E-mail dated 5/28/18

Kamusta kamo??!!!  

Wow its the last week of may, its almost june! That is crazy to think a year ago I graduated from High School. You are exactly right about how much has changed in that year. NO offense to our public education system, but I have learned a lot more important things in this year than I did in all of High school. 

Anyways this week has been a pretty good one. We got some good work done and experienced some miracles and learned a lot, so what else could I ask for right? So this week on tuesday I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with my Zone Leader, it was a really cool experience. He was just recently made Zone Leader and so I didn't know him very well, but as we worked together and talked, it was cool to get to know him. He has an awesome conversion Story, the gospel really saved his life. It was cool to hear that, missionary work is so powerful and changes lives. It was a good exchange and I learned a lot. 

Another really cool experience we had this week is we taught a new investigator a moderately older gentleman (it has been discouraged to call people old, sorry Gram you aren't old.) and It was an amazing and really short lesson. He can barely walk and its just him at his house and he usually just sits outside or sleeps. When we taught him about families, he opened up to us that his wife died some years ago and he has been praying that he can be with her again.  When we testified that this was an answer to his prayers, the spirit was so strong and this retired philippines military man began to cry. It will  be exciting as we continue to teach him. 

So recently in our mission we have been strongly focusing on members and missionaries working together and that is why it is not allowed to go tracting in our mission. President Cruz has received a lot of revelation of how we can more effectively work with the members. We have this new way to ask for referrals called footsteps to baptism, it will take a little longer, but it will get us so much more quality referrals. It is exciting the coming months and years is looking like it will be very successful.  

1. Do they celebrate anything like Memorial Day over there? Not really. Well I guess there Halloween or day of the dead is kind of like our memorial day. Back in October all people went to the cemetery and put candles on all the graves at night. 
2. Have you participated in any service projects lately? Yeah. Last saturday we had a stake service project and we planted trees/plants I forgot what they are called, but they are planted right by the ocean and we were like shin deep in mud, it was a lot of fun.

Well Thank you all so much again for your love, support and emails each week! It means a lot! I love YOu guys!

Palangga ko kamo! 

Elder Joshua Degen 

E-mail dated 5/21/18

Kamusta kamo????! 

It was cool to hear all about the re dedication of the Jordan river temple this week, it sounds like it was a really cool experience!! I know you guys already know this, but just don't ever forget how incredibly blessed we are in utah with so many temples so close. The people here love going to the temple and they have a temple trip twice a year to the Cebu Philippines temple. They travel by boat and I have heard it takes a while, but they would do anything to go to the temple! So whenever you guys have time, take advantage of how close we are to so many temples! 

So this week was not the most effective week, because of certain circumstances. My companion was sick, he had to go to the doctor, I had to go to the doctor, it was a week that really tested me. But despite all of that, we had a great little miracle this week! I think a told you a couple of weeks ago or last week that we found a family of 5 that are really interested in the gospel, the Forrsuello family. We found them by just helping brother with a ladder when we walked by, and ever since then we have been teaching them and it has been awesome! I love their kids, they are so awesome and we are already close. They are the ones that are super excited for the lessons and they always say how much they want to come to church and this last sunday they came to church! They said they had a great experience and want to come again, I am looking forward to continuing to teach them. So that was an awesome blessing, that really made this week worth all the struggles. 

I have done a ton of studying and praying this week, I know Heavenly Father is always there for us. Sometimes we have to go through things to learn. trials help us grow. Your prayers and love is much appreciated. 

 I love you guys! Thanks for everything! HAve a great week!

Palangga ko kamo!

Elder Joshua Degen

E-mail dated 5/14/18

Kamusta kamo???!

Well This is going to be a relatively short email because tomorrow I get to skype you guys!!!!!!!! 

Well sad to hear that the Jazz season has come to an end, but it sounds like we gave it all we had and had a great season. I have loved getting updates every week. The future looks bright and I am sure that next season will be awesome! 

