Elder Javillo writes his first letter from the mission field

Today, I received, mysteriously a letter from Elder Javillo. It was sitting in a nice little package, along with three other letters for me to deliver to a few other other people, on my kitchen counter. No postage on the outside...no mailing address. I'm pretty sure his family are the secret messengers but I haven't had a chance to call them yet. Regardless... what a wonderful surprise after a day of work. I must say, and I apologize to all of the rest of you Elders--you know we love you all--but Elder Javillo WINS the prize for being the neatest letter writer of all so far. He has beautiful penmanship. Elder Ultra's letters are fairly legible, but Elder Scarlett and Elder Behira's letters are sometimes as hard to decifer as cracking some difficult code. I've determined that they should both be doctors of some sort.
Anyways, Elder Javillo says:

It's been two weeks in my area and I am loving it. The people are very humble and the lifestyle here is very different compared to Canada. Most of the families here are big..at least six family members. Their houses are small. Picture a house which is your kitchen, living room and bedroom all combined with six people living there. I must say that we are very fortunate people compared to them. NEVERTHELESS, they have a happy and complete family. That's what I love about Filipinos. No matter how hard life is, they still have a reason to smile and continue living. The challenge we have here, and our goal, is to reactivate members. Some cannot afford to give up a day of work, especially Sunday or else they don't have food for the next day. Life here is like, 'if you work today, you have food for tomorrow.' The church is kind of far from where they live. So, instead of spending money for transportation, they would rather save it for something else. What I have learned here is that giving yourself to them and to serve them and show your love to them and always remind them that they are highly favored of God. We are all highly favored of God. We may be rich or poor but Heavenly Father loves us equally. Find opportunities to serve others. I love and miss you all. Till next time Elder Javillo

It sounds like he has already caught the spirit of missionary work and what the Gospel is truly all about doesn't it? Hoorah for Zion Elder Javillo!

Elder Udani in the Philippines!

Well, it's official and we have pictures to prove it. I don't know about you, but Elder Udani looks awfully happy!!!

Sister Sloan To Compete with 'the Mormons'

Early Monday morning, February 13th, Sister Sloan anxiously sat inside the border crossing office hoping to sort out documentation fairly quickly. She had a flight to catch, in Seattle, and didn't want to be late. The Custom Officers asked her: "Where are you going?" Sister Sloan replied: "to Salt Lake City." The Custom officer asked: "What will you be doing there?" Sister Sloan replied: "Teaching people about our church and what we believe". The Customs Officer responded thoughtfully: "Hmmmm....you'll be in competition with the Mormons". After some chuckles from the whole Sloan family, who were also seated inside, the Custom Officer sheepishly said: "Oh, so you ARE Mormon". It was funny!!!

On Wednesday afternoon, Sister Sloan excitedly drove up to the MTC. As we pulled close to the curb, an entourage of 'Handsome Hosts' came straight to our car rental and began to pull the new red luggage out of our trunk. Tears were shed by her Mom and Grandmother (and later by her twin sister) as hugs and farewells were given. Before we knew it,Sister Sloan waved goodbye and practically skipped into the main doors. She literally 'glowed'. That made it so much easier to say good-bye just knowing that she was so anxious to 'get going'.

Hoorah for Zion Sister Sloan. We will definitely miss you and we definitely love you.

Elder Javillo THRIVES in the MTC....

Elder Javillo LOVED the MTC: Here's a little of what he wrote:

