Monday, March 30, 2015

AP...WHAT?

Hello family!! What a week it has been for me haha! I dont even know where to begin!!
But this email might be short so if its short I am sorry haha!
But first remember about that miracle guy how he was really sick and we gave him a blessing, well we were going back to teach him and he died.. crazy that some one we were teaching had died, but at least he was able to accept the Gospel ish before he died, I dont know what that means but..
On a lighter note!! Our baptisms were a success!! I was so awesome to see them all get baptized and to see the happiness on their face and to hear there wonderful conversion stories of how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change and effect lives, it was such an awesome experience and I am so happy for the Miguel family!!
Also our week was way successful even though we had a baptisms a baptismal interviews! I love the are of Camrarin so much and the ward is so awesome as well! Also our zone is increasing in lessons so much and literally every category!! I love the Novaliches zone and all of the awesome people I get to serve with!! So I was way stoked when we got to look at the numbers and see all of the improvements of the Zone! ahaha!
Also I got a call from President last night, like mom got a email or something about me transferring, well that's true...
President called me last night and asked me to be the new Assistant to the President.
So I will go into the office tomorrow, and begin being the new AP, I am really excited to be able to do this, I am really grateful for the opportunity and I hope that I can serve in this position the way the Lord would want me to. But I am really looking forward for this wonderful journey.
I am going to miss this area and my companion a lot... The people I have met and the friendships I have made have made and will make a lasting impact on my life. I am sad that I wont be able to get to witness the baptisms of the people that will be getting baptized next week, I loved serving as a zone leader but it looks like I have something else to do.
I am always ready and willing to do what the Lord and my mission president would have me to do.
I love you guys and my pdays will be really spuratic from now on I think, but when it is my pday I will always email my beloved family! I love you guys so much and pray for all of you constantly.
But hey hope to hear from you all soon!!
Love elder Howell

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Lost Cell Phone and LATE?? WHAT?

Hello Family!! How are all of you doing?? Seems like you guys just had a pretty legit Spring break!, I have sort of forgot that there are breaks back home haha, here its just go go go! haha!

But how was Vegas?? Did you guys enjoy your stay there?? Also how was tanners baseball skills this weekend? Did he play well? Just let me know how he did! 

SOo what a week it has been, deffinatly one that will go in the books haha! 

So lets just start off by Monday so me and elder Welch went to Sm Fairview and I got him lunch at this nice buffet that had a bunch of delicous Filipino food! SO of course we loved that! Then they have this story its called Airart and they basically airbrush designs onto a shirt, so me being a huge assasians creed fan, I ordered a sick assasians creed shirt!!!!! I am way stoked to get it as well, I am picking it up today ahah! So I will send pics of it next week! I bet ty will be really jealous hahaah!!

Then Tuesday came... this is when things started to get interesting for this week.. So we started off the day getting punted from our first three appointments.. yikes thats not good.. SO we were just like hey lets go oyming and tracting and stuff so thats what we did we walked and talked to a few people but nothing to special, then we got to walking in some places that I didnt even know, we even ended up in another zone haha, but after that we made our way back to our area. Then we were walking up this hill and elder Welch is like hey do you see the American?.. Then I looked up and it was a short buff american guy. So he stopped us and was like where are you from kind of stuff, then he told us he used to be in the Navy and now he is here learning all sorts of mixed martial arts and training other people with what he knows and he talked to us about all these cool things and literally blew our minds ahah! He was really really talkative and he talked to us on the street for two hours!! FREAK hahah but we were able to talk about the gospel and meet his family and he said we could go and talk about God any time we want, so we are stoked ahah! But this guys name was Bill and he was like a modern day Captain America! ahah he was wayyyy legit!! Then after we talked to him we had some ground to make up on lessons cause he talked to us so long haha, so we got to teaching and then we get a text from the sisters in our ward saying we have a dinner at some members house, so we were like hey we are not coming we are way busy and stuff like that, but then sister called us and was like hey you guys are coming right? We have a bunch of food for you guys and we are waiting for you... Those words are heard to reject, cause if we say no they will get offended and never go to church again... hahah so we had to go all the way to their house and eat, and it was actually good and there was tons of if ahahah, then as we were taking a jeepney back to our area, the phone fell out of my pocket as was lost forever!!!!!... ahhhhh we lost our phone, we as ZLs really need our phone haahha ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! But we were close to the mission office and we were like lets go tell them and see if we can get a new one. So we walk in and I told the office sec what happend and he was like hey we have a bunch of old/broken phones if you wanna see if they work. So they oppen the draw and there are a bunch of phones! So I look and grab this one and say hey lets try this! So I took the battery out of the office secs phone and it works!! ahah and in this country you need load, kind of like pay as you go. And I was like freak we are going to have to buy load.. But I checked the load and there was 500 pesos of load!! haha how lucky is that!! US as zls usually get 300 pesos every three weeks, but we lucked out and got 500 hahahah!! It just sucked getting all our numbers back but we are good now haha!! What a dayyyyyyyyy!!!


