Elder Logan Spackman ~ Philippines Legazpi Mission

I think I failed to mention this in my previous emails, but we have something working against us here in the island. The thing that is working against us is the graveyard. Here is why: Here in San Andreas, When you die it is very expensive to buy a coffin, and be buried. Now it is impossibly expensive if you aren't Catholic here. The catholic church has an exclusive graveyard here for the catholic only, so when we teach people here, they are interested in listening but they don't want to join because then they have nowhere to be buried when they die.  So that has been a challenge that we have been encountering lately but other than that buhay pa ako (I'm still alive). Another one: We set another PBD for one of our friends, and he was not really excited at first to accept but once the president promised him a pair of shoes he was ready. He is the only non-member of his siblings, and he is 9 years old.  Iyan lang everyone, I hope y'all had a good week, Mahal ko kayong lah...

My companion kinda got Dear Johned so everyone pray for him hahaha. But not really that serious or that's at least what he tells me so don't worry he straight  Miracles this week: We set a 3 PBD's for a part family here which was definitely a W, Cause it's been kinda hard since I've been sent here, and this success is definitely motivating me. So everyone pray for them, cause we need prayers fr. Here the church isn't really established and the people here are really devoted catholics so they don't really like us either. But there are always some that will open their hearts to us to hear our message.  Have a great week, Elder Spackman

So what happened was we were sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tricey because my companion had lost his name tag. All the sudden this dude on a motorcycle pulls up and says to us ''Mormon kayo di ba'' (You are mormons, right?) and we are like no, that's just a nickname people have given us, but we are really missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. Then he says to us, ''you know, I'm the chief of education in 9 villages'' and by this time, my companion had already picked up on his scam, but I was clueless cause there is nothing like this in America. My companion smartly asks him, ''Do you know Sam Barlow'' and the guy responds ''yes of course''. Now the funny part about that is ''Sam Barlow'' is the name of my companion's first trainer, so this guy was just lying to us pretty much. Then my companion embarrassed him and said ''Hey since you're so we...

Well to cut to the chase again, I got bit by a dog in the mountains. It wasn't my fault, he just ran up and was playing and bit me, haha. But I had to wait 5 days to get a rabies shot because there were no available shots. I got 2 injections in my arms and have to get 8 more. The nurse kindly enlightened me that if the dog dies within 14 days I'm cooked and got rabies . Pray for me FR!  But anyway this week was a good week. We had zone conference on a different island (Luzon) so we had to take a boat to get there. The rain was so strong cause there is a small typhoon down here right now and I definitely got a little seasick. Luckily, they were playing Shanghi Noon, a Jackie Chan film so my spirits were lifted. Zone con was good, the main takeaway that I got from it was we need to focus  on helping our friends more, and not giving up on them.  The work this week has been lots of teaching the Restoration of the Gospel, since we were gone all week there really hasn't be...

The bathroom door is completely broken. I was taking my morning shower like usual. The water was cold, I was shivering, struggling to pour the water on myself, just an average filipino shower. Then I go to open our bathroom door and it is jammed shut. Usually on a normal door, this wouldn't be an issue, but on this particular door, there is no handle on the inside. So here I am, freezing, towel on and stuck in the bathroom. I start screaming for my companion, but he is outside hanging up his laundry. I was completely trapped, freezing, cold and alone. Luckily I figured out that if I jam my fingers at the bottom of the door and pull I could open it. With much effort and trial, I did it. I then asked the landlord if she could fix the door and she looked at me like I was crazy. ''Nobody on this island can fix that door,'' she said. So, for now, every time we shower, we have to jam our fingers at the bottom of the door and hope it opens. Anyway, hello family and friends...

So this week has been a lot of craziness, because getting transferred to an island is just a crazy experience all around. Then, training a new missionary on top of that is also crazy, too. But let's hop into the week!! Leaving Pio Duran (My last area): I was very sad to leave Pio Duran, because I love the members there and the friends that we had. Our last day was certainly a sad one, and I was holding back tears until we got to the apartment. But I'm very grateful for my time there and for my companion Elder Pedegloria. I'm going to miss that Elder for sure! Traveling: The travel was soooooo long. Three hours to Daraga (with all my stuff), then one hour to Legazpi, two hours to Tobacco, then a three hour boat ride to Catanduanes island. Having to carry everything I own on small jeepneys and buses will be something that I will definitely never forget. The Work and island: This is probably one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been; it is so green and nice here. ...

 Hello everybody. I hope that you all are doing so very well. To cut to the chase, transfer news came and I'm training a new missionary who is six weeks in his mission!!! I'm going to be on an island in Catanduanes, San Andres. So that was crazy but I'm so excited even though rumor has it I'm going to be the Branch President there. Things that happened this week: -Got bashed by an atheist, then when I proved him wrong, he bashed our religion and Joseph Smith. -Did my laundry, and it only took 1 hour (I'm pretty much a pro now). -Had many friends commit and come to church. And that's honestly about it, not very much happened this week, but that's okay! The weeks are literally flying by and I can't even keep track of them anymore. The language is still hard, but it's also really fun, I'm getting to the point of understanding all of what people are saying, although it depends on the speaker and if they are using the second language here (Bikolono). ...