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My first area and companion

OK where do i start? Well I think Sister Anderson has told you about us saying goodbye and leaving each other and photos and all. 

But I'll start from where its easy because the computers here are so super slow. 

Hopefully I can put photos in OK, Well the flight over was very long. When we stopped in Japan, we bumped into the first ever missionary that served in the Philippines which was a choice experience.

He was going over to help with the typhoon!!,

When we arrived in Manila. We walked outside the airport and the HEAT HIT ME SO BAD!! 

Its so hot here!! So we stayed in a hotel for like an hour then needed to catch our plane to Bacolod in three hours.  I said goodbye to my companion and district hoping Tacloban would open back up!!! We flew to Bacolod where our president greeted us which was cool! He's a very on to it man a so super nice, He said kia ora to me!! We went to the mission home and had our opening orientation then he called me into his office for an interview.  He said my companion was Elder Burnett an American, who is a good missionary with the language and everything!!! Then he said Im in the Bukid area, which is mountains!! 

He said their turning this area into a stake and he sends only good missionaries there.

I then met my companion, hes super cool and on to it, Im grateful for him and show it in my prayers everyday!!! So then we caught a 4 hour bus drive to a place called STOP Alginado!!! its called this because there's this big stop area for cars and stuff. Sorry im trying to write fast. 

Anyways, first day I get a sore stomach, spewing up, sore throat, fever and everything for 3 days!! it was a killer first three days!!

Its so humid and sticky here. Then we went to our flat and ohhh my family!! Hahaha the worst place i have ever seen in my life. It's known as one of the worst flats in the mission!! 
So my first experience here wasnt the best family!!  When I felt a little better we went out and taught less actives. I can see what Jeremy meant by his love for the people . They are so nice and giving and they have barely anything. The little kids, some the same age as Pepe, they always laugh at me when Im trying to speak the language but I enjoy it!! At the same time Ive never seen so many people stare at me when I walk through the streets and in the mountains,lol!

So Im picking the language up here and there. A 13 year old Phillipino called Dantley Brabatadada was getting baptized the and we arrived  and we went to his house and gave him a lesson and this was the first time i met him and he wanted me to baptize him!! 

At first i thought he was joking at first, but he wanted me to, so I had been here 3 days and I had my first ever baptism!! it was so special to be able to do that for him!! 
Ive gained a good relationship with the boys around my age, they like me and help me with the language!!  The older ladies I think like me too and they laugh about the way I speak. Then the next day I had to bear my testimony in Cebuano!! It was a little scary at first but i thought i did well!

They thought that my language was so good that they thought this is my second transfer which was really nice of them!!! I loove it here - you don't have to worry!! 

Im doing fine with my fan on me every night - the whole night! Haha its my favourite thing!!  I love you Sister Anderson and I miss you like crazy!! I  look at our leaving photos everyday:):)

I would say the whole culture shock really hit me at first, but Im good now!! My companioins real, real protective of me!! It was a good wee.

I love you, and I'll write next week:) love you mum and awa thanks for that inspiring message, tell my nieces  I love them and my future ones. Love you MUM!!!! AND DAD AND ATA and I hope Ata has a  good time in the states:):)

Elder Anderson:)

PS  Please tell everyone that I appreciate their letters so much. I love them all, but don't have time with the computer to write to everyone.

Arrival in Bacolod Mission

Hey Dad and Mum, Elder anderson here, Ive made it to Bacolod!! im finally here after a long trip!! my mission president is the nicest person dad, Its super duper hot and i meet my companion tommorow , He's American!!

So lets see how this goes.  I said bye to Sister Anderson at the MTC which was awesome. Sad but its alright!! We flew to Japan then to Manilla - stayed at a hotel then said goodbye to everyone that was in my zone at the m.t.c. sad but when tacloban opens back up, I may be still on my mission and see them again, 

Im doing fine so no need to worry, Im in a Cebuano speaking part up north in Bacalod, which is good!! i Think its Escalante which is up north. 

Ill write to you next p.day okay!! And I'll send some photos of our last days in the MTC!! Love you have a good week.!! 

My mailing address: 

Elder Teina Anderson

Phillippines Bacolod Mission

P.O Box 660

Lacson &  Galo Streets

Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

Philippines 6100

This is my mail, so you can send mail!! 

Love you guys

Tacloban : Nov 14 and 15

MUM and DAD im not kidding you at all! Im serving in Bacolod mission, ilawkano speaking, so i have to learn a new language, I asked if we would have a chance to go back to Tacloban, he said less likely but MAYBE???? Man these photos of the devastation make me sad dad... I will serve the Lord whereever I go dad!!! 

