Sipocot

Hello Everyone,

So this week was full of adjustments for me but now everything is all in place. So this past week I was transferred from Paracale, Daet Zone to Sipocot , Pamplona Zone and now I am the new Zone Leader for the whole Pamplona Zone, everything went pretty smooth on Monday I packed up all of my stuff and then said goodbye to everyone in Paracale which I must say was a little bit different this time I am not sure why but I think that it was harder for me to leave Paracale as opposed to my other past areas (aside from the office that was a different experience) I think that I got closer to the members in Paracale as opposed to my past areas and I think that they will miss me there but I left Elder Denoy there and I think that I left a part on me with him there and he will keep things rolling in Paracale then on Tuesday morning at 3:30am (no joke) I was at the bus terminal to go to Naga City and then we traveled all morning and for me now whenever I go to Naga City I just feeling like I am coming home after a long trip so that was fun for me to go back to Naga then I received all of my Zone Leader stuff and then I found my new companion Elder Abrigo who I know pretty well we were in the Canaman Zone together for a while before and then we were on our way to Sipocot. 

Sipocot is of course different than Paracale and different than Naga City it is sort of a high way town because Sipocot is the biggest city between Daet and Naga one of the biggest differences for me is that they speak Bicol-Naga here like they do in Naga City in Paracale they only speak Tagalog so now I am getting used to that again which is not problem when I was working the office in Naga I spoke Bicol as well so I was get used to that again and some of the Bicol-Naga that I forgot when I went to Paracale is coming back and the Branch here in Sipocot is pretty nice, the members here are really nice, I spoke in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and that went well there are some members that remember me from when I was in the office so I have some connections here including the Branch President here in Sipocot I met him several times before in Sipocot and in Naga when I was in the office doing various tasks for President Zapanta so we already know each other and there are a lot of members that work with me and Elder Abrigo I am now settled in here in Sipocot and I am excited about the potential that there is here in Sipocot I think there is a lot of great missionary work that is about to happen here.

I know that Jesus Christ lives and he is our Savior and that he loves us and I know that as we follow his example and we do our best to become like he we will feel of his love especially as we read the Book of Mormon I know that as we read and study the Book of Mormon we will draw nearer unto Christ and believe it or not March is here and Easter is vastly approaching so what better way to spend this Easter Season then reading about the Saviors life from the Book of Mormon and other scriptures that we have and I hope that we can all remember the Savior daily as we are out and about our various tasks each and every day of our lives.

Love,

Elder Chilson          

Pamplona Zone

Hello Everyone,

This week was another week full of surprises because everything was leading up to last night with the transfer announcements because everyone wants to know who was going to get transferred and who was going to stay in their areas so last night I got the call from my Zone Leaders and they said that I was going to be transferred and I was not that surprised I sort of got the feeling that I was going to be transferred but then I also got the feeling that me and Elder Denoy could stay another transfer here together in Paracle so I was torn but at any rate I accepted the assignment to be the new Zone Leader in the Pamplona Zone and I was really surprised I was not expecting to go the the Pamplona Zone and become a Zone Leader but that is sometimes how the life of a missionary is the most unexpected things are the things that usually come to pass and that is something to me that strengthens my testimony about revelations because I know that President Zapanta receives revelation for the Philippines Naga Mission and he does not just tell the missionaries where to go and what to do but he tells the missionaries what the Lord wants them to do and where they should go so I am excited for this opportunity as a District Leader before I was in charge of 8 missionaries and now I will be in charge of a whole zone and 18 missionaries so I am excited for the challenge and for all the opportunities that lie ahead for me to be able to help and serve the other missionaries in my zone.

Also this week I cannot believe that I am saying this mostly because on the calendar it says that it is February right now but in the Philippines Naga Mission summer has officially started and it is really hot for me I think that it is hotter in Paracale as opposed to Naga City but it is still hot and another thing that I did for the first time this week was I patched up my pants this past week because I got a hole in one of my pairs of pants the hole was not that big it was about the size of a small nail and then I said to myself I can handle this and then I did my best to patch it up and I am not a professional sewer by any imagination but I think that I did a pretty okay job. This week me and Elder Denoy had a lot of fun I think that he really enjoyed his training and he learned a lot as well and he for sure he learned how to work hard something that he was not that used to before he came on the mission and no joke yesterday we walked over 3 miles in the heat I am sure that you can picture that anyone who knows me know that I work just as hard as anyone and I will not let anything get in the way of the Lord Work.

My new companion pala is a Filipino I know him pretty well we have both been on our missions now for a little while his name is Elder Abrigo and he is pretty nice I am not really that surprised because most of my companions that I have had on my mission have been Filipinos so I think that it will be fun and I am excited for the adventures that lie ahead in Sipocot I am sure that there are many people there that are waiting to hear the Gospel and I am going to be one of the people to take it to them and that for me right now means everything. Now is the time that I have to give my all to the Lord and his work and I am doing my best to now waste the time that he has given me to do so and I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ lives and I know that he is our Savior and that he loves us very much and I know that as we turn to him he will come to our aid and support us when we are feeling down and we are in need of comfort and we will be able to feel of his love that he has for us and we will be able to continue on our pathways that lead back to our Father in Heaven.

