Paracale Branch

Hello Everyone,

A lot of crazy stuff happened this week, what I said last week about me getting emergency transferred was just the beginning of it, so I got here to Paracale on Wednesday and then me and Elder Mauigoa got right to work, he is really nice he is originally from Samoa but he has also spent some time in the USA so I was really excited to be able to work with him so the day before I got here Elder Mauigoa had some investigators that just passed their Baptismal Interviews so we had some baptisms lined up for Saturday which was very exciting but the catch was that there had to be a wedding first because some of the people that were going to get baptized they had to get married first (that is sort of a common thing here in the Philippines most people when they want to get married they do not have enough money to get married so they just sort of look past that and the husband and wife just live together and they act as if they are married but they are legally are not yet married) So most of this past week I spent a lot of time with Elder Mauigoa getting the wedding and baptismal preparations done so there was a lot of paperwork involved with the marriage contracts and the fact that this was going to be a civil wedding me and Elder Mauigoa went back and forth from the city hall to make sure that everything was done right. It was also really nice that we had a lot of help from the members here in the Paracale Branch they helped out a lot with the wedding and I also got asked to sing at the wedding so that was I guess an honor and I sang a song at their wedding as well and provided the other music for the wedding and the baptism as well and everything went well with the baptism as well this week we had a total of 8 people baptized this past from my district here in Paracale in the Daet Zone. 

I would say that my adjustment here to the Daet Zone was pretty smooth this is the first time that I have been assigned out of the Naga Stake so things are for sure different here in the Daet Zone or the Daet Stake but I have traveled up here many times before when I was in the office so I am pretty familiar with everything up here in Daet so there were not that many surprises up here which was nice as well. My appt is pretty nice sometimes we do not have running water so that is tough but we save water throughout the day so that we do not run out of water so Paracale is one of the farthest area in the mission so I am very far away from the mission home now which is different but it is nice here as well in Paracale because I am close to the coast and beach and there are also a lot of mountains here as well so I have rural areas and areas in the city here in Paracale.

Also we had transfers last night so I found out that Elder Mauigoa is actually getting transferred tomorrow and I actually found out that I am going to be the new DLT here in the Paracale District so that means that I am going to be the new DL or District Leader here in Paracale and I am also going to be a Trainer as well at the same time so that means I am training a new missionary that is coming into the mission on Wednesday so that is exciting as well so that will be a different experience for me but I am excited because the members are very nice here in Paracale but at the same time it might be tough because I have only been here in Paracale for 6 days now so I am still learning the area but I know that my Mission President and my Heavenly Father have faith in me that I can do it so I am excited for what lies ahead of me and I hope that everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a Happy Thanksgiving as well. 

Love,

Elder Chilson      

Final Tour

Hello Everyone,

This past week was my last week in the mission office and it was for sure one to remember. This past week I was able to travel to every zone in the mission which is something that is not done very often, but that was I guess my final tour so to speak because I found out today to my surprise that I am going to be transferred out of the office now and I will be transferring to Paracale an area in the Daet Zone this is arguable the furthest area away from the mission home in the mission. So this is going to be a huge change for me because as most of you know I have been in the Naga Stake for all of my mission up to this point so I am pretty excited to see how things are in different area of the mission, I know a lot of people and members in the Naga area so that is going to be a little different getting to know new people but I am sure that I will get used to it, Paracale is a town basically on the beach, it is on the coast of the ocean so I think that will be exciting and for sure a different experience than here in the office where it is all concrete walls that I see. 

Change is a big part of our lives here on Earth and a fancy word for change is repentance and so at this time I just thought that I would add in that I know that repentance is a gift that we have been given from our Heavenly Father to be able to change so that we do not have to be the same person our whole lives, but that we can change and become better that whatever mistakes we made yesterday they become wiped away because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I know that the power of the Atonement is real and I have a testimony of that.

On another side note, some of you probably remember that I was diagnosed with Dengue a few months ago there were two missionaries from the Goa Zone that were diagnosed with Dengue this past week as well so that was interesting to sort of being on the other end of that and I was able to help out in the hospital and with other things for those sick missionaries and that was a great experience, service I also know is a universal principle and that something that we should all be a part of especially as the Christmas Season is drawing near, we are celebrating Christ's birth after all for me it just makes sense that we should be doing the things that he did while he was here on the Earth like I mentioned last week the miracles, the "being a friend" type of moments, the putting others first before himself sort of mentality, the care, the love, and support that he gave to other people was just so great that we cannot even really comprehend it all but I know that he lived here on Earth for a time and completed his mission and then his father called him back home so he came out of the tomb and rose on the third day and then ascended into heaven after he had performed all his labors, that was then he received his crown of glory I know that can be the same for all of us as well that after this life there are many mansions waiting for us and we will be able to inherit all that Heavenly Father has in store for us. I hope that everyone who is celebrating Thanksgiving has a very Happy Thanksgiving and that they have the opportunity to watch a lot of football and they get to spend a lot of time with their family or friends. 

