Catching Up With Elder Moncur!

January 19, 2014
Elder Moncur did not send a group e-mail this week, and I (Max’s mom) have a lot of catching up to do with his blog.  I will work backwards from last week and update with all of the pictures and work he has been doing.  He has recently transferred and is currently serving in Ligao.  His companion is Elder M. and of course I found out that he is a runner from Utah.  Max really likes him and they have been running every morning.  Max is trying to read through the Tagalog Book of Mormon to help with learning the language.  You can write to him by following the instructions in the right-hand column (notice that U.S. postage just went up)  Missionaries love (and appreciate!) mail.  Thank you for all of your love and support.  Look forward to more posts soon.  Here are some pictures he shared with us recently (without captions from him, so I added some):

"Spend Time Wisely"

Looks Like Rain

Studying?  And a Secret Admirer
(notice the paper on the wall)

Working and Posing

Mayon and a Rainbow
with Elder M, his companion

Beauty of The Philippines

Hello!  

Runners!

Sunset and a Missionary
in the "Pearl of the Orient"

Missionaries on a bridge

Sweet Filipino girls studying their scriptures

Walking and Working

Elder Moncur and Mount Mayon

Elder Moncur in a field of green
overlooking the Pacific Ocean

Another Phase of My Mission Life

November 17, 2013

Mayon Volcano

So.  Elder Moncur here.  Living in a country in calamity is pretty crazy.  Everyone talks about this typhoon and it seems to be all they care about.  Although my area wasn’t affected directly by the storm it’s still very hard on the people.  All I ask is that you please keep this country, especially Tacloban, in your hearts and prayers, especially this holiday season when many people lost all they had and will no longer be able to have one.  Thanks so much! 

Also, please remember me this holiday season. ;)  Don’t forget I too like Christmas cards and am sending out my own to those who remember me ahaha, salamat!

Ok.  Week 12.  Last week of training.  I’m finally a real missionary....!  This means Elder Bazar, is finally getting transferred and I will be in Santo Domingo with a new companion tomorrow.  You could say I’m pretty stressed but also excited.  I’m ready for change, but I’m not ready to be out of training!  As many of you know, I’m not that best at Tagalog, in fact, I’m the worst!  I don’t understand for some reason yet or speak well still so I’m scared.  I guess this will just be another act of trying my faith and will!  Let’s do this!

This past week was also my 4 month mark since I left home.  It’s hard not to count time when you live with an Elder Fruean who is going home in 3 months and constantly talks about it.  He has less days than I have weeks.... Cool haha!

Ok, but really, this week was awesome.  It involved a lot of good byes for Elder Bazar, but we made them all fun!  We even got lost in the jungle at night so we had to make our way through jungle, cross a river, and then a muddy rice field slipping the whole way.  It was actually pretty scary haha the whole way we were joking about tomorrow’s news being "Typhoon Yolanda!  Oh, 2 LDS Missionaries Gone Missing....And Back to Typhoon Yolanda!"  But thankfully we made it out, just really muddy and wet.  These experiences are what I live for here.  The everyday adventures.... man.  Life.  Is.  Sick.  After teaching a family, Elder Bazar wanted to go to this beach one last time the other night where he would always go for stress relief.  On the way, a bunch of the local members’ kids came running up behind and joined us for some tag.  I have to admit, up until now, I couldn’t stop missing my family, but after this night, I realized that I’ve made a new family, and I was playing with my "little siblings" at the beach.  What better?  Guys, I’m adjusting!  I’m becoming a Pinoy!  The mission is still tough, but as I realize what I’m truly doing and how to make the best of it, I love it more and more. 

Missionaries!

Jeepney Artwork

On top of a Jeepney

This week was a miracle though.  So get this.  When I got here, no more than 30-40 people attended church.  Now for the third week in a row, we’ve broken into the 70’s! And that’s not all!  This is the miracle:  You know the 3 families I talked about before about asking to be taught?  Well they are really progressing, and so is their neighborhood!  A WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD.  Do you understand how crazy that is?  Not everyone is taking lessons, but they’re all showing interest and so our focus is shifting to this area that I now call Mini-Utah.  The 3 families want to get baptized but it’s still not for sure, so please pray for our success with them!  I know if they go through, many others will too.  It’s hard because I’m having so much fun and teaching them is awesome, I just can’t understand what they need or tell them anything I want!  This has rekindled my fire though and this next transfer I’m expecting great things of myself!

