E-mail dated 2/26/18

Kamusta Kamo???!

It has been another great week here in Iloilo city. We had a very busy and unique week this week! It was so great to hear from all of you guys again, I am so so blessed to have all of you constantly supporting me on my mission, it really means a lot. You guys strengthen me every week, so thank you so much! 

So this week was a little different because we had interviews with Pres. Cruz and zone conference which were both so great. I have no doubt that pres. cruz and all the missionaries in this mission at this time are suppose to be here at this specefic time, its awesome. Actually one of my favorite parts of Zone conference was when one of the couples Elder Saunders, who usually just gets up and talks about finances, gave a very powerful like 3 minute talk. He just told all of us that we are here for a reason, it is part of Heavenly Father's plan and that we can do amazing things here. He also said that time is one thing you cannot get back and it always says in our missionary handbook that the time we have to serve the Lord fulltime is extremely short. I remember when I read that for the first time in the MTC I thought they were crazy, 2 years being short, but now that I have been on my mission for almost 7 months now, I understand that statement. Time flies and I know that it truly is a short time in the big picture, so the message is to serve the Lord with all of our heart, it was a really cool experience to realize that! 

So other than the Conference and meetings, the work has been great this week! We have been working hard and have had some amazing experiences with all of our investigators and we have had some struggles as well. Right now we have about 7-8 really progressing investigators and we are trying to find more. Theses past few weeks we had some new investigators taught them a few times and then they didn't want us to come back, it makes me so sad when people don't want to receive this message because I know how much this can bless and change their lives. But, we have just been focusing on our current investigators and just yesterday we got 7 referrals so the future is very bright, it should be good here in the coming weeks and months. 

·  What is the most popular sport there (either to watch or to play)? For sure basketball! They have courts everywhere and almost everyone likes basketball, it is great, real easy to relate to these people. 

·  What happened this past week that strengthened your testimony? I listened to a talk this week and I don't know what it is called or who it is by, but it talked about why the church was and could only be restored in 1820. It also mentioned how every single person on earth was sent to this earth at this specefic time. It was just a really cool talk and it inspired me. You guys should listen to it.

·  What was the funniest thing that happened this past week? Just messing with these little kids here. There is a saying "oppa" which is korean for love or heart or something(I don't know) but a lot of kids say it. So I started asking them why they say that and why the are using korean words. I ask them "Diin kita subong?" ( where are we right now) and then I say the Philippines so "dapat siopoa" (which means it should be siopao- a filipino food) all the kids in this part of our area say it all the time now, its funny. Its probably not funny to you guys but just trust me, its funny!

Well, thanks to all of you for the love and support! Have a great week!

Elder Joshua Degen

E-mail dated 2/19/18

Kamusta Kamo??! 

Astig gid ang sini nga semena! (this week has been awesome) 

Well thanks once again for all the updates about sports, your lives, and everything, it is just great to hear from all of you! I look forward to it every week! So this week has been so great and I feel like I am pretty well adjusted to my new area and it is so awesome. There are so many amazing people here and specifically our investigators, they are so awesome and progressing! It brings me so much joy to see others embrace the Gospel and let it change their lives.

I want to share an experience of one of our investigators. Her name is Sister April, I taught her the first day I arrived in City B area and she has progressed so much ever since. So this past week she told us of an amazing experience that she had with reading the Book of Mormon. She told us that she has been reading it everyday and one day she prayed before she read and then after she read she got a phone call and was offered a new job. She really did not like her old job and she was so happy. It was a miracle. That is just one of many miracles that can happen if we read the Book of Mormon. But, that was not all. Later on in the week we taught her the word of Wisdom and we knew she drinks coffee every morning, but through her amazing prayers and faith she has overcome that and has not drank coffee since that lesson. We gave her a priesthood blessing to continue to resist the temptation of Coffee. And then yesterday, she accepted a baptismal date! She is so amazing. She is so interested that she wants us to teach her everyday and every time she says the closing prayer she prays that we will not stop sharing the gospel with her. It has been so cool to see the gospel change her life in such a short time, I have no doubt that she was looking for this gospel even though she didn't realize it, she was prepared by the lord. All the other experiences this week have been pretty awesome as well.

So in this area there are a ton of kids every where on the streets and I love messing around with them and talking to them. Like sometimes I will pretend like I have no idea how to speak Ilonggo and then just start speaking it and they go crazy. Oh and something I hear about 1000 times a day is "oy may cano!" which means hey there is an american. And often I will respond by saying "ay tuod, diin?" which is oh really, where. haha. I love messin with the little filipino kids. I love these people and this language.

·  How far away are you from your chapel? Not far. We just take like a 5 minute jeepney ride and we are there, it is a super nice chapel too! I will take a picture this week and send it to you.

·  Have you been to the 7-11 and do they have Slurpees? Haha we go to 7-11 all the time, but the slurpee machine is always broken, but I am lovin these weird filipino foods and drinks.

·  Have you played any basketball lately?Oh yeah, every monday we play with the young men in our ward, its great!

Well Thanks for everything you guys do for me! You guys are the best! HAVE a great week! 

Halong Kamo!

Elder Joshua Degen

E-mail dated 2/12/18

Kamusta Kamo??!

