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| Generic picture of the vicinity of where Jordan is in Tarlac (we think) |
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| General area depicting Jordan's new area |
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| Closer map of Jordan's new area |
Well I guess that you guys already know that I got transferred from Sister Adonis, but for those who don't know . . . I got transferred (haha). I'm now in the Sta. Ignacia Zone, which is about 10 miles from Tarlac City. My new area is Mamonit with my new companion, Elder Timbas. Elder Timbas only has two transfers left, so I could be his last companion before he goes home. He's a really nice guy. Sometimes he can be quiet, but he always asks me how I am and is trying his best to help me adjust here. We share a house in Mayantoc with the Mayantoc Elders, and you won't believe who's in the house with me, and who is also our District Leader. Yep, it's Elder Declaro. It was pretty crazy to hear that I would once again be reunited with my trainer in the same house again. His companion is Elder Mora, and they're awesome. It's kinda fun living in the same house with two other missionaries. Our area is about five miles away from our house, so we have to take a trike everyday to get there and back. Our area is very beautiful. It's right next to the mountains and everything is so green. I would've taken pictures, but I forgot the camera, so probably next week. I'm in a stake now, so there are a lot of members here in the area/zone.
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| Jordan's district on Transfer Day . . . saying goodbye to Kalikid |
Transfer day was pretty sad, I had to leave everyone that I had gotten to know so well over the past four months, but hey...that's probably going to happen every time I leave a new area (haha). Every companionship in Bongabon is new now, so everyone got moved around. Elder McCormack is still my zone leader here in Sta. Ignacia, which was good news, because he's just an awesome guy. On our way to Tarlac, we saw groups of people flogging themselves and carrying big crosses for Holy Week. (No Dad, I didn't take pictures, because we were moving to fast for me to take out my camera.) It's just a sad site to see.
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| Jordan & Elder Talento with EJ (in red) |
I'm so grateful that I was able to watch General Conference this weekend for Easter. What a blessing it was to hear our prophet, apostles, and other leaders of the Church speak to us! Conference is just absolutely amazing on a mission. I've watched two sessions of Conference now on my mission, and it just gets better and better each time. They do General Conference differently in the Philippines though. They play it a week afterwards and most of the members only go to one session. There were not a lot of people during the Saturday sessions, which was good, because it was quiet. The Sunday Morning Session was probably the noisiest, because there were about 50 kids crying, screaming, and laughing all at once in one building. We were sitting in the very front, so it wasn't that big of a problem. I could go on and on about all of the awesome Conference talks that I heard, but I guess I'll just focus on one right now, which was Elder Bednar's talk about Priesthood Duties during the Priesthood Session. He told the story of the conversion of his father, but before his conversion, he asked his son why the men in the ward weren't taking their Priesthood seriously if they truly believed in the sacred power they proclaimed to have. In other wards, why they weren't performing their Priesthood Duties? That really made me think. The Priesthood is the power of God that He gave to man to use. I loved President Uchtdorf’s talk in Priesthood Session about the "Why" in Priesthood. Wow, Conference was just so great! I encourage you all to continually ponder the words and messages given by our leaders of the Church. They were inspired by God when they spoke. I'm so grateful that I was able to spend Easter Sunday here. What a privilege it was.
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| Jordan with Elders Talento and McCormic on Transfer Day |
We worked in the area this weekend and it was just really fun to meet all the people here. On Friday during my first day of work, I experienced probably the worst rainstorm that I've ever been through here in the Philippines, and it's not even rainy season yet! The rain just poured down. We waited for about in hour for it to slow down, but it never did, so we walked to our other appointments. The rain finally stopped during one our appointments at a recent convert’s house, but it was still really muddy outside. The members here in the Mamonit Ward are super nice and friendly. We visited the Bishop and his family later that night, and they have a pet monkey outside their front door. Which was pretty awesome. I would've gotten a picture with it, but the fear of getting bitten and rabies won out. I'll probably just end up doing later before I leave the area. I mean I have to. IT’S A MONKEY!
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| Jordan and Elder Talento say goodbye to Sister Adonis and her family |
Ok, well I think that's about it for me right now. General Conference was awesome and the Church is true. I've been seeing great progress in my language these past couple of weeks which will hopefully continue. The Lord has provided me with great blessings, for which I am very grateful! Ingat! Mahal na mahal ko kayo!
Elder Jordan "Lovin' Life" Royal
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| Celebrating Elder Talento's birthday just before Transfer Day |
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