Im super happy right now, all the islanders in my class are going to different missions, and me and the two Americans are going to Bacolod. I cant believe all this has happened!! and the storm to hit my mission out of 21 missions isnt a coincidence. I love you mum and dad, and I havent told sister anderson yet!! tell everyone back home okay dad, and say thanks for all the letters from Jash, Aunty Sal,  Khalid Gilbert, , my Tacloban group are huddled around me looking at these photos of Pepe. Love you mum and dad!!

Im back

DAD our tacloban missionaries just got all the information from the PRESIDENT of the MTC.... so he sat me and my companion down   and he said the first presidency have discussed where we are to serve because theres no water and disease in Tacloban and they have shut the mission down for good. He said MAYBE they will open it back up one day and we will be able to serve there one day.

Mum and Dad.   FAST news, I had a wisdom tooth aching for a week this week and I went to the dentist and got all four wisdom teeth pulled out!!  Just in case I had achings on my mission. 
I went straight to class after it and every body couldnt believe I was totally fine. I had an ice pack on my face the whole day tho.

Elder  L.Tom.Perry came to the MTC . He talked about companionships and unity , so for sure I wouldnt miss that. My mouth is fine now still a little sore but fine. 

OKAY so my mission, im the travel leader and my Tacloban group leave next Monday, 6:00 in the morning so Ill see sister Anderson for the last time in the devotional that Sunday night. So we fly to japan then from japan to Maillla. 

There a mission president will split all us Tacloban elders into both south and north missions, I think either Manilla and Cebu?? So yes i may learn how to speak Tagalog for the time being, but i have some teachers that went to Tacloban and they can speak fluent waray waray, cebuano and understand tagalog so hopefully I can learn Tagalog and speak to Jeremy, 

Well thats my goal anyways but apparently some missionaries that were already in Tacloban have got reassigned fully to a different mission, so yes Mum and Dad hopefully I get to serve in Tacloban because I want to serve these beautiful people, but I dont mind where i end up!!

 L.Tom.Perry also spoke of the missionaries in Tacloban.Elder Tira And Esaiah made it here and Im grateful for them.

Love Elder Anderson.

Hey Dad and Mum,

Another week passed and gone, time flies way way way too fast for me and my companion to even catch up!!

Thanks for the letter Dad, I know you would have given Aunty and Uncle my love. They’re in my prayers every single night. In language class I was finding it a bit hard, I was frustrated this whole week.  We teach two investigators, (they’re our teachers but they act like investigators) and all they do is speak Cebuano back to me. It’s so frustrating because me and my companion prepare a whole lesson, but when they have questions, and they reply in Cebuano REALLY fast, we don’t have a clue what he was saying! Which is so so frustrating cause I know I know some basic doctrine in English, but everything’s in a different language.

So me and my companion were in the room, thinking what we could do to improve, with our own class time or wherever we could think of.  We came up with ideas, and one I said was, we should read the BOM in Cebuano. I thought it was an idea my companion would not be interested in, but he was keen to do it. So we had a goal to read 1st Nephi by the time we leave. (This is reading all in Cebuano by the way.)  We read the first day and I said lets aim to read the whole Book of Mormon in Cebuano before we leave.  He said ye, hah, so that means we have to read 40 pages a day because there are 800 and something  pages in the Cebuano BOM!  40 pages for the next 20 days till we head out to the field. We completed our goal in two days and finished 1st Nephi!  We are going hard and on to 2^nd Nephi. ANY spare time we get, we both read. We read out loud one page each.

Now, the blessings!  I’ve noticed a huge difference in my vocab and understanding and especially my vocab. Yesterday we taught the plan of salvation kaluwasan (plan of salvation) all in Cebuano and could actually know what the investigator was saying in reply which is a huge blessing and I’m grateful for the Book of Mormon!

That’s my story of the week, because I need to write to Dallin, so I’m quickly writing because me and my companion are going to chuck a wash load in, and I need to write to my Nans.

I love it here, it’s a huge blessing being here!!  The foods tasting ALL the same and I  miss the food back home.

This weeks challenge for you guys as a whole family, is to meet someone random,  maybe in the supermarket or wherever, and look at them in a way that respects that they chose the exact plan we did when we were all in the pre-mortal life. Look at them in a way that you know they are also a child of God, and speak to them in a way that can give them the option to partake of the fruit of our gospel. You will feel happy inside that you have reached out to one of God’s children.

Tell Polly I love her letters also Te Awa!! And can you tell Aunty Sally and Jeannette thanks for the letters! I don’t have enough time to reply back to their mails but just let them know what I have said.  That’s all for now!

Love yah, 

Elder Anderson