Carved Pearl Shells

Hello mother how are you?? Seems like you had a solid week this week with all of your basball and family coming down to visit! 

What does the temple reccomend holder look like?? And what is in the package that you sent to me just barly? 

Make sure you send it by air cause he goes home the first week of April!! So make sure it gets here before it goes home! 

I bought some souvineers today for the house I guess.. They are way cool carved pearl shells!! I guess you will have to wait and see them when I get home.. Also did you guys like the package I sent a while ago?.. I heard nothing from tan and dad.. they must not have liked it..

YES MASTER HOWELL HAHAHA! Thats crazy that you are already almost done with school!! Time flies doesnt it!!

When is the starting day for Dixie?.. And when do you need to know by?.. Just curious.

Any ways we had a great week here haha! Dont really know what else to tell you guys about other than the fact that things are going really good and I am enjoying it really well here!! 

Our area is probs the best Zone Leader area in the whole mission ahah.. I dont know if thats true but I bet it could be.. 

Any ways love you mom!!

love jack

Solid Turn out for Sunday

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

Donuts!!

Working HARD!

Hello Family!! What a busy week we had today! We had Zone training on Tuesday of last week, where elder Necessario and I had to give a workshop to our whole zone of 34 elders and sisters, it was my first time and safe to say it went really good, we did it on being exactly obedient! I wasnt even nervous haha, its also safe to say I have kicked that fear out of my life, the fear of talking in front of people! Thanks to the mission for that!

Then yesterday we had to give another workshop for our Zone conference, so it was a combo of two Zones, with the total of about 70 missionaries ahha! We gave our workshop about becoming PMG scholars! It went really well, I seem to actually enjoy giving workshops haha!

But a update on our Zone, they did way good this week!! They like doubled all of their numbers! So we were happy Zone leaders hah!

Our area is freaking dope. Lots of people. And dirty.

We have a baptism on Saturday of the Abejero family! They are way cool and I am way happy for them!

Also on Sunday we had 10 investigators attend church so we should have some more baptisms by mid to end Febuary! So we are just way happy with the progress of our area and also of our Zone!

Elder Necessario might be my favorite comp! He is so freaking cool and we get a long so good!! I love him and I have learned a lot from him! I fell our companionship was an inspiration from God!

We are continually working hard and doing every thing we can to talk to every one we meet that we feel we need to talk to! 

The other day we were just walking down this little tiny "skinita" which is like a small narrow "road" but not.. And we just felt like we should go to this place where neither of us had been, and then there was this LA who was like elders I have been looking for you!

We taught her and gave her a Book of Mormon cause she moved from Bacolod and didnt have one and didnt know where the church was so we inspired her that day and could have possible answered her prayers!

But I love this area so far its great! And its getting better!!

Life as a ZL is pretty stressful but I love it, I love the opportunity to help other missionaries exceed in their calling!

But I love you all and pray for you all daily!

Love, elder Howell

New Calling...Very Busy!

Hello mga magulang ko!!

How are you guys doing?? It seems like mom has gotten sick?.. That sucks.. I hope you are okay! I guess I just need to pray better for yo guys!(;

But maybe I will tell about my week! And what a week it has been!!

So I got here on Wednesday, and we had to wait at the transfer point and make sure all the missionaries got there safe, so we only got to work a little, then after we got home from transfers, we spend a good time going over our zone and who had problems and also goals for our zone! It was a good time to discuss things!

Then on Thursday, we had a meeting for the newly called ZL, DL, and STL in our mission, it was a great meeting and I learned a lot! I am really excited for this calling that I have right now!

Then on Friday we had another meeting, called MLC(missionary leadership council) and this a meeting with President Bertin and all the zone leaders, and we discussed presidents new goals for our mission, and I will tell you they are great goals! I am realy excited to see where this mission is going! Pres. Bertin has so many good ideas for this mission to make it better, he truly is called of God.

Then saturday we had to move the sisters appartment in our zone to a new house, so that took a while! But they really needed our help ahah! 

So since I have been here I havnt had a full day of work! But we still were able to get decent numbers this week! But we are having lots of fun together! He is so freaking cool! I love elder Necessario! We already have made SO many goals for our area and also for our zone so that it can improve!

My new are is pure city.

The ward is great!! They have some awesome members who really love the missionaries, so I am excited to be here right now!! 

We have already met with our Bishop 3 times this weeek so we can get the work picked up even more and how he can help us! It was really cool seeing all the support in the ward!

But that is about it!! Every thing is going great!! I love my new calling, comp, and area! It will be challenging because we have the biggest zone in the mission I think, but we are excited!!

love you guys!!

Love elder Howell

A Little Missionary SWAG

Letter from Mission President Bertin

PHILIPPINES QUEZON CITY NORTH MISSION
Zabarte Rd. cor. Ilang-Ilang St., Almar Subd.
Camarin, Caloocan City

22 January 2015

Jonathan Howell

1538 Bloomers Loop East

Santa Clara, UT 84765

United States

Dear Brother and Sister Howell:

                                            

I am so happy to let you know that Elder Jackson Douglas Howell has been called to serve as a Zone Leader in the Philippines Quezon City North Mission. 

As a Zone Leader, Elder Howell will be responsible for the teaching and training of many missionaries.  His example and motivation will become their model to follow. 

He is learning to be a Preach My Gospel missionary and as he develops the Christ-like attributes he is learning, he will build a firm, spiritual foundation for the rest of his life. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to know and serve with this fine young man and appreciate the love and encouragement you’ve given him.

Sincerely yours,

Kim C. Bertin

Mission President