Hoop, there it is!

Well, it's been a good week. Each day we just go out to work at different times because there are so many different things to take care of. Life seems to have sped up. We have had normal things happen like Zone training meeting and stuff like that throws a fun little twist in the schedule. One cool thing that came from ZTM is that we really are trying to work more with the ward. I love that because people are awesome! We should all learn how to better work with people. Especially in missionary work. Working with members and through members is the best way for retention. I invite us all to be the best member missionaries we can. 

One cool thing we had to do this week was to go find an apartment. We looked for about an hour and didn't find anything then found some real potential. We went and talked to the guy and he had two apartments on the 3rd floor which are perfect for what we need. They are great and the guy was super nice. The real story is what's on top of the apartment. On the roof of the apartment is a basketball court!! It's not a full-sized hoop but hey...a hoop is a hoop. Of course, they let us play a little and have some fun. The apartment is also perfectly located with tons of things around it. It's like a dream elders apartment! 

One of my friends here in the mission fell in a manhole- so that was crazy.(Note to self, always watch where you step in the Philippines) 

Well yeah that's about all that's worth sharing. 

So a little spiritual thing this week is that I really just love the Christlike attributes. I love them because ,as Jenny McAllister would say, "they have everything and nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ." That means they even relate to just our daily lives as humans. Jesus taught us how we should live as people. It's part of everyday life. Always relate it back to him. 

Well, thanks for taking the time to read. Get off your phone now and go throw a ball with someone while it's still good weather. Don't waste your time on the phone. Love you. Bye

Elder McAllister

August 11

Well, this week went by like a sneeze. It like came, and I saw it coming but then like I closed my eyes and it was done before I knew it. Similar to a sneeze.  That was a stupid analogy.

This week went by way quick. We had exchanges with the AP's which was good. A good chance to learn to teach better. It was great. 

We got to do a little missionary presentation in our ward on Sunday that went great! It was a fun little time sharing to the ward. This ward I am in right now is excellent. Really great priesthood and leadership from all auxiliaries. Anyways we were supposed to have 2 baptisms this week but they got moved back which is totally ok. It gives more time to prepare and an opportunity to get more people to the baptism. This means in the next few weeks 3 of our true friends will be baptized. Man oh man, they are ready too. The only sad part is that I am getting emergency transferred tomorrow morning. (Ibig sabihin magpapack ako ulit!! Grabe! ) I got a call from president that let me know I'm transferring a week early. Oh man!! That means i won't get to see those people enter the font. But hey, that's all good cause what matters is that they get baptized and continue to follow Christs gospel. Also, a cool thing in our mission is we can message on FB our recent converts so I will still have communication with them! 

So some of the highlights of this last week was having some great days of work that were super productive and a fun thing me and Elder Faletoi did was buy laser pointers on the street for like 15 pesos and that is about the same as 30 cents in the US- haha. we bought them and played with kids and with dogs and with cats every night hahaha. It's way funny to see- haha. Other highlights is I got to deep scrub the house before I leave. ("Leave no trace".) Should be a great new adventure and such going over to Valenzuela. 

I'll share a cool experience. God really humbled me. Really touched me Friday night. So we had been punted from 2 appointments and had about an hour left before we needed to go home. So we went to this part of our area we have never been to plan to find members or tract. So we go there and pull out the phone. We had no idea where to go or what to do. I had felt kind of defeated that day too. (Never that defeated cause each day is a great day) but I was kind of ready to go home honestly. Just tired. Anyways I look to Faletoi and say "what should we do? I got no idea." He says the same thing to me...and right at that moment we hear a voice and see a light and turn around and this cute old couple and their daughter and her kids are all standing at the door behind us and they are in awe. Like awestruck. This little old Nanay is like bamboozled and so we smile big and realize instantly this was from god. I tell Faletoi "and that's how God just humbled us. Let go share the message" this family was so nice and welcomed us in and we taught a great small lesson on families and the church of Jesus Christ and why they are important. They loved it and said we could come back and teach all of them as a family. Cause the little girls went into a room and hid haha they were just giggling the whole time. It's not every day that two big old dudes all dressed up come stand outside your house. (Me and Faletoi are both over 6 ft and over 200 lbs haha so we sometimes stand out) the funniest part of this was that the nanay was just looking at me like I was a million bucks haha made me feel good to see her have the biggest smile on her face! Anyways. It was great and I hope they progress down the path! I sure love this gospel. I'm thankful that its all made possible because of Jesus Christ. He really is the center because if he wasn't, then none of it would work. I am eternally thankful to my brother and savior Jesus Christ. 

Been a good week yall. I hope you all have a great great week and do a small act of kindness every day. That's my challenge. Make it a great week everyone. Talk soon. 

