Week of May 29, 2017

Elder Pulley was unable to write for his blog this week.  He is doing well  It was missionary transfer week.  Elder Pulley continues to be one of the Assistants to the President (AP).  I have included some of the pictures this week of the new missionaries orientation and training.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

AP's Elder Olsen and Elder Pulley

President Hiatt welcoming and giving instruction to new missionaries

New Missionaries before interviews 

President Hiatt, Elder Olsen, Elder Pulley and new Cauayan Missionaries

Week of May 22, 2017

Dear friends and family,

I wish to apologize first that I did not write a letter last week. It seems like I have been getting busier, believe it or not! haha. These last weeks have been wonderful and have held many opportunities to learn, grow, and improve.

Last week for instance, President and Sister Hiatt were gone for about six days in Manila to attend the Philippines Area Mission Presidents' Seminar. That being said, Elder Olsen and I were left in charge of the business here, and to teach a meeting on Wednesday for the new missionaries and their trainers on our own. It was the first time I had ever presided at a meeting, and I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive in doing so. However, after much prayer and consideration, the meeting went wonderful and I think all (including myself) were edified. I have really come to appreciate the help the Lord always gives if we just take the time to ask Him for it.

Although there are many other extraordinary things that happened last week, I feel inclined in particular to share another miracle that happened yesterday. After working a lot in the morning to help our investigators get to church, the time finally arrived to do so. As I was sitting in the Sacrament hall, something told me to turn and look towards the glass door entrance. As I did so, I saw a man standing just outside the door that I have not seen in quite a long time, who I least expected to see, peering into the room. His name is Leonardo Tangonan, and if you recall, he was the extraordinarily nice member in my second area who used to drive me home every night from work. I couldn't help but run out to him and give him a great hug as I have missed him much. Ast I looked into his face though, it was evident that something wasn't quite right. After inquiring as to why he was in Cauayan, and why he looked so sad, he opened up to me and started to cry. Brother Tangonan pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of his son, James, who I came to be close to in Baluarte. He is now 16 years old and is one of the  many that I have adopted as a brother while I have been on the course my mission. As I looked at his current picture though on Tatay's phone, I could hardly recognize him. His face is swollen severely and discolored. 

Tatay Tangonan explained that James has Lupus, an apparent rare disease which will require James to get treatment at St. Luke's hospital in Manila, a task too large for his humble wallet. Tatay had felt prompted to drive from Santiago to Cauayan to get help regarding his situation. Then, as he walked into the church he said the Spirit told him to look into the Sacrament hall through the glass doors, just as I turned to look at him.

 Although I was not immediately able to solve his problem, I was able to use a large medical book we have here to give him information on the disease and had President Hiatt contact his Stake President to help get him financial support. I was also privileged to be able to give him some instruction as to what he can do to receive help, which he graciously accepted. I only hope and pray, and wish to enlist your prayers as well, that his humble son will be healed of his sickness.

Yesterday was just another day in which I stood back in awe at how the Lord works. What if I had not looked at the door right when Tatay had walked in the church? What if he had not followed the prompting to look into the Sacrament hall? It is amazing how significant the decision to follow simple promptings becomes when you look in retrospect. I dare say that the decisions to follow the simple promptings of the Spirit will lead us right into the celestial kingdom. "[For] behold, I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass...and the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes...[to] bring about the salvation of many souls" (Alma 37:6-7). I am grateful that Tatay and I listened to ours yesterday. There is no greater feeling of fulfillment. 

This week there is transfer day and I am still staying put here in Cauayan! I feel it is very safe to say that this is my last area, for which I can't complain. I am enthused to serve wherever I am needed.

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Pulley

Week of May 8, 2017

Dear friends and family,

It is hard to believe that yet another week has come to pass. Time really does seem to fly! This last week, Elder Olsen and I were able to witness many miracles in our ministry for which I am delighted to share with you.

Last Thursday, we were blessed to have another Missionary Leadership Council (MLC) meeting here in Cauayan, a meeting held once a month. Though the meeting went wonderfully, for which we are blessed to say is typical, the preparation we had for the meeting was unique in nature. As of late, President and Sister Hiatt have been extraordinarily busy. With only one counselor, President Hiatt has been conducting many interviews and various meetings around the mission. That being said, there was essentially no time for him and Sister Hiatt to sit down and think about what we should teach at the MLC. In result, Elder Olsen and I were assigned to consider the needs of the mission, pray, and receive revelation regarding the topics that should be taught. So, rather than Elder Olsen and I being assigned by the Hiatt's to each a particular topic, we recieved guidance and suggested to them which topics they teach. I must admit that I felt a little uncomfortable doing so, but I am thankful for the opportunity we had to witness how the Lord gives guidance, even when it has to do with a meeting effecting the whole mission.

