This week has been a solid week of learning and trying to do my very best to help out my anak or my trainee.  He is a good missionary and is working hard to learn and get down the lessons and everything to say, also he is super hard working on language study for his English speaking skills!  He is so much ahead of what I was as a trainee, so it’s not hard at all train him, and we have a good time while we work so that’s always goodJ

This week we were able to experience some AMAZING miracles and also some downs, of course just like all weeks;)  So one of the things that happened was the Rosel Family.  So we were walking down the road one morning and a girl from across the street yells “Elders!” and waved us over to them.   So we went over there and she was like “I’m a Mormon” and I told this family all about Joseph Smith and they want to listen to your message, so we were pumped of course, and we taught them.  It was a super awesome lesson, where the Spirit was so strong, and they had questions and it really was just plain SOLID!!!  Then we extended a Baptismal Invitation, and they said “ya if we truly come to know that it is true then we will!”  So that was amazing, we left and I seriously felt overwhelming gratitude for being in the right place at the right time for this family.  And they were not able to come to church on Sunday, so hopefully next week!

We had 48 people at church on Sunday and one of them was our investigator, Sister Janice.  This is her 2^nd time to come to church and she is progressing SO WELL!!! I asked her where she was at in the Book of Mormon and she said “Somewhere around page 400 in Alma.” Haha I was completely shocked, and its amazing to see her progress like that!

Last Wednesday our whole Baler District went and worked in San Luis, because they were struggling a bit with investigators, so we had huge expectations for that day, to get a ton of new investigator, and help their area out.  So me and my companion went finding and we taught Tatay Jimmy, he can’t walk but he told us about how he used to be taught by the missionaries and would have gone to church, but he couldn’t walk there.  So we told him that the San Luis Elders would pick him up on Sunday and he was like “ya that’d be great!”  So they picked him up and he really went on Sunday…….. miracle…….

We did a CSP on Thursday to a part member family in our ward and we got to shovel a bunch of dirt to build up the foundation for their house.  It felt super good to do some dirty work just like the good ole construction days;)  Also I got pretty wet in the hot Philippines sun…

Last P-day we went and chilled at the beach house of a member with some other missionaries and ate pineapples… livin the life in Baler zoneJ 

Also I am trying to learn Ilocano… I have some members and investigators that are teaching me, so it’s super fun!  Its surprising to Filipinos when they hear an American speak Tagalog, but when an American speaks Ilocano they are super surprised, its hilarious;)

Thanks for all the emails and prayers!!!

LOVE YA’LL!!!

Elder Alldredge

Hello Hello Hello!!!

This week has been a super exciting and also very nerve racking weekJ  So first off we had a BAPTISM!!! I was able to baptize Sister Ashelle Infante and she is 12 years old and then she was confirmed on Sunday.  So the baptism was awesome because it was my first baptism in a river!!! It was pretty sweet, we did it at Parang river which is near our house.  We had about 10 of us there, and we had 2 solid speakers and then the baptism, it was a super good day!!!

On Sunday there was 51 at church, but it was cool because we actually had quite a few less active members come to church, and some of them even brought friends that aren’t members!  So we had a miracle happen on Sunday which was amazing!!  So we were waiting and getting ready the church to start, then a girl walked in that I recognized but I didn’t know where from, then she pointed at me and told her cousin(that is a member) “oh that’s him!”   Then she came up and we talked for a minute and come to find out that I had OYM’d her on my very first P-day here in Maria Aurora.  So that was like 2 months ago!!! And now she came to church, so that was SO SWEET!!! So this week we are going to go to her house and teach her for sure!  I love miracles, and they really are everywhere if you just look for them!!!

Also sister Janice our investigator came to church on Sunday!  She even brought her 3 week old baby with her to come to church.  She even stayed for Relief Society, and the nanay’s in our ward were super good to fellowship her, so hopefully she felt comfortable and will come back next week with her relatives too!!

So one other big news for the week was Transfer Day, and yes my companion was transferred.  And I got a new companion, like brand new, so I am his trainer, and he is a super cool Elder!! His name is Elder Ismael and he is from Kalibo Aklan, Philippines.  He is a small elder but super nice and ready to learn, so its not too hard at all to teach him how to do things because he is always wanting to learn.  He does struggle with English, like a lot, so I am doing my very best to help him out, and that is also helping out my Tagalog!! So that is always goodJ  So I got to go to Cabanatuan and stay the night on Thursday at the ZL’s house, then on Wednesday me and Elder Carling(the other trainer in Baler Zone) went and got training and met our new companions.  We then left on our adventure back to Baler, which took from just after 1 in the afternoon until after 9 at night;) hahaha it was quite the trip, but I got to know Elder Ismael real good, so it was fun!!