Elder McAllister

First weekly email in a while

Well, this is the first weekly email I have written in a while. Its the first day I have had that I feel like taking the time to write it. One thing I learned about myself is that I would way rather talk in-person to people than write tons of emails- haha. So that's why every week I read a few emails and then just call and chat with the fam. I think that's kind of how it should be. A good friend of mine mentioned how important that unit of families are in the church and I second that. They are the most important unit in this world. A good strong family is the best way for gods children to return to him. He's happy to send his children to a good strong family because he knows that child is much more likely to come all the way back to him. I sure feel lucky to have the family I do. One thing about the world I have found (at least in my neck if the woods right now) is that satan sure loves to shatter families. I have seen so many your women pregnant here and fathers that leave and families that have multiple marriages and there are just so many hardships that come from that. I want you to all know that Satan is good at his job. Gaurd your self continually. Stay close to God.

Well, this week has been awesome! Things are picking up each week! I feel like every day I run out of time. Time keeps speeding up and there is just too much to do in a day. It's so much fun too! I see many times missionaries somberly going throughout the day and it's kind of sad. We all need a little smile, a little color, a little passion in our lives. When we have that passion, we then turn it into action (Afleekon) and then can really make things happen. Become who we want to become and most importantly become who God wants us to become. I've loved each day trying to beat the clock. Ask ourselves this. How much good can we do today? How much fun can I have while doing good today? How can I be a tad better than yesterday? This is part of gods plan. To have joy, to improve, to do good. Live, laugh and love. Life is good folks. 

We have some way awesome people we are working with. This is a quick cool experience. Sister Ginging is our pal. She rocks. We go to teach about the Word of Wisdom. Girl loves her coffee. Tells us how it's her love. We look at each other and tell her about how its something we iwasan (avoid). She laughs and says, seriously?? We talk for a second and laugh at the situation. We extend the commitment to follow the word of wisdom. She doesn't even hesitate and says yes. I'll throw it all out tonight. Boom. Spirit hits me like a wall seeing her dedication and love for God and her trust in us and her respect for gods commandments. Got me thinking. How much are we willing to sacrifice to the Lord? That's a hard question. If the church came out and said we are adding sugar to the Word of Wisdom, could we do it? I hope so. (That's a joke. Chocolate is still ok... for now) Anyways I thought that was cool and wanted to share. 

Well, I'll share a little thing about daily life. Yesterday we had 2 dinner appointments. Great time talking to members and past missionaries.  I love hearing peoples stories. Anyways after 2 dinner appointments that wasn't enough for my eager brain. 1 week ago I bought stuff to make peach cobbler.  So last night I creatively used the rice cooker (no ovens in the Philippines) to make peach cobbler. It didn't work. Don't try it. But if you do and it works, send me the recipe and let me know how to make it. Maybe I just sucked it up. Anyways it wasn't terrible but it wasn't all that good. I had a good laugh about it. We called it rice cooker cobbler. 

Well, that's about enough of your guys time today. So you know what time it is. Time to turn off your cell phone and go talk to someone! Go do some service or play outside. But don't waste your time here on your phone. Haha

Really, things are going great here! I'm thankful for all my family and friends! Love y'all! Make it a great week! 

Elder McAllister

June and a new comp

Howdy howdy. Well been a great week here in Kaypian and we had transfers and stuff. So I am now with my first white American comp. Elder Warner is great! He is from Nebraska and he is just one transfer behind me. He is a simple guy and super kind and respectful. I love his attitude and we get along great.  I also was given the opportunity to be a district leader over one of the youngest districts in the mission so that has been fairly cool. I love doing the weekly numbers and I just think it's so fun and IDK, you guys know how I get excited about the little things -haha. 

So we have had great work here this week and we are hoping to have a lot of great success here in the ward. It was hard last week cause my comp was sick so we didn't get to work as hard or much as I would have liked. But we must always help our companions, so that was good to help him. This week has been fun and we learned some things that will happen in our mission. SO the end of June we get smart phones. Like way nice ones, so that's cool. Much cooler than our little bricks right now. Then on June 24 there will be another transfer cause our mission ( Quezon City North Mission) splits here on July 1. So there is a chance that I could be a half mission in Quezon City north and the other half in Quezon city. We don't know where we will be but that will be pretty crazy. So that's about it. Pretty cool. Well this week nothing really funny happened that I can remember. But I did do a lot of cool thinking about the subject of Consistency and Diligence and Self Discipline. I love those things. Be the same person at all times. Everywhere you go, make it a holy place and be a genuine person everywhere. When you are behind the scenes work hard and keep being a great person. This is part of the mission. Sometimes missionaries put on a show when they are around investigators or president and stuff. But if we try to be ourselves and respectful at all times then we will become genuine people. Genuinely good people. There's a lot of ways my brain pulls this topic and I really could go on and on about it. I hope we can all be diligent and consistent in doing what we want to accomplish our goals. We are the ones who determine what happens in our lives. 

