May 3rd 2015

So first big news, I am getting a new companion! I had interviews with pres and I think he really trusts me so thats awesome! I am excited to skype you guys and I think it will be sunday night for you and monday morning for me so i will talk to my new comp on thursday and work it out! I am super excited to see all of you and excited to here all your voices especially Lucas's! You guys sound like you are going to have a great summer! honestly it's so hot here at night I can't fall asleep because i am sweating so bad! But other than that I am okay haha! My new zone coming into mindoro is going to be awesome and I am excited to see all of them! It will be sad because I have a lot of friends leaving soon to go home but I am happy for them! I will send pics soon! and my investigators are progressing but we need to get them to church every sunday! I think they will be good members but we need to continue to prepare them! I heard something really cool about tithing I want to share its a quote "God doesn't want our money, He wants our faith." That really hit me cause he has so many people paying tithing and probably isn't super worried about that but wants us to show our love and faith by sacrificing 10 percent of what we own! idk I could get into detail but maybe during skype! love you guys and am going to send pics soon! not much happening this week cause of the meetings but I am doing good and just trying to smile everywhere I go!:) Love you guys, Love Elder Herrin aka Floyd Mayweather hahhahaha people hate him here!

April 20th and 26th 2015

April 26th 2015
Thats fun! our week was good, we did service where we raked leaves with a broom.. it was the worst thing I have ever done and takes forever haha! But it was a good week, I am ready to skype and see everyone! meetings with president is coming up and I am excited to have! We now have three investigators with a baptismal goal date, but one has to wait 6 months because he is 16 and his parents aren't members! I told you I ate chicken blood right? That was disgusting.. it was chewy and I was gagging a little haha! I have eaten so many weird things now! My tagalog is improving and hopefully when I am a year out i will be fluent! it is summer here so it is super hot and i am really tan.. well at least my arms and face are haha!
April 20th 2015
... So we have two with a baptisimal goal date set and hopefully one more coming up! Nothing to much happening spiritual this week just improving on the language and just trying to love the mission with everything that comes!....other than that I have been memorizing some songs in tagalog so thats pretty cool! I have interviews with president coming up so I am excited for that and most excited for skyping!!!:) Look up the tagalog song "MAHAL KITA PERO- BY: Janella Salvador" you won't understand it but it says I love you but my family doesn't pretty much haha! Hey you guys should send me a package..  so idk not much to share this week besides we cooked and ate a whole pig for lunch today!:) sending pictures soon Mahal na mahal kita, mahal si Elder Herrin aka Dope boys

Aril 12th, 2015

Apr 12

So you know how I said we reopened? well we did and with tracting everyday and even tho its hot, we walk forever and people avoid us, it is starting to pay off! we have 10 new investigators and one is coming to church every sunday! so that is awesome! I didn't have a talk from conference I liked the most but there where a lot of good ones! I actually did like the talk about religious freedoms! I also liked the talk about other religions, I hear it a lot here that people don't like mormons and always brag about there religions but I just ignore it cause I know the truth! There is this one person that keeps on saying his religion is world wide and assume ours isnt but I am like okay well obviously we are world wide also because I am from America and idk people just kinda get on my nerves here haha, but its okay!:) ....But I am getting excited to skype for mothers day this may and get to hear everyone and see everyone!....  But anyways I love you guys and am so happy that everything is going well back home, it is definitely stressful during the week thinking about you guys and wondering if everything is okay still! But I always think back to the quote from President Gordon B. Hinkley "The best medicine I know for worry is work." But something really cool that I will share is, I went on exchanges last week and went to a new investigators house, I wasn't able to prepare before so when we where teaching my tagalog felt awful and I was having trouble putting together what I wanted to say. Later it was my turn to teach about Joseph smith that went better but still harder, finally it came to my testimony, I can't put together a huge testimony in tagalog just simple statements but as I was bearing my testimony she stopped me and said "I know it's" the spirit had testified the truth to her through me and I could feel it! anyways idk if I will ever be able to talk to her again but I am so grateful for what I know and I know that we are on the winning team and I know that I need to do my best here to try and get other people on the winning team, they might not know that we are winning now but like it was stated it conference, this is a puzzle and once we put the pieces together its a beautiful big picture! Okay so I will try and send pictures today so hopefully it works! Mahal na mahal kita, Mahal Si Elder Herrin aka Pretty boy haha oh and funny thing, there is a hat that says ako'y makakasalanan- which means in english I'm a sinner haha, but on the front of the hat it says Lord Patawad- which means Lord forgive me! hahaha

April 5, 2015

just the view from the front of the boat!

