1 year down - .....why is it so fast?

Hello Everyone!
First off, hopefully the Zags can pull off a Championship!
Secondly, and more importantly, This week was so much fun!
We were able to work with members almost every single day in our finding and teaching. We also have been working with the youth every single Sunday as they prepare for missions!
This week we had a zone conference with the Bacnotan zone and the Bawang zone! there were quite a few missionaries all in the chapel here in San Fernando but it was super fun! President Bangal talked to us about our calling as missionaries and also how we can better improve ourselves daily! I am super grateful for president Bangal and all of the things he does for us missionaries here in the Baguio Mission!

We watched a video at the end of the conference that is attached at the bottom. It is super good and the mission is practicing the song to sing for a conference coming up in a couple months!
We had exchanges with the Elders in the San Fernando ward and it was a blast! Elder Hayes was my companion for the day and he is 3 weeks old in the mission! I love being around new missionaries and hearing all of the questions they have! He is from North Carolina and served in Seattle for a while as he was waiting for his visa to go through!
We met a lot of new people this week and had a very fun time working with one another to teach and keep the Spirit of the Lord with us every day. I love being companions with Elder Tavita and learning from him. We always have a conversation going and it makes the work 10x better!


At church yesterday, Dianne, Nanay Teresita, adn the Aquino family all came to church and all had a great time! We had a very fun time asking questions and discussing with one another the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His role as our Savior! They all had super interesting and eye-opening insights!
We are looking forward to this next week of work. Its getting hotter and hotter here but the work goes on! Love you all! Have a great week!
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https://www.lds.org/youth/video/come-unto-christ-2014-theme-song?lang=eng



Elder Pitt

My spelling is getting worse.. I apologize

Hello Everyone!!!
I hope once again that you all had a great week! Hopefully its getting warm where you all are so you can get a feel for the weather we are having here! Its hot! But life is great!
This last week was full of excitement. On Tuesday we had an awesome District Meeting and Elder Acido gave a workshop about how lucky we are to be living in this time on the earth. I am still reflecting on it now about how lucky I am to be a missionary on the earth when the Gospel has been restored and wont be leaving any time soon. The technology we have to share with others our Faith in Christ, the cars, buses, (trykes) we are able to use to get to Church on Sundays, and the homes we live in the are able to invite the Spirit of the Lord into our lives. We are all so lucky.
We also talked about Conversion, and what that means, why its important, and how it happens. All of it is based on our desire and effort to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
On Wednesday we went on exchanges and I was with Elder Acido! I have known him since i was new in the mission and he is an awesome teacher.
Thursday was awesome! A member in the Ward got his mission call so we went over to say congrats! Jhanru is serving in the Philippines Bocolod Mission! He leaves on May 5th, so we willbe bringing him with us to our lessons and appointments as much as we can to help him get used to Mission Life! We were also invited to a "Mimi-MTC" where the stake here in San Fernando had all youth from 13-17 go to the stake center and created a MTC for the day! They all had on little nametags, and all of the returned missionary members were teachers at the MTC! One of the stake leaders asked Elder Tavita and I to talk about the Purpose of missionary work and the blessings we can help others receive from the work. There were many youth there who were supposed to be at required school activities, who decided to go to the MTC instead. I think they were the ones who understand the missionary purpose more than I did when I was a youth. It is all about invite others to come unto Christ. Thats the goal. Thats the reason that there are missionaries. To help other receive the Gospel and to partake of the fruits of the Gospel.
On Sunday the Aquino Family went to "Mormon Church" as they say for the first time in their lives! They were pretty nervous to say the least, but it turns out that when they got there, almost every one knew them! Whether it was from College, to work, to grade school, or to neighbors, they had a connection somehow with almost every one they came into contact with! It was super cool. Nanay Teresita also came to Church again this week! She is such a hard working lady in getting to know who Christ is and how the Atonement can help her.


This week was all round great. I love being a missionary. And I love being able to represent the Savior as a chosen servant. I know that the Church was restored to the earth through Joseph Smith. I know that families can be eternal through the authority of God. I am grateful for all of you and love you all! Have a great week!



