Philippines

Hello Everyone, 

I made it to the Philippines and it is very cool (not really it is hot and humid) but that is okay. There is a little bit of a catch though I didnt get all of my luggage evidently luggage is in either LA or SLC about 16 missionaries that came to the Philippines with me didnt get all of their luggage but that is okay (not really I dont have any clothes) but the MTC President's wife is letting me borrow some clothes so it is all good. Everything is very different here that is for sure but it is okay because that is all part of the fun, it is true I am basically only here at the Philippines MTC for visa processing but I think I will be able to do some fun stuff as well like tomorrow we are going to be able to proselyte in Manila for 4hrs with a native missionary so that will be exciting to have some freedom. The Philippines MTC is a lot smaller than Provo but it is the 4th largest in the world believe it or not the list goes Provo, Mexico City, Sao Pablo Brazil and then Manila Philippines so that is cool. The traveling went well overall it was just very long I got through customs and everything okay but then I found out that some of my luggage didnt make it so then I had to fill out the forms and stuff and hopefully the rest of my luggage will get here before I leave the Philippines MTC. I leave for the mission field this upcoming Wednesday Oct 5th which is very exciting and one tough thing about being here is that General Conference is actually a week late it actually happens next Sunday in the Philippines so this Sunday for me is a regular fast Sunday so then hopefully I will be able to watch General Conference in the field which will be cool. I am really excited to be working with native Filipinos even though I know that it will be challenging as well. I exchanged some of my money today as well which was fun most people now some English at least around in a bigger city like Manila but it is not very good so my Tagalog should improve a lot which will be fun for me because I want to get better at it. I won't be able to email again while I am in the Philippines MTC so sorry about that the schedule is different here but I cant really change that I love all of you very much and I am very excited for what lies ahead. IT IS SO GREAT TO FINALLY BE HERE IN MY MISSION COUNTRY OF THE PHILIPPINES!

With Much Love,

Elder Chilson    

Nathanael with all his luggage in the Provo MTC.

MTC Pictures

Week 5 MTC

Hello everyone, 

Can you believe it that I have been in the Provo MTC now for 5 weeks, time is really moving just not all at once. I got my itinerary late last week and I am leaving for the Philippines on Sept 28th and I will be flying through Hong Kong to get to Manila Philippines where I will be staying at the Manila MTC in the Philippines for about a week we are not entirely sure yet how long we will be there but long enough to kind of get used to the Philippines and the culture and things like that because all I have really learned here in the Provo MTC is the language of Tagalog. Then after my time in the Manila MTC I will then enter my mission and the mission field itself I am very excited for that my mission is really going to be a reality! I also sewed by hand with a needle and thread for the first time ever let alone all by myself in the Provo MTC I had to patch up the back of one of my ties and I think I did an okay job probably not as good as Mom would have done but that's okay I am pretty good and problem solving and figuring things out and then trying and doing. I have figured out different things since I have been in the Provo MTC that I wouldn't have to do at home because I have a Mom that loves my so much like ironing, sewing and such but it is all good. I actually did a little bit of plumbing this week as well one or our shower drains got clogged sort of so I took part of the drain a part and cleaned it out with my hands because I did not have any tools with me of course some of the missionaries thought I was crazy but I didn't care it was just a little messy that's all but I took care of that so now all the water and soap runs down the drain a little better now. It is really exciting to think that be this time next week I will be traveling to the PHILIPPINES also a quick reminder that if you want to send anything to me at the Provo MTC in the states I would do it quick because they probably will not forward my mail to me in the Philippines because they do not want to pay the postage to send it over the ocean they will probably send it back to the sender after I am gone. I have learned and studied so much while I have been here at the Provo MTC but I am really excited to start teaching real investigators and learning all the about the Philippines and the people there. I hope that all is going well where ever you are and my Tagalog is okay we will see how they really speak it though in the Philippines that will be an exciting challenge I am sure but I am up for it. Did I already say I am really excited to go to the PHILIPPINES? Yes I think I did so do not forget it. 

