Free resources about the Philippines Bacolod Mission:
- Mission address and phone number
- Mission map
- Video interviews with returned missionaries
- Missionary blogs
- Facebook groups
- LDS Mission t-shirts and gifts
- List of past mission presidents
- Cultural articles written by returned missionaries
- Survey with RMs
*Other Mission Pages: Philippines LDS Missions.
Philippines Bacolod Mission Address
Here’s a recent address for the Bacolod Mission. We try to keep this information up to date, but it’s a good idea to check the address with several sources, including your mission packet or the mission office.
Philippines Bacolod Mission
PO Box 660
Bacolod City
6100 Negros Occidental
Philippines
Phone Number: 63-34-433-3002
Mission President: President Christopher A. Barredo
Philippines Bacolod Mission Map
Here’s a link to the mission map for the Philippines Bacolod Mission (LDS). To access the official, up-to-date LDS.org map for the Bacolod Mission:
Videos with Bacolod RMs
Here are in-depth YouTube video interviews with returned missionaries from the Bacolod Mission. We interview hundreds of returned missionaries each year, so check back regularly to see new RM interviews.
LDS-Friendly Videos about Philippines
Here are LDS-friendly educational videos about Philippines. We scoured YouTube to find the best quality videos about Philippines, that are free from inappropriate music, immodesty and profanity.
Philippines Bacolod Missionary Blogs
Here’s a list of LDS missionary blogs for the Bacolod Mission. This list includes the missionary’s name, URL and when their blog was updated.
Philippines Bacolod Mission Groups
Here are Bacolod Mission Groups- for LDS missionary moms, returned missionaries, mission presidents and other alumni of the Bacolod Mission.
- Philippines Bacolod Mission Facebook Group (906 members)
- Phils Bacolod Mission Facebook Group (365 members)
- Bacolod Mission Corner Facebook Group (249 members)
- Philippines Bacolod Mission Facebook Group (248 members)
- Bacolod Mission – Leishman (1988-91) Group (187 members)
- Bacolod Mission Facebook Group (131 members)
- Lowell & Eliot’s (Bacolod Mission RMs) Group (108 members)
- Bacolod Mission – President Evans Group (36 members)
- Bacolod Mission: Leishman-Butler Group (28 members)
- Philippines Bacolod Mission Moms (LDS) Group (11 members)
- Returned Missionaries From Bacolod Group (7 members)
Philippines Bacolod Mission T-Shirts
Here are T-shirts for the Philippines Bacolod Mission!
Shirt designs include Bacolod Mission logo/emblem shirts and Called to Serve shirts. The shirts make great gifts for pre-missionaries, returned missionaries and missionaries currently serving. LDS Mission shirts come in all sizes: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, up to 4XL. The mission designs are printed on white shirts and are shipped to you.
*Simply click on a shirt design to view the details and submit an order. The designs on mission t-shirts may also be printed on other LDS mission gifts, including: Bacolod missionary aprons, Christmas stockings, ties, pillow cases, teddy bears and Christmas ornaments.
*Click here to browse Bacolod Mission gifts
Recommended Mission Prep Books
(Fun Fact: John Bytheway served in the Philippines!)
Bacolod Mission Presidents
Here’s a list of current and past Mission Presidents of the Bacolod Mission.
- 2015-2018, Christopher A. Barredo
- 2012-2015, Marlo Oliveros Lopez
- 2009-2012, George J. Tobias
- 2006-2009, Dany T. Daguioag
- 2003-2006, Edwin C. Biddulph
- 2000-2003, Dale E. Smith
- 1997-2000, Kent T. Evans
- 1994-1997, George F, Snell
- 1991-1994, Elliot A. Butler
- 1988-1991, Lowell L. Leishman
- 1985-1988, A. Roy Boulter
Philippines LDS Statistics (2015)
- Church Membership: 710,764
- Missions: 21
- Temples: 2
- Congregations: 1,181
- Family History Centers: 171
Helpful Tips about the Philippines (articles written by RMs)
- Joseph Smith’s First Vision in Tagalog
- Headstart on LDS Vocabulary in Tagalog
- Cool Tagalog Words
- Why I Love Filipinos
- Modes of Transportation in the Philippines
- American Influence on the Philippines
- Spanish Influences on the Philippines
- Japanese Influence on the Philippines
- Things You Can and Cannot Buy in the Philippines
- Sari-Sari Stores in the Philippines
- Filipinos and Karaoke
- Beverages in the Philippines
- Restaurants in the Philippines
- Rice in the Philippines
- Spaghetti in the Philippines
- Common Condiments in the Philippines
- What is Ube?
