Finally Experiencing the Phillipines - Field Week 1

GRATITUDES

I completely forgot to do this in my last couple emails, but I am so thankful to be here. I am so thankful to live where I do, and in the situation I live in. I am thankful for my amazing kauban Elder Gamot, and his patience right now.

LEAVING THE MTC

I know this is the boring stuff, so I'll make it brief. Thursday I left the MTC, hopped on a plane and flew to Cebu. I met my mission president and his wife, the Scotts. We had an orientation and ate lunch and dinner at their house. I met my companion, Elder Gamot from Manila

Philippines, who at first I wasn't sure about, but I could not have asked for a better trainer. This dude is so cool, smart, fun, funny, patient, and he is constantly trying to help me. He is such a good person. The Lord truly blessed me. Then I said goodbye to my MTC friends. 

FIRST DAY

My first area is Consolacion in Cebu City. This place is crazy. I'm going to be honest, I woke up in the morning questioning why I am here, why am I doing this to myself. This was partly because my mattress is so thin that I can feel the metal bars underneath as I sleep, but mostly because this place is crazy. Some areas are pretty developed, and then a street away are houses made out of what seems to be whatever they can find, and their whole house is smaller than my bedroom back home. Walking through the city is like nothing I have ever experienced. I wish that I had cameras on my eyes so I was able to show you what it is like. I got to meet so many great people. The only issue is that I don't know the language. So all I am able to say is, "ako si Elder Lewis." "Taga Arizona ko." I tried balut for the first time, and loved it. There's a video of that in my photos album. We ended the night playing catch and hide and seek with the little kids that live in the apartment next to us. The little boy, whose name was Kay Primo (I’m guessing that's how you spell it), was teaching me Bisaya (Cebuano). When he had to leave he said, "we can study later," which I thought was so cute. And then me and my companion sat and talked, and enjoyed the rain, and the people doing karaoke outside. One thing about the Philippines is that no matter where you are or where you are going, you are going to hear someone singing karaoke, and they blast it so loud. I love it because I get to hear songs from back home. It was the highlight of my day, to say the least. Remember when I was questioning why I was here? This day made me quickly change to never wanting to leave.

SECOND DAY

My second day, we went to the church at 9 am for a ward activity. In the philippines, it is family week, so we did a family week activity. We got in groups and went and visited with inactive families, brought them food, and invited them to the activity and to church the next day. After that we went back to the church, had lunch, and then played games and talked with all the members that were there. We then had dinner, talked with the members again, and then went home. The whole time I was playing with the little kids, and by the end I had a whole army. I loved it. So many kids think it is crazy to see me. They all freak out, call me bro, or idol, or amerikano. They give me high fives, or they bless me, which is a sign of respect you do to older people like grandmas and grandpas. You grab their hand and touch the back of their hand to your forehead. They always ask where I'm from, and some have asked for pictures. One of the little boys said, "you have a big nose," and one of the girls, whose name was Ace, pointed at the picture on the back of my phone of my grandma and asked who it was. I told her it was my lola, to which she replied, "your lola is gwapa," which means your grandma is beautiful. 

THIRD DAY

The third day was Sunday. We went to church, and then me and my kauban went and took the Sacrament to a lady. We then went and visited with a bunch of different people. We even found some potential interested people. I say we, but it was really all Elder Gamot. Again, all I can say is my name and where I am from.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This place is so beautiful. The people are so kind, and they get so excited, even if all I say is thank you, or this food is yummy in Cebuano. All I want right now is to learn the language. I want nothing more than to just talk with these people, get to know them and build a relationship with them. I swear I give myself a headache with how hard I listen to Elder Gamot and the people speaking it, just trying to figure out what they are saying and learn it. I have my face in a Cebuano grammar book all the time, and am constantly just trying to learn it. I just wish that I could help my comp with the lessons, because right now I just feel like a burden. I am absolutely in love with this place. If you saw what it looks like, you wouldn't understand me when I say that it's beautiful, but if you could feel what I feel, you would understand. I live with 3 Filipinos, which is awesome. One, because they all know the language, and two, because all Filipinos can sing. And these elders play the guitar too, so I love to listen to them. I don't think you understand how happy I am to be able to cook for myself again. I missed it so much, and it is so fun to do every day. Last thing is that I know I will get used to this whole no toilet paper thing, but it's going to take some time. Also the first time I clogged the toilet, so that was embarrassing. 

