Hey all,
To start a note that my k and f keys don't work very well... so some words might not mae sense... Terri here: I thought it would be too hard to read, so I put all the k's and f 's in!!!
Have no idea what the food poisoning is from but its okay cause that's just part of the mission. This week was filled with meetings and training in cebu and then on Saturday we built a house. Yes a whole house, out o kahoy (wood). Pictures... Terri here: I've put them on the photo page!
Thanks dad for teaching me how to use a saw...
we even put in a toilet... jejejeje
and i got sunburnt and am now peeling...
On thurs we had training in cebu for training with the new 12week program for training. We got to eat pizza at the mission home and i had a great interview with President Schmutz.
We spent most of the day sakay-ing (traveling on vehicles) and at night on the last bus back to our area with Elder McBride and Elder Francis we almost died. i was in the left side in a window so i could see everything outside, and we rounded this corner to the left and there were two trucks hurtling towards us, one on either side of the road. Right at that moment i had a vision of what would have happened to the bus if we had not been there... it was horrific... but some how the driver managed to pull of the road far enough that the truck on our side of the road slid through between the bus and the other truck. I have no idea how it happened but i new that Heavenly Father wasn't going to let us be in a accident that night. It was another testimony that us missionaries are protected by the Lord.
Then Saturday was the best csp ever and we built that balay... I turned out to be the foreman and was guiding everyone else who had no idea what they were doing. jujuju anyways, I was so glad that dad had taught me so many skills even though I thought I would never use them... silly me... it turned out to help so much for the house and we were able to give this family a place to live cause if we didn't finish it they would have had no home. It too us 8hrs but was so much fun.
That morning I saw something awesome outside our bedroom window... we have this gamay field and there was some chickens out there and a mother hen with some chicks... then all o a sudden an eagle swoops out o the sky and starts to try and ill the chicks... and eventually gets one o them and flies away... it was crazy but totally awesome!
I love you all and miss you...
Elder Taylor Addison Cox
*****************************************************************************************************************
Terri here: If you go to the photo page it has the photos of the "house" they built. To us here in Australia, it looks like a shelter to get out of the rain or sun, but to people where they are it's a house!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Letter # 30 (Feb 29th, 2012.)
Hey all,
This week was fine apart from getting food poisoning and ALMOST DYING.... and being confined for two days without being able to do work in the area. We have continued to find and meet with less-actives this week in an effort to bring them back. We have almost covered every family on the branch list as to whether they are still in the area, have moved or have passed away, and determined who is active, less-active and in-active. I'm sure the branch list is about half of what it used to be now. We even managed to find some less-actives that have no records that we are requesting through the branch clerk.
We have had some great visits with less-actives this week and are working with them all to come back to church. After being stuck in bed for two days and suffering miserably, I was ecstatic when we had a 116 attendance for sacrament meeting! (Yes that's probably the same as the ward, hey?) Not only that but 6 of those were individuals coming back for the 1st time in a long time! Even better is there are now quite a few individuals who have been back now for 3, 4, and 5 weeks in a row. The branch is progressing after a period of being stagnant, or so some of the members keep telling us. We have seen some great progress with certain families in the branch with the whole family now back at church.
This week we had a visit with a less active brother in our branch brother D...., who has a drinking problem that has been affecting his family. We tried to visit with the family on Sunday only to find brother quite tipsy and his wife had left and was staying at relatives house. Brother D's brother and sister-in-law are staying with him this week and trying to help out. We talked with them on Sunday about how we would like to help by using the addiction recovery program. They said they will try to help us as we help them and help Bro. D.
That scripture is a great scripture and was the favorite of my district in the MTC. But thanks again for reminding me of that wonderful story. And you should be glad we left the cats there and didnt do what the housekeeping list tells us to do. It says, and I quote... "If the is something in your apartment that moves and isn't human or your companion, kill it and report it to the zone leaders."... Yes! that is what it says! really! (you can put that one on the blog... Elder Cox has a sundang because its says in the housekeeping list for missionaries... jejejeje!)
