This week was wild. So many different things happened and it will not be forgotten. Starting on Monday, ElderTabaua and Elder Jimenez went home, so I've been with Elder Tabaua’s companion for the week. He will be transferring and I will get a new companion, Elder Aguirre, Pilipino. For the last 2 transfers, there have been 2 companionships in my house but now it will only be 1. President Bangal is changing the mission so there’s a max of 2 companionships in every unit. So in my unit, Sevilla Ward, we have me and Elder Aguirre, the Zone Leaders, then the Assistants to the President, Elders Pitt, Lloyd and Bin Salleh. 

We helped the Sisters move houses on Thursday, I always say to myself that moves go waaay better when everything is packed up and ready to go when everyone gets there, so it can just be moved and then unpacked.  But many times I have gotten to a house or a Missionary apartment and had them still packing, and the kitchen still completely untouched and dirty dishes in the sink. We packed up the first load, and as we were waiting for it to return, we played some games with coins in the now empty tiled room. One thing I really appreciate here is how kids here, and kinda adults too sometimes, make games out of just about anything, like a tin can and your flip-flops, that’s prime game material. 

On Saturday we had a CSP (Community Service Project) helping to make the property flat where a house is about to be built, it was really fun but I hit my toe with a shovel so that kinda hurt. Afterwards we ate sinagang, grilled fish and tomatoes with salt all over rice. Then we went and ate at Macdo (McDonald’s), so we were pretty full by this point. Went home to quickly shower before going to the Area of San Fernando Ward to interview a really old guy for baptism. He was great in the interview, he spoke straight English and really understood what it means to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. 

Then to top it all off, on Sunday morning at about 2:00 I couldn’t sleep, then at 4:00 I started puking and diarrhea-ing until about 830. We didn’t attend church, but afterwards the APs gave us a special sacrament (that’s when worthy Priesthood holders will visit and administer the Sacrament in homes to people who are not about to attend church. Mainly for very elderly or sick members.) I then asked for a blessing for the sick before we went out to work. Today I feel a lot better. 

Merry Christmas y’all, I get to skype my fam next week. If any of you can’t visit all of your family, skype them too to share the Christmas Spirit :)

Elder Hennessey

                    

Helping sister Kat on how to make a flower made of paper.

This week was wild and not super productive for the work. We got a total of 8 proselyting hours, 7 CSP hours, and 2 days at Christmas Conference. Wednesday was a full day setup of the Cultural Hall.  President Bangal came by at about 11:30 and ordered us a lunch and he thought we would be done at 1:00. So when he came back at 5:30 and we were just about to wrap up he was not very happy. By not very happy I mean he got kinda mad at us haha. He came in the side door and only saw the back wall of the stage, but when he went down to the center of the hall and saw the full affect he started to smile and I knew he couldn’t get mad anymore, he was satisfied. He did mention though during his presentation on Friday, that next year, they would only be re-doing what we had done and that they wouldn’t stay until night. That was one of the only days ever on my mission that I didn’t put on procelyting clothes. The conference was a huge success. It was great. We watched The Cokeville Miracle, a very spiritual and tear-jerking movie. Had a lot of fun presentations and games and Lots of great Games.

Last Sunday we had a Stake event, we watched the Christmas Devotional put on by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The 3 speakers had very good personal stories and mixed in Doctrinal backups. I would invite everyone to gather your families around and watch it now to add a little bit of Christmas Spirit to your Holiday Season. The second speaker’s description of Christmas is very close to what we experience here in the Philippines. 

I'm running low on time but Thanks for all of the people who read this 15 months later. 

Merry Christmas

Elder Hennessey

 

  

 

 

This week we have a Christmas Conference. A 2 day event with presentations, a devotional, sports and games, and a movie and probably some other things. We are in San Fernando zone where the conference will be held so we will be having a lot of missionaries sleep at our house.  Also we are helping with all the setup and cleanup, so we won’t be having a lot of time to proselyte this week. 

Monday ------Pday, Lesson at Castillo Family @7

Tuesday -----District meeting, CSP @3 Dinner at 

Wednesday- Set up for Conference Dinner @ Promised land

Thursday-----Christmas Conference

Friday ---------Christmas Conference, Clean up

Saturday------ Weekly planning, start work at 330, Dinner @ Sister Fontannos

Sunday --------Church, Visiting Members, FHE @Jucutan Family

Elder Beck is probably going to be giving me a camera on Thursday, which means I should have pics again. #ElderBeckwittheSave

Sorry, small email, but have a great Christmas!!!