Then on Wednesday we returned to some of our Inv who had been gone because of a funeral, but we were able to teach them the power of the Plan of Salvation, brother Micheal, got emotional as we testified that he would see his mother again, it was a powerful lesson and I know that he knew what we were teaching was true, I love Gods plan for us.

Then on Thursday we had Zone training and Zone interviews...
Ahhh what a day this was as well, so ours started at 8 am, us as the zls decided we would have it at the church closest to us which is where we usually have the meetings, so we go there and were are setting up and its around 7:50.. Then president calls us and is like hey were are you at, so I was like oh we are here at the Camarin chapel, and he was like what??! "do you not know that there are other meetings there and I am at Novaliches Chapel(which is 30-45 min away) So he was like I will call you back. So I was freaking out a bit cause my zone of 34 missionaries was already there.. Then the Aps show up and they were like freaking out saying you guys need to go to novaliches and all this and that pres was wayyy pissed hahah FREAKK I was going nuts... so we make our way back to Nova chapel and there is President and he was.... not mad at all ahah he was completly fine, man I respect that man so much for his patience, we were over an hour late and he was so understanding. Just a lack of communication.But for this meeting he met with every one for 20 mins and we all taught him lesson one. It was nerveracking haha! but it was good, but I felt bad president intervied from 9-8 pm haha freak thats so long.. Then elder Welch and I gave a dope workshop, and so many people have told us how good it was!! I love public speaking! ahah its fun!

Friday was just a normal day, until night, we got to stay at the APs house cause we had to go to manila for fingerprinting for like visas and stuff ahah! So there was a bunch of way cool forigners at the Aps house and we just chilled and talked like all night ahah it was so fun!!

Then Saturday we had to go Manila for fingerprinting with 12 people incuding elder and sister Ence the senior couples ahah! IT was sooo fun, we got lost in Manila but eventually made it there, but there were a bunch of ohter missionaries from other missions and stuff, guess who I saw??? Elder Manley my comp from the MTC!!!!!!!!!! It was so cool to see him!!! We talked for a long time while we were waiting!! He is doing way good, to bad elder Oakes wasnt there but elder Manley said he was doing good! Hahah it was a awesome day!! but it was so tireing!!! It took like alllll dayyy! but it was fuN!

Then Sunday came and we had a bunch of LAs at church and INV, so we are continually maintaning the best area in the Zone ahah, we just have to cuase its like a pride thing ahahahah! 

But yeah that is basically my week!! Love you all so so much!!

love elder Howell

Sunday, March 1, 2015

New Companion!

Hello Family!! Today is going to actually be a normal pday for us so I am hoping that I can put together a good email for all of you back home!

But this week has been interesting to say the least with the some what "emergency transfer" of elder Necessario and the incoming of elder Welch.

But it has been a good transition to say the least, elder Welch got here on thursday and we had a meeting with President Betin that day with all of the newly called ZL and DL of the mission, we had to attend because elder Welch was a new ZL, also it was cool cause my kid got called as a new district leader so I got to see and talk to him so it was good to catch up on how he is doing.

But funny story elder Welch was actually my district leader my last transfer in my last area so I already new him before and we were already friends so it was cool when we become companions haha! So he is from Calgary Canada and he goes home this November, so I am only one transfer ahead of him in the mission, but I like him a lot and he is a really good missionary and I already know how much I will learn from him, so I am excited for this transfer and the upcoming ones as well ahah!!

