Hello Family!
I didn't mean to scare you off that time that I said not to email me
so much. I just got a lot of longgg emails that time not giving much
time for a reply. Diane and Katie, I would still like to hear from
you too.
Carmon is a small town. It has one main street. It is full of buses
going from Cebu to the Northern part of the island and back. All of
the stores and everything are within about 2 blocks. But it has a gas
station! I haven't found a place to buy meat here yet. I have to go
to Danao, about 20 min, to get anything but fruits and vegetables to
eat. We have district meeting there on monday. I bought some meat
there last week and it had gone bad by the time we got home. But
vegetables are cheap here! I got two bags full for about a dollar!
Fruit is much more expensive though. I wish they had more variety. I
eat a lot of mangos and bananas. They have good grapes here though.
We now have 5 people in this area with baptismal dates! one of them
isn't that dedicated, and some of the others, unless they really
become converted, I don't see them staying active. They live with a
bunch of inactive members and this branch of 40 or so people isn't
exciting enough to go for the social life. We will keep working on
them. Well I am sure glad we have a washing machine back home. It is
so time consuming washing your own clothes. I literally don't have
enough time to eat and clean and do laundry and study and sleep for
the full time. Yesterday I got up half an hour early and went to bed
half an hour late and almost missed an hour of study time. I just
wish I could work and study and not have to worry about the little
tedious things.
I spent all of my pday cleaning the apartment. It was a mess when I
got there. But it is clean now! the fridge still stinks though. I
cleaned the entire thing with bleach this morning and as soon as I
plugged it back in the stink came back. any ideas?
I am right on the ocean here. It is beautiful at night! The other
day the moon was full, the sky was clear, and it reflected of the
water so beautifully! There aren't any nice beaches though. they are
all cliffs or rocky.
We haven't gotten a fan yet. hopefully in about 20 min. Ill unload
my 1200 pesos on it and hope the Zone Leaders pay me back tomorrow at
zone conference. that will be exciting! For conference we have to
drive an hour I think to the chapel somewhere else. Probably the
stake center. thanks for doing the debit card for me. Master Card
doesnt work very many places here. Ill find out today if it works in
danao. If not I may be asking for a Visa.
Thanks for all your prayers for me! I feel so blessed here. I wish I
could study all day long. the scriptures have so much doctrine in
them! I have grown so much in the last 3 weeks! I love being a
missionary. Things I have never thought about are making so much
sense to me now. It is hard sometimes, but it is so worth it.
Everything will be for our profit and learning right? It is hard now,
but I am learning so much. I will be so much prepared for life after
my mission than I ever could have been. The Gospel is such a
blessing to us. Knowledge has become so important to me. I love
learning! I bought an english dictionary so I could better understand
the scriptures. I am learning so much! Eric, you will never know how
much of a blessing a mission will be for you until you look back on
what you have learned. Dont miss it for anything. Learn to love the
trials. It is the Lords way for preparing you to serve Him better. I
heard so much that people said they thought they had a testimony
before their missions and realized how small it was once they got in
the mission field. The same is happening to me. I knew it was true,
but there was so much I didnt know. there was so much I didnt do. It
is amazing how much we can learn from the Lord and from the
scriptures.
I love you and hope you are all doing well!
Elder Schenk
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
September 21, 2010
September 21, 2010
Mom,
I am doing great. I have lots of news too!
I transferred last week. I am now in Carmen, about an hour and a half north right on the coast. The two cities directly to the north and south of it are in my area too. I got your dear elder. There were 11 areas in my zone, only one in my ward. My new companion is Elder Agbayani. He is a Filipino. We eat out a lot at the little places on the side of the road. I plan to get a whole lot of food soon so I can put a few more inches back on. This last week has left my already too big pants dangling. I went to McDonalds today to make up for it. It costs about the price of 3 other meals, but still cheaper than the US. I am in a small branch now. My area has been struggling. It just needs a little tlc. Faith and obedience brings blessings from the Lord. Carmon hasn't had a convert baptism since February, but the President promised that if we keep the mission standards we will have an average of 3 per month. Why deny the blessings. So to start off with a bang, the day after I got there we committed someone to baptism on Oct 9. Two days later we committed two more for the 26th. So I think things will start looking up here. I am in Cebu again today. Because of where I transferred I got to go to the temple two weeks in a row. Today was one of them. We also need to get a new fan for the apartment. We are down to just one, and that isn’t going to do. It'll take a few weeks, but soon the apartment will be clean and looking nice. I get to wash my clothes by hand now! Yippie! Now I will have absolutely no free time, not that I had any before. I am excited for this Saturday though! I get to come back to Cebu again and baptize Ritchie! I am so excited! Irene is being baptized as well.
I sent you an envelope with some pictures in it. Hopefully you get it in about a week. That is a different waterfall. Yours looks better, but mine is taller. I don’t know where I am going to do email anymore. It costs 10-15 pesos an hour. You can probably print off the emails, but I never had. Just more money. We do have an oven! Just right for two slices of bread. About half the size of the toaster oven I brought to college. None of the apartments have an oven but the first one I lived in for a week next to the AP's. That one had hot water too. That’s living the life! We have zone conference next week so I get to meet with the president then. We have one once every two transfers. The Church came out with more preach my gospel material for missionaries. We are being much more efficient now. We commit to baptism in almost every lesson. It is super helpful in finding people who the Lord has already prepared, and not just people willing to listen. We were doing that in Cebu and every one of our progressing investigators was willing to be baptized if it was true. Amazing! Missionary work has come so far! I teach a lot of the first lesson now. I don’t do a whole lot of the others, but I still try. There is still a lot of vocab I don’t know. It’s hard to teach because when I ask questions usually I miss the main point of the answer. That makes it hard to fit the lesson to the investigator. But for the time being, that is what my companion is for. And no, no machetes yet. I’ll try to keep it that way.
Tell everyone I love them. Thank them for their prayers. I can really feel the Lord blessing me in my work. Tell Katie I am excited to be an uncle. Tell Diane the same. :)
Sure love you!
Elder Schenk
Mom,
I am doing great. I have lots of news too!
