"Had Fun and Got the Work Done!" 9/6/13

Hey i have a little time today and write to tell you we had some things got changed on us, the burreu of immagration changed their standards and so we are leaving urdaneta sunday afternoon instead of tuesday afternoon. i will be in manilla sunday night and have to make a personal appearance at the immagration building for some finger print stuff. i wont have time to write on monday so they gave us a little time to write today. i will still be home on wednesday. no worries there, i almost played a joke on you guys but sister monahan and i didnt think you would find that to funny haha. this is actually my last day of work here in the philippines, we started today with a nice service project for the ward and now we are at the office getting things ready for transfers next week. later today we have a interview for our investigators that will be baptized on the 14th! then we have a p.e.c. meeting and then a ward f.h.e. should be pretty fun, i realized i have nothing to pack haha. my suit cases are pretty much empty haha, i wont have anytime to buy anything so sorry. the change was really unexpected. oh well, do what ya gotta do! i just want to say that is has been one great ride! i can honestly say that this is the best two years and i dont see it as a sacrifice at all. i have gained more then i left or could have obtained. it was the greatest privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with my Savior Jesus Christ and assist Him in this glorious work! I saw people change. I saw miracles. I saw the spirit dwell in the most humble circumstances and testify that the words we spoke are true! I love you all and will see you next week. i can say as well that i have no regrets on how i have served and went out strong! nagmamahal, Elder Machen

"Go Lang Nang GO!"

Hey sorry i dont have much time to write! thanks for your wonderful emails! i truly enjoyed them, my mind is kinda scrambled right now cause we have so much to do haha, this week was really good, we are training our replacements and they are great elders, we are having a blast and our area is flurishing with people accepting the gospel! i cant explain all in this email, but ill tell ya all about it nxt week! love you tons! Elder Machen

"Give Thanks and Ask For Nothing" 8/25/13

Wow your emails were great, Dad you had me tearing up. thanks a ton, you guys are the best! This was a week filled with excitement and also filled with some trials. Our family this week was doing amazing! we had great fellowshippers for them and every lesson was powerfully packed with the spirit! oh it was so neat to see! we saw the light in them that came from them following the commandments and commitments. unfortunately the one daughter didnt come to church yesterday, it broke my heart because we had to move their baptism again. meaning i wont seem them baptized before i leave. it was hard to accept because we have done our best to help them, the mom came though and had a great time with her new relief society friends! i learned and had to accept that even though i wont be here for their baptism they will still be baptized, their dad will be the one to baptize them and they will still receive the gift of the holy ghost. We are all on the same team here and the most important thing is that they keep the faith! We had other really neat things happen this week, we did a lot of finding and found some really prepared people! it was amazing! we even had one family come to church yesterday and the ward did such a good job fellowshipping them! they loved it! haha i still call these extra 3 weeks the final refinement. Its hard to describe all the wonderful blessings we are receiving and all the trials that are coming. i truly do appreciate everyday i have out here and when time permits, i love taking the time to replay the day and really realize all that has happened. I have taken a new approach to my prayers that i would like you to try. Give only thanks and ask for nothing. it'll make you think a little harder and help the Lord fulfill his promise to us in D&C 78:19. i love you and pray for you always! thanks for all that you do! nagmamahal, Elder Machen

"Humbled!" 8/19/13

Wow thanks for your great emails! i honestly cant believe everybody is coming home! haha its espically weird for Steve to be home cause we entered the same day! Glad to know everyone is doing good! This week was humbling! oh man quad zone conference was good and we were super busy getting everything ready for it. our training on wednesday was kind of a dud, it was good but not what we expected. i learned a valuable lesson and it humbled me for sure. Thursday was a little better, we changed some things but we were right before lunch so we were crammed for time, all is well that ends well, take the experience, learn from it, and GO! For our work we saw miracles happen this week with the family we are teaching! the dad has been less active and just recently got the priesthood, we worked with the bishop to help him be the one to bless the sacrament on sunday, we gave him a polo, tie and slacks. as we taught them this week we saw his attitude change and the desire grow, his whole contenece seemed to change! he shared a desire to use his priesthood so he could know what it feels like. When i saw this man up there on the stand blessing the sacrament, i couldnt help but be filled with love for this guy and joy for the steps he is taking to honor that priesthood! it was once of the sweetest experiences of my mission, the Lord is really preparing this family. the son though has to make a tough decision, he got offered a job pretty far away, if he took it he left today, we find out later when we go there to teach, its tough but God is in the details. Im so excited for the things that are happening, for the trials that are coming this last few weeks. we laugh about it here saying we are going through the last bit of refinement before we die haha. (mom thats just a mission term, we're not really going to die) haha. I really appreciate all your support and love and know that we are going to finish this out strong and leave nothing! Mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen

"Get Out of The Way of The SPIRIT" 8/12/13

Hey sounds like you had a good week! thanks for those emails and the inspiring messages! really appreciate those! dont worry about the storm, its just barely raining here so nothing bad. This week was really good, we had some really good things happen. We were really blessed this week as well as our investigators. our family that was supposed to be baptized on the 10th came to church and we saw such great progression with them! thank you for your prayers. they were truly answered as they came to church, the dad asking us in all humility if he is worthy to use his priesthood and to what he needs to do to use it to be able to baptize his family. My heart was filled with gratitude as i heard that cause i remembered my Dad who always was worthy to use his priesthood in leading and blessing my family and a Mom who supports that priesthood and giving us the nurture and care we need! i use you as examples all the time in our teaching! thank you. They truly showed that they want to make those sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father and i know He will make it happen. It was a neat experience to see the spirit touch the hearts of that family and help them face their trials and struggles. We had a great time giving the new missionaries training as they came back to urdaneta. my companion and i always start it off with funny but true demonstration to get our point across. we have found that to be effective and so it makes it exciting and interesting. i really enjoy it. this week we have quad-zone conferences so we will be giving training to the whole mission in just two days. we have a good training planned out so it should be good! just have to get out of the way of the spirit and let him do the real work! ive really learned that! things are continuing to go well and im loving life out here! thanks for everything, mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen

"Gotta Make It Happen!" 08/05/13

Thanks for such great emails! that really brightens my week! and it was a busy one let me tell ya haha. Well this was transfer week and it went super well. our prayers were answered and things went smooth. Dad you said it, sisters are flocking to the field, thats one thing we are working on with president is where to put them all! haha its quite the challenge cause theres only so many areas and to accommodate sisters makes it a little harder. its great to see the influx of missionaries though! each tranfer they get better and better. this last group was really impressive! they come more spiritual prepared! our work this week was tough but rewarding. Our family that was supposed to be getting baptized next week kinda took a 180. it was a heart breaker cause you come to love these people so much and to see them backpeddle is hard. They still want to be baptized so we extended another date for the end of the month and they are commited to do what it takes. Gotta make it happen! The Lord is really testing them and us with this trial and knowing that it will all work out to his plan is exciting! ive been working more on seeing things on what they can be and who people can become rather than what it or who they look like right in front of me. its a challenge but such a blessing. its true that the spirit puts in your heart what to say and how to say it! Keep the Missionary spirit alive pops! that goes for you too mama bear and karter! Theres nothing better! i love you so much and appreciated the package! and your letter mom! what a blessing you all are to me! i use our family quite a bit in our teaching, gives me a chance to share to others of what a family can be like when built on the gospel, thanks for letting me be able to say that! mahal ko kayo! i speak to all of you when i say you are the greatest blessing! its hard through email but i really want you to know how much i appreciate you and all you do for me! a lot of my companions dont have family support at all so thank you for keeping me going! lets make this last month the best and go out running! the desire to do this works burns deep in me! when ever im down or discourged ive learned to give myself this rallying cry. "Remember Him" ill share a quick experience we had earlier today. president called and a missionary had texted him saying he wanted to go home. we met with this elder and did our best to help him stay on the mission, had probably the most spiritual meeting with him. it was the hardest thing for me to have this elder say right to us, "i want to go home." his reason, he was tired and wanted to rest. you can imagine my feelings when he said that. i share that because i read a scripture today in my personal study D&C 88: 91. well that sure is true and thats been the hardest part about being where i am. seeing elders go home early. its never to hard to quit! the lord doesnt call quitters! keep the faith family! love, Elder Machen

"Where Does It Go!" 7/28/13

hey family! it was great to hear from you and to see that things are going great and you are growing your testimonies as well! i really appreciate the spiritual uplifting! Well this week was a super busy one and is just leading on to a even more busy one, a lot of good things happened though, we had missionary leadership council where all the zone leaders and sister leaders came here and we had a really good meeting, elder and i had the opportunity to give some training and it went really well! the spirit led and guided us to say what was needed! President gave a great training and is truly amazing how well he knows the scriptures and how he delivers. i wish you could see it. we had to do a lot of traveling this week so not a lot of time was spent in our own area. As far as our work went it was rough, our family that is getting close to their baptism kinda hit a bump in the road. they didnt make it to church and then when we went to teach them last night they werent home. its been a trial of their faith and ours. We know it will work out though and am not worrying about it to much. just gotta do what ya gotta do and the Lord will take care of the rest! this week is transfer week so we will be crammed for the next couple of days! this is my last transfer in the mission. its crazy. oh yeah they changed my flight, i will now be flying in on sept 11 instead of the 12th. Thanks for everything! i love you and hope you will have a great week! Remember Him! Love, Elder Machen

"The Example of Jesus Christ"

Haha looks like you had a great week! i really enjoyed your emails and thank you for that! its always a booster to keep going! This week flew by so fast i cant even believe it! haha they are just ticking by. Zone interviews went great this week! The spirit was strong and really helped us deliver our training, i absolutely love the opportunity to be able to give training to the whole mission. its been such a great blessing and a humbling experience. not only was that a really good experience our work that we were able to do this week was truly guided by the lord! Despite all the travel and time spent at the other zones we had a fruitful week here in urdaneta! We saw real progression in our investigators and them showing a real desire to come unto Christ. We saw the power of the Book of Mormon answer every question that they had, we felt the power of the Holy Ghost bear testimony to them that this message is true. We personal felt the Holy Ghost teach through us and felt we were instruments in the hand of the lord! Its a interesting thing coming to the end of a day and sitting back and realizing how incredible your day had been and its a humbling experience to know that it was nothing of what you did, it was all Him, it always has been and always will be, i hope we can always Remember that! The example of Jesus Christ has meant more to me now then ever before, he never took time to rest or relax, its easy to think after a long day of doing His work that we deserve a break or time to unwind, ive learned that really doesn't comply with His work. Its the most rewarded experience when you think you have done all you can but push through to do that much more and feel him carrying you along! I testify He is there, He knows us personally and expects us to honor him. Theres nothing i want to do more than that. I love you for all your support and love to keep me going! mahal kita nagmamahal, Elder Machen

07/14/13 " That Was Fast!"

It was sure good to read your great emails and sounds like you are all doing really well! I couldnt believe how fast this week went by! we were pretty busy this week, we had zone interviews so we accompanied president as he went around to the other zones and interviewed all the missionaries. We did that tue-fri so we will be starting again tomorrow until friday to finish up the last 4 zones. We had the opportunity to give training at every zone and it was a really great experience! it was interesting to see how the spirit worked at every zone and how different it turned out. ive learned it giving any type of training of lesson, whoever you are teaching they really play a big role in what the end result will be. some training we gave this week was really good because the zone was participating! others were ok but not as good. it was a great experience and Elder and i had a good time! i really enjoy being able to do that. Im also excited to see how this week will end up because we have four more to do. I sure have learned a lot working closely with president and it gets better everyday! Despite how busy we were, we still found time to go out and get some good work in. We have really been focusing on working with members and doing the best we can to incorporate them in every lesson. i testify that having a member present and a member that is a good friend for that person makes all the difference. yesterday we had a family show up that hasnt really been progressing at all and because this great family fellowshipped them they ended up coming to church and having a good experience! The same happened with this one family we are teaching that is getting close to their baptism. They still need to do more on their part but they are doing great considering the circumstances. The Lord continues to bless us out here, it has been the best experience to go from giving training in zone interviews to getting back to urdaneta and headed out to work and still see the hand of the Lord everywhere we go! I really am enjoying everyday out here and trying my best to fulfill these responsibility. I hope you are trying to look for missionary opportunities despite how busy you are. You'll be surprised how the Lord will prepare the way and nothing will be better then helping someone come to the knowledge of their Redeemer. I love you and thank you for everything! times flying! nagmamahal, Elder Machen