So, to add to the list of my crazy experiences.... We’ve found we have a neighbor that has been creeping on us........ We always work out and wash clothes on the roof, and we noticed that he’s always staring at us.... We also always keep our side door open for air flow and his balcony gives him a clear view right into our apartment.... It’s creepy cause you’ll be just chillin’ and notice him peeking through the curtains at us and sometimes just stands there and obviously stares.  It’s really weird.  I don’t know how I feel about it.... YOSO!  (You only serve once, our district motto)  So I don’t care!  Love it all or go home!  I also saw a dog get nailed by a tricey and then limp away, sad.  Future Elder Llyacona, a member in our branch leaves on his mission Tuesday so we had 2 farewells, one for him and one for Elder Bazar.  AlI can say is I don’t like to lose and found myself soaking wet in my mission attire taking on every kid I could in basketball and soccer. 

Members at the beach

This girl is a lot like Mia,
same age and similar name

"No Parking on Sidewalks
Sidewalks are for People"

Anyway, new companion this week.  I’m scared but ready for another phase of my mission life.  Please keep in touch, especially during this holiday season!  Love you all!

Love, Elder Moncur

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) and Work

November 10, 2013

Some weather of the Philippines

Ok, so this week was probably the craziest of my life, and I’m sure many of you already know why!  So much happened so I just need to explain things step by step, so bear with me!  It’ll be worth it!

Last Monday:  So we had a random meeting pop up so that’s why I had to run off quickly and I guess my weekly e-mail and pictures didn’t send.  It was taking forever to go through and we couldn’t wait, so sorry!

Tuesday:  I had an unexpected exchange come up, but I was totally fine with it cause I was with Elder Nelson again but this time in his area, Malilipot.  On the way to a Family Home Evening, we were walking with the other 2 Elders who live here also, Elder Fifita from Tonga and Elder Bautista from the Philippines.  Randomly they started talking about this typhoon that was coming and was supposed to hit the Bicol Region Thursday.  They continued telling us it was supposedly supposed to be worse than the 2006 Typhoon that hit here, which flooded badly and killed many people.... WAIT WHAAAAAAATT.  No way.  Nelson and I couldn’t believe it.  We both said, "We’ll believe it when we see it."  I have to admit I got pretty excited, but how did they know it was really going to be this bad?  So we arrive at our FHE appointment, and the first thing I notice inside the house is the news.  Of course they were talking about the typhoon.  We asked the family about it and found out that yes, this storm was going to be nasty.  WOOHOO!  We were all so stoked!  This is my immature self, but yes, I was excited!  This meant I would experience a typhoon, be trapped inside, get to see the aftermath, do lots of service, I was stoked!  On the way home after the lesson we couldn’t stop talking about the typhoon.  We were so excited and it was going to hit Thursday!  Once we were back in the apartment it started pouring and we lost electricity, or had a brown out.  In Malilipot they don’t have running water without electricity because of this system they have, so we decided to shower out in the rain.  It was really coming down and it felt so nice.  Elders Nelson, Fifita, and I were doing the Haka in the rain when all of a sudden a giant flash of lightning blinded us!  It was crazy, I was like stunned and everything was white for a few seconds.  WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!  We all went running back inside laughing.  Yes, this typhoon is getting real.