I transferred last week. I am now in Carmen, about an hour and a half north right on the coast. The two cities directly to the north and south of it are in my area too. I got your dear elder. There were 11 areas in my zone, only one in my ward. My new companion is Elder Agbayani. He is a Filipino. We eat out a lot at the little places on the side of the road. I plan to get a whole lot of food soon so I can put a few more inches back on. This last week has left my already too big pants dangling. I went to McDonalds today to make up for it. It costs about the price of 3 other meals, but still cheaper than the US. I am in a small branch now. My area has been struggling. It just needs a little tlc. Faith and obedience brings blessings from the Lord. Carmon hasn't had a convert baptism since February, but the President promised that if we keep the mission standards we will have an average of 3 per month. Why deny the blessings. So to start off with a bang, the day after I got there we committed someone to baptism on Oct 9. Two days later we committed two more for the 26th. So I think things will start looking up here. I am in Cebu again today. Because of where I transferred I got to go to the temple two weeks in a row. Today was one of them. We also need to get a new fan for the apartment. We are down to just one, and that isn’t going to do. It'll take a few weeks, but soon the apartment will be clean and looking nice. I get to wash my clothes by hand now! Yippie! Now I will have absolutely no free time, not that I had any before. I am excited for this Saturday though! I get to come back to Cebu again and baptize Ritchie! I am so excited! Irene is being baptized as well.
I sent you an envelope with some pictures in it. Hopefully you get it in about a week. That is a different waterfall. Yours looks better, but mine is taller. I don’t know where I am going to do email anymore. It costs 10-15 pesos an hour. You can probably print off the emails, but I never had. Just more money. We do have an oven! Just right for two slices of bread. About half the size of the toaster oven I brought to college. None of the apartments have an oven but the first one I lived in for a week next to the AP's. That one had hot water too. That’s living the life! We have zone conference next week so I get to meet with the president then. We have one once every two transfers. The Church came out with more preach my gospel material for missionaries. We are being much more efficient now. We commit to baptism in almost every lesson. It is super helpful in finding people who the Lord has already prepared, and not just people willing to listen. We were doing that in Cebu and every one of our progressing investigators was willing to be baptized if it was true. Amazing! Missionary work has come so far! I teach a lot of the first lesson now. I don’t do a whole lot of the others, but I still try. There is still a lot of vocab I don’t know. It’s hard to teach because when I ask questions usually I miss the main point of the answer. That makes it hard to fit the lesson to the investigator. But for the time being, that is what my companion is for. And no, no machetes yet. I’ll try to keep it that way.
Tell everyone I love them. Thank them for their prayers. I can really feel the Lord blessing me in my work. Tell Katie I am excited to be an uncle. Tell Diane the same. :)
Sure love you!
Elder Schenk
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September 14, 2010
Dad,
Thank you for your prayers for me and for my investigators. I can feel the Lords help and guidance. The weather here is awesome... if you were on vacation. But it is a little hot for a collared shirt and tie with black pants. It rains every few days. Sometimes it rains really hard, like yesterday. It goes from sunny to sprinkling to huge drops dumping down like nothing in Washington. Within a half hour or so it stops, but that is enough to cause the back roads to flood. The road we live on is at the bottom of a little valley and everyone’s garbage goes floating by in the river.
I am healthy. I sleep well at night. No problems there. I am so tired that falling asleep is no problem. We just moved yesterday again. We moved next door to a smaller place owned by the same person. We have an AC now, so I sleep really well now. It was super dirty though. We spent all Monday cleaning. We washed all of the walls and floors. It’s all tile and concrete so you can just hose the whole thing down, but we don’t have a hose. So lots of buckets and sponges. It is nice now.
For pday we go hiking in the bukid. It is so beautiful! We took our district up to the waterfall we hiked last week and then walked all the way down the the river to town. It took around 4 hours. This week we are going to the temple! Only once a month. I love living next to it so much. We have lots of cool stuff in our area.
Investigators.
Ritchie, Irene, Archie all have baptismal dates.
The Luza family is super golden. They are a definite possibility for baptism. They are praying hard for the answer. Erwin is the uncle of one of the members we work with. He has some complications with his wife about joining. Hopefully she will let him. He is a possibility.
Others:
Dino Barsal
Jerico
Kelly and Esmey
Joan Chan
Abbeth
Rangie
I love you! Take care,
Elder Schenk
Mom
I don’t have any time to respond. We have to get to the temple. I love you though. I emailed dad for everyone. Thanks so much for your prayers. I feel so blessed! We have so many good investigators!
Love you so much! Thanks for making me who I am. It is so nice to have been raised the way I was.
Love,
Elder Schenk
Tell Eric I said hi and give Andre a high five. I love you too Eric!
Thank you for your prayers for me and for my investigators. I can feel the Lords help and guidance. The weather here is awesome... if you were on vacation. But it is a little hot for a collared shirt and tie with black pants. It rains every few days. Sometimes it rains really hard, like yesterday. It goes from sunny to sprinkling to huge drops dumping down like nothing in Washington. Within a half hour or so it stops, but that is enough to cause the back roads to flood. The road we live on is at the bottom of a little valley and everyone’s garbage goes floating by in the river.
I am healthy. I sleep well at night. No problems there. I am so tired that falling asleep is no problem. We just moved yesterday again. We moved next door to a smaller place owned by the same person. We have an AC now, so I sleep really well now. It was super dirty though. We spent all Monday cleaning. We washed all of the walls and floors. It’s all tile and concrete so you can just hose the whole thing down, but we don’t have a hose. So lots of buckets and sponges. It is nice now.
For pday we go hiking in the bukid. It is so beautiful! We took our district up to the waterfall we hiked last week and then walked all the way down the the river to town. It took around 4 hours. This week we are going to the temple! Only once a month. I love living next to it so much. We have lots of cool stuff in our area.
Investigators.
Ritchie, Irene, Archie all have baptismal dates.
The Luza family is super golden. They are a definite possibility for baptism. They are praying hard for the answer. Erwin is the uncle of one of the members we work with. He has some complications with his wife about joining. Hopefully she will let him. He is a possibility.
