Mahupat Na Gabi!!! Hey everyone! It’s been a crazy week full of so many good and bad moments. It’s been raining again, a lot, and so I've accepted the fact that I will spend most of the mission completely soaked. Even though the days are often hard, I have found so much joy here. The language is slowly getting better but it is still the most confusing thing ever created. An Elder brought up a very important point to me this week that I think is imperative that I share. He described how it’s hard to be a baby because when your back is itchy and you cry for help, everyone will just think you’re hungry. Can you imagine that you had an insatiable itch on your back and instead of helping you someone just shoved food down your throat? What a terrible thought. How awful it must be to exist as a baby. Also, my area just got bikes but so far that has been a double-edged sword. Before getting bikes, we would spend a third to a half of our funds on travel alone. To say the least, we save a good amount of money now. It is, however, a little sketchy when riding the bikes through the jungle or on the roads. Most nights when we bike back to our apartment it is pouring rain and so we get absolutely soaked. It's pretty precarious because we're biking on a highway with very little visibility, but it's always fun, nonetheless. I'm wearing a helmet so I should be fine... hopefully. This week I had a thought when I was riding through the jungle at night. Elder Ramos, my trainer, always takes the lead because he has the light. It’s not a very bright and so only the path directly around his bike is illuminated. I have found that it's essential that I focus on that small light. If I attempt to look right in front of my bike or too far ahead, I will probably fall or run into a tree. The jungle is nearly pitch black through most of the forest and so his light is the only way I am able to see. This is very alike to times in our life when the decisions we have made become hard. All around us is a pitch-black darkness and you can't even see where to turn. However, there is a light barely ahead of us. It leads us on through the darkness, guiding us in our choices no matter the terrain. We may not always understand why it’s turning, slowing down, or speeding up, but as we follow it, we will gain a testimony that it will not lead us astray. This leader is Jesus Christ and the light around him is his truth. Ether 4:12 says "I am the same that leadeth men to all good... I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world." As we follow Christ and his light, we will be led to make the right decisions. As I've strived to center my life on Christ, I've made so many better decisions, and when I make mistakes, I know I can always find my way back. I know he only leadeth men to do good and through him we will find the truth in all things. Again, thank you all for your emails I hope you have a great week. Hinay!!!!! Elder Wilhelm Praying Mantis on a flower Soaking wet after biking home (My helmet kept my hair dry) Kids playing on the beach Jungle at Night (very serious so we don't get scared of the dark) A member showed us their mission yearbook and I found John Bytheway in there!
Mahupay Nagabi everyone! It's been a crazy two weeks to say the least. We have spent most of our days indoors due to the intense rain we get here. It poured for basically two weeks straight and there was a lot of flooding and landslides, so we were required to stay indoors. There were a few days, however, that we were able to go out and proselyte and those were amazing! We've been preparing a lot of kids from part member families for baptism, and they are always so much fun to be around! They are so full of the spirit and have so many wonderful questions. They are truly examples to me on how to be a better student. The language is truly a beast to say the least. The Waray spoken here really is not a full language and people mix Tagalog, Cebuano, or Bicol sentence structure or words into their speech which makes it very hard to understand. The kids are truly the best teachers because they speak in simple sentences and act out what they mean when you don't understand. I have probably learned more from them than they have from me. I have 100% seen the gift of tongues in my life and I know with an assurity that I could not learn this language on my own and so I know every step I make to fluency is truly by the grace of God. This past week I was watching a chess game and one of the players talked about how each piece has a function and should be used to support the other pieces. I'm not very good at chess but from what he described, it is crucial that all of your pieces should be in positions where they are supported by other pieces. If you want to make a more advanced play it is crucial that you have a strong base and foundation rooted in your network of troops. If you don't, the enemy can easily take advantage of you and punish you for your overzealous behavior. I think this is a lot like our lives in the spiritual sense. We are to learn "line upon line, precept upon precept" even as the