Nov 30, 2015

Aww, I miss you guys! The holiday seasons are difficult so far from home without you guys. But it's a great time for preaching the gospel! In this season many people are willing to make their christmas more christ centered, and this makes it a wonderful time to teach them. But no, we didn't celebrate thanksgiving. It isn't really a holiday down here. But some of the sisters in our ward have asked for all our secret recipes for cooking ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Do you think that we should give away all of our secrets? I told them that I'd ask you. As well as that lemon cake that's super delish. They don't have lemons here! How strange, right? I really want to make a few lemon cakes this year though, what kind of lemon stuff do you need for that cake? You may have to send it to me. :)

Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten to bring my camera... again. But not much has been happening lately, so you're not missing out on much. This week I got to know the ward and our investigaters better. Our area is pretty average sized, but we have a few subdivisions (called fraccionamientos) out in the middle of nowhere too, so we occasionally have to take the bus. 

This week we had a meeting with our president and here are some Christmas package guidelines and info: 

1.With all packages, write MISSION on the box, as well as the contents. If you don't, they will open the package and search it at the border.

2.For clothes, you can't send used clothes. All clothing must have a price tag attached and a reciept in the box. otherwise, it will be removed at the border.

3.All packages will be delivered on the 19th of december.

4.Advice from president: do not include any cooked food (like ham and potatoes with gravy) because it will most likely not arrive well. Cookies are fine. Brownies or other desserts are fine too. Chocolate covered pretzels are great. more or less, be smart about sending food. 

5. About our call home: It will be on the 24th, before 7pm (remember that here we have a 1hr time difference.) It is his advice that we make a list of questions and things we want to say beforehand, because we only have 1hr. And it will be by Skype. no exceptions. If skype doesn't work, by telephone. 

That's all I remember. 

I hope that everything goes well with your surgery and that you get better quickly! 

I hope that every time you see my naked bum elf you think of me!

I miss you guys so much! I love you all!

And of course, Happy Holidays!

Elder Phillips

Hey Dad!

All is good here in the new area! Honestly, it was rough adjusting to this ward and my companion, but now it's getting better. My spanish is almost fluent, and I rarely ever have to repeat myself (there is nothing worse than having to repeat yourself. Seriously. I was talking with a lady in our ward one day and she had to ask my companion "what did he say?" It made me a little upset honestly. I almost threw a burrito at her. But I didn't, cuz I'm a nice guy. See, I have learned something in the mission!) and understanding others is super easy. Sometimes I talk in my sleep in spanish!

How awesome that you got to see your cousin after all these years! How's he doing? What is he like? Does he have kids? Where is he from?
And how great with all that wonderful food! Here in our mission eating sushi is forbidden, because this is mexico. And eating raw fish bought from a mexican/chinese man in the streets? not a smart idea. But we can eat pizza! We shouldn't, but we can! Soda is also now forbidden :( it was a sad day when our mission president gave us that rule. 

That museum looks super mega legit! I don't think i've ever actually seen a dinosaur in a museum. maybe I have, But I don't remember! Did you give Sue a kiss? 

How awesome! Sounds like your week was a blast! When I get back, savannah will be 2 yrs old! And kat could have 2 more kids!  Crazy, right?And thank you for everything, and for the reminder of my setting apart. I had forgotten entirely, and it was exactly what I needed to hear.

 I love you! Show everyone back home how awesome you are!
Have a great week

Elder Phillips

Nov 23, 2015

Hey!!

 This week was a lot of getting to know the members and investigators in the area. We invited Mayra (an investigator) to get baptised, and she accepted! We´re now working with her and her husband more to help prepare her for her baptism. 

We also recieved a reference from other missionaries this week, and trhe family turned out to be super awesome! The mother is very receptive and her son (15 yrs old) has gone to many different churches searching for the truth. We taught them about the Restoration of the gospel, and then invited them to the mutual activity and Church on sunday. They are very enthusiastic to hear about the church and I hope that they progress a lot in these coming weeks. It is wonderful to see how the gospel can touch the lives of those around us. 