Others:
Dino Barsal
Jerico
Kelly and Esmey
Joan Chan
Abbeth
Rangie
I love you! Take care,
Elder Schenk
Mom
I don’t have any time to respond. We have to get to the temple. I love you though. I emailed dad for everyone. Thanks so much for your prayers. I feel so blessed! We have so many good investigators!
Love you so much! Thanks for making me who I am. It is so nice to have been raised the way I was.
Love,
Elder Schenk
Tell Eric I said hi and give Andre a high five. I love you too Eric!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
One Month in Cebu!
Family,
Thanks for the dear elders. I did get them. Mom, you almost didn’t email me in time. When I was reading dads yours showed up. Thanks for the pictures. They work out great this way. That is exciting that Eric is on varsity tennis! My bigger than me little brother is a stud! And varsity soccer! Elder Clark is super good at soccer. He was planning on playing after high school but got taken out pretty bad in one of his last games and hasn’t been able to play since. I guess his ankle got messed up bad.
In the Cebu City zone we have 11 different areas. We only have one ward. Cebu city has so many people. They cram so many people into a small house, like the size of our dining room. On the other side of the wall is the neighbor’s living room. They are packed in so tight. It gets really dirty. But out in the bukid it is a lot better. They often times have nicer, larger houses with a yard. But they build everything on the steep hillsides. It’s crazy. I’ll send you a picture some time. I’ll try to get them developed today. Yes there is air conditioning in the chapel. They call it air con. It gets freezing during sacrament meeting! Back home when I would hear that it was going to be 20 degrees Celsius on the Canadian station I was excited it would be a nice day. Now 20 degrees is freezing! I have a hard time. I feel bad for the Filipinos. Often times they speak English, Cebuano, and Tagalog at church. They are supposed to speak all in English, but it doesn’t always work out that way. They speak English really well in the city. Not so well out of the City. We are teaching one investigator in English, he is originally tagalog, and Elder Clark talks to him in Cebuano. It is interesting. Here in the city they mix all three languages in common talking. I don’t notice so much. I just keep smiling, praying that someday I will understand. It is getting a lot easier. I am finding that some things I can say without thinking about them. It just feels natural. Other times I say things all wrong. Oh well. It is fun. We have a gospel principles class that usually has 8 to 10 people. Two are recently baptized. And usually someone will show up that we don’t know. That is always nice.
The work is picking up. President promised us that if we get our key indicators that the mission has set, we will average 3 baptisms a month. We are working hard and have a lot of prime investigators,
Ritchie and Irene both are being baptized on the 25. We got permission from her father last Saturday. That is a cool story. Apparently he is crazy and a drunkard and chases people out with machetes, but he ended up being really receptive after we talked to him. We are going to go back and talk to him and hopefully teach him how to read and write. He lives in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is down from the waterfall about 1.5 miles. It’s a good hike. It took us 1.5 hours to get there the first time because we took the long trail around. We took the district back there today for p-day because it is so beautiful. I love it!
We have 2 sisters who are committed to baptism, but they still need their father’s permission. Their mother referred them, and she is inactive, and now they are more active than she is. Doesn’t really make sense to me. But I think they will be baptized. Their names are Kelly and Esmey.
We also have another couple who are very receptive and are willing to be 100% if they find out it is true. Melinda and Luey Uzah. They would do so well with the gospel.
We also have one more who says he will be baptized if he finds out the book of Mormon is true. He is all about the bible though and doesn’t think we need anything more. We will see. Brother Jerico.
Also Archie, Maria, and Erwin have a good chance at being baptized. They all are possible investigators, just hard to catch up with. It is hard when their phones don’t work and they don’t have answering machines.
Did you get the TV from Wal-Mart? If so I know the exact one it is. It will look nicer with HD cables, but we don’t have anything that is HD, so don’t worry about it.
I love you all, Take care!
Love,
Elder Schenk
Thanks for the dear elders. I did get them. Mom, you almost didn’t email me in time. When I was reading dads yours showed up. Thanks for the pictures. They work out great this way. That is exciting that Eric is on varsity tennis! My bigger than me little brother is a stud! And varsity soccer! Elder Clark is super good at soccer. He was planning on playing after high school but got taken out pretty bad in one of his last games and hasn’t been able to play since. I guess his ankle got messed up bad.
In the Cebu City zone we have 11 different areas. We only have one ward. Cebu city has so many people. They cram so many people into a small house, like the size of our dining room. On the other side of the wall is the neighbor’s living room. They are packed in so tight. It gets really dirty. But out in the bukid it is a lot better. They often times have nicer, larger houses with a yard. But they build everything on the steep hillsides. It’s crazy. I’ll send you a picture some time. I’ll try to get them developed today. Yes there is air conditioning in the chapel. They call it air con. It gets freezing during sacrament meeting! Back home when I would hear that it was going to be 20 degrees Celsius on the Canadian station I was excited it would be a nice day. Now 20 degrees is freezing! I have a hard time. I feel bad for the Filipinos. Often times they speak English, Cebuano, and Tagalog at church. They are supposed to speak all in English, but it doesn’t always work out that way. They speak English really well in the city. Not so well out of the City. We are teaching one investigator in English, he is originally tagalog, and Elder Clark talks to him in Cebuano. It is interesting. Here in the city they mix all three languages in common talking. I don’t notice so much. I just keep smiling, praying that someday I will understand. It is getting a lot easier. I am finding that some things I can say without thinking about them. It just feels natural. Other times I say things all wrong. Oh well. It is fun. We have a gospel principles class that usually has 8 to 10 people. Two are recently baptized. And usually someone will show up that we don’t know. That is always nice.
The work is picking up. President promised us that if we get our key indicators that the mission has set, we will average 3 baptisms a month. We are working hard and have a lot of prime investigators,
Ritchie and Irene both are being baptized on the 25. We got permission from her father last Saturday. That is a cool story. Apparently he is crazy and a drunkard and chases people out with machetes, but he ended up being really receptive after we talked to him. We are going to go back and talk to him and hopefully teach him how to read and write. He lives in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is down from the waterfall about 1.5 miles. It’s a good hike. It took us 1.5 hours to get there the first time because we took the long trail around. We took the district back there today for p-day because it is so beautiful. I love it!
