Happy New Years!

This week has been a very hard one but not nearly as hard as last week thank the Heavens!  We're starting to get into the groove of the MTC and it's all starting to get a little bit easier.

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas!  Even though it was extremely hard to be away from home on Christmas it felt good to focus on the Savior, who is the reason we celebrate the holiday in the first place!  We had Elder Dallin H. Oaks come and give us an amazing devotional with his incredibly talented kids.  No joke we were witnessing some 5 years olds tear up the violin.  It was incredible! Not only did we get to listen to an Apostle of the Lord speak to us on Christmas but we also get to hear the voice of an Angel, David Archuleta!  And if that wasn't already good enough, after the performance we got to meet him!  David Archuleta is such a humble guy and an amazing example to me.  He dropped the fame, the money, everything just so he could serve the Lord for 2 years of his life.  If he can do it then there's no reason I can't.  Christmas was a pretty good day aside from the cereal we had for dinner so that the workers could all be with their families but we didn't mind too much because every other day they work really hard to provide for us.

This week has been pretty much smooth we have been working hard as a district and my Tagalog is getting better each day.  We have to teach lessons to 2 practice investigators in full Tagalog and it's stressful but you can definitely feel the presence of the Holy Ghost preventing me from saying something really stupid in Tagalog.  Now let's just hope one day He can prevent me from saying stupid things in English...  My companions and I were struggling for a while but we went through some companionship inventories and we get along pretty darn well now (for the most part).  I'm loving it so far here thank you all for your nice emails they help me so much.  See you all next week!  Happy New Year!!!

-Elder Burdeos


Christmas Day at the MTC

A rare shot of Elder Brunson and I actually awake in class (just kidding mom please don't hurt me).

Me and my beautiful district with the secret santa gifts we all bought each other.

One of my favorite Christmas presents of all time.  Ms. Maysen Rollo sent me a calendar with our face photoshopped all throughout it.  Amazing!

Week 1 Pictures

Time to be a missionary.

A handful of Elders from our zone in front of the Provo Temple.

The Sisters of our District.  From left to right, Sister Tureman (Manila), Sister Maher (Legazpi), and Sister Long (Manila).

We were assigned to clean toilets and sinks for our weekly service.  (I know that Heavenly Father has called me to be our District Leader but I also feel like my true calling is to clean the toilets of building 4M).

These are my companions Elder Brunson (San Pablo Mission) next to me and Elder Casares (Quezon City Mission) next to him.

Merry Christmas From The MTC

Merry Christmas everybody!

I wish I could be with you guys but focusing my attention on the Savior and the meaning of Christmas has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.  HAPPY SILVER RUSH!  I'm not sure what the total was but I'm proud of you guys for donating your time, money, and efforts to such an amazing cause.  There truly are no better examples to me than those of you back home.  Anyways, I'm going to be straight forward and say that this has been the hardest week of my life.  I got out of my car and cried really hard while saying goodbye to my family.  However, the second I turned that corner and entered the MTC building to receive my name tag, it just felt so right and my attitude changed immediately.  I was so happy to be a missionary and ready to serve the Lord.  After getting settled into the MTC I was introduced to my companions: Elder Casares and Elder Brunson.  Elder Brunson has been like a brother to me from the moment I walked into the room and introduced myself to him.  We joke around and study together, we stay up late talking about life when we can't sleep, I absolutely love the guy.  Think of everything you would want in a perfect companion:  Open minded, respectful, loving.

The first few days of the MTC had to have been the worst days of my life.  No English, no family or friends, stressful schedules, the whole package.  The motto here at the MTC for new missionaries is "Make it to Sunday".  Boy were they right.  On Sunday I had the opportunity to convert my first soul ... it was soul (BUCKLE UP WE'RE GETTING DEEP HERE FOLKS).  We had an amazing devotional given by the Piano guys and it really brought motivation to me to be the best missionary possible.  We also watched a video of Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve talking about the Character of Christ.  In that talk he stated to "get over yourself, a mission isn't about you".  Boy did those words hit me hard.  A mission really isn't about me, it's about the people in the Philippines and all over the world who have been waiting to know the truth to live with their Heavenly Father again. Thinking about the people in the Philippines give me extra motivation to work hard on the language and on learning the Doctrine.  Since then I have been so happy in the MTC, especially on P Day when I get to hear from you guys through my email (shout out to those of you who sent me amazing emails to log on to I love you guys so much).  I'm loving it here now, I can feel the spirit so often, speak Tagalog pretty well, and everything is just clicking.  Isn't it beautiful how the Lord always looks out for us?  He wants us to struggle and learn for ourselves yet He never lets us hit rock bottom. He will be there to pick us up whenever we ask him to.

