Gotta Love it, right?

            Sup family!?  (haha), I mean hello.  So, hopefully you guys can read this before you go to bed.  We're in Tarlac and just played some basketball with some of the zone.  Typical Prep Day, right?   Today's actually Elder Tuitama's last Prep Day here in the mission field.  I may have mentioned him before, but he's from North Las Vegas and went to Legacy High School, and we've become really good friends this transfer.  He'll be going home straight into the Vegas cold after being in nothing but heat and rain for two years (haha).  I hear it's pretty cold in Vegas right now, but I'm sure it'll be back to it's good old 40 degree self next week. 

We did not get pictures from Jordan this week, but did get a few from Brad and Whitney, who are visiting the Philippines
presently (Jordan's mission) - here with Edsel, who was baptized in September 2005 when went to pick up Brad.  (We rode a Jypneey from the baptism to a restaurant singing Beatles songs, parading into the restaurant singing "Hey Jude."  John Lennon would have been proud.)  Brad, Whitney & Beckham will not be seeing Jordan during their visit, however.

            We had a really good week.  We found a new investigator named Litu.  He's a really cool guy.  He came to church with us yesterday and even stayed all three hours.  We took him on a tour of the chapel before the meeting started and he really enjoyed the time he spent there.  He'll become an awesome investigator, hopefully.  We went on exchanges this week on Friday as part of a four-way exchange.  One of the zone leaders came here with Elder Rabino to interview James, and I worked with the other Zone Leader, Elder Carasco, in their area.  James will be baptized this week!  It's been a long, pleasant, and miraculous journey with him and has been nothing but progressive.  We're really excited for his baptism!  Our other young-part member investigators, Korin and Jomel, will be baptized the following week, so we have another interview planned out for them this week.  I had such an awesome time working with Elder Carasco.  He's from LA, and I've gotten really close to him, too.  I'd worked in their area before, so some of the people that I taught back in late October still remembered me.  I guess it's hard NOT to forget a tall-white American who speaks Tagalog (haha).  I also interviewed one of their investigators that day.  I was there back in October with that same family.  The husband's a recent convert and I interviewed his wife as she's becoming the second member of the family to join the Church.  It was an uplifting experience as she shared with me the blessings that came when her husband joined the Church which made her want to investigate the Church.  Her husband used to be really into drinking and smoking, but completely stopped when he became a member and is now a lot happier.  Leading others to realize the promise of eternal families is a humbling experience.  It really makes me grateful to have been raised by parents who were married in the temple so that we could grow up with the blessings of a forever family here on earth.  Got to love it, right?

It has been over seven years since we last saw Jojo, here holding Beckham with Whitney in the foreground.  (Brad wrote that Jojo teaches at a local university and invited Brad to speak to a marketing class on Monday.)

            We attended the Philippines Area Presidency broadcast on Saturday, and it was awesome!  The presidency reported back all of the miracles that happened during the Rescue Program of 2012.  The Philippines in 2012 called more missionaries than any other year in the history of the Church in the Philippines.  About 1,000 or more mission calls were received.  The number will double now with the age change.  I'm so grateful to be serving in the Philippines during the Rescue Program.  I love it!  The Rescue Program of 2013 will be even better.

            Since I've been reading the New Testament, I've been yearning to become a teacher more like the Savior.  He taught with love and patience.  I also noticed that whenever His apostles didn't understand something that He taught, the Savior always explained it again to them to make sure that they would understand.  I sometimes get frustrated when investigators and less actives always ask the same questions after I've explained it to them so many times, and they still don't understand.  Like they say, "Patience is a virtue", which was probably one of my biggest weaknesses before my mission.  My patience still isn't where I want it to be, but I think it's improved a little bit.  Even a little bit can be a lot, right?

Brad, Whitney and Beckham visit La Greta "Pink" at her bedside in Angeles.  (Get well soon, Pink!)

            So, Brad and Whitney made it safely here in the Philippines, eh?  Wish I could see them, but we know that won't happen :).  They visited Sister Pink?  Did they get the stuff that I sent her??????  (Hoping so.)  Anyway, I hope that everyone's doing great.  I love being in the Philippines.  I love being a missionary, serving here with all my heart.  Life is very good.  This is the last full week of the transfer, so we'll make it a good one, because I might be transferred :/. 

            Mahal na mahal ko kayo.  Ingat.

            Elder Jordan "sikat pa rin ako sa Tarlac Ward 2 hehe joke lang :p" Royal