CLOSE

I keep having to remind myself that it's only the third day, and that obviously I don't know the
language, because the only time I feel homesick is when I feel like I should know the language already. Other than that, I am doing so good. I am safe, and again, loving this place more and more each day. Thank you to everyone reading this, I love you all. Also, Davis if you are reading this, your guess for President Nelson living 7 more months was very sadly wrong. Amping!

Days left: 685

Would frolic in iceland,

Elder Lewis

Kini ang akong mga babaye-Tank Evans - MTC Week 5

I only have one more week of the MTC, so let me give you a run down on my goals and where I'm at with them. In my reading of the Book of Mormon, I'm in 3rd Nephi, which means I have 7 days to finish 125 pages. In my goal to listen to/read every one of President Nelson's talks, I have finished 35. There are 114, so I have a ways to go. I'll probably make a separate email to my weekly email once I finish, with a list of the ones I'm saving, and short comments that I have about them, if anyone wants that. I was named after Spencer W. Kimball, so after I finish Nelson's talks, I plan on starting Kimball's. He only has 67, so it will be a lot easier. I thought to do that because his name has come up multiple times a day, every single day this week.

GYM

I know I said that I was trying to be humble like Alma the younger, butttt I had probably 5 different Filipinos separately grab my arms and ask how they can get big like me. One of them asked me if I eat Captain America cereal… don't know what that's all about. Two of them asked me to teach them how to work out, and every time they see me they start flexing. One of my favorite things is introducing people to the gym and showing them how to work out, so I am absolutely loving it. Plus its a huge confidence booster.

TONGUE

If you know me, thanks to my cousin Zack, I have an addiction to sticking my tongue out and wiggling it at people in a funny way. The other day at one of our meals, I saw a group of Filipinos that I'm close with, and naturally I wiggled my tongue at them. They thought it was funny, so they filmed me, (which shouldn't be surprising since Filipinos film everything) but now every time I see them they stick their tongues out at me and laugh.

DEATH

Sadly, I heard about and saw what happened back in the states last week. This has made me spend a lot of time thinking about death. One of the things that has been on my mind a lot is that I get the chance to experience days that some people don't get to because they died early. It's made me think, what makes it so that I get to and they don't. God called them back home, which makes me think that their purpose on earth was fulfilled. So I wonder, what is my purpose? And I know my big purpose, but I feel like there is more to it. I also think about how potentially, some people's purpose is to die young in order to make an impact. Their death, although sad, and seemingly awful, may have a positive impact on their community, country, or even the world. So again, I wonder what my purpose is. Will I get the opportunity to complete the goals I have in life, or will I fulfill my purpose before then. I haven't quite got a complete thought with this topic. I’m still thinking about it, but this is what I have so far. This seems really dark now that I am typing it out, but I'm using my emails sort of like my journal, so I'm just recording my thoughts.

SHORT COMMENTS

- had the bright idea to break into our batch mates room and toilet paper it while they were gone (video in my album)

- during an assignment where we had to be blindfolded, an elder in my district ran right into a wall and had to get stitches. I might do it too, because he got to get McDonalds, and I have been missing Taco Bell since day one

- gave bunny ears to President Augustine in a picture on his birthday

Alright, that's all I got for this week. I love you all. This time next week will be my last day in this tiny MTC and then you guys will start to get some more interesting emails.

Missing surfs up,

Elder Lewis

ALMA 2:34 is aura - MTC Week 4

 FOLLOWING THE RULES

I'm sad to say that I am done responding to messages on both email and messenger on days that aren't my P-day, which is on Wednesday for me while I am in the MTC. I have been doing a ton of pondering on what type of missionary I want to be, and the answer to that is an obedient one. I don't care what other missionaries do, or how they act, so I’m not going to be trying to control others. I will work in silence. But for me personally, I know that I need all the help I can get from the spirit, and he is more likely to help me if I am following the rules that have been provided. Along with this, I have been making sure that I wake up at 6:30 every day. At a devotional, the speaker said that we have a schedule for a reason. We don't get up at 6:32. We don't get up at 6:31. We get up at 6:30, and I realized that I needed to adhere to those words. It has been the best thing. First of all, I get the first shower every day. Second, I get about 30 minutes every morning to read my scriptures before breakfast, and it gets me thinking about a different spiritual thought every morning. 