We had a stake conference yesterday, so I had a second opportunity to listen to our local leaders and hear their guidance. It was super awesome and a very spiritual experience for everyone there. 

Don´t be afraid to spread the gospel with those around you! 

Elder Phillips

Heyyo!

How awesome! The wedding sounds like it went great and they had a blast! And you helped prepare for it? where did they have the reception? anywhere fun and fancy?

So they don´t actually celebrate Thanksgiving down here. Nope. Just America celebrates it. So it´ll be a regular turky-free week=( And I recently found out that we can have playing cards, it´s just that we can´t gamble (nothing new there). So I´m super excited and ready to teach my companions how to play some games =) And because we can´t leave our house during christmas, we´ll have a lot of free time!

I wish I could help you with the tree, Make sure to send me a picture when you get it set up! Haha, how´s the family doing? Everyone excited? I hope so. Anything fun going on in school or in sports? 

And Brian was named by Elder Navarro (the trainer of my trainer, who was here in Mezquital right before I was), after Elder Rian, who finished his mission about 2 weeks ago. Personally, I´m not a huge fan of the name. So I call him Chorcho.

So these computers here wont accept my SD card to send you guys photos, so I won´t be able to send them today. But next week hopefully I´ll be able to!

November 16, 15

Yup, transfered. This new area is really big and at the edge of the world. It´s Desert. We´ve been having some pretty cold days lately too, but fortunately we were prepared. And the members here are super nice and offer us avena, maizena, atole, or one of their many other hot beverages.

My new companion is alright. Elder Escobar was super awesome and we had a great time so it´s hard to adjust. But Elder Gonzalez is cool, and likes to sing and stuff. So we´ll see how it goes. 

And the package did arrive! And just a few days later, It vanished! That´s right. Gone! Because we ate it all :) It was super delicious! And the photos are wonderful, and the t-shirt is super cool, and all-in-all It was awesome! I´m still working on your package, but it will arrive late. There are some things that I have purchased through our Mexi-mission black market that I won´t be able to get until Nov 30th, so we´ll see. I´ll send it as soon as I can, but it will most likely be late.

And surgery! Crazy! How did you end up growing a cyst on your thyroid? And the size of a golf ball! Does it hurt? i hope that the surgery goes well! 

Maren is working on her mission papers!!!! She emailed me today, and holy guacamole! They grow up so fast. 

And how´d the band concert go? will Ellie be in High School next year?

And of course, Ellie´s manners. Oh boy, what are you going to do with that silly kid :) Just about everything is a fingerfood around here, they eat it all with tortillas too. Haha, here in the mission we only have a certain budget each month. And this month, let´s just say that I´m running short on money. Fortunately, potatoes are really cheap and warm and tasty! So I too will be enjoying a plethora of papas (potatoes in español) :)

I´m super pumped for this Christmas! Not for parties or celebrations or anything- because we spend 2 whole days in our house- but because it is a wonderfully fabulous season! We celebrate Christ´s birth, something that I haven´t been too focused on these past weks. We focus on his life, but I haven´t been putting much thought into his birth. I love the christmas season!

We will have our meeting on the 7th of December. And This year I would love a pair of thermal underwear (1 top and 1 bottom), and a deck of regular playing cards :)

Remember, I am out here far away preaching the gospel, but you have oportunities to preach the gospel every day back home too! Make the most of these opportunities!

I Love You!

Elder Phillips

Oh, here´s a picture of our puppy. His name is Brian. Somebody left him here about a week ago and we´re trying to find him a home.

November 9, 15

Hello Everyone!

It has been another wonderful week down here in Juarez, with a somewhat sad ending. That's right. Transfers. For those of you who don't know, transfers are like a disease. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't. And there's no vaccine. And yes, I'm afraid that we have once again been struck by transfers. I will be leaving the Chapultepec 1st Ward and the Juarez South Stake, to join the Mezquital (Mosquitoville?)Ward in the Las Torres Stake. I have today to pack up all my things and then yea I leave in the morning. I hope everything is awesome over there. From what i've heard, it's on the edge of Juarez. Basically the edge of the world. I Can't Wait! I'm super pumped and can't wait to meet my new companion: Elder Gonzalez! 