7/7/13 "Looking For Opportunities To Share The Gospel"

Oh man i totally forgot it was 4th of july this week! haha glad to see you had such a good time! Zion looked like a blast! its kinda funny you are asking about my travel plans, ive had my itinerary here for about a month now, i just forgot to tell you and plus i didnt want you getting to excited. i will arrive in Idaho Falls sept 12 about 2:45pm. you'll get it in the mail here in a few weeks probably in august. This week was a great one! we were able to do some exchanges and those are always a great learning experience! i was also able to go to the new zone alaminos, it was good and the missionaries were not to excited to change missions but now we are seeing them really stepping up and getting excited. We did a lot of driving this week and working with other missionaries. As far as work went in our area it was good, we have really been focusing on working strongly with the members, (idk if you saw the broadcast but it was great, you should probably watch it). We have been involving them more in the lessons and espically with our progressing investigators! They by the way are doing great!!!! they as a family came to church yesterday and they were fellowshipped very well and are very excited to become members! oh its been a goal of mine to get a family into the church and im praying that this one goes through! the dad is already a member but kind of less active so getting him back in crucial! I hope you as well are looking for opportunities to share the gospel and progress the work of our Heavenly Father, i know you can do it, just got to have that pray in our heart! i love you so very much and appreciate you love and suppport! thank you again for everything! mahal kita Elder Machen

6/30/13 " This Is A Blessing!"

Sounds like you guys had a great and adventureful week! is that a word? thank you for your emails! This week was really good! we got to give lots of training and running around so just a run down of our week on tuesday we went up to san fernando to the new mission office and helped the new assistents up there get settled in, that is a very long drive by the way haha, on wednesday we drove back up to baguio and had tri-zone meeting where president and sister said their goodbyes, the training we gave there was fun and super spiritual! then we had exchanges in baguio like you saw haha then we came back got to do some work in our area. We have a family right now that is really progresssing! they have made great progress and last night we gave them a baptismal date and they are now excited and preparing for august 10. we are very exciting for them! it was a neat lesson and we felt the spirit really strong! and today we just got back from a road trip with president over to the new zone we picked up in our mission, he drove us over there, it was a neat experience. we had a meeting over there. we are still working on juggling all our work in the area and all the other stuff haah but its amazing to see the Lords hand in everything we do, ill tell you im sure learning alot, alot about myself and i much i need to work on. this is a blessing in more ways then i ever thought! i love you guys and hope you have a great week! nagmamahal, Elder Machen

6/23/13 "The Most Hectic Week"

i sure do love getting your emails! sounds like you had a great week and some exciting things are coming up! oh where to even begin! this week for transfers was by far the most hectic week of my life, we were crunching hours in the office, getting things ready for the new missionaries and because the new transfer day, it was quite the task! on wednesday we woke up to a text from president that said the new missionaries were getting here early, 11am!!! haha we were expecting them at 6pm! so it was go go go go go! haha we were running all over the place, oh by the way i get to drive now, so we were running around getting stuff for their lunch and everything, then we get a text and about 10min away, so we run out to the car and by the time we got to the bus stop they were already getting off the bus, there were 27 of them, haha i wish you could have seen 27 fresh new missionaries with deer in the head lights look! haha we got there and start shaking their hands and getting there luggage and loading it up. haha it was pretty fun to see them and their excitment, this was a really good batch! i was impressed with them. they get better and more prepared every transfer! so this week we were juggling watching them, getting everything set for transfers which is crazy! haha i dont even know how we got it all done, honestly it was a miracle, after it all was over on friday elder and i couldnt believe what actually happened, it was a testimony builder! i wish i could better explain why it was such one or why the change was so big but it would take forever, ill explain later haha. other than all that this week was good, i got to speak in sacrament meeting and i like that, the ward here is so great and i feel really welcome here. oh yeah i forgot on tuesday we sent off all the missionaries that went home. its interesting to see what missionaries get out of their 2 years or 18months. this week we are crammed as well, on tuesday we are going all the way up to SFLU, its about 3 hours and we have to train the new assistents up there cause they are both new, then wednesday we are going to baguio for a tri-zone meeting, the last one. so that will be my last time going to baguio, im grateful i get to go though! then we have other exchanges to do. friday is new missionary training where all the new missionaries come back for a meeting and we will give some training there. should be an exciting week! just know that i love you and am so grateful for all your support and love you give me! ingat po kayo! mahal kita, Elder Machen

"Go, Go, Go!" 6/17/13

HAPPY FATHERS DAY! hope you had the best day ever pops! it sounded like it was good and i really just want to tell you how much i appreciate all that you do for us and the support you continually give to me! you have no idea how much it helps and means to me! keep it up pops! My week was pretty busy, i got picked up on wednesday and it was go go go! because of the mission split we have been super busy getting things ready. right now we are in a 3-some because the other elder is going home so he is giving me some training for all the stuff we have to do! his name is elder hyatt from wisconsin, ive known him for a while now and probably one of my best buddies out here, hes a stud haha we get a long way good! my other companion will be the same one from when i was in calasiao so it should be good. so haha i dont even know where to begin! we had a baptism this saturday, i didnt know her because i got here 4 days before haha but it was really good and she bore a powerful testimony! the area is really good! the ward is super nice and really funny, i got a warm welcome and am excited to do work with them! it has been a little bit of a adjustment cause i havent worked on a computer or anything for quite a while so its been interesting haha, we got to give some training on friday for the trainers, it was good, my one (anak) or one of the missionaries i trained is training and i got to call him to let him know haha, that means ill have two grandsons out here haha, (mission lingo). i dont really know what else to say, its been pretty busy, we have met with president a few times and its been cool to work closely with him. to answer dads question ill still be coming back in september, no worries, its better that way! well at least im excited for it haha. this week should be really busy, its transfer week, and just to add to everything we got instruction from the area presidency that we have to change the way we do transfers, it makes it way harder for us haha president told me i got called in here in the 10th round, "better be ready" haha no pressure right. so just a little run down of what will happen this week, tuesday we have a devotional for all the missionaries going home, wednesday all the new missionaries get here from the mtc and we get to watch over them for a few days tell friday, we have to do a lot for that and thursday! then we have to get stuff ready for transfers and for transfer day! then on saturday we drive all the way up to san fernando where the new mission home will be and have to help set up the new office, thats a long ways haha, its going to be a interesting week! well i love you guys and truly appreciate your support, thanks for everything! mahal ko po kayo! \ Elder Machen

