Photo proof that Michael is in the Philippines!

Week 3 in country- Volume 2

I'm glad to hear that things are going really well out there! We literally are on the opposite side of the world. 12 hour time difference. Crazy.

Answers to questions:

Our apartment is a very small home. But this is considered to be high-living here. I will send pictures next week of it all. There is not hot water. There are mice, ants and cockroaches...but it's all good!

We go to "computer shops" to email. They are EVERYWHERE. Very popular here. All of the popular videogames are on the computer. Nobody has Nintendos, Xboxs, etc.

My companion is cool. We are very different. He lived his entire life in Idaho and was very sheltered. He is a workaholic and gung-ho, but thats good. It will help me form good mission habits. But we get along. We have been able to relate and bond. He isn't the best at Tagalog but he's amazing compared to me. Contrary to your thoughts, I wish I had a Filipino companion to start because I would learn the language faster. We speak English too much with each other. But overall, we are doing well.

I am eating and drinking enough. But adjusting to the food has not been pleasant. My digestive system is screaming at me! It's all good though. I'll come around eventually. I love the food. It's delicious. 

We do most of our shopping at the grocery store Shopwise. It's pretty close to an American grocery store but there are so many more options and varieties of products. Tons of brands. I'm not used to the currency either. It's hard for me to judge what is a good price and what isn't. 

Yes, we are fed by members, but not all that often. Once or twice a week. I wish I could speak Tagalog better because my companion is not very personable. I have befriended 2 families in our ward who know english pretty well and they help me learn Tagalog when we visit. 

Surprisingly, we don't need to use bug spray where we are right now. They aren't bad at all. I've been bitten by 5 mosquitos total. 

We get 4000 pesos every 2 weeks. It's amazing how cheap everything is here. A full meal of fire roasted chicken and UNLIMITED rice at the restaurant Mang Inasal is only 2 dollars. It's awesome. 

Anyway, there are the questions answered haha. 

I won't be able to send the normal weekly update this week because I don't have time. But I sent a bunch of pictures so that will have to make up for it this week. Please send those to the email list members. Thanks and enjoy!

Everything is going well here and I am excited to continue to grow and be able to serve the people of the Philippines even more. I am doing my best.

I love and miss you guys!

Elder Stallings

Week 3 in country- Volume 1

My week has been great! It continues to get better. The language is very difficult but I understand that it will take time. I am trying my hardest. You're right about the different styles of speaking. They all speak quickly. Then it gets really hard if they are talking very quietly or with a different accent. And yep, slang is big. Yeah, Brandon Flowers, front man of The Killers. Not bad. That's great to hear how much publicity the church is getting. Can you imagine how amazing that would be to have Mitt Romney as our president? Wow. I'm glad that you guys are learning a lot from the great teachers that we have there in sunday school. They are so good. 

We all really enjoyed conference as well. I really enjoyed Elder Eyring's talk in priesthood. 

We went to the temple today! That's why our P-day is today and not yesterday. It was great! It is a beautiful temple. Once again, it was a different experience because of how my perspective has changed since being out here on a mission. The dress is different inside as well to fit the Filipino culture. It's cool. While were were there, Elder Holland was speaking in one of the other church buildings located near the temple. A couple elders shook hands with him as he walked out but we were not there at the time.

Tomorrow we are having a Mission Fireside and a member of the presidency of the 70 is speaking. His name is Tad something I believe. Not sure. The whole mission will be there. I'm excited to see how my MTC companions are doing in their different areas. 

We also went bowling today after the temple as a zone. That was fun. I bowled the highest score.... of course. Joke-lang!

I think you are right about getting members to the temple. All members in general. I feel like all around people don't go enough. But whatever, it's their loss because it is amazing. 

We are having a hard time with one of our investigators with a baptismal date, Abby. She is only 9, the rest of her family are members, but they have become less active and that's why she wasn't baptized when she was 8. But now it just doesn't seem as important to them. Plus it is hard for everyone here to get "pemensahe" (payment for transit) to get to church. It is 8 pesos each way for each person to ride a jeepney. About 50 pesos is a dollar. A wage of 380-420 pesos per one day of work is considered a decent job here. Thats around 12 dollars a day. Sad. 

Our other investigator, Mark (22), is on track to be baptized on the 29th of this month and is doing great! We are excited for him.

Anyway, I won't have much time to write a weekly update this week like I have the past 2 weeks. BUT I am sending a bunch of photos to make up for it. Please share them with the people on the list. Thanks!

Glad to hear that all is going well!