The rain

Missionary roommate and comrades

Wednesday:  Today I had exchanges with the Zone Leaders, Elder Shane Brown and Elder Williams.  When I arrived in Tabaco, right when I got off he Jeepney a fight as going on in the middle of the street.  Two pujak drivers (bikes with a side cart) or however you spell it were fighting over some passengers.  Welcome to Tabaco!  Ha, so this was my first time to the Zone Leaders apartment.  All I have to say is not fair.  It’s 3 stories and is massive with appliances and nice everything.  They have a washing machine.  That says enough about how nice their apartment is, haha so the first half of the day I spent working with Elder Brown and the second I spent with Elder Williams.  Both were awesome experiences.  Elder Brown and I only had one lesson, but I just hope to one day be the missionary he is.  He’s a stud.  For lunch we hit up an Italian place they have for fun, not amazing, but it made the experience feel more like home.  Whenever we’re together we just go off about how crazy it is that we’re together and we talk about our future and then talk about how one day we’ll be looking back on these times.... Crazy!  After lunch, I switched with Elder Bazar to work with Elder Williams.  The mission office was texting them about the typhoon coming as we slowly were getting more info about it and the Zone Leaders were told to move our Zone Training, which was supposed to be Friday, to Thursday because of the typhoon.  The Zone Leaders get a little extra special details from the office so we were able to find out that this thing was really getting big and was going to be a nasty storm.  Anyway, Elder Williams is our new Zone Leader and this is his last transfer, he goes home next week!  Right as we left to go to work, some construction workers popped a pipe and it sprayed us right as we walked by.  Everyone burst out laughing and were yelling at us as we wiped our faces and walked away.  Man, today was going to be a good day.  Quote of the Day: "I cant wait to go home and blend back in again."  Haha so true, I know what he means.  Here we Americans stand out so much and people constantly yell at you and sometimes you just wish you were a nobody.  So I’m still all excited for this storm and being with the ZL’s (Zone Leaders) I was able to hear more about it and what us missionaries were going to have to do.  As we arrived at our lessons houses, I had an amazing experience.  Everyone we visited was preparing for the typhoon.  Here, most houses aren’t sturdy so everyone evacuates to safer places.  So the people we planned on teaching were packing up their houses and would say they were too busy.  Thankfully, Elder WIlliams knew how to get time to share our message with them anyways.  As we went to each house though, my feeling of excitement for this storm soon changed to fear.  I realized what we were dealing with.  As we talked with people about how bad it was going to be and how they were preparing for it, I noticed the fear in their eyes.  All I was thinking about was my experience.  I was being immature.  I had a safe, cement, 2 story house.  Everyone else lives in huts for the most part that aren’t stable.  This storm would destroy everything.  What they couldn’t carry, they would lose.  I was still somewhat excited, but I realized that this was truly going to be a terrifying experience.  I started to think about the people and how they were going to be affected.  The storm was supposed to come tomorrow night, so Tabaco City was crazy as people were prepping for what was to come.  It made things that much scarier seeing the amounts of preparation.  Once we got back to the apartment, Elder Brown and I talked a bit.  I told him about my mission experience so far and the struggles.  At first his responses were like everyone else’s and weren’t helping, but for some reason one thing he said was different and really struck home.  I told him how I never feel good enough and how I really struggle with Tagalog.  His response was something he had been told by one of his companions which was "Just start where you are."  I really feel like I’m getting overwhelmed and I stress about my progress so far, but this simple sentence made me realize everyone’s different and my time will come.  I can’t keep looking forward and wishing, I just gotta start where I am.  This is one of many reasons why Elder Shane Brown is the best and why I want to be like him!  This day was awesome.  I spent it with a friend from home and with another veteran missionary where I was able to observe and learn.  Zone Training and the beginning of the typhoon tomorrow!

Exchanges with Elder Williams

Exchanges with Elder Brown from Orange County

Thursday:  The typhoon was now being called a Super Typhoon.  There was a weird feeling here that you could feel.  There really was peace before the storm.  So zone training was fun, learned a lot but was drowned out by the coming Super Typhoon.  After the morning zone training, we were told to buy food and get home, warn members, and get inside by 6.  So we got home, dumped off our groceries, and rushed out.  As Elder Bazar and I were speed walking to the members homes, I had this over coming feeling of peace come over me.  This whole mission I’ve felt useless because of my extreme language barrier, but now I felt like I was actually able to do some good and help people!  I seriously felt like a super hero and the the people of Santo Domingo were mine to keep safe.  It was AWESOME.  We told the members that the church was open for an evacuation center and then helped some move their stuff to our church building.  We also helped storm proof a house by tying down their grass roof with wood and wire.  There is seriously no greater joy than serving others.  I know that when we serve others we are truly serving God, and when it’s willingly and with joy, our happiness is so much greater.  So we helped prep people, get them to shelters, and then got home.  It was weird though because people still weren’t acting scared and the weather didn’t seem like a massive typhoon was going to wreck the place.

