May 20, 2013

Hey T,

The girls are growing up to fast.  I am missing all the good things, but there will be plenty more when I get home. Things are going good here. I need a sleep catch up day, but I can't sleep that long I just wake up. This has never happened before. Last night I went to sleep at 11:45 and then woke up at 5:45 it was way weird. I am so tired, but I cant sleep. Other than that, things are going great. The work is really good. We are always busy and never really have time to study for that long, so the language is hard, but that's okay. We have 4 people being baptized this week, but I think that it will only be 3-  we will see what will happen. I am really hoping that the one will be baptized. Just keep letting me know what is going on back home. I love and miss you like crazy.

Mahal Kita,

Elder Doney     

Eating Balut

Mother's Day

We were able to talk to Bracken for Mother's Day! Not only did we get to talk, but we used Skype so we were able to see him as well! It was such a good day and he is so happy! He loves the Philippines and the people there. He even said that he loves the food-he thinks he has a rice belly. The Elders that he lives with were with him and they look like they have a lot of fun together!  We were able to talk about what he does every day, they have five more baptisms lined up! They have been teaching Noni Violet's daughters and they are ready to be baptized. He said that it is way hot and the humidity is horrible. He called us Monday morning his time. It was election day so they had to get back to their apartment for lock down because they say it can get pretty crazy!  It was so good to hear from him and see how happy he is. We are so proud of our Missionary! 

First Baptism

Walking down Main Street

A view from the car

Eating one day old chicken with Noni Violet

May 5, 2013

Hey Nanay,  (Mom)

Things sound like they are going great. I will be skyping Monday morning at 9 here so it will be Sunday night about 7 for you. You can have whoever you want to come. I have about an hour or how ever long. I don't know if i miss mowing yet. We played basketball today and I got so sun burned! All the Filipinos were laughing at me because I am so red.  I don't know any Tagalog so I don't think I will be able to say anything to you next week, we will see.  Love you and think about you all the time.

Love

Elder Doney

April 29, 2013

Hey T,

I got 2 pictures, one has Morgan in it and you are bowling and the other has Averi, Reagan and Mylee in their pajamas- I love them. It is really hot here and it rains every night. It is sunny and hot all day then at night it rains so much! It's really nice because it cools us down. Some Elders just stood out in the rain for like 2 minutes and were soaked. It was funny. We did not have the baptism this week we had to move it out 2 weeks for reasons I will not go into. I have started to work out also because I am starting to get a rice belly. I feel so fat. Today we went caving- it was way fun. We had to crawl for a wile. We got so muddy, but it was way fun. Tell Mylee happy birthday Sunday for me. Love you guys and think about you all the time. I look at the pictures the girls drew for

me almost every day.

Love you,

Elder Doney  

 On our way to go caving

Elder Kaloni acting like Gollum of Lord of the Rings

Another good week

Things are really good. This week went by a lot faster, I was really happy about that, but the weeks still feel really long.  We are having a baptism this week and I am doing one of them. I am excited and scared at the same time. I don't want to mess up. I don't know if I will have to do it in Tagalog or in English. We have been teaching them, but I was not the one that started teaching them, but we are really close to them. They have a little boy and he is one of the coolest and funniest little boys, he is 2. The language is really hard!  I can only say a couple of words then the rest is in English. Everyone says it takes time, but I can't wait!  I just want to know it. We have like 12 missionaries in our zone and 4 of us in our ward. I am getting really close with the Elders here and I feel like I am opening up more to them. I have just been thinking about all the things I will be doing when I get home. Then I realize that I still have like 22 months and I just start laughing. It's fun here just trying to get use to all the poverty and all the trash is hard, but I think that I am starting to get use to it.  I love you and am thinking about all of you every day. I will be able to skype on Mothers day. I told Mom a little more about it. I don't know exactly when, but it will most likely be mothers day night for you I will let you know more.

Love you,

Elder Doney 

I love it here!