Well this week has been kind of crazy with meetings and all types of stuff! On tuesday we had a zone interview with pres cruz and on thursday we had Zone conference. This zone conference was great because it was with the Guimaras Zone and I got to get an update of my past area and it was awesome! I also really liked all the training that we got! I especially liked something that pres cruz showed us, the 90/10 rule. Which is something like 10% we cannot control what happens to us (like trials) but the 90% is how we react which is the difference maker and we can definitely control how we react! It was really cool, although I probably explained it bad, but it was a good training for me! 

And this last saturday we had another awesome baptism!!! The baptism of Jocelyn Jason! She is an awesome nanay that we have been teaching her and some of her kids for a long time, her faith has grown so strong and she wanted to be baptized to set the example for her family!! Ever since I have arrived in this area we have been teaching her, so like 3 and a half months, I am glad that she or we never gave up, because now she is so happy because she has received the gospel in her life! After she was baptized she bore and awesome testimony and cried pretty hard, it was so cool to see her testify that she knows that this is the true church! 

Well I will talk to you guys tomorrow!!!! Wahoo! I am excited!!

Palangga ko kamo!

Elder Degen 

E-mail dated 5/7/18

Kamusta Kamo???!

This has been a really fast week and it was full of great little miracles, ups and downs, but overall a good week! It is so nice to know that I have a family that is always supporting and praying for me, it means a lot. I appreciate all the emails and updates about your lives! Sad to hear that the jazz are down, but I still believe, Jazz in 7 baby!!!! I am glad to hear that everyone is doing well.

Well as for my week this week, I will just skip to the best day of the week, which was saturday! Saturday May 5 was a pretty awesome day. In the afternoon we had an awesome baptism of the Pariginog kids. Prince July(13) Prince Jayzy(10). Like I have said before their parents are both members but went less active when they started having kids, then a few months ago they had a strong desire to return to the chruch and want us to teach their kids. As we have taught them all as a family, it was really cool to see how much closer they grew as a family and especially how much prince july and jayzy grew. I remember the first lesson they wouldn't say a word to us, and on saturday at their baptism they both said very short and simple testimonies, it was awesome. We took a picture with their whole family at the baptism and it brought me so much joy to see them all together, and they have a goal, a year from now to go and be sealed as a family in the Temple. That is so cool, it was a blessing to be able to serve and teach them. 

After the baptism we went to a new investigator who we talked to a few days ago and he said that we could come back and teach on saturday. They way we talked to him was he was trying to get something, but he had no one to hold the ladder and we walked by at the perfect time to help him. Then we introduced ourselves and that is when he said that we could come back on saturday. So when we went back on saturday, we taught brother and his whole family (5) and it was an amazing lesson, they had a lot of great questions and definitely felt the spirit. They are anxious and willing to learn more and we are very excited to teach them again. I have no doubt that it wasn't an accident that we walked by his house and the exact time he needed our help. I am so grateful for miracles like that!! 

1. What do you like to study for personal and companionship study time?  Is there something you learned this week that really impressed you? Always in our studies we focus on the Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon. And it is really effective and awesome. Studying is actually one of the best parts of my day, never before has an hour of studying the scriptures gone by so fast.  I can't think of a specefic example that has impressed me this week, but I always feel peace and comfort when I read the Book of Mormon, it can relate to all situations of life. I encourage you all to read it everyday, you will see the difference, I have. 
2. What do the people there like to do in their spare time?  I know you have told me they like basketball, what else seems to be popular? It depends on the age, if its little kids, they have about 1000 little games that they just make up, the other day I saw sim kids hoppin on one leg throwing their sandals at a can, I don't know what it was, but they looked like they were having fun. If its adults, it seems like they are always busy or a sleep, sleeping is a popular hobby. 

Well That is all I have for you guys this week! 

Palangga Ko Kamo!

Elder Joshua Degen