cling" to the rod and those who "hold fast". Those who hold fast, stay at the tree forever, but those who cling, fall away. In the English language, these two groups of people may seem to be doing the same thing, but after careful pondering, I do not think that they are anymore. When I use the word cling, it almost always accompanies the underlying theme of fear. The phrase, clinging on for dear life, is a great example. However, the phrase, holding fast, shows something different. It shows consistent strength followed by determination. The scriptures tell us that the iron rod is the Word of God. When we put our hand on the iron rod, we have two choices. We can look directly at the tree, or we can focus on the fallen world around us. The iron rod won't change, but our perspective can. Those who focus on the disharmony of our world will cling. They will see the suffering, pain, and affliction caused by our mortal condition. Despite the rod, they will fear. However, those who focus their eyes on the tree of life, have no reason to fear. They understand the horrors of the world, but they know that there is hope. In the Bible we read the story of Peter walking on water. At first, Peter successfully walks on the sea, but what causes him to sink? To quote Matthew 14: 30 - 31 "30.But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; He was focusing on the fear rather than the hope. What saved him? "and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Focusing his eyes back on his Savior and calling out for help, he was saved. In our lives, it is easy to see the winds and waves, but in those moments, we forget about the figure out on the water. We forget the very tree we are walking to. Despite all of the terrible things I have seen, I have never seen a day without the tender mercies of the Lord raining down from heaven. I have seen how much love and care He has for even the poorest of his children. I have a firm witness, that focusing on the Savior in our trials prepares us to face our own storms, because we know, that in the midst of them, is our Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Elder Wilhelm WEEK 60 - CAPOOCAN ON SPLITSWEEK 61 - CAPOOCAN WITH ELDER WAGANWEWEEK 62 & 63- CAPOOCAN WITH ELDER WAGANHello everyone, A lot of crazy things have happened in the past few weeks. The work has progressed a lot, but it has not been without its setbacks. We had two families accept the invitation to be baptized, however we have had many reject this gospel this Christmas season. A few weeks ago, Elder Bosley and I hiked into the mountains in order to teach a progressing family. After some time of trucking through the mud, we finally arrived at the mountain abode. The family was excited to see us, and we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. They accepted the message and the invitation we bore, but as we began to pack up our things to leave, we noticed something unfortunate. All of the small dogs that had been running around our feet were covered in hundreds upon hundreds of lice. On the way down the mountain, I confirmed that it had indeed spread to us, and we hurried our way back to our apartment. The better part of two hours was spent in an attempt to save our hair. I am glad to report that it was successful. Another unfortunate happening of the past few weeks was the emergency transfer of my companion. It was 9:45 on a Monday night when we received a surprise call from the office. They informed us that my companion would transfer early the next morning. Without almost any warning, we spent the next 4 hours preparing for his departure. The next day, we traveled to Tacloban, and I received my new companion. Due to the transfer, I have become the new district leader for the largest district in my mission. Though I was prospected to transfer this cycle, it seems like my adventures in Capoocan are not yet over. Sometimes, it seems that I keep getting curve balls after curve balls on the mission. A cycle has not gone by when I haven't been afflicted with a strange new disease or ailment. From never ending diarrhea to heat exhaustion and athletes foot to projectile vomiting, sometimes it feels like there is always one more thing. But despite the consistency of the unexpectability, life goes on. I have learned a lot in the field of patience and "to come what may and love it." A while ago, Elder Joseph B Wirthlin gave a talk in regard to the uncontrollable lives in which we live. He recounted the advice his mother had given him when he had been young. This was to "come what may and love it." You can't always see the sharp turn ahead but the ability to be composed despite the sudden shifts in life will always result in a better outcome. Early on in my mission, the smallest things used to get on my nerves. My constant murmuring and complaining never helped the problem and often resulted in a lower morale for everyone. For the longest time I used to see the misfortunes of life as nothing more than an inconvenience that should never have existed in the first place. Little did I realize that these inconveniences were the plan for happiness. Our Heavenly Father never intended us to come into life comfortable and have it stay that way. He wanted us to experience discomfort. The Lord himself, Jesus Christ, was born in a manger and experienced all sorts of pains and afflictions in his childhood. Despite the conditions however, he "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Luke 2:52 I hope that we can come to love the lives that we have been given despite the circumstances. I know that they are given to us so we can increase in wisdom and love of God as well. Through the Savior, Jesus Christ, we can be succored in our afflictions and feel the strength of Lord in our sorrows. He is the bread of life and our salvation. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. WEEKS 55-57WEEK 58WEEK 59 |
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