Almost All the Zones

Hello Everyone,

This week was another good week here in the office. I worked on a lot of different tasks this week. I spent a lot of time this week ordering and gathering new supplies for this new transfer and then me and the missionary that I am training right now in the office filled a lot of orders for the missionaries here in my mission and of course I did a lot of driving again I went to Calabanga, Buhi, most of the Goa Zone, and Libmanan so I almost got to cover all of the zones in the mission and that was fine the driving was pretty smooth at least as smooth as it can be with traffic here in the Philippines, In Libmanan we helped them move to their new appt so me and Elder McNabb went and helped them move and that was a lot of fun because I got to work with Elder Johnson and this missionary is a character, he is really funny and he likes football as well which is a big help just another quick pieace of information about Elder Johnson is that he never wears socks so you can point him out from a long ways away and he is also the tallest missionary right now in the Philippines Naga Mission at 6'5'' but at the same time he is really nice. 

Also I went to hospital twice this past week for my companion, Elder De SIlva because he got sick, he is doing well though now, the medicine seems to be working it is just sort of strange that me and Elder De Silve have both gotten sick since we have been here in the office and both on accounts of us not really expecting it which is usually the case in most instances when it comes to illnesses. So far the rainy season here in my mission has not been very serve today it was very hot I thought and the rain never came which is interesting because I thought that it was going to rain. Also here in the Philippines there is a big holiday here on Wednesday, where all the Filipino's go to the cemeteries and they worship their family members that have pasted on from this life into the next one and they call it "All Saints Day" and they usually have big parties in the cemeteries there is nothing that I know of like in America last year if you recall when I was in Calabanga we went and visited some of the cemeteries as well because that was where all the people were at the time. 

Also Elder Haynie of the Philippines Area Presidency is coming here to Philippines Naga Mission to visit this week so I had to take care of some preparations for that and everything should be all set, Elder Haynie was here last March I think it was for Stake Conference so that is exciting as well. I know that revelation is a real thing and that the windows of heaven are open and that anyone who seeks to know the will of God will find it and then they will know what to do and how they can become more like their Savior and I know that the Holy Ghost is the real teacher and if we let it work within us then we will know the things that we must do in order to receive eternal life and how we can be with our families together forever. I also played basketball again today adn I have not played real basketball in a few months now that I have been here in the office and it was fun, something that I missed for sure so that was a lot of fun as well to have another chance to play again maybe we will play again next week I will keep you posted next week. 

Love, 

Elder Chilson            

Crazy Week

Hello Everyone,

This week was a week that did not go as it was planned to and no one saw it coming. So this week was another transfer week for me in the Mission Office so it was crazy, but this transfer week was a little bit crazier than it usually first off it was crazy because there were new missionaries that moved into the office and there were two missionaries that moved out of the office Elder Golez and Elder Miller and that caused for me to make some adjustments because me and Elder Golez and Elder Miller had worked together for 6 months together so had many opportunities to become close friends and it was definitely not by accident that the three of us were together for 6 months because my companion changed 3 months through while I have been here in the Mission Office regardless Elder Miller is really funny I really enjoyed working with him and I was at first a little nervous because he was from UT so I thought that our personalities were going to clash and we were going to have disagreements but that was not the case we got along just fine and Elder Golez as well I was not really sure how things were going to work out because Elder Golez is more of a quiet reserved kind of guy but now we are close friends I would totally let him come over to my house in NY if her ever gets the opportunity Elder Golez is awesome and now I wish him the best now that he is home now I hope that I get to see him again sometime. The new missionaries that are here in the Mission Office now as well are cool too and they are doing well also. 

Then after transfers we had to deal with the arrivals and departures or the missionaries that were going home and the new missionaries that were coming into the mission. We took the missionaries to the airport to get on their flight to go to Manila in the morning and we were there from like 8am to 1pm and then we got word that the plane went back to Manila from Naga because what happened was that the plane came for real from Manila to Naga but because of the rain the plane was not able to land so all the flights ended up being canceled so that was not much fun so we got all the luggage gathered up and we took everyone back to the Mission Office and then I got word from President Zapanta that they were just going to take a bus from Naga City to Manila so that is what we did we put them on a but so got to Manila so they got on a bus and they went and got to Manila about midnightish because it is about a 8hr-10hr bus ride from Naga City to Manila or a 1hr plane ride so you can see the picture now and then the Area Office also gave word that the new missionaries also took a bus and they bused all night and they got here about 4am on Thursday morning so of course I was among those that went to go pick up the new missionaries at the bus terminal so that was I did not sleep much at all that night but that was okay then on that same day I got called onto a Medical Emergency in Del Gallego so I was happy that I was able to help out with that situation as well this week was really busy that is for sure. 