We have 2 sisters who are committed to baptism, but they still need their father’s permission. Their mother referred them, and she is inactive, and now they are more active than she is. Doesn’t really make sense to me. But I think they will be baptized. Their names are Kelly and Esmey.
We also have another couple who are very receptive and are willing to be 100% if they find out it is true. Melinda and Luey Uzah. They would do so well with the gospel.
We also have one more who says he will be baptized if he finds out the book of Mormon is true. He is all about the bible though and doesn’t think we need anything more. We will see. Brother Jerico.
Also Archie, Maria, and Erwin have a good chance at being baptized. They all are possible investigators, just hard to catch up with. It is hard when their phones don’t work and they don’t have answering machines.
Did you get the TV from Wal-Mart? If so I know the exact one it is. It will look nicer with HD cables, but we don’t have anything that is HD, so don’t worry about it.
I love you all, Take care!
Love,
Elder Schenk
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Hello!
September 1, 2010
Dear Family
That was a short one! But thats ok. Sorry I havent sent any pictures yet, I dont want to send them by email because I might get a virus on my sd card. Elder Clark has gotten 2. Ill mail them when I get them developed. You can still dear elder me. but it is mailed from salt lake, and probably doesnt get here any faster.
So good news! I got my first sunburn today! we went on a hike to a waterfall up in busay. It is small, but the area is so beautiful. It is all hills covered in trees and plants, and off in the distance between hills you can see Cebu. So beautiful! And I get to see it every day! I love it here.
We have one investigator with a baptisimal date, Richie. He is 13 and lives with his uncle who is in the bishopric. Irene is 16. She really wants to be baptized but her father hasnt allowed her yet. She ran away from home because her father is crazy. He lives 2 hours down the trail from where she lives in the mountains. hopefully we will here back soon. Our other investigators are Eric, Archie, Erwin, Chilito, and Kelly and Esmay, sisters. We have more that we are working on, but those are the progressing investigators.
You should send me pictures in your emails! I love you all! take care! The Lord is watching over me here.
Love you all!
Elder Schenk
Hello!
I tried a new fruit the other day. It is a little red ball that has long tenticle things coming off it. you pull really hard and the skin splits open exposing a clearish white fruit with a seed that look like an almond, but definitely doesnt taste like one. It is good! we bought squid today. that will be fun to eat. I ate dugot dugot at a members house last week. Dugot means blood. They boil pig blood till it gets hard and chewey and then put it over rice. verry tastey. It smells like poo.
Love you,
Elder Schenk
Dear Family
That was a short one! But thats ok. Sorry I havent sent any pictures yet, I dont want to send them by email because I might get a virus on my sd card. Elder Clark has gotten 2. Ill mail them when I get them developed. You can still dear elder me. but it is mailed from salt lake, and probably doesnt get here any faster.
So good news! I got my first sunburn today! we went on a hike to a waterfall up in busay. It is small, but the area is so beautiful. It is all hills covered in trees and plants, and off in the distance between hills you can see Cebu. So beautiful! And I get to see it every day! I love it here.
We have one investigator with a baptisimal date, Richie. He is 13 and lives with his uncle who is in the bishopric. Irene is 16. She really wants to be baptized but her father hasnt allowed her yet. She ran away from home because her father is crazy. He lives 2 hours down the trail from where she lives in the mountains. hopefully we will here back soon. Our other investigators are Eric, Archie, Erwin, Chilito, and Kelly and Esmay, sisters. We have more that we are working on, but those are the progressing investigators.
You should send me pictures in your emails! I love you all! take care! The Lord is watching over me here.
Love you all!
Elder Schenk
Hello!
I tried a new fruit the other day. It is a little red ball that has long tenticle things coming off it. you pull really hard and the skin splits open exposing a clearish white fruit with a seed that look like an almond, but definitely doesnt taste like one. It is good! we bought squid today. that will be fun to eat. I ate dugot dugot at a members house last week. Dugot means blood. They boil pig blood till it gets hard and chewey and then put it over rice. verry tastey. It smells like poo.
Love you,
Elder Schenk
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
I found out about the "Rainy Season"
August 25, 2010
Family,
I love it here in Cebu! First of all let me clear up what the Baileys said about the traffic. I don’t know what they said but they have to drive in it. That is probably nuts because it is so different than the US. But honestly it is fine here. I haven’t seen anyone crash yet, and I walk the streets downtown every day. It is crazy because there are not any rules... that anyone follows. Lanes don’t matter. Motorcycles go zooming past no matter when. The jeepnys stop all the time and people are always crossing the street. But they are used to it here. They are not like prideful Americans who hit someone if that person was at fault. They pull out into full traffic and everyone stops. It seems crazy that you can just drive across the road and the other cars yield to you, but in the Philippines that’s how it works. It is, most of the time, very efficient.
I have attended the temple once. We get to go once a month, even though it is in my area and only about a 15 min walk from my apartment.
Thank you so much for emailing, but we are only going to have 30 min from now on and if I spend the entire time reading, I cannot write much. And I have so much to say. So maybe just cut out the flab and tell me the same stuff, just faster?
No Mom I haven’t been to the waterfall yet. My last 3 p-days haven’t really been p-days. The move, the big leadership meeting today (for elder Clark) and something else the other day. We called a lot of temple referrals yesterday, and had made appointments for this morning. I have been working with Frankie for the last 3 days till 5 and tomorrow too.
I finally found out what they mean by the "rainy season". It was a lot like Washington rain for the first few weeks.... but hot and not a whole lot of it. Then last night, it went from nothing to huge drops of water coming down to within 30 seconds it felt like I was in a waterfall! Luckily I was at the temple grounds, unluckily I was planning on walking home then. So we grabbed umbrellas from the rack and ran across the parking lot to the chapel. By the time I got there (maybe 30 seconds) my left arm was soaked so that I could see my arm through my shirt, and my pants were soaked from my calves down. All of the stairs were waterfalls and the road turned into a river.
