HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

I just got off the phone after skyping my family and it felt amazing to be able to communicate with them again.  I'd just like to take this time to testify that families are forever and I am more than honored to have the privilege to share that message to those who are in need of that knowledge.  I know that this is all possible through Jesus Christ and His Atoning sacrifice.  Also on this day I am especially grateful for the role of Mothers and the importance of their callings in this life.  

Along with being able to call my family, this week was awesome!!  A very spiritual experience happened at a baptism that we attended on Saturday.  Due to some miscommunication, the baptismal font had not been filled prior to the start of the baptism therefore by the time of the ordinance, the water was way too low and not high enough for the baptism.  In order to speed up the process, we decided to fill up tanks of water from other sources of water found around the church facility and dumped them into the baptismal font.  It was a incredible to witness the investigator who was getting baptized that day was a big help in filling up and emptying the heavy tanks of water to fill the font to a reasonable level.  It was a very strong sign of his desire to be baptized and also a witness of his the conversion that he must have went through to get to that point.  Definitely a baptism to be remembered.

Saturday was my last p-day in the office therefore we decided to go all out and went to Ocean Park!  My favorite aquarium.  It honestly just keeps getting better and better every time I go haha.

Pictures:

1. They threw Elder Reber and I a farewell party as we will be leaving the office this transfer.

2. We held a family history activity at a place here called BGC which is a pretty rich city with tons of skyscrapers and call centers.  I was expecting the people there to be kind of uptight and mean but they were the complete opposite and welcoming to the message!    

3. We "blitzed" the Makati 2nd ward and afterwards we hooked our district up with some dessert because we hit our goal.

4. BEAUTIFUL OCEAN PARK

5. We met a returned Sister missionary named Sister Long who served in Legazpi mission and she tagalog-ed my face off.

6. Penguins :)

Love you mommy!!  Have an amazing week guys!!  See you in the field!

Fireside feat. Elder Haynie

Hello my beloved friends and family!  I'm hopefully going to have a lot of fun photos to share and that will be able to explain how great my week was.

It didn't start out too well because we had to say bye to one of my best friends here in the mission, Elder Fiesta.  We go pretty back as he was my very first Zone Leader here in the mission back in my first area and he's taught me so much about the importance of being obedient and showed me the urgency in the work.  We'll miss him tons.  He'll hopefully be studying at BYU Hawaii though so maybe I'll get the chance to see him down the road.

-We had interviews held at the office with President Fermanis all week.  It's always a fun time being able to talk with some missionaries from all over the mission and catch up with them.  

-Thursday was MLC and we decided it would be a good idea to order S&R pizza (which is basically the Costco of the Philippines).  The only downside to it was we had to carry 16 boxes of pizza through a mall to get it over there.  This was the result of the very bottom pizza.

A fun highlight of my week was Stake Conference with Elder Allen D. Haynie on Saturday and Sunday.  We had the chance to listen to him speak about the importance of Ministering.  Ministering has become a very popular topic within the church, as it should be.  Nothing indicates true disciples of Jesus Christ more than caring for one another as His example has shown us to do.  

After the Stake Conference we had a fireside at the mission home with some fellow missionaries and their investigators.  We were able to bring a family that we have been teaching, Sister Susan and her children.  It was a very successful fireside and we had the opportunity to hear testimonies from those investigating the church and it was a very spiritually powerful atmosphere.  I'm so grateful to be able witness the conversion that comes upon all those who gain a testimony that this church is true and are baptized.  

Additional Pictures:

1- We bought dog shirts on P-day

2- Friends from MLC, Elder Tuiatua and Elder Davie

3- After the fireside I found a young man with the same tie as me.  He'll also be applying for his mission soon to get the matching nametag as well!

4- At the fireside yesterday I was able to catch up with some friends from my first area.  PARAÑAQUE 2ND WARD WOO

5- Post fireside pic

So that's it for my week, it was awesome and I'm loving it here in the mission field.  Change is coming, just stay tuned.  Have an awesome week, love you guys!!

Elder Burdeos

Donovan Mitchell > Elder Mitchell

Hello ang aking mga kaibigan,  I missed you.  

I had a very eventful week and we were able to see many miracles and blessings which made it even better.  We were able to get to the area on time every day this week and it felt awesome.

Tuesday:  We took a Sister the airport to get to her new area in Coron.  Right after, we were able to have a service project at a member family household in which we cleaned their house and did their dishes.  Only here in the mission field do the things listed above become your favorite things to do.  We had district meeting and one of the sisters in our district was really sad and when we asked why she said it was because Avicii died.  Then all of us were sad with her :(.

Thursday:  We went to the LTO to help some Elders get their Philippines drivers licenses.  We had to be super patient because the wait to receive the license was 3 and a half hours long.  SWEET...

Saturday:  We were able to pick up my camera from SM Megamall because it has been getting repaired for the last few weeks :(  But expect more pictures coming now that I have it again :)  Also I received news that the Jazz smoked Russell Westbrook and the Thunder like a sausage and that made my whole day.  At night we were able to teach some of our investigators and invite them to church.

Sunday:  MIRACLES!  Sister Lynn, one of our investigators that we've been teaching for my whole time in this area, came to church for the first time.  She is always super busy with her work but she was able to get a Sunday off and really enjoyed the church service that we had.  She said she'll continue to try and get Sundays off from work to come attend church.  Also we had four more investigators attend the church service, all of them being cousins and friends of one of our recent converts.  Today was a good reminder to me that the more effort that we put into progressing this work and being obedient to God's commandments, the more He is willing to reward us openly and guide us.  