Love,

Elder Chilson            

Solid Work Week

Hello Everyone,

This week was a pretty solid work week nothing super exciting happened but it was a pretty fun week as well. I cannot believe that this is the start of the last week of Elder Denoy's training it seems that we have not been together for that long but believe it or not we have been together for almost 12 weeks now so at the end of this week his training will be finished. This past week I had a lot of exchanges, on funny experience I had this past week was that I got to work with Elder Petersen in Daet because this past week I had exchanges with the Zone Leader's because he is a Zone Leader in the Daet Zone and I actually enjoyed it a lot because if you can remember Elder Petersen was my companion while I was in the MTC in Provo and in the MTC in Manila so we know each other pretty well but this was like the first time that we have been in the same zone together and so it was really interesting to be able to work together again and the fact that me and Elder Petersen both can speak and understand Tagalog helped so much because when we were in the MTC together we did not always understand what we were saying to each other or what our investigators were saying either while we were in the MTC. So for me it was pretty funny and it so amazing for me to see that Heavenly Father knows for real what we need I am not really sure why me and Elder Petersen were brought back together here in the Daet Zone after us being together in the MTCs but I know that Heavenly Father knows what we need so he will put us in situations where we can learn and we can grow because he knows what is best for each of us. 

This week me and Elder Denoy helped some of our investigators come closer to baptism which I think is great but the whole marriage this is what we will be waiting on here in Paracale for the next little bit because the government right now in the Philippines is changing the process by which people can get married so we are waiting on the final verdict on that (or at least that is what I am being told I do not really know that much about the Filipino Government) anyways we have two part member families that we are working with right now and that are pretty cool but the only problem is they are not yet married so hopefully by March me and Elder Denoy will be able to sort all of that out and we are also constantly finding new investigators so me and Elder Denoy are just keeping things rolling here in Paracale this place I think is a place that has been prepared by the hand of the Lord for his children to accept the gospel so that is what I have been doing my best to do is to invite other people to Come unto Christ and to partake of his gospel.

I know that when I accepted my mission call to become a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I told Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that I was going to do anything and everything that was in my power to help Heavenly Father's children be able to return to him and that I was going to have to make sacrifices in the process, and I know that the sacrifices that I have made are all going to be balanced out in the end and I know that my efforts on the Lord's Errand will not be wasted but that the rewards will be so much greater so I am just going to continue give all that I have to this work because I know that this is the work of the Lord and that Jesus Christ is at the head of this church and I know that as we continue to center our lives around our Savior Jesus Christ we will be blessed in more ways than we will be able to count. 

Love,

Elder Chilson 

Big Week

Hello Everyone,

This week was a very big week for me but it all came together just as it should. So as we know Super Bowl we is a big week and a lot of things have to happen at just the right time in order to be successful in the Super Bowl and that is what I felt this past week as well because last Saturday the whole Aysara Family was baptized and I was so happy for them it was a feeling that I had never felt before and for them it is just their first steps on their way to the temple but I really hope that one day they will be able to make it to the temple and they will be able to be sealed as a family for all time and eternity one of the great blessings that Heavenly Father has to give to us and I feel so grateful for the opportunity that I had to be able to help this family move in that direction. I know that they are so happy right now and all of the sacrifices that went into their baptism and everything I know will be worth it. 

Me and Elder Denoy also had two part member families that came to church yesterday which for me was awesome because they really showed their faith in Jesus Christ because a lot of the people here in Paracale they need to work everyday even Sunday just to have enough food to be able to feed their families for the week so when a whole family of 6 comes to church that is a big sacrifice for a family but I know that the blessings will be there as well and that Heavenly Father will not leave us alone, He wants us to be successful and I know that as we call upon his name he will come to us and help us in whatever way that we need because I have seen that in my life and while I have been here on my mission I know that that is true. Even though sometimes are tough and for reasons we do not know why we need to just continue to move forward with the faith that we have and that is one thing that I have been trying to help my investigators with recently and I know that is something that we can all apply to our lives I am not certain what the future hold but what I am certain of is that God, Our Heavenly Father is in control so we should not fear but we should be of hope for we are waiting for that day when our Savior, Master, and Redeemer will come again and oh what a great day that will be.

I know that as we continue to strive to do the little things right especially in our families we will feel an abundance of the Spirit in our homes, and I know that the Book of Mormon is the key for that, that is one thing that the Aysara Family did they read from the Book of Mormon almost every night and they found something that was missing in their lives and even though they were facing trials before their baptism and even now after their baptism they are still facing trials but I know that they will be okay because they have to tool that they need to find peace and answers to their questions and that is The Book of Mormon I know that it has changed the lives of the Aysara Family and I know as I have been helping them on the road of conversion I have been more deeply converted as well to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that is my invitation to all of you to read the Book of Mormon because I know that if we will all continue to read the Book of Mormon it will change our lives for the better and help us get back to our Heavenly Father.

Love,

Elder Chilson    

The Aysara Family Baptism