I now remember a few things that happen. I lost my missionary card for money this week. That kind of sucks. Then we had a great dinner at a friends house before my comp transferred and then also, I got my hair cut but a bakla. That's Filipino for gay dude. If you see them you would think they are girls till they speak. They use like a different language too cause they use so much gay slang and it's weird. But they sure know how to cut hair. So that was funny. There's a lot of baklas here in the Philippines. This has been "culture facts with elder mcallister". Thanks, come again. 

Overall good week. Hope y'all have a great week. Take care. Make it a great week. 

Elder McAllister

Mother's Day

Well first of all, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all of the women out there. I have to say that I have been blessed with the women in my life from teachers in primary, to leaders and neighbors, to friends, and just amazing examples in my life. I would not be who I am without all of you in my life. The ones that I am so thankful for are my grandmas and the amazing people they are. I love them more than I can share. They raised great kids to become my parents and my parents are the biggest gift from God for me. My mom is the number one reason I am who I am. I love her more than I can comprehend. She is the Greatest person I know. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all.

Well, this week has been good and I believe in being honest so I will be -haha.

My comp is hard at times with being immature and such. At times we disagree. Hey everyone- guess what? That's part of the mission! It's not perfect and neither is anyone! Isn't a great thing to see two guys just trying to get along and do great! I mean I love the guy to death and he is so happy and friendly but everyone missions are not perfect -haha. So there's my factual part of the week. This week has been great in the work and super fun. One thing I learned about life is that if you want to feel better and get better in any aspect of life, look for those things that gain confidence. I gained a lot of confidence in my self in speaking Tagalog and its super fun now. I mean to say that confidence can be a huge help to so many things. Missionaries should strive to have confidence in themselves and their comps and the spirit. Those three are huge game changers.

I found a wicked cool wood mask this week and it is dope!!! I found it buried in the ground and now it's my souvenir. So that's that.

We had exchanges this week which were one of my favorite days and it rained so hard I was not dry anywhere and the depths of my soul were wet. This rain was crazy!! Soooooo fun too! We just ran through it and still kept trekking and we were pooped at the end of the day but it was so so fun!! I love the rain and now one of my dreams came true! My dream was to preach the gospel in another country in another language and in the rain and just be soaking wet running from place to place and it was sooooo fun!!!! There's my fun highlight of the week! Then spiritually, my highlight of the week was just my personal prayers. I challenge all of us to try and be as focused and sincere as we can. I really get distracted especially when I am tired. If we make it meaningful it really helps. God appreciates it too. Super cool.

I see lots of little miracles in my life weekly and I think we always need to thank God for what we have and our blessings because it's all from him. I am not here cause of myself. I am nothing without his help. I loved talking with my parents on mothers day cause heavenly father and my mom and dad are the three reasons my life is the way it is and I am who I am. I've still got a lot of work to do and I am glad God helps everyone of us. Take the time to acknowledge his hands in our life!!

Well overall just another week. I don't have much else to share except that life is good. Gods good. He loves us and I am so thankful for all of you. You are all super big influences in my life and you deserve to be told thanks for your hands in my life. Y'all are amazing and I hope you have a great week. Your pal in the Philippines.

Elder McAllister

Kaypian, SJDM, Bullacan, Philippines

This week

Well, pretty average week here. So I will just share a couple cool things about my week. One- we hiked a cool mountain today. Then we get to email, and talking to family is the biggest blessing in my life. Also had some cool things this week. This LA we have been working with was able to get the priesthood and bless the sacrament and so that was the coolest thing on Sunday and he bore a great testimony that really touched me. We had some great lessons this week where the spirit was super apparent to all of us there. Some lessons aren't like that just based on the kids or the situation of the day. But really, God helps this work more than we know. There is no way I should be capable of doing stuff like this. I really am not capable, but because I try, and because we try, God makes up for what we lack. When we turn it to him by doing our side of the bargain, he gives us more strength and help than we deserve. I am so grateful for the learning I have here in the mission. It's really, really not like I expected but it's way harder. But it's what I need. God is so good and he really loves us. I really love the work and these people. Life is good. We got to help this old lady feel great this week just by stopping by and saying hi and such. Super cool to make her day. It changed her whole week. So cool. Lots of little miracles this week. Just depends on us if we want to see them. Gods so much better than we even realize. 

Great life and a great week. Fun pics from birthday and hiking and all that jazz. Make it a great week everyone. Short email this week. Just know that I really pray for all of you. Thanks for all the prayers from you and thanks for all you guys have done in my life. Everyone who reads this email has had an impact on my life more than you think. I am able to be here right now in the Philippines because of all of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart truly. You are always in my prayers. 

Have a great week. What a great day to be alive. 

Mahal ko kayo
Elder McAllister

Elder McAllister

It's May

Howdy howdy! Been a good week! 

With a new comp in the same area, I have learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence in my language skills. I am not amazing but I am getting better weekly and gaining confidence. This week has been fun and my comp is really a fun guy. We get along great and love to tell stories and stuff. He is older in the mission and I can't wait to learn some stuff from him. 