" What A Week!" June 9,2013

well sounds like you had a good time there in canada thats awesome! we have to go when i get home, i got some friends out here that are from there and so it would be great to go see our family up there. Dad your email was great thank you for that! well this week was a wild one, it went by super fast but i think cause so much happened it felt like a lifetime haha, i got feeling better so no worries there, just got a little skinnier hahaha, wednesday we had mission leadership council and that was good, elder tapusoa and i gave a workshop and it was a good experience! i thought i was going to super nervous but it ended up being good! our investigators are doing really well! they keep coming to church and keeping their commitments so its a great feeling, this week i just thought back to how the area was when we got here, it wasnt bad at all but just since i have been here we have seen miracles and great things happen with less actives and investigators, it just goes to show you what can happen if these people will just give room in their hearts to listen and learn! through the power of the spirit they will change everytime! mom i was so proud of you and your experiences you had sharing the gospel! thats great, thank you for doing that! its been so cool for me to see how much you have grown since ive been out here! your emails are great and really what i need to keep moving forward! i love you so much and hope you continue to grow in the faith! remember him in all that you do! mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen hey i was debating on whether to say anything thats why i didnt send it in the big letter cause i dont think it should really get out and i tell you this not to brag or anything cause i was super humbled this week and had some really strong impressions that something was coming and it came, president talked to me on wednesday and called me to be his new assistent. i spent 3 days in urdaneta getting training thats why i didnt have a lot to say earlier in the big letter, i go back to urdaneta on wednesday. i love you so much and im humbled to have this opportunity to learn and grow.

"The Mimmies" haha June 3,2013

7on7! man thats way cool, looks like it was great! man your friends our getting big bro! haha i kinda chuckled, you guys still look like your having a great time and im happy for ya, well sorry bout this email but honestly not much happened, i came down with something bad tuesday night, the mimies came back, they havent been around for awhile but man they struck hard haha, i havent been able to stray to far from the bathroom this week, im still fightening it but its getting better! not much happened this week, but our baptismal service went really well! i was humbled she asked me to baptize her, she bore a powerful testimony of the new found faith and how she knows that this is the true church! she told me after words that she felt really warm and didnt know how to describe it, i told her that was the spirit testifing to her that what she did was right and that Heavenly Father was happy with her desicion! she was just cheesin from cheek to cheek! haha i was to! it was a neat experience, despite the fact i was dry heaving before and after the service it was still good, i lost some more weight this week, haha elder and i were laughing cause nothing fits me! i cant say i will be wearing a suit home its huge! after a few day elder t started gettting mimies and so sister monahan gave us the charge not to go out and just stay and rest, so we were cramped up in our sauna of a aprt for most of this week, no worries though! just go foward with a smile on and everything will be alright! go lang nang go! i love you guys and hope you have a great week! mahal kita Elder Machen

"Here Comes The Rain!"

haha i laughed when i got on email today i forgot it was memorial weekend, i was like "What?!" it was memorial this week? hmm forgot about that, at least ill be there for next year! looks like you guys are having fun! well this week was a good one! cant complain, Elder T got kind of sick this week so it was a little slower paced but we still got some good work done none the less. Things are really going great here! our investigator passed her interview this week! so june 1 is her big day, her story is a good one! things with the zone are going good, we will be apart of urdaneta mission thankfully! im still healthy and doing well. the weather is getting cooler with the rain coming, i like the rainy season, its nice to cool off, but its twice as hot when the sun comes back out! we saw some great progresssion with some of our LA's. its amazing how the spirit works on someone, we had one lesson where the guy wouldnt come out and talk to us, finally his wife convinced him to come out, he came and by the end of the lesson he was tearing up and telling us how he needs to change, i was amazing, we will keep up on him, i felt my testimony grow this week! i love this gospel with all my heart! its amazing, i hope you guys have a good week! mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen

"Get Out Of Our Way!"

sounds like you had a great week and im sure glad to hear that brey did good on his talk, hes always been good at that! tell him hi for me! things here in the pilipinas are really taking off and elder tapusoa and i are having the best time! work everyday is a blast because we have established a good teaching pattern and its just to fun to teach with someone that you can trust and know that he'll have your back, we saw great things happen this week with people really progressing, from the time we got to their home and by the time we left we saw the change in there countance and it payed off on sunday when they came to church! i think this week we really Got Out of the Way of the spirit and let him got to work! it was exciting to see the things that happened, we have people that are getting ready for baptism and its all because of the spirit! this was probably one of the most spiritual weeks of my mission cause everyday we just felt him preparing us for things we needed to do. Thanks for all your great emails! have a great week and remember to GET OUT OF THE WAY! haha love ya Elder Machen

"Oh Yeah!"

Well first off you guys sound great and sounds like you had a good week! it already feels like forever since i talked to you guys ahaha but i needed that so thank you, well youll never believe who my new companion is!!!! ELDER TAPUSOA! haha oh man i was kind of nervous on friday but when the aps called us to be companions we were so pumped and president kind of laughed cause we were still trying to be dignified but could barely keep in our excitment haha. oh man its been a great couple days! we have been busy and getting everything we can done, saturday we had a baptism and that was super spiritual and sister gave a powerful testimony how after 27 years she has finally found the truth and we showed up right in her darkest hour. i testify Heavenly Father knows and loves everyone of us and is aware of our situation, cause he blessed that investigator of ours and wow, what a powerful conversion process for her. it was a miracle! we had a good day at church yesterday and we have some prgressing investigators, we are very excited about that! We got some good new elders and one sister into the zone and just finished with zone study, it was good and we are excited for this transfer! haha its kind of funny im the only white kid in the zone. This week was hectic but alot of answered prayers and blessings happened this week so it was great. im really loving time right now and its crazy how fast its going by, espically now being with elder tapusoa we cant believe that after how many months we are companions! We are seeing a lot of good things happening in our area and it really gets us excited about the work! Happy Mothers Day mama bear! i sure do love ya! and of course pops and karter i love you guys to haha. you have a great week! mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen

"Go Go Go" 5/5/13

well it was good to see all the pics and things haha i cant believe kody got married! hahaah im super happy for him! everybody looks like they are doing good and i hardly regonized dad with glasses what a stud! mom thats awesome you finished school! way to go ok so this week was nuts haha it was super fun though, so tuesday we had a meeting with the district leaders and then district meeting, wednesday we had a zone conference and a member from the 70 came, we had a meeting with him and the zone leaders and that was really neat and we learned a lot, zone conference was amazing and i wish you could have been there, the talks and workshops were inspiring and really made the day, thursday was a normal day but we did a lot of planning to get ready for this week cause its transfer week, friday is when it got really crazy! so we had zone leader conference in urdaneta with elder neilson of the 70 and president monahan, that afternoon we were out working before we had to travel and president calls my companion to be the new AP, haha he was pretty nervous but super deserving of it, president also told him he had to pack all his bags and be in urdaneta before 4 haha we were booking it home! we packed his bags and headed down there, the meeting was super good and we learned some good leadership skills, that night because the meeting got over late we slept in the APs house with all the zone leaders, haha it was way fun, so until next friday i have no companion, im in a 3 some right now with 2 other elders, one of which goes home tomorrow morning, so this week i have to get some much stuff done and plan workshops and what not, should be interesting haha, saturday night our investigator passed the baptismal interview so she will be be baptized next week, things are really going good in our area and im enjoying it! i guess ill call ya whenever haha im still not sure cause i was hoping you would give me a day when your all there, i guess ill call probably this week, lets go for...tomorrow morning for me so for you tomorrow night, ill probably call for like 5 min at first to make sure your all there if not re-schedule, haha i was thinking maybe next week after transfer day but i dont know if i can wait hahah, love you guys and talk to you soon! Elder Machen

"Get Back Up" 4/29/13

well thats awesome you guys had a good week but i bet mine was better haha joke lang. this week was great. man ill tell ya it was a big learning experience and im grateful for that, things went well and the days just click right on by, my comp and i really learned a lot this week and grew as missionaries. as far as zone stuff went it wasnt to busy, we finished exchanges for the transfer on tuesday so we just focused on our area. it was good cause things are just falling together, everyweek just blows me away the people heavenly father is preparing here is exciting! We have some investigators that are super dedicated to becoming closer to our Heavenly Father! Sis.Ester will be baptized this coming May 11, it has been such a blessing to be the missionary to teach her because she was truly prepared! she progressed so fast and keeps all the commitments, we also have had success with the LA's, The branch is really getting behind us and stepping up to the plate to push the work forward! I've learned some priceless lessons from working so much with the la's, if anything always remember "the lord does not count how many times we fall or fail, he only counts how many times we get back up and face our trials with hope and faith in Him." that quote came from my comp as we were teaching a lesson and it was what i needed to hear also just at that time. This week i really tried to focus on building up my testimony and coming to each lesson with the power and authority to bear testimony of our Savior and his plan. The Spirit really helped me out there and elder and i saw the affect of our teaching in the lives of others. Teaching with unity or just being united in general is something that we all need and makes all the difference! Family im having the time of my life and am very excited to call you this month, we can call or skype any day in between may 6- may20. you guys tell me next week when you would like me to call, i think ill just call cause skype might be a hastly and probably pretty choopy. love you guys so much! Elder Machen

"Gracious Blessings" 4/21/13

MOM! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! haha the big 34 eh? haha i hope you have a great birthday and things go great for you! I dont even know where to start with this week, it was full of gracious blesssings from our Heavenly Father and i am almost speechless as i look back and realized how blest we are here in calasiao! The Lord was with us this week and we saw great things happen. this week we met a lot of less actives and ill tell ya they were pretty less active! we were grateful for the help of the members to show us where they live to we could teach them and this week we taught this one family just one time and im pretty sure when we 1st got there the dad had just woken up from a nice hangover, cause he was still pretty out of it, the spirit taught a great lesson and he was touched along with his wife and 20yr old son that wanted nothing to do with us, on sunday my companion said "elder look whos here" i was shocked when i saw them sitting on the back bench and couldnt help but smile! another less active family came along with the father that hasnt been in a very long time, not only did success happen with less actives, it happened as well with investigators! we are getting close with one of our investigators, she is continue to do great and progress! i am so grateful for this week and everything that has happened, this truly is the work of the lord and i am so blessed to be a part of it! thanks for all your support and love. Ingat po kayo palagi! Elder Machen

"Always Put HIM First!" 4/14/13

Well it was great to read your emails and i really appreciate the advice and support, you guys are great! well this week was busy as ever and we did a lot of traveling and had some nice exchanges with other elders! thats always a good experience cause you learn a ton from the other missionaries and get to see different areas and people. even though we were running with our heads cut off haha we got a lot of good solid work in and that was nice, thats deffiently the best part of the mission! the work! haha we have been so blessed to see the hand of the lord in this area and zone, oh i wish i could give it the description it deserves, we have been blown away with all that has been happening! people coming out of the wood works, the branch really backing us and helping find and teach, and truly prepared people that are searching for the truth! oh its excited and keeps us on our toes, nightly planning really has a new meaning haha. we do a lot of planning for all the meeting with the zone and our new area and for the branch, its exciting and exhausting! we never have a problem sleeping at night, i think about 3 times this week i fell asleep on my knees and woke up in the middle of the night super confused why i wasnt in bed, my companion was laughing at me one morning cause i had fallen asleep in companionship prayer and didnt say amen, and i was down there awhile, haha i love every part of the mission, its a ride of a life time! i was like a little kid in a candy shop on conference day, oh we it was better then christmas morning haha. lots of answered prayers from our living prophet and apostles. it was a great week and im just happy, i love you all and really appreciate the support! keep doing whats right and always put him first! mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen

"Go Lang nang Go! 4/7/13

Oh i cant tell you how grateful i am for such a great and supportive family! you guys are great! This week was nuts! we were running around crazy trying to get everything done! haha dad you called it, i havent been this busy my whole mission, tuesday we had to move 4 of the sisters in their new apartment and that took the whole day haha we didnt get home tell about 10, and we had meetings to plan and workshops to do, we had zone interviews on thursday and so we had to get everything ready for that and that turned out to be really good, i sure do love president monahan and had a great interview with him, he's made such a big impact on my life and my mission. also since we are opening a zone and area we are still trying to get our area down and friday we went with one of the district leaders to find out where everybody lives haha lots of traveling! with all that we found little time to get some good work in our area but we are really focusing on getting to know the leaders of the branch so that turned out to be good, the branch is great and really supportive. its a pretty big adjustment then what i am used to but its a good challenge and we deffeintly have one of the best zones in the whole mission! we just got done with zone study earlier today and it was spiritual powerful and full of good times and laughs, like my title go lang nang go! thats my companion and i's motto which translated into english is "just go!" haha we have a good time. your emails where really uplifting and i sure appreciate that! just know i am doing great and just trying to do my best! love you! Elder Machen

