Week 52 ~ 1 Year Down, 1 to Go! 1 Year in the Mission!!

Hello party people, Kumusta po kayong lahat? I just hit 1 year in my mission, and after watching all my friends hit one year, I've finally got here, kaya masaya na ako.

I'd like to share with you all the things that I've learned while being here in the Philippines. To give a little context, I'll be writing about my experiences and what I've learned from my 4 areas so far. To give also some context about the Philippines I would like to share some history so you can better understand the culture and area.

The Philippines is an oceanic water locked country in the pacific south, made up of over 2,000 islands. The first recorded people here in the Philippines were Chinese sailors and fishermen, but over time they integrated themselves into the local population. The Philippines has over 300 languages and dialects, in my area alone, I've seen about 7 different languages spoken. Tagalog is a dialect as well, and Filipino is the national language. Three different countries have conquered the Philippines. First the Spanish for 333 years, then Japan, and finally America. You can really tell the influence of these 3 countries in the culture. In a way, It's almost as if the Philippines is a melting pot of Spanish, Asian and American culture. The language I speak (Tagalog) is an austerniese language and is derived from an oceanic background, with spanish and english words ingrained into it.

Alright now let's get into the areas and what i learned:

 

MTC:

My MTC experience was a little different, because I was in 2 different MTCs: Provo for 7 weeks and Manila for 3.5 weeks. I learned so much about what the Spirit feels like, how your soul can truly feel at peace when surrounded by the gospel of Jesus Christ. I also learned about the apostolic power, when Elder Gary E. Steveson knew that elder's name and location, and helped him become an obedient missionary. In Manila I learned a lot about enduring, because it was really hard there to be honest. A seventeen hour plane flight and 6,000 miles away from my family was hard, and the heat combined with the jet lag killed me at the start. However, I had lots of fun and learned that I can do hard things.

Guinobatan:

This was my first go at things, and I was eager to get out there and share the gospel. I was really excited until I realized that the Tagalog I learned was still in the development phase, and nobody could understand me and I could not understand anybody either. I also learned that most of the people here don't even speak Tagalog, they speak bikol, so I had to adjust and learn how to understand people through the Spirit. I might not understand what they said to me, but the Spirit guided my words and thoughts as I tried my best to explain the doctrine of Jesus Christ. I learned to trust the Spirit, and not lean on my own understanding of things. I also learned from the people about being humble and saw how caring and giving they are. They would give us food before they fed their family. The Filipino people really excel at emulating the example of the Good Samaritan. ''When I was naked, Ye clothed me.'' They really embody everything it means to love one another as Jesus loved you. 

Daraga: 

I learned here how to face opposition, because the people here were not as kind as Guinobatan. I got rejected so many times here, and often I was upset because I was assigned to a ''hard area''. Another area in my mission had just baptized 30 people, yet I was stuck in a place nobody wanted to hear the gospel. I feel like I got a taste of what it's like to serve a mission in a place like America or Europe. So shout out to you all that served there, Y'all are troopers, talaga. Anyway i really wanted to transfer but God had other plans and kept me there for 4.5 months or 3 cycles. To be honest, I'm happy about it because now, ''I fear no man'' as a famous missionary would say. Now when I go finding I'm not scared to get rejected, or to face hardship, because I know that Jesus is with me. That's what I learned in Daraga, no matter how many times I get rejected, I have to keep getting up and eventually the Lord entrusted us with 2 of his children to baptise. Also shoutout to the Millare family, they really helped me be happy at a really hard time in my mission!!

Pio Duran:

Opposite vibe from Daraga, Cause the people in Daraga had nice houses for the most part, and lived in a city. In Pio Duran it was wood huts and mud floors, no power or water, just pure jungle. Which I learned a lot from, because almost every house we knocked we got let in. The people were so kind and humble and loving. They would offer to feed us what little they had, and they were so grateful for everything. I also started being able to speak more Tagalog here, so I could connect with the people much better. I learned that joy comes from family, not from money or achievements. All these people had nothing and yet they had everything. Always smiling, no matter how hard it gets. That's what the Lord wanted me to learn there, to smile through the pain, and to treat others with love and compassion no matter what state my life is in.

San Andres, Cantanduanes

Alright if you've read all of this, you're truly a G, However I've learned a lot from being on the island. I learned first how to cook here, because there are no restaurants here. There is literally just a market and that is it. I've also learned a lot of patience with myself and companions, Because I trained and it was a little difficult, but I really love my trainee and I heard he is doing well now in his next area. I really was under a lot of stress because God has entrusted us with so much potential in this area. Yesterday 2 more of our friends passed the baptismal interview, so we will have a baptism this Saturday. But I learned how to be a good senior companion, and how to lead areas and discussions. It's a little hard because by no means is my tagalog close to fluent, but it's good enough for the Lord to work through me and the people to understand. 

I'd like to testify that this is the Lord's work, that he leads me every single day and every single step outside of the apartment. I've struggled, fallen down, failed, and yet I can say that I know Jesus Christ is proud of me, and proud of you. I bear my witness that the Book of Mormon changes people's lives, it changed mine. I'd like to share a scripture verse I came across in my personal study.

This is when the apostle Paul was sick and having a hard time, but he found the beauty in it. 

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

 

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong''.

"For when I am weak, then am I strong". I feel those words so much in my mission. I'm bad at learning math, and Tagalog is pretty much a big math formula. I didn't like to approach people and talk to them. I didn't like being the only person that spoke English. I didn't like sharing the gospel out of fear of being rejected. I didn't like to study the scriptures. I didn't like to wake up at 6:30 am every single day. I didn't like the cold water that I poured from a bucket on my body to shower. 

You get the point. It was really, really a lot of things that are my weakness that I'm forced to do on my mission everyday. It's really hard . However, the most important and biggest thing I learned in my 1 year so far of my mission is:  ''When I am weak, then am I strong''.

Sometimes I wish my mission was easier, that the language was English, that I had warm water, that every house we went to had AC, that it wasn't so hot outside. That everybody wants to hear and be baptized. However, like Paul had explained, the Lord gives us these challenges for us to grow. Like Ether 12:27.

Sorry for the long email pero iyan lang!!! I hope you all had a fantastic week and are doing well. 

Elder Spackman​