Well, this week was good cause I have been focusing on the good and being a little more appreciative of the good and spiritual things I feel and experience each day. We had some good lessons this week that felt the spirit well and also some times that tried my patience with people- haha. Sometimes there are so many distractions in people lives. I tell myself to remember to invite, not force. Also, be Christlike and have patience. Can be hard at times, but we will always get better as we try. 

Kind of a cool quote I got from my mom this week is " Gratitude turns what we have into enough" 

I know that's true. Being a little more thankful lets us feel a lot more comfortable. Makes us a lot happier. Everyone, be thankful to those great people in your life and the good things that happen to you everyday. Let God know you're thankful too. 

Our ward is good and our investigators are ok. We are working this week to get better progressing investigators. Its been nice to have a new set of eyes in the area and get a new opinion on the people we teach. Should be a good week looking for new investigators. I can't wait! 

Anyways we should be getting smartphones tomorrow and so that will be cool. I really have a hard time using the little tiny ones we have now. I always hit two buttons with my thumb. Also, it takes me still quite a while to text. 

So here's the story of the week. Tuesday we have a zone training meeting and then go out to eat after. I got a package ( which by the way is like having a Christmas on a regular day ) so we had to drop it off at our place. So we get home and realize neither one of us has the phone... In our minds and words... "Awww man. Eh, it's ok...." then we walk in the house and go to wash our hands and the sink doesn't work. I go outside and check and there's a lock on our water meter... lol.. So in like one day we had no water and no phone- haha. We went to pay the bill and they told us we have to pay in a different city. We can't really leave our area so that's out of the question. So we just laughed cause we couldn't pay our bill- we had the money and no phone and no water haha- good day if you ask me. Really we laughed about it. Then the next day I talked around our neighborhood and to the guard of our subdivision and found out he can pay the guy who comes around with the stupid locks. So we gave him our money he paid the guy and we had water the next night. The one morning we had to take a trike and jeep to another elders house to just shower- haha. We have to shower here everyday cause It's so, so, so, hot. I drench all my shirts everyday- haha. 

So that's my week and some things I thought I would share. I just want to say that spiritually we can all grow, but we all have to grow for ourselves. Do what you can to help yourself grow closer to God -that's my invite to you all. I know this work is hard, I know this work is great, its fun at times and really stressful at others. A mission is explainable and also just what I need. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is so true. I love him and my father in heaven. 

I love emailing and especially calling my family. Indescribable joy there in my family. Have a great week yall and keep being awesome.

Elder 

John Landon McAllister

Howdy

Well, howdy howdy!

Well, so this week we had our transfers and I am staying here and I'm leading the area and my new comp is pretty cool and chill and he has about 6 months left and he's from America so it's cool to have a comp that I can shoot the breeze with, in English -haha. But it's interesting to see how Americans do missionary work. I realized this week that I am actually doing just fine and I don't need to push super hard every day to learn Tagalog but just be consistent. Also, this week I have gained so much confidence and I really have enjoyed leading the area. Before, with my Filipino comp, I was nervous to speak cause I am not perfect in Tagalog but with Elder Aiono, I can mess up and its no worries. But one cool experience I want to share from this week is what happened with our investigator. Alesa has been good and an investigator for a while but she has a hard time committing to church and stuff. Back with my other comp, I never fully spoke to her about problems and figured everything was ok. This last time, I really spoke and talked and asked deep questions. I found out her parents don't really want her to be baptized. She is 19 and can choose for herself but I understand her dilemma. So in the lesson, my comp shared a great scripture and I just talked to her about how she will be helped to do the right things. Anyways, moral of this story is that It took me stepping outside of my comfort zone to really ask deep questions to help this girl and for us to know what to say to hopefully help her. I realize missionary work is so unscripted and depends on each person and each situation and is hard. But I really have a testimony as we try, just try our best and live worthily, God will help us. I know its true. 

I loved the Easter concert we had here and learned that we are in a talented stake. Really some good singers. Also, quick fact on the Philippines, they love, love, love to blare the music where ever they are- haha. But also at the concert, a guy spoke about being Human "Beings" and really being people and not just doing, but making things part of who we are. I thought was cool. "Human  Beings" not "Human Doings"   Really become who you want to be.

