Philippines Legazpi Mission: Elder Feraer

Our First Investigator Who Attends Sacrament Meeting

chapter 1: genesis - the training days

Sunday, January 12, 2014
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Our Area in Comun Group (Quinastillojan & Bantayan)

chapter 1: genesis - the training days

Saturday, January 11, 2014
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Tabaco Zone Training I (My First Z.T. in Tabaco Zone)

chapter 1: genesis - the training days

TABACO | DAY 9 |

JANUARY 10, 2014:
We had a Zone Training and it only happens once every transfer cycle. This is my first time to experience it so I didn't have any idea before this. I'm excited to see my other batch mates from other districts as well. Elders Andrada (Manila), Mautatia (New Zealand) & Sister Seiuli (Australia).

Top: Estilloso, Davis, Bacalso, Andrada, Cagas (DL), Gunnel (DL), Nielsen (DL), Bagaoisan & Feraer

Mid: Fabia (STL), Evans (STL), Mautautia, Alolor, Lethaby, McPherson, Hatch, Yu (ZL) & Todd (ZL),

Bottom: Villeza, Simonson, Coleman, Siola'a, Seiuli, Gamba, Longson & Sasagi

The STLs workshop is great, Sisters Evans & Fabia taught us about "Teach People, Not Lessons". I learned that we missionaries must ask inspired questions, listen well, and follow the promptings of the spirit. Part of the program are testimonies of new and departing missionaries. We (trainees) bear our testimonies and I'm happy to share mine and my experiences so far in the mission field. Sister Evans also shares her testimony and inspiring experiences throughout her mission. She is coming back home soon.

Schedules for training missionaries are different from normal missionaries. We have more time for studies. Because we had a zone training our study schedule moved to the afternoon. In my personal study, I finished Mosiah in the Book of Mormon and I like the powerful testimonies of the mission of Jesus Christ. I also love how Abinadi stood firm in what he believes and shows great faith in our Lord even through his death. I liken the story of Alma to the people that we met and will meet in the future. Through our sincere testimonies, we can change someone's life no matter who they are. Finally, we also had a chance to teach Bro. Elton John and we also met Bro. Caloy (his father). He is present during our lesson to his son and he is hospitable to us. We also invite him to come to church this coming Sunday.

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Friday, January 10, 2014
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First Preparation Day & Interview with President Guanzon

chapter 1: genesis - the training days

TABACO | DAY 5 to 8 |

JANUARY 6, 2014:
First preparation day in the mission field! I'm very excited about e-mail time and sending pictures to my family. Unfortunately, I can't because there's something wrong with my sd card. 😑 When we went to Photoline to print our pictures my sd card worked just fine. I figured out the problem and I'll fix it next week.

We have a plan that we'll go to the Delos Santos family but the weather is not good. It's raining hard and there's no tricycle to Quinastillojan around so we decided to return to our apartment and call it a day.

JANUARY 7, 2014:
I measured my weight and I think I'm losing some fats in me. 😂 I weight 67 kgs in the MTC and now it's 64. I hope the decrease will continue. 🙏 Our first appointment today is Bro. Elton John (not the singer), he is a part member and the previous missionaries taught him before. We visited him and we set for the next appointment.

In our finding, we met the Manamtam Family and they welcome and received us to their home. They listened to the gospel that we shared and it seems that they are really interested. 😊 At night, we visit the Delos Santos family again together with our Group Leader and we taught them about the Savior's Earthly Ministry, the Great Apostasy, and the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. I also invited them to be baptized on February 15 and they accepted it! 😍 I'm really happy that Heavenly Father helped us in our teaching. The Holy Ghost will help them confirmed if our message is true and we know it's really true. We'll help them prepare for their baptism.😊

JANUARY 8, 2014:

We have an interview with President Guanzon. He is in Tabaco for our interviews. It's my first interview so I didn't know much about how it goes. In my turn, he just asked me how was my mission so far as a trainee, my progress, my companion, our area, if I need any help, and gave me some helpful advice. It was a wonderful interview and President Guanzon is like a father to all of us. After the interviews, he treats us to lunch in Mang Inasal, and all of us Elders with the A.P.s pig-out. Haha. 😅 In the afternoon we visited and taught the Manamtam Family again and we tracted for the rest of the day.

JANUARY 9, 2014:
We visited Bro. Elton John again and we also met his grandmother and cousin. Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to teach because they're busy and we understand that. We just set an appointment with them. Sis. Nemia gave us a referral and she is Sis. Joy and we visit, introduce ourselves, and teach her. She is receptive and I hope she will receive us again next time. At night, Elder Todd cooked dinner for us. He is a good cook. 👍

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Thursday, January 09, 2014
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My First Sabbath Day in Comun Group

chapter 1: genesis - the training days

TABACO | Day 4 |

JANUARY 5, 2014:
I'm really excited about this day. I'm excited to meet all the members of Comun Group. Our apartment is really far in our area so we went out before 8 a.m. and it takes around 30 minutes to get there. When I am not yet in the mission field I didn't know that there is a group in our LDS communities, I only know about wards and branches. This is something new to me and I'm happy to be assigned here in Comun and I'm looking forward to helping this group grow. 😊

Here are some of the members of Comun Group. The man beside E. Nielsen is Bro. Bonaobra, he is our Group Leader. The woman beside me is Sis. Bonaobra (Group Leader's wife) and she is nice to us missionaries. We feel very welcome here.

Here is the sacrament place. It is really small compared to a chapel but it is very refreshing for me. The ambiance here is so relaxing. We are surrounded by many plants and trees. It feels like we're in the middle of the forest. It is very calming.

