6 months human na... walay claro

hello there. thanks for tuning in to read this email. if you are currently reading this know that i love you and am so grateful for everything that you have done for me. every one of you has had an effect on my life and mission.

WELL... i am kind of sad right now because i am already 1/4 done with my mission, but am happy with the success and the blessings i have received until this point. the work is so great here in Siaton. the members are all so supportive of the missionary work here and are always willing and ready to help with referrals and being present for lessons to investigators. i really love all of the people here!! last night we had a family home evening/birthday party for a tatay in the branch who is a convert of one year. it was so much fun!! the food was so yummy that we ate and we played some games that were super fun too. the best part though, was that we taught a lesson about the temple, and how we always need to have our focus pointed towards it. i was also able to exhort tatay Romero and his wife to prepare now to be sealed for time and all eternity so when his wife hits her one year mark (july 2) they can enter into that covenant. so special and exciting!!! it was also great because their son, who is not a member, was present for the lesson and the whole activity. it was so much fun and the spirit was really strong as well. my life is so great being a missionary. it is really hard at times, but i know in my heart that the reward is indescribable and so much greater than the sacrifice. it is so awesome having the many promises directly from heavenly father to us through the Book of Mormon, and other scriptures. i love the fact that the knowledge i have gained through the holy ghost concerning the eternal welfare of us all can be a motivating factor in being diligent and obedient as a missionary. i really love this special time i have here, and with only 18 months left to go it is crunch time to teach and preach to as many people as i possibly can. thanks for all of the prayers and love i feel that keeps me going every day. stay firm in the faith. i know god lives and loves us all. Jesus Christ is the redeemer of all mankind. Don't ever forget that.

much love, Elder DeSchepper

Difficult but Good

My heart is full of joy for all of the love that i feel. I feel good about everything going on here in the mission. I have been realizing how difficult it really is to train a new missionary. Elder Plandiano is literally brand new to the church as well as missionary work and so it is tough and trying on my patience sometimes but i really love him. His story is so amazing and it is sad sometimes when he only can email his brother because his family is like 2 hours away from a computer. We are so lucky there in America. I had no idea. We are going to cebu later today for a training tomorrow and i really want to buy him a nice quad. He only has an old triple from a missionary back home and a mini bible that is falling apart. So i think he would really appreciate it and i know he will never forget to read. I love him. haha even though sometimes i seem on edge. But that is part of having a companion. I feel good about the work, it is going good with bringing back inactives but it is hard and sad when they still don't go to church. oh well just gotta keep going. i have been learning some Tagalog because we have investigators who we are teaching in Tagalog... it is so hard. i can only speak a little but i am learning. so that is fun. but thank you so much for the package!!!! so awesome. The Garcia's and members loved the chocolate. Tell everyone i say hello and that i love/miss all of them. Give them all big hugs and kisses for me. Well that is pretty much it for now. I love you all, yes i do. I am so happy that we are sealed as a family forever :) Keep the faith.
Much love, Elder DeSchepper

The Work in Siaton

Everything is going good. Being pretty much in charge of the branch, and the area is difficult, but we are pressing on. We are starting to find a lot more success in the inactives which is great. Last Saturday we had a family home evening at a less active family's house, and now two of their sons are starting to prepare for missions. It is so cool and i just love seeing these people remember their covenants and want to come back to church. We have had so many people working with us, like yesterday there were 8 of us that went around teaching less actives. There is one sister, sister Conde, she is so great. She is always sharing the gospel, and wanting to find people for us to teach. She's a better missionary than i am. But everything is going good with my companion. He is really funny, super smart, and is great with people. He always wants to help others, and he is becoming a really great missionary. We had another small flood/storm last night, but it is all good nobody died. haha Well i am having a lovely time serving here. Sorry i don't have that much else to say. Hope everyone there is doing good!! Love you all.