This week has been good- just busy with transfers and a deep cleaning house day. Mission-wide cleaning day. One of the highlights for me was on Thursday night it really, really, really, really, really rained!! It hit like super fast and so hard. We were at the bottom of this area and there is no cement there so all the hills and houses are built on dirt and there are no roads. At the bottom, we went to a member to say hi and ask a few questions, then as we left it dumped rain. The dirt turned to a chocolate shake and just flowed down the hill. It's super steep and we were just sliding all over the place and I was laughing and hollering and just loving it cause I thought it was so cool. Then we hiked up a mud river to the top and almost fell but luckily didn't, then we ran to a little store and sat under a little area of plastic roof to get some cover. We don't have an umbrella and I just sat there and laughed and loved it. I was completely soaked and can say there was nothing that was dry -haha. We waited there to go to an FHE with the sisters in our ward and so we went there soaking wet in this really really small house- haha. I cant believe we did an FHE there cause really I had to sit in a ball on the floor to conduct and it worked out just fine honestly- haha. I really, really am humbled by how little they have here and how generous they are to give and how kind they are to people. It's really really cool. Moral of the story is that I love the rain, God is good and I really have been humbled here with the conditions of life here. Life is great and God is good.  

Well, good week and there is just too much to share with people and not enough time or space in the email. Last thing. The day Elder Aiono arrived I told him how I've wanted to sleep outside he said let's do it so we did. We slept on the porch with our mattresses- haha. Super nice. Much cooler- haha. 

Here are the main points. 

It's nice to sleep outside. Much better than indoors. 

Missionary work requires you to stretch and grow and God will guide us when we try.

We need to become human Beings by making things we do part of our Character (Christlike attributes) 

The Philippines are humbling and people are nice. 

The rain is flippin' awesome and I love it!! 

And life is great and God is good. Every day is a great day to be alive! Make it a great week everyone. Love all you. 

Elder John Landon McAllister

First letter in a while

Well hello! Man, it's been a while since I have emailed a group email!! Whoops- haha, sorry guys, but you know what? I really just wanted to take my time and talk with my family these last weeks and it was awesome! But I will take time today to share some thoughts and such. I am just going to share things as they come to my brain. 

First off, some funny things that have happened in the last few weeks. One. A little kid peed on me. Two. We put a mini hoop in our house and quickly realized that its hard to play basketball in a small house on a small hoop in the hottest place in the world. Three. It's flipping hot here and now is the summer season and no joke, I wake up with wet sheets because it's hot... like sweat. (not cause I peed or anything like that) Four. I have been a wicked master at random three-point shootouts in the street. Kids throw me the ball and I guess its the power of missionaries or something, but I am money guys. Five. I have experienced kids using my body as a jungle gym more times in the last month than in my whole life. I guess I look like a playground walking down the street- haha!

Well, as for some investigators and the work. Really great. Lots of great people we have in our teaching pool and they are mostly families and have really been great. One great thing is when your investigators ask what they need to do to be baptized. That's a great feeling, let me tell you! One way hard thing was talking with this kind old man who we have been teaching and having him tell us that he believes it all and see how strong his faith is and have him tell us that this isn't his time. That he is going to stay in that other church with his family for a little while. All cause of a pastor that told him" what's what". Man, Satan works his dumb little ways all over the world in many many forms.  But the other investigators we have are awesome. Sometimes its hard cause there isn't like a right way to do things in missionary work but you really have to go with what you feel. You have to use the spirit and trust that he will guide you. That's something I have learned in the last weeks really. There isn't a "perfect" way to do missionary work. 

Well, general conference was amazing and if you haven't yet, watch it and really, I encourage anyone to watch the priesthood session. So so so amazing and the talks just struck me to the heart and built my faith truly. One of the things I loved was learning of Christ and realizing how much of a part of our salvation he is. All the talks talked of Jesus Christ and I love, loved it. He is our Savior truly. Build that faith in him continually for your whole life. 

Now I want to share something that honestly touched me a lot. There is a movie that we can watch here in the mission called Charly. It's a church movie and literally is now one of my favorite movies in the world. If you watch it I promise you will learn so much. I think it hits every gospel principle in the whole world all in the one movie. It is so so so so good. It also really just made me feel a love for Christ and my Father in Heaven. Really if you have not seen this movie, please watch it. Its called "Charly" It is amazing. 

Well folks, the mission is crazy, as usual, and I mean, I can't write everything I experience. It's hard, it's good, it's easy, it's fun, it's sad, it's amazing. But most importantly it's the work of our Father in heaven. It's indescribable. I love it. 

Well transfers are tomorrow so I have a new comp in the same area. He's older in the mission and should be a great chance to learn. I can't wait. This is Elder Mcallister comin' at you from Kaypian, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, Philippines. Have a great week you guys. God is good and life is great. This gospel is true and Christ is our Savior. I challenge each of you to learn more about Christ and what he has done for us. 

Elder McAllister

Aka Elder MCDO cause it's hard to say Mcallister 

March 10

Well, another week in the work of the Lord. So this week has been good and I am not going to lie- I am way jealous of my mom and dad who took a dream cruise this week and holy moly- I drooled over their pics. Anyways my good friend Kyler Welsh inspired me to write better emails cause I really like how awesome his are. So this week I took a couple notes of things I could share, so hopefully this email is better than the last one, maybe? 

Anyways, here's somethings from this week.

