The Spirit

Some of you may wonder why "The Spirit" is the title of my Letter this week.

I just want to talk about The Spirit/The Holy Ghost...

"The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter." - Lds.org

Well, Our Week was filled of Spiritual Experiences. So, as a District Leader I talk to our Zone Leaders every night Reporting the Key Indicators of my District mates.

Since I started my mission, I treated this as a Spiritual Call Ins.

The Leaders in a mission are called of God, I understood that. And I know this is bad to say..

But since I got transferred to this Zone, I started to dislike the Zone Leaders.

They're Call Ins every night is only to "GATHER THE KEY INDICATORS"

or (get the numbers of our work).

My previous Zone Leaders does not only get our key indicators, they ask How we're doing, (Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, & Spiritually)

For me, that means a lot.

Last night I had the worst Call from our Zone Leaders

The first thing he asked me was, Why are you not calling us Elder? Did you fall asleep? (I had bad things popping in my mind after he asked me that)

I said No!!!, I was talking to one of the Elders in my District for a long time, Because He is struggling with their Companionship, They are having a hard time getting along, and He asked me to gave him counsels So, I willingly did. after sharing that to one of our Zone Leader, He didn't say a thing about that Elder from my district. He just said "Can I get the Key Indicators of your District?"

After hearing that my mood changed, I gave the Key Indicators to him in not a nice tone of voice manner, and He ended our conversation.

I learned spiritually from that experience.

As one of the Leaders of this Mission, I wanted to voice out that No matter what our position is, (Zone Leader, District Leader, Trainer, Office Elder, Sister Training Leader, or Assitants to the President) Always remember that We are all the same, We were set apart by the same Priesthood power, and as Leaders we are to, 

*Know who we are and why we have this calling

*Make sure that our leadership style was not only correct, but also constant.

*Our program should be "Do what I Do", rather than "Do what I Say"

*Make sure that WE ARE A LISTENING and UNDERSTANDING Leaders

*Be a patient,  humble, kind, selfless, pleading, loving leader.

That's in my head right now, Hopefully We can be more like the Savior whenever He calls us to be a Leader.

Also, yesterday was Stake Conference here.

Crazy, because last year I was also in this same stake when they had their Stake Conference. President and Sister Clark came to attend the conference, They gave such wonderful talks!

Sister Clark's talk was all about the Temples, while President Clark was all about being one, as Missionaries and Members when it comes to missionary work.

I have learned a lot! What's more awesome about the conference,

I get to see the members and my converts from my 2nd area!!! They were there!

I was in awe! I miss my 2nd area so much, and I am truly grateful that I had the chance to see them yesterday.

Before this conference happened, Last Saturday, Elder Mecham and I coordinated with one of the member here in our area. Our plan was we hired 2 Tricycles to send us to San Jose for the conference San Jose is like an hour Tricycle ride from our area. We invited the Less Active Family to come with us, and they did not hesitate, they energetically said yes We also have one investigator with us. We sacrificed a lot (especially walking) But it was Fun, and Worth It experience.

I Love my Trainee (Anak) He's amazing! he is doing a wonderful job in his training!

That's all for today...

Love:

_{ELDER ORDEJAN}

Philippines Angeles Mission

Paco Roman Branch

San Jose Zone

"May we ever choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong"

Pictures:

*On our Way to the San Jose Stake Conference

*Members and my Converts from my 2nd area

*Punay Family

Never Surrender!

Hello Everyone!

Today will also be a short letter,

I still need to do District Leader Reports

Anyways, Sister Conchita got baptized last Saturday. She was also confirmed the following day

I have seen her faith grow, Everytime we would see her, Her countenance shines like a Sun, always have a warm smile in her face.

We found 3 new investigators last week, One of them was Sister Alona's brother. She just got baptized last May 7th, and last week she told us that we should also teach her brother.

Just like what Elder Haynie said, Recent Converts are great source of finding new investigators

He accepted the Baptismal Date and is a potetial investigator, He has seen the changes in his Sister. That's one of the blessings when we act on our Leaders counsels.