I was able to give another talk this week in Sacrament Meeting, and teach Elders Quorum, and play the piano, so ya I am always running all over the place trying to get everything organized in our branch;) Its a good time!!

Its been a solid week, and I have seriously learned so much from my anakJ There is so many things that I need to work on and do to become a better trainer, and person, and I am so thankful for this time to do it!

Thanks for all the emails!!
LOVE YA'LL!!!

Elder Alldredge

Baptism of 12 year old Ashelle Infante

Kyle's first baptism in a river!

Elder Ismael, Ashelle & Elder Alldredge

Trainers and Trainees with President and Sister Clark.

We knew that Kyle would most likely be getting a new companion this week so while looking at the mission blog I found out that he is training this transfer.  It is fun to get any extra pictures of our missionary!

This past week has been SUPER exciting, and crazy, and a little disappointing, but hey it’ll be alrightJ 

So I’ll start off with the little disappointing part of the week to get it over withJ  So we were planning to have like 6 or 7 investigators at church right… And we were super pumped, doing everything that we could to find a way to help them go to church, and then on Saturday afternoon we got a call saying that church was in Baler because the whole Philippines had an Area Broadcast.  So of course because Baler is like a 100 peso trike ride, all but one of our investigators was not able to goL  But HEY its all good, because we KNOW FOR SURE that they will come to church this next week, and we are so excited to see them all at the church!!

Oh so the Philippines Area Broadcast, it was super cool and super spiritual!!  Elder Bednar was able to talk to us, and President Bowen, Shane S. Ardern, Lynn G. Robbins, and the Young womens President, I forgot her name sorry;)  So ya we had our own mini General Conference, it was super cool!! Elder Bednar is amazing and the spirit was so powerful when he spoke about the things we can do to become more strong in the church.  He told 3 things for us to work on:

First: FAITH in Jesus Christ-A couple things that he said that I really liked.  “Simply acting is not faith, but acting according to the gospel of Jesus Chris.t”  Another is that “Faith is not by chance, but by Choice” Also that the people with Joshua literally had to stand in the water to show their faith before the river parted.

Second: SACRIFICE-Be willing to give all for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Third: CONSECRATION-“We will not only be willing to die for the Gospel but also more importantly, willing to LIVE for the Gospel.”  Also he said “Living the Gospel and being obedient is not hard, but NOT living the Gospel and being obedient is hard.”  Also that making and keeping sacred covenants literally YOKES us to the Savior, we can’t be alone and we never will be if we continue to be faithful!!  So ya just a couple things he said that I really liked, I hope you like them too!

This week we also had a Zone Conference in Cabanatuan again!!!  So because we are the Zone in Baler we left on Tuesday afternoon to get to Cabanatuan by night time, to be ready for Zone Conference on Wednesday.  And it was an AMAZING zone conference!!! It was the Last Zone Conference of President and Sister Clark, so it was super sad!! But it was so spiritual and they truly are amazing people!! I know that President Clark is a BIG reason why I needed to be assigned here in the Philippines Angeles Mission!!!  He really has inspired me from my first day and will continue to inspire me until he leaves on July 2.  So we had a super solid conference with extra special testimonies given by President and Sister Clark, awesome stuff!!  Oh and I played the piano… againJ

So this week some super Crazy/Weird things happened!! 

1.I ate a DOG!!!! And I didn’t even know that it was a dog until later that day when a member had told me that it was dog, hahah I was madJ just cuz I really wanted a video or picture of me eating it…

2.I also ate a GOAT!!! Hahaha but this was by choice;)  It is called a Kambingan, and it is actually super good!

3.We had a District Activity this morning, early… And we went to the Lighthouse at the Beach, and watched the Sunrise!!!! Oh ya it was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

4.One night we got caught in a heavy rainstorm, so we had to run all the way home;) hahah it was hilarious and we were drenched to the bone… yes mom we forgot our umbrellasJ

So its been a super solid week, and its good to be a missionaryJ

Thanks for all the emails!!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Elder Alldredge

This week has been a super good week!! 