  

FHE - Family Home Evening

I had a great week! There were a couple of things that made it especially good but mostly we were just hard at work. Here in the mission, that is really what will make your weeks and days go by fast and enjoyably. For me, if I'm not working hard, or slacking, or doing something that I know I shouldn’t, or leaving the house even a little bit late I will feel it.  My week or day will have a damper on it and I know there’s something I need to do better at. 

One thing we did well at this week was working with members. We had 4 members work with us, one of who was Jeff. Jeff is a recent convert last may; he baptized his Mom a while later. He worked with us on Saturday.  We visited one of his friends and about 4 other people who he knew by face because it was from the same neighborhood (barangay) but wasn’t too close with. All he really did was be friendly with the people we were teaching (fellowshipped) and shared a little heart-felt testimony in each of the lessons. I know it seems sometimes that it’s super hard to work with missionaries, or go to a lesson with them, but it’s not. All you have to do is show up, be friendly, and testify a tiny bit of your personal experiences, or about what the Elders or Sisters have just taught. I am super grateful to him and all of the people that have worked with us in some way or another. I'd like to encourage all of the members who will read this to approach the missionaries and offer a little bit of time, even if it is after your work for 2 hours on a weekday, or for 1 appointment only on a Saturday or Sunday, it will help. It'll help the missionaries feel like they are part of the ward, it'll help the investigator feel comfortable in the lesson and accept the message, and it will help you to obtain the blessings that are available to every individual who does missionary work.

Elder Hennessey

\ . 

Here in Sevilla Ward, there is a family who has a missionary going to Ghana Africa Mission. He leaves on November 30th.  Last Friday night, we had a "Sevilla Night" which is what they call the ward’s activities no matter what the occasion is. Their going away part included the welcoming back of another Elder who just came back from his 2 year service. What they did for the going away part was some games, had a talk from the Bishop, had Bro. Lorilla speak then sat him down in a chair at the front of the cultural hall facing everyone and every member of his family had a chance to speak. His Dad and Mom are both converts, so he is the first of his family to serve. 

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one and only true church because I’ve seen so many blessings to those who are faithful to its standards. There are so many families that have a lot of kids (3-7) where only one parent works, and yet as long as they keep the Sabbath Day holy, pay a full tithe and do everything else they are supposed to do, they will have enough at the end of the day, month and year to support their righteous living.  I know if we are having a hard time in our lives, we first need to look inside and evaluate our actions.  Are my actions in line with what Heavenly Father wants for me? If it’s not, or if it’s living contrary to the standards of the Church, fix it, and "and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10

If you are not a member, or do not know where to start, contact a member of the Church, It could be my family, and get in contact with the Missionaries. They are ordained and authorized to guide us to the straight and narrow path. Of course we will not know this if we don’t test it.  So we need a open heart and willing mind and to TRUST HIM, then act. 

Thanks to all of you who read this blog, even if it’s just the ramblings of a rice hungry missionary in the Philippines.   I know the things I share to you are true, and I leave them with you in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

Elder Hennessey

Back when I had short hair :) Elder Tabaua is the big guy in most of these pictures. He’s from Kiribiti, islands close to Fiji. He is an awesome house mate and loves to eat fish and rice. He goes home with my companion on December 11.

   

    

 

I have 5 minutes!!! I'm literally always running out of time but at least I have pics this week, diba (means “right” in Tagalog)?

I just wanna say a short message on the Book of Mormon. In our Gospel Essentials class we heard a story, it goes somewhat like this: There once was a boss who had a secretary who always smoked. He had a serious addiction to cigarettes. The boss one day said Hey, If you wanna stop smoking cigs read this book, and handed her a Book of Mormon. After the first day the person said she read 200 pages and didn’t see anything on smoking. The boss said finish the book. The second time the secretary came back and said she had read another 200 pages and there still wasn’t anything to help her stop smoking. The boss again told her to return to her study of the book. The last time the lady came to the boss and said she had read the entire book and there was nothing specific to her struggle of smoking. The boss asked if she had smoked in the days she had read. The lady replied that she had felt a sense of strength that came from her reading of that book. A strength that helped her to break her addictions. 

