"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