Lord, Jesus Christ, "continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness"(D&C 93). As we lay out these precepts that we have learned, it may prove difficult to create a connection between them in order to lay out a strong network. That is, without Christ. In chess, the queen is the best support piece because it can move in all directions and support pieces across the board. Similarly, Jesus Christ is the best way to find support in the gospel because through him, all principles across the board are connected and supported. In your scripture study I encourage all of you to ponder how the principles we learn are not tangentially, but directly related to Christ. If we center our tactic on any other piece or principle, the enemy will overtake us. Helaman 5:12 says "because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." There is a lot of complicated things in the gospel that I do not fully understand, but when I remember where my testimony should be centered, it powers me through my trials of faith. I know that the same principle applies to all of you. I really love getting all of your emails and I look forward to receiving them this week! Kita kites hinai kamp!!! Love, Elder Wilhelm WEEK 9WEEK 10My mission from above The amazing kids I talk about
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone! Sorry I didn't write last week I got very busy, a lot had happened in such a short time. The past two weeks have been pretty rough. I got fairly sick last week and adjusting to the Philippines has definitely been interesting, but by relying on the Savior and trying my best to improve I have found a lot of joy here. Most of the mission was able to attend a Christmas conference in Tacloban City and it was a blast! I was able to meet a ton of other missionaries, play basketball, and feel the spirit. Its always fun to go up to the big city because we get to buy things we usually can't get. After the conference I went on exchange with Elder Andrada down to Abuyog! Its a beautiful area and was a nice change of pace. It's a biking area and is made up of around 76 Borangay which is a whole lot (Borangay loosely translates to developments... kinda). To put it in perspective, the area I'm in only has two. Elder Andrada taught me to cook a whole bunch of food, we fought off a scorpion, went running on the beach, but the best part was the people there. They were so forgiving with my terrible Waray and I learned so much from them in such a short amount of time. Life is definitely different and challenging over here. Sometimes with the environment but also sometimes with my companion and other missionaries. I love what Paul wrote in Corinthians 13. It says that it is not just about being long suffering in your trials but enduring them well. It is necessary that you endure all things with charity in your heart lest they profiteth you nothing. The mission is definitely teaching me how to not only endure hard things but endure them happily and cheerfully. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of such an act. He submitted to the Father's will and drank from the cup of bitterness with a heart full of love for those he was about to save. By relying on His example and His atonement we too can find joy in our trials and the people around us. I know this to be true because I have experienced it here. Thank you all for the emails, it really means a lot to me! I'll see you all next week. Hinay, ngan kita kites! Elder Wilhelm CHRISTMAS ZONE CONFERENCE IN TACLOBANSPLITS IN ABUYOGMahupay Naaga!
This is week has been a wild ride to say the least. I finally got into the field and its definitely difficult but also sprinkled with the tender mercies of the Lord. My first zone is in Tolosa which is just south of the main city of Tacloban. There's not much on the main street and most of the town lives in the jungle. It’s been very interesting proselyting under coconut trees and banana leaves, but I think I'm getting used to it. My trainer is Elder Ramos, and he is super nice! He's helping me learn the language and get adjusted to missionary life. Its definitely been difficult but anyone whose gone on a foreign mission, especially Asia, knows that your body needs a few weeks to... adjust. Other than a few hiccups though, I have been trucking along trying to learn the language. Waray Waray is truly a different language than Cebuano, so it has taken a lot of effort to try and get off the ground in the language. Living out in the jungle is definitely a different experience than I'm used to. We don't have AC, but we have a couple fans which are really nice to come back to after a long day. We often come across oddities in the bush though. Like today for example we woke up to find a severed gecko head on our doormat. Very strange but I guess that’s just the Philippines. This week I also got the opportunity to baptize someone! Brother Charles has been taking lessons from the missionaries for about a month and decided to get baptized last week. My trainer asked if I could do it and he agreed! During the baptism he couldn't stop smiling, although he