Letter #85 (20th Mar, 2013)

Hey all,

This week has been challenging personally but great in terms of the work. The zone is really progressing at the moment in terms of work and the missionaries are excited for this transfer. We have had great success with our new ward. San Nicolas ward has been so good and willing to work... everyday we have had someone work with us. Another miracle. The ward mission leader worked with us and also held MCM with us to find out our expectations and to let us know how we could help the ward to progress.

My filling fell out of my tooth last Thurs... and so we went into the dentist (mums cringing... "oh no, all that money on the braces...") who turns out lived in Australia for 15 years and was in Harbor ward under Bishop Hamilton and had studied dentistry there... and she filled it back up nice a new. (yay!). so 15mins and 500pesos later everything was all good. (yes, 500 pesos lang for a filling! thats liek what? $10? hahaha).

Then on Saturday we were in the office for most of the day waiting for the sisters...  but the missionaries had lost their luggage... (as in all the missionaries)  and so they were trying to figure out where it was and so we got them back to their apartment late around 6pm right as the adult session of stake conference was starting. So we had a mad rush to get to the chapel and so forth but it was all good in the end.

Our IBD's are doing good and progressing well. Dorisa is asking lots of crazy good questions about baptism and the priesthood and the temple... its great. And then our other IBD went back to the Catholic church with her parents when they visited her last week from Leyte, and she said her experience was strange and weird like she felt she didn't belong and it just wasn't right at the church,a d that she couldn't force herself to pray there with her parents or anything like that... I was just like "YES!" inside my thoughts. It was great to see that the church is true. hahaha.

I have a feeling this week is going to be a great week. I'll try to write more next week about things that have been happening...

Love you all,

Elder Taylor Addison Cox

 

Letter #84 (13th Mar, 2013)

Hey all,
So transfers were a surprise again... Elder R and I are getting
pulled out of Labangon ward... and put into San Nicholas. hahaha
President Schmutz feels that this is what needs to happen to help
Labangon realize that having missionaries is a privilege and not a
right, so they stop taking us for granted. So we wont be moving house
or anything but will just shift our work over to San Nicholas ward.
Transfer calls got changed to Mondays and transfer day to Thursdays
from now on. So on Monday when we got the call we were surprised to be
pulled out but then we went in to the office (we can do that now being
so close... hahaha) and talked with President, and got his permission
to keep working in Labangon with our progressing LAs and investigators
and then we will just monitor everything else when we go to church in
Labangon ward and also in San Nicholas ward... this could become very
kapoy very quickly, but President feels we can handle it.
We are having some great success in our work at the moment. We had 6
investigators at church this past Sunday and now we have 2 with
baptismal dates this upcoming months. We will be continuing to work
with them and help them to learn. She is an amazing investigator with curious
questions... just amazing! We are teaching her with the help of B
L, an amazing RM in our ward (pinakabuotan nga tao) at their
house and B is kind enough to feed us too... so now we have
dinner every Tuesday and Thursday evening. Yay!
We are continuing to work with all the members encouraging them to
read their scriptures everyday.
We also have sisters coming into the Basak ward, so they'll have two
sets of missionaries now because they are progressing so much. Then
yesterday we got their house set up... we managed to get our old house
again. Nanay (the tagiya) was very happy to see us back again and more
than happy to rent us the house again. So we met up with Elder
E on Tues morning and put in all the things they need like fans
and beds and ref and desks etc.
No photos yet this week. Hopefully nest week when things have started
to calm down. This week has been hectic because of everything that we
have been doing and getting ready.
Almost finished the BoM in Visaya... only 49 chapters left to read...
then im gonna start again in English again.
Just want to remind you all... don't forget to pray and read your
scriptures daily... and don't forget FHE...
Miss you all...
Love you tons,
Elder Taylor Addison Cox

Letter #83 (6th Mar, 2013)