Finally it let up a little so we took a jeepny to our road, then a hubal hubal (motorcycle) to our apartment. It had pretty much stopped raining, and the road was fairly dry. Then we hit traffic at a little intersection that never has traffic. Our road, the same one the marcado is on, was a river of brown water at least a foot deep rushing down! I ended up having to walk part of the way to my apartment where I saw Elder Clark stranded with his leadership training comp who is staying with us for the week, in the guard booth at the gate. We walked home (they had to wait for me because I had the key) in the deep water. It turns out waterproof shoes hold in water really well! That was fun. :)
We still had appointments, and I did something I never anticipated doing on my mission. I went out teaching with my pants rolled up and in green 45 peso flip flops! Kind of fun!
We also went to an appointment almost at the end of our area in the mountains. I had no idea how big my area was! We rode a hubal hubal for an hour up and down mountains to get there! It was like 38 km out of the city! Super pretty though. I could see both sides of the island and both Bohol and Negros.
Our new apartment is good now. We figured out the water and spent a whole day cleaning it. The tile and wood floors are now shiny and we have all of the furniture we need. It’s nice. We still have a shower! But it’s cold... especially this morning. It was cold yesterday after the rain, and last night did a number on the water. But it feels so good to be clean after sweating your guts out every day. I sweat all day long unless there is a fan or air conditioning. I use my handkerchiefs a lot! They are usually soaked by the end of the day. And my shirt, and my pants. But good news! I just go my second pair of custom made pants today! These ones are super nice. The new ones are so much better than the tight American style. Definitely not made for the Philippines.
We have 3 progressing investigators, one has a baptismal date for the 18 of September, one has wanted to be baptized for a long time but her dad (not the best guy in the world... unlike mine) hasn’t let her yet. And the third has read 20 pages of first Nephi, but doesn’t have that assurity that it is true yet. We work hard. About 60% of the time our planned for lessons don’t happen because they aren’t home. But we still talk to a lot of people. I am getting a little better at Cebuano. I still do a lot of patient sitting with little clue what is going on, but I find myself understanding more and more, and being able to carry on longer conversations with people. It’s good.
I love you all!
Elder Schenk
Family,
I love it here in Cebu! First of all let me clear up what the Baileys said about the traffic. I don’t know what they said but they have to drive in it. That is probably nuts because it is so different than the US. But honestly it is fine here. I haven’t seen anyone crash yet, and I walk the streets downtown every day. It is crazy because there are not any rules... that anyone follows. Lanes don’t matter. Motorcycles go zooming past no matter when. The jeepnys stop all the time and people are always crossing the street. But they are used to it here. They are not like prideful Americans who hit someone if that person was at fault. They pull out into full traffic and everyone stops. It seems crazy that you can just drive across the road and the other cars yield to you, but in the Philippines that’s how it works. It is, most of the time, very efficient.
I have attended the temple once. We get to go once a month, even though it is in my area and only about a 15 min walk from my apartment.
Thank you so much for emailing, but we are only going to have 30 min from now on and if I spend the entire time reading, I cannot write much. And I have so much to say. So maybe just cut out the flab and tell me the same stuff, just faster?
No Mom I haven’t been to the waterfall yet. My last 3 p-days haven’t really been p-days. The move, the big leadership meeting today (for elder Clark) and something else the other day. We called a lot of temple referrals yesterday, and had made appointments for this morning. I have been working with Frankie for the last 3 days till 5 and tomorrow too.
I finally found out what they mean by the "rainy season". It was a lot like Washington rain for the first few weeks.... but hot and not a whole lot of it. Then last night, it went from nothing to huge drops of water coming down to within 30 seconds it felt like I was in a waterfall! Luckily I was at the temple grounds, unluckily I was planning on walking home then. So we grabbed umbrellas from the rack and ran across the parking lot to the chapel. By the time I got there (maybe 30 seconds) my left arm was soaked so that I could see my arm through my shirt, and my pants were soaked from my calves down. All of the stairs were waterfalls and the road turned into a river.
Finally it let up a little so we took a jeepny to our road, then a hubal hubal (motorcycle) to our apartment. It had pretty much stopped raining, and the road was fairly dry. Then we hit traffic at a little intersection that never has traffic. Our road, the same one the marcado is on, was a river of brown water at least a foot deep rushing down! I ended up having to walk part of the way to my apartment where I saw Elder Clark stranded with his leadership training comp who is staying with us for the week, in the guard booth at the gate. We walked home (they had to wait for me because I had the key) in the deep water. It turns out waterproof shoes hold in water really well! That was fun. :)
We still had appointments, and I did something I never anticipated doing on my mission. I went out teaching with my pants rolled up and in green 45 peso flip flops! Kind of fun!
We also went to an appointment almost at the end of our area in the mountains. I had no idea how big my area was! We rode a hubal hubal for an hour up and down mountains to get there! It was like 38 km out of the city! Super pretty though. I could see both sides of the island and both Bohol and Negros.
Our new apartment is good now. We figured out the water and spent a whole day cleaning it. The tile and wood floors are now shiny and we have all of the furniture we need. It’s nice. We still have a shower! But it’s cold... especially this morning. It was cold yesterday after the rain, and last night did a number on the water. But it feels so good to be clean after sweating your guts out every day. I sweat all day long unless there is a fan or air conditioning. I use my handkerchiefs a lot! They are usually soaked by the end of the day. And my shirt, and my pants. But good news! I just go my second pair of custom made pants today! These ones are super nice. The new ones are so much better than the tight American style. Definitely not made for the Philippines.
We have 3 progressing investigators, one has a baptismal date for the 18 of September, one has wanted to be baptized for a long time but her dad (not the best guy in the world... unlike mine) hasn’t let her yet. And the third has read 20 pages of first Nephi, but doesn’t have that assurity that it is true yet. We work hard. About 60% of the time our planned for lessons don’t happen because they aren’t home. But we still talk to a lot of people. I am getting a little better at Cebuano. I still do a lot of patient sitting with little clue what is going on, but I find myself understanding more and more, and being able to carry on longer conversations with people. It’s good.