ALMA IS MY FAVORITE

I have a goal to read the Book of Mormon again by the end of the MTC. I am currently at the end of Alma. When I first read it, my favorite was Moroni because I thought that he seemed super strong and powerful and confident. But reading it now, I might be changing my answer to Alma the younger. He is such a humble person who gives all glory to God, and sticks up for everyone, and for what he believes in. His mentality is super admirable.

HELPING KURI

I'm going to be honest right now.  Working with Elder Kuri has not gotten better, and I have not been the person I should be. I haven't been going out of my way to talk to him, or trying to help him learn. Don't get me wrong, I know that what I was doing was not right, but it is so difficult. I still pray for him every day, and put his name in the prayer box at the temple, but that's been the extent of my efforts. Until... I was sitting in class, and Kuri was struggling to answer a simple question that the teacher asked, and a thought popped in my head. This thought was as if someone was talking to me. It wasn't me saying, "I need to," it was "you need to do language lessons with Elder Kuri at night." So, that's what I've started to do. I'm going all the way back to the basics. And it's hard to teach, especially since I barely know the language, but it feels so good to help him, see him succeed, and become closer to him.

HELPING CRIDER/LANGUAGE

Remember when I said this language was weird? Let me give you another example. The number system is Cebuano numbers for 1-10, and then after that it's all spanish numbers from 11-99. And then… it switches back to Cebuano numbers! I am just so happy that I knew Spanish numbers already before coming here. Having said all that, I am picking it up super well. Both of my language teachers have told me separately that they think I am really strong in the language, and that they trust me to help the others in my district. So that is super motivating. This one elder, Elder Crider, asked me what I was doing to learn the language so well. I told him that it sounds crazy, but I am not spending a ton of time studying the language. I am reading my scriptures, listening to talks, and if I feel that I need to study the language, then I do. I told him that he needs to make sure that he is keeping spiritually strong, and in doing so he will have the spirit with him to help him in the language. Fast forward a bit, he did super well in the next class, and afterward said, "I need to give you a hug Elder Lewis." He said that he had only read three chapters of the scriptures, but that it helped him have success. I practiced the character of Alma and told him all glory to God.

GYM

Simple. I miss the gym. I miss driving there every night, and the atmosphere of a commercial gym.

FISH

If you know me, you know that I am not picky when it comes to food, until it's seafood. I hate seafood. One day I was so hungry. I walked into the cafeteria, and we were having tilapia for dinner. I was so mad, and I made that known to probably everyone in the cafeteria. BUT, I got a plate with some chile lime soy sauce, and with a bowl of frosted flakes on standby, and I tried it. I ended up eating the whole thing and ended up going up and asking for two more fish. You can see a picture of it in my photo album.

TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE

This one elder asked me what the best life advice I could give someone is. I told him to see people as daughters and sons of God. This is something that I have been working on for a while now, and I think about it a lot. I find myself looking at people and thinking that they are weird, or annoying, or irritating, but then I have to remind myself that they are a child of God, and as such were created in his image. This has greatly influenced my mindset. It makes it so much easier to forgive people, and love everyone when I think that they have a divine purpose, and are simply, a daughter or son of God. Being in the MTC, when I have caught myself doing this, I tell myself that since I judged, now I have to go have a conversation with them. This has been such a great practice. In doing this I have had some conversations with some amazing people, one of them I even got to teach how to shoot a basketball. So, to everyone reading this. See everyone as a daughter or son of God before seeing them as anything else.

PRESIDENT NELSON’S TALKS

I have made a goal to read, listen, or watch every single one of President Nelson's talks. There are 114 of them. I started at the bottom, and I am working my way up, saving each of my favorites. Once I finish all of them, I will tell you guys my thoughts and give you my list of favorites. So far I am really enjoying younger President Nelson. He's insanely smart, and I would give anything to have a conversation with him. The way he carried himself and his confidence is super inspiring.