We were lockdown (started at 4 pm) inside our apartment last monday because of the elections. We are hoping and praying for a good week to come.

Also, last wednesday was our Transfer Announcements meeting.

Good thing Elder Mecham and I are both staying in our area, And I will finish Elder Mecham's training!!! yohoo!

Planned to have 2 Companion Exchanges this week with my District Mates.

I think that is all for today...

Take Care! You are Awesome!

Love:

_{ELDER ORDEJAN}

Philippines Angeles Mission

Paco Roman Branch

San Jose Zone

"May we ever choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong"

Pictures:

*Baptisms

*Neighbor's Dog, Mango Float, and Egg Sandwich

Happy Mothers Day!!!

Well, short letter for today,

I got sick for 3 days, I had my first Smore, I ate a lot of sweets last week.

And, We had a Baptism!!! Alona Jane Gragasin is her name!!!

My companion and i had Fhe in our apartment. hahaha. We had ice cream, smores, brownies, krispy kreme. hahaha. We're gonna die with diabetes...

God doesn't want us to Fail

Hello Everyone!!!

Time is running fast, It is Monday again. How are you? How's your week? I prayed and hoped that you had a good one. We had a good week I guess...

First, one of our investigators passed the baptismal interview! So, she will be baptized on may 7. One of our investigator was also scheduled to be interviewed last Saturday but she wasn't there. She went to the big city(San Jose) for an emergency. Her interview was moved to wednesday (may 4). Yesterday at the Church, She talked to us and asked for forgiveness for not showing up in her interview. I can see that these 2 amazing people will never left the Church. They are enjoying it. They loved the Church, they are engaged in the Church Activities, and sometimes they seem like they're already members. One of them even joined the reactivation activity yesterday. Members in our branch are doing a great job befriending them. I know that the branch is small, the branch auxiliaries may not be functioning really well, but that doesn't mean that we will stop doing our purpose as missionaries, and that is "To invite others to come unto Christ"...

Last Thursday we had our Trainer's and Trainee's meeting in the biggest city (I think) of our mission (Cabanatuan) it's an hour and a half away from our area. The meeting was great! We talked about the training of our trainees and some other useful things to apply in our training. Before it started every trainer and trainee will stand in the front and introduce their Trainer and Trainee to everyone. I almost cried when my trainee said "This is Elder Ordejan the best Tatay(Trainer) in the world! Oh, it is wonderful to hear that from your anak(trainee). I sometimes think and I am not a good trainer but in my Trainee's opinion I was. I remember one time I was saying sorry to him for not being a good trainer. He will just oppose to what I have said. I Love my anak(trainee). He helped me more than I helped him. He will be a great missionary of this mission! (That's for sure!)

Yesterday I think it was one of the best Sunday I've had so far in this area. So, We have been teaching a less active family (Family Punay) since I got in this area. They haven't been to Church for a long time because the Church is 5-6 miles away from them, and the Fare is expensive too. Now, last week Brother Punay told us that he won a bike from a contest. He told us that they can come to Church now because they have 2 bikes now. My trainee and I got so excited after he said that. And we were so surprised seeing them yesterday with their 2 bikes and 2 daughters. They biked 5-6 miles!!! I think they showed Faith from this experience. I love this Family. We have goaled them to be sealed as a Family! I can see that our dream of helping them to be sealed will come true!!!

Also, We lost our phone last Thursday. I testify that Missionary Work is hard without a phone! Hahaha. We have received the consequences. So, every night we try to find someone that is kind to use their phone for a few minutes to report our daily work to our Zone Leaders. Good thing there's a lot of kind people in our area. :)

Our lessons last week was really low. I think we need to focus on planning. Every night we have a lot of names planned to be taught the next day but the results are not good. We will do our best this week to recover. Good thing we were still able to find 5 new investigators. We're just hoping and praying that they will progress.

I think that's all for today...

*Rain Season has started!!! Yay! I Love Rain!

Always Remember, Obedience Matters! and I Love You!!!