Tying down the roof

Friday:  Super Typhoon Yolanda.  To be honest, I woke up expecting to see a destroyed world, houses flattened, floods, etc.... THERE WAS NOTHING.  Elder Bazar, Fruean, Davis and I were so confused!  It was supposed to get bad at 6 pm though, so we still had hope.  We were confined to the house all day and we could barely focus, so we just hung on the roof all day waiting for a sign of a "Super Typhoon".  Around 11 we finally experienced some crazy winds and rain but it stopped after an hour.....  What the heck man!  We continued to be patient and wait, but still nothing.  At 4-ish we received the most disappointing text ever.  It was along the lines of that we won’t be affected anymore so feel free to go out an work.... NOOOOOO!  Whyyyyyy??  What happened?!  We were all so confused and bummed.  Ya it was good it didn’t happen, but you gotta understand where we were coming from, we still wanted it to happen.  So we decided to go to the church and check on all the members who had evacuated there.  When we got there they had the news on.  The typhoon had definitely hit, just not us.  I guess it’s course moved slightly enough to keep us safe.  Seeing what I did, I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like here if it had happened.  Dang.  Elders Fruan, Davis and I were really bummed and couldn’t stop talking about our disappointment.  As we were leaving to go home, our disappointment was pushed aside as a thief ran past with a pack of people chasing him.  Cock fights are big here and this guy had stolen someone’s fighting cock (rooster) so we quickly joined the search.  He hopped our fence into the rice patties near by.  It was dark though, so we soon gave up helping.  The daily experiences man, what is life, haha.

Saturday:  Today was really hard to get up and out to work since we had expected a Super Typhoon to hit and then have nothing happen.  Elder Bazar and I decided to go check on the members to make sure they had gotten all settled and to remind them about church.  On the way to a member’s, I saw a trail leading into thick jungle.  I said "Hey Bazar!  Have you ever been here?  He quickly replied "No, wanna go?..."  OF COURSE I DO!  So we laughed and joyfully headed into the jungle.  We were looking for members so this was okay, we weren’t exploring, haha.  The trail soon wore thin and we found ourselves ducking under and pushing through thick plantation.  We saw a hut finally though so we were determined to make it to it.  Unfortunately it was abandoned but there was a trail leading down the hill we had worked our way up.  We followed it down and found ourselves behind a locked fence in a shooting range.  Whoops.  We were greeted by an angry man who said "Bawal" or forbidden and to get out.  We did quickly and started dying laughing.

