Well another week has flown by here in Tanza. I’m not sure if I’ll be here for another transfer or not, but I’ve had some requests to write about how the daily life is like; how we get places, how the apartments are, food, stuff like that. So I’ll start at transportation.

A motorcycle equipped with a sidecar is very typical transport around town.

My companion, Elder Doloritos, inside a Jeepney

If you saw the last “Bourne” series movie (The one without Matt Damon), think about the last scene when they are getting chased on a motorcycle. Yeah, it’s like that. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch it! We get around on Jeepneys and Tricycles. Tricycles are way cool. I want one to drive back in the states. It’s a motorcycle with a sidecar, but it’s all enclosed. They remind me of bees. They just drive back and forth calling out to people if they need a ride. All you do is wave to them and hop on and tell them where you need to go! Depending on how many roads you have to turn on to/take/the length of the road, or density of traffic, they come up with a price. haha They other ones are Jeepneys and Mini-buses.

Jeepneys are converted bus/van vehcles used for public transportation.

They are more direct and carry quite a few people. They usually wait at some designated areas, but if there is somebody standing on the side of the road they will veer over and stop for them. Also, to get it to stop you press a little button above the seat OR yell out, “Bara po!” Which means, “please stop!” It’s pretty crazy sometimes, but usually only costs around 9-10 pesos!

The apartment that I’ve been in for the past 5 months has been really nice! At first it was a little bit dirty, but over time we’ve really cleaned it up. The only problem is the water pressure. It’s horrible.. and now that we have four missionaries in there, it’s crucial to have water in the morning!! But it’s okay, we’ve figured out that we can’t flush the toilets, turn on the sink, or use the faucet outside if somebody is showering. It makes it difficult to wash dishes, do laundry, or use the bathroom downstairs… But it works out! We cook on a camping stove hooked up to a propane tank. We have this awesome water filter that has three cycles of filtration before it comes out. It’s really safe and I guess was invented by a member of the church or something. Anyway, we have to change it every month or else the water starts tasting funny!! We have a couch and two chairs that used to be homes to our pet mice, but we got rid of them!! We don’t have a microwave, but we do have a toaster oven. I usually have toast and some really good home-made peanut butter from a sister in the branch here. I’ll miss the peanut butter when I leave this area.

This week we visited a family a few times in a place called Amaya 4. They haven’t been coming to church for the past few years and didn’t seem like they would ever come back. But my companion and I learned an important lesson, it’s all about the attributes of Christ. That is what this work is centered on. If we don’t do our best do be like Christ in all things that we do, we aren’t truly representatives, which defeats the purpose of us being here. As we practiced diligence and faith, we are seeing this family find joy again in the gospel. They’ve been attending church too and we can see the joy in their faces when they are able to restore past friendships and gain new friends.

People are so nice here in the Philippines. It’s amazing the amount of humility and faith that they have. Their love for their Savior is amazing. Continue in diligence, continue in prayer, continue in your reading the scriptures. That’s what it takes! We need to know the foundations and mysteries of the gospel, and to find that we need to be diligent in all that we do. Our life was given to us by our Heavenly Father, show that you love Him through your actions!

I miss you all. I hope you are all doing well. Read the Book of Mormon. It’s true!

Love,

Elder Burbidge

Captain Fantastic!

Hello everyone!

It looks like there was some snow in the Pacific Northwest last night! Not here in the South Pacific.  I just showed my Filippino companion the pictures my family sent me of the snow at home and he was totally amazed!  I’m jealous because it’s been super hot this week. We’re going in to a season called, “SUPER SUMMER” which goes from March to May or so… I guess it gets supppper hot. I’m not too excited, but by the time I know it, I’ll be over that as well, and adjusted!  I appreciate hearing about when members back home help the missionaries. Those people who help the missionaries will be remembered for their assistance forever in the mind of the missionary. I know it!

Getting ready for the “Super Summer” by staying hydrated!

We reached our goal for less active and recent convert lessons and had NINE less active members at church on Sunday!  I just want to let you all know that God has a plan for each one of us. He puts us in line with certain people for a reason. I’ve gained some great insights about that out here in the mission field. I’ve met so many people that I’ve become close friends with. I’m now at the 6 month mark in my mission! I’m thankful to be a missionary of Jesus Christ. I love it! There’s nothing else like it. It has helped me grow immensely. I know it’s a true work.

Hope everybody has a good week!