_{ELDER ORDEJAN}

Philippines Angeles Mission

Paco Roman Branch

San Jose Zone

"May we ever choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong"

Pictures:

*Punay Family Biking

*Elder Mecham, Me, and Our Krispy Kreme

* Some of our pictures

*Elder Mecham's first Mission Package

Great Responsibilities...

Hello Everyone!?

How's your week? Mine was great!!!

Last Thursday we had exchanges with the Rizal 2nd Missionaries. Elder Mecham stayed in our area with Brother Bosotrus and I worked with Elder Silva in their area. It was a good exchanges. I have met their investigators and the less active members that they are currently teaching. Companion Exchanges are the best! It is a time of learning from other missionaries, a time for showing good example,  and a time for helping other missionaries.

My District had a bad week. Our Key Indicators were really low. I have been thinking or pondering for 4 days now, about what should I do as a District Leader to help my District Mates in their work and areas.  I have come up to an idea to make a District Enhancements Plan and I will present it on our District Meeting on Wednesday. The plan includes enhancement of Obedience, Faith, Charity, Diligence, & of course the Blessings. Looking forward for this. I love my District Mates. They mean a lot to me. I am grateful that they are part of my District.

Well, Elder Mecham and I had a rough week. We've been walking back & forth under the hot sun to teach our investigators, less active members, and everyone that we come & contact with. We even dropped 2 of our Investigators. It is hard for us. I have seen how they accepted the gospel & I have seen how they tried to live the commandments until Satan unleashed his power to our 2 investigators. They just started to hide from us and say that they're busy. And we never get a chance to see them for like a week and a half now. It is indeed a rough week but it was worth it. I have learned a lot of things that I can apply to myself.

Our Branch President yesterday invited us for lunch. He was sharing some stuff that almost made me cry. To all of you, the branch where i'm serving right now needs help. They need leaders. The only auxiliary that is functioning here is our Branch president and clerk. Our branch president cleans the chapel, organizes & makes the program every sunday, & etc. He is worrying right now about the Clerk... because our clerk here is leaving soon. Hopefully he receives help. I have been praying for him. I love our branch president. He deserves heavenly blessings. He is the best.

Yesterday I get a chance to teach in the Sunday School (on the spot), hahahaha,  while my companion is backing me up, with 5 people present in the lesson. I taught Mosiah 4 & 6.

it is fun teaching Members. I enjoyed it.

Now, enough of the negatives. Let's talk about the positives.

Okay, So last Saturday President Clark and Sister Clark gave us a surprise call and said that they will visit us to have our Interviews with president Clark. Elder Mecham and I were so surprised!!! Good thing our apartment is clean. Sister Clark gave us cookies and stickers that day. She gave us a body map so if something is painful we can just easily look at the map and tell her which part hurts. She also checked the safety of our apartment. I love Sister Clark. She is genuine and such a Faith booster for me. President Clark also taught us about spiritual strength... Then we got interviewed by President Clark individually. President Clark asked me to share my testimony of the Godhead and the Atonement, He asked for my Happiness level, He commended me for what I've done in our mission, and He sincerely stated his love for me. This interview was a humbling experience for me. After the interview, President Clark rededicated our apartment. Our apartment was the 57th apartment they have visited so far for 2 weeks, and they still have to visit a hundred house more I guess. They are amazing. They are my heroes. I love them with all my heart.

Also, on Saturday this week 2 of our investigators (Sisters Alona & Conchita) will be interviewed for Baptism!!! Yeah! Elder Mecham and I are so excited!!! We've been praying for them. They have Faith, has repented of their sins, lived the commandments & broken hearts and contrite spirits. We are confident that they will pass the Interview. But we still need your help. Please pray for them too.

Elder Mecham is a fast learner! He learns things really fast!!! I am proud of him. I salute him for his hardwork and effective studies. He is truly a missionary of The Philippines Angeles Mission. Where the finest serves. He is living our Mission Culture, He is doing an excellent job with the language, And he is dedicated to surrender his will, and and lose his self in serving God with all his might, mind, & strength. I can see a big potential in him. He is special to me. He means a lot to me. I love my trainee. Just like one of our companionship inventories. I would always tell him that, and that He can call my name anytime if he needs help. I love listening to his stories and thoughts. He is such a thinker. He thinks a lot that sometimes leads to thinking his family. But he is doing a great job overcoming homesickness. He loves shining our shoes. He is wonderful. I am grateful that I was called to train him.

