Hello One and All

12/16/18

Hello One and all! I'm back heheh. It's been short but I'm alive and still taking medicine lol.  

P.P.P.S. Update me on how your life is! I love hearing from all of you and I will always respond! Love you all :)  

Either way, Lots going on I'll make it simple and do my list thing again. 

1. Sorry about the lack of translations. I'm learning 2 languages and as a result I've kinda just stopped English and my thoughts and actions are not in English. So translating in my head is hard coming back at minsan lang (sometimes just) I forget. Keep reminding me please. Agyaman na!

2. My Friend Conner sent me this in his email to me and it made me laugh a lot. so I'm going to share it here:

  “Jesus said to John, ‘Come fourth and you shall receive eternal life.’  Instead John came fifth and won a toaster.”

3. Here is another thing he said that I couldn't stop laughing about.

And experience he had while waiting for his French Oral exam: 

"""Well one guy comes by and he says, in that kind of southern drawl that lets you know that he’s really gay, “Excuse me, gotta part the Red Sea.”  And as he passed by I said “Congratulations, Moses.”  He stopped.  Turned.  Looked straight at me.  Then he said “You ain’t right…I like that.”  Then walked away.  Honestly I’m proud that I said the right name and didn’t say something stupid like “Congratulations Abraham.”"""

4. In terms of things happening here, I am still sick but working strong. I had a checkup appointment and I'm still infected in my ear but it has been doing better and I'm doing a lot better myself. So that's good 

5. It's been a rough week I will be honest. but every day comes with  a smile and ends with an even bigger one that we are trying our hardest as missionaries to help strengthen and support the people of Gattaran both spiritually and Physically! (but mostly spiritually tbh) 

6. I'm finally getting this language down and having conversations with people in straight Tagalog. I'll be honest, it's easier to speak it when you think it in you mind at all time. English still comes out every once and a while but It's my goal by next week to only be speaking Tagalog outside of the apartment by next transfer :) It's a lovely language here. 

7. So there are 4 missionaries in our apartment* and elder Egana got a new missionary trainee. from America..... so that's 2 terrible Tagalog speakers, a good Tagalog speaker but doesn't speak Tagalog in the house, and a Filipino that is already fluent in English........ we need more Filipinos in the house tbh. 

8. We still have no investigators coming to church which kinda bumb us out (especially going 5 weeks without one) but at the same time I'm not upset. We are doing our job in inviting people to make commitments and Come unto Christ :) 

9. BTW it's Christmas next week :) 

Tapos ko

-Elder Powell

P.S. Serving this mission has been the best decision in my life so far :) Every moment moving forward is

P.P.S. I ran into 5 Filipinos wearing BYU shirts and 3 wearing NAU shirts this week. (they don't even know what those letters mean lol) 

P.P.P.P.S. May internet ka ba? Wala? Sige *mag-fb siya* (do you have internet? No? okay. *he gets on facebook*) 

P.P.P.P.P.S. For every mango leaf that falls off of a coconut tree, I get 100000000000 pisos. Physics is everywhere. 

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.PICTURE.S. 

So my camera is still somehow working so I got some pictures out. I also have pictures from my Companion's camera so that works. So lots of Pics from the last 2 weeks! you can view all here! -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/cAM48nhHvM6ifkKp8

We got christmas lights up in our apartment. Something to remind me of home lol. (joke heheh pero sobra astig diyan!) (but super cool) 

CHRISTMAS CON Sorry po. wala mga video galing sa christmas con. picture lang.... (sorry. No videos from christmas con. just picture) 

(Elder Wells, Si Elder Egana, ako!) 

Thank you Connor for the Tie! I wore it at Christmas Con. (also pasko na!!) 

Fort Ilocandria (or however spell) is very pretty. 

INSERT VIDEO I"M STILL WAITING ON 

So our bus stopped to talk pictures of the ocean so we did too. In the middle of the road..... 

NEXT UP! 

We decided to work in a new area today and found out that no one really lives there and it's kinda a waste of time because its a freaking 1+ hr. drive. 

there was a lot of cool murals along the side of the road though so we walked around and took pictures of it all. It's all about this project they have going on to keep the place clean and economically friendly. It's actually working. this place here is very clean and efficient :) 

(some candid shots of elder wells din) 

One of the mascots for the project is mr bean.

Fun fact! We got a free ride out to our area by some nice people. ( we rode in the back of their truck the whole way ) and then on the way walking back we ran into this sign and realized that it was THE FREAKING MAYOR AND A CONGRESMEN OF GATTARAN AND CAGAYAN RESPECTIVELY.

IT WAS cool. 

Those are the highlights of it all. you can view the rest on the Photo album! 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cAM48nhHvM6ifkKp8

Note from Editor:

In a second email Joe said, "Apparently I am re-sharing pictures! Ops. Sorry :) But still a great reminder from a great day" :) 

Broken camera means photos shared from others

12/11/18

sorry po. wala na camera at wala na mga pictures. naka-virus sa SD card ko and naka-waterdamage (deba?) sa camera. 

All of my pictures will be coming from elder wells lol. 

I'm also waiting for my DL to send me the video of my performance that I talked about before. Either way for those who don't know, I bought a ukulele because it was pwede to have music in our homes and such so I learned one of my favorite songs on it and performed it at the Missionary Christmas conference. 

