Maligayan Pasko!!! (Merry Christmas)This has been a week of adventures!  I went on my first exchanges with the Zone Leaders this week and boy was that fun.  We got punted all day long but oh well; it was just a like a normal day for me.  Well I know that Dad's going to laugh at this.... I just know it.  Elder Villanueva and I started to teach a Jehovah's Witness. (Let me guess he started to laugh right)?  He's a nurse at a Brngy Hall in Pacol and he's trying to get a job in America.  When I try to speak Tagalog  to him he insists that I speak English so it's easy for me and so he can practice his English.  But let me start off by saying that this guy has done his research.  He brought out all of these maps of Jerusalem to prove his point.  In Alma 7:10 it says that Christ will be born "at" Jerusalem and in the Bible it says in Bethlehem so we had this big ole discussion about that.  He also believes that the sign of Christ's birth was evil because it let King Herod know that Jesus had been born.  That's not even close to 1/10th of the questions/doubts that he has.  He even had a doubt about the Articles of Faith because of when it says "We believe in the Bible as far as it is translated correctly".  So explained to us that he thinks that we have doubts about the Bible.  I didn't even know how to go about that because every time that we read from the Book of Mormon he always Bible bashed us.  He is definitely one of those investigators where I think to myself "The MTC didn't train me for this.  Then on top of that.... I finally faced the dreaded Balut.  I will say right off the bat that it was just as kadiri (gross) as I imagined.  Just as crunchy too.  The ironic thing was that it was on Friday 13th.  I won't look at that date the same ever again. 

Well I love you all and I truly do miss you all.  Every time I see pictures of you guys  it reminds me of how fast you are all growing up.  Two years are going to go by in the blink of an eye; but don't make it go any faster because I love it here.  Even though it's hard and I have my challenges I have truly felt the love that our Savior has for each and every one of us. Continue to be awesome!

                                                                Balut! Yeck!

Down the hatch.

Well this week has been a tender mercy from the Lord.  There has been a lot of success in our area even though our numbers don't show it.  Elder Villanueva and I have been able to get 8 new investigators this week!  But that came through just two families but I'd rather have families than anything else!  We are currently helping two of the investigators get legally married because they both were previously married but have been separated for 15 plus years.  They had 4 kids together so that brought up a few issues but President Reeder is helping us through the process.  This last week the Tatay and two of his kids came to church and they loved it!!  The Bunso (youngest) is 8 and he really enjoyed being around kids his age in primary.  The Primary President here (Sister Dela Cruz) reminds me a lot about mom.  She's always working hard and is always concerned for the kids.  Honestly I never thought I would be helping people get married.. but well here I am.  It's a really really weird thought to be thinking that next month is going to be my 6 month mark!  This time has gone by in the blink of an eye.  Transfer day for us is on New Years Eve so I really think that my time here in the Naga First Ward is about to come to and end.  I have really truly grown to love the members here; the support and encouragement that they have given me is beyond belief.  I'm starting to pick up Tagalog a little bit faster now.  I can understand it pretty well but it's still difficult to speak because there are so many different conjugations and it's hard to decide which one I need to use. May God be with you till we meet again.

Dad I think I might have found out a way for me to actually gain weight...... RICE!!!  I have gained 9lbs from the time I got here to now and we walk a good 4-5 miles a day in our area.  Right now I can almost eat a kilo of rice in one sitting.  But before I get to the fun stuff I just thought I'd like to mention that I think being a chorister is my eternal calling.  I always lead the music in church and for when we have FHE's.  I thought when I went on my mission I'd get away from having to lead but I've ended up leading just as much as I did back home.  You can tell bishop that just for some comic relief.

About the work; it's very difficult at the moment.  Elder Villanueva and I are struggling to get more than 8 lessons a week and we have very few progressing investigators.  Our strength is finding because "I'm white" and everyone wants to talk to us.  At the beginning people seem very interested but when we return they are always "busy" or not even there.  Yeah its frustrating at times but I've just got to keep my head up and keep smiling.  There's always a lesson to be learned, and as you know my patience could always use some improvement so that could be it.  Another sticky situation is with Ann Bon.  Both Elder Villanueva and I feel that she is ready to be baptized and she really wants to be to; the only problem is that her whole family is against her being baptized and she doesn't want to ruin her family relationship.  She's 19 so the choice is up to her but I really hope that her family has a change of heart so that she won't be worried about being baptized.  On the bright side of life; when we were teaching Andrew the other night he told us that he's going to prepare to serve a mission!!  I don't think I've ever smiled so big in my life (well close to it).  He dyed the rest of his hair black instead of red so he could go.  It's been amazing to see the growth in that young man.  He's already told me of how much he doesn't want me to get transferred (well the chances are pretty high). 