That's all for today...

Always know that I Love You!!!

_{ELDER ORDEJAN}

Philippines Angeles Mission

Paco Roman Branch

San Jose Zone

"Soon enough you will seek the success you are seeking"

Pictures:

*Sister Clark's Cookie

*My Photography

*Elder Mecham and Me!!!

"When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren"

Hello Everyone!!!

It is Monday again!!! Time is flying by really really faaaast... How's your week? I hope you had a great one. Because We had a great week... We've been workin hard, It is super hard to have members in the lesson for everyone is super busy. Members & Non members, Everyone's at the farm. Just like what I said last monday, The harvest will kill our work. It is also hard to find new people to teach, and for me this is a humbling experience, Diligence, Patience, Hope, Charity, & Faith are the attributes that has been strengthened to me as a Missionary. I am grateful for it.

Last Sunday I forgot to tell you that our Branch President appointed us to teach the Young Men. It's been a while since I taught the Youth Members of the Church. That is one of my calling in my home ward before my mission. I Love talking to the Young Men & Young Women. I miss all the Young Men & Young Women members in my home ward. They strengthened & gave me courage as I prepare for my Mission.  Just like what Elder Andersen said last Saturday Session of the General Conference. He taught us to Help, Serve, & Love the Youth. The Youth needs us. That is so true. President Monson also said that This is a Chosen Generation. To everyone let us follow Elder Andersen's counsel. Love The Youth!

I also Love Elder Ballard's talk last Saturday the Afternoon Session. He gave a profound explanation of how Family Counsel can help & bless each members of the Family. He taught us 4 type of Family Counsel. 1. General Family Counsel 2. Executive Family Counsel 3. Limited Family Counsel & 4. One on One Family Counsel. I can't wait to start this in my Family & my future Family after my Mission. Most of the Leaders spoke or mentioned the words Marriage and Family. President Eyring said that We should prepare to take our Family to the Temple, and He also said that we should make Marriage a Priority. One of my goal right now is to take my Family to the Temple and to be sealed as an eternal family. I am also hoping that I can find my Eternal Companion after my mission. This is my goals for Eternity. I am grateful for the Priesthood of God, It truly helps us to gain happiness & salvation. To all those who live near the Temple, YOU ARE SO BLESSED! I invite you to go to the Temple everyday. The nearest temple to my house is a 12 hour ship ride. The Temples will help us find Peace, Learn more of the Savior, Receive Countless Blessings, Obtain Salvation, & most especially it will help us draw closer to God. I know that the Church is True. We are so blessed to have The Restored Gospel back to our lives.

Well, I think last week was also the most emotional week I've had so far in my mission. My Anak (Trainee) cried 3x last week. He was super homesick & having a hard time learning the language. I cried & mourned with him. I can't say that I don't feel homesick. I know every missionary does. I gave him solid encouragements. I always compliment him in his day by day success & growth. His 1st, & 2nd cry was for his family and the language. After gaining confidence & encouragements that his family will always be safe & that they are always cheering & are proud of him. His 3rd Cry was yesterday, and It's for the Language. He told me that He can't understand the people when they speak tagalog. I told him that he's wrong, I told him that He already have the language. He just need to open his spiritual ears & mouth. I told him that If Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ wants him to succeed so am I. I told him that the language will come soon, because I know that even you're the most fluent Tagalog Speaker, If you don't have the Spirit. It's nothing. I told him that he should remember that it is a conversation of his heart and the heart of the people that he is teaching. I told him that it's not gonna be easy. But it will be worth it. I can see Elder Mecham's Faith growing. He is changing & evolving day by day. After we the counsels & encouragements that I gave yesterday to him. He changed, He changed spiritually. He even had his first Baptismal Invitation yesterday. He was so happy when they accepted his invitation to be baptized. I also told Elder Mecham in our Companionship Inventory that I've seen his strong desire to love & serve the people. He is building relationships with our investigators, less active members, & members here really fast. I can tell that a bond is starting to grow. He is Wonderful.