"Welcome to the Calasiao Zone" 3/31/13

Well family as always is was so great to hear from you and get those great emails, it was inspiring! thank you for your testimonies, it sure does strengthen mine! well this was a exciting week and humbling week, i got transfered, its kinda funny you guys alread found that out haha, so my companion is elder Millevo and we are opening are area and opening the newly created calasiao zone. meaning we are both new to our area and we are the first zone leaders to open the new zone, because of all the new missionaries that came in 31 i think, they created a new zone. oh man we have been so busy with everything is been crazy! neither of us know the area or the area of the other missionaries! so we work close with the district leaders to find are way around. its pretty exciting! getting lost happens frequently haha nothing talking and asking cant fix, we usually just laugh it off and keep working. we had a great welcome to the ward, by being called to speak on the spot haha not a bad way to start off in a new area, the branch is on the ball and we are excited to work with them! we are over about 14 missionaries and they are great! its a humbling and great learning experience and i really appreciate the support from you! i love you and should have more to say next week! mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen

"Gotta Love the Heat" 3/24/13

well thank you so much for your great emails! its always nice hearing from you guys i really liked that video! Well this was a exciting week! haha it was a blazer too! it reached 122 this week and we were feeling it haha! it was crazy hot nevertheless we got the work done and had fun doing it! we had been struggling lately with finding new investigators and so this week we got to work and found a lot! it was great and we really saw things start to fall into place, after our two baptisms that we had we were kind of in a rut! but we are doing are best to climb back on top. we saw some progression with our less actives which had been a struggle of our here! things were just going well and of course we had our ups and downs but thats normal. haha i sure do love it out here and am grateful to the opportunity! well i cant think if any thing else happened this week, basta it was a good one haha. i love you guys and pray you are on the right track and doing whats expected! love you guys! Elder Machen ( I have left some of Keg's writing mistakes... it's been fun to see how his english is not so good) What an adventure, love our missionary and his example to our family! The Lord truly does have his hand it everything!)

"High Spirits and Lots of Laughs" 3/17/13

What a week! this one was another rough one but one filled with high spirits and lots of laughs! As far as work went we just got rejected! man its was brutal sometimes when you walk and talk all day and nothing ends up falling through, it was disappointing only to the fact that these people are rejecting our Savior and essential Eternal life, its a heart breaker but when you know you are doing your best you can keep the head high! On saturday we had a baptism! Bro celso got baptized and i was touched he asked me to baptize him, it was one of the neatest experiences ive ever been apart of. The lord has really prepared him and im happy to be apart of that! i cant believe how time is flying! haha were almost done with march! thats great brody is going to brazil, speaking of the wrights, i got breydan's letter! he's great, it really made my day! haha i couldnt help but laugh reading it, if you could let him know or tell his family i got it, i think ill just wait to write again cause i doubt it will get there before he heads home, well i love ya family and am thankful for your love and support! nagmamahal, Elder Machen

"Just Keep Going" 3/10/13

Well im glad to hear you guys are doing great and it was a normal week haha! This week was a great one and man one that really pushed me! one great thing is we had a baptism! it was a great service and she has truly been prepared, i tell ya what its the coolest thing to see some one take the steps of baptism. haha im just smiling writing this. some other great news, our investigator bro. celso passed his interview and he will be baptized this saturday! he even asked me to do it and so im really excited for him cause we have seen him progress so well and so fast, we actually moved his baptism ahead because he was doing so well! so that was the good stuff. this week really challenged elder and i because no one wanted to listen to us or let us teach! it was almost amusing the excuses they would come up with or the things they would do to get away from us, yeah it was dissapointing but when you know your doing your best you cant get down on your self and we felt that through the spirit. This week we had times where we just felt down cause we were punted from everyone and here in this area because its pretty rural once 8 comes and your not in a lesson its super hard to find anybody. but we just keep pushing foward and did the best we could. the lord really wanted us to learn something this week and im still trying to figure that out. thats one great blessing about the mission or just life in general, Heavenly Father gives us things to learn and grow and whats better than that? we had to help our recent convert realize that cause she was kind of down because shes been experiencing some trials lately but is still a rock in the church and its great to see! well this week was a good one and we are just pushing forward! i love you guys and hope you also keep pushing forward through the hard times! mahal ko po kayo! ingat palagi! Elder Machen

"Rollin, Rollin, Rollin" March 3,2013

Well sounds like you had an interesting week! As for us over here things are still going great! its just been a great last couple weeks! we are are just having a great time getting the work done! we are having a baptism this saturday and another march 16 so things are really going good! We have really seen the hand of the lord in our work and its been such a blessing! our area is progressing and i think elder and i are progressing as well! haha oh yeah i almost forgot, this week we noticed it was hotter then normal, so we put our little alarm clock with a tempture thing on it and it reached 116 degrees! haha it was a scorcher this week! We really saw some of our other investigators grow and the power of the book of mormon in this work is so amazing! our one investigator bore a powerful testimony of the book of mormon and how it has already blessed her life! well thats just the start! we are getting the big batch of missionaries this month i think the 29th. well as we say here, i just entered the 4th quarter. it honestly feels like a dream. well things are continue to go great here! love you guys and remember HIM in all things! mahal kita Elder Machen

"Happy Birthday Pops!" Feb 24,2013

Well i just love reading how great you guys are doing over there! Happy Birthday Pops! im glad you got my letter! i hope you have a great day and enjoy getting a little older hahaha but with age comes experience, and with experience, theres no better substitute! keep pushing hard pops and reach the expectation! love ya, mahal kita! Other week down here in santa maria! wow it was one filled with great blessing from the lord and one i am truly grateful for! we have been seeing great things in our area and its been just amazing to see things fall into place and people make some serious steps towards our Heavenly Father! this week i truly felt we were instruments in the hand of the lord, can i just tell ya that the coolest and best experience ever is sitting in a lesson and filling the spirit work through you and seeing these people fill it and make a descision to change, its the greatest! i love being a missionary! we had some good lessons with our investigators and with our less actives. we have been having lots of investigators come to church! this last week we had 6, and out of them about 3 are really close to getting baptized! time is really cruzing by! transfer day is this friday but i know im not getting transfered. Well just know that i am doing good and loving being a missionary right now, the philippines are great and its getting hot! thanks again for the support, karter next week you better write! love ya guys! Elder Machen