This week we tried going out in the morning and studying during the middle of the day to have more productive hours to talk to people and its great cause more people are out in the morning than the hours of 1,2,3 and stuff. So it's great, except if you come home and get tired and fall asleep-haha. It just makes us a little tired, but it is very good too.  One fun experience we had was teaching this family of recent converts who is really awesome and such a good family and we were playing with their kid who is 3 and way funny and we kept telling him "ihi ka sa kanya" which means pee on him- haha- me and Tamayo were dying laughing cause this kid was naked just running around and he never actually peed but it was way funny we were dying-haha. Then later in the week at one of investigators houses one of the grandchildren ran out naked grabbed a stick and started banging metal and chasing kids. This kid is 2 and also threw a big rock at us during the lesson last week just cause he wasnt getting attention like he wanted. It was mind blowing and I can assure you my kids will never do that- haha. Last week we had a really hard lesson where I got frustrated, and man it was hard with so many distractions and I didn't realize what was good until after when we debriefed and learned that we just need to be patient.  This can be applied to life that sometimes the cruddiest situations can suck until after they are done and then we learn. My dad always said "life is the only teacher who gives the test first, then teaches you the lesson" and I believe that one hundred percent.   

Another fun thing to share is we got punted from 4 lessons which means 4 people cancelled on us so we went to a sisters house and helped her hang up signs and help her with some work on her house. She is a single sister with 4 kids and truly a rock star so we are happy to help her anytime. So we hung up a picture and its not that simple cause you have to have a drill cause all the walls here are concrete, haha. Then we helped her build this little replica of the Manila temple and it was so fun and it was great to just do something creative. It was really nice that we were able to do that too cause it really sucks to have 4 people cancel on you in one day. Ended up being a great day. We gave lots of blessings this week which I really enjoy and I think is so cool to use the priesthood and really is super cool. Then also there is a missionary that lives close to us and he just finished his training and is leading the area and he always calls me to ask advice or little things like that. Super fun and just a funny little thing to share. I think every missionary is scared a little bit of new things. And if you aren't a little nervous for things then I envy you -haha.  

And to apply this to life, we need to just smile laugh and do our best when we get nervous or scared and really have that faith but my mom told me something I love. "I think we do better when we aren't so focused on everything". Just take it as it comes. 

So the biggest lesson I learned this week or the main thing to share is just the thought of small and simple things bring great things to pass. So for me this means not stressing but just emphasizing the little things and the consistency. How consistent can I be? That's my challenge this week and from now on every week.  Anyways I know that god works in little things and life is better when we notice the little things. Just be grateful for the small things and also we need to practice the small things in life like smiling and being friendly and courteous.  Any ways not much else to share but I hope this email makes some sense. Hope you all have a great week. Love doing the lords work. No matter how hard it is at times we have to remember that its not for ourselves, its for others. We are serving our loving heavenly father.  Great week and never forget it's a great day to be alive!

Elder McAllister

March 4th

Well, wow this week has been another week, I guess. Not bad, not amazing, but just normally good. I had a couple days here where I really got stuck in a whirlpool of language struggle which means I just got down on myself for the language for about 45 minutes two days. Anyways, it's all good cause my language improves each week even if its small improvements. Anyways, things are going good. We have transfers tomorrow and I am  staying here with Tamayo. Also we were going to have  baptism this Saturday but the grandma needs more time- probably next week. She is really good and will be baptized soon. Also, Richard from back in tonsuya will be baptized on the 23 so that's awesome- super great for him! We had a bap this last week and it went perfect and the Trujillo fam is doing good. We had a FHE there and it was good then on Sunday we had a lesson with some people from the ward and one of the sisters in our ward who served a mission really talked with the mom, even if it was harsh sometimes and really got some good progress. It was an interesting lesson but really good. My comp and me pray so hard for them and really, really love them and want this gospel to benefit their amazing family and we know they will be sealed someday. I know they will. I know it. Thank you for your prayers this week- they really help!!! I know you are on a cruise which is crazy, crazy! But we will talk with you soon!! Next week maybe? Not sure! But anyways I am glad to talk with you through email even. Then also yesterday while preparing sister Adelina for baptism she really was not ready so we moved her date- she just needs more time and I think she felt rushed so it's all good. Anyways, I was humbled cause I got really frustrated in the lesson cause there was a 4 kids running and laughing and screaming and crawling on me and another guy that came there too and was asking a lot of questions and anyways, long story short, Tamayo helped me so much after that lesson last night learn a lot of things and really just be humbled a lot. I wanted to learn from this last transfer so yesterday for comp study we debriefed the transfer and I learned a lot of things I can do better. I asked him to really tell me things I can improve on so I can get better, and sometimes it's hard to take criticism but I really learned a lot and learned how to handle that kind of conversation asking for someone to help you learn and grow. I think one of the biggest things I learned this week from him was to just have fun with things and not worry too much. I really stress in my brain about learning the language and doing it fast and being a good missionary. But the important thing to do is enjoy it and not stress and just be consistent. If something happens- move on, if you can't speak well that day, move on, go to sleep and do better next day. I really have such a desire to be good and I really have a desire to help and serve and so it really bugs me sometimes when I try so hard and still don't understand everything yet. I can say that I have improved in Tagalog a lot this transfer and hope to get a lot better in this next transfer. But really, I am doing this to serve these people. I am not sure how much I will use Tagalog in my life, but I really want to do good at it while I am here. I just need to relax a little more and enjoy the things of life sometimes. Really good week though saw some great miracles in lessons like at the Trujillo family and with the baptism of Joshua and he really gave such a great testimony and I hope to continue to do that. Anyways life is good, I really really enjoy the days when I am most like my fun happy self. The days when I really focus in on Tagalog are the days that I really have a more likely possibility of getting bugged that I don't know the language perfect. Anyways, This week i am going to try and really just love and relax and not grind anything but just be consistent. Don't brush your teeth vigorously, but do it well consistently. Anyways really good week. 