As for work our work is going great! We were able to have 18 less active members go to church on sunday, and less actives are a big focus in our area and also in our ward, so it was cool to see all these families who have been less active for such a long time coming to church on sunday, bishop was really happy that he even congratulated us on having so many of these long term less actives coming to church, so it was a blessing this past Sunday, in missionary life sundays are either the best or worst day of the week, because all the work you do in the whole week leads up to the "faith tester" is what I like to call it, so some times it is really stressful haha! But it is good it keeps you on your toes!

As for upcoming baptisms we have a family baptism on March 21, then on March 28 we have another baptism of a single sister that we just found named Marycris, so we are really excited for our few upcoming baptisms this transfer.

But cool story, me and elder Welch were just walking and I decided to just turn down this random small narrow path way which I thought was a way to a less active but it turns out it was just a dead end.. but it was cool we found this family at the dead end of that road and we were able to teach them and get come new inv out of it, after we left I told elder Welch, I dont know why I went down that path, but now I know why I did, the gospel is true.

Right now is a first in my entire mission.. everyone we live with is AMERICAN ahah its really coool ahah its just a big ol joe show in our house ahha!

Also it has been over a year since I have had anohter forienger as my comp(elder Guard being my last) so it has been cool and nice just speaking english all the time ahha!

But every thing is going good, me and elder Welch have lots of new goals and plans for our zone, I love it here so much and I am ready for another transfer here to really help our zone improve even more!

Well that is about it, I think this email is much better than it has been the past few weeks ahah! but I still love you guys so dont worry!!

Love elder Howell 
AKA Justin Beiber ahahah lol

I will miss him!

Hey Fam those were some sick pics from san Diego!! Looked super duper fun!! 

Seems like you guys had a eventful week!! Tanner didnt send any pictures to me so could you help me out and share the love!

But sad news elder Necessario is transferring... I dont know where he is going or who my new comp is but he is leaving me.. I am way sad, I go really really close with him, he is like a straight up brother to me, I want him to come back to America with me haha! You guys can just pay for is airfair haaha jokeee

But yeah we had stake conferance this week which was pretty solid it was just kind of far for our Inv and LA to travel but our INV family was still able to come and the are way close to becoming baptized! So we are way stoked for them!

Every thing is going great for me! Just sad that elder Necessario will be transferring.. I will miss him..

Well love you guys!! haha I just lost my train of thought haha lol

elder Howell i have lots of pics but an other elder is borrowing my card cause he wanted to copy my pics!

But love you guys haha 

love elder Howell

Goodbye Elder!! Till We Meet Again!















A Little Stake Conference BREAK!









PDAY!!






Lots of Pics from the Philippines









One more Video for Dads Birthday!


Happy Birthday Dad!


Happy Birthday!

Hello!! How goes it with you guys!! Looks like you had a nice celebration for dads birhtday! I hope you guys enjoyed the video that me and my awesome comp put together!
Also just a request.. Could you send a cool temple recommend holder for my companion, he would like one and I would love to give him one! So yaaaa.
But yeah this week was dope, we are doing sooo good here in our area and my comp is freaking cool! We are best friends and we get a long so well! I love it and we are working super hard as well!
We had a solid turn out for sunday services, we had 10 investiagors and 12 LA at church, with a upcoming family baptism at the last week of February! So we are stoked for that!
WE find like crazy!! We get so many new investigators a week, last week I think we got around 25, crazy good numbers I love talking to people its just so much fun and its so easy for a tall white kid speaking Tagalog to get the attention of people! Its my favorite thing ahah!
Temple pday was amazing! It had been so long since I had a temple pday, cause in my last area there is none cause it so far haha, so I was defiantly soaking in the temple vibes today!
Also yesterday we had Zone training and we gave a workshop at in for our zone about "our purpose" it went way good, thats another thing I love is just speaking infront of people, before I hated it! haha not any more haha!
Work is going super awesome and I am having so much fun as a ZL!
Oh funny story!! Yesterday we were walking to the chapel in Novaliches and remember that in the city is more poverished and there is a lot of people that live on streets and its sad and dirty.
So yesterday I saw about an 80 year old lady and a 12 year old kid fighting over card board that they used to sleep on.. It got so bad that the old lady had to bite the kid to get her precious card board bed..
It was really sad to see this that they were fighting over something worthless to us but to the lady it meant a lot cause thats all she had.
We need to be grateful for what we have and our situations.
Well love you guys!!
Love elder Howell