Hey all,
Elder R and I had an amazing week last week! It was great... even
though it seemed like nothing went according to plan, the Lord
definitely provided a way for us to accomplish the work He had planned
for us instead. We were amazed at the success we had last week and the
zone has felt the great spirit of the work too, with all areas really
pulling up their work from previous weeks. There is just a great
energy in the central zone at this time.
We are still struggling with the wards here though in the central zone
and Elder R and I had talked about implementing the same ideas
that President Schmutz started bringing forth in ZLC yesterday. It was
great to see we were on the same revelation wavelength. hahaha.
So the focus of the mission has changed again... its been redefined so
that the rescue mission includes all members in the church... not just
those less active/in- active at church, but all members in helping them
to be worthy for a celestial glory. We are now beginning to visit the
"active" members in the ward too. We have already seen come
improvement in the members working with the missionaries but the
problem we need to solve is the members doing their part without the
missionaries right next to them. We really feel that as we begin to
implement the new redefined rescue mission that we will see a great
improvement in respects to that.
In Labangon ward this week we had already received 3 referrals that we
have started to teach and who are also showing some real good signs of
progression. We have also seen the great effect of having active
members present in these lessons as well. The investigators respond
really well, especially when their member friends are encouraging them
to pray or to read or to come to church. It really helps with the
teaching process and the trust of the investigators.
I have put on more weight again... yesterday I weighed in at 58kg. It
is a combination of bad foods and being fed so often be members. we
have also started working out with Elder K every morning in the
house... we are getting really buff.  We had another great
temple session this morning. Love it in the city...
I feel like the last part of my mission is slipping through my fingers
very quickly... I don't like it.
Don't know what else to write this week... lots of work, lots of unique
problems and challenges.
Miss you all,
love you
Elder Taylor Addison Cox

Letter #82 (27th Feb, 2013)

Hey all,

Yeah I got my box. It is awesome! packed full of yummies. Still have to get the Cherry ripes to the C's... next week that will happen. This week has been great and successful. Elder R is an amazing missionary and has taught me so much this past week. He is from Davao city. He is batch with Elder H and has a great teaching style which I have learnt so much from. 4 missionaries in a house is fun. Elder K is from Fiji, but went to college (or high school?) in the US some where. we are starting to get fed more and we don't really cook much anymore in the new house. We just eat fast foods.... no good.

The mission getting split is the most exciting news here in the mission right now. It will happen on July 1st and will be split as such. North of Cebu and Bohol is Cebu east... south Cebu and Negros is Cebu Mission. And President Schmutz has promised my batch that we will not be put into the Cebu east mission, but will all leave together from the same mission.

We are working to help our less actives be retained in the ward when they come back and have been working on helping the members and leaders to become truly converted themselves so that they can help their brothers and sisters to stay in the church once they come back, and then also on getting the home teaching and visiting teaching happening in the ward. We still don't have an EQ pres and then our second counselor in the bishopric had a stroke a few weeks back and is paralyzed on his right side, so he is on the path to recovery at the moment. Lots of challenges but we are doing what we need to to get things happening so that the work continues to move forward.

Not much else really to share this week. Spent most of my time writing to President...

but miss you all,

love you tons

Elder Taylor Addison Cox

 

 

******************************************************************************************** Terri here: I asked Taylor some questions in our email to him, and his responses are in the first paragraph....just in case you are thinking it reads a bit strange!! hahaha

 

Letter #81 (20th Feb, 2013)

Hey all,

So guess what... Elder G is getting taken from me tomorrow... and being replaced with Elder R. President Schmutz felt they needed to be switched, so thats whats happening. It was quicker than I expected... but if that is what the Lord has deemed to happen then so be it. It was a great week while it lasted. Elder G and I just clicked straight away and had some amazingly spiritual lessons these past week. We taught this one member about repentance and she really changed from the beginning of the lesson to the end. By the end we could really see that she understood the true process of repentance and the things she needed to do to get back on the straight and narrow path. It was the most powerful lesson I have been in and it really touched me. I really gave me inspiration for me as well. It really helped to re-emphasize the fact that it is easier to be obedient to the commandments than to have to repent after disobeying. My studies have moved from the new testament back to PMG. I have gone back to chapter 2, about effective study and how to really help myself to learn to teach the doctrine. It has also been an interesting experience in really leading the area, and will be exciting to do so again with Elder R.