In Chapultepec, we have a baptism this weekend! That's right! Ana Maria Rojas Dias will be baptized by her husband this Saturday! I'm a little sad that I won't be able to see it though. 

It's a sad thing to leave an area, but it's the will of God. Remember: there is always a purpose. Sometimes we can't see it from the start, but with a little bit of time, it will become clear. This doesn't just apply to transfers in the mission, it applies to life in general. As humans, we want to see the end from the beginning. We want to walk by sight and knowledge. However, that just isn't how God works. And as the apostle Paul said:  "For we walk by faith, not by sight."  2 Corinthians 5:7

So although it may be difficult, put your trust in God. Accept his will in your life, for this is how you will obtain the blessings and happiness that God has in store for you.

So take a step of faith this week.

Elder Phillips

My letter to John mentioned that we went and saw Crazy For You at Centennial. He loved his music teacher, Mr Blackwell, and I sent him a picture of him and some of the cast he would know.

How awesome! I do miss my old Musical days. Was it High School Musical? or a musical put on by our high school? Either way, I bet it was super fun! 

And yes, I'm afraid that we have once again been struck by transfers. I will be leaving Chapultepunk and heading over to Mezquital(Mosquitoville?) 2. I have today to pack up all my things and then ya. I leave in the morning. I hope everything is awesome over there! The bad news, I have not gotten the package yet. Our zone leaders are in our district and we're pretty tight so I was asking them about it. Unfortunately, they didn't get any packages for our zone :( I'm hoping that tomorrow when we go to the offices They'll be waiting for me. But who knows.

We had a primary program down here too! It was super awesome! They sang about 8 different verses of "Follow the Prophet" and some other awesome songs. All-in-all, It was great!  

Our zone meetings are held in our stake centers, once a month. I would still love some thermals (Thermal underwear!) because yes, it gets really cold down here too. Not quite as cold as idaho, but it has been known to drop below 0. The Americans send their packages to El Paso and our president brings them down for us monthly.

Thank you so much mom! I Love You!

Elder Phillips

Nov 2, 2015

To my dear friends and family,

Only 1 week left in this transfer! It's crazy how fast this time has flown by! Things have been going well down here in Juarez, And Halloween was a blast! No, we didn't actually do anything for Halloween, but we pass by a lot of kids with fun costumes!  This year I was dressed up as a Mormon! During the night, a few cars drove by and we could hear the kids yelling out "Look! Mormons!", so I think I nailed my costume too :)

This week the thought on my mind has been about our trials and our faith. I was reading a quote that I had in my scriptures (one of those nifty little things that you get in seminary) and it was talking about such trials. It more or less said, "When we are struck by an extremely difficult trial, we will find out what it is that we truly believe. And these beliefs are what either anchor us, or betray us."  So pray. Read the scriptures. We know that trials will come, they always do, but how will we prepare ourselves? Will we be able to respond with an increase of faith? Or will our faith diminish eventually fade away?

So I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and I hope that all will remember me while eating your Halloween candy.
Sed de buen animo! Dios provera.
Elder David Phillips

First off, let's talk about all them rules!

1) That's difficult, because I'm not trying to sell off my sister. I just have a photo in my wallet and when the other missionaries see it, they suddenly decide that after the mission they want to visit Boise. Honest, I don't even have to try. 

And yup. That's it. But oh well. I guess i just won't show off photos of my wonderful family :'(

Haha, ok. And yes, we have our Zone meeting this Monday (not today, but the 8th i think). 

It is super sad that Sister Nettles passed away this week. I'm glad that you're helping take care of Kate and I hope that everything goes well for them!

