Letter #74 (2nd Jan, 2013)

Terri here: First off, can I just say....Taylor will be home THIS year!!!!

Hey all,
Transfers! Im transferring to the city in Labangon as ZL with E.Harris
in the central zone, and E.Manansala is transferring to City zone as
DL there.
Yup! Pulled-out! our replacements will be E.long and E.Verano, who
will both be great for the area in continuing to help our
investigators and the branch to progress, and in helping the Zone to
improve as well.
I have to say, the transfer is both a surprise and not really at the
same time... I don't really know how to explain this. I had an
overwhelming odd feeling this week that I was going to transfer, but I
knew that Elder Manansala was going to transfer as well. I couldn't
figure it out until I thought about the fact that we are foreordained
to meet certain people... and that I am needed somewhere else at this
time, and that my work here is done. I definitely felt that yesterday,
when we were out visiting the members. I felt strangely detached and
foreign in the area, like I didn't belong. I knew I was transferring.
It has been so interesting how the Lord has prepared the area for this
with the last focus on the Area Book and working with members. We have
great branch missionaries who work with us at least 4 times a week,
and the Area Book hasn't seen so much updating for a long time... (it
also helped that we made it so if we didn't update the Area Book there
was a fine of P5... I think we only missed 2 days each before we were
making sure it was updated every single night, no matter how tired we
were). The Area Book will be a great tool for Elder Long and Elder
Verrano, and I am very confident that they are going to be great for
this area and for the Tanjay zone.
I am excited and a little nervous about heading into the city... this
will be my first "city" area in my entire mission (I don't count Danao
city as a city, because it was very bukid still...), and look forward
to working with Elder Harris. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father
for all my experiences here in Amlan with Elder Manansala, and for all
the friends I have made in the gospel here. I am excited for Brother
J to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and he has been helping us
with a new investigator. He is going to be such a strength for the
branch, and for his family as well. He has had so many spiritual
experiences that have given him such a strong testimony of the gospel.
I am excited to hear where he is in a years time from now and what
amazing things have happened for him ans his family. And also for Sis
D-A... hopefully her family will begin to listen to the
missionaries as well, and we have heard that the members are trying to
help them by fellow-shipping.
Its been hard this last week with all the holidays to not get
homesick, but it has been great to know that I am doing to Lords work
here and that there are so many blessings been poured out upon
everyone.
I'm sure to have a lot to say this next coming week after a week in the
new area and another ZLC... and lots of photos of the new area
(hopefully  :P ).
Not much else to report this week to you all back there... we had fun
these holidays and got fed not much at all, but still felt the love of
the members. It was good.
Missing you lots,
Love you tons,
Elder Taylor Addison Cox

Letter #73 (26th Dec, 2012)

Hey all,
This week has been great! We have had fun with all the Christmas
celebrations, and being able to celebrate this time of year with the
families here in Amlan. We had some great experiences also working
with the Croppers this week and going caroling with them and handing
out Christmas packages to some of the families. Things have been good
and Elder Manansala and I have felt love from everyone this Christmas
season. We have struggled a little with the work this week because we
had no-one who would work with us and then lots of people were "busy"
or just not home... getting ready for Christmas, but it has been fun
trying to do the best we could with the situations we had been given.
We are trying to learn from the Bindoy elders in how they got all the
members in Bindoy excited about the work so that we too can have the
great success that they are experiencing at the moment.
We are proud of the zone and how much improvement we have seen and how
much the attitude of the missionaries has changed in relation to the
work. The lessons have increased in almost every area. The FTEs also
increasing slowly but steadily. There have been some disappointments
some weeks due to varying circumstances but everyone seems to know
what they need to do to improve and make sure they do better the next
week.
But it has been great week with Christmas and all. It is more
celebrated on Christmas Eve than Christmas day, so Christmas was
pretty quiet. But hapit na NYE which is the big celebration here in
the Philippines. So there will definitely be food on the 31st and the
1st!
Elder Manansala got to Skype earlier today, and I played scrabble with
the Croppers while he did so. It was good fun and we had a great time
these past three days.
Don't have much more to say... other than,
Love you all tons!
Elder Taylor Addison Cox

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Terri here: We got to Skype with Taylor on Christmas night. He looked healthy and very happy. He loves being a missionary, and being able to share the gospel with the people in the Philippines.

Letter #72 (19th Dec, 2012)

Hey all,
We have been back to teaching all week... clean up was pretty quick after the storm. But we have heard rumors of another one coming this way some time soon... don't know if that's true or not but well see.

This 22nd is our party here on Negros. So we are all looking forward to that. Then we will probably skype on Christmas day, we don't know when yet... could be morning or evening. So maybe 10 here or maybe 3-5 the afternoon here.

The plane was so much fun because it was a smaller one. There was about 80 or so on the plane, and it was almost full both ways. It was so quick... we only spent like 15min in the air... the other times we are landing or taking off.

The missionary couple even tried the musk sticks, along with the whole zone. I have a video of it so you can watch it we I get home.

Elder Manansala and I are enjoying our time together. Our lessons are great and the investigators and LAs all trust us so much that they tell us about all their problems all the time. Sometimes we have to tell them that they need to talk with the Branch President and not us about some of their problems... hahaha. We are also having fun teaching each other our native tongues... so more tagalog practise.

I am sending all the photos to Reilly today, hopefully this wont mess up like last week. The computers last week were absolutely pathetic. but much better this week. We are trying a different place... its okay.

Don't really know what else to talk about, it was a pretty ordinary week this week.

Love you tons,

Elder Taylor Addison Cox