We were able to get some help form the ward again this week in the ward, which has been really good especially for fellow-shipping the less-actives and helping them come back to church. We continue to see a great success in the rescue mission here in the Labangon ward. We have also seen a great improvement in San Nicholas ward, with the ward now really beginning to function in their responsibilities, with HT and VT really starting to get underway. We are working with the bishop of San Nicholas so that they will be ready for missionaries.

Our missionaries in the apartment are Elder K... an Australian(quarter)/Fijian(quarter)/Togan(half) who looks just like Obama. Then his greenie companion, Elder B, a big American from Utah. They are both pretty cool missionaries. We are having fun together in the house and all get along really well.

Still haven't got the box yet, so probably next week pa. we'll see... and then I sent a ton of photos to Reilly this week... so hope you enjoy. He'll explain what they all are.

I really enjoyed this week... and I feel so tired from everything we have been doing too. But I feel so excited about the work everyday. Its a good feeling.

Love you all

Miss you too,

Elder Taylor Addison Cox

 

Letter #80 (13th Feb, 2013)

Hey all,

Another week, another transfer again. So this transfer Elder H is abandoning me for Lilo-an zone where he will be with Elder D-S as zone leader there and my new companion will be Elder G... pinoy, from north luzon dapit. We're good friends already in the mission so this is gonna be a great transfer again. We have almost finished setting up our new huge house and Basak is moving this Friday. I'm excited for this transfer!

This week has been a very busy week for Elder H and I, with all the meetings (ZLC and zone training), and temple tours (with one special tour on saturday with 70 students from the University of Bohol) and moving house and getting the house ready for Basak and transfers . I feel so exhausted from this past transfer but at the same time excited to be able to have another chapter begin. I am sad to be saying goodbye to Elder H and we have had so many very wonderful and spiritual experiences together. I am going to miss him a lot. At the same time I am excited to be able to work with Elder G and to learn from him this next transfer.

Elder H and I had some real challenges with our ward this week after the progress we began to see then the progress returned just yesterday again, with the Young Women s Presidency and the Ward Clerk working with us to rescue some individuals from this one area we had tracted out with young women in the families. We had some challenges and it was really disappointing because they were making so much progress before and then it was like they all just gave up on the work they were doing... it was very frustrating. We have been talking with President M about the missionary work in each of the wards and he has been trying to really help out and emphasis the role of each member in each of the wards... the progression is very slow but its coming. It is definitely a struggle to try to work areas with little or no member support, especially here in the city. I have come to gain a great appreciation and understanding for each calling in a ward. It has really opened up my mind this transfer of how important each individual is in their own calling, especially that if one is not doing their part, all suffer with them. It has given me a real resolve to magnify whatever calling I may receive later after the mission and to do everything I can to fulfill my part. I am hoping that we will see a continue of progression within the wards of the central stake, so that eventually we may see the opening of San Nicholas and Sikatuna areas... but that is going to take a lot of effort to see that happen.

Work has been good and we have seen improvement in the members as they begin to read the scriptures daily... you can just tell when someone has read or not during the week. It just shows on their countenance. I've almost finished the Book of Mormon again but this time in Visaya! Then I'm going to start again in English. I have also almost finished the New Testament again (but only the epistles this time, not the gospels...). Learning so much about the scriptures... so much fun. We have 16 come in this transfer (11 of them are sisters), and one of the elders is gonna be in our house being trained in Basak!

Oh, and we went to Cebu zoo today... it was cool (for P25 lang it was a bargain) send you pictures next week(I know i have been pretty lazy with the pictures lately...)

so that's all the exciting stuff from this week... until next week

miss you all,

love you tons!

Elder Taylor Addison Cox