Also I took a trip to Daet so I drove about 500KMS this past week so that was fun and I also spent sometime sewing this past week as well so my Mom would be proud I sewed/fixed one of my white shirts this past week because there pocket ripped some on it and I was really not sure what I was going to be able to do with it but I just put some needle and thread to it and it looks okay so I was pretty excited about that but I still have not figured out how to sew on a button to one of my white shirts but it is okay I am not really in any hurry at the moment and for me, it is just strange here in my mission right now for me to be one of the older missionaries now in my mission as in that I have been here in my mission now for more months that most of the others and I just remember being new and not knowing anything and now I have seen myself teaching and helping other missionaries with different language and cultural questions that they have just like I had other missionaries helping me when I first got here in my mission. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and I know that as we continue to read it we will find answers to our questions and we will  feel of the love that the Savior has for all of us. 

Love,

Elder Chilson    

Another Interesting Week

Hello Everyone,

This week was another interesting week for me, because I spent half of the week in Bato again on a temporary assignment and the other half in the office preparing for the upcoming transfer. So there was not really a whole lot that happened this week that was super interesting, I did some traveling, I traveled the whole Iriga Zone this past week and delivered some supplies to them and then I just spent the other time that I had in the office getting ready for the new missionaries that will be coming this transfer and the missionaries that are going home and things like that. Also this is my last week with the older office staff because the other missionaries that I have been serving with in the office are either going home or transferring to other areas so Elder Miller and Elder Golez are leaving the office and there are new missionaries that have now taken their places so things will be different now in the office because I served just about the last 6 months with them and so now I will be the longest missionary working in the mission office which is a weird feeling as well but the other new missionaries that are working now in the office are really nice too so that is good as well. 

Then I went to Bato this past week again and I worked there in the place of the missionary that was sick, me and Elder Daroy had fun again and we walked a lot but we had some pretty good lessons as well. Also while I was there in Bato they had a "Zone Fasting" so that was fun that I got to be part of that I fasted to help the Iriga Zone achieve their Zone Goals for the upcoming month and I got to work some as well in Cararayan some as well and me and Elder De Silva a surprise yesterday morning when we went to go pick up our investigators for church we had at least one investigator that we were pretty sure was going to come to church and then to our surprise she had a friend with here that just decided to come to church as well, someone that we had never met mind you, so I know at least from my own experience that anyone who knows little or not much at all about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and they come to church for the full 3 hours, they have to have some faith of some kind because I know a lot of people that would not be interested in coming to church for 1 hour let alone 3 hours so hopefully that is something that me and Elder De Silva will be able to build off of and hopefully strengthen the faith that she has and create something bigger like a testimony and a desire to be baptized into Jesus Christ's church here on the Earth. 

Something that has been on my mind this week that I would like to share for a second is charity. For those of you who are not very familiar with the word charity, it is just a fancy word for love or the pure love of Christ as mentioned in the Book of Mormon and I just wanted to share that I know that charity is a real attribute of Christ and that we can develop it ourselves to the best of our abilities here in this live, as we really give it our all to seek Jesus Christ, our Savior as we turn to him and as we learn about him as it gradually draws nearer to Christmas, I know that we can really become more like him in this life even though that we are not perfect we can always try and I know that our efforts will be rewarded on the other side of the vale because I know that there are angels keeping records in heaven for us of all of our works here on Earth. I know of charity and its power to change hearts, I that it can if we truly to desire to become more like Christ then we can apply the Christ-like attribute of charity to our lives and have the worldly desires of our hearts changed to the desires that the Lord has in store for us.     

Love,

Elder Chilson             

Bato

Hello Everyone,

This week was a pretty busy but smooth one because I had a lot of different conferences that I attended among other things so it was not very hard to make my schedule this week it was pretty much dictated to me by my "real" calendar. So at the beginning of this past week I accepted a temporary assignment in "Bato" which is an area in the Iriga Zone, and I was there for a few days because a missionary who is normally there had to spend some time in Naga because of his illness so that was fun I got to work with Elder Daroy in Bato and we enjoyed our time working there together and while I was there I got to meet a future missionary she leaves in 18 days and she is from Bato so that was sort of weird for me because I have no idea how it will be when I get back to American because I am still not even sure if this is all real sometimes that I am really serving my mission right now but anyways we were also to have a service project as well while I was there in Bato and that was fun too we got to cut grass with "itaks" again of the machete like things and that is always fun.  

