Week 92

Hello Family!

This has been another good week here in Antique!  I am way happy with the way things are going and we are still working our butts off out here!  We weren't able to top last weeks work, but we are still chipping away at setting records here in Antique this month.  It really does look like every single companionship will have baptisms for the month of June... I think that is pretty unheard of... not just in the district but for the entire zone of Antique.  Wow... We rock.  So I am way excited for how everything goes this week and I am energized and ready for the next week of work.  I had a bit of a cold this last weekend and that really slowed us down... but I am recovered now and back on my feet.  I am just a bit congested right now but no more head ache or body aches.  It has been raining so much lately and I have felt this cold coming on for the last week or so and I just couldn't shake it off.  It got the best of me Saturday and Sunday and I did alot of sleeping to try to speed up the healing process.  This morning was great, though and I think I am done being sick.  These past two days were rough though and I wasn't the only one feeling sick.  It seemed like everyone in Hamtic was feeling about as good as I was.  We had a lesson last night where I think EVERYONE was at least a bit sick.  There was lots of coughing and sniffling through out the whole lesson.  I am going to go play basketball this afternoon too so I think i should be able to sweat everything out and be ready for another week of hard work. 

The exciting news for this week is that my little brother Graham just got his mission call to Lubbock, Texas!!!! I am so excited for him and he will have a great time serving a mission.  We are always jealous of stateside missionaries when we are walking in the hot sun and we think of them in their AC cars... it must be nice.  Or actually having AC in your house... haven't had that for some 20 months now.  Count your blessings pal!  haha.  I am way proud of Graham though and he will make an exceptional missionary and have tons of success.  My homecoming will be lacking though now!!  I can't believe how close that was...  I left Sept 15th 2010 and won't get back til Oct 10th and then Graham leaves Sept 26th!  Ah well.  4 years will just make the reunion that much better I guess, right?

Work wise this last week was lots of fun due to the fact that we have finally found the family that we will help be baptized in to the church.  The Pablo family accepted baptismal dates this last Friday and they really do want to become members of the church!  They will be baptized in July though... so I probably won't see them get baptized.  I really think I will be transferred in June 29th.  I only have two more transfers in my mission (HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN!?!) and so it is my time to step down to just a senior companion probably and die (that means go home).  I am just happy I was able to meet them and help them get prepared for their baptism... I am just happy that the Lord gave me what I had been praying so hard for and even if I don't get to see it happen... I was a part of it and that is all you can really ask.  That is a big family though and I think about 5 or 6 of them should be ready for baptism on July 28th.  There are super nice people but need lots of preparation.  I was just happy when I realized that what I have wanted the most in this area has finally come true... a family!

Well, this is a fun part of my mission.  Working my butt of for 21 months has really been paying dividends now... I am really working hard but it is just getting more and more enjoyable.  The adjustment to missionary work really does take so long and I think I have really gotten the hang of it now and t just makes work fun when you have things "figured out" for the most part.  Of course there are times that you still wonder what you are supposed to do but for the most part I feel like I know what I am doing and I really actually enjoy doing it.  

I also want to just share my Happy Father's Day wish with everyone... My Dad is honestly my main hero.  He is awesome and I love him to pieces.  He has been such an impact on my life and supported me through everything in my life.  I honestly consider myself one of the luckiest kids ever just because I was born into the family I have right now.  I don't mean to brag but they are just simply awesome and even though we have our share of problems we have done such an awesome job of staying close together and I honestly love them so much.  I miss them more than I can express and can't wait to see them (most of them) when I get home.  Anyways Happy father's Day Dad and try not to go too crazy with fishing shirts.  

Well I am doing so well here in Hamtic and I was so happy to get everyone's letters this last week.  It is so good to hear what is going on with all of you and I am so happy you all still remember me and love me.  I hope you all have a great week and I am so excited to hear from everyone again next week... You had better write!

Halong,

Elder Lowry

Pic 1- Family Home Evening Filipino Edition

Pic 2-  The other Elder's in Hamtic had a baptism this last weekend.  Our member did a good job of Flirt to Convert ;)

Week 91

Hello Family!

This has been another great week for Elder Domincel and I am super excited to report to you all.  I have really felt the work progress over this last month, not only in my area here in Hamtic but in the entire Antique zone!  It has been awesome to see the Lord hastening His work here in this zone.  Everyone in the zone seems to be working super hard and we are really achieving some remarkable things right now.  I am super proud of all the missionaries in the zone right now.  

This last week we have been following up alot with our few investigators that have baptismal dates and the couple families that are working to return to activity in the church.  Right now I feel confident that we will have one or two baptisms the last weekend of the transfer and we will have even more for July... if I get to stay here in Hamtic.  I really think I will transfer to my last area this transfer though.  Which blows my mind that I am already talking about my last area.  These last few months have gone by entirely too fast.  I feel like I have been in Hamtic for 3 weeks... not three months.  Anyways, We had some real success with two part member families and preparing them for baptism.  They sound really committed and have been keeping commitments.  I am so happy I will be able to see at least some of the fruits of my labors here in Hamtic.  If I could only have one more transfer... 