Thanks for the photos too! It's crazy how fast everyone is getting married! I've only been gone a few months but everyone's getting hitched! And happy Halloween! Did you know that here on the border they celebrate Halloween too? It isn't nearly as big, and it's a lot more dangerous, but you can still see groups of people going door to door in their costumes. I love the pumpkins and all the costumes this year, they're super awesome! And tell the girls that they look super adorable in their outfits! 

And a bit of bad news. We did not have a baptism. It is difficult when this happens. We've been trying to help this family so much, but It's time for us to let them go for a while. They still have problems that they need to sort out, but in time, I hope that we will be able to help them again.

Wish Katie and Connor andTom and Kelsey the best of luck for me!

I Love you mom! Thanks for all your help and support! 

Elder Phillips

Heyyo Daddyo!

It is a real downer. But I'm kinda glad. Not in a mean or rude way or anything, but because she's not suffering anymore. And like you said, there are some good things coming out of it too. Parker learning more about the church, Hunter going to the BSU Ward. I'm glad that they're looking towards Christ in these difficult times for them. I remember going with you one time to give Margi a blessing too. It was a very spiritual experience. I am glad that she is now resting.

And Halloween! This year I was dressed up as a Mormon! During the night, a few cars drove by and we could hear the kids yelling out "Look! Mormons!", so I think I nailed my costume too :)

That family sounds awesome! I'm glad to hear that ours isn't the only nerdy family out there :)

This box of yours sounds pretty amazing too! But unfortunately, it has not arrived yet :( I believe that it may be here already, but I won't get it until next monday at our zone meeting. I Can't Wait!!

Also, Our mission president gave us permission to grow out a mustache this past week. So Here's a picture of your son: An official fat mexican.

I Love You!

Elder Phillips

On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 9:19 PM, Dave Phillips <boisedwp@gmail.com> wrote:

So this has been s tough week. Margi nettles finally passed away. It has been a long time in the making. I think that it was a year and a half ago that I first went over there to help Greg give her a blessing. I still remember it. The spirit was so strong. Unfortunately she never got better. Just last Thursday Greg asked me again to come over and give her a blessing one last time. She actually looked pretty good. She was weak and had lost a lot of weight, but she looked good and was talkative and had some energy.  I blessed her to be comforted , able to sleep, able to rest, and have peace.  It is crazy that less than 5 days later she had passed.

During the past year or two Greg and I have met for lunch many times while Margi has been fighting the cancer. It has been known for some time that she would not get better. Many times he cried and we would just talk about things that are really important. It is crazy to think now that he has kids to raise by himself. We try to help all we can. Kate and Tadman come over a lot. It is great to have them here.

A few good things are already happening though, Parker has asked to take the discussions to learn more about the church. And hunter has asked for when and where the BSU student wards meet. I hope they come back. That would be great. Also, Greg has never been stronger in the gospel than he is right now. He is a great guy.

Sorry for all that stuff. Kind of a downer. The important take away is that it is only through our savior Jesus Christ that we are able to return to our Heavenly Father, be forgiven, and be together as families forever. This is all so much more real now after watching the nettles go thru this trial.

Now for a change of pace:

Halloween was great. I dressed up as a middle-aged curmudgeon. Yup, I nailed it!!  The buckners had us and others over for chili and then we hung out in the saints driveway with a campfire while we gave free candy to all the beggars that stumbled by. There were a lot this year. It was a good time. There was one family that came by with 3 little girls. They were like 6, 4, and 1 year old. The 6 year old was dressed and Dr Who, the 4 year old was a Dalek, and the 1 year old was an Adipose baby!  They were AWESOME. After the 4 year old got candy from mom, here mother said, "and what do you say?"  Her reply: "EXTERMINATE,". It was the best ever.

So it was about a week and a half ago that I shipped a box to you. Has it arrived?  There is lots of good stuff in it that will be tasty. Be sure to let me know what specific stuff you want:  I do take requests!

Have a great week. Keep up the great work. You are awesome!

David Phillips