#51 Temple prep class

Monday, July 14, 2014

Hey everyone

 I am doing awesome here.  We continue to have new challenges which also means more solutions.  I helped a member prepare about 8 names to take to them temple and I am also teaching her and a couple other members the temple prep class.  It has been really cool because even though I am far from the temple I can still feel its spirit in my life.  No matter how much you could have prepared for my mission I was still going to basically get blind sided.  Well except if I could have somehow known that I needed to learn Cebuano or Tagalog.  We recently said good bye to the senior couple here, the Talbots.  It was pretty sad.  They cried a little bit while we were at their house.  Last night was crazy.  We left Talibon at 6pm and arrived in Tagbilarin at 1015pm.  It was a crazy travel over earthquake ruined roads and winding mountain roads.

Love

Elder Roskelley

#50 Finding families

Monday, July 7, 2014

Hello Everybody,

 I hope all is well back home.  We had a pretty good week this week.  My companion did get sick for a day but other than that we had pretty good work.  We are continuing to find new investigators and trying to focus more on finding families.  While I have been here in Talibon we always have a crazy week with lots of changes.  This week we had zone training meeting and one of the missionaries in my district had to go to the doctor.  Nothing really worked out how we had planned it but we did get to teach an awesome part member family.  We found them a couple weeks ago and they are super nice.  They are progressing well and next week they said they would come to church.

 The senior couple from Cebu came here to check out the apartments and they bought it with them.  Apartment checks went ok too.  It is basically like when you tell me to clean my room.  They expect it to be dirty but they are a little bit more stern about it than you are, probably because they have to look at like 100 dirty apartments.   We are having lots of fun here.  I love you all.

 Love,

 Elder Roskelley

#49 Still Loving the mission

Monday, June 30, 2014

Hello everyone,

  I am doing good here in the Philippines.  We are starting into the rainy season and it is wonderful.  It feels like the world is being refreshed.  We have got to teach a lot of people this week.  We are still working on our finding area.  We talk to and meet a lot of people but we haven't found that many people that are really interested.  My comp and I have been reevaluating our efforts and we have found some ways we can improve so hopefully in the future we can see more fruits from our labors.  One cool thing I did get to do this week was interview three people for baptism.  I knew one of them pretty well when he first started investigating the gospel and now it is amazing to see how much humbler he is.  He is more willing to submit to the Lord's will.  It was a very spiritual weekend with interviews and branch conference.  We are continuing to work hard and love the people here.  I love being here and I hope everyone back home is doing good.   Some days I do feel like it was just yesterday that I left.  I have very few days where I feel like it was a long time ago.  I am loving the mission and I almost can't believe that at some time I will have to go home and I won't be a missionary.  I had one of the missionaries in my district explain it this way.  " I can't remember the time when I wasn't a missionary and I am not close enough to the end to believe that I won't be a missionary some day." Yesterday for our branch conference we had 78 people.  The sacrament hall was completely full.  It was way cool.  President Tanner and his wife even came.  It was really cool.

We pretty much don't ride the bikes anymore.  We pretty much hate them but sometimes we use them and they are very useful but it depends on where we are working. 

Love

Elder Roskelley

#48 Still teaching our English class

Monday, June 23, 2014

Hello everyone,

  It has been another great week in the Philippines.  This week we had transfers so I got to work a little bit in some other areas while people were transferring.  I didn't transfer and neither did my companion, Elder Banawan. We are planning to have a great transfer.  This week I was working in Elder Johnson's area for the first part of the week and on Wednesday we helped one of the branch members make a bamboo crib for her baby.  It was pretty fun. We also found this awesome new investigator while we were shopping for groceries.  I was standing in line to pay and this little kid was looking at candy by me and I started talking to him. His mom saw me and said that her sister was Mormon.  We set up a return appointment and got a member to come with us.  We had a really good lesson with this sister and her sister that is a member.  It is amazing how the Lord will put people in your path if you are willing to act.  I encourage everyone to pray for missionary moments and then starting talking.  It might take a little while but I know the lord will help you in any righteous desire.  

Also we, as missionaries are now planning a branch activity.  No one in our branch really has callings or understands what they need to do.  It is wonderful.  We are trying to teach them their callings right now.  We have 4 missionaries here in Talibon and then 4 in Ubay.  Ubay is just a group right now so technically they are part of our branch and I am still district leader over these 8 missionaries.  We are still doing our English class and I am still helping with family history.  I am also teaching the temple prep class.  I have three students that will get endowed in September.  I might get to escort one also.  I  hope I do.  Do you have any good ideas for games that can be competitions between families with kids of all ages.  We kind of want to do a group competition.  We will split them into 4 groups and have them go to stations.

 It has been raining quite a bit which has been nice because it cools everything off.  Now instead of being soaked with sweat we are soaked with rain but the rain smells a lot better.  I just hang my clothes up at the end of the day and I can use them again.  I don't even have to wash them.  

Love,

 Elder Roskelley

#47 Boat ride on the Loboc

Monday, June 16,2014

Hello everyone,

  This last week has been pretty cool.  We got to go on the Loboc river this Monday for p-day.  It is a boat that they have some tables set up on and for a couple hours they take on this river where you get to see some cultural dancing and singing.  Also it was all you can eat food so that was super awesome. This week we had a couple thunderstorms so we decided that it would be a good idea not to use the bikes for a couple days.  It was a nice break even though there was a lot more rain.  In our area right now we are trying to focus on finding.  We have very few investigators but we did meet some awesome people.  One way we have trying to find new investigators is through inviting people to this English class that we started.  We have three American elders in my branch so people love to hear us speak.  It is really cool to see the Filipinos’ desire to learn English and become more American.  I also have been helping some of the members here with their family history.  They are going to the temple in September as a branch.  Most of these peoples family is pretty easy to track because they hardly ever move.  It is really fun here in the Philippines.  I know that God lives and he loves us because I see examples of it everyday.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that anyone can know of its truth also.  I hope all is well back home.  

Love,

 Elder Roskelley

#46 It finally rained

Monday, June 9, 2014

Hello Everyone, 

This last week has been pretty sweet.  Today we got to go on a river tour.  We went on a large boat up the Loboc River as a zone.  It was a real nice day of relaxing.  I really miss swimming especially because we went to a nice river today. Yesterday and the day before we finally got some rain.  It isn't as fun to work but the people here really need it.  This week we got to teach a lot of people.  We taught one lesson and about 2 feet away from me on the wall was a spider as big as the palm of my hand.  Luckily I didn't get excited and the person really listened to us.  He is making slow progress, but progression none the less.  I love being able to help the Lord in this work.  I hope that everyone is doing good and I love you all.

Love

Elder Roskelley 

This is where we bike sometimes

#45 District Leader

Monday, June 2, 2014

Hey everyone,

 I am doing great here in the Philippines. My companion is Elder Banawan. He is from Mindanao.  He is nice.  I am doing good as the district leader.  I do have to deal with more problems but I like more things to do.  This last week has been pretty cool.  We had one day that the senior couple came and worked with us. The Talbots from Snowflake Arizona. They are cool.  Elder Talbot likes old Fords like we do.  The have served two missions,  one in Tonga and one in Vietnam. It was pretty nice because we were able to use their car instead of riding our bikes.  We also met this new family who immediately accepted us and they already started reading the Book of Mormon.  We are having lots of fun here.  I love it.  Anyways always keep going.  

Love

Elder Roskelley