I know the Book of Mormon is a true testament of a True People. If we have a problem or any type of struggle, we will find the answer within its pages, or within the spirit that we feel as we study the chapters. I invite all of us to read this book more seriously, regularly and more sincerely. I know it will help us in every part of our lives. I just wanna leave that short testimony to you in the name of Jesus Christ amen.


These pics are various shots from the camera of Elder Tabaua.






Different zone conferences


This is Johnathon Aquino. I baptized him in my first area. He just got endowed/sealed in the Manila Temple!!

 
Elder Tabaua wearing my raincoat one time and me while I was still in Agoo leading a district meeting. 

 
Elder Smith finding the wheelcover that fell off when they went through a river going to the most remote lugar/place in the whole mission.

Hey!  We had a baptism last weekend!! There were actually 2 but one of the guys was an investigator of the other Missionaries.  I don’t have a picture yet, I'll ask for one in the next week. 

And I don’t have a lot to say from the week, besides the fact that I've decided to follow the council of The Apostles by memorizing the document known as THE LIVING CHRIST. As members, we were all challenged to read and memorize this document with a promise that we will more deeply feel the influence of the Savior in our lives.  So far I've got half of it memorized, but next week I should have it down. 

In my Personal Study this week, I read in I think Acts about the Apostles in the time of Jesus Christ. They were beaten, hungered, mocked, cast out and much more. They wrote that they did not tell of their struggles so we (the readers of the writ) would feel bad for them, or show that we are such good servants of God because they endured much tribulation. I really like the thought of Sustaining. Sustaining means you recognize someone as a representative who has authority from a higher power. If we sustain the Prophet and Christ, we sustain also his apostles. Seeing the suffering they went through inspires me. Not that I want to be beaten, mocked, stoned, or cast out, but I realize that my calling as an Elder of this church is so light. I can have a bad day when we don’t get a lesson and get mocked and feel downhearted, but compared to the Apostles of the olden Days, I have so much more to give, so much gas left in the tank, like that was probably a good day for the Apostles depending on where they were ministering. I know that the Bible is a True record, if it has confusing passages, research and pray to understand what it means. We will draw closer to what it means to be a disciple (yes we are ALL disciples) of Jesus Christ through the example set buy his original 12 Apostles. 

This week was pretty cool as usual. The big thing that happened this week was we did 2 service Projects. The second was clearing weeds/vines from the plot of a member, but the one that I have pictures of happened on Friday. The whole day was Crazy. I woke up at 430 to do insanity workout program with Elder Peua and Elder Tabaua who were about to leave for Abra to do a musical Presentation. They were gonna leave at 600 so we had to wake-up insanely early. We finished at 530, after I'd eaten Elder Jimenez woke up and told me we were gonna go help the Office Elders move houses; I was hoping I could take a little nap before studies! We went and helped move 1 bunk bed frame plus mattresses, electric fans, desks, suitcases, dishes, wardrobes and everything else that goes into an Elders’ apartment. It took 5 Jeepnee loads to get it all delivered. We helped from 730 until 3 with an hour lunch break (we also played Uno for a quick second). Upon arrival to our house we were very tempted to take a nap because I was exhausted, and Elder Jimenez's back was really bothering him, but he had some set appointments we had to go hit. All in all it was a really fun day because our schedule was different. The missionary lifestyle can get a little monotonous sometimes. 

Hope Everyone will have a good Halloween. 

Gotta go!! I'm all out of time

Bye Portland plus all my other peeps here in the Philippines :)

Elder Hennessey

My Haircut!

The First Jeepnee load (of 5) that we brought to the Office Elders new house.

Office Elders New House

One way that Philippinos make things last even if they’re broken/breaking. The grey metal around the edges of the truck bed have been welded in to cover places that were rusted out.

One thing that happened this week was we had another Musical Devotional, similar to the "Come Unto Christ" one we had while I was in Abra, but this one was about the “Restoration of the Gospel.” It had songs like "Quiet Grove," "Did You Think To Pray," "Josephs Smiths First Prayer" and "Praise to the Man". President Bangal sang with 4 sisters a tagalog rendition of "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." He has a really nice voice, he could be a Professional, no joke. It was an amazing night and the spirit was most strong while we sang the classic melody of “Army of Helaman” and “As Sisters In Zion.” I wanna give a HUGE shout-out to Elder Tavita who organized it all, it was Amazing. We asked all of the members to invite a friend too so we could hopefully have some referrals for people to teach :) I'm just glad so many of the missionaries were willing to share their talents of singing in order to share the Gospel Message that the True Church and doctine and authority of Jesus Christ’s Primitive Church have been restored to the earth after a period of Apostasy, through the Boy Prophet Joseph Smith.