"Work, Work, Work" Feb 17,2013

Hey! oh man it was sure good to see those photos! karter your hair is way pangit! haha your a stud, glad you had fun! your emails were great and inspiring! Well your about as surprised as i am with how fast this week went by! Elder and I really hit the pavement this week and lets just say we had fun and got the work done! We have to give it all to the spirit. i was blown away, we taught with the power of the spirit and things happened! i want to testify of the divinty and role of the holy ghost in missionary work. i have seen the glory of this work radiate from bamboo shacks, the spirit creates a climate that bears testimony and we get to see the effect. its the most amazing feeling ever. we had 7 investigators come to church yesterday! and 4 of them are really progressing and so we will do our best to keep them on the straight and narrow! the less active work is going well! we found this one guy earlier in the week taught him twice and he came to church! haha thats a miracle in itself because that never happens! This week was incredible, ive never taught this many lessons in my whole mission, we were guided and blessed! haha im at a loss of words right now for what to say! of course we have some investigators with some problems that we need to figure out before they can take the plunge, but we have already seen some small but good progress. our area is really doing good and elder and i are doing good, hes a hardworker and never complains about all the walking we do! well family i love you and thank you again for the great support! send my love to everybody. mahal ko po kayo! Elder Machen

"RUN!" Feb 10,2013

well you guys contiue to be awesome and i love you for all you do to and for me! the title i choose today came from a experience we had just last p-day. so we were walking down this dark street and we were turning right and i know there was this dog at this house that sometimes chased us so i pushed elder mortel to the side of the road and good thing i did cause this big dog came b-lining for us, so i did what i usually do when dogs run at us, i turned and ran at it, trying to chase it away, well this big puppy was not buying it! it hesitated for a sec and they came at me full speed! i pushed elder again and said run!!!!! haha we took off and i felt the dog nip my shoe, i dont want you to worry cause this is the cool part of the story, so as we were running down this street another dog thought it would be fun to join the chase, so imagine this, to missionaries, one american and filipino booking it down this street with two big dogs behind them hahaha, i was just waiting to feel one bite into my calf, but just as i felt it nick my shoe its like someone pushed us or something cause both elder and i took off! we left these two dogs in the dust and they stopped chasing us. i know it was guidance from our heavenly father cause i have never ran so fast in my life hahah. it left us thankful and laughing at what just happened. good times good times. other than that this week was amazing, filled with many blessings from the lord! we had zone interviews with president and it was so great! he gave me a lot of advice and we had a good talk! he was asking me what my plans where for when i get home and stuff and gave me some great advice. it was great. we had some great things happen with our investigators that is really exciting. we have one brother jr. he is 22 and is a stud! he bore a powerful testimony about reading and praying about the book of mormon. we asked him if he had read it and prayed bout it. he said yes and so i asked him, how do you feel about it? he looks at me straight in the eye and says its true, its true. the church is true, it was such a powerful moment and i couldnt help but smile and say yes it is true! We were supposed to have a baptism this saturday but it got postponed because she has no support at home, he dad is a la and mom is a member of a different church here called iglesia ni cristo. they arent allowed to listen to other religions so its kind of frusturating but we will do our best. so much happened this week and it was really neat to be a part of it! i love you guys. mahal kita Elder Machen

"The Little Things" Feb 3,2013

Well family this week was a exciting one and a busy one woo! well we started off with zone gathering on tuesday, thursday we moved into our new appartment! its dang nice and actually feels like home! haha im so out of shape, moving all that stuff kicked my trash! i was so sore haha but we still did some good work! then friday we booked it over to urdaneta for some new missionary training and that was really good to get some training from president, he's way good! we were chasing our work this week but still had fun and of course got the work done, we have this investigator sister aipi, she is 14 and is really progressing! it so exciting seeing people come unto christ and seeing the excitment in their lives! truly inspiring! haha i just smile just thinking about it! her baptism is february 16! so next week she will make the important steps to eternal life! we also have some other people that are really progressing and its really excitment! things are looking good. this week we did struggle in finding new people and so i took tried to do another evaluation on myself and stuff that we have been doing, well it came down to i just need to do better at doing the little things! its amazing how easily it is to look over and if we take the time to notice them, it makes all the difference! i love the mission and all the stuff we learn out here! I like what dad said in how the lord is in all things. Always remember that one! i love you so much family, i know i say it all the time but i really love you all a ton and know that i am happy and doing great! Mahal kita Elder Machen

"Transfers"

Well this was a exciting week! we went to transfers and i got my new companion! Elder Mortel, is he from mindoro, haha yeah i dont know where that is either but he is pure tagalog so i will be learning a lot more with the language! The baptism was one of the neatest experiences ever! i felt so blessed to be the one to baptise her and she has truly been prepared by the lord! she was confirmed yesterday, she also has lots of friends so we are teaching them as well and got some more baptisms lined up for the 16th and march 2nd! this week was the last week with elder terry, it was a bummer to see him go because we were best friends but i know he'll do great. i'm way excited to be with elder mortel, we already get along good and have had some good laughs. the area is doing ok, we got two new elders in the house and so we had to split the area again and lost some of the progressing areas but that's all good, just got to work harder in our non-progressing areas! we had some investigators come to church and one is doing really well, sis aipi, she is way excited for her baptism! things are going good we get to move apartments this friday! we got a nice one picked out and it will be a good change the we live in now is pretty bad haha, i love and thank you guys so much for all the support, Dad you letter bout made me cry today! thank you for all you do and know i am happier then ever doing the lords work, Con man sounds like he is doing good, i sent him a little something so he should get it here soon cause i sent it a few weeks back. tell joni and family i love them and thankful nothing happened to them. Mahal kita Elder Machen