Also, Happy Valentines day to everybody!

-Elder Hunter Burbidge

My companion, Elder Doloritos, and our friend Kieth, who did missionary work with us all week long last week!

The Philippine sky at night!

This photo of the night sky was taken in a place called “Starfish”.  I embellished it a little bit with my camera settings but this is pretty much how beautiful it was!!  My companion, Elder Doloritos, is featured in the photo!

First I just want to start off by saying that miracles are possible and prayers are answered. This week we had a pretty amazing experience. We have still been really struggling lately in finding new people to teach who accept our message.  We decided that we would go teach one of the members here that lives pretty far away. We were planning on teaching her a simple lesson and then asking for a referral for someone that she thought would like to listen to us. Well, when we got there she introduced us to a 17 year old young man that had just been hired as a cleaner at her house. We started talking to him a little bit and come to find out he had been taught by the missionaries a lot in a different area and then he had to move! So, long story short, he is super receptive and ready for the gospel.

I’m still in my first area of Tanza!  I didn’t get transferred so I probably will next time, but you never really know. Wherever the Lord wants to put me, I’ll be there! I’m starting to realize that His plan for me (and all of us), is HIS plan.  It’s our plan because it’s made for us, but He created our plan for each one of us.  He will tell us the answers if we ask in prayer, and we will know our plan if we are humble enough and ready to receive it.  If you have a question about life, pray about it.  It doesn’t matter who you are.  He will answer.

I’m becoming more and more comfortable in the Philippines, the culture is easier to handle now and I’m even enjoying a lot of things about it (except for laundry). I ate this stuff called “Blooded Pork” on Friday and it’s maybe one of my favorite things ever. It’s fun to try new things! As long as you’re careful..

“Diniguan” as how Chabacanos pronounce it or Dinuguan is a Filipino savory stew of blood and meat simmered in a rich, spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the Filipino word dugo meaning “blood”.

I hope all is well back home! Congrats to the Seahawks for winning the Superbowl.. That’s awesome! Have a good week everybody.

-Elder Hunter Burbidge

This week was a busy one! We didn’t have very many investigators in our teaching pool so we focused a little bit harder this week on obtaining “Mga Bagong Investigators” or new investigators. In many parts of the world it is difficult to do street contacting or tracting, but here in the Philippines it works pretty well if you do it correctly. We aren’t given cars to drive or bikes to ride because of the amount of opportunities it would restrict for us to OYM or “Open Your Mouth”.

Near the sea in Tanza

Now, finding isn’t always fun and can be a little bit disappointing at times, but we try to have a lighter attitude about it, hence the title of this post, “Playing Dora”. We were walking around in a part of town that we had never been to before and we started asking around about our whereabouts. It was a really good way to get a conversation started and able to talk about the Gospel and our purpose as missionaries with these people.

A little boy charged us 5 pesos to get across the stream!

It was worth the money!

Another amazing thing that we’re able to focus on is families. Some of the things that the kids say here are super funny. I love them more every day! Especially now that I can kind of understand them. Families are the most important social unit to us in this life and the next! Nurture it here. Do what you can to strengthen the bonds within your family with every sibling and each parent. Even if it’s something small. DO IT! They’ll appreciate it.

Elder Burbidge doing missionary work

A chapter that I came across this week really helped me realize the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love it. It’s in The Book of Mormon in 2nd Nephi and Chapter 4. Read it if you haven’t, and if you have, read it again!

I know that this work is true! Accept His Gospel in your life. It’s REAL. I love my Savior and Redeemer. I love my Father in Heaven. He has given me strength and love through difficult times and has helped me realize the blessings I have in my life.

I miss you all! AND GOOOOOOOOO SEAHAWKS!!!

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Hi everyone! There is not much new to report this week but transfers are coming up soon and I am not sure if I’m transferring or not. I’m excited for this next week. I’m going to focus on becoming a better teacher. It’s something I kind of struggle with. I wish I could get better, it’s just really hard for me. Other than that, this week should be good. Nothing too big, but just another week in the life of a missionary!

I was pretty sick last week, but it’s okay because I’m feeling better now, but on Wednesday here I had some pretty severe gastro-intestinal distress!!  It’s gone now, but it was pretty difficult haha I couldn’t keep anything down, not even water, until the next day. My roommates and my companion took really good care of me though!