Then when I got back from Bato I had Zone Conference so I went to that and that was uplifting and awesome as Zone Conferences are in my mission and then Sister Zapanta wanted to decorate the mission office for Christmas so we did that as well this week and then we had General Conference as well this past weekend so that was very good as well and what was funny for me about the General Conference for me was that was exactly what I was doing one year ago because my first ever Sunday here in the Philippines was when I attended the October 2016 General Conference and then this past week I attended the October 2017 General Conference so that was another eye opening experience I guess you could say I have been here in the Philippines now for a while which is very crazy for me to think about as well and how that Christmas will be here before we know it as well. We also spent a lot of time this week in Cararayan finding new investigators or new people to teach so that of course creates its challenges and exciting opportunities as well so, we have been working on that as well I think that there is some potential in the new people that we found this past week so hopefully they will be able to come to church this upcoming week. Also me and Elder Miller made a coconut cake this morning

Not one quote stuck out to me this week from General Conference but I would just say that the overall theme of the Book of Mormon and the talks that were about the Book of Mormon stuck out to me and how the Book of Mormon is really what keeps The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints together especially Elder Nelson and Elder Callister's talks about the Book of Mormon I thought that was very powerful and I guess in addition to what they said I invite everyone and anyone to read the Book of Mormon it will change your life for the better I know this because I have experienced that while I have been serving my mission here in the Philippines and even before my mission the Book of Mormon will lead you down path of repentance and because of the atonement of Jesus Christ you can be spiritually healed and have desires to follow the Savior Jesus Christ and become one of his true disciples and become all that your Heavenly Father wants you to be. I know these things to be true I know that the Book of Mormon was not created randomly by Joseph Smith like some people may claim but it was an ancient record that was preserved for a time until Heavenly Father knew that we were ready for it so he called Joseph Smith help make his plan become a reality and Joseph Smith was just an instrument in his hands and that he translated the Book of Mormon so that everyone can read and feast upon its words and that is my invitation to everyone that will read my message is to find a copy of the Book of Mormon that is not that hard to do just find Missionaries or ask someone who is a Mormon and they will find you a free copy and to all of you who are reading the Book of Mormon right now continue to do so because I know that it will be well with you in the Lord's timing.

Love,

Elder Chilson       

A Lot of Kilometers

Hello Everyone,

This week was a lot of kilometers and going with the flow, this week I did a lot of traveling this week because this past week here in the Philippines was like a National Family Week type of things so there were a lot of different activities that happened and the other Office Elders and I were pretty busy this week with various schedules and making sure that we were where we were supposed to be at the same time. So in short last week most of us were in Daet because of various activities including the Art Show so I am not sure if you remember but a few months ago now we had an Art Show here in Naga Stake and I thought that it went pretty well so Sister Zapanta has been working it out so that we can have that throughout the whole mission so this past week we had another one in the Daet Stake and I thought that is went pretty well there as well, but as with most big events there is always a sigh of relief when it is over as well and this would be the case for me as well there was a lot of preparations and other things that I did to help the even go smoothly and of course I was more than happy to help but at the same time things can get a little crazy at times but I think that is when we really grow and learn, it is through the crazy times. 

I cannot believe as well that it is October now, football season is well underway and basketball season is coming soon this is a great time of year, one of my favorite times of the year I might add, and here in the Philippines it is great too a reminder I guess from last year because I probably discussed this as well when I got here in the Philippines is that I have been listening to Christmas music now for over a month now literally when it hit September 1st everything Christmas had now begun so that is why sometimes my brain gets a little confused because I just had my birthday and now it is Christmas? Or like there is no snow and it is still hot so in my head it is hard for me to comprehend that it is really getting close to the Christmas Season but according to the calendar it is so that is what I follow. This upcoming week I have zone conferences again and some other activities so it will be a pretty busy week again for me but I am pretty used to that now.

We also had some success this past week in finding some new investigators which was exciting but they were not able to come to church so that is something that me and Elder De Silva will be focusing more on this week is the coming to church and how we can continue to help the Naga 3rd Ward progress in their quest for building Zion here in Naga in preparation for the coming for Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer and of course that is not easy but I know that with the Lord's help all things are possible. I know that missionary work is a work that requires everyone, every able body, the elderly, the young, the inexperienced, the learned, the wise, those of little faith ad those of great faith, I know that the Lord needs you. Whether you think that you are qualified or not matters now what matters is that you have a desire help Heavenly Father's children come back to him that is what is important, it is about where our heart is and how we can align our will with God's I know that this can be difficult sometimes but I know that it is possible when we seek out the guidance of the Holy Ghost through scripture study, prayer, and fasting that we will be able to accomplish all that our Heavenly Father has for us with our time here on Earth.

Love,

Elder Chilson