Last experience that I would like to share with you guys is one that really helped me through this week.  The second day I was here I was feeling very unfocused and a little homesick missing you guys back home.  I prayed to the Lord to help me stay focused when I need to and right then and there he answered my prayer.  The Branch President pulled me out of class and told me that Heavenly Father has prompted him to assign me as our District Leader.  Heavenly Father knows me so well, more work has really taken my mind off of how much I miss your beautiful faces.  I love leading and representing our district it's such an honor and a blessing.  They are so amazing and I will tell you more about them in future emails.  Thank you guys for your love and support MERRY CHRISTMAS I LOVE YOU.

-Elder Burdeos

P.S. Expect another email from me a little bit later today, the computer lab we are in can't upload the photos we took so we are moving to another one to upload our photos.

The Big Day

This is it!  The big day!  Woke up early as Elder Burdeos needed to be at the Provo MTC by 12:30 pm.  Carried all his luggages to the van while he prepares to say goodbye to our pet pug, Pogi.  The weather was cloudy and rainy.  We stopped by McDonalds to get some breakfast and then headed out to the Provo Temple for picture taking.  This will be our last picture as a family until he returns in 2 years.  At the Temple, we met 3 sister missionaries who will be leaving for North Dakota Mission. By 12:30 pm, we were at the MTC.  It was really really sad to see him leave.  We were all bawling. We all gave him a big hug and kiss and off he went.  He was assisted by one of the missionaries who helped us unload the luggages.  We will surely miss our Gabe but we are all excited for him as well. Good luck on your mission, Elder Burdeos!

Video of Gabe leaving the house

At the Provo Temple

The MTC drop off

Setting Apart

Big day coming up tomorrow.  It is the day when Gabe leaves for the Provo Missionary Training Center.  We had our Stake President, President Cottle, in our house to set apart Gabe as a full-time missionary of the Church.  His missionary life begins after the setting apart.  It was quite a spiritual moment for us.  President Cottle had us gathered as a family in our living room and each member gave spiritual advice and shared thoughts to Gabe.  Gabe's friend, Mahonri, who was just visiting him was also in attendance and was asked to share his thoughts.  We could not help ourselves from breaking into tears as we say our last words for Gabe.  President Cottle also shared his thoughts and afterwards, performed the setting apart.  Gabe is now a full-time missionary of the Church.

Farewell Dinner Celebration

You cannot just send off your son without some sort of celebration.  We invited some friends and family to celebrate with us as we prepare Gabe to leave in 4 days.  This is the day we have all been preparing for.  We held the dinner celebration at the cultural hall of our chapel in Daybreak.  My wife and I were busy decorating the place, setting up the tables and chairs, and food table.  We were lucky to have my mother-in-law with us who was visiting from the Philippines.  She helped us a lot in cooking all the food for the dinner.  We served pancit bihon, chicken adobo, pork mechado, lumpia, and roast pig (lechon).  A couple of our friends donated some food as well.  It was a fun night with music and entertainment.  I invited the Kanani Pua dancers to perform some Hawaiian and Tahitian dances.  My daughter, Alyssa, sang too and her friend, Ella Abenoja.  Then, Gabe shared some of his thoughts and feelings as he prepares to leave for his mission in 4 days.  It was snowing outside and we were all so tired and cold after the event.

Here are some of the photos:

Blessing from Above

Gabe received his temple endowment today.  As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an endowment is a gift of power from God.  Every worthy members of the Church can receive a gift of power through ordinances in the temple that gives them the instruction and covenants of the Holy Priesthood that they need in order to attain exaltation.  It includes instruction about the plan of salvation.  Witnessing his endowment was just me and my wife, Lea.  Since this was Gabe's first endowment, we had a chance to talk to one of the Counselors in the Temple Presidency.  It was a glorious sight for us seeing our son receiving the blessings from this temple ordinance.  Surely, the Lord has prepared a way for all of us so that we can return to His presence when the time comes.  It has been a blessing indeed!