And finally a little more about my experiences spiritually this week. These past two weeks have been a refiners fire... and the most intense of my life spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically (food poisoning). I have never though so much about the Atonement of my Savior in my life and never felt the Atonement so powerfully as I have this week. to have my pains swallowed up in the joy of Christ. I know that my Savior, my Elder Brother, loves me personally, the same as my Heavenly Father. I have felt their love and there are changes that have taken place in my heart which I will hopefully never revert. Great changes for the better. The good things after the trials.
I had a thought in sacrament meeting on Sunday and I wrote it down:
"Satan makes things beautiful, exciting, fun, enjoyable, pleasing, for right now. Heavenly Father made things to last for eternity." -Elder Cox-
Let us all remember that... that our Heavenly Father gave us this life to prepare for eternity. Our choices here will affect our entire eternity. So if we are not aimed towards the Celestial kingdom, we need to change. If not now, when? Because our time is quickly running out...
I love you all SO much.
Elder Taylor Addison Cox
***********************************************************************************************************
Terri here: You may notice that Taylor puts "jejejeje" at the end of things that are funny, that is because in the Philippines 'J' is pronounced like a 'H'. Just thought I'd point that out for you!!
This week was fine apart from getting food poisoning and ALMOST DYING.... and being confined for two days without being able to do work in the area. We have continued to find and meet with less-actives this week in an effort to bring them back. We have almost covered every family on the branch list as to whether they are still in the area, have moved or have passed away, and determined who is active, less-active and in-active. I'm sure the branch list is about half of what it used to be now. We even managed to find some less-actives that have no records that we are requesting through the branch clerk.
We have had some great visits with less-actives this week and are working with them all to come back to church. After being stuck in bed for two days and suffering miserably, I was ecstatic when we had a 116 attendance for sacrament meeting! (Yes that's probably the same as the ward, hey?) Not only that but 6 of those were individuals coming back for the 1st time in a long time! Even better is there are now quite a few individuals who have been back now for 3, 4, and 5 weeks in a row. The branch is progressing after a period of being stagnant, or so some of the members keep telling us. We have seen some great progress with certain families in the branch with the whole family now back at church.
This week we had a visit with a less active brother in our branch brother D...., who has a drinking problem that has been affecting his family. We tried to visit with the family on Sunday only to find brother quite tipsy and his wife had left and was staying at relatives house. Brother D's brother and sister-in-law are staying with him this week and trying to help out. We talked with them on Sunday about how we would like to help by using the addiction recovery program. They said they will try to help us as we help them and help Bro. D.
That scripture is a great scripture and was the favorite of my district in the MTC. But thanks again for reminding me of that wonderful story. And you should be glad we left the cats there and didnt do what the housekeeping list tells us to do. It says, and I quote... "If the is something in your apartment that moves and isn't human or your companion, kill it and report it to the zone leaders."... Yes! that is what it says! really! (you can put that one on the blog... Elder Cox has a sundang because its says in the housekeeping list for missionaries... jejejeje!)
And finally a little more about my experiences spiritually this week. These past two weeks have been a refiners fire... and the most intense of my life spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically (food poisoning). I have never though so much about the Atonement of my Savior in my life and never felt the Atonement so powerfully as I have this week. to have my pains swallowed up in the joy of Christ. I know that my Savior, my Elder Brother, loves me personally, the same as my Heavenly Father. I have felt their love and there are changes that have taken place in my heart which I will hopefully never revert. Great changes for the better. The good things after the trials.
I had a thought in sacrament meeting on Sunday and I wrote it down:
"Satan makes things beautiful, exciting, fun, enjoyable, pleasing, for right now. Heavenly Father made things to last for eternity." -Elder Cox-
Let us all remember that... that our Heavenly Father gave us this life to prepare for eternity. Our choices here will affect our entire eternity. So if we are not aimed towards the Celestial kingdom, we need to change. If not now, when? Because our time is quickly running out...
I love you all SO much.
Elder Taylor Addison Cox
***********************************************************************************************************
Terri here: You may notice that Taylor puts "jejejeje" at the end of things that are funny, that is because in the Philippines 'J' is pronounced like a 'H'. Just thought I'd point that out for you!!
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