Elder DeSchepper

New Companion

family :)

I have been so blessed to be here on my mission. my new companion is Elder Plandiano from Zambales Luzon Olangapo. he is a recent convert of 2009, and is the only member in his family. He is actually half American. His father served in the us navy and met his mom when he was stationed here at Clark base. Sadly, his father left them when he was 2 years old, and he had not had any contact since. It is okay though he knows that one day they will meet again. He is so smart and has been learning Visayan so fast!! At first it was difficult to communicate with him but it is good now because he understands a lot of what i say to him. Not going to lie this training business is tough work, and i am dead tired at the end of every day. I guess that is good though because we are working hard.

last Thursday the Conde family was sealed for time and for eternity in the Cebu temple. the service was so special and the spirit was pure and strong. i had the excellent honor and privilege to be a witness along with Elder Taylor. the happiness that was brought into the lives of this family is so special and i know if it weren't for the church, and for the knowledge we have, we could not be truly happy. i am truly happy here and am having the best time of my life. working hard, being diligent, and always trying to help others come unto Christ is my purpose here as a missionary.

Yesterday the missionaries here assigned on Negros island were gathered together for a special meeting with president Schmutz and Elder Ardern from the area presidency. We were each interviewed by Elder Ardern and it was so great. He told me to shine my shoes lol, but i feel so much more of a desire to serve and be obedient because of his guidance and words. I love my mission and i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, even when there are earthquakes and tsunami warnings that could possibly kill a lot of people. I love the people here and the food, and this language is just so special to me.

I know the church is true. that the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints is the lord's living kingdom on the earth today. It is guided by a living prophet and is headed by Jesus Christ himself. this is the truth and the way. No words can describe my happiness because of this knowledge. Be true in the faith and always pressing on. Like Joseph Smith said, "shall we not go on in such great a cause?"

much love, Elder DeSchepper

Trainer

Hey, This week has been so crazy for the mission. Like 9 missionaries have been sent home (with more to come) and President is really cleansing the inner vessel of our mission. The missionaries were doing horrible things-some really bad stuff. I know satan is working hard but i am always working harder. We had our p-day switched to today just for this week because transfer day was yesterday. Some good news... we had an amazing baptism this past Saturday and just so spiritual and beautiful. There were four of them and all are amazing people. Hopefully 3 of them will serve missions as well, and they are planning to go to the temple in Cebu for baptisms in April. Some sad news...Elder Taylor is transferring, but it is okay. He is a new zone leader in city zone in Cebu and the temple is in his area. so great for him. Some scary news... my new companion is a new missionary from the MTC. I am training him, and so i am still in Cebu until later because they haven't arrived yet. I should meet him in a few hours. So yeah i will be tested a lot with the language and helping this new elder be an effective missionary. It is really a scary thing, but i am happy that President Schmutz has trust in me to take care of my new companion. Some great news... the Conde Family from my branch are going to be endowed at 3 and then sealed right after. Iit is going to be a special experience, and a strong testimony builder. I am really nervous about training, but it is okay because i know that the lord will be right by my side helping me and my companion be the best we can possibly be. So my week has been long and i just want to get back to my area and go to work. It is very different just having to wait and sit around for a few days. But i am excited for where my mission will take me from here. Thank you all for the love and support i feel continually, and the prayers that help guide and protect me. I love you all and i hope everything is well with each and every one of you.
Elder DeSchepper

note: We sent an email the same time he was emailing us. Don't worry, he did get it.

Hey family.

Everything is going really good and the work is great!! A lot has been happening in my life as a missionary, and I am moving forward with faith following the example of my Savior. I am kind of sad that I did not receive an email from you folks today, but I know how busy you all are. Just know I look forward to hearing about everyone and everything. You know missionaries love mail...(Proverbs 25:25) but anyways I am doing fantastic. Just doing work, and preparing for my next companion. It is pretty sure that elder Taylor will be stepping up to zone leader next week, and I will have a different companion next Friday. It is kind of scary, but I am ready for it. It is the time that my mission as a true missionary will begin. Just having all of the training I need as a missionary be finished and be on my own able to hold my ground is what I am striving for. It is funny because elder Taylor thinks my next companion will be super bugoy (disobedient) and that it will be really hard for me. I just know that I will not tolerate it if he tries to disobey because that is a companion's job. Ughh I am kind of stressing but it is all good. Just a lot of things going on. Well I still love all of you and I am having such a wonderful time here. I really feel close to my savior and I feel his love all around me. Yesterday there was an experience in which I really felt protection. So we were riding a bus home from Bayawan because there were baptismal interviews there and this bus was air con and usually on the air con buses they play movies. It was the only one we could ride though because we had to get to an appointment. So this movie was horrible. Rated R and so I was looking out the window or trying to sleep the whole time. We were about 5 kilometers from Siaton and I was looking out the window. I was thinking about my life and purpose as a missionary, and decided that I am going to do my best and not disgrace those whom I am representing. All of a sudden something came at the window, and it just hit really hard right at my head where I was looking out. The crazy thing is though that there was nothing that hit the window. Elder Taylor and I felt like it was Satan or some evil thing trying to get at us. The whole window was cracked and I was freaking out. I knew it was the adversary trying to get at us. Thanks to our obedience we were protected and the lord watched over us. It was such a great experience that I think has shaped what the rest of my mission will be. I am so glad I wasn't like watching the movie because if I was the window probably would have shattered and I could have been injured really badly. Literal craziness. I am so happy though that we were protected. It is so great and was such a testimony builder. Also we have a baptism on Saturday. Four adults are coming into the church. Three of which could quite possibly serve missions. It is actually highly likely. That is seriously the best convert!! One that goes on a mission after converted. Well things are all good here. Loving everything. It is crunch time though. I am still working on the language but it is coming along just fine. Well I love all of you and am so grateful for the support you all give me. Stay strong and remember to never forget that this life is for man to prepare to meet god. Let's not waste it.