With much love,

Elder Chilson      

Week 4 MTC

Well I am up to four weeks now at the Provo MTC and I only have roughly two weeks left that is crazy. Most of your probably know but my Birthday was yesterday and now I am 19 I do not really feel any different but regardless I am now a little bit older and the oldest member of my district by quite a bit they are all 18 and wont turn 19 till sometime in 2017. I could not really control my schedule on my birthday but it was okay I had to go to class and study and all that but life goes on and it was also my first birthday away from home but we had a little party last night with my district so that day was a little bit more special than just a regular day I would have liked to at least listen to a little Mormon Tabernacle Choir but we are not even allowed to do that but that is all part of the fun here at the MTC there are rules here but a lot a mission in general is about sacrifice so I can do that I will not be able to serve a mission for ever so I need to embrace the time that I have now so I am willing to follow the rules and such. We did do something pretty cool this week or at least I thought it was pretty cool we practiced some door approaches and I thought that they were a lot of fun it is basically talking to people, going to peoples houses talking to them and just being friendly and sharing a message about Jesus Christ among other things but it made things so real for me the MTC is not exactly the Philippines but I am practicing what I am going to be doing here so I can be ready for everything the Philippines has to offer so I thought that was a lot of fun. Another quick story so most of you know that I went to Brighton High School and played sports for Brighton mainly football though so I have Brighton apparel with me and it is so weird because there is a Brighton in UT evidently so a lot of people think that I am from UT because a lot of the missionaries here are form UT so I have to explain to them that I am from NY and most people here do not know much about NY unfortunately so I tell them that I live about 30 mins from Palmyra and then they get a general picture where I am from but I just think that is really funny maybe you wont. Also they have been doing a lot of construction around my building where I live ever since I got here which has been really annoying but it is okay sort of like at home I remember they were working on our roads when I left. Regardless my Tagalog is getting better everyday and I study hard and that is about all I can do here continue to prepare for the people in the Philippines. That is about all I have to say I think for here at the MTC this week. I love you all a lot! 

Elder Chilson

Week 3 MTC

So I made it to my 3rd week at the Provo MTC I am halfway done with my time here at the Provo MTC that is crazy. To start off I have some fun news so for those of you who are not familiar with MTC standards the Residence Halls (where I sleep) are not coed they are Sisters only and Elders only, but all of this changed yesterday. Sister Missionaries moved to the top floor of our building so now I am in the only coed building at the Provo MTC which is cool the Elders in my building were all afraid that we were going to have to pack up and move out but we wont but there is a lot more security in the building that we have to go through with our access cards which is really annoying there are Sisters only areas and Elders only areas but its all good I just thought I would share that, something different. I have been studying Tagalog a lot and learning different kinds of verbs that is mostly what we do for class as well as practice teaching lessons to various investigators and that has been fun using Tagalog and figuring what the investigators are telling us but I am getting better at it. I have still been playing Bball/ lifting weights/running during my exercise time everyone keeps saying that I am going to loose a lot of weight in the Philippines but we will see I will loose some muscle for sure. I have gotten better at ironing I think I have not set a shirt on fire yet but I think that I am doing ok with that my shirts look better that some of the other shirts that Elders wear here. I also sang another solo for my district this week for a devotional we had which was cool they still like my voice a lot but maybe that is because they do not know anything really about music??? Probably not I can sing pretty well singing in Taglaog though is really weird and I thought singing in French was weird but No singing Tagalog is weirder. Also if anyone has some free time Google Chad Lewis he is a Mormon who played Tight End for BYU after his mission and played 9 years in the NFL he was our big devotional speaker Sunday night and it was a glorious surprise I have listened/read some of his works and he is a great speaker in person it was really cool to hear from him and yes he did talk about more that just football. I think that is all I have for this week my schedule is pretty much the same here but I seem to continue to move forward which is good and I will continue to improve to serve the Lord as best as I can. 

Love 

Elder Chilson     

Week 2 MTC

So I made it through my second week at the MTC not much as changed here me and my new companion are beginning to start clicking I think yesterday we taught a lesson and I think it was the most Tagalog I have spoken in a lesson yet which is good. A little sample of Tagalog for you, Nagpaptotoo ang Aklat ni Mormon kay Jesus Cristo ( That means the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ) And I can testify that it does as well. My schedule this was pretty similar to last week so I had exercise time where I play Bball/ lift weights I study a lot (like 4 hrs a day no joke) I have classes that I go to generally there are two classes a day that I go to but sometimes there is only one and they are 3hrs long so that can be long but I can say that this week overall was more fun I thought but I cannot really explain why but that it is sinking in more now that I am actually a missionary and for me that is awesome. I am like the only guy in my district that likes going to choir and I am ok with that I like it a lot and I enjoy our choir director as well he is pretty cool/funny 

A little excitement that happened this week though (Any Girl that is reading this I apologize in advance) but had bed bugs in some of the dorms that we sleep in but there are not any in my bed that is for sure but some other missionaries got bit but they are doing fine just thought I would share that. My Tagalog is getting better for a lot of this week we learned a lot of different kinds of verbs "MAG, I, IN, UM" verbs whihc are all simialr but conjugated differently but its all good lots of practice is all that is required and I work hard. Unfortunately I do not have any really fun stories yet like I will when I go to the Philippines but that is why I am here at the MTC the prepare to go to the Philippines so I can have the most amazing time when I get there. Just know this that I am doing well and I love this gospel and I hope that I will have more to say next week because the next time I email you I will be at my half way mark wow time sure is moving. 

Until Next Week 

Love 

Elder Chilson