My mission is awesome. I am in Santiago City. We have 2 McDonald's it is awesome. I love to go there. This is the only place in my mission that has 2 McDonald's and there are only 3 in the whole mission. The Country is way cool. There is a lot of trash every were, but it is still way cool. My companion's name is Elder Delector. He has only 2 months left so I am his last companion. Friday he had a really bad reaction to some medication that he took. So we spent the night and all day Saturday in the hospital, it was not fun. I had to sleep in a chair. When I got up to go do something my right leg was completely numb so I fell over. Everyone started to laugh. Because we were in the hospital I missed the Saturday session and the Priesthood session of General Conference, but I was able to see the Sunday sessions. They were so good. It is good to hear what the Prophet has to say. That has been my favorite Sunday. Here in the Philippines if you have great respect for someone when you shake their hand you will put their hand to you forehead. When I was walking down the street a bunch of little kids came up to us, because I am white they all just stare at me, and one of them came up to me and put my hand to his forehead. I have no idea why, but it was awesome. It made me feel so good. The people here don't have very much money. We have one Nanay (mom) here that we call the missionary Nanay. Every day for lunch she feeds all the missionaries here, it is crazy. She really cares about the missionaries. They don't have much and her husband wanted to do something for the missionaries so he fed them and when he died she continued it. She is an amazing person. I love it here and will send pictures when I get take more. I love and think about you every day.

Love You,

Elder Doney       

Mom, 

 Things are going great. It is so hot I do nothing but sweat all the time. I have not had any one yell at me. I have had people swear at me because I am white, but most of the time the kids just look at me for a really long time. Here if you really respect someone when you shake their hand you put their hand to you forehead, it is a sign of respect.  I was walking and a bunch of little kids came up to us and one of them did that to me. It was way cool. I have no idea why, but I liked it. The people here love the gospel and are willing to listen to you. They are way nice we have 3 people getting baptized on the 27th and like 4 on the 11th next month, it is way exiting. One sister we are teaching, her sister is active in the church. They are rich and they always have us come do laundry in their laundry machine. She told me last time we taught them that she tries her hardest to do what we say, and when she does she can feel that it is true. I told her lets go get baptized right now. It was way cool. I missed the Saturday session and Priesthood session of General Conference because I spent Friday night and all day Saturday in the hospital with my companion. He had a really bad reaction to some medication he took. It was way scary, but everything is okay now and he is up and about. I was able to see the Sunday sessions and I loved it!  It was so awesome to hear the words of the Prophet. Could you send stuff like top roman and Oreos and goop and what ever you can think of. My companion loves Papa Jay's jerky! I still have some but he ask me all the time if he can have some. I love you and think about you every day. I can't wait to tell you more stories and send some awesome pictures. I don't have very many pictures yet when I get some good ones I will send them.

Love You,

Elder Doney     

First Area- Santiago

I miss all of you. Things here are good. I am getting use to the food. I am starting to eat a lot of food. We will have dinner then I will make like 2 sandwiches. The people are way cool and always so nice. They always care about you and if they think something is wrong they will come and talk to you and see how you are doing. We have not watched Conference yet, we don't watch it till this Sunday. I am so exited to watch it. I heard they watch it in English. I am hoping so I know what is going on. We have 8 people with baptism dates. It is crazy and all of them except one came to church Sunday. It is so awesome I can't wait to see them get baptized. The people here are so open to listen to you. They will not turn you away. I still don't know any Tagalog. Some Elders that have been here for 5 months still don't know it. They can speak a little more then me, but they still can't talk with people. It has been so hot here. Every day is hotter then then the last. I can't take the heat - I am so tired all the time until it is night and it cools down then we have a blast. I do not have to do laundry by hand anymore in my area. We have a rich member in my ward. She said that she wants us every Monday to come and do laundry at her house in her washing machine. I am so happy!  Things are going great here. I love to here about every thing that is going on and send lots of pictures. Love you tons.
Elder Doney  

Mom, 
Things here are great. It gets hotter and hotter every day. My companion is awesome and is always trying to help me. The members are amazing they are always talking to us and helping us. We always have fellow shippers. They love to work with the missionary's. We have one member in my ward that is rich, for here, and she told us every Monday that she wants us to come to her house and do our laundry in her washing machine. I am so happy it makes everything easier. The language is really hard. All I really want are just some snacks that I can eat all through the day, and anything that you can think of. We have not watched General Conference yet, we don't watch it till this Sunday. We have 8 investigators with a baptism date. I am way exited. I really don't know what they are saying all the time so I just sit there. Other than that everything is the same. I love you and think about you every day.
Love you
Elder Doney