"Being here is so wonderful and seeing Elders and Sisters in the hallway, in the cafeteria was just amazing. Seeing each and everyone of them all excited preparing, learning a language for their mission just gives you motivation to work hard. I'm so grateful to be here and I couldn't picture myself anywhere else than just being in the MTC learning more about the gospel and how to be a great missionary. I reported to the MTC around 9:30pm. Guess what? When I got there a Devotional had just finished and one of the Elders told me that Elder Nelson, of the Quorum of the twelve, had spoken. That could have been a great start if I had heard it. Anyways, I was assigned in a temporary room and I felt I was in a hotel. I was all by myself in one room and the funniest part was I didn't bring my alarm clock. So I had no idea how I would wake up early on my first day. That night it kinda tested my faith already and I just relied on the Lord. He gave me the comfort that everything would be fine. I set up my bed and in my prayer I said, I don't have a roommate and no alarm clock and I don't know what time I will wake up. Heavenly Father knew my situation. he knew that the past few days I have had lack of sleep. I felt his Love and how important I am to Him. If he was beside me, I know that He would say, 'Rest my son. Don't worry about tomorrow. I will wake you up.' I don't know how, but all I remember I slept like a baby and the next day I woke up at exactly 6:00 am. I felt like I slept for a day. It was unbelievable and yet I felt His love and comfort. The first day at the MTC will be a day I will never forget. First waking up early without my alarm clock, second getting my Elder Javillo Tag means officially I'm an Elder and as a representative of Jesus Christ. Third, everyone is so nice. Having a companion 24/7...we are having bonding moments. My companion is Elder Jarom Estipona. he is from Baguio Philippines where Romney will be serving and he is serving in New Jersey. Awesome companion and I really learned a lot from him. He has a strong testimony and he really knows what he is talking about. Very smart, loving and very responsible. There's no more fun than serving others and become a servant of the Lord."

Yes, I would say that Elder Javillo is THRIVING in the MTC. Keep up the great work. We love you and miss you!!!!

Elder Udani flying out tonight....

Just before beginning FHE tonight, the telephone rang and who should be on the other end of the phone but, Elder Udani!!! What a shock! He had a long layover in San Francisco...on his way out into the mission field. He said that he was excited and doing well. He really enjoyed the MTC and said that there were 14 others traveling with him to the Philippines...all caucasian...except for one Samoan. :) What was really exciting, as well, was that he ran into Sister Sloan a few days ago, in the cafeteria. They had a moment to talk and even got a picture together...along with Allison's 'Swiss' companion. How exciting is that? So, everyone is doing well. We can hardly wait for new pictures!!! Send all mail to his Mission Home address posted on this blog.

Elder Udani plays Follow the Leader....

Elder Udani left for the MTC on the coat tails of Elder Javillo. I think their departures have been the closest from the beginning of all of the 'missionary farewells.' It seems we just said good-bye to TJ and now, just a couple of weeks later, we say good-bye to Romney. It kind of reminds me, a little, of the childhood game "Follow the Leader". The question is, 'who is the leader?' Once, in Utah, Elder Udani was able to spend some time with Elder Perkins and Elder Floyd when he arrived. They have been such a great support to everyone!!! Below is a little correspondence from Elder U. after being at the MTC for just a week:
"MTC has been alright. First week is quite stressfull. I got a companion from Costa Rica, Elder Mora who will be serving in Ukraine, Russian speaking. He's amazing. Really good elder. Feeling the spirit is still somewhat hard for me, but apprently it's normal for the first few days. I am really hoping to feel the spirit more. But here at the MTC I have gained a stronger testimony of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I feel closer to them compared to when I left.

"I really have nothing much to say at the moment. Just say hi to everyone there and I love all of you. Thank you for the support you have provided me in times of hardships. I miss you. But I haven't felt homesick at all, which is quite strange for my personality. Well, I'll talk to you again next week. Take care. I may depart 2 weeks from now, if not I will leave MTC on 2 of April."

Hoorah for Zion Elder Udani. We love you and can't wait to hear about your further adventures!!!!

So Long, Farewell, Paalam

Well, this has been the fifth "FHE Farewell" for those leaving on missions. It's so hard to believe that our 'tight little group' has slowly unraveled and is weaving it's way, and it's influence, across the world. We enjoyed our final 'happiest moments' and 'favorites memories' and said our final farewells to Romney. He will certainly be missed. HOORAH FOR ZION ELDER UDANI. We love you!

This is it!

On Sunday, January 29 Romney and Allison enjoyed sharing their "Open House" together. Many, many friends and family gathered together to wish them well. SO much food, and SO much fun!!! The huge mound of shoes was an adventure in itself as it took many quite some time to find their 'match' when it was time to leave. Wow...what a night!!!

It's My Turn.....

Kathleen Ultra quietly submitted her mission papers without many people knowing about it. For some of us that did know, it was exciting to see her finally post a picture of 'the famous envelope'. Now we all knew that it had finally arrived!!! Kathleen nervously, but excitedly, opened the call to find that she would be going to....SURPRISE....serve i Quezon City, Philippines. We are so excited for her!!! Congratulations Sister Ultra. You will be such a wonderful missionary!!!