My new companion is Elder Villanueva!  He is from the same batch of Elder Manicdo so both of my tatay's will go home at the same time.  He's from Ilooiloo which is close to where Judy is from.  This guy is so funny, he has so much energy and he I know he truly cares about me.  We've only been together for a little less than a week now and I can already see a  big progression in my Tagalog thanks to him!  Almost every second of the day he is asking me what stuff is in Tagalog and if I don't know he tells me.  About our work.... well this week has had a lot of punts!  We even had one day where we weren't able to teach one lesson!  We have one difficult area; there aren't a lot of members here so it's hard to get member present lessons along with being able to teach single women.  But Ann Bon (one of our progressing investigators) finally came to church this last week and she looked so excited!  Her boyfriend Rading is a less-active member and his mother came to church as well.  Rading even wore a white shirt and tie.  He only had one tie so I gave him two of mine; I just can't not want to help these people.  They've changed my life.  A family like the Saqullo's only comes around once in a great while.  But yesterday we gave a blessing to a RC Brother Benjamin.  He's 89 years old and he is the nicest person I have ever met in my life. He doesn't know Tagalog very well (He speaks Ilookano or however you spell it) but yet he still comes to church every week.  It was a very humbling moment when I walked into the room and saw him lying on the bed with the room lit by candle light.  He hadn't eaten anything for two days and he didn't even have enough strength to sit up so Bro. Olivar had to help him while we gave him the blessing.  I almost cried during the blessing because I really do care about this man; when you look into his eyes it's like you're looking at the Savior.  They're filled with love and compassion for everyone. These people are defiantly very special to our Father in Heaven, you know it by even just looking at these people.

Well I have officially completed my training!!!  It's a really weird thought thinking that I've already been on my mission for 4 months now.  Elder Manicdo is being transferred tomorrow and I truly am going to miss this Elder.  He's been a great example to me and has given me a new insight on missionary work.  This week has been really rough to get lessons because everyone seems to be busy or not at home.  But on the bright side Elder Manicdo and I have gotten 8 new investigators this week so now our teaching pool is finally at a decent size.  Opening a new area is very difficult; especially when your area is far from the church so people have a really hard time attending church.  It's about 50 pesos per head total just to attend church so it's not very cheap.  This part of the reason why we have a lot of investigators and very few progressing investigators.  The highlight of the week came on Saturday for Andrew's baptism!  He is a very special young man; he completely turned his life around in order to be baptized.  He kept every commitment without hesitation and always was very willing to participate.  When I stood in the water with him I truly felt the love that our Heavenly Father has for His children.  After the baptism he told me that I was his idol because even though I don't know the language very well, I tried my best to teach in a way that he could understand and that he truly felt like I loved and cared about him.  I'm not going to lie I started to tear up when he said that.  But he also said that he's preparing to serve a mission in a year!  I couldn't be more happy with my decision to serve a mission.  Hands down this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but this is easily the most rewarding thing that I've ever done.  I love you all and I'm grateful for your influence in my life.  Take Care!!  Mahal na Mahal Kayo!  May God be with you till we meet again.

Doing what I Love! Basketball!!