I’m really trying to devote my time to Heavenly Father.  The rest of my week was just okay because we didn’t have very many lessons due to my being sick, and it was hard to get back in to the swing of things, so I’m still working on that a little bit.

In regards to the Seahawks, no I can’t watch the games, but I have friends here that I’m rooting against.  An elder in an area close to mine is a huge 49ers fan, so it’ll be fun to rub it in his face. Go Hawks!!

Well, that’s it for this week!  Sending out love to everyone back home!!

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Kumusta po sa lahat! I hope that all of you are doing well! This week went by sooooo fast.. We had a zone meeting on Tuesday, I went on exchanges on Wednesday, and then we had a dinner appointment on Friday (Which is always something to look forward to). Also, we’ve witnessed a few miracles this week, which has really helped boost my faith and testimony of Missionary Work, but also of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Bridge across a river!

In missionary work, nothing happens until we find somebody to teach. We’ve been struggling a little bit in finding a good progressing investigator (somebody that is really interested) and so we’ve been praying and really asking for help from members. One night we received a text from one of our members saying to come over later to teach his girlfriend. When we got there, there were two people I’ve never seen before. Turns out, one of them was the brother of the member we were in contact with, and the other woman isn’t a member, but has a LOT of questions for us! We’re seeing miracles left and right. It’s amazing to see the hand of the Lord in this true work.

Rice patty! The field is GREEN and ready to harvest!!

I hope that all made sense, I had to write it fast! This is the hardest thing anyone has done, is doing, or ever will do. There are so many ups and downs that it’s hard to know what you’re feeling sometimes. And then the Spirit hits you and says, “You’re a Full-Time Missionary for Jesus Christ. He has sent you to the Philippines to share His message.” Sometimes it’s daunting to have such a big responsibility, but as long as we give our best, the Lord will do the rest! And, He loves us. ALL of us. I know it! To anyone who is thinking about going on a mission. DO IT. Pull the trigger and make the decision to go. I’ve learned so much about myself and about the Lord, things that I wouldn’t have learned if I didn’t choose to go on a mission.

When in doubt, pray. When in pain, serve! I love you! Keep safe and Choose the Right!

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Elder Hunter Burbidge with his Zone Leader, Elder Jordan Anderson from Puyallup!

Hello everyone – I am writing this blog post on what seems like just another P-day! P-days always seem like they’ll be awesome, but then it’s just laundry and sweating haha but HEY, That’s okay! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how long I’ve been out on my mission, it’s crazy! right – time seems to be going by very quickly!

Elder Hunter Burbidge and Elder Doloritos near the sea shore.

It’s getting hotter every day it seems like, But at least it seems to cool off at night usually which is nice! The work is doing a little better than usual. We’ve been really focusing on extending baptismal dates on the first lesson that we teach, so we have more baptismal dates than I’ve ever had on my mission so far, but the sad part is I might be gone by the time they get baptized! I’ll talk more about that later. We have a zone meeting tomorrow and I’m going on exchanges (which is a 24 hour companion swap with our leaders) with Elder Anderson from Puyallup! I’m excited, he’s a really funny guy! Also, later on this week we have some return appointments for some people that we taught earlier. And we also have some really good dinner appointments to look forward to as well haha I’m guessing that this week will fly by!

My language is getting a little better. Last night we were teaching this less active family and a branch missionary was working with us. After the lesson he said, “Magaling ka na sa tagalog!” ( I don’t even know if that’s correct grammar) but it means, “Now you’re good in tagalog!” I was like, “Yeah right…” He went on to say that he could tell I was improving. I used to use a little bit of english in our lessons, but now I really try to limit myself to the tagalog that I know. I’m getting more conversational. I’m not there yet, and it varies every day, but I can feel that I’m getting better! I don’t want to sound over-confident but at least it feels like I’m improving.

Recently we’ve found two or three part member families to teach which is really good because they already have a little background about the church. I’ve been wanting to teach part member families for such a long time and this last week I think we had four! I’m getting pretty close to the Elders Quorum President of our branch. He reminds me a lot of Grandpa Reed. He’s also really funny and he likes to interact with the missionaries. He is also fitting two of my shirts because they’re getting a little too big!

Elder Burbidge and the Branch Elder’s Quorum President.

We’re still teaching Janet and Dennis if you remember who they are, I think I talked about them earlier. And we are teaching another couple that have three little kids and the wife isn’t a member yet. Their names are Rhea and Edmar. So I’m excited with that. It always helps when a member is present to help explain things more to the exact needs of the investigator. Please keep these individuals in your prayers that they will progress and accept the gospel.