We also got to teach the Pablo family for the first time this last week. They are the family members of the member that died the other week and wanted to be taught.  Turns out they really want their ENTIRE family to be baptized.  They came to church this last weekend and loved it.  This will make it three times now that they have gone.  They are a way cool family and I am really excited to follow up more this week and maybe even give them all baptismal dates this week.  We will see what happens, but I am almost sure they will accept too.  The work is just getting so exciting here!  I hope we can keep the fire going!

I was talking about the success in the entire zone recently and this is what I mean... let me talk numbers for a little bit.  We totaled everything up last night and yesterday we had an avg of 7 investigators in sacrament meeting per companionship for the entire zone!   Isn't that ridiculous?!  We also had four baptisms and an avg of 10.7 lessons with a member present per companionship for the last week.  Right now we are exceeding all the goals we had set for the month of June in the Antique zone.  So that is mostly the reason I am saying the Lord is really hastening His work in Antique right now.  It is just awesome to see this happen.  Another reason I really want to stay another transfer is so that I can go to ZLC next month and report this to President Pagaduan. 

This was a sad weekend for the rest of the Philippines though... Manny Pacquiao lost for the first time in seven years.  There was alot of yelling Tagalog/ Ilonggo profanity from all the drunks yesterday.  It made for a fun day of work.  I did hear about Miami winning to get to the NBA finals... I think they are going to fulfill my prophesy this season.  I hope they don't disappoint like last season, though.  Go Heat

I am just basically really content with how things are going and excited to get back to work and see what we can get going for next week.  This area is really progressing and we have lots of potential to grow and have even more success over the next few weeks/ months.  I am happy and doing really well.  I am loving my time in the Philippines but definitely look forward to coming home in 4 months!  I know the church is true and love serving the Lord.  Love you all and enjoy the pics!

Halong,

Elder Lowry


Pic 1- Delicious seafood I ate last week... honestly some of the best I've had on my mission.
Pic 2- A retarded cow we saw in our area.  I had a photoshoot with it trying to find the perfect picture to send home.  Hope you all appreciate it.  
Pic 3- A gonzai tree our member made here.  It is tiny... but a full grown tree.  It is way cool.
Pic 4- A picture perfect sunset here in Malandog.  I love the sunsets here.
Pic 5- Some kids of our investigators in Malandog.  They are too cute.

Want a taste of Filipino music?

From Scott:  I have a couple songs for you to listen to... just so you know what language I speak.  Look up "kung bal-an mo lang tani"  for an ilonggo song...  The big dialect on the island.  Then for a cool Tagalog song is "sana ngayong pasko" for a Tagalog song.  Or you could listen to "patuloy ang pangarap" for another cool tagalog song. Those are some of my favorite songs here in the Philippines. 

Picture time!

Week 90

Hello Family!

So this week has been quite a fun one for Elder Lowry out here in Antique.  I really was nervous what was going to happen work-wise this last week because we spent a lot of time not in Hamtic.  I was worried that we would lose the momentum that we had from this last week and we would be scrapping for investigators to come to church or progress.  The Lord definitely made His arm bare this last week and took care of our area here in Hamtic.  I am really grateful and even more excited to get to work again this week and get even more done.  

The big highlight of this last week was the mission tour we had with Elder Nielson of the seventy. His messagesthat I got to hear Wednesday and Thursday were truly just amazing.  He is definitely a man of sound understanding and really understands the gospel.  He had some really good things to help our missionaries adjust their vision for what needs to happen in the Philippines.  He just had a good way of helping us identify what the problems were here and helped us figure out how to fix it.  If I had to say he was great at one thing it was getting people on "his team."  He had a way of speaking and teaching that just made you want to join his team to do what he was asking us to.  He really got the mission on the same page and helped us make some resolutions that will help this area progress with "real growth." The main concern was about the massive amounts of less active members in the Philippines and how we need to get them back and strengthen them before we worry to much about adding thousands more to that number.  We are trying to get more active Melchizedek Priesthood holders and worry more about establishing the church here in the Philippines rather than adding so many more new converts.  Right now the branches and district here aren't strong enough to lend the needed support to a recent convert and that is why so many people are inactive.  So we are going to fix the problem... which is alot easier said than done. So that is basically what he taught us and gave us some really ways we can help establish the church more effectively.

Our area has made a 180 degree turn around and is doing GREAT!  We really weren't left with much to work with... at all.  So Elder Domincel and I have now gotten some people that can actually be baptized and we have some less active families that are actually keeping commitments and showing signs of coming back to church.  We actually had two families there at church this weekend even though it was POURING rain (I will expound on this later).  We also had 7 investigators come to church this last weekend!  If you had asked me a month ago I would've told you I would never see the day when my area had seven investigators at church... we just had so many flaky investigators.  We are seeing some fruit now from our work here and it is just simply exciting.  We have, right now, two investigators with a baptismal date that seem set on being baptized into the church.  They are both part of part-member families. One of these investigators is actually planning on going to the temple with her family November 29th... so she is REALLY set on being baptized.  I am just happy right now that I have seen the day when Hamtic A is really progressing and bearing fruit.  It really makes my conscious clear that I won't leave a dead area. That has always been my goal in every area.. to leave good things behind for the next missionaries.   