Thankfully typhoon Yulanda really didn't do a whole lot of damage to our area.  We didn't have electricity for a day but that was the worst of it.  The winds were pretty fierce and it rained off and on for the whole day so we had to stay inside all day which was really boring. I don't know why any missionary in his right mind would give up working to stay inside all day long.  All I can say that it is definitely a different experience being involved in "One of the worst calamities in Philippines history". On a different note; we have two baptisms this week for Andrew and Diana and I am so excited for it!  This is the last full week of my training so I'm glad I get to end it on a good note.  It's going to be hard  leaving Elder Manicdo, I love this guy with all of my heart.  He has taught me so much about how to be a good missionary and he has also played a huge role (along with the Spirit of course) in learning the language.  At this point in time I can finally lead all of the lessons comfortably and I can hold a steady conversation for a while until people get the impression that I know Tagalog better than I actually do and start speaking faster than I can translate.  But this week has had it's ups and downs.  A big down was the Typhoon of course so we couldn't work for a day. But even a super typhoon can't stop the work from progressing.  On Sunday when we were tracting; Elder Manicdo and I met a family who owned a farm and lived a very modest life.  They had 8 people living in a small three room home with sheets for dividers which is very common here.  When we started to teach a very special spirit came into the lesson.  After the lesson Elder Manicdo told me to invite them to be baptized  and in my mind I thought "You're crazy, we just met these people today".  But when I did, two of the children accepted the invitation and the nanay said that after she prayed about it she would let us know her answer.  It was another experience that testified to me of how many people the Lord is preparing in his vineyard; all we need to do is to pick them off of the bush.

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been one that I will not easily forget.  First off Elder Manicdo and I still haven't moved into our apartment yet!  They're having some problems with the contract etc. so we still have to travel 40 minutes just to get to our area.  But on the good end of things Elder Manicdo and I have gained 8 new investigators this week and I'm so excited to be able to teach all of them.  On another good note Elder Manicdo and I have two baptisms on November 16th and Andrew asked be to be his "Baptizer", Diana (our other investigator) asked Elder Mac.  But the highlight of the week came just last night (Nov. 3rd).  We've been teach a less active family in our ward and their son Rading has a girlfriend who's a non-member and lives with his family because she has family problems.  We've only been teaching Sister Ann Bon for about two weeks and she doesn't have a big religious background so we have had to take the lessons really slow and try to make the doctrine as simple as we could.  But last night Elder Manicdo had me extend the Baptismal invitation and she accepted!!  It was one of the greatest things to happen so far on my mission.  The expression on her face was priceless when she accepted the invitation; it was as if there was a new light that came into her eyes.  Afterwards she pulled me to the side and told me of "How Talented I am at Tagalog".  It really touched me; and I must be a big softy now because I started to tear up.  I think there must have been dust in my eye or something like that ha ha.  I am so grateful to have been called to this mission because I have met some of my dearest friends and I am among the people of one of the greatest nations in all of the world.  I am so grateful for all of the support that you've given to me and I miss you all greatly!  Mahal ko Kayo!  May God be with you till we meet again.

It sounds like things at home are going very well and I look forward to hearing many more things from you guys.  Well I'm almost halfway through my 2nd transfer and it feels like it just began.  It's going to be very hard leaving Elder Manicdo, he's one awesome guy and he really feels like a brother to me.  His first name is even Jon.  This week there hasn't been too many things happen; we've been busy trying to build a foundation in our area since there aren't very many LA's or members period in our area.  Through our efforts though we have been able to get four new investigators and they are all progressing very well.  It's amazing of how many finding opportunities the Lord puts in our path, we just need to open our mouths and put away all of our fears.  I've finally gotten to the point where I'm not very scared to go up and talk to people.  Well it's also not that hard to talk to people to because most Filipinos really want to talk to Americans; so when I initiate the conversation they get even more excited.  But we also were able to have our Mission Tour this week and President Ardern of the 70 and his wife came and spoke to us.  There was such a strong spirit in that meeting that it was hard not to have a stronger desire to become a better missionary and person in general.  That meeting made me realize of how much that I really need to improve on myself as missionary.  I know that everyone has faults but it doesn't mean that I can't try to do my best to be like the Savior; besides I am his representative and I need to act like one.  Well I love you guys so much and I'm most grateful for all of the support that you've given me in my life.  Mahal Kita!  Ingat Po (Take Care).  May God be with you till we meet again.

Dear Family and Friends,

It's a really weird thought thinking that I've already been on my mission for three months now.  I better enjoy ever second because the next time I blink I'll be on a plane heading home.  About the earthquake; I didn't hear about it for a while because Elder Manicdo and I have been pretty busy this week.  We are moving to our are so we can maximize our time; it's hard to be effective if we waste 40 minutes just traveling to our area.  But I'm so excited to move on Friday, I'll miss our kabahay's (house mates) but it's all for the better.  Our new apartment even has two bathrooms and two flushing toilets!!!  I have been so excited for that .  I took a lot of things for granted back in America, especially toilet paper, it's so expensive here and it doesn't even work that well!  But yes I have used the other method and let's just say that I'm not very fond of that way. 

