Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas! Ours here was amazing! We had a great time spending time with families we love and sharing the message of the true meaning of Christmas! I just saw for the first time this video and holy cow did it hit me hard! So true. i highly recommend it. http://www.mormonchannel.org/christmas-videos?v=3942657619001&cid=HPMO122214579 

So before the season of Christmas entirely goes away... watch this! :)

Elder Saguire, Nanay Esperanza, MaryRose and me

We had a baptism this last saturday of MaryRose and Nanay Esperanza. It was such an amazing experience seeing them following through on following the example of the Savior! I could see it in their eyes that they knew what they were doing was right! :) Funny story with that too! So i didnt exactly fully what to do, so i was watching some of the kids' baptisms and then it was time for Nanay and she just got in the water without me and then slipped!! I heard a bunch of gasps and then I ran over to where you get in and ran in the water to pick her up out of the water! haha it was really scary.. but kinda funny, just because she was ok! Then she said "tapos na!" which is like "finished!" haha it was an awesome experience for sure!

But yeah things have been great over here! The work was a little slower just because people have been so busy.. but It was such a blessing to be able to share the message of the birth of our Savior! and it really is a message for everyone! Because it means hope!

But another thing... We were washing our clothes this morning and it was really really sunny and beautiful and warm! I felt water onto my flip flops and couldnt help but think of what it was like at roaring springs... then i realized.. "oh...theres probably snow covering it right now...." :) just kiddin!

But I know that this work is true! I know that feelings of goodness and the desire to be better people at Christmas is no coincidence and it comes from God! I hope you have a wonderful New Years and Mahal ko kayo.

Elder Navarro

District Christmas Party

Elder Volpe's note to me

15 minutes before church starts. Filipino time.

View from front of our apartment.

Christmas morning.

People we associate with on a daily basis.

We have awesome members and mom.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

So many blessings especially in this Christmas season! Its sooooo amazing to be able to have the whole world coming into a Christmas celebration!!! I love Christmas sooo much!

Been an awesome week! We had our District Christmas party which was another blast! We also had our Christmas devotional in Santiago with Pres and Sis Rahlf! Gosh they are so cool! Sister Rahlf talked about the songs of Christmas and had awesome presentations of the songs! Including our mission president playing guitar and singing in German! Haha and then Pres. Rahlf talked about the gift of Jesus Christ. and specifically the magnitude of the Atonement! It really does span a lot more than we can even comprehend.... But the amazing thing is we have the opportunity to feel of the lifting of our burdens and the peace and comfort in all of life's craziest moments... and it truly is an "infinite atonement" but anyway!

 

This week we almost got killed by a snake!! Hahaha not really, but we did see a Philippine Cobra! That was fun.

 

We have our first baptismal service this Saturday! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO THEM! Nanay Hermosura as well as MaryRose! its going to be such a beautiful experience and its been so amazing to be able to see in their eyes.... the desire to follow Jesus Christ! And its obviously a difference! I dont think i've ever been able to see it this clearly though! WOW! 

 

Anyways... Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I'm sure you've all heard, but its so important! Never forget the true meaning of Christmas! The birth, life, and teachings of Jesus Christ! I know He lives! He knows us and every challenge we could ever have! His Atonement is sufficient for all of us!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BEAUTIFUL PHILIPPINES!

Elder Navarro

Yeah. This has literally been the best week of my mission so far!

We had our branch Christmas party this last Saturday. It was the funnest thing of my life! The people here really know how to make something fun! I wish i could describe it but the feeling of love for everyone there was so apparent! And the primary kids did like a nativity presentation and it was the best little thing you'll ever see! So pure! So humble and you could just see a sort of spirit radiating from them! :) We also had a little presentation.. haha it wasnt as good as the others.. but people threw little pesos at us while we were singing so it was a good time.

I dont know... something really switched this last week! During this Christmas party, I felt so comfortable and at home! I think up till this last week I had been telling myself that I love it here.. and i did, but maybe deep down I really missed home! But really in the humblest way I can say it, I wouldnt want to be anywhere else in the world right now. and that is literally my honest opinion.

But enough about me. The Branch is starting to take HUGE steps in its progression! So amazing to see the work hastening here our small corner of the world in Lamut/Bagabag! Its equally as amazing how much the Lord prepares his people! The way we meet people and seeing them receive the gospel of Jesus Christ is no coincidence and theres no doubt in my mind about that! We taught about the Restoration a ton this last week and I can remember one young guy.. he works in a poultry house and we taught him over there and at first we could tell he was a little nervous at the beginning but when we asked him to pray, it was one of the most sincere prayers i've ever heard... and after that the spirit was sooooo strong and this guy was tearing up! The power of prayer is so real. especially coming from people who honestly seek our Father in Heaven.

In other news.... i ate brain this last week. yep. didnt know it was brain until after I was done eating it but all is well, all is well. That night i really felt a LOT smarter than before... so if you have a test tomorrow or something... i highly recommend Dinakdakan.
 