And it started off super awesome last Tuesday when we had Interviews with President Clark, but that was our last interview with him:(  That is seriously the saddest thing ever!!! They are amazing people, they are so inspired and I love to listen to them, because I just get more and more pumped to be a better, more obedient, and happier missionary every time that they talk!!  The new Mission President, President Johnson will be here on July 2, so that will be interesting!  But the interview was amazing and I really learn so much from his answers to my questions, I LOVE THAT!!!  Then after the interview President took our Zone, the Baler Zone out to eat... special privileges in Baler;)  But they took us to a really good pizza place, where we all got Cow slices which were HUGE, and MASARAP!!! Its a rare day when I get to eat pizza, usually its just rice, so that was the best:)  

So a couple of weeks ago we got a referral from a member, and we have really been seeing some progression in them this past week!  It is Nanay Verginia and Sister Janice.  So Nanay Verginia told us that she really enjoyed reading the pamphlets and said that she felt something inside, like it just felt good and right, especially about The Plan of Salvation, the 3 questions of the soul really touched her. So we knew something good was happening. Then last week Janice had her baby but then we visited them on Friday, and we had an amazing lesson!! We brought into the lesson Nanay Adalina who is a really good old friend of Nanay Verginia, who were both Capitana before, and haven't seen each other in years. So they saw each other and they were really both super happy telling stories and things. Nanay Adalina is a very active Nanay and really is wanting to help us out with these investigators. So we shared and Verginia and Janice really responded super well, then at the end of the lesson, Elder Dolotina extended the Baptismal date, and they both said a very sincere "yes" it was AMAZING!!! She had told us before that the Iglesia church had invited her to be baptized, and she told them that she was a die hard Catholic, so we kind of expected the same answer, but she didn't say that at all!! She said yes and was asking all about how to get ready for that, like with going to church and stuff. So they told us that they will be going to church this next week because sister Janice only had a baby like a week ago, so she is still recovering. But we are so EXCITED for them!! They are really so sincere, and we are ready to help them get to church this next week!  This was a huge blessing and was seriously only possible because of the Spirit.  I am so thankful for the companionship of the Spirit as a missionary, we would be lost without it.  And also our investigators would never be able to feel the truth fullness of the gospel without the Spirit.  That is why we always need the "Third Chair" as missionaries, it is the most important part for an investigator to really become Converted...

 We had 3 Investigators at church, which was a little bit of a letdown, but don't worry that will go up FOR SURE next week!! Me and my companion are super excited because we are working hard to help lots of people come to church, and I think that next sunday is the day where it will be more!  Ok so idk if you know, or remember, or are experiencing the missionary feeling on Sunday before church, but let me tell you it is INTENSE!!! It seriously can be devastating when they don't end up coming to church, and then when an investigator does come, it is seriously like pure joy for that person!! It really might be my favorite thing ever, seeing an investigator walking in the doors of the meeting house, I can't stop smiling for those investigators the whole time at church, I LOVE THAT!!!

We also have an oven in our apartment, which is like the only one in the mission.  So one elder got a package of brownies and gave them to us to cook for District meeting.  So we baked up some brownies!!! The second batch was super delicious and the District loved the brownies.  But the first batch failed because I didn't even think that the oven would be in Celcius!! So i cranked that thing up to 270 which was the highest it would go... I was really thinking why does it only go up to 270 thats so low!! But after about 5 minutes, i could smell why... hahah my companion and i then realized that the oven degrees was Celcius, hahahaha:) PALPAK!!! haha

So its been a really good week!!!

I hope ya'll had a fun week and smiled lots:):):):):)):):):):))):)

LOVE YA'LL!!!

Elder Alldredge

 

President & Sister Clark treated the Baler Zone to pizza after interviews!

Here is Kyle with his "frisbee" brownies.  He forgot that the stove temps were in Celsius and set it to 270 degrees, which would be 518 degrees Fahrenheit.

Walking around Maria Aurora

Looks like Sunday School?

Nachos for breakfast on P-day.  They are excited it wasn't rice!

HEY YA'LL!!!

This week has been a SOLID week, with lots of work and lots of rain, and lots of Brown OutsJ(or power outs)  fun stuff....:)

First off my companion, Elder Dolotina was not transferred!!! So that was super awesome!  But the next transfer is only 3 weeks long, so it most likely won’t last much longer, but it is a super good thing!! Because we are really working with our investigators to help them to progress, to grain a testimony, and to come to church. 

This week Jeferson is still doing really well and his testimony is growing, that’s for sure!  We watched the Restoration with him, and it was seriously SUPER SPIRITUAL!!! I loved that whole video and the discussion afterwards.   He had a bunch of questions for us about Joseph Smith, and he said I want to watch the long version about Joseph Smith, so after we left he did!! But the only sad thing about him this week is that he did not come to churchL its like AAAAHHHHHH NO!!! Because he had an eye check-up at the same time as church, so he promised that he would come next week, so that’s GOOD!!!