I love you all!
Elder Schenk
Sunday, August 22, 2010
From the Baileys
Our Dearly Beloved Family and Friends,
Since a mission actually starts the day you report to the MTC, we have now completed our first month. One down, 22 more to go. It’s amazing how fast time fly’s.
For those who believe in the old saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, don’t believe it. Sister Bailey and I have had to learn very quickly how to text. That is the method of communication here in the Philippines. No one talks on the phone.
Driving here is a real treat for those who have never been to foreign country where they really don’t have any traffic laws to speak of. We got our Philippines drivers’ license this last week, so we are legal to go play bumper cars. They also made us get our Motorcycle endorsement, (as if I’m going to get out on these roads without a lot of metal around me). There are four basic rules to driving over here. “Flow”, “Pick”, “Pick-Flash” and “The No-See-Chicken”.
Flow – It doesn’t matter where the lines are painted or how many official lanes of traffic there are – flow with the traffic. If there are only two lanes painted on the road and there are four lanes of traffic, don’t worry – just flow.
Pick – This principle is as simple as the first. Whichever driver can pick (place) any portion of his vehicle in front of the other vehicle, the successful (first) picker has the right of way. The slow learner who waits for a break in the traffic is bound to spend much of his traffic life waiting for that break. All it takes is a little courage coupled with a small portion of bumper or fender picked in front of another vehicle and you have the right of way. Of course this works both ways. If another driver picks his vehicle in front of yours, you have to give the right of way.
Pick Flash – While the pick principle applies to traffic in the flow or at intersections, there is an important special application of picking when you face another vehicle head-on with room only for one lane of traffic. This occurs when you’re on a 2 lane road and one lane is blocked by road work, a stalled vehicle, a landslide or whatever. As two vehicles approach each other and the one lane section it is not always obvious who can win the race to get through, the “pick” is won by the vehicle that flashes its headlights first. Playing this game correctly requires good eyesight, distance judgment and a quick hand on the light switch.
Along with the Flash Pick is the “Vis-à-vis pick”. This applies when passing moving traffic on a 2 lane road. You pass, and while passing the slower vehicles, an oncoming vehicle appears. If you flash first, the on comer must slow down and let you get around; if he flashes first, prepare to fall back, escape or abandon ship.
The No-See-Chicken – This is a version of the old American game of Chicken. It is important in the no-see-chicken situation not to let on (no-see) that you see the other vehicle(s). For example, when entering an intersection, if there are vehicles coming from your left or right, you have to act like you don’t see them. The best procedures are to maintain your speed and look straight ahead. If speed is slowed or you turn your head to look in the direction of the other vehicle, the driver will know you have spotted him and the old American variety of chicken goes into play. Be prepared to give the right of way.
All the above is done while you are watching out for motorcycles that go wherever they want to and pedestrians who walk into your traffic lane or stand on the line in the middle of the road. Enough about driving here in the Philippines.
We were able to find a nice furnished, 2 bedroom townhouse apartment on the third day. Mostly out of desperation. As temporary housing they had us staying at the Temple Patron house for two nights. That was about all we could stand. It had a bathroom (very nice) and a sleeping room that had 6 bunk beds. Nice for a night if you and your family were there to go to the Temple, but not for long term living. Our apartment is in a complex of 4 apartments. The owner (landlord) is in apartment #2 and he is the 1st Councilor in the Stake Presidency. Apartment #1 is occupied by the Family History Senior Missionary couple. Apartment #3 is occupied by the City Zone Leader Missionaries and we are in apartment #4. Gee, a 100% LDS community in the Philippines, how wonderful is that.
Things have been very busy for us since we arrived. Yesterday, Sister Bailey and I were able to relax just enough to finally get to the Temple. It was so wonderful to be there. I know it hadn’t been all that long since we had gone but when you were used to going twice a week every week it seemed like it had been a lifetime. The Temple here in Cebu is new, clean and very beautiful. The session we attended was full to overflowing. They had to bring in some extra chairs to fit everyone in. Most of the sessions here are that way. It is wonderful to see a people so dedicated to serving the Lord.
We definitely see the need to learn the language here. As we attend church each Sunday we have a very difficult time understanding what is going on. In one sentence the speaker will use English, Cebuano and Tagolog.
We want all of you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. We love you and miss you and will stay in touch. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Love
Elder & Sister Bailey
Philippines, Cebu Mission
Since a mission actually starts the day you report to the MTC, we have now completed our first month. One down, 22 more to go. It’s amazing how fast time fly’s.
For those who believe in the old saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, don’t believe it. Sister Bailey and I have had to learn very quickly how to text. That is the method of communication here in the Philippines. No one talks on the phone.
Driving here is a real treat for those who have never been to foreign country where they really don’t have any traffic laws to speak of. We got our Philippines drivers’ license this last week, so we are legal to go play bumper cars. They also made us get our Motorcycle endorsement, (as if I’m going to get out on these roads without a lot of metal around me). There are four basic rules to driving over here. “Flow”, “Pick”, “Pick-Flash” and “The No-See-Chicken”.
Flow – It doesn’t matter where the lines are painted or how many official lanes of traffic there are – flow with the traffic. If there are only two lanes painted on the road and there are four lanes of traffic, don’t worry – just flow.
Pick – This principle is as simple as the first. Whichever driver can pick (place) any portion of his vehicle in front of the other vehicle, the successful (first) picker has the right of way. The slow learner who waits for a break in the traffic is bound to spend much of his traffic life waiting for that break. All it takes is a little courage coupled with a small portion of bumper or fender picked in front of another vehicle and you have the right of way. Of course this works both ways. If another driver picks his vehicle in front of yours, you have to give the right of way.
Pick Flash – While the pick principle applies to traffic in the flow or at intersections, there is an important special application of picking when you face another vehicle head-on with room only for one lane of traffic. This occurs when you’re on a 2 lane road and one lane is blocked by road work, a stalled vehicle, a landslide or whatever. As two vehicles approach each other and the one lane section it is not always obvious who can win the race to get through, the “pick” is won by the vehicle that flashes its headlights first. Playing this game correctly requires good eyesight, distance judgment and a quick hand on the light switch.