Also, Last Saturday... Elder Mecham's 1st, 2nd, & 3rd baptism happened. We had 3 baptisms!!! Elder Mecham baptized 2 of our investigators, now recent converts, and I baptized one. They will be confirmed next sunday. It is General Conference that is why they didn't get confirmed. It was a wonderful Baptism. Actually we goaled for 4 baptisms but Sister Angela did not show up. We went to the place where she is working right after the baptism. She told us that she recently had a Family Problem. Their mom left them. It's really sad to know. But we assured her that everything will be fine. Everything happens for a reason. Every thing has it's purpose. And that as she draw nearer and nearer to God, Satan will do his very best to tempt, and destroy us.

So, Angela's baptism was moved to next Saturday...

So far, we are doing great in our area. It is still hard to find people to teach. Harvest is still going on. Hopefully this coming week will be a better week for us...

That's all for today...

_{ELDER ORDEJAN}

Philippines Angeles Mission

Paco Roman Branch

San Jose Zone

"Soon enough you will seek the success you are seeking"

Pictures:

*Baptisms

*Photography

*Momay The Monkey

Trainer, District Leader, Baptisms!!!

Hello Everyone!!!

Last week was unthinkable...

Just like what I told you last monday, Brother Quita my short term trainee finished his term. We had our transfer announcements last wednesday, and guess what!!!? I am again Training!!! Training for the 5th time, So, Thursday was our Transfer Day. Bro. Quita & I woke up as early as 3 am. Why? Our area is super far from the Mission Office! I do not like waking up that early! After our preparations, We started to travel @ 4 am because we need to be in the mission office before 8 am. So, it takes 4 hours to get there. I only had 4 hours of sleep that day. Why? Wednesday night I helped Brother Quita to packed his things. Now, I am starting to dislike Transfer Day... Anyways, Our Zone Leaders last Wednesday announced that I am not just training, I am also the District Leader... Training & District Leader at the same time? What a Big Responsibility for me to handle! They also stated that Paco Roman never had a District Leader to be assigned in their area. I am not bragging this but I break a record. :)