So we only had 3 Investigators at church, but for sure that will be going up next week, because we will do everything that we can to make it happen.  That’s one thing our mission is really focusing on right now.   To “Pray like everything depends on God, but work like everything depends on you.”  And it is such a sweet quote that I love!!! And we are doing our best to live it here in Maria Aurora!

Also this week my district leader, Elder Garcia, gave a super cool workshop and my mind was blown!! So he focused on this quote:

Nourish the thought

Reap the Action

Nourish the Action

Reap the Habit

Nourish the Habit

Reap the Character

Nourish the Character

Reap the Destiny!!!

So in other words it really starts with our thoughts, if we think positively and do all the things that the quote says, then we really will become who we want to be!  He also said “Whether you think you can or not, you are probably right!”  So we choose, if we want to be positive or not.  He applied this to helping our investigators to get baptized, to baptize weekly for the month of July, so that is the goal right now, and we are just starting now to nourish the thought that we really can help those investigators to be baptized, to follow Jesus Christ, and to become more like him!!!   I love this fact that just by being positive we are able to do God's will more fully.  And also this quote can apply to anyone and basically any topic, so YAA!!!!

Sorry for just a bunch of quotes today:) hahhaa 

nothing super crazy happened this week, so maybe next week will be more exciting!!

Thanks for all the emails!!!

Have a great week!!!

LOVE, Elder Alldredge

It is rainy season!

Ward mission workers

Magandang Araw sa inyo Lahat!!!

These past two weeks have been loaded with miracles in our work here in Maria Aurora!!! One was that the Skyping worked!!!  I actually literally have no idea how it worked, its just a MIRACLE!!! My companion was not able to skype his family, just call, but the prayers were answered and it was amazing to talk to the FAM:)  I don't know why I was blessed with such an amazing family, but I'm so GRATEFUL!!!!

Another miracle that has been taking place over the past 2 weeks is with our investigator brother Jeferson.  He is 14 years old, but really he is super advanced in thinking and always has a ton of questions for us, which is literally the BEST!!!  So the first miracle, was that he accepted the Baptismal Goal Date.  And he also told us he would try to read the whole BoM before that goal date, so that was AWESOME!! Then he really started opening up to us this last week, he told us about his struggles with talking to people especially people his age, and how he only has really 1 friend, and how he always gets super nervous and basically freaks out when there are lots of people around.  But we reassured him that we would be right next to him, and help him out, and pick him up for church.  So we went to his house sunday morning, and he was so ready to go, he had a polo and jeans and everything, lookin good!! Then at the church, the older members were super nice talking to him and making him feel good.  Then the youth took him to the youth class, and I was just praying that it would turn out well.  After the class they were all in by the piano and he was playing with all the youth surrounding him, I seriously felt pure joy for Jeferson right there!!! AAAAHHHH so happy!!! So he made lots of friends and so we will continue to hope and pray that he will want to come back!! So that was just an HUGE MIRACLE this past week...

We had a Branch Family Home Evening again on Saturday night and over 40 members came!!! It was a HUGE turnout, and we were super excited!  It was a good time, and its always good to help members to become closer, and become more of a family in the branch, thats the goal!  Then we had dinner and it was super fun!!!  On Sunday we had 50 people at church, and only 2 investigators because 2 of our investigators had a fever, so next week hopefully they are feeling better!!!

Last Monday I had a crazy experience that I seriously never thought would happen in my life!  I was able to dedicate a grave of an endowed member that lives about an hour away from our area.  It was really interesting because there were no other priesthood holders out of all the over 100 people there.  So it was a really neat experience that I will for sure never forget!!

So life here in Maria Aurora is good:)  The people are super nice here, and so many people here say "Hey Joe" hahaha, so I just try to have fun with it and make them smile or something...  Also its transfers this week, and most likely I will have a new companion, but if not that would be super cool, because Elder Dolotina is a super good hard-working missionary and the members love him here!  

Thanks for all the emails!!!  Ya'll make me so happy!!!

LOVE YA!!!!

Elder Alldredge

 

Recent Converts - Devera Family

Booyaa! :)

Branch Family Home Evening

Our investigator - Brother Jefferson

Jammin' at Branch FHE!  These last pictures came from a member's facebook post.

FHE Lesson

FHE Game

Kyle being Kyle

Enjoying FHE treats

A great Mother's day was capped off with a google chat with Elder Alldredge! He struggled for 3 hours to find a computer shop that had a computer he could talk to us on.  After much patience and frustration we had a wonderful talk with Kyle!  He is so happy to be in the Philippines and to be a representative of our Savior Jesus Christ!