Through our efforts this week Elder Manicdo and I have obtained three new investigators and they seem really excited to learn about the gospel.  Our teaching pool is pretty small so we've been doing a lot of tracting.  When we were looking for an apartment last week, Elder Manicdo and I met a group of 5 guys who reminded me a lot of the Sandlot gang. They're all around the same age (16-19) and they all live for basketball.  They hang out together as often as they can because they all go to different schools.  Here they start college at like 16-17 depending on if your school does  the K-12 system.  These guys are pretty excited for us to move in and play basketball with them, they said they wanted to see how good "white guys really are".  On a different note, Andrew has been improving more than I could have ever imagined in my life.  The other night we were teaching him about the Holy Ghost and when I extended the commitment to him to pray about the Holy Ghost he said " I don't need to pray about the Holy Ghost, I feel him with me right now".  I nearly started to cry because of the strength of his testimony.  This young man is going to be one amazing priesthood holder when the time comes and I know that he will do far greater things than I could ever hope to do.  I may be a missionary but he has taught me more than I have taught him.  The lessons that I have learned on my mission far out weigh any other decision that I could have possibly made after graduating High School.  I'm so grateful for all of the influences in my life that have helped me make my decision to serve this mission; times may be rocky at times but I just have to remember to not lose my faith in the Lord, because he won't lose His faith in me.  I love you all and I wish you the best of luck!!  May God be with you till we meet again.

Well I have officially completed my first transfer in the mission!  It's a weird thought thinking that I'm already halfway through my training now; it's a pretty exciting thought.  But all I can say is that I hate "Trunky Week".  Apparently the week of transfers everyone just doesn't want to do a lot so I'm stuck in the hot apartment while my companion takes a nap for a while.  Yeah I hope I don't end up doing that; I already feel bad enough when I feel like I didn't give it my best that day.  But on the bright side one of our investigators (Andrew) is progressing along very well!  He's keeping all of our commitments and he's attended all of the church meetings for two weeks in a row.  Now all he needs is to attend church for two more weeks then he can reach his BGD.  It's moments like these that make all of the hardships of a mission worth it.  Now for the language... eh well it's getting better but it's still rough.  I was finally able to play basketball for the first time in the Philippines and boy did it feel great!!!  Just to see the ball go through the hoop (there wasn't a net) made me feel so refreshed. FYI these Filipino's have some major talent!! Some of the moves they do are just crazy, it's like I'm watching Nate Robinson live.  Well I love you Dad and I'm grateful for all the support that you and Mom are giving me.  Just thinking of you guys makes me even more motivated to give it my all and to just forget about myself.  I know that the Lord will continue to bless us for the service that we lend to His work.  Mahal Kita!!!  May God be with you till we meet again!

Letter to the family:

This has been a pretty difficult week for Elder Manicdo and I too get lessons.  Everyone seems to be gone or busy when we arrive.  But on the bright spot of teaching, yesterday we were teaching a 10 year old boy named JC (John Carter).  Honestly he reminds me a lot of Timothy.  From the very first lesson that I taught him he has refused to pray, and today he said the closing prayer.  It was one of those small miracles that I didn't take for granted. I just wanted to kindle that spark that had been started so eventually he will be praying all of the time and reading the Book of Mormon.  This week has consisted of a lot of street contacting because tracting here is almost nearly impossible.  A majority of the houses are close to the road so it's hard to hear when someone is at the door.  Instead of knocking on doors you stand outside the gate (if they have one) and yell (Tao Po).  Just a little funny side note, I have started to eat rice by the cups now.  When we eat out at restaurants I get the main dish and then I get unlimited rice that goes with it.  I even eat more rice then Elder Lam Cheum (he's from Samoa) sometimes. 