Along with the Flash Pick is the “Vis-à-vis pick”. This applies when passing moving traffic on a 2 lane road. You pass, and while passing the slower vehicles, an oncoming vehicle appears. If you flash first, the on comer must slow down and let you get around; if he flashes first, prepare to fall back, escape or abandon ship.
The No-See-Chicken – This is a version of the old American game of Chicken. It is important in the no-see-chicken situation not to let on (no-see) that you see the other vehicle(s). For example, when entering an intersection, if there are vehicles coming from your left or right, you have to act like you don’t see them. The best procedures are to maintain your speed and look straight ahead. If speed is slowed or you turn your head to look in the direction of the other vehicle, the driver will know you have spotted him and the old American variety of chicken goes into play. Be prepared to give the right of way.
All the above is done while you are watching out for motorcycles that go wherever they want to and pedestrians who walk into your traffic lane or stand on the line in the middle of the road. Enough about driving here in the Philippines.
We were able to find a nice furnished, 2 bedroom townhouse apartment on the third day. Mostly out of desperation. As temporary housing they had us staying at the Temple Patron house for two nights. That was about all we could stand. It had a bathroom (very nice) and a sleeping room that had 6 bunk beds. Nice for a night if you and your family were there to go to the Temple, but not for long term living. Our apartment is in a complex of 4 apartments. The owner (landlord) is in apartment #2 and he is the 1st Councilor in the Stake Presidency. Apartment #1 is occupied by the Family History Senior Missionary couple. Apartment #3 is occupied by the City Zone Leader Missionaries and we are in apartment #4. Gee, a 100% LDS community in the Philippines, how wonderful is that.
Things have been very busy for us since we arrived. Yesterday, Sister Bailey and I were able to relax just enough to finally get to the Temple. It was so wonderful to be there. I know it hadn’t been all that long since we had gone but when you were used to going twice a week every week it seemed like it had been a lifetime. The Temple here in Cebu is new, clean and very beautiful. The session we attended was full to overflowing. They had to bring in some extra chairs to fit everyone in. Most of the sessions here are that way. It is wonderful to see a people so dedicated to serving the Lord.
We definitely see the need to learn the language here. As we attend church each Sunday we have a very difficult time understanding what is going on. In one sentence the speaker will use English, Cebuano and Tagolog.
We want all of you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. We love you and miss you and will stay in touch. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Love
Elder & Sister Bailey
Philippines, Cebu Mission
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Elder Schenk with President and Sister Hansen
We recieve a letter from President Hansen today saying that Elder Schenk had arrived and was in good hands! He enclosed a "welcome snapshot". I think Devin looks great!
August 18, 2010
August 18, 2010
Family!
The mission is great! I still don't speak cebuano but I am learning. Sorry if this is short and choppy. Most of the keys you have to hit to make them work, and I have no time today.
The mangos are good. We eat about 4 kilos a week. We have rice and usually chicken or pork stir fry for dinner. Sometimes we eat at the patron house. It is good and cheap. You can get a meal for about $1.40. Not bad.
We went to the temple today. It is beautiful. We got asked to be witnesses for sealings. That was a nice break after we moved last night. It is a nice place, but it hadn’t been lived in for a bit and was dirty. We spent all last night trying to get water, and all day this morning cleaning. I got some pants made. They are big, but I really like them. They are a nice dark green with a bit of a black stripe.
We have 2 progressing investigators, and many that haven’t had the second lesson yet. If we push ourselves I think we will have a lot of success.
The address on my sheet I handed out works. I got a letter from Brittany last week.
Thanks for all of your prayers. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Schenk
ps. We found a sweet waterfall in our area. We are going to hike it soon I hope! :)
Family!
The mission is great! I still don't speak cebuano but I am learning. Sorry if this is short and choppy. Most of the keys you have to hit to make them work, and I have no time today.
The mangos are good. We eat about 4 kilos a week. We have rice and usually chicken or pork stir fry for dinner. Sometimes we eat at the patron house. It is good and cheap. You can get a meal for about $1.40. Not bad.
We went to the temple today. It is beautiful. We got asked to be witnesses for sealings. That was a nice break after we moved last night. It is a nice place, but it hadn’t been lived in for a bit and was dirty. We spent all last night trying to get water, and all day this morning cleaning. I got some pants made. They are big, but I really like them. They are a nice dark green with a bit of a black stripe.
We have 2 progressing investigators, and many that haven’t had the second lesson yet. If we push ourselves I think we will have a lot of success.
The address on my sheet I handed out works. I got a letter from Brittany last week.
Thanks for all of your prayers. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Schenk
ps. We found a sweet waterfall in our area. We are going to hike it soon I hope! :)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
First Week in the Mission Field
Family!
I love it here in Cebu! It is hot and humid, but not unbearable. When I first stepped off the plane in Hong Kong it was like I hit a wall of water! When you walk out of an air conditioned room at church it feels the same way. It is crazy how much you sweat!
I am assigned in City zone in Cebu City. The temple is in my area! The only area with it! I feel lucky. My companion is Elder Clark. He is an American from California. He has been out 21 months and is a really good missionary. He takes good care of me. Everybody is his friend and they tell me how lucky I am to have him as a trainer. He is one of the best Visayan speakers in the mission. He understands everything and is always joking around with the Filipinos trying to make them laugh. We were both transferred into this area, and the boundaries are about to change and all of the previous progressing investigators are moving to another area, so we had nobody to teach. We have been doing a lot of tracting. We have met a lot of members. One of them, Frankie, doesn't have work so he has been going with us every day for the last 3 days. He knows were a lot of members are. My area is huge! It covers a lot of down town, which is tiny houses all smashed together. So many people can live in one block! Also we have a LOT of bukid (hills) in our area. We take a jeepny up there almost every day. I’ll send you a picture next week. It is amazing how many homes are built on such steep hills!
