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

February 22nd 2015

So work has been slow this week, but all the missionaries gathered for a meeting with mission president last month and it hit me recently that he doesn't want me to try and impress him with numbers of lessons and what not, he said that the lord is the one we need to impress in a sense, the lord knows we work hard and knows the area is hard, its just a faith building area and I just need to put in my best effort and he will do the rest, numbers aren't a big deal when you know the lord knows your doing your best! And everyone that has worked in our area knows its a hard area!.... but I also can testify to hymns, they are a great way to invite the spirit and they all tell there own story..... am so thankful for you guys....., love you very much! sending pictures soon, Love Elder Herrin!:) aka Tarzan

these are the boys

this is part of my batch in my zone now.. except my comp in the back

this is the funniest kid ever.. Javier

February 15, 2015

....my back is back and forth it sucks a little but can't complain!.... there are restraunts here that you can eat with chop sticks but usually we eat with a spoon and fork, they use the spoon here like a knife and idk just eat with a spoon mostly! but I switch off between eating with my hands and the spoon! .... its so true the world is so just dumb like people don't get it they judge us but all we promote is to be healthy and love one another, there are people in the church that can be judge mental but one doesn't define them all! and then I have heard a lot about how kids are brain washed and they don't have a choice to be baptized at age 8.. but so many other religions do it at age 0 but they don't get bashed! idk people will always confuse me but I know satan has a role with that! All I know is at this time its so crucial to hold fast and stay in the old ship zion! stay positive and feast upon the words of christ daily! I love this church with all my heart and wouldn't be how I am today with out it! I love you guys and am glad to hear everyone is still okay and doing good! Something that sucks for me is I really wanna see the temple I haven't gone in so long and I can tell how big of a blessing it is to have a temple close, go often and know that you are so blessed to have a temple so close to home and many at that!:) love you guys and miss you always but I will see if there are any new pics I have and see if I can send some! love you all, Love Elder Herrin aka Rod 

these kids are super fun!

 pic is of my batch!

those are some cool Elders on the bus

thats one of my favorite elders!

 

January 25th 2015

Wow that's awesome a baby girl haha two boys two girls that's awesome! (His response to Heather and Russ's new baby) ..... and ya back has been hurting, my lower back I haven't made a big deal out of it but sometimes it bothers me.. I think its stress or something but idk haha!  I will try to take some pics its a nicer apartment but just small! and sometimes my stomach kills like idk but I get the runs haha! the fish we ate there was a couple different kinds but tilapia was one! idk nothing new just taught the kids again in sunday school blessed the sacrament and my talk last week was on the holy ghost or the spirit! Umm some experiences are on Friday we went on exchanges with a new missionary and we got 30 oyms and I realized how good at the language I was so that's awesome but hes an awesome kid hes from Australia and hes Samoan! idk I had fish again yesterday and it wasn't bad but I still am not used to eating it haha! I got a ton of mail and a the package with the candy and CTR rings in it so that's good! and got more good pics so thank you it was awesome to get so much mail in one day and a package haha! I am practicing cooking a little more I still suck but its coming along haha! my comp has been helping with the language and hes a good kid. hes just a little guy haha! anyways Love you send pics soon..  Mahal na Mahal kita, Mahal Si Elder Herrin

this is how big our church is!:)

 well we set up chairs in there, and 40 people come every week! he (his companion) goes home july which seems like a while but its going pretty fast for him!... sounds like everyone is doing good haha I wish I could see everyone growing up but its all good:P And tell taylor when his music video hits I better be in it haha!:)

January 18th 2015

this is beauty and a way nice house!

 

Me holding The Book of Mormon or Ang Aklat Ni Mormon

Its been a great week, I got to give a talk yesterday in our ward branch! ..... investigators are doing so good except she cannot get baptized until she quits this type of lottery gambling! We have taught her about faith, free agency, everything but idk why she just cant, its okay cause i am sure the spirit will help her. Its true she needs to do this for money but I promised her if she puts her faith in christ she will be fine! the area is hard tho.. awesome story yesterday this older guy saw me and my comp but i did not have an umbrella and it was cold and raining so he came over to me and shared his little bit torn umbrella with me and walked with me until we got to the members house.. I love the people here we talked with the guy and he was a born something and his name was JR, but we talked and just a great guy and idk I just can't believe how great and nice this guy was.. when other members of his church saw him helping me they came and said hi to me and just got a ton of oyms! I love people here even when its hard to speak their language! If I was called on this mission to be humbled by such straight up poverty then its working cause Sometimes I am just heart broken! and yesterday also we ate with branch president and had only fish so my nightmare came true haha but its okay I choked it down like a champ haha! I wanna find more service opportunities here! .... I would also ask you to look up Candle of the Lord by boyd k packer.. its a talk that has great meaning to me about the spirit, its worth reading!:) I have tons of pics I need to send home so Mahal Kita, Mahal Si Elder Herrin

Just some paths that looked like good pic spots!

this is like a little store called a tindahan.. its where I do most of my food shopping haha!:)

banana tree!

Transfer to Colamba

January 4th 2015.... Great week! the area is harder but I love it, we meet in a house for church and there are about 30 to 40 members every sunday! I am only in an apartment with me and my comp Elder Magalasang! He is awesome and fun to chill with! so our area doesn't have anything in it, its pretty boring area but we go play ball at a nicer court so its cool! we have 2 investigators here that are getting baptized soon! and it was hilarious I might get to baptize this bigger lady cause I am bigger and stronger haha but she is an awesome and hilarious lady!:) its still about the same poor but where we are living is actually nicer then where we work!....... I am doing good, enjoying my mission so far even though its hard and I am getting skinny haha jk I am trying to do push ups haha! but Love you I will see what pics I have and try to send some! Mahal na mahal kita, Mahal Si Elder Herrin, oh we have a pool in our area but it sucks cause we can't swim haha and we don't have any of those hot springs by us, but we have beautiful areas out here so I will try to get pics of the scenery!:)

thats me in a little farm area

thats me and the big scary cow haha jk I wasn't scared I just didn't want to get close haha

  thats my comp scared of the cow haha so was I cause it kept trying to come towards us!

thats the beast!

January 11, 2015...So I am doing good and the investigators are great but we had to push back because of lottery type gambling and so we got her to stop so it was a miracle! The areas are hard to explain cause there, in Lucena,  we had a big chunk of a city plus like super poor areas by our house, Colamba's not in the city its hard to explain! its more boring because its such a hard area and they don't have as much stuff like at all as Lucena did, I still love the area its just a hard area!...... I miss the Temple so much it sucks not being able to go but I know it will mean that much more to me:) ,,,,, I am learning more and he (my companion) talks to me but sometimes I am like I have no idea what you just said haha!
 Mahal na Mahal Kita, Mahal Si Elder Herrin aka Tarzan