Much love, Elder DeSchepper

NOT ABLE TO EMAIL EVERYONE

Jake hasn’t been able to write a mass email to everyone the last two weeks but wanted me to send his love to all of you. I thought I would share some excerpts from what he sent to me.

Mom!!
We were walking home the other night, and I was thinking about putting up the Christmas stuff with you. I got a little teary eyed, but I looked up at the stars and I just felt peaceful and happy. But it’s all good. Things are great here. I am so happy that Isaac’s baptism went well, and that makes me happy. We had a baptism last Saturday as well so in a way I felt like I didn’t miss Isaac’s special day.

But yeah so I will be able to Skype for Christmas. My companion and I are thinking Monday morning here like early. We don’t know what time exactly yet but I will let you know next week. So the mail gets to me from when the zone leaders or whoever goes to Cebu or when president comes here to our island. I got your package!!!! Thank you so much the food is so yummy. Oh and my companion loves you!!

So we eat some sort of fish pretty much every day here with rice. And sometimes we eat baboy (pig) that can be cooked tons of different ways. People here do whatever they can to buy food for their families. Fishing, driving pot-pots(little tricycle things that you can ride around town), sell or fix motorcycles, there are tons of bakery places too. There are some good treats, these things called quakes. kind of like a type of little debbies that we get every week. And we get bread a lot. It is so good here. The market here is called a chungy and it smells. I don’t really like walking through it because it reeks of fish, but yeah sometimes we walk through if we need eggs or oil or something. But every p-day we come to Dumaguete to do our grocery shopping at a grocery store called Robinson's. It’s cool.

Sometimes I drink the water, but mostly it is just from our house. We have a filter for our sink which is good. I never really got diarrhea or anything too bad. There are a lot of mosquitoes and cockroaches and little lizards everywhere, but not too bad.

I am in a branch, and we had like 55 people at church last Sunday. We are really working hard to reactivate less and inactive members but it is hard work. It is good though.

Everything is so great here!! My comp and I are working hard even though our branch is struggling. There is no budget for any activities... even a Christmas party. So we don’t get to really do anything like that with our branch members. It’s so sad because our branch is probably one of the poorest in the mission. And we might not have a very merry Christmas in Siaton.

I’m working hard to help the branch progress. So the training in Cebu was good. We learned more about how to progress as missionaries after the adjustment. To become real effective missionaries. That is my goal. My mission president is so awesome. We had a Christmas program/devotional/party for Negros Island and elder Pasikala and I performed a musical number, away in a manger. He played on a little guitar thing and we both sang. Then pres Schmutz gave us fist bumps when we sat down. He is just like a father/bro/greatest mission president ever. I love him! But yeah things are good.

Because here I realize how much I took for granted back home. Just be happy we have shoes r clothes or underwear or soap and food. It is so different here. But the gospel is true and I know it will help those who listen to the call of their father in heaven. I love being here and being able to be the instrument in the lords hands in which his children may attain life eternal. It is so great.

Thanks for being such a cool family, and being active in the lord's church. It is so great. Well I love you all so much and am so excited to Skype on Christmas!!

gugma gikan ang akong kasingkasing, Elder DeSchepper