I had one day this week where I felt really like a lot of pressure. I make a lot of pressure for myself and stuff sometimes asking questions like what more can I do, am I being successful enough, am I learning fast enough, are things happening as good as they can, what do I lack, stuff like that- are not good things to ask but really I am making pressure for myself by asking those questions. This week I am going to ask questions like- what can I do to serve my comp. Or what can I do to find a scripture to share later at a lesson? things like that. I think you see the difference and understand what I am thinking. Anyways, things are really good here and really going good. overall a great week and it went by pretty quick. Also, I mean no one is perfect, and its a guarantee we will have hard days but that's ok cause there's a whole lot more days that are amazing than days that are a little rough. Man, life is good and I hope to continue with the great work we have going on here! I really really love these people and really am in the work of the lord and he is super super mindful of me and my needs and worries and usually helps me answer my own questions. So this is a lot of stuff I learned this week.

Anyways some great parts of this week have been just really good lessons and helping people get ready for baptism. I really love the feeling of getting people ready for baptism. That's one of the greatest things. We had our final meal with Sister Morris before she goes back next Wednesday and then also I will send with her some letters to give to you guys when she flies so they get there really quick- wahoo!! Great week and great life! Also I got really hot when we played ball with the men here in the barangay covered basketball court. Means a big outside court with a roof. I was money from the 3 point range and we murdered the other team in that game -haha. Really fun to play with everyone way shorter than you- haha. I hope you guys are having an amazing week and hope you guys just have so much fun!! No worries here from me- just telling you about my life!! i love you tons!! Thanks for your emails to me- I love the pics and am so excited to see more next week hopefully!! You guys are so awesome and just really enjoy this week. You absolutely deserve it. I am just going to be working this week again;) 

Thanks for all you do! Excited to talk with you again sometime! Good talk tonight with Dan and Emma and Kate and Kate B- they are all doing great! I also hit my 6 months tomorrow in the mission!!  Super cool right!! Anyways its going fast and there is a lot of gospel sharing to do!! Really, really loving it and super thankful for my life. 

Love you tons and hope you have a great week!! I hope parts of this email can be sent out as a weekly email letter too. If I have time I will send another! 

your loving son

Elder John Landon McAllister

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Dynamite and a broken pipe

So this week has been a good one. Pretty average actually. Some days we got punted and some days were good. One thing that's been hard this week was finding how to study. I am always changing what I study and stuff cause there is just too much stuff for me to flipping study! I have some plans this week and hope they work out. Anyways, I was kind of a little self conscious of my Tagalog yesterday cause it just so happened that when I was talking with people, or people were talking, my tongue got tied and my brain tuned out so when people asked me questions I just wasn't fully understanding and kind of looked like I didn't know Tagalog. But then after that people just assumed I didn't know Tagalog for a bit. Even my comp was like explaining things to me that I already understood in Tagalog. It was just one of those days, I guess. But it really got much better after that cause we taught a lesson to our investigator who will be baptized in a couple weeks and then I felt much more comfortable. I feel good when I can sit down and talk gospel Tagalog. Anyways He is really, really good. His name is Roberto and is 60 and he is great. Super tall and skinny and just a kind, genuine person searching and striving to be more like God and he is super excited for his baptism and so are we! Especially me! That reminds me, we had a baptism on Saturday and I baptized her. Her name is Ainna and she is a great girl! She is 15 and gave a great testimony and is a rockstar. I have a goal that when any of our investigators get baptized to have them very prepared and ready for the baptism interview. Our district leader was happy with the interview and said we did a great job teaching her, so that made me feel great. We are setting up top- hopefully have 7 baptisms in March and I think we can absolutely do that. I am really praying and faithful and hopeful God will help us reach that goal as we do our best. I think that that's true for life too. Make a plan and take it to God in prayer then work hard for it and he will help us. I want to share a little about my week starting with Pday. 