Two weeks ago I was laying in my Hammock that was attached to the metal bars on our windows. I flipped up-side-down because I was feeling bored and Elder Tabaua came and sat on me. I yelled for him to get off - that my Duyan was gonna break. He didn’t get off, but it didn’t break surprisingly... instead the metal grill on the window that the hammock was attached to got torn out of the wall hahaha! So we have to get the drill from the mission office and fix it. Once it’s fixed we’ll have a strict rule of one missionary at a time.

A man we are teaching right now, Brother E. is very close to being baptized. He is one of the best investigators I've ever taught. We just give him a pamphlet, then he reads it before the next time we come. He is very interested in the Temple, so we have him a pamphlet on preparing to enter the temple even if he’s not been baptized yet. His girlfriend is a member and she has been helping him and his interest to grow in the Gospel. We played basketball with him this morning and with President Bangal, they’re both really good :)

Sorry I don’t have any Pics. I was hopefully gonna send one of my New Super Short Haircut, but I forgot my cord. Next week nalang

This is a very inspirational and genuine talk by Elder Holand, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. If any of you are feeling stressed, ESPECIALLY COLLEGE STUDENTS or NEW PARENTS, I invite you to read and apply it in your lives :)

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland_times-trouble/

Kelli told Tiegue of taking his Grandma’s dog to the vet for a tooth extraction, Tiegue’s response… That’s one of the things that shocked me the most. On my second day, in Manila, I was walking along the hot, hot, exhaust, clogged road and there was a dog coming towards us. My jaw dropped and I stopped walking, stunned because when it passed I saw on its back it had open sore/rashes. I quickly closed my mouth cuz dogs here are suuper Mabaho sometimes (bad smelling). It doesnt happen very often but every now and then there will be a dog who has open sores, sometimes even blood covered in flies on its back. Super pathetic (is that the right word? kawawa)

Kelli had made Tiegue’s grandma’s chowder recipe on Sunday and asked Tiegue if the Philipinos have anything like chowder, Tiegue’s response… Philipinos have a dish that’s just straight clams/snails/little conch shell type things. They cook ‘em all, use a needle to get the meat out, and eat it over rice. The closest thing would probably be sopas, basically milky chicken noodle soup.

Hey yall, 

Sorry I don’t have any Awesome stories of climbing mountain, baptizing a barangay, or drinking coconut juice right from the buko, our email servers were down earlier but we were allowed to email for 1 hour either tonight or tomorrow morning, and I was super busy responding to all of the emails. If you were one of those lucky recipients I will be hopefully reading the responses next week when I have more time.

Hope you all read your scriptures today! If you haven’t yet, there’s still time! Read the last 3 verses of the last chapter of the last book in the Book of Mormon. Some of my favorites :)

Be safe lagi :)

(Kelli was telling of the Blitz happening in Portland to see if the names on record match up with actual addresses)  That’s good. Member work is more important than missionary work, but a lot of times members get distracted/tired out from worldly responsibilities and forget that it’s their calling too. But anyways, that’s really good, hopefully they find success as they go. 

My new companion, Elder Jimenez is from Antipolo, part of Manilla. He is turning 28 on October 30, and is 3 months away from going home. He's really cool and I'm learning a lot from him. Also he does most of our cooking, and I do most of our dishwashing, but I am taking notes so I can cook once he’s gone. I already know how to cook a pretty nice Chicken Adobo, but even that gets old after a while. 

Our home is in the Rulloda Compound, and right around the corner is the church. Our area consists of Purok (Ward) 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7/sagayad/Relocation. Philipino cities are generally divided into Cities, then Barangays.  If the barangays are still very large then the area is separated into either Puroks or Zones. Then within those there are individual compounds. We are in the center of one of the biggest cities in Northern Luzon. 