YELLOW BUTTERFLY

In my family, any time we see a yellow butterfly, we say that it is my grandma. This day, I was deep in thought, struggling a bit just thinking about some thoughts that have been stuck on my mind recently. And as I was thinking about this, a yellow butterfly flew right in front of my face. I tried to follow it to get a picture, and then suddenly it was just gone. I swear it just disappeared out of thin air, but it was just what I needed in that moment. I know that that was her letting me know that she is with me.

Seconds away from being a filipino,

Elder Lewis

FINALLY CHRISTMAS - MTC Week 3

 GRATITUDES

I’m super grateful for music, for church music and for non-church music. Oh how I miss non-church music. I am grateful for the scriptures, I have been loving my scripture study, but sadly with language study, we have almost no time for scripture study, and I'm missing it. I am thankful for everyone I have supporting me back home, it is keeping me going. So thank you guys for that.

TIE TRADES

Tie trades are still going on, just at a smaller capacity. I traded a tie with one of my teachers and got him to sign it. It's a really cool one that he called his Iron Man tie. You can see me wearing it in a few photos on my album. Last night, I walked out with all of my ugliest ties, not expecting anything. I then ended the night with all new cool ties, and an extra tie because I traded one tie for two. Safe to say, I’m working my way up to a sock tie.

LANGUAGE

We started language FINALLY. This language is the weirdest thing I have ever seen. There have been so many times where the language almost seems like you can do whatever you want. There are these things called markers, and our teacher told us that you can have the words of a sentence in any order, just as long as the markers are right, and it will still be understandable. Also, the numbers are Cebuano numbers from one to ten, and then after that all the numbers are just the same as Spanish. Besides that, this language is so fun to speak. The words are just so satisfying coming off the tongue. I feel like I am picking it up ok. I don't feel stressed at all. I have a lot of faith that the Lord is helping me and going to continue to help me. So far I have learned how to introduce myself and my family (there’s a video of that in my photos album), how to bear my testimony and pray. I am just super excited to be fluent. It's going to be so nindot kaayo!

MUSIC

This week I have been listening to a lot of music. I've been listening to the Tabernacle Choir and Nashville Tribute Band (shout out to Brynae). For some reason I have been super interested in paying attention to all of the lyrics. I think a lot about how the people that wrote them wrote each line for a reason, and it's super interesting to see what they were thinking about when writing the songs, and I try to sort of put myself in their shoes. Another thing I've been thinking about while listening to them is how men and women's voices sound so good together. It makes me think about when we were being created, and what the decision process was like when God was creating our voices. Music is definitely an important thing in the long run. I know this especially because of how powerful music can be in all emotions. I will put links at the end to two songs that I really enjoy the lyrics.

THE PEOPLE

The people here are so cool and fun. Shout out Sibug and Mendoza. It's been real. I'll miss you guys. Me and Sibug made a handshake, and he told me I need to find him a gwapa amerikano nga babaye (beautiful American girl). The best parts of my day are messing around with everyone, and the nightly talks with all the elders in my district in my room. We started making mini bets throughout the day to keep the days interesting. For example, there is an elder here named Elder Upton. He is a guy from Australia who is known for talking to every girl at all times. The bet was placed that in under ten seconds he would find a girl to talk to after the devotional. HE FOUND A GIRL IN EIGHT SECONDS. These bets are mostly between Elder Ebert and Elder Nault, but it's fun to also guess, especially since I'm not putting any money on it like they are. So if I lose, I'm still good.

SPIRITUAL MOMENT

So me and my kauban had to teach the lesson in priesthood this Sunday. The zone leaders were supposed to let us know the Monday before, but they were sick on Monday so they didn't tell us till Saturday. So naturally, I was super overwhelmed. So I started praying hard that I would find ways to fill the time. We ended up not even getting to the last question that I had planned because of the conversation. I know that that was an answer to my prayers because there was no way that those questions would have filled that time without God's influence.

FINALLY CHRISTMAS

In the Philippines they start celebrating Christmas in the “ber” months, so September 1st they had a Christmas tree set up in the office. I personally love it.

Trying to be like jesus,

Elder Lewis

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/music/music-from-october-2024-general-conference/2024-10-i-will-walk-with-jesus?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/music/music-from-october-2024-general-conference/2024-10-holding-hands-around-the-world?lang=eng