The members are very "welcoming" to us. I really appreciate it because I am a new missionary. Most of the members can't pronounce my surname and they thought it was "Ferrer". I have this small problem since MTC. 😅 Sixty plus members attended the sacrament meeting and I think it is great attendance for a group. We (missionaries) teach in the Young Men Class. We also had a group meeting after Sunday School.

Because of the "travel circumstance," our schedule has been adjusted. We did all of our studies in the afternoon and after that, we went out at 5 p.m. and we arrived in our area around 5:30 to 6 p.m. It is really fun to ride the tricycles here in Tabaco City. This is my first time to ride on top of it. Haha. Extreme!😆

We didn't have much luck at night because there is no electricity around. We visit the Delos Santos family and we can't teach them because there's still no light in our area. Coming back to our apartment is also challenging because there are no tricycles around. We just found out that there's almost no public vehicle going back to Tabaco City later than 8 p.m. We eventually walk back until we reach the place that has a ride back in the city. It is very tiring but it's alright. 👍

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Sunday, January 05, 2014
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Tabaco District Meeting I (My First D.M. in the Mission Field)

chapter 1: genesis - the training days

TABACO | Day 2 to 3 |

JANUARY 3, 2014:
This morning I focus on studying principles 1 & 2 of Restoration. I wanted to understand this more because most of the time these are the message that we will share with our new investigators including "how to begin teaching". I also finished reading Jacob in the Book of Mormon and I really like how Jacob had an unshakable faith in Jesus Christ. Jacob taught and demonstrated the importance of diligently fulfilling callings from the Lord. I liken it into us missionaries that we must also be a hard-working disciple of Jesus Christ. After the studies we went to Tabaco Chapel for our district meeting.

My desk.

Tabaco Chapel, it is near our apartment.

In my very first district meeting the topic was "How Do I Recognize and Understand the Spirit?". I learned more about the importance of prayer and how to identify the Holy Ghost. I also like the message of Pres. Hinckley that E. Nielsen shared with us. Pres. Hinckley said, “You recognize the promptings of the Spirit by the fruits of the Spirit—that which enlighteneth, that which buildeth up, that which is positive and affirmative and uplifting and leads us to better thoughts and better words and better deeds is of the Spirit of God”.

Tabaco District is composed of E. Nielsen (DL), E. Todd (ZL), E. Yu (ZL), S. Evans (STL), S.Fabia (STL), S. Simonson, S. Villeza (my batchmate), E. Bacalso, E. Lethaby, S. Longson, S. Sasagi, S. Siola'a, S. Coleman and me.

In the afternoon we visit some of the members in our area to introduce ourselves. We are both new in this area and we didn't know most of the members. We also ask for referrals. We met Sis. Nemia and her two friends and they are very hospitable to us. Many kids in Comun loves to high-five us. It's fun. They are really playful and happy kids. 😅 We also visit Bro. Asis and invite him to attend church again.

JANUARY 4, 2014:
In my personal study, I read Enos, Jarom, Omni, and Words of Mormon in the Book of Mormon. I have a personal reading goal to finish the Book of Mormon in my training days and I started it when I was in the MTC. In our companionship study, we talked about the Legazpi Mission Rules.

In the afternoon we went to Tiwi because my companion had a baptismal interview. I met Sisters Longson (U.S.A) and Sasagi (Samoa) and their investigator passed the interview. After Tiwi, we went back to our area to contact some referrals. Sis. Nemia, Sis. Irene and Bro. Joseph helped and went with us. We found one of the referrals in Bantayan, she is Sis. Renafe Bon. She accepted us and we shared our message with her.

Tabak (Bolo) monument in Tabaco, Albay

My first picture in Tiwi, Albay with E. Nielsen.

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Saturday, January 04, 2014
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First Companion: Elder Nielsen | First Area: Tabaco, Albay

chapter 1: genesis - the training days

TABACO | Day 1 |

JANUARY 2, 2014:
I'm wondering who will be my first companion and trainer. I thought it will be a fellow Filipino and I was surprised that my first companion is an American. The first thing in my mind "Does he know already how to speak Tagalog?" and the first thing he said to me was "Kamusta ka? Masaya ako na ikaw ang aking makakasama." so it already answered the question in my mind. Haha. 😂 He seems like a fun and cool person and I'm happy that my trainer is like that. 😁

My trainer and first companion is Elder Nielsen from Arizona, U.S.A. He is also our District Leader.

In the morning we travel from Legazpi to Tabaco. Along the way, I saw how beautiful the Mayon volcano really is. My first area is in the Comun Group (Mostly Quinastillojan and Bantayan). We are the Tabaco-E Elders. I also met my missionary housemates E. Todd (Alaska, U.S.A) and E. Yu (Davao), they are the Zone Leaders of Tabaco. All of my housemates are missionary leaders. Wow. 😲 So it means I am around with great missionaries. We did our studies first and after that E.Nielsen help me in practice teaching. In the afternoon the ZLs showed us our area. Both E.Nielsen and I are new to this area.

We opened a new area in Tabaco. We are Comun B.

The ZLs introduced us to the leader of Comun Group, Bro. Bonaobra and after that, he gave us a referral and we went there afterward. Of course, I was nervous because it will be my first encounter with a real investigator on my very first day in the mission field. 😅 I prayed that the Holy Ghost will help me to teach. The name of the household of the family is Bro. Benigno and he accepted and welcome us happily. There are five of them in the family. They listen to our message about how the gospel can bless their family and Bro. Benigno commits to attend church this Sunday. Wow! This is very heartwarming. Our very first visit together was a success. Heavenly Father guided us to meet and share the gospel with the Delos Santos Family. 😊