We have been finding a lot lately, because Elder Jimenez decided not to go back to some of the investigators they had before. We are using one of the finding tools that President Bangal gave to us, a Survey about God and the Family. Instead of just handing out a pamphlet and leaving, we usually are allowed to do a short survey of 10 questions ranging from "Do you Pray, and do you feel God hears your Prayers?" to "Do you think that churches should provide good programs for families and youth?" This is much more effective because if we pray before the short survey it is counted as a fist lesson, we find their concerns/interest quickly, and then can give a pamphlet more catered to the before mentioned interest. It’s part of our effort to work smart and not just work a lot. 

Hope we were all able to watch Conference, I invite everyone to read or re-watch the Conference talks and find one thing that stands out to you. For me an overall message this conference was that we need to listen to the Prophet's words with exactness no matter how well we already are doing or what position we have in the church.

Have an awesome week y'all!!!

  

Pancake Monday, First Monday of every Transfer in Bangued Photo Creds @ElderFenn

Landscape from Bangued, my last area. 

 If you thought my zone was cool, check out the Temple ROC, Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission. My Grandma is the one in the brown top halfway back on right. #SeniorsSchedule @Grandma Grosnick haha :)

This week I was transferred from the top of the mission boundaries, Bangued, Abra, to the mission’s center, San Fernando, La Union. I am currently assigned to the Sevilla ward as, and am a Zone leader for the San Fernando Zone. I am so surprised to be in what’s been called the most functioning unit in Baguio Mission. On Sunday we walked into the Chapel and I thought that it was general conference weekend; there were probably 150-175 people. Such a big change when compared with where I was coming from, the Beloved Bangued. 

For my Birthday last night I was pleasantly surprised that people remembered my birthday at church and wished me a good one, also a lot of my former companions and house/batch mates texted me (through proper line of authority) Happy Birthday including PRESIDENT ANDRADA :) To celebrate we ate dinner at Sister Patot's house and we ate pizza, chicken/jojos, and some fried spaghetti with ham(?). I don’t know exactly what it was but it was good. And since it was my birthday, I supplied the ice cream, rocky road, Sister Patot's favorite (which was bought the night before).

Me and Elder Jimenez have a lot of plans on how we are going to be exactly obedient and find like crazy so we don’t waste his last 12 weeks of the mission. 

Me and Elder Walsh, the trainer of my trainer, and also Assistant to the President, challenged me to an arm wrestling contest on week 5 of this transfer, his last week of the mission. We're best buds but now we’ve got a very good bit of friendly rivalry going. I’m currently doing the Insanity Program and working out so I can defend the United States once again from the likes of Britain. :) 

I'll try to make some notes so I can tell a funny story tor two next week, hopefully it’s just not another accidental wedding engagement. 

Elder Hennessey

One of our Investigators is a former Miss Gay Bangued. Which means that HE was in a pageant full of gay people out of the whole municipality of Bangued and he won. I will not say what year to protect his privacy but anyway he is listening to the messages. He has been living life as a girl since he was 2, so He really doesn’t know what it’s like to be a man. His Mom said she likes him better this way because girls get into less trouble than boys do. We wanted to invite him to come to church but we didn’t know if he would go to Elders Quorum with the men or Relief Society with the women. He really looks like a woman, I had a hard time not calling him "Sister" but he doesn’t wanna be called brother. 

ANYWAYS, In order to answer the question of what class he would attend, we taught him the Law of chastity, a law from God about marriage and family roles and Physical Purity. We told him that no matter what you feel, when God looks at you he sees a son, So he would have to attend with the men because if he went with the girls, we would be permitting him to live in his sin, telling him it is ok to go against God's plan for him. I was really nervous to teach the lesson but it went good. I thought we were gonna get kicked out of the house. I forgot to say that his Fiancé who is also a man was eating a steak right next to him, good thing he’s from Peru and doesnt speak any Tagalog. hahaha

Also I have been called as a Zone Leader in Sevilla, San Fernando. So tomorrow I need to go on a 4 hour bus ride to San Fernando. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! 

Have a good time this week! Don’t forget to Pray and go to Church. 

Elder Hennessey

 

 Sunset

 

The Ambuyat Family Home Evening

 

Companionship Unity

 

Sister Brown who is going home tomorrow

 

Siobal Family Home Evening

 

A really cute baby (grandchild of Sister Siobal)!

Bangued Zone