I'm still waiting for it  so it might be another week until I get the video sent. but It was a good performance and I made a bunch of people cry that were leaving including our AP elder Swan who was so not ready to go home (to a point he extended his mission 2 cycles longer because he is that perfect of  a missionary and also could because he is from Fiji and its easy to extend your visa if you're from there apparently :P 

Either way, Just an update from me, I'm still going strong and having a fun time here! I shares a few wise words from me that I will share to y'all. (most of it came from Swan Actually but I kinda repeated them to fellow elders and sisters in my zone and that I have grown close to)

"If you are not feeling the spirit right now then you're doing something wrong and need to repent. even in all the craziness of this night" 

"also if you are not having fun on your mission while obeying all of the mission rules then you're really doing something wrong"

Tapos ko. 

-Elder Powell 

P.S. I will email more on Monday I promise! this week was just a little busy lol 

P.P.S. I have a lot of freaking Filipino friends now. lol

P.P.P.S. Mahal ko po kayo lahat heheheheeh 

I'm kinda alive

12/2/2018
Hey Y'all one and all from the meek and the bold to the Adobe and Balot and shuckernamoots. 

I'm kinda alive over here in the Motherland of the Beautiful Philippines! 

Conte-lang mga picture ngayone dahil naka-hospital na ako noon sa viernes, sabado, at llingo... 

I went to the doctors this past weekend and the doctor said to me "wow magaline kayo na Tagalog! Ilan Taon ka na katagal dito sa Philippines?" and I responded with "aye Na-Nosebleed na ako... I've been here for 6 weeks. 5 in Gattaran and 1 in Manila/Quezon. No ilokano yet sorry and Tagolog is hard lol. I'll get it down in a few more months hopefully" 

But then he said I'm dying and I need to take antibiotics.

I've been taking the antibiotics for a few days now and they haven't done anything so I get to go back again and ask what is happening. 

Likewise the work here has been a little slow. Very few investigators, No one is going to church, and I never got many pictures taken. I will share pictures next week hopefully of my one day of exchanges with my ZL (and practically best friend already) Elder Reamon. 

Spiritual moment this week: I went to an Less active member on Wednesday with my ZL (he baptized her family when he was first here) and we heard from the Tay that he wants to start taking the lessons now and attending church (only for me to get sick and have to cancel the lesson) and likewise for him to get sick as well (everyone is getting sick here dang it) Either way, In teaching and talking with them, I felt impressed to ask if she wanted her family to be together forever. She said yes. And I bore my testimony and gave her a promise (in broken tagolog/taglish stuff) that if their family prays together (kasama si tay at mga anak) and reads the Book of Mormon together and Mag-simba and so on and forth (attend church) that one day they will go to the temple and be sealed together as a family for all eternity. Likewise, I developed a great connection with my ZL Elder Reamon and we are going to be good friends for a while :) 

She came to church and all of them have been praying together. We're just working hard on getting the rest of them to come to church. If all goes well with that and they follow the promise from God shared by me, that will be one happy elder right there :) 

Sige. Conte Picture Tayo 

They are planting rice right now. there are a few umbrellas there in the distance pero sobra astig na iti sa nakita yung mga tao at kanilang trabaho :DDDDD 

I made this really good shrimp Ramen. Bery delicious/ Masarap :) 

THE FIELDS ARE BECOMING GREEN AGAIN!!!!! 

MOM I need a new camera :( Sorry. preferably one that is waterproof. Mine still works but the pictures come out like this now lol. it's kinda cool though ngl. 

Every Barangay here has a Giant Christmas tree made of lights set up. this place is soooooo well decorated and I love the Christmas music and everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This place is truly the Kings of Christmas!

I bought a Lava-lava to wear around the house and one day I woke up with it on my head and apparently unconsciously while trying to rest as medicine was kicking in, I wrapped it around my eyes to block the light out. I woke up and got out of bed like this and it was kinda funny. 

Lahat Mula kay Elder Well with respect at the beginning 

- Elder POwell(s) 

P.S. Please don't get infections as often as I do. It's really really annoying. 

P.P.S. If you have the time to, go serve someone! Share a Gift! Give a hug (especially because I'm not allowed to) Toot na toot on a French Horn! Sing a song, Share the Christ Like love to people this world as we celebrate his birth!!! What a beautiful season it is right now (even though its like 37 here pretty consistently) 

P.P.P.S. Boom Boom aking puso!

P.P.P.P.S. Don't name your kid John Michael. We have 3 investigators all with that name at its kinda weird. 

P.P.P.P.P.S. Is my name Jo or Pedro? People here can't make up their minds..... 

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. binili ako isa pang gallon ng ice-cream......... 

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Elder Wells and I always Joke-lang about having to go to the Tuguegarao Hospital because there is a Burger King there. We have solid plans to never go there though. Laoag has a Pizza hut anyways. 

Px8S. Please keep me updated from home! It's always wonderful to hear what is goin on in AZ UT NV and WA!!!! Send Pictures too so I don't forget you exist like you all will forget I exist since no one these days use email. 

Px9S. If you are actually reading all of this, Then you will know that next week I will be sending home a little Christmas Video Gift from me and my Companion and District leader (yung mga amerikano sa district namin. The Americans in our district of 4) and another one hopefully from ako rin :) (me too)