Hello everybody time flies! I feel like I was just here emailing you yesterday.
This week has been a pretty busy one with transfers coming up. It’s always a little more busy with transfers but especially this one, with so many people coming in and so many apartments that got to be moved into so they can have a place to sleep.
So like on Tuesday we went out to Teresa, which is about an hour and a half away, out in the province, kind of in the mountains, to move the elders into their big new house out there. It took forever because they kind of had a lot of stuff. They also lived in a place with tiny streets so we spent a ton of time trying to maneuver the cruddy truck (it’s a Ford and it stinks so much, but we're getting a new one soon =)) thru the narrow streets. Then their new house is up a hugely steep hill, like probably like a 110 degree angle I’d say seriously its way steep, and it’s the Philippines so of course narrow too haha. Then after that we had some desks to take to some other elders, so by the time we were done it was 8 o’clock we got to our appointment and taught. So from 8-8, we were driving or moving, great day haha. Our lesson was hard too, we taught Sister Jovel about priesthood for like for the 4th time. It’s really hard, I don’t know why. It’s like she understands but then she doesn’t. I don’t know if she just doesn’t get it or if she's just too shy and embarrassed. She's very soft spoken and doesn’t like to read out loud either. It’s kind of hard but we'll see how it keeps going.
Then Friday we moved some more elders into a bigger house. That move went way smooth, just down the street, nice house. I had to stay a little late to finish up some stuff for transfers coming up and I guess I didn’t communicate well with Elder Biado because he got pretty mad at me. We had a real good fight/argument/talk and I think figured some stuff out. We really haven’t had a good relationship at all. We don’t fight a ton because that’s because we usually don’t talk much to each other. It would drive me crazy if I wasn’t in the office but I think I’ve put up with it more because we're in the office, not really working side by side as we would in another area. I do stuff to make him mad and he does stuff to make me mad. A big thing of it is that I drive and he doesn’t, he wishes he was the office secretary and not financial because he says it’s easier, really, a ton of stuff. It’s hard when he's mad because he just won’t talk. It’s hard for both of us because we're both having kind of a hard time in the office, stressed sometimes so sometimes we kind of clash and Friday was a great example. Stuff that’s been hard for me too, is that we like never plan, and if I suggest somewhere to go or something to teach he doesn’t really get mad, just you can tell he doesn’t like it. We're trying to figure it out a little more and really need to because we're with each other for another transfer at least.
I love this ward and the work here but I really feel kind of more like an obstacle than helping the work here. I mean we only get to work so much and the work here is just awesome. On Sunday we had some time and we did a little tracting and I’ve never had that kind of success just tracting. In like an hour we had 3 return appointments, taught a lady and had a return appointment with her. I just got that feeling yesterday, that this area, this ward, Quezon City 2nd is just going to blow up. Yesterday was just a good day. We split and like I said we just found people willing to talk to us it was cool. Then we taught this neighbor of a recent convert, she was really pretty shy, just kind of listened, but then her other neighbors, this Sister Delyn and this kid Bryan came. We taught about the Book of Mormon and it was a strong spirit. You can just tell sometimes when people are getting it. This Sister Delyn, she was just like there's no evil in it, it can only add and help and that it was true. She’s a youth minister for a catholic church and I don’t know, it was a good lesson. I felt impressed to talk about Jesus Christ's visit and you could tell they just accepted it. I think the Book of Mormon is one of my favorite things to teach. It’s a powerful and important book and it makes all the difference in a person's conversion. It’s why the prophets always encourage us to read it, not the bible or D & C but the Book of Mormon. When people have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon I think it’s pretty hard to get the rest of our testimony shaken.
But now its transfer week, we’ve got 33 (another got added last week) missionaries coming in and like 17 areas opening up. Elder Haws was telling me that transfers are going to be sweet, a lot of people stepping up. I just want to know who's going to sablayan because whoever they are I’m very jealous. They have a list of people waiting to be taught, a brand new place where missionaries have never been, oh man it’s just like every missionaries dream. It would be a tough job but so worth it. It’s ok though, I’ll be here in the office learning a lot of lessons. The office is stressful and busy but it’s also got its advantages. The AP's and President and his wife went to Mindoro for the weekend so we stayed at the mission home with Ben Saturday on our P-day and ate pizza and watched “the Other Side of Heaven” and “the Best Two Years’. It was pretty sweet but in a couple of months I’ll happily trade that for just a regular P-day of cleaning the house and going to a ward family home evening after. One lesson it’s definitely teaching me is that it’s how that I serve, not who or where, it’s how I do it. Pull where you stand right? It’s so true and the faster we all learn that lesson (especially Elder Stover) we'll all be that much happier.
A few thoughts for this week, stuff I’ve gleaned off of others: "to pity distress is but human; to relieve it is godlike" got that from a talk by Thomas S. Monson. We just got to do our part and act, life’s about action and good actions make us happy. When we are happy, we do good things. It’s a good cycle that we just got to start...by acting.
I wish I was as wise the whole week as I am on P-days when I write these emails. All of you probably think I’m just this mature wise missionary, kind of, sometimes, but mostly I’m still just figuring it out. There’s a few flashes of brilliance and a whole lot of dimness the rest of the time haha
I love you guys and pray for all of you. I just want to give my all to Heavenly Father for everything I’ve been lucky enough to have and know in this life. Thanks for the prayers and support. God wants us to be happy, so be obedient and be happy.
love
Elder Stover
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