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Elder Pitt

Transfer #2 Sevilla Ward

Hello Everyone!! This last week has been full of activities and work. I love it here in Sevilla and am so grateful for all of your emails, thoughts, and prayers.
Last Tuesday we had a Zone Training in Lingsat with the whole San Fernando Zone! Every one is so close with one another and so nice as well so it was a super fun, spirit filled Training.
For part of the training I gave a workshop about how we can make it easier, and more fun to find others who are willing to listen to the message of the Restored Gospel. I called it "Finding Nemo" and based it all off of the movie!! We talked about how Marlin 1) Had a companion 2) Traveled Everywhere and 3) Left behind a reputation of what he was doing so that others would know!
It fir right in to missionary work and, cant lie, it felt good to talk about a movie i havent seen in over a year! Hahah
Elder Tavita and I have been jogging every morning to burn off all that rice, and have been working all day every day as much as possible to find new people and to help those learning, be able to come closer to making promises with our Heavenly Father to always follow his plan. Nothing too crazy has been going on but we are loving life and doing our best! I am sorry this email is short! We have been workin hard and tough and not letting the summer heat drag us down!


I was able to finish the Book of Mormon again this week. I loved the last words that Moroni has before he ends his writing! Also in Moroni 7:41-48




44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

Prayer is key for us to feel the love of our Heavenly Father. I know he watches over every one of us and listens to our prayers. I am so grateful for the knowledge that Christ Lives and is our Savior. I love you all! Have a great week!
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Pics- Working with youth preparing to serve missions, hiking up into the bundok to teach, and much fun with it!

Elder Pitt

San Fernando Family

Hello all! Sorry I wasn't able to send out an email last week! I will try and make up for it this week!!
Two weeks ago was the last couple days with Elder Campbell as my companion! He transferred to Baguio! But before he climbed the mountain, we had some work to do in San Fernando!
President Bangal requested that we assist the Sister Missionaries and go to a jail here in San Fernando to show a video about Christ and teach about Him and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.. It was super fun!! There were about 50 people in the jail who attended, men and women. They were all super respectful and nice to us. We were able to sit with them during the video, talk after, discuss religion, and hopefully they know have a better understanding about the Atonement and why it is that we need it in our lives!
I never thought that I would step into a jail here, but there was a solid basketball court there that hopefully I can play on with them if we are able to go back!

My new companion is Elder Tavita! He is from Australia and is so so nice and energetic! We seem to feed off of one another with our energy and are always on the move! His family is from Samoa... So you already know we will be having some big filling dinners and I am so happy for that!!
We had a lot of meetings with the other missionaries in the mission this week, which was fun to be able to talk to them and learn from their experiences! I hope that Elder Tavita and I can help out the people in our area, and the missionaries in the Zone!
Earlier today we had a Zone Activity at the Church! All the missionaries in the zone came and we had a super fun scripture study, played some games, and then watched a movie called Gods Army. It was a super good missionary movie!
Nothing too crazy has been happening, but Sister Teresita has been coming to church weekly and is really working hard to learn! She has so many amazing questions and thoughts. I hope she will be able to learn more and more every day and come close to our Savior as long as every one.
I hope you all take care and have a great week! Happy March! Cant believe its already here.. Where has the time gone??

--
Elder Pitt

Sevilla Still Rollin Strong

Hello all! This week was amazing! On Tuesday we had the Conference and 2 other Zones attended as well so it was full of missionaries and catching up with them and their areas, including Elder Scott and all of those in Narvacan! I miss everyone there and Elder Scott is doing great! I dont have much time to type this week, but I hope you all know how thankful I am for your emails and prayers! The mission life is something that I know I'll never forget and hope the time slows down because it is flying by! On Saturday we went to visit Sister Teresita! I love visiting her so much! When we got there she was in a very good mood and welcomed us in. When we told her that we would be reading from the New Testament, she told us to wait, and went into her room... A couple seconds later she came back out with a brand new Bible and bag to carry it in. She told us that she remembered us say we use the King James version, so she went to the store and bought one! She is so awesome and hard working! We talked about baptism and why it was important as believers in Christ, I really loved her response.