was nervous. He's a bright soul who has a love for the gospel. Even though we don't speak the same language, his attitude, and the composition of his character shine through. I'm excited to keep meeting with him as the weeks continue. I'm sorry if this email is a little all over the place but I'll talk to you all next week! Kita kites! Elder Wilhelm Hey Guys! The last week in the Provo MTC was good. We spent one day learning Waray. I wish we would've spent more time learning that language. I got a package from my mom with several mini loaves of poppyseed bread. Everyone loved the poppy seed bread. Maybe a little too much. There were some Elders close to tears (not joking). I also got a haircut from one of the other Elders which was awesome because there were no openings at the MTC barber. Everyone in our district was excited to finally be leaving for the Philippines. I finally made it to Manilla. 30 of us missionaries arrived at around 1:00am to the Manila MTC after lots of shenanigans. The customs line in Seoul was really long and then we had to grab our bags and go through security again. That line was even longer. Our district was mostly together and after the last of us made it through security we realized that the sisters were nowhere to be found. We searched the airport but then had to haul over to our gate, so we didn't miss our flight. I was the last one on the plane. There were 10 Elders and Sisters that didn't make it on the flight because they had standby tickets. They were put on a different flight but missed that flight since it was on the other side of the airport. Almost everyone lost their bags by the time they made it to Manilla. However, the two Cebuano Districts (including my district) have been blessed with everyone making it and with all our luggage (for now). It was a super long flight, but I don't really have jetlag at all. I guess my body has adapted from all the traveling as a kid. This week in the Manilla MTC was pretty crazy. There was lots of language learning and some more shenanigans. The food was pretty great. Everyone loved the waffles. On our first full day we got paired up with a missionary already serving in Manilla and we got to go out tracking in the town. That was awesome. We didn't get a change to go and do a session in the Manilla temple, but we did get to go and tour the grounds one of the last nights we were there. The next time I write I will be in Tacloban! Love you all and amping kita kites! Elder Wilhelm P.S. The food slaps here Provo MTCManilla MTCKamusta Mo!
This week I finally got my flight information! It was a little nerve wracking going throughout this week because we had to wait to see if we were being let into the country. When everyone in our district was, it was a huge sigh of relief. Other than that update, most of this week has been the same. I've learned a whole lot more Bisaya and this Saturday I finally get to learn some Waray! My favorite phrase I learned this week was Way Saps Basta Gwaps which is slang for No problem if you're handsome. It doesn't really translate fully but that is the jist. I was able to teach a mock lesson to my teacher this week and actually understand what they were saying and respond in a semi-intelligible fashion. I feel like I'm finally starting to understand the general flow of this language. I hope I get to use it in the Philippines but it is still a stark if. This week I had the privilege of listening to Elder Morrison, a general authority from Ghana, Africa. He talked about the 4 C's of how to have a good mission. They are: don't complain, don't compare, don't compete, and don't criticize. I thought this was some very strong advice for me. During the MTC there have been times when I heavily disagree with my companion or have gotten angry with him. Sometimes it seems that God has put him in my life as the perfect way to test my patience. When I changed my perspective from being critical of my companion to looking at him through the eyes of Christ, my feelings about the situation changed. My prayers changed from asking God to give me strength to get through my trial to thanking him for putting me in a situation that not only allows me to grow, but allows me to help my companion as well. Since I've changed my outlook, the times I get frustrated with my companion have lessened and the joy and relationship that we share together have increased exponentially. I would implore all of you to look for the gift of trials in your life as a way to improve rather than an endurance challenge purely meant to test your faith. Ether 12:27 states "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." I know that Heavenly Father puts trials in our life so that we can become strong, and that if we compel ourselves to be humble in our trials and focus on our own growth, we can reach heights known only to our Lord. Nasayud ko nga nahigugma ang Dios sa ato ug nagpadala Siya Iyang Anak-Lalaki para sa amo. Thank you all for emailing me! I love reading your emails and seeing how everyone is doing! Till next time! Amping, Kita Kits!!! Elder Wilhelm Happy Thanksgiving!