I am really excited for what the last 3 weeks in this area hold in store for me.  I will be really sad to leave all this success that we are finally seeing here.  The only down thing that has happened to us is the rain.  It has been non stop for the past 4 days.  I am not even joking when I tell you all that it has not been bright outside for four days. Every five minutes the rain picks up and gets everything/ one soaked.  We went to a funeral this last weekend and I lent my umbrella to some poor guys who had to ride their motorcycle to the burial site and, of course, didn't see it again. I did finally gt it back yesterday, though... but my point is that for two days of non stop rain I had no umbrella.  Elder Lowry was not a happy camper. I am all good now.  The funeral was sad.  The man who died was a member but had been living in a far away place for like ten years now.  None of his family are members though and even though all the services were held in the church it felt impossible to console these people because they don't yet understand the plan of salvation and how it works. They apparently did really catch the spirit of it and want to be taught and alot of them have expressed desires to be baptized.  We are going to follow up on that this week... like I said it was an interesting week, but a good one.  These people sure were torn that their son and brother had died.  I have never seen anyone mourn quite like this.  When we were about to put the coffin in the grave you would've thought the poor mother was being killed and then she just fainted when the coffin was put into the grave.  Like I said, I felt very sorry that they didn't have the gospel to console them in such a time of grief.  

I am doing great here and I am really enjoying my time as a missionary.  I love the work here in Hamtic and I am excited to report to you all next week.  I finished the Book of Mormon again this last week... no worries.  It is still true.  I am having a good time reading it over again and I am making Elder Lowry's own personal Topical guide this time.  Meaning as I see verses that are specifically meaningful to me I will sort them by topic and before the end of the mission I hope to have been able to do this for the Bible (new testament) and all other standard works. I think it is abig project but will prove to be very useful someday.  It has made me read the scriptures differently.  It helps to be looking for something.  Well I love you all and can't wait to see you all again someday!

Love,

Elder Lowry

Week 89

Hello family!

I am way happy to report to you all that this was actually a good week of work and I really feel like the work is progressing here in Hamtic.  I have felt like we have been in such a rut the past few weeks... or two months and now we have seen some progress in the work.  It was such a relief to have a god turn out yesterday for our District Conference and to have more than one investigator progressing.  I was literally just elated with how this last weekend went.  We are working with a couple really good part member families that are really doing well.  It is so good to have some investigators and some less actives in our teaching pool that are actually moving forward.  One of these families is the Banez family!  They all came to church this last week.  They are a long time inactive family and really have struggled to come back to activity in the church.  It was great to have them make the trek out to San Jose and they apparently had a great time as well.  I will get to follow up on them more over this next week.

I really am doing well here in Hamtic.  I said last week that Elder Domincel and I were really evaluating what we could change in what we are doing and how we teach to try to get more results.  We did that and it worked wonders for our work this last week.  Like it has been such a relief for us to actually have a really successful week for the first time in a long time.  So that is what we plan on doing that again this next week and I think we will see even more success.  

The District conference this last weekend was really a success.  Elder Nielson form the Area Presidency presided and the Antique District literally filled the chapel there in San Jose.  Everyone was really impressed with how many people showed up and participated in the conference.  Elder Nielson seems like a really cool leader and I am excited to get to know him more over this next week.  They actually came and visited our apartment yesterday with President Pagaduan.  We had a nice chat and he just seemed really nice.  His talks are also really powerful... He doesn't get too wordy like some other Americans that come to the Philippines and really gets his point across when he speaks.  I really think the members got the important ideas from his message even though most of these people speaks really poor English.  Overall I thought he did a great job giving a powerful clear message even though he didn't speak the native tongue.  I was impressed by him.  

I feel like things are on the upturn here in Hamtic.  I like how everything went this last week and it really seems like this ext week we should be able to have 4 or 5 investigators with a baptismal date.  Needless to say,  I am happy with how the work is going right now.  The fact that I won't be in my are 3 days this week doesn't even phase me.  I am way pumped up for this next week of work and meetings.  I have a dinner appointment too for every night I am in the city!   You have no clue how excited I am for this!  They are even going to make all of my favorite dishes.  I expect to put on 15 pounds this week.

I hope everything is well at home.  It is so good to hear from you all every week.  Like it literally just makes my day to hear what is going on in everyone's life and that you all still think about me.  I love you all so much and miss you all more than you all know.  I know the church is true and I am happy to be where I am right now and doing what I am doing.  I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now.  

All my love,

Elder Lowry