She said that there are a lot of people who believe in Christ and have never been baptized before. Those people are strong followers and believers and nothing is wrong with that, but whats lacking is that act of faith that others have taken in order to show our Heavenly Father that we want to follow His Sons Gospel and return to Him after this life.


Faith is action and when someone is ready to make that step of faith, that is when we really become converted and are able to receive all of the blessings the Lord has in store for us. When Sister Teresita is ready, after Prayer, Reading the Scriptures, and receiving the answer for herself that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christs Church on earth, She- As well as all others who follow the same steps- will have the opportunity to show their Faith in God and be baptized by someone who is authorized to do so.


That night, the Sister Missionaries in our ward invited us to the Church to attend the baptism of the Ochoco's mother, who they have been meeting with for a couple months now. As we sat their at her baptism, I couldnt help but think about Sister Teresitas words and how amazing the Lord is. After the baptism, we were invited to sing a musical number "Be Still My Soul" Almost all the missionaries in our District sang, and Sister Navarro and I sang a part of the 3rd verse just us two. God works in mysterious ways because it didnt sound too bad I dont think! hahah, we all had a great time at her baptism and she was so happy after.


On Sunday Church went by without a breeze and the talks given were so good! I love being in the Sevilla Ward and the missioners here! This week I studied the Apostasy and why it is that we need to know about it and what happened when the Authority of God was taken off the earth. It was so good to be able to be taught through the scriptures about the revelation regarding the Apostasy, and also how it was Restored again on earth through Joseph Smith.


I love you all and hope you have a great week!


Pics from Baguio!
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Elder Pitt

Sevilla is Cool

Hello Hello! How was everyone's week?? This week was hot, and amazing!
On Tuesday We went to visit the Aquino Family who we have been meeting with for a couple weeks now! Sister Aquino had a lot of questions about the Atonement and what it really meant. I remember sitting in seminary one day and having the exact same question so it was so fun to be able and explain it with Elder Campbell to them! Elder Campbell is such a good teacher and is also very good at Tagalog so I have been learning a lot from him every single day.
On Wednesday we went on exchanges with the missionaries in Bacnotan. Elder Campbell used to be assigned in Bacnotan so he was super excited to teach there again! I was with Elder Armstrong, he is from Chelan, WA but has lived in like 20 different cities in Washington! The closest to the Tri-Cities was Moses Lake.. But his grandparents live in Coulee City... So we talked the whole entire day as we walked about Washington and the Grand Coulee Dam! Cant wait to go back when Im home, but for now i will only talk about it and worry about my time here!
Elder Armstrong entered the mission the same time as Elder Scott so it was fun listening to his Tagalog and the progress he has made!
On Friday we had a meeting with other missionaries from around the mission and it was so good! President is going to be having a Tri-Zone Conference this week and he will be teaching us and I know it will be Inspiring. I love listening to Presidents advice and he is so good at creating an environment where we can feel the Spirit of God and know what it is we can do to be more like our Savior.
Almost nightly for dinner we go to the night market here in San Fernando. There is a stand that sells the most delicious Buko Shakes and its also pretty cheap! Ive also fallen in love with Shwarma and I hope it doesnt add too many pounds to the stomach! Worth it though! hahah
On Saturday it was definitely the busiest day of all, but such an amazing day. In the morning we woke up early and studied until noon. We talked about what we learned and taught more things to one another as well. It was super fun and then after lunch we went to the Baptism of the Guzman family!
Missionaries have been teaching them since May, 2016 and they are the best. The sister missionaries here taught them and at their baptism, Sister Guzman shared her testimony that brought in the Spirit so strong. She talked about Hope, Repentance, and reading the Scriptures. She was so ready to accept the Gospel. It was so amazing. I am so happy for them and know that when they are ready, they will go to the temple and be sealed as a family for eternity.
Once we left the baptism we went straight to Sister Teresita's house! We met her a couple days ago and she has invited us back to learn more! She is 68 and can probably run faster than I can! Every day she has to walk to a school to sell snack and back. She lives on a hill that is tiring for us to go up to and is super active.
She has had a lot of questions about Christ and His Church. The first thing she said when we got there was "Elders! Bukas!" (Tomorrow!) And then proceeded to tell us she was coming to church! So we talked about what will be happening at church and other questions she had as well!
After we ended our discussion, we went to the other Elders area to help them set up a film showing at a basketball court! We brought chairs, posters, tents, a projector and much more to invite anyone and everyone in for free snack, and a movie! We watched the Restoration video, about Joseph Smith and what happened to him. It is very simple and explains the basic doctrine about the Restoration on Christ's Church. I loved seeing so many people there to learn about the Church and why we as missionaries go house to house wanting to teach others.
During the time we had to look at posters and pictures, I played games with the little kids to keep them occupied. I loved showing them magic, speaking really fast in English to make them super confused haha and other things as well. Kids are the best and are full of optimism and hope.
Church was great on Sunday and working was great as well! The relief society took her right in so we didnt see her for a while haha but she said she had a great time!