 That's our shower and toilet here in Mindoro

That's our beds now in Mindoro

Something else that is cool here, is they have bamboo houses!!:)

This is our new chapel here in Mindoro it is super nice!

melon tree

...It was alright (Easter) pretty much a normal sunday.. we got fed by some members that are super fun and nice people! And then when i speak english to them they laugh and say "Don't English me".. like it's an insult hahaha! ... we watch conference next sunday so thanks for giving it away haha! And i am glad blessings are still coming and to hear everyone is well back home! ...let everyone know i am doing well and love them!.. anyways i will send a pic of my comp next to huge leaves! Love you guys and I know without a doubt that reading scriptures (araw araw)- everyday is a must do thing, because it strengthens your testimony and every inactive person I meet in the philippines doesn't read the book of mormon! Anyways this week has been a full week and lots of blessings and trials haha! early on in the week my comp got his mission fund card eaten at a bank and then we lost our apartment keys! But the blessings I got out of it is.. I got my money from the bank, our land lord had a spare key and we were able to eat haha! My english is so horrible like its a mix of english and tagalog.. taglish! like idk I will show you an example Kumusta ang araw nyo po? How is your day? Nyo= your, araw= day! like its in different order so it sucks haha! but Anyways send pics soon love you guys and hope all is well! Love Elder Herrin
... I will try to send more pics of mindoro and my comp in a minute but yes we tract everyday cause members are busy to help us find less or inactive members! We walk everywhere or take a little van or tricycle!:) I will send pics of people ridding on top of Jeepneys and tricycles its pretty funny and cool haaha! My favorite person right now in the BOM book of mormon is Ammon, he is amazing example and I have read a lot about him of late! ....all is well and still alive glad to hear from you Love you!

March 29, 2015

Mar 29

The Island is gorgeous I will send pictures soon! but I love it.. the ward/branch is okay none of them speak english so my tagalog is improving! The boat ride over was awesome and pretty fun, I stood outside for most of it and it was awesome! My comps name is Ejares, he is a nice guy,.... it is hard to try and talk to him and his english is not amazing! he tracts a lot ... we walk all day in the heat. There are about 60 members here in our branch but idk I like the area more.  We got a new chapel here tho which is super nice because it is super hot here all the time and hard to sleep sometimes cause of the heat! But we are kinda in the middle of the mountains and the beaches, we walk a lot here or take a tricycle which sucks cause of the heat! But I love the zone I am in, idk how many are in my zone but there isn't a lot! .... Sorry I feel like my English also is getting awful so sorry haha! But idk how long it will take for me to get them cause i am on the island, I can't believe I got another transfer and I haven't even hit my year mark yet so that is pretty cool!:) President has talked a lot about gossip lately and I didn't realize how much I did it until I thought about it more!... But I love you and Happy easter next sunday, Love you all very much! And hope everyones doing okay, Love Elder Herrin aka Guapo or Pogi I will send pics now Love you all very much!

This is the family we were going to baptize until I got a tranfer!

This is part of my old branch

that's a little girl from my last area named Yashie

The past month....

March 23, 2015....first off yes I have been to Manganasal and its delicious I eat it so much haha  And Calamba 3 has been reopened again just recently actually! And now for the biggest news I AM GETTING TRANSFERED TO MINDORO!!!! its an island with beaches and is just awesome, they have bikes there and I get to take a boat to get there!:)))))...... It does suck tho cause i won't be able to baptize Rogler because I have a transfer this thursday and their baptism is on saturday! But it is okay! Freak the philippines is crazy I have met more drunks in the morning and people trying to fight me haha but I am so glad I am getting a transfer! I can't remember my new comps name but they say he is chill! It is kinda sad this week cause so many of my friends from the mission are going home so that sucks but time to make new ones I guess haha!:) I will send pics soon love Elder Herrin aka Jungle cat

I got sun burnt today so my face is like a tomato haha!

 March 16th, 2015.... so cool thing this kid said he wanted me to baptize him so hopefully I will get another baptism in a couple of weeks, his name is rogler and he is 12 I think! So the language is still kicking my butt and I am really trying to study but everyone keeps telling me not to sweat it that it comes with time!:) ..... But this week has been good just been trying to stay busy! I will try and write more later but not a lot of time love you all very much and will try and write more later!:) Love Elder Herrin!::)

 March 9th, 2015....It was an okay week a little hard but this week should be better! oh there was a shooting in my area its the second one now and lucky we where inside a investigators house and the shooting was a little ways away! but thats something cool! I am sending pics soon and glad to hear from you.....anyways a busy week for you guys glad to hear all is well! Love Elder Herrin aka Kevin Malone

 Just a few days before this email, we had contacted his mission president to let him know his Uncle Hector had passed away. His President let him call us so he could ask questions and get the reassurance that he needed at the time. It has been a tough month for him, but as you can see he is staying positive.

 March 1, 2015..... And i am doing okay. I fasted yesterday and realized it was probably my first full 24 hour fast so that was awesome! I am doing better really trying to stay busy and what not! I am so grateful for the blessings we have and i love our president he is amazing and helped me so much! ..... I love you very much and am so grateful for this family! So I just wanted to share my feelings about this that I had earlier, I was really mad and just kept asking the question why.. I blamed Heavenly Father for what happened, but as I prayed read and fasted I have come to thank him, it was hard cause I kept running so many things that happened with Maverick and now Hector but I realize now that it has only brought us together as a family! Mom I am going to struggle for a little but I am going to get the blessings this family needs and serve the lord with all I have! I love you very much and thats awesome that they came over for a visit, (Randy and Catherin) just remember to tell them all I love them okay!:)

Thats the mission pres and his wife and thats Elder Javier with me