Thursday was our Transfer Day, and despite of waking up @ 3 am and traveled @ 4 am I am still grateful that we arrived on time... I have seen some of my missionary friends last Thursday. The only former companion that I've had that I've seen last Thursday was Elder Hagen (the one  who is originally from New Delhi India Mission) It is so nice seeing him there. He can now speak Tagalog! I was so surprised of that! Because in our time together He doesn't speak Tagalog at all. He also told me that He is now going back to his Original Mission for he already got his Visa. He left the Philippines last Friday. I will miss Elder Hagen, I have learned a lot from that man... And, I am super excited to introduce my Newest Trainee (Anak) to you... He is an American, He is from North Ogden Utah, He is super Health Conscious (doesn't wanna get fat) He just turned 20 last monday, and His name is ELDER MECHAM!!! He is fresh from the MTC (Missionary Training Center) And obviously Paco Roman is his first area... Let me tell you that his batch is the biggest batch in our mission, there is 30 new missionaries for our mission! And He is the only American Elder in his batch. Most of the New Elders are Filipino and there is one Samoan. I really thought that I will train a Filipino again. I was really confident about it. But when our Assistants to the President announced that He's my new Trainee, I was like, No way!!! Hahahaha. After the meeting we went straight to our area. The meeting finished around 1 pm. So, We traveled for 4 hours again. My Anak (trainee) is awesome! We were riding a Jeep back to our area, He started talking to the guy sitting beside him. He was talking to the guy in English, (The guy understands and speaks fluent english) At first they were talking about school, and then Elder Mecham started talking about the Gospel, He even invited the man to come to Church this Sunday. I was really impressed when he did that. And before we end our nightly planning that night I told him about it. He was really happy that I am impressed on what he did. That day We arrived in our area around 6 pm. We have such a little time to work, after we arrived to our beautiful apartment, We went straight to our Branch President's house and I introduced him to our Branch President and some of our Branch Leaders. And visited some of our Investigators and Less-Active Members. Thursday was really a tiring day for me. Friday, was our day for Weekly Planning in this Mission. Weekly Planning takes 2-3 hours. In weekly planning we plan for our goals for the coming week, and the people that we need to teach for the coming week. Elder Mecham haven't tried planning for his coming week before. So it's his first one... I really love doing Weekly Planning. It is truly a Spiritual Creation. The Holy Ghost is the Director of the plan and We are the Workers. In our Weekly Planning for the week of April 4- April 10. We goaled for 4 Baptisms. Elder Mecham wouldn't believe that 4 baptisms can happen in a week. Haha. So, Those 4 people are Angela, Mark, Edison,  and Aries. They were interviewed last Friday, And Yes! They passed the Interview!!! Elder Mecham and I are so excited for them. The Lord truly sent angels to touch the hearts of the children of men. I am grateful that I was called to serve here and in this time. I am grateful to be Elder Mecham's Trainer. I already love him. We are both working with the Spirit. Service, Love, Trust, And Obedience are our strength as a Companionship. He is really doing great in his training. He just needs to learn more Tagalog, But I am grateful that He can already teach a principle of the Gospel in Tagalog. One of our Less Active member here thought that he is old in the mission because of his Tagalog. I also commend him for that. He is really doing great with the language. And there's more, My Anak (trainee) has a lot of Confidence, Faith, and a Big desire to help others come unto Christ. I can see that for our 4 Days together. He sometimes leads OYM'ing or talking to people about the Gospel without me telling him to talk to them. I am so lucky to be with this missionary. What more can I say?

Also as a District Leader I have a big responsibility. And one of them is to Strengthen, Serve, Love, and Teach my fellow missionaries in my District. There's 6 missionaries in my district including us. Rizal 1st and Rizal 2nd are the names of other areas. The missionaries in Rizal 1 are Elder Valdez (my batch-mate) & Elder Lewis, while Rizal 2nd's Missionaries are Elder Silva (my younger brother in the mission he is the last missionary that Elder Armatage trained) & he is also training a Short Term Missionary. We are District 4 of San Jose Zone. 

Anyway, Paco Roman Branch is doing great! We are still trying to cure the problems that I have mentioned last monday. Last Friday we went to Elder Valdez and Elder Lewis' s area to interview one of their investigator for baptism. I interviewed him. Sadly he didn't pass. He is lacking of understanding the commandements and he still needs to strengthen his testimony. His baptism date was moved 1 more week.  Our District needs to focus in Finding New Investigators and OYM's or Testifying to people. I know we can do it! I Love the missionaries in my District! Also, yesterday We had 42 people attended the Church, still low number of people because of the Harvest time. The Harvest of Rice here will kill our work, Everyone is busy! They're at the farm all day long! That is why last week we got punted a lot. But I have trust in the Lord that He will help us find ways to use our time wisely, just like what it says in Jarom 1:3. . .

And also, 10 Investigators came to church yesterday! We were so pumped! Our Investigators now understands the importance of coming to Church! Some of the members here told us that they have referrals for us and Less active members we need to visit this week. We are blessed by this wonderful members and branch leaders helping us here. I am looking forward for more miracles this week. Especially it's General Conference! I am so excited! I challenge you before the General conference happens, to list down some questions that you need to be answers. For sure the talks of our Church Leaders, Beloved Apostles, and Prophet may answer your question.

That's all for today...

_{ELDER ORDEJAN}

Philippines Angeles Mission

Paco Roman Branch

San Jose Zone

Pictures:

*Elder Mecham and Me

(Elder Mecham has a picture of him, with the plate inserted in his waist, why? I was forcing him last night to eat rice for dinner, but he doesn't want to. hahahaha.)

*Power Scrub (General Cleaning)

*My Photography