I love it here. There are so many good people who live in such humble circumstance. They have little houses made of concrete the size of half our carport with 6 or so people living there. And on the other side of the wall is their neighbor’s main room. They are literally right next to each other. It is so beautiful! Everyting is so green. The bukid is so beautiful. They have a place called tops. It is the very top of the bukid. It costs about 100 pesos to get up there, 100 pesos to enter, and probably 50 more to get home. That is about 5 dollars, but it is really expensive here. A normal jeepny ride is 6.5 pesos. We took 3 of us on a motorcycle (motor) 15 minutes up a steep windy road into the bukid and it cost 80 pesos up and 45 down.
The temple is so beautiful! The grounds are so beautiful. They keep it really nice. My apartment is the nicest one in the entire mission! We have AC, a shower with hot water and no bugs. We live at the old church next to the assistants. One area over, Sister Robbison, who I was in the mtc with, has a bucket of cold water to shower with, dies every night because it is too hot, and bugs everywhere. We are so lucky. We are moving next week so that another senior couple can move in. Hopefully that place will be nice too.
Mail takes forever to get here, so email works just fine. Thanks for everything! I love you all!
Elder Schenk
I love it here in Cebu! It is hot and humid, but not unbearable. When I first stepped off the plane in Hong Kong it was like I hit a wall of water! When you walk out of an air conditioned room at church it feels the same way. It is crazy how much you sweat!
I am assigned in City zone in Cebu City. The temple is in my area! The only area with it! I feel lucky. My companion is Elder Clark. He is an American from California. He has been out 21 months and is a really good missionary. He takes good care of me. Everybody is his friend and they tell me how lucky I am to have him as a trainer. He is one of the best Visayan speakers in the mission. He understands everything and is always joking around with the Filipinos trying to make them laugh. We were both transferred into this area, and the boundaries are about to change and all of the previous progressing investigators are moving to another area, so we had nobody to teach. We have been doing a lot of tracting. We have met a lot of members. One of them, Frankie, doesn't have work so he has been going with us every day for the last 3 days. He knows were a lot of members are. My area is huge! It covers a lot of down town, which is tiny houses all smashed together. So many people can live in one block! Also we have a LOT of bukid (hills) in our area. We take a jeepny up there almost every day. I’ll send you a picture next week. It is amazing how many homes are built on such steep hills!
I love it here. There are so many good people who live in such humble circumstance. They have little houses made of concrete the size of half our carport with 6 or so people living there. And on the other side of the wall is their neighbor’s main room. They are literally right next to each other. It is so beautiful! Everyting is so green. The bukid is so beautiful. They have a place called tops. It is the very top of the bukid. It costs about 100 pesos to get up there, 100 pesos to enter, and probably 50 more to get home. That is about 5 dollars, but it is really expensive here. A normal jeepny ride is 6.5 pesos. We took 3 of us on a motorcycle (motor) 15 minutes up a steep windy road into the bukid and it cost 80 pesos up and 45 down.
The temple is so beautiful! The grounds are so beautiful. They keep it really nice. My apartment is the nicest one in the entire mission! We have AC, a shower with hot water and no bugs. We live at the old church next to the assistants. One area over, Sister Robbison, who I was in the mtc with, has a bucket of cold water to shower with, dies every night because it is too hot, and bugs everywhere. We are so lucky. We are moving next week so that another senior couple can move in. Hopefully that place will be nice too.
Mail takes forever to get here, so email works just fine. Thanks for everything! I love you all!
Elder Schenk
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Cebu City!
I made it! It is nice here. It is humid and a little smelly, but it is a great place. The temple is so beautiful! A beacon of light shining out of the dirty city. The driving here is nuts! It felt like a roller coaster getting over here. But it was fun. There are people on motorcycles everywhere, and people riding in the back of trucks and hanging onto the jeepnys. It is cool. I love it! The missionaries are nice, the president is nice. It’s all good. We will see how optimistic I am next week, but as of now I cannot wait to see how it is all going to go! I love it. Tomorrow I meet my kauban (companion) and go to my first area. We just had pizza and bananas for dinner. They are good here. I am excited to eat a mango! Sometime soon I hope. I love you. Take care. I can’t wait for bed, and it is just past lunch time! It is past my bedtime in Utah. I’ll manage. The humidity is actually kind of nice. I like it. It is a nice change from the Utah dry.
I love you all! Take care. I am in good hands. The Baileys are taking good care of me!
Love always,
Elder Schenk
I love you all! Take care. I am in good hands. The Baileys are taking good care of me!
Love always,
Elder Schenk
On My Way to the Airport
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Mom, The cinnamon rolls were great! I took them up to the temple on Sunday and put them on the sidewalk. In about an hour they were all hot and gooey! They were so good! Thanks so much for them.
We take off in 45 min! Nuts. Here is the deal. I can call you at the airport! I don’t know if I will have time here in Salt Lake, if so it will be at about 9:00 pm tonight. But if not I’ll call in San Francisco about 11:30pm tonight. If not then, I have a 3 hour layover in Hong Kong tomorrow. I can call from 2-3:30 tomorrow afternoon. It will be 6:30 in the morning in Hong Kong! I am so excited to talk to you! Thanks for everything!
I sent you a package today with my suit and some unneeded clothing. Look for that one.
I love you! Take care. I’ll write you when I get to Cebu. It may not be till next Wednesday when i have my p-day, but I'll write.
I love you all!
Elder Schenk
Mom, The cinnamon rolls were great! I took them up to the temple on Sunday and put them on the sidewalk. In about an hour they were all hot and gooey! They were so good! Thanks so much for them.
We take off in 45 min! Nuts. Here is the deal. I can call you at the airport! I don’t know if I will have time here in Salt Lake, if so it will be at about 9:00 pm tonight. But if not I’ll call in San Francisco about 11:30pm tonight. If not then, I have a 3 hour layover in Hong Kong tomorrow. I can call from 2-3:30 tomorrow afternoon. It will be 6:30 in the morning in Hong Kong! I am so excited to talk to you! Thanks for everything!
I sent you a package today with my suit and some unneeded clothing. Look for that one.
I love you! Take care. I’ll write you when I get to Cebu. It may not be till next Wednesday when i have my p-day, but I'll write.
I love you all!
Elder Schenk
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