The next transfers are on the 29th or 30th and there is a good possibility that I’ll be transferred to a new area. I’m kinda nervous about it, but if it’s what the Lord wants, I’ll do it!  Well that’s about it for now! The photo below is of a gigantic spider we came across near our apartment! Dad would not like it very much!

Gigantic spider in a web!  You may need to zoom in to see the whole thing!

Love,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Hey everybody! Happy New Year almost! It was great Skyping with my parents on Christmas and hearing about everyone back home! It sounds like most of the family is doing well and I am excited to hear that I am going to be a cousin again (thanks Barrett & Brandi!).  I also appreciate the positive comments from the blog posted by friends and family!  I’m sorry that I cannot look at the internet and respond to each one but my dad is passing along your posts and comments.  Also, I am limited on time to respond to emails on my preparation day, so I ask your forgiveness if I don’t respond each time I get an email but I love to get them and will do my best to respond when I can!!!

Eating pizza at the S&R (The Philippine branch of Costco)

Following is a quote that i came up with this week: “Spirituality is the door to missionary work, obedience is the key.”I’m sure somebody has said that before, but I know it’s true! As soon as obedience becomes your first priority next to teaching and finding, blessings and miracles start happening! It’s amazing!

The church building we meet at in Tanza.

Christmas was about what I expected it to be. Different in terms of the worldly view, but spiritually it was one of the better Christmases that I’ve ever had. I’m thankful for the birth of Christ and His young life as a child. He was a perfect missionary. For example, at the age of 12 Jesus taught in the temple at Jerusalem to experts of religion and belief. He taught simply, but powerfully. That’s made possible through the Spirit, which is possible through obedience to all of God’s commandments as well as mission rules and schedules.

Anyway, on Christmas after I was done talking to my parents, we went out to work! Our branch mission leader (Roel) Tried to take us to some less active member’s homes, but none of them were home so we ended up just going to a member’s house. He’s the second counselor in the stake presidency. He made us spaghetti and mac salad for dinner! We didn’t have much time when we got home to do anything special so we just got ready for the next day and went to sleep! haha pretty good Christmas though! I love this area, I don’t want to be transferred! I hope all of you are having a good winter break and new years! Stay safe and on the Straight and Narrow. And if you don’t know what the Straight and Narrow is, ask a Mormon!

Also, on New Year’s Eve we have to be in our apartment by 6:00 at night because the festivities get a little wild here I guess. We might watch the long restoration movie, or play the monopoly board game that my parents sent me! We’re thinking about making our own food for once! I’m excited and happy that I now have kabahay (roommates)! They make things more fun and lively around the apartment!

My Philippine friends tell me that Tyler’s area is just beyond these mountains! So close yet so far away!!

I’ve come to realize that the Lord has trusted me with a part of His earth. Isn’t that crazy? So, hopefully we can fulfill His desires here as we work in the Tanza area!

‘Til next time,

Elder Hunter Burbidge

A beautiful little lake in my area – just a normal part of my daily schedule…

Maligayang Pasko at Bagong Taon!

Merry Christmas to everyone back home and to everybody who reads this! It’s a humid 75 degrees here in Tanza Cavite, Philippines and Christmas is in full swing! A LOT has happened this week. Once again, I HAVE A NEW COMPANION. Elder Doloritos! He’s a super cool guy! He is also serving as the new District Leader of the new TANZA DISTRICT which comprises of six Elders. In Tanza, we now have 4 Elders, so the apartment is now full, which makes a good time for Christmas and the Holidays! The other two elders in the district are in a nearby town.

Out doing missionary work with a local resident of Tanza

In ways of preparing for Christmas, we’re trying to have appointments, but it’s difficult because a lot of people go back to where they grew up. So we’ll end up visiting a lot of members I think, or we will do finding work if the situations line up correctly (ie. dinner appointments fall through or something). Also, the Tanza Branch had a little devotional and so we attended that a few days ago as well.

A few of the young people in our local congregation after a Christmas party

I get to talk to my parents in a few days! I’m so excited!!!!! I hope you all have a great Christmas. Tandaan ninyo si Jesus Christ! Remember Jesus Christ this season! He is the ultimate gift to us. Merry Christmas! ‘Til next week!

Elder Hunter Burbidge

Check out the little youngster in the background!