Pictures:

1- We got bored at the LTO so we started flipping our water bottles and Elder Amoring somehow managed to flip his onto this thin beam.  Sick.

2- We had a jeepney to ourselves on the way home one night.

That's it for this week!  I would encourage each and every one of you to continue to minister to those who you think could use help or a nice boost along the way to following the Savior and His example.  Love you guys!

Mission XVI: Return to Tondo

This week:

- We had our zone conference on Wednesday in which we discussed the importance of ministering to others.  Ministering shouldn't be a new concept to the members of this church.  Serving others and caring for each other has always been a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  After Zone Conference we took a field trip to Tondo with the squad.  Elder Fiesta, Elder Reber, Elder Cibuco, and I all went back to visit some of those we taught and a couple of members as well.  The highlight of the day was visiting a couple of my investigators, Marife and Robert, and they told me that they had plans on getting married within the next couple of months and they invited me to their baptism!!  That news made my whole night.  Unfortunately we got caught in traffic on the way back and when we arrived at the house we couldn't get a hold of the missionaries inside and the door was locked so... It's a blessing that we have a van!  That was the original plan but the Lord blessed us with a miracle and one of the missionaries woke up and unlocked the front door.

- While walking back to the car in Tondo there was a giant building that began to burn down and swarms of firetrucks approaching.  Good to see that Tondo hasn't changed a bit since I've left.

- Erick was confirmed on Sunday and he's happy as ever.

Pictures:

1. For the first time in 4 transfers I got to ride a jeepney again!

2. Chillin' at headquarters with Elder Hernaez

3. Elder Fiesta goes home on May 1st :(

4. President is awesome and allowed us come to the mission home on P-day.

Thanks for everything.  Take ministering seriously, they're your brothers and sisters.  Love you!

Elder Burdeos

Erick was 'yagged

Hello my beloved friends and family, thanks for tuning in.  

My week was sweet, the church is true.  We felt the hand of God in the work as we were able to find new people to teach.  Our members here in Makati 1st have been super helpful to us and i'm really grateful for them and their desire to progress this work.

Also Erick had his baptism on Friday!  It was a really great experience for him and we had a great turnout of members at the baptism.  I'm very grateful for him and for the opportunity that we had to help him find his way to the path to follow the Savior.  

Sunday, we brought Erick to a fireside at the mission home.  The fireside consisted of missionaries and their investigators.  While we were there we watched a video called "Finding faith in Christ" and it was super powerful and you could see the impact it had on those who were in attendance.  If you haven't seen it I would encourage you to do so.

Pictures:

1- This picture describes our companionship pretty accurately.

2- Erick is a pogi dude

3- Moments before the 'yag.

4- We went to the Mall of Asia for P-day and I this was definitely the highlight.

I forgot to mention that for the fourth time on my mission I am in a companionship of three!!  Welcome Elder Harmer!  We're having a great time together and i'm excited to see where what we can do with this trio.  

Thanks for the love and support that you guys always give to me!  Love you have an amazing week!

"The Prophet Russell M. Westbrook" - Little boy in our ward

WOW WHAT A WEEKEND!  It was an incredible opportunity to hear from our chosen leaders in yet another historic General Conference.  I have full confidence in and sustain Russell M. Nelson as the President of the church in these latter-days.  I'm excited for them to start building the temple in Cagayan de Oro!  The temple being built in Russia is yet another sign that nothing can stop the work of God from progressing.  I agree with the Second Counselor in our Bishopric when he said, "The work of God is like a giant ball. You can get behind and start pushing or get run over".  

This last week was transfer week AND... Another transfer in the office!  I don't mind it here though because our area is blooming right now and I think that I could still make an impact here.  ALSO WHO DOESN'T LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL MAKATI 1ST WARD!  

This transfer week was by far the easiest running transfer week of my time here in the office.  The flights were on time, the missionaries were on time, and the transportation was on time.  We were definitely able to see the hand of the Lord rewarding us for the strenuous amount of preparation we put into this transfer.

NEW DISTRICT

Elder Enano went home this last transfer and we'll miss having him.  He was a great missionary.

​FHE at the Madelo residence (one of my favorite members ever)

​Also I ripped my second pair of pants this week which was a great and spiritual experience. 10/10. Would recommend it.  

Erick's baptism is on Friday.  He's excited and we're excited.  The church is true!  Love you all have an amazing week!

Elder Burdeos

Easter and the Holiest of Weeks

Happy Easter!  I hope all of you are enjoying General Conference and the opportunity to listen to our chosen leaders in these Latter-Days.  We won't be able to watch it until next week but from what I hear there are a lot of good changes being made and the work is continuing to unfold.  How exciting!

Holy Week was this week and that was awesome because there was no traffic but also not so awesome because instead of cars we had people marching down the streets with their floats and Mother Mary shrines and stuff.  Also I've been living off 7-Eleven hot dogs all week because they seemed to be the only place open throughout the week hahaha.

As far as our area goes, we were able to find some new investigators and people to teach.  We made a goal to be more bold and confident in our invitations and it's really awkward and uncomfortable sometimes but we've seen lots of positive results and outcomes come from it.  It's an incredible experience to see the Lord's hand in our lessons as He helps our investigators to progress and change.  Our investigator, Eric, came to church and he's ready still ready to be baptized so we'll keep preparing him for April 13th.  

1- Elder Hernaez is sick

2- At MLC on Thursday I accidentally spilled chicken oil on myself while carrying the bags of food in.  It's cool though I can now testify that Zonrox Bleach is a trusted product.

3- The gang feat. companionship ties.

Love you, thanks for all the support.

Elder Burdeos