I hope you all have a great week and are safe! Mahal ko kayo!

Elder Pitt



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San Fernando is Amazing

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a great time watching the Superbowl if you watched it! Im not sure who exactly is playing or who won but thats okay! This week was super busy and very amazing as well!


On Tuesday we watched the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast about the new schedule change and also we were able to listen to the Apostles and leaders of the Church discuss missionary work and missionary questions they knew we all have! I loved being instructed by the Apostles of the Lord in what to do and how to do it as a disciple of Christ. After the broadcast, President Bangal spoke to us about the Baguio Mission and how we can help the people here progress in the Gospel and come to know our Savior. I love being able to learn something new every time President speaks with us, and this week we have another meeting with him and other missionaries throughout the Mission to start implementing new ideas and opportunities to share the Gospel, in different ways! We ate lunch and then the Assistants helped us get a bunch of supplies for a street display we did during the week! On the way to our house we got in a car crash, but no worries no one was harmed and everyone was safe! Just a long time waiting for the Police and everything figured out!


On Wednesday we started a Street Display that went through Saturday, there is a bahay kubo right next to the City Hall where we set up posters of the baptism of Jesus Christ, the Plan of Salvation, and also the First Vision. So many people had questions about the posters and what we were doing. The whole 4 days wew ere able to meet new people and set times for missionaries to meet with them and share more. It was a lot of work but was so worth it! And Elder Campbell and I had a blast while doing it!



On Saturday after we took down the display, we went to the Church for a baptismal service. Two people were baptized and next week they will be confirmed at church! We were asked as the missionaries in the District to sing as a part of the service. I am glad that the other missionaries have good voices because it drowned out all the notes that i tried to hit but was not able to! In all seriousness, it was so cool to see people changing their lives and accepting the Restored Gospel into their hearts. I am so happy for them and all of the support people have continued to show them through their conversion process.


On Sunday, we had our Stake Conference! After the Conference, i was able to meet up with the members of the Luna Branch who had come down for Conference! It was so so good to see them and catch up with them! They all told me I looked skinnier! Its most likely because it has now been officially over a month since i have had a sip of soda! I was so happy that I was able to talk to them and especially sister Reyes! We used to teach her when I was in Luna, and now she is a member of the Church! She was baptized in January and has such a strong testimony!


During our Personal Study time this week, I was able to finish Matthew. I loved being able to read again exactly what Christ did while he was here on earth, and to hear His Doctrine, and what it is we need to do here on earth in order to be able to return to Him after this life. His Gospel is perfect, and His Atonement makes us able to repent and become clean from our sins.
I invite you all to pick up a Bible and read the book of Matthew! And especially Chapter 16. Have a great week and be safe!


-Elder Pitt