Week of February 1, 2016

Dear family and friends,

I would like to start this email by sharing a cool experience with you that I had this last week! As I was walking to an appointment, I saw an American man driving a motorcycle! It was the first non-missionary American I had seen in a long time, so I was a little excited. However, I felt that I needed to talk to him. I just didn't know how, as he was on a motorcycle riding in the opposite direction. So, I said a little prayer. I told God that I knew I needed to talk to that man, and asked Him for the opportunity to do so. Sure enough, after about 20 seconds, the man appeared on his motorcycle, and slowed down to talk to me. He simply told me that he appreciated what we do, and pulled 500 pesos out of his pocket and his hand out for me to take it. I didn't want to, but he insisted. As I took the money, he told me to "buy a good lunch" and began to drive away. I told him a quick "thank you", and that was the extent of our exchange. I was very grateful for this gift from the man, and ultimately this gift from God. I feel that the 500 pesos I received was the Lord showing me he is cognizant of my hard work, and letting me know once again how much He appreciates my service. This was also a testament of the power of prayer, as my prayer was answered in a very short amount of time.

This last week, we had five investigators attend church! We were very happy to see that some investigators are beginning to act on what we teach!

Next week, one of our investigators, Jake Vladmir, will be getting baptized by his father, Pilayo Malazzab, the last person I baptized in December! It is so great to see how families become closer together in result of the gospel. I'm not sure how much I have told you about this family in particular, so I will oblige to do so now. The Malazzab family consists of 8 individuals. Sister Malazzab was baptized years ago along with her older son, but was less-active up until October. However, after Elder Vicente and I starting teaching her children, she starting bringing her whole family to church. Now, her husband has been baptized, her second oldest son, another son, and on Saturday, Jake Vladmir. Better yet, her oldest son is now fully active and is preparing to serve a mission! The Malazzab family lives in even more humble circumstances than most, but they are all truly wonderful people, and I feel the love the Lord has for them and their righteous desires to follow Him.

I would also like to thank all of those that sent me Christmas cards, especially the youth in my ward! This last week, I received Christmas cards from the youth, and chocolate from the Bishop (which was delicious). It was a wonderful boost to say the least! Thank you for all of your support!

 I will have pictures next week from the upcoming baptism!

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Pulley

Week of January 25, 2016

Dear friends and family,

This last week went very well! Every week I feel more grateful for the many blessings in my life. This last week, I felt prompted to visit a recent convert of ours, who needed a lesson. Dexter (the recent convert) is a tricycle driver and works all day in order to support his young family. Unfortunately however, his tricycle had a problem and needed to be fixed, which was going to cost him 1300 pesos, or about 25 dollars. This 25 dollars though was going to mean that his family would not be able to buy food to eat. Needless to say, he was very worried about the situation. During the discussion/lesson with him, he asked me how my life was before the mission, in terms of wealth. I simply said that I was very blessed. After my response, he told me of his childhood, wherein he was forced to work starting at the age of 6 in order for him to eat. Dexter recounted his feelings as he saw other children playing with toys that he desperately wanted, but instead had to spend his time selling fish house to house. Elder Vicente then told him that he understood, as his childhood was very much the same, and how he has gone days without eating because there was no money to do so. It was a very humbling experience for me, but because of my background, I was fully able to testify to him that happiness is not equated to the amount of money that is sitting in our checking account. One of my weaknesses in my life has been that I am too concerned about money. When I would make a comment that would indicate such, my father would always tell me that "happiness does not come from money." I now fully feel and appreciate the words from my father, and know that because of experiences like this, that I am changed forever. Thankfully, in regards to Dexter, perhaps in result of Elder Vicente and I's prayers, his tricycle miraculously was fixed without a costly repair. Miracles really do occur.

We are continually being blessed with many lessons, and it is easy to find people to teach here, as the people are so humble and willing to talk about religion. Our problem is not finding lessons, but managing our time well enough to get to everybody we need to in a day. However, one concern we have is that everyone is so shy, and in result, are afraid to attend church. Elder Vicente and I are working our hardest, but unfortunately, and I suppose fortunately as well, people have agency. I think I now feel a very small portion of how the Lord must feel when we fail to do the right thing, even when we know better. 

The time is continuing to go by faster and faster. And, I am continuing to enjoy the work more every day!

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Pulley

Baptism day after Christmas

Hike from a few weeks ago

Week of January 18, 2016

Dear friends and family,

This last week was awesome! Elder Vicente and I were blessed with many lessons, and in result, we were busy beyond belief. The week flew by! However, I think the greatest think that happened this week was when I received some packages from home. And, you won't believe what was inside of them! Tortillas, hot sauce, and Spanish rice! Now, this may just sound like any ordinary food to you, but I was ecstatic to see such items. So, the other day, I ate the first burrito (which is my favorite food by the way) for the first time in about 5 months. It only had rice and beans, but it was amazing nonetheless. Don't get me wrong, Filipino food is good, but I am definitely missing Mexican food!