So, last pday we emailed and went shopping and got lots of food for the next couple weeks. Then we cleaned and did chores and stuff around the house then the other elders that live close to us came over and we made lunch. We did these giant long chilis filled with meat and wrapped in this tortilla thing then deep-fried and holy crap, they were so spicy, we were all sniffling and sweating and breathing heavy and drinking water and we just couldn't stop cause they were so good! Then while they were cooking that we had hung up a mirror over our sink using these sticky hooks, but the pack of hooks was in Japanese, so we didn't let them dry cause we couldn't read the instructions and it turns out that they fall if you don't let them dry. Anyways, the mirror fell and the mirror was totally fine! I can not say the same for out faucet however. All the sudden, there is water pouring out of our wall and we realized the mirror had broke the faucet off the wall, so I ran outside and shut off the water and looked at the damage and realized that The mirror broke a metal pipe and stayed intact. Wow. Anyways, so we tried sticking towels in the pipe and stuff so we could still have water to shower and washcloths and stuff and we just ended up getting wet. Nothing worked. So then while they finished cooking the "dynamite" or the peppers ( dope right?) I ran outside and cut off a big branch of a tree and then stuck a branch down the pipe and made it work surprisingly- lol . So we turned on the water and the branch worked! So for two days we had a branch sticking out of our wall and we washed the dishes in the shower-haha cool right? Just like they do on the movie (I think) Flipper with the dolphin? Anyways, it was funny to brush my teeth in the shower every night and morning haha! Then they got it fixed a couple days later andeverythingg is back to normal now. Also on pday I made this stuff called Mango Graham cake (and fun fact: Filipinos say gray-ham, haha ) so its pretty much layers of graham and cream and mango and then you freeze it and its way good. We actually took some to our investigating family. The dad is a member and the family is great. I actually hope to baptize the kids and hopefully the wife too.  So we brought that over and had dinner with them and a lesson and they are great. The dad asked us to use the bible in our lessons for his kids to have stuff to back up to tell their friends. Hope that makes sense.  Anyways the family is great and they really like to joke with me and have fun and our lessons are going good. We are trying to get the mom to come to church but the dad has been coming and his two oldest kids. Makes me so happy to see a good family like them. They are the reason we do what we do. To help families. Man, I love my family so, so much. 

So yeah that's kind of the fun stuff in my week! We have had some flipping scary dogs this week- man, they always bark and come for us but then stop, but there are so many times where I just keep walking and am so close to pooping my pants.  Nothing too close yet.

Some good things spiritual this week have been I have been trying to get better at using the scriptures. I need to try and memorize more scripture references. Note for all youth in seminary. Actually listen to the scripture mastery. The ones I have memorized already help a lot and I wish I knew more.  But I have to say that mission time has sped up and it seems like we are much more busy. I have some things I keep wanting to do and really I just can't find time. We really try and stay very busy and we really do. It makes life easier and more fun and time go faster when you are busy. So I am super grateful for that. Things are still hard for me sometimes but I know now a little more than I did yesterday and tomorrow I will know a little more than I know today. If we get better each day things get easier and life keeps moving forward. Learn something new and apply it and keep that life moving forward. I think the most spiritual experiences I have are when I bear my testimony. Cause I feel so strongly about this truth. I want all people to know what I know and I want people to know of Gods love for us. I am giving all my effort to this right now and so this means a lot to me when I bear my testimony. I know that this is true. I have meaning and feeling behind the words " I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that's why I am here today" I love saying that. I love sharing these messages with people. Also I loved hearing the testimony of Ainna who just got baptized. It was so cool to know that we helped her build a love for God and a desire to be more like Christ. That is the whole purpose of this. To invite people to come unto Christ. There is so many blessings along  the way too.  I love this work and I know I am doing the right things. I am where I need to be. I have to share that the knowlege of things doesn't make them change, but it makes them easier. I know that the mission is still hard and has its trials. I have been learning that first hand these last months and really getting a better sense of life and myself but also I have been changing my focus to others, to the good and to the positive. I have been able to find more peace in the hard. We can find peace. Its still hard at times and probably hard times to come. But that doesn't change my testimony, my purpose, or my drive. It will be hard, but like helaman 5:12 when we build on Christ nothing can shake us. I can not be shook. Even if all things are thrown at me and life gets really hard, It would be hard, long and super difficult, it wouldn't change my testimony. It can not shake me cause I am built on Christ. Kyler Welsh always wrote Phil 4:13 on his shoes cause Christ is how we can do all things. I have a firm testimony of the gospel of christ. I love this work and hope to continue to be able to do missionary work better. I am humbled by the miracles God gives me and the ground he covers for me when I fall short. 

The mission is super hard, harder than I thought, it's also great, and much better than I thought. Also, Im super blessed to see some prettier scenery which helps too!

I love you guys so much and hope you have a great great week!