Well, I'll stop boring you... Just know that God's hand is truly everywhere! I know for a fact that when we give Him our best effort, He will bless us more than we can imagine... I Love Christmas season!!! And everyone says it but it cant be said enough! Christ is the center of Christmas! and people cherish and love Christmas because the spirit of Christ is felt as the world takes a season to recognize Him!

Ingat!

Elder Navarro

With the sweetest lady ever, investigator Nanay Valdez

Christmas musical number. Elders Saguire, me, Volpe and Larona 

 

 

 

Can get a bit chilly at night. Long sleeves shirt time

 

Riding on top of "Jeepney" common place for missionaries to sit when these mode of transport is full of passengers

 

Malapit na sa Christmas!

Its getting super close to Christmas and I'm loving every second of this great season!

This last week we had our "4-week reunion" i guess you could call it... All of my batch and their trainers came to Cauayan and we got to see how everyone was doing and just get some extra training that we probably wouldnt have remembered on the first day just because we were chickens with our heads cut off that day haha! Crazy to see how some of my friends from the MTC have changed in just these last few weeks!

Things are really starting to heat up over here for Christmas and I LOVE it! The work has been going great! We are teaching an older woman who wants to become united with her family and she is soooooo willing to keep her commitments and actually learn for herself which has been such a blessing! She's the sweetest old lady ever!! haha she has no teeth so it makes it all the better! But we are going back over there tonight to teach her again and have a family home evening with them!!! Super excited because we are going to watch the "Joy to the World" DVD and gosh it just amazes me every time I think about the birth of the Savior! Our mission president asked us to really get to know the Christmas story! And holy cow have I learned soooo much more than I used to know! He also told to really come to know who Mary and Joseph were... They were bound to become the earthly parents of the Only Begotten Son so they must have been a lot more than just average Joe's for God to choose them! WOW!

Ha speaking of Joe... I get called that every so often.. along with Americano haha I guess I dont look as filipino here as i do back home! haha but its fun! I usually shout back "hello filipino!" and they laugh a little because a lot of times its kids...

Gosh i love the kids here! If i'm having a bad day the kids make it better every time! They're so innocent and fun and a really good way to learn tagalog haha

But yeah... prayers are goin out to the people in the way of Typhoon Ruby... I dont know if youve even heard about it but it has been a huge deal over here. Our mission isnt directly affected (besides a ton of rain) but again prayers goin out to people where it is a problem....

This week has been great though! Love the members. Love the people (most of them ;) and Love being a missionary! Couldnt ask for much more!

But I wont bore you too much this week! I hope everyone has a great Christmas season and always remember the best gift ever given... Jesus Christ. Speaking of the gift!!! Christmas.LDS.org Its the best not gonna lie! He is the source of true happiness!

Thanks for all the support! :)

Elder Navarro

A visit to the mission home with comp Elder Saguire

Inside the Tryci, common mode of transport. Motorcycle sidecar

FHE and dinner with Quijencio Family

FHE and dinner with Quijencio Family

 

Tender Mercies Are Everywhere!

This week really has been great! I think the definite highlights of the week were these two things.. we taught a lesson to the District President, President Dulnuan, about gratitude.. and I was a little apprehensive because we had already taught i think 2 active members and i was afraid we were wasting our time... (time is never wasted when you are inviting anyone to come unto Christ)... but it turned out to be one of the most spiritual moments of my entire life... i cant really explain what exactly it was.. but the message had become super personal to us as the missionaries.. but we came to find out that it was super personal to their family as well... The spirit was soooo strong in that lesson that... I dont know i cant even describe it! The kids also were awesome! one of them was really really rowdy but when testimonies and personal experiences started to be shared.. everyone calmed down.. undeniably because the spirit was there..... amazing.

The other was yesterday when we did splits with some members of the ward! We went out and it was my first time teaching without my companion and the two i went with are awesome!! but they didnt have much experience in this kind of thing... but we found a family and they were super nice people! even though they appeared a little sketchy... but we ended up teaching the Restoration of the Gospel to them!

We then went just my companion and me and a awesome member.. we found a man named Jeff and he is really knowledgeable in Christian things and is really willing to ask questions.. which is a nice change because a lot of people are really shy here. But we teach him again tonight so im pumped for that for sure!

I cant think of too many crazy experiences.. but one of my favorite things to do is seriously riding on the back of the jeepneys!!! especially because its just soooo beautiful here!! everywhere is pretty in a different way!. OH and the stars.. WOW... thats somethin else for sure! But Life is great! Loving almost every second! the only time not.. maybe that first few seconds waking up.... im still not a morning person haha but all is well!

One of the focuses of our mission is sharing the "Gift of Jesus Christ"!! He really is the Gift! He is everything for us! I know He lives..... I know that God will communicate with us! sometimes its not exactly how we expect it but He will.

Have a great week!

Elder Navarro

Mahal ko ang Diyos! (I love God)

This week has been probably the best week of my mission so far! 

I didnt experience as much of a culture shock as i expected right at the beginning of getting here (probably due to us staying in the Phils MTC) which has been a huge blessing!!! But this week I've felt really comfortable in how things work and in lessons.. its been great! Elder Saguire and I were able to have a lot of success this week!