It is getting warmer here, if you can believe that! The other day I was told that this is the coolest time of the year, so I'm not sure how exactly I will survive when summer comes, which starts in March here. At any rate, I have been drinking more water than ever before...

One thing that has been nice about being on a mission is that I have essentially walked away from my life. The country I'm living in is different, my friends are different, my language is different, and as I mentioned earlier, my food is different. It has afforded me the opportunity to reflect on the things that have occurred throughout my life. Stepping away and looking at my past life has made me feel more blessed than ever. Sometimes, I think we get so caught up on what is going on in our lives that we sometimes forget to take a step back and reflect on all of the blessings that we have been given. It is easy to see, at a distance, how the Lord had His hand in the lives of my family and myself. I feel so grateful for my family, friends, the wonderful schools I was privileged to attend, and all of the experiences that I have had. Truly, my life has consisted of one miracle after the other, I have just been too blinded by my own busy agenda to see it. I'm sure that this must be the same for many people. 

My challenge to you all this week is to take a step back, and maybe even pray beforehand for help, and sit down and think about all of the things that the Lord has blessed you with, big or small. I think if we remember to do this every once in a while, we won't help but smile, no matter what our circumstances may be.

Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Pulley

Week of January 11, 2016

Dear family and friends,

I can't believe how fast the time is going by! It seems like I just emailed yesterday! 

I once again had an enjoyable, and busy week. Yesterday were once again able to go on splits, which afforded us the ability of teaching more individuals. Better yet, the priests have enjoyed going on splits with us so much, they said they want to continue to teach with us every Sunday! Elder Vicente and I were a little happy to hear that to say the least.

This last week I was able to meet with my mission president and have an interview with him. I never thought I would look forward to interviews, but I certainly did for that one. President Rahlf basically just talked to me to get to know me better, and the interview lacked any of the intimidating aspects that most interviews include. I will be sad to see him go this year. However, I am excited to meet my new mission president, C. Russell Hiatt. I have a member in my ward, the CES coordinator, who served with Brother Hiatt in a mission presidency here in the Philippines. According to my ward member, he is a very kind, and "simple" man, just the kind of person I like!

 Finally, I want to share a small miracle with you that occurred this last week. Although this miracle was so small, it meant so much to me. For Christmas, my family gave me a shutterfly calendar with pictures of my family and such. I was so excited to receive it, and all the other missionaries were jealous. I just had one problem. I had no thumb tack to place it on my wall in front of my desk. Thumb tacks are not very common here as most homes have concrete walls, and I didn't know where I could buy some. Knowing that I would probably have to wait another week until P-day, when I go into the city, made me feel a little disappointed. However, soon after this realization, I noticed a small green thing underneath some other items on our coffee table as I was eating. After further inspection, I concluded that it was a thumb tack! I was so excited and immediately put down my food and went to go put my calendar on the wall! It now makes a great addition to my study area. There is no logical reason why the thumb tack would have been there. I have cleared that coffee table off many times, and I never saw it, and it did not belong to any of the other missionaries. I believe the Lord placed that thumb tack on the coffee table for me as one blessing for my service to Him. This small miracle reminded me of how aware the Lord is of me, and ultimately how aware he is of each one of us. I know if we look intently, we will find miracles in each of our lives as we dedicate ourselves to His service.

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Pulley

Week of January 4, 2016

Dear family and friends,

My letter will be very short this week, as I am running low on time. However, I did in fact have a great week this last week. Filipinos certainly know how to celebrate new years! One key feature of their new years parties is fireworks, and lots of them. So much so, that my Mission President put a lock down on our work at sundown, or 6:00. I tried to follow the mission rules, and go to bed at 10:30, but I couldn't sleep because there were so many! So, at about 11:45 I gave up, and got up and watched them. There were fireworks being shot off at about every house, but they were all about the size of the fireworks at Disneyland! Needless to say, it was a little loud and a little smoky outside.

This last Sunday, Elder Vicente were able to go on splits with members in our area! It was great, because we were able to teach 12 lessons yesterday, which definitely beats our previous record on our own. Elder Vicente and I are currently working on getting most of our investigators to attend church. Many individuals here have been taught all the lessons, and know all the doctrine, but fail to show up to church, which is slightly frustrating as I'm sure you all can imagine.

Other than that, all is going well here for me! And by the way, this last week, I got my first American housemate! His name is Elder Perkins, and he is from some small town in southern Utah. He has own of those accents that I can't quite explain, but it was evident to me the second he spoke that he is from Utah. His main hobbies include hunting and fishing, so we're not quite similar, but it is nice to have someone to talk to in fluent English nonetheless.