Wow this has been a very busy week and in a way it has been so long, but yet it is already pday again. This week has been a great week of  hard work and full of some awesome people.  that we have met. Our investigators and this area is so awesome. This new area is so busy, its busy in the city, there are like no traffic rules people are just going everywhere and our area is like a maze, but the joy of seeing some one make changes in their lives, the joy of seeing someone accept the gospel is soo cool and worth everything. I recently read an email from one of my friends on a mission, he said that some one came up to him and offered him a job at a very high company, but he declined and then said that he wouldn't trade his mission for anything. I feel that exact same way Despite all the challenges, I have experienced so much joy and met so many amazing people, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

So one cool thing that happened to me this week was, this one family that we are teaching right now, the Dicipilo family. At first they just thought we were here to "bible study", but as we visited them almost everyday, they began to have so many awesome questions and we have had some awesome experiences. The spirit is always so strong when we teach them. One lesson this week was  about the Holy Ghost. They had a lot of questions about the Holy Ghost and I felt prompted to say something, I testified that the reason I am able to speak Ilonggo (even a little) and understand people was because of the Holy Ghost. The spirit filled the room and they got these big smiles on their faces and it was just so cool. At the end of the lesson sister said that this is something that she wants. It was so cool. I know that everyday I am able to function as a missionary because Heavenly Father is always watching over me. Like sometimes I will just think to myself, how am I doing this? I am in a foreign country, teaching in a language that I didn't even know existed before I got my mission call, so far away from everything that I am comfortable with, but I always come to the conclusion that its honestly not me doing this, I am just an instrument in My heavenly Father's hands. It would be impossible to do this by myself, but through Christ I can do all things. That promise isn't just a cool scripture, its the truth. I know without a doubt. And its not just me, you all can do all things through Christ. 

1. Have you enjoyed a Slurpee at the 7-11 or a Big Mac at the McDonald’s yet? Ohhhhh yeah!!! And I will just say that, that was probably the best Big Mac I have ever had. haha. Nothing like a good ol american meal with no rice. (although the do serve rice a mcdonalds)
2. How many Elders share your apartment?  Any Americans? (Actually the traveling AP's are in our apartment and they are both american. It has been a blast, it is the first time I have americans in my apartment.
3. Does your companion speak English?  Do you think your Ilonggo has improved since the move? He is pretty good at english and yeah I think my language has improved.

Thanks to all of you for all of the love and emails, you have no idea how much it means! I am so blessed! Thanks for the sports updates! GO JAZZ!

Halong kamo!

Palangga ko kamo

Elder Joshua Degen 

E-mail dated 2/5/18

Kamusta Kamo???!!

Paalam Nueva Valencia, Guimaras

Hello Iloilo City

Wow this week has been such a crazy week and I can't even begin to describe it in this email. As you all know I was transferred this last week. Last monday night we had a big FHE at our meeting house and lets just say it was very hard to say goodbye to those people in Nueva. The love I have for them is truly indescribable. On tuesday morning when I went on a boat to travel Iloilo, it almost felt like I was leaving home, kind of. Those 4 months in Nueva Valencia were far from the easiest months of my life, but I had some of the most memorable moments and some of the most rewarding times of my life were spent there. I came to love it as a second home, so thats why leaving was a little hard. 

But, anyways I have a new area and new companion!! My new area is is the heart of Iloilo city. My new companion is Elder Silvano from Bacolod Philippines. He is great, we get along good, everything is smooth so far. Its also great because he is from the only other place in the world that speaks Ilonggo, he is a native speaker. He has already helped me so much! 

When I arrived in my new area (city B) I was a little shell shocked, my first and second area could not be any more different! In my first area, there was literally like one paved road and only a few very small stores. But here in my second area, its lets just say busy. There is a lot of 7 elevens and restaurants (McDonalds!) in our area, it is a big change. And to be honest I was just a little shocked for a while. That was until  we taught our first lesson. It was such a cool experience, all those feelings of doubt and fear were just washed away as we taught an investigator. The spirit testified to me that no matter where I am, the work is the same. The joy that the gospel brings people is the same. And I have already started to develop a love for the people here, they are so great! So as big of an adjustment as it has been, it has been a good week and I am still Loving this great work and am happy because I see others becoming happy through this gospel!

·  How far away fro the mission home are you now?  How big is your area? Not very far at all. In fact we have district meeting at the mission home every thursday haha! So that makes it very easy to get mail and packages, so that is nice! Send as much as you want!

·  Do you have a lot of investigators?  How big is your branch? We have about 5 awesome progressing investigators. And we are working everyday to get more. But, the 5 we have are so great and we will most likely have at least a few baptisms this Feb. and march. I am excited! This is actually a ward here and it is absolutely huge! There were 200 plus at church on sunday. It is so different from the little branch in nueva, but its great. The Chapel is also huge, it has 2 levels and the chapel is on the second floor. Look it up on lds tools or something. Iloilo jalendoni chapel, its pretty cool!

Well Thank you all once again for the amazing love and support you give me every week! You guys are the best! Love you all!

Oh also I feel like I should tell you this. There is this guy in our ward that is completely deaf and only communicates through sign language and sometimes typing on his phone. Nobody in the ward knows sign language and yet he is at church every single week. Isn't that amazing, this man cannot hear or really know what is going on and yet he comes to church every week and always reads his Book of Mormon. He really inspired me. If he can do these things with his incredibly hard trials, I can do hard things as well. And so can all of you! This gospel is amazing and I see it change peoples lives, don't take it for granted, I know I did sometimes before my mission. But, serving this mission has changed my life and I have been blessed to see other people's lives be changed as well!

Love you guys! palangga ko kamo!

Elder Degen