In addition, among many other wonderful experiences, there is one I feel fit to share with you, perhaps an experience I will never forget. Yesterday morning (Sunday) while Elder Olsen and I were doing our personal study, we received an interesting call from Sister Hiatt regarding one of our missionaries, named Elder Tuwai. Elder Tuwai is a young missionary from Fiji and is one of the nicest elders I have ever met. It is really hard not to love him and his humble smile is simply contagious. However, to our dismay, he fell off a coconut tree last Thursday and ruptured his spleen, hurt his wrist, and was in bad shape to say the least. After having his spleen repaired and other organs checked, he was still bleeding a little bit by Sunday morning, which warranted Sister Hiatt's call.

Here in the Philippines, whenever an individual is in the hospital and is in need of care, that individual or his family must personally buy the needed items and give it to the nurses to use. Last Sunday, however, Elder Tuwai was in need of a rare blood type, and there was none to be had in the whole city of Santiago, where Elder Tuwai and the Hiatt's were located. Our assignment last Sunday was to locate some this type blood in one of the hospitals here and drive it down to Santiago.

With a quick prayer and with some anxiety, we headed out to the first hospital we know of in Cauayan. They didn't have any. As I sat down and wondered if we would even be able to acquire some blood of such an abnormal type, I heard a voice in my head telling me to be calm, as He was in charge and would take care of His servants. With that statement ringing in my ears, we headed out confidently to the next hospital to find that they had just received two units of the blood from Ilagan (a city to the north), the exact amount Elder Tuwai needed, for which we were able to deliver to the hospital in Santiago.

As I shared my testimony later that day at church, I said something I would like to share with you. Before I left my mission, I had strong faith that God lives and that this is His church. But, through the experiences I have had in my mission, that strong faith has become knowledge. I have seen too many evidences of those truths to ever doubt.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Pulley

MLC Conference

Arriving at the Hospital

Visiting with Injured Missionary

Week of May 1, 2017

Dear friends and family,

I have once again been blessed with an extraordinary week full of great experiences that I am enthused to share! As I currently ponder over the many activities I engaged in this last week, the first thing that pops into my mind is our  zone conferences! We had three amazing zone conferences last week with some wonderful topics. Particularly, we discussed the classic talk by President Benson, "Beware of Pride" and the Book of Mormon. Personally, I had the privilege of teaching about how we can use the Book of Mormon as members and missionaries alike to respond to objections It was absolutely fun! I enjoyed being able to facilitate learning regarding the Book of Mormon thoroughly. Truly, no matter what question or objection may enter into our minds or the minds of those around us, the only true question we need to resolve is whether the Book of Mormon is true or not. All other questions or objections are predicated upon whether the Book of Mormon is scripture. After this week of discussion, I am even more grateful for my knowledge that it is true.

In spite of our very busy schedule this last week, Elder Olsen and I were still very blessed to have time to work in our area, teaching some very amazing people. We are having some outstanding experiences completing families in the church and helping them become closer to one another and ultimately the Lord.

The most wonderful experience I had this last week though has to do with a letter. After our zone conference located in Ilagan, a missionary serving in my first area (Cataggaman), handed me a letter. After looking at the outer face of the envelope, I came to find out that it was from Nanay Malazzab. I'm not sure if you remember who she is, but if not, I am happy to refresh your memory.

Quite a long time ago, when Elder Vicente and I were companions, we had the privilege of helping reactivate a less active, Nanay Malazzab, a mother of seven children. After working to reactivate her, we set out teaching her husband, who we were able to baptize, her second son, who I was able to baptize, her fourth son, who Tatay Malazzab was able to baptize, and also worked to help her older son to prepare for a mission, who is now serving in the San Diego, California Mission. In the letter she wrote to me, she gave me some of the most wonderful news I have ever received while in the course of my mission. 

According to the letter I received from Nanay Malazzab, her family will be traveling down to the temple today so that she and Tatay can receive their personal endowments and then be sealed together with their family for all eternity.

The knowledge that those I have baptized have been able to get to this point is a wonderful feeling, but what is even more wonderful is knowing that their family that I have come to love so much will be together forever. One scripture I have come to love regarding marriage while in the course of my mission is found in Doctrine and Covenants section 132, wherein the Lord informed Joseph Smith that "if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by [Him} nor by [His] word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world." 

Truly, as almost all Filipinos can quote in English, our civil marriage is only valid "till death do us part." However, as I have talked to hundreds if not thousands of people about how they would feel if their family was no longer their own in the next life, the answer has almost been unanimous; their happiness would not be complete without the companionship of their family. It always brings be great joy to say, just as I said to the Malazzab family those many months ago that families can indeed be together forever. I feel there is no greater doctrine

Other than that, all is going really well, just very busy! I love being a missionary and serving the Lord in this capacity. I have never had a greater experience.

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Pulley

Elders Olsen and Pulley training at Zone Conference

Zone Conference

Zone Conference Lunch

Elder Pulley and Elder Palacio