Elder Nelson (not so elderly)
with Elders Fruean, Davis, Moncur, and Bazar

Sunday:  A beautiful Sabbath it was.  The elderly couple, the Nelsons, came and visited our ward today.They are seriously the nicest people ever, they’re like mission grandparents!  They spent the day with us in our branch.  After church they drove us home in their nice car (with aircon!) and gave us Santo Domingo Elders a large box of goodies including Oreos, American style spaghetti, Snickers, Gatorade, and Corn Flakes.  YESSSSSSSS.  Elder Nelson is awesome and I feel really close with him.  I got more hugs from him than the other Elders so I guess he must really like me too. ;)  When we went out to work, we had 5 members of our branch come with us.  It was a miracle, they never work with us!  The goal is to have a member present with you in every lesson, and after today I understand why.  For all you members back home.... WORK WITH THE FLIPPIN MISSIONARIES!  We need you!  I never understood why until now.  A member’s testimony added to ours really makes a difference!  It’s hard I know, but don’t be lazy!  Set goals and do it!  We need you!  The rate for those taught with members present and are baptized is amazingly higher than those baptized when taught without a member.... Don’t forget that.  Help the work so you may stand blameless before God at the last day :)  So today was a highlight of my mission.  WE have an investigator who’s being baptized and married in the church next month.  They live off in the middle of nowhere though.  To get to their house you walk along a thin path through rice patties and then cross a river.  For some reason, the path was super muddy and destroyed.  Watching the 4 Sisters and 1 brother we brought with us was so funny.  The brother was a little more scared of the mud than the girls and screamed a little more like a girl than the sisters did, however, haha but after some slipping and helping each other make the journey, we made it clean and safely.  After the lesson, we decided to take a new route home that was easier I guess.  All I have to say is I felt like I was an explorer.  We walked through straight jungle, I honestly didn’t know how we got out of there.  Thankfully we had our investigator’s husband, who is already a member, guide us.  At the end of our journey we crossed a bridge that was so broken down I thought it couldn’t support me.  So sketch.  We closed the night off teaching 2 families who are very interested.  Although I still can't speak or understand well, there’s something about helping people find better lives and guiding them to truth that I just love.

Working with a member and friends

The questionable bridge

A path to an investigator's home

So sorry, that was a lot.  I felt bad cause last weeks letter didn’t go through and this week was worthy of detail.  Life’s still rough.  As people find out I’m 18, they lose respect for me and treat me like a kid.  Many call me a "Lost Mommas Boy" and it’s hard to help them forget my age or how young I look, but hey, it’s another challenge to find a way to overcome.  I love life.  It’s the hardest thing of my life but I love it sooo soso so SO much!  I saw a wild monkey.  I eat random wild fruits.  I slip in mud.  Get attacked by kids.  What could be better.  I’m serving my God and my Savior and guiding others unto them.  Again, I am ok.  My mission wasn’t hit bad by the typhoon, but please keep the Philippines in your prayers.  Always look for service opportunities.  Help the missionaries.  And Love Life!  Someone in the world has it worse than you!  (Hint: The typhoon victims)  I don’t know, life confuses me sometimes.  I feel myself changing so much and I’m still so young.  I know that this was the best decision of my life no matter what I may feel otherwise.  I know this church is true and I know God loves me.  I love you all.  Thanks for the concern and for keeping in touch.  Please keep in touch!  Ingat!

Typhoonal rains

Elder Max Moncur

A Wedding, Baptisms, and President Guanzon

September 23, 2013

 So for those of you who didn’t know, I reported to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on July 17, and this past week marked a (2) Month Milestone!  Not that I’m counting.... Haha, don’t get me wrong, I love it here and I know I’m going to wish one day I didn’t have to leave, but sometimes it’s hard to not think about how much you have left (especially when you just got out here...).  Quite an eventful week, I seriously felt like it was all one day it went by so fast.  I don’t think I really emphasized this, but in order to get baptized, if you’re living with your companion but aren’t married yet, you have to do that first to get baptized.  So for the past 2 weeks, I was a professional wedding planner, no charge!  We ran all over Santo Domingo planning this wedding, which included even traveling to other cities to get the wedding certificate or something, talking with multiple members a day asking for help and discussing with the couple for hours a day what needed to happen.  It was tiring work!  I’m surprised we got that thing organized, props to us!  The day before the wedding though, I had my month check up basically.  It’s awesome because all the new missionaries and their trainers get together in Legazpi to see how our first month went, which meant I got to see all my MTC friends!  If only you understood the bond we had in the MTC.  Unfortunately, half of them went to other missions, but getting to see Elders Miller (the best companion ever), Poulton, Nelson, and Ruben along with Sisters Ogden and Mwea (who also came from the Provo MTC, just weren’t in my district, but were still close!), plus all the Manila MTC people (we never got to be close, but they’re still chill) was flippin sweet!  I truly love the Elders from my MTC district though, and after a week like last week’s, it was just what I needed.  At this New Missionary Workshop, we were able to vent about our trainers, be taught, practice teaching, and then catch up on everything and take pictures.  It was hard to say bye at the end, because that was the last guaranteed time I’d see those people for the next 2 years!  Oh well haha but ya, this workshop, the day before the wedding kind of caused a lot of stress because there were some last second things we had to do and this took up the whole day!  Obviously, since I’m a super missionary, we got things done, don’t stress.  Ha ha.