Our area is one of the biggest in the mission so after this transfer ends (Oct.7) our area is being split into a Sister area so we lose over half of our investigators.  It sucks because we lose 2 people that have Baptismal Goal Dates.  And now we have to take a 30 minute Jeep me ride Araw Araw (everyday) just to get to our area.  I guess that just means that there's a lot of work to be done in Pacol and Carolina.  But today for our district activity we went to Mt. Isarog and went to the falls.  Might I say that it is was gorgeous!!!  It felt like I was in a Jurassic Park movie.  Having the jungle just surround me with banana trees and all sorts of exotic animals made me speechless.  Being on a volcano was pretty astig (awesome).  The language is starting to come pretty well at this point in time, one day I just woke up and Tagalog made sense.  The people are starting to understand me a lot more so that makes me feel really good.  It's not perfect Tagalog but I'm sure working on it.  We don't watch General Conference till the 2nd Saturday and Sunday so we've still got another week until we get to watch it.  I can't wait to watch it for my very first time as a missionary.  I think I'll be able to listen a lot easier now, especially when the talks about Missionary Work comes up.   Well I love you guys and I'm grateful for all that you've done for me, it's nice knowing of how much support I have coming from the home front.

The weather here is just as hot as ever and it rains nearly everyday!!  I didn't believe that it rained that often... boy was I wrong.  And when it rains here, it rains with a vengeance.  This week has been rough for Elder Manicdo and I to get lessons, either the people are gone or they're busy.  It's been frustrating but oh well.  This week has consisted of a lot of street contacting because our backup plans fall through most of the time as well.  My Tagalog is getting a lot better and I'm really starting to be able to communicate with the people.  I just woke up one day and Tagalog seemed to make sense.  It was pretty funny because it was just like you on your mission.  My vocabulary is still pretty small but oh well, it'll grow over time.  Transfer day is Oct.7 so it's pretty close.  It's crazy close honestly; it's weird to think that I'm almost halfway through with my training.  But just for clarification Dad, Pena Frenca is a Catholic festival where they move a statue of "Lady Pena Frenca" through the streets and there's all of the kids in Priests and Nun school that follow behind.  This festival lasts for about two weeks and it is crazy!!!  But yes thankfully it is over now.

This week has been pretty rough for Elder Manicdo and I, we still managed to teach 12 lessons but there were two days that we couldn't do anything because of the Pena Frenca Festival; we couldn't even get to our area. There were over a million extra people in Naga City for the festival!!!  I couldn't believe how crazy it was. There were drunk people all over the place and I can't tell you of how many times I was called "Joe".  On Sunday we went to one of the Sisters lunch appointments and this drunk guy kept trying to invite me to have shots with them.  Well on a different note, I'm still struggling with Tagalog, it's not a very easy language like everyone said it was.  It's a very situational language and that just messes me up all the time.  But I know it'll come in time with continued hard work and dedication.  I had a pretty amazing experience the other night though that I thought was pretty awesome.  Elder Manicdo and I had just been punted from our last appointment and it wasn't time to head back to the apartment yet so we decided to OYM (Open Your Mouth) while we walked home since it was a good while's away.  Elder Manicdo started talking to this old man but he didn't seem very interested so we just gave him a pamphlet and left.  When we OYM  we switch off of who initiates the conversation so it was my turn to start.  We walked for a while and Elder Manicdo was pretty mad that I hadn't stopped for a few "perfect opportunities".  I don't know, they could have been but I don't regret my decision to keep moving because what happened later made waiting pay off.  We were walking past an old auto repair shop and this guy in his 20's said "Hey, what's up Joe".  I don't know what compelled me to do this; but I just turned around and walked straight up to him and started greeting him in Tagalog.  He was quite impressed that I spoke Tagalog (even if was just a little bit).  I talked to him for a minute and got to know him a little bit better and told him about why we were here. He seemed pretty interested in our message so we gave him a pamphlet and got his number.  He doesn't live in our area but hey, I don't care.  I was able to face one of my biggest fears; speaking in Tagalog.