"I'm Pregnant....again! hahaha 1/20/13

Well sounds like this week was good for you guys, send my love to gramps and know im praying for him. as for things in the good ole pilipinas it was a week full of blessings for elder and i, and more for our investigators! the lords hand is really in the work here and it drives us to push forward and take advantage of this. well i got the call this week, i'm training again. everybody was joking around with me saying "ay buntis ulit si elder machen." translation, elder machen is pregnant again haha. (its a joke in the mission that if you train you have a (anak) or kid, so since this is number 3 for me the elders were joking around saying i was pregnant again.) i feel blessed the lord is entrusting me again to train a new missionary and i have to say im very surprised but know i will do my best. so this week was full of traveling to meetings and fitting in as many appointments as we could. our investigator sis liway passed the baptismal interview so this thursday she will be baptized, its amazing the story that goes behind her. i would like to share it with you this week, so we met sis liway back in november, she joined a lesson we were teaching to this other family, she didnt seem interested at all and after the 1st lesson she was the last person i thought would progress out of the family of 6. well two months later she is the only one left out of that family, she quickly gained a testimony of the book of mormon and has been faithful in church attendance. elder and i knew we had to give her a ibd (baptismal date) but we didnt know when, so we did the only thing we knew, pray. we got on our knees and maybe where there for about an hour praying for what day the lord would have her to be baptized, after much pray and talking it over with my companion, we felt through the power of the holy ghost she should be baptized on jan 24. we had little time to teach her all the lessons and get her prepared for such a sacred covenant, but we trusted in the lord and went forth with faith! all i can say is she has truly been enlightened by the spirit of the lord! it has been amazing to see, she has made sacrafices and has been blessed where i have been left jaw dropped with what the lord has done for her and her family. i want to testify with all my heart that the heavens our open! The lord answers our prayers and prepares the way. Sis liway asked us the other day who would be the one to baptize her, we told her whoever she wanted, she thought for a second then looked up and me and asked "elder machen can you baptize me?" i was taken back and it truly touched me that she wanted me to do that. family this work is truly the work of our Heavenly Father. elder terry and i are bummed this will be our last week together because we have become best friends, i have learned so much for him and will truly never forget the work we did here in little santa maria. this work is inspiring and i absolutly love it, i love you family and know you are in my prayers and trust in the lord with all your heart! mahal kita Elder Machen

"Here We GO!" 1/13/13

Wow what another amazing week here in santa maria! the lord really blessed us and truly does answer prayers, its been the greatest to see his hand guided us out here. haha elder terry and I are doing great! we just have fun and get the work done! its been a blast! This week we worked on how we could improve our teaching and it was great to see the difference it made in our lessons. yesterday was great we had 7 investigators at church and i think 11 la's. we were pretty pumped! people are just coming out of the wood works and everything is falling into place! were having a baptism this jan 24! we are so excited cause she is doing so good! she is also very excited as well, its been the neatest thing to see the lord bless her as she has investigated his church. we also have some others scheduled for feb 16. we are very happy with what the Lord has done for us in this area, it has been amazing the change we have seen this transfer. elder and i couldnt believe how fast this week went by! it was ridiculous. I love you family and know that i am doing great, couldnt be happier! this work is amazing! mahal kita, Elder Machen

"New Year, Off with a Bang" 1/6/13

What a week! i feel heavenly father opened the windows of heaven for us here in santa maria! we got work done this week! it was incredible, every night elder terry and i would come home and just sit in amazement of everything that happened! we taught people, they actually listened! they kept commitments! they accecpted baptismal invitations and man the blessings go on and on! the 1st year in the new year went off with a bang! we have so much good things going on in our area its amazing! everyday was just a adventure where we got to be instruments in the lords hands! Sis liway is way exciting for her baptism january 24! we taught her last night and she said at the end of the lesson, "i wish i could get baptized right now!' she really understands the importance and she tells us about all the blessings she has been recieving, we also met this 15 year old girl named aipi, she is way magaling! her baptismal date is feb 16. so it should be an exciting next couple months. we just had neat experiences this week where the spirit was so strong and truly bore testimony of what we were saying is true, and those people felt it, this week i really focused on getting "out of the way" of the spirit and letting him do all the work! wow the difference it made! this week to i thought about how i could improve and one way i found is in prayer, i thought you know i think im asking to much and not thanking enough, so thats what i did, focused more on praising him for everything i could think of and that made such a profound difference for me this week! try it! well family i love you, things are going great! happier than ever, thats the secret of this life! Obedience and service! Mahal kita Elder Machen

"Maligayong Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon" 12/30/12

Well 1st off it was sure great to talk to you guys last week! it really boosted the spirits and gave elder terry and i a renewed drive haha. So this week was really good compared to our last couple weeks! things fell together and we got stuff done! it was a great blessing from the lord! i think terry and i just laugh the whole time we are walking then when its time to teach and talk to people we have great unity and it has been a great time! It makes all the difference when your on the same page with your companion. our investigator sis liway is doing great! she continues to read and come to church! we taught her and shes getting ready and excited for her baptism which should be coming up here soon! she keeps telling us how great the church is, kasi before she didnt want anything to do with it but she really likes the feeling there, shes a single mom with two kids, her husband was a member but passed away. astig siya! we found some new people this week that are way nice and excited for us to come teach them, the lord really opened up the windows of heaven for us this week! i love you guys and i know this work is the work of our heavenly father! Thanks for everything, mahal kita elder machen

"Maligayang Pasko" Dec 23, 2012

Well sounds like things are good over in the states, its weird sounds like you guys wont be having a white christmas either! thats to bad, this was a rough week, haha i dont think i got much to say cause honestly i think we got punted from every appointment and nobody really wanted to listen to us this week! lets just say it was a frusterating one! you would think it being this time of year people would want to listen to a message about our savior but it was the opposite, haha i can tell a difference even since last year, people really dont know the true meaning of christmas anymore. but thats why we are here! this is a great season to really reflect on our savior and all that he does for us. i know with all my heart Christ lives, the closer we get to him the happier we will be! His sacrifice was infinite and atoning and without it we would be helplessly lost. This Christmas lets think more of the Christ rather than all the other stuff, i would love to challenge you family this christmas season find a family or someone that could really be in need of some help and help them! just something simple! that will be the best way you will feel the Spirit of Christmas this great season. well i love you and cant wait to talk to you tomorrow! Mahal kita Elder Machen