Love,

Elder Pulley

Week of December 28, 2015 (Happy New Year)

Dear friends and family,

I hope everyone had an extraordinary Christmas this year! I am happy to say that I had a great Christmas, even if the weather was a tad bit warmer than I am used to! Haha...Skyping my family on Christmas was an awesome experience. I must admit, I was actually a little bit nervous beforehand. I know this may sound funny, but I'm afraid the missionary life has made me a little weird, and I didn't want them to notice. However, I don't think it was this fact that stood out to my family in our conversation. Rather, I think they noticed my reduced English vocabulary, and the fact that it took me a little while to think of some words I wanted to say in English! It was a really funny realization. Don't get me wrong, my Tagalog still leaves a lot to be desired, but this occurrence at least showed me that I am at least on the right track! haha

For those of you interested in how Filipinos celebrate Christmas, it is very similar to how we as Americans do so! Families get together, exchange gifts, and eat. Although the quantity of gifts and the food differ from home, it was nice to see that the average individual here focuses more on Christ, and not as much on the commercial aspects of Christmas that our culture sometimes gets caught up in. I was able to join quite a few get-togethers, and I don't think I've ever eaten so much rice in one day in my life! It was all great food though.

This last week, Elder Vicente and I had a baptism on Saturday. I don't know if you all remember, but on 28th of November, I baptized John Paul, a 17 year old. On Saturday, Rowell, John Paul's recently reactivated brother, baptized John Paul's father, Tatay Pelagio. It was a great service, it is was of course nice to see Tatay's son be able to use his priesthood in order to provide such a service to his father.

Today, we had a zone activity! We traveled south down to an area called Gosi, and we were able to have a nice hike in the mountainous jungle there. It was announced there that quite a few of my missionaries in my zone will be transferred. However, Elder Vicente will be sticking around with me another cycle, so I am happy about that.

One challenge from our mission president this next week on new year's eve is to write down what type of attributes we want to have as missionaries exactly one year in the future. Of course, as you all aren't missionaries, you can't quite do the same thing, but I challenge you all  to ask yourselves what types of attributes you want to acquire this next year as disciples of Christ. I encourage you all to ask yourselves, and God, "What lack I yet?" and work to improve those qualities that you have room to improve on. As we do so, I know we will more fully able to perfect ourselves, and ultimately attain more happiness in our lives.

Have a happy new year!

Love,

Elder Pulley 

Week of December 21, 2015 (Christmas Week)

Dear family and friends,

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! Although having my birthday here was a little different than it would have been at home, it was great nonetheless. It just so happened that on my birthday, the ward had their ward Christmas party. Much to my dismay, the fact that it was my birthday was announced to everybody in the room at the party, and before I knew it, I had a couple hundred people singing me a Filipino version of the happy birthday song! The members at the party made sure that I ate a lot of food as well, and it all tasted great! After the Christmas party, Elder Vicente told me we were going to go teach the Tamayao family with the other Elders that live with us. It turned out that it was a surprise party for me and one of the other Elders, Elder De Dios, who had a birthday recently as well! I am happy to report that the party was equipped with cake, which was amazing, as cake is a precious rarity here (as no one has ovens). 

This last week was very busy for Elder Vicente and I. First,on Wednesday, we had splits with the zone leaders, which was nice. I was once again able to learn quite a bit from the Elder that I went on splits with, and to receive feedback on my abilities as well. I have learned that feedback on the mission is a must! In school, when I was learning how to become proficient in a skill, I knew how well I was doing because I had grades, tests, and quizzes. However, there are of course no grades on a mission. As nice as that may sound though, it has actually been a challenge not having grades to give me feedback on my performance on where I am, and where I ought to be. I just have to try my best and rely on the Lord to enhance my abilities and trust that I am learning as fast as He would have me learn. This fact is a faith builder for sure!

This last week, it started raining, and it didn't stop for over three days! Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of flooding in result. This is where I can relay a small miracle that my companion and I experienced. On Thursday, my companion and I had to travel to an adjacent area, Enrile, for my companion to interview a baptismal candidate. It was our first time travel to Enrile, so we got on a jeepney to go into the area, and when we got off the jeepney, we didn't know exactly where to go. Just as we were going to have to ask some people in the area for directions, a member of the stake presidency pulled up, asked where we needed to go, and gave us a ride. After the interview, as we were leaving, the river was beginning to spill over the only roadway into Enrile. If the process for the interview had taken any longer, we would have been stranded in an area with sister missionaries only, meaning we would have had no place to sleep. If our travel hadn't been expedited by the member, it would have been an unfortunate situation for sure.

On Saturday, Elder Vicente and I returned to Enrile to help a member clean up their home. After we left Enrile from the interview, the area was under three feet of water for a good period of time. In spite of the fact that everybody's homes were flooded, and in result covered in filth, everybody was happy as if it was a normal day. And, the members were very grateful for our service to them. The people here really are happy here no matter the circumstances. 

Have a very merry Christmas everybody!

Love,

Elder Pulley

Christmas Devotional - December 10, 2015

Birthday Celebration - December 18, 2015

Town near mission - Jeepney is method of travel