Well this has been a week of adventures in the Philippines.  This week Elder Manicdo and I struggled to get lessons due to the Pena Frenca Festival.  This festival lasts for about a week and there is a lot of alcohol involved!!  On Friday we couldn't even work because we couldn't get to our area. But  I had a very unique experience on Saturday night though.  Elder Manicdo and I were going to go teach Brother Daniel Roman, he's a 50 year old retired military soldier and was an investigator of the church 20 years ago.  When we arrived to home, we saw him through his gate and it was obvious that he was drunk, he couldn't walk straight and his eyes were bright red.  But he saw us and insisted that we come in and teach him; so we went in thinking we were going to share a quick scripture and leave.  But as we sat down he started to ramble about stories from when he was in the military.  It got to the point to where he just started to cry non-stop. During his service he said that he had killed three men and of the pain that he feels for it all this time later.  He doesn't feel like he can repent of this because "They were innocent men" is what he said.  Brother Roman was almost reliving that experience as we were talking to him; he would make sound effects and kept  acting like he was holding a rifle.  This poor man said that he feels that he's done more wrong than Satan himself.  Even through his drunken eyes, I could see the pain and the anguish that these experiences have caused for him.  These eyes yearned for peace and forgiveness.  But at the end of this lesson he asked us if we would give him a blessing; that blessing was probably one of the single most spiritual moments I have had while on my mission.

Things here in the Philippines have had their ups and downs this week.  On my first time asking an investigator to commit to baptism (Sister Burnadette), she accepted but her husband wouldn't allow her to be baptized.  It was pretty disheartening to see someone so willing to enter into the waters of baptism have their chance taken away by their spouse.  Elder Manicdo and I have 4 investigators with baptismal goal dates but none of them are attending church so we keep having to push back their dates.  Here in the Philippines; an investigator has to attend church for 4 consecutive weeks in order to qualify to be baptized.  We also have quite a few lessons, a lot of them just get dropped, it's pretty frustrating wasting time walking to an appointment only to walk away not even a minute later.  Missionary life definitely isn't easy, but it sure is rewarding.  One night Elder Manicdo and I were walking home after our last appointment and Brother San Ramon (1st conselor in the Bishopric) saw us and pulled over to the side of the road.  He took us into a pretty nice restaurant, paid for our meals and left.  I can't express the amount of love I have for these people; they give all that they have when they hardly have anything themselves.  Their selflessness is exactly what I imagine Christ being like.  They are such an example to me, and I am trying to learn all I can from these wonderful people.

We finally heard that Elder Cole arrived safely to the Philippines yesterday. Better late than never I guess. A picture was taken of Elder Cole with Mission President Reeder and his wife, and I'm sure the big smile included the fact that he is taller than them both.

Elder Cole's first mission field letter to home.

It's still weird to think that I am 10,000 miles away from home.  When I wake up every morning and hear Tagalog I feel like I'm in a dream.  Sometimes I feel like I'm still at the MTC and I'm going to wake up to my district. I miss those guys greatly but I know that we'll see each again.  Well maybe not Sister Mwea unfortunately.  Well Dad, I was assigned to work in the Naga 1B area first.  We cover a great portion of the city (It's a pretty big city) and a few small towns out in the middle of nowhere.  Mt. Isarog is in our area and boy is it gorgeous.  I felt like I was in a Jurassic Park movie when I first saw it.  My trainer is Elder Manicdo (Maneekdo), he's a Filipino and this guy has only been out for 3 months.  He is one strong worker and doesn't give up easily.  The great part is that he speaks English very well so he is constantly helping me with my Tagalog.  My language skills are starting to come but I'll give it at least 4 months before I'm really good with the language.  I have been extremely humbled being here in the Philippines; just seeing all of the poverty makes so grateful for the things which I have.  We are very blessed that we have a shower head in our apartment, there's only cold water but I don't care.  During my first ever lesson, Elder Manicdo and I were teaching a recent convert Beverly (16) in the center (or Centro) of town and two little boys that didn't have any shoes on (neither one looked over three), came up to me and asked me for money.  My heart literally broke in pieces at the moment.  I would have probably given them a few pesos in heart beat if it weren't against mission rules.  Brother Evangalista (one of the members in the Naga 1st ward) is probably one of the most humble men that I have ever seen in my entire life.  He and his family live in an alley way where no light can get through the windows.  He has a daughter who is severely handicapped but yet he counts every blessing that the Lord has given him.  He told me with his broken English that his house is always open to the servants of the Lord, so they fed us with what little food they had.  He didn't even eat because he said we needed the nourishment more than he did.  These Filipino people sure are very special.

Elder Cole officially left the confines of the Provo MTC on August 26, 2013 to start serving the people of the Philippines. He has had a great experience while in the MTC, but now the real work begins. We would like to share his experiences with others per his request, so mom and dad will try and maintain this blog while he is on his mission.