Love you,

Elder Stallings

"Tagalog Talkin' Testifier" (Philippines letter #2)

It has been another crazy week.
So much happens each day.
Again, I blab on about whatever comes to mind first...

Right after I sent my last email last week, we went to the palengke (market). Now THIS is insanity. I have never seen so many goods at one location. Its a covered pavilion stretching over 2 city  blocks. Lining the whole outside are vendors with piles of fruits, veggies and other fresh produce. Then you find a gap and walk under the shelter. BAM! Row after row of dangling chicken feet, pig snouts, net-fulls of fish, pyramids of eggs and every other fresh food you could imagine. I wonder how business is for one vendor because there are so many people selling the same thing and they are are squished right next to each other. I was overwhelmed. I cling to my tatay ("father"-trainer) like a baby gorilla to his mother. He asks me, "So, what food do you want to buy for this next week?" This question hits me like a bullet train hitting a mosquito. I have no idea. I'm making mind-speed records for how many foods you can think about in 30 seconds. All the while thinking about the stray mother cat feeding her kittens on the tuna death bed. BUT WAIT. There is an upper level. This whole floor is everything on the planet that isn't food. I let Elder Butler do the thinking and acting and I just Tagalog (Amerrrican accent) for the ride. 

Santa Claus is coming to town. Apparently he started his voyage from the North Pole about a month ago. The Filipinos start preparing for Christmas in September! Ridiculously tacky light-up and plastic decorations are already up for sale. The countdown of the 100 days until xmas has begun! I'm positively giddy. It just feels like Christmas is right on the doorstep in the 90 degree weather. Along with the endless rain. It has rained at least once a day for the past 5 days. And this is the end of the rainy season apparently. The other day we were teaching a potential investigator outside of his house, under his little onning, when a huge storm broke out. Some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard. Nobody was phased. We just continued on with our message while the brown river came rushing under the bench we were sitting on and the half naked kids gutter surfed and slid down the sides of the road. Surprisingly, the Spirit was still very strong during our discussion. I found this incredible. The sacredness of our message is so strong and I know that the Lord is backing us up in our efforts. 

Everyday we go to the sito (a residential, subdivided part of the city) of Eldorado. In each sito there are countless numbers of homes. Each sito is a maze. You walk between two homes from the main street and start walking through the teeny footpaths between other homes. Its like J walking during a traffic jam in NYC. Eldorado has a road that suddenly crumbles away down into a deep revine. This revine is the beginning of the vast landscape of lush, green mountains that stands before you at the end of this road. The view is amazing. I love all of the unique vegetation that we don't get in the US. I especially enjoy the banana and coconut trees. 

Karaoke. Oh baby. If your idea of a fun Saturday night is going to the local bar and enjoying the quality entertainment provided by the slurring tone-def, the Philippines is the place for you! Call 1-800-TERRIBLESINGING for your free travel consultation! An LDS missionary is waiting on the line! ...It is hilarious. And man, do they sing their hearts out. It's all or nothing. I'm going to hit that high E sharp or I'm gonna die trying. There's nothing like sharing a message about the Atonement of Jesus Christ with a dying, 8-year old Filipino straining Girls Just Wanna Have Fun in the background. I don't know, it just sets the mood. 

I love the food. Let's just say I am glad I am not a picky eater. When you're eating thinks like shark fin and roasted chicken blood, you gotta have a taste for the wild. Although I am loving it, my digestive system is hating me. Yeah...I'm not going to expound any further.

On the other hand, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sets the mood perfectly for general conference. We watched it this past weekend, a week later than the US. Conference was really great. It was interesting to see the things that I learned listening as a missionary. The messages apply to my life entirely differently. I have a new perspective. We all learned a lot and really enjoyed conference here in the mission field. 

The work is going really well. I am so happy to be sharing the gospel with the people here. They are so open. Even if they are not interested, they are usually nice and respectful. We are excited for two of our investigators who have baptismal dates this month. It's awesome to have a front row seat to a conversion. To see someone's faith grown increases my own faith as well. 

I hope everything is going well for everyone! Thank you for all of the love and support.

Much love,
Elder Stallings

Elder Stallings has reached the Philippines! (Letter #1)

This is one crazy ride. 

It's official, I am in a different world.

There are so many things that I could say but I guess I'll just start rambling.

We first went to the mission home where we were greeted by the President, his wife and the APs. The second person I saw was Elder Tyler Haws who is an AP. We met our companions, had a dinner of rice and ulam with fresh mangoes for dessert, and had an orientation meeting. My companion's name is Elder Butler and he is from Pocatello, Idaho. After we were finished we headed straight for our area. We are working in Antipolo in the province of Rizal. 