 The wedding was awesome, but somehow I got roped into singing in front of everyone with the 2 Samoan Elders that live with us and Elder Moss who was on splits.... It could’ve been better, but all the Filipinos loved it so who cares!  Man, the funniest thing ever was seeing the people react to the cake.  So the newly weds took their piece, and since we bought the wedding cake, they offered the missionaries a slice first.  We aren’t going to deny some cake, so I go over and cut my piece....  It gets quiet and I look around and mostly everyone’s staring.  I start to walk away and suddenly everyone rushes the table!  It was hilarious!  The whole cake was gone in less than 30 seconds, one of the funniest things I’ve seen here!  They were like wolves... haha it was awesome.  Afterwards, we were outside when all of a sudden, our whole district (which includes my MTC mate Elder Nelson and his companion Elder A, and then Elder F, a giant Tongan, who doesn’t make sense that we call him Halimau, or Bigfoot in Tagalog, and his Filipino companion Elder B, who is super short) comes walking up!  PARTY!  They came to celebrate but they were a little late haha, so instead we taught the kids to play Rugby.  Elders F, F, and T are giant Polys so they get pretty intense with each other, and they got some of the Filipino kids to get pretty fiesty!  The girls were more ruthless than the guys, they had no fear when going to tackle some of the boys!

  On Saturday we had my first baptism since I’ve been here!  We baptized the newly wedded Melissa and a little 8 year old girl.  We don’t have a font here, so we baptize in the ocean which is SICK!  So we all gather down at the beach around 8 a.m., but since we’ve been experiencing some Typhoonal weather, the water was super wavey and choppy so where do we go?  A Swimming pool!  Haha yep, it was awesome, the people there were just staring at us too!  But hey, its the ordinance, not where you do it that counts!

 Sunday was pretty fun too, we were sitting in sacrament meeting (as the pigs screamed as they were getting their heads sawed off) when suddenly our mission president, President Guanzon, and his wife come walking in!  Elder F was kind of confused and worried because he thought we were in trouble for something.  I guess this is a very rare occurance to have your mission president show up.  Thankfully he was just checking on our branch and shared some good things with the branch!  The best part of the day was there’s this place in my area, called Salvacion.  It’s really far away though and is back in the coastal jungles so we never go there.  On Sunday, many members of the branch got together, loaded up on a trike, and headed out to Salvacion!  We had so many people we gave the trike a flat and had to walk the rest of the way haha but it was worth it!  That area is beautiful!  I called us the JT Squad, or Jungle Tracting Squad since we were literally walking to find huts in the jungle.

  I’m doing amazing guys, ya I have my struggles but I just put those behind me.  I take showers in the rain, get blown around by typhoon like winds and rain, saw a dog get run over and have its guts splat all over the road, am called Mr. Bean by the kids, eat mini pineapples, chug mango juice made fresh in the sentro, eat rice, rice, and more rice, get asked to twerk by little girls, have my clothes get blown away from the clotheslines on the roof, get stopped and asked to shoot the ball at almost every basketball court, and it just gets better.  I love life!  I miss you all so much but I’m starting to like this place a little more sometimes....  Sorry!  Until next week!  Mga Deuce and Mahal Kita!

Sup

I'm Ready

Psh, Elder Morgan Thinks He's So Cool!

Nicest Guy (Aussie) Ever

Wedding....

Singers!

Bride, Groom and the Missionaries

Wedding Attendees

Wedding Crashers

Pinos, Polys, and White Boys

Thugs

Slide Train!

Giants!

First Baptism and Branch

Fellow MTC Friends

Silly Selfies

"JT Squad" (Jungle Tracting)

Top Trike Party

Pig Head for Sale!