Love,

Elder Chilson      

   

He is the Light

Hello Everyone,

Oh how has the time flown by you blink for a quick second and you look up and it is November, the month of October went by pretty fast for me. This week was just a lot of balancing schedules because the things that I thought were going to happen did not happen as they were planned to so I had to adjust, but things worked out in the end. I did take a trip up to Lagonoy this past week and I picked up the refrigerator that I took up there a few months ago now I think because I got their refrigerator fixed so they did not need the temporary refrigerator anymore so that was fun. Everything else went pretty smooth in the office even with the changes in the schedule, I thought that I was pretty good at being flexible before I came out on my mission but I think that I have gained a deeper level of that since I have been here on my mission because things happen so quick sometimes and sometimes you have to adjust your schedule whether you want to or not because as a missionary there are so many different people that you have to rely on as a missionary because you have all of the missionaries in the mission and then all of the leaders in the wards or branches where you serve and then your investigators and the random people that you meet on the street everyday so nevertheless there are a lot of people that you have a to coordinate with as a missionary and the things that I have noticed is if the missionaries are not on top of their schedule then things usually do not go as planned so especially here in the Philippines because the church structure is not quite as firm as it is in America but there are so many other great things here in the Philippines that make up for that. 

This past week was awesome for me because yesterday I had some investigators that came to church all by themselves and that for me is one of the most rewarding feelings because it shows that the investigators are coming to church because they want to come to church and not because the missionaries want them to come to church and it also shows that they are keeping their commitments and that they are moving on their path towards conversion and the missionaries are not dragging them on their path to conversion that is one of the things that I am not fond of is when missionaries go in and extend commitments or ask the investigators to do things that they are not capable at the moment I feel that a lot of patience and love is required in missionary work and sometimes that might be lacking I know that I have talked about this before but I know that it is true. 

We also were able to find and teach a new family this week too so that is exciting and I hope that we will be able to find more whole families because here where I am serving now it is difficult to find men or husbands or future priesthood holders because usually they are working or just too busy trying to support for their families so that is something that is really special when you have an opportunity to teach a whole family all at one time. I know that the missionary work that I am a part of right now is not only helping the people of the Philippines but I have also learned and experienced many things that I otherwise probably would not have and I know that this work is the work of the Lord and I know that as we continue to find ways to share the gospel we will feel of the Holy Ghost and we will know that what we are doing is right and it is not hard everyone needs to hear the gospel message so just look for opportunities and go for it and have fun believe me missionary work is fun and anyone who has not yet had a chance to participate in it all you have to do is be the best example of the Savior that you can be it is that easy. 

Love,

Elder Chilson         

Balancing

Hello Everyone,

Oh how has the time flown by you blink for a quick second and you look up and it is November, the month of October went by pretty fast for me. This week was just a lot of balancing schedules because the things that I thought were going to happen did not happen as they were planned to so I had to adjust, but things worked out in the end. I did take a trip up to Lagonoy this past week and I picked up the refrigerator that I took up there a few months ago now I think because I got their refrigerator fixed so they did not need the temporary refrigerator anymore so that was fun. Everything else went pretty smooth in the office even with the changes in the schedule, I thought that I was pretty good at being flexible before I came out on my mission but I think that I have gained a deeper level of that since I have been here on my mission because things happen so quick sometimes and sometimes you have to adjust your schedule whether you want to or not because as a missionary there are so many different people that you have to rely on as a missionary because you have all of the missionaries in the mission and then all of the leaders in the wards or branches where you serve and then your investigators and the random people that you meet on the street everyday so nevertheless there are a lot of people that you have a to coordinate with as a missionary and the things that I have noticed is if the missionaries are not on top of their schedule then things usually do not go as planned so especially here in the Philippines because the church structure is not quite as firm as it is in America but there are so many other great things here in the Philippines that make up for that. 

This past week was awesome for me because yesterday I had some investigators that came to church all by themselves and that for me is one of the most rewarding feelings because it shows that the investigators are coming to church because they want to come to church and not because the missionaries want them to come to church and it also shows that they are keeping their commitments and that they are moving on their path towards conversion and the missionaries are not dragging them on their path to conversion that is one of the things that I am not fond of is when missionaries go in and extend commitments or ask the investigators to do things that they are not capable at the moment I feel that a lot of patience and love is required in missionary work and sometimes that might be lacking I know that I have talked about this before but I know that it is true. 

We also were able to find and teach a new family this week too so that is exciting and I hope that we will be able to find more whole families because here where I am serving now it is difficult to find men or husbands or future priesthood holders because usually they are working or just too busy trying to support for their families so that is something that is really special when you have an opportunity to teach a whole family all at one time. I know that the missionary work that I am a part of right now is not only helping the people of the Philippines but I have also learned and experienced many things that I otherwise probably would not have and I know that this work is the work of the Lord and I know that as we continue to find ways to share the gospel we will feel of the Holy Ghost and we will know that what we are doing is right and it is not hard everyone needs to hear the gospel message so just look for opportunities and go for it and have fun believe me missionary work is fun and anyone who has not yet had a chance to participate in it all you have to do is be the best example of the Savior that you can be it is that easy. 

Love,

Elder Chilson