I also discovered this morning that I am pretty scared of spiders...... especially ones as big as my face!!!!! We woke up at 5 to go jogging and to play basketball with some members and people around the area. So when I crawled out of bed still half asleep... I went into the other room and was looking for some socks or something... when I put my head up, I was greeted by a HUGE spider on the wall!!!! Holy crap i was super freaked out!  I jumped back and just kinda stared at it for a while.. marveling how big the thing was!!!!! I turned the light on and it started crawling faster than the speed of light on the wall!!!!! I called for my companion to come look at it and we grabbed our bug killer stuff and carefully edged forward to spray the beast... Long story short it crawled into my bags... (which was scary to look for) and then we eventually killed it... but oh boy that woke me up for sure!!!!! 

Anyways.... I LOVE THE PEOPLE HERE! The members that we have been able to have family home evenings and dinners with have been amazing!!!! They are so nice and kind and funny! So hospitable to us and willing to help! They feed us Awesome food too.... 

Yesterday was my first sunday in the Branch because last week was District Conference and it was pretty different.. Its held in a garage because the building is under construction in Bagabag... but it was kinda funny because i had always heard of "filipino standard time"... but i realized truly what that meant when we started sacrament meeting at 935.... and church is at 9. HAHA but I got to get up and introduce myself and bear my testimony to the congregation.. in tagalog! Great experience. 

Like I said earlier, we had a lot of lessons this past week and people are awesome and especally the spirit is awesome! The promise is so true that we will know in the very hour what we should say... and even in my limited vocabulary of tagalog.. i am somehow divinely able to get a message across to the people we teach! Then Elder Saguire fills in the rest ha.. but he's awesome!

Got my first taste of filipino basketball this morning!! the gym was AWESOME!! its like a mini arena.. its outdoor... but its indoor... its hard to describe but its a great gym!! and playing this morning was sooooooo nice!!

Anyway..I decided to get a Book of Mormon to read it again and to mark all the references to Christ in it... and so far its been such an amazing experience!! I want to share a scripture(s): Alma 54:10 this is in the war chapters and has a beautiful verse for us to consider! "we will maintain our religion for the cause of our God"!  this got me thinking... WOW! I need to always remember to stand up for what i believe in! Not for others. not for my friends... and maybe not even for my family... (although they are a big part) but for my God! I love that!

but anyway... this is a beautiful part of the world! I'm amazed every day! sorry this one was long!!! seriously! but have a great week!

Ingat!

Elder Navarro

Haha this kids name is Asher! hes one of the funniest kids ever! ha this is one of the few times you'll ever see him not smiling because he was really scared of the chickens hahahaha

Hinanap ang malaking chair

Ate chicken intestines on a stick today.

Lamut, Solano District-First Area (Elder Saguire)

Hello everybody!

I love being here so much!!!!!!!!! We met the mission president and his wife at the mission home in Cauayan and had lunch and got the chance to take it all in for a second and then had an orientation and then right after that we had our "Transfer Meeting" where we met our new trainers!!!!!! My companion/trainers name is Elder Saguire! He's from the philippines and he's an awesome missionary!!! this is only his 4th cycle but he knows what he's doin!!

Our mission has a song and one of the lines in it is "The God of Israel Leads this mission today" And it couldnt get any more true than that statement!!! If we give our best effort he will bless us and the people we teach!!

After the meeting i found out that my area was 3 hours away from cauayan.. so we hopped in a van to head on our way! it was crazy!!! the scenes were sooooooo pretty!!! honestly it really reminded me of Idaho! most of the mission is farmland!!! but obviously there different crops than idaho ha! mostly rice.... well pretty much all rice. haha.

The first night we taught a lesson to MaryRose, a 17 year old girl who is investigating the church... havent gotten to know her too well but i was able to extend the baptismal invitation to her in tagalog! didnt do much more than that,but im excited for her!!!!!

We got to meet a lot of the people here and they are soooo awesome!!!! such nice people! really fun and loving!!! even for a new american like me! haha but no people either think im from the philippines or they call me Joe. i've seen both ha. 

We've been so busy here with meeting and conferences since ive been here we havent had to much time to actually go out and teach people! but this weeek its go time!

President and Sister Rahlf are AWWWEEESSOOOMMMEEE!! I love them! I was lucky because the first sunday here was district conference and there was an area 70 there as well as the Rahlf's!!!! And Pres. Rahlf spoke several times and his messages were great about Hastening the Work!!!! The Lord is hastening His work!! Are we? :) ummm my favorite quote so far has been this... Success starts with TAO PO! which is like knocking here. hahaha.. but seriously i hope everything is going well back at home! You'll be in my prayers!!

sorry this letter is so scrambled... theres so much on my mind its a little overwhelming haha but Christ Lives!!!!! We have a valuable tool in the scriptures! It is a literal way that God can give us answers very specifically. i know that He will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The God of Israel Leads This Work

Love you all!

Elder Navarro

Rice Field

Apartment

I thought you'd get a kick out of our bathroom!

Letter from home-hidden in bedding!