This week was fairly exciting, although more of the same. Since last week most of our time was spent in class learning more of the Bisayan language. Our teachers are absolutely amazing, but learning one specific thing for all hours of the day can become monotonous. I was able to join the choir as a bass and we performed at two devotionals where general authorities spoke. On Tuesday we got to listen to Elder Yamashita! He was a super enthusiastic speaker and he spent most of his talk walking throughout the audience. He was giving out candy to all those who answered his various questions. His talk centered around spending time with the members and getting to know them personally. The second devotional was Elder Quinton L. Cook! It was so exciting to hear a member of the twelve apostles speak! You could feel the spirit change as soon as he entered the room. He spoke on the 4 loves of missionary work. 1. Love your companion 2. Love the people 3. Love your mission president and his wife 4. Love the Lord. He discussed how doing the first three can show the Lord that you love him. The power that he spoke with was amazing and his testimony was truly inspiring. His wife also spoke about the hymns and how multiple use the same meter, 777D, and that you could swap words in different hymns to create something new. We sang the lyrics of "Come, ye thankful people" to the melody of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and it was really fun. I would recommend trying it out if you haven't. The rest of thanksgiving was also a blast. They served us a thanksgiving lunch and then we got to work doing service! We helped package hundreds of thousands of food packages for an organization called Hunger Fight. They were all super nice and it was a really fun experience. At night we had a surprise devotional and none other than Jon Schmidt showed up!!! It was such an awesome surprise and hearing his testimony along with his piano skills was really uplifting. When we left the building from that devotional they had put up all of the Christmas lights and let us wander through campus looking at the lights. It was probably one of the more fun thanksgivings I've had. I hope you all are doing well and I hope to hear from some of you soon! Kita-kits Amping! Elder Peter Wilhelm Hello Everyone!
The first week of the MTC is over and I am very excited to be one week closer to the Philippines. Missionary life has been extraordinarily interesting and at times hilarious. My district is truly full of hooligans (me included), and we have already had an endless supply of mission shenanigans. While most of our time is spent in the classroom learning Cebuano or native Bisaya, we have also read a good portion of the scriptures. The Bisayan scriptures are extremely hard to read. It doesn't use the language most people speak in the Philippines and uses a lalom or deep/older dialect that disobeys a lot of the conventional grammar of Cebuano. Learning Cebuano has been an experience to say the least. The words are abnormally long but whenever our district talks to each other it is truly a spectacle. Among our favorite phrases is Makagagahom Kaayo ka! It simply means You are powerful, but we constantly use it to describe our statements when studying the scriptures. Learning this language can be quite discouraging at times though. A multiplicity of teachers have told me and my companion that we will not end up using this language and it is simply the closest thing to Wa'ay Wa'ay (The language we will be speaking) that they have. It is already abnormally difficult to pick out words and phrases from native speakers when I have trained in the language, but with almost no language training it is going to be a true challenge. I have faith, however, that the Savior will provide a way for me and my companion to learn the language. Learning about the spiritual gifts that are available to us as we follow the covenants we make has helped me have confidence that the Lord is on my side. My companion is truly hilarious. He's about as tall as Mt.Timpanogos and the phrases he uses are truly riveting. Among my favorite are Aww man (in response to nearly everything), thats tough, geemani Christmas, and a variety of others. Because none of us have access to the internet on our phones, most of my district has elected me as the surrogate google. They simply say Elder Wilhelm and ask a question and I have to answer it to the best of my abilities. Being a makeshift siri has helped me have empathy for the poor alexa robot who has to answer dumb questions all day. It's truly been a blast the past week and I hope to from some of you this week! Until then Daghang Salamat ug Amping! Elder Peter Wilhelm |