Elder Steve Brousseau in Laoag, Philippines

Wow. The first week of training is sort of done and what a week it was. So the title is because that happened a few times this week. We would go to people's houses and they would see 2 Americans and heard me speak Tagalog but only saw the 2 Americans so they told us to come back when we have a translator. Do I look like the Tatay of this elder? I think we look close enough to be related. We are getting the 2001 babies now which blows my mind for some reason. If any of you know the Hawks (aka Adrienne and Darcy) Elder Peterson, my new trainee, is their cousin! That was crazy to find out. Anyway, we are learning a lot together. One thing I have learned this week that I feel impressed to share with you is that God will make you equal to anything He calls you to do. I have felt so inadequate to be a District leader and a trainer at the same time but as I have been going about my duties, I have been able to see the strength of the Lord in my life. It has been a really cool growing exper...

This is Elder Saberdo. He's my new companion here in Ballesteros. He's great! Now that you know him, I can get to my week. A lot happened but mostly we just visited the members this week so that they could meet Elder Saberdo. We also met this Nanay on Saturday night and just kind of invited her to church. The member we were working with that day waited until after our conversation to tell us that she is crazy. On Sunday, she came to church and started asking people for money and apparently, later after we left, she started calling people devils and went hysterical so one of the members called the police. So that was super fun. But, on another note, my companion has a super strong testimony so our lessons have been going great! I'm excited for this next week! I hope you all had and will have a great week! I love you all and I know that God has a plan for you! He will help you through anything you have a problem with if you just pray to Him!

*Editors note: This week, you'll see his last two emails* Sunday, June 23, 2019 This week was crazy but not like really busy crazy, more like fry your brain crazy. It's hard to explain so I won't try but I will tell you some things about this week. So this week, we didn't have baptisms scheduled but we were able to attend the baptisms of the other Elders in our district and not only that, President Peterson was there! He was here for interviews but stayed for the baptism. We had a funeral we were invited to attend for a member as well as one of our investigators passed away. That was crazy because we had talked to him the day before. So that was a bit rough. I just find solace in the fact that now he can be taught by some of the most experienced missionaries ever. Anyway, none of the lessons we had this week are really standing out to me but it was a good week. I have been reading Jesus the Christ in my studies recently and I am just in awe of how many years it too...

So Happy Father's Day to all those fathers and future fathers out there. Also, Happy Birthday Kenzie! This week has been a lot better so thank you for all the prayers that you may have sent my way! We had some great experiences this week but the highlight for this week was for sure Friday and Saturday. Friday, we had the baptismal interview for Maricel and she, obviously, passed so that was super cool then we went to another appointment with the Ulibas family. This is just a sweet Nanay and her son that have been super welcoming to us. That is actually where that picture with the Buko(coconut) came from. We taught them Lesson 1 and the spirit was so strong. It was one of those lessons where I was speaking words in Tagalog that I didn't know but I just threw them out because they felt right and it ended up being the right sentence structure and the right words so even my companion was surprised afterwards by how much Tagalog I spoke. But the lesson went great and they received ...

Guess what?! I'm getting transferred! I know I sound happy about it but I have mixed feelings. I know it is where I am meant to go, I'm excited, but I also know I will miss Pasuquin and the people that make it great. It feels like I am going to be leaving my home all over again. We good though! I think this experience will truly be for my good! Also, I can brag that I out lived 5 sisters in Pasuquin! So this week, we had our interviews with President Peterson and I realized while we were there that I feel so comfortable talking with them so I was happy to find that out about myself. It was a good interview.  We also had another great lesson with someone Elder Dagulo and I found last week so that was awesome! Sisters Autufuga and Mariano are going home and I am going to Cagayan! I'm going specifically to an area called Ballesteros. I am not only transferring but also becoming the senior companion! That is super crazy for me. Elder Dagulo is going to have Elder Peterson (a ...

Happy Mother's Day! This was a disagreement my companion and I had this week but we found out that we were both right. That was nice to hear that I am starting to be able to recognize words I don't even know yet. I know the word now though thanks to this. I say a disagreement because while we can't agree on everything, we both try to stay civil and we try not to argue. It really helps for us to listen to each other's position so maybe we can find a compromise.  Anyway, my week has been great! It's been raining a lot here in Pasuquin and some of the people we are teaching have really been engaged in our lessons. I was able to talk to my Mom yesterday which was so fun! The members are always so willing to help us with food or lessons and many other things! They really are trying to be representatives of Christ in all they do. It really is amazing to me the people that just come up to talk to us. We were eating the other day and were about to leave when this guys mot...