I knew what a 3rd world country was and I thought I knew what to expect...but no. I only had the slightest idea. It is truly humbling the circumstances in which the people live. Their homes are nothing more than concrete blocks and ply wood for walls, sheet metal for roofs and cement floors or just dirt. There is the occasional home that has tile floors and is a little more sturdily built. That first night we went out to visit a less active member named Vivian. We walked out of our apartment (which is located in a more wealthy area. More about our apartment later.), went to the front gate and waited for a jeepney. Jeepneys. Now this is an experience. They look like old, World War II jeeps elongated limo-style. The outsides of them are painted top to bottom with the most random assortment of designs, words, pictures and ornaments. They are almost always completely packed with people, cheek to cheek, and falling out the back. There are often people just standing on the back bumper hanging on. We climb in and they set down a tiny foot-stool in the aisle so that me and my companion can sit. Soon, the jeepney stops, someone gets off and I take their seat. Let's just say I'm a little bit bigger than the average Filipino. We get of at the burunga (sub-section of living areas) Eldorado. This burunga is one that actually has streets. We walk down a side street that is now just crumpled up pieces of cement. All of a sudden we turn into a tiny alley way, about 3 feet wide, between a couple homes. My companion stops outside an open doorway and calls with the greeting "tao po" (way of knocking. litterally means "people"). We are greeted by vivian and she invites us to sit down on the rug. The household is about 10 ft x 10ft with a single wall dividing it into two rooms. There is a small table, no chairs and a corner with a counter and shelves. An old tv sits next to me. The walls are decorated with plastic table cloths and other such items. 3 of her children come to join us. We start talking (more like them and my companion start talking) and it is close to impossible for me to understand what is being said. The combination of everyone's accent, the speed at which they speak and when they speak quietly (which is often, especially during lessons) makes it very hard to understanding. I offer a prayer and bear my testimony in this lesson because those are some of the few things that I can do. The spirit in the lesson is great. Teaching in an environment such as this and to these people is completely different. The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his love and care for us seems even more positive and substantial. They are eager to listen to this message of strengthening and celestial support. Everyone is very, very nice. So humble. So personable. Because they don't have many material things, they turn more to their relationships with their families and friends.

Sorry, I hate when writing isn't separated into paragraphs. I'll do better next time. I just have so much to write in so little time so it's sloppy.

Some other things I have seen that have stood out to me.

Everyone stares at us. We are big and white. Literally, all eyes on us. Everyone poking their heads out to get a look. Kids always running around in the streets playing with each other. We sit in a lesson while their daughter is outside playing with a plastic figurine in a bucket of muddy water. Stray, starving dogs everywhere, eating anything. Very unusual diseases. A man with one side of his face with black skin and white, porcupine needle hair covering the whole side. A woman with a bushel of dried candle wax drips for a nose. These situations are all very humbling. The culture shock is prominent. 

Along with jeepneys, even more popular are tricycles. All range of motorcycles with side care attached to them. You will see 6 people crammed on one. 3 people behind the driver on the back of the motorcycle sitting sideways and 3 people in the cart. The traffic is unbelievable. Vehicles whizzing around chaotically with no structure. Hanging off the side of a tricycle with cars a couple inches away from you is a thrill. All the while, people are running across the streets and between vehicles as they please. Intersections can be a nightmare. There are few traffic signals.

The work is great. There are a lot of people who are interested and who were are finding and teaching. Although most of our work right now is finding less actives members and figuring out their concerns and helping them restore their faith. Church was really good yesterday. We had 3 less active families come and 1 investigator. I was the first to bare my testimony and introduce myself. All the while a dumping rain storm was pounding down, making it hard to hear the speakers. The building is beautiful. Very nice. The churches stick out like a sore thumb amongst the other buildings and homes. I met so many awesome members at church. They are unusually kind. 

I try my best in lessons. I am able to share simple messages and discuss topics simply and my companion takes over the details. I just hope that I am able to bring the Spirit as best I can.

The food is great. I've loved everything so far. From shark meat to banana-Q. Masarap.

Ah. I am out of time. I really want to continue but we have to get going.

Even after being here for so short a time, my testimony has grown and I have seen the Lord's hand in the work that we are doing here. I am excited to be helping others build faith in Jesus Christ and make the first steps on the path to eternal happiness.

I miss you all and I hope all is well!

Much love,

Elder Stallings