- Inspirational Tagalog Christian Quotes (LDS)
- 50+ Tagalog LDS Quotes, Memes, & Mormonads
- How to Make Pansit (a popular Filipino rice noodle dish)
- How to Make Lumpia (like eggs rolls but way better!)
- How to Make Puto (Filipino Rice Cakes)
Bacolod Missionary Survey
Here are survey responses from Bacolod RMs, to give you a snapshot into what it’s like to live in the mission.
When did you serve?
- 2014-2015 (Jacey)
- 2014-2015 (Spencer)
- June 2013-December 2014 (Shalyse)
- 2013-2015 (Bryce)
- 2012-2014 (Sara)
- 2006-2008 (Russell)
- 2005-2007 (Jordan)
- October 2001-May 2003 (Pearly)
- August 2005-August 2007 (Jordan)
- 2006-2008 (Warren)
- 2004-2006 (Shiean)
- 2009-2011 (Adam)
- 1997-1999 (Blake)
- April 1994-October 1995 (Jennifer)
- 1999-2001 (Scott)
- 2005-2007 (Robb)
- January 1991-February 1993 (Ted)
- 1990-1992 (Adam)
- 1997-1999 (Lee)
- 2013-2015 (Andy)
- 2012-2014 (Geoffrey)
- 2012-2014 (Meralde)
- 1989-1990 (Pangs)
- 1989-1990 (Brian)
- February 1989-October 1989 (Heide)
- 1987-1989 (Gil)
- 1987-1989 (Eric)
- 1987-1988 (Vernice)
- 1986-1987 (Anthony)
What areas did you serve in?
- Sagay, Alijis, Santa Fe, Sum-ag, Talisay. (Jacey)
- Sagay city (various areas), Bacolod (various areas), Sipalay. (Spencer)
- Talisay, Inauayan, Handumanan, Victoria’s. (Shalyse)
- Jaro, San Jose, Roxas. (Sara)
- Roxas, Himamaylan, Opened Moises Padilla, Mansilingan, President Roxas, Kalibo, Alijis/Tangub, Tigbauan. (Russell)
- Alibhon (Jordan Guimaras), Villa, President Roxas, Sta. Fe (PBM), Eb Magalona (PBM), Mansilingan (PBM), Hinoba-an (PBM). (Jordan)
- Eb Magdalona Silay, Bago City Illo Illo. (Adam)
- Calatrava, Roxas 1, Oton/Arevalo, Sibalom, Bonifacio/Vito. (Lee)
- Calatrava Branch, Ward, Masville Branch, Lopez Jaina Ward, Handumanan 2nd Ward, Wictorias 1st ward/Gawahon Group. (Andy)
- Bacolod, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, Toboso, Sagay. (Geoffrey)
- San Carlos, Canlaon, Escalante, Kabankalan, Isabela, Moises Padilla. (Meralde)
- Bac Cebu Dumaguete. (Pangs)
- Toboso, Tigbauan, Bacolod, Kalibo, Valencia. (Brian)
- Cebu City, Naga La Carlota city and Bacolod city. (Pangs)
- Iloilo, Bacolod, La Carlota. (Gil)
- Cadiz, Bacolod, San Carlos, Canlaon, Roxas. (Anthony)
What were some favorite foods?
- Adobo, Sinigang, Bicol, Express, Tinola, and Mango float. (Jacey)
- Squid (Calamares), Eel, Adobe (chicken or pork), Bikol Express, Mangoes, Bananas, Rambutan, Pineapple. (Spencer)
- Fish, Adolbo, Menudo, Rice (Shalyse)
- Bicol Express, Inasal, Sinigang and Dinuguan. (Bryce)
- Adobe. Curry. Native Chicken. Mang inasal. Halo halo. (Sara)
- Chicken and Pork Adobo. Lechon Manok. Lechon Baboy. Bangrus. (Russell)
- Chicken Atiatihan. Mano del Rey (kings chicken). Manok Pininyahan (pineapple creamy chicken). (Jordan)
- Mang Inasal chicken barbecue with light soy sauce, chili and lime. (Pearly)
- Chicken with pineapple and coconut milk. Inasal Chicken (mang inasal or atiatihan). (Jordan)
- Chicken inasal, chicken adobo,pork adobo and pork sinigang. (Warren)
- Chicken Inasal. (Shiean)
- You think Bruno Mars felt locked out of heaven for too long? Just wait until you try chicken adobo, pork sinigang, fish tinola, and lumpia. (Adam)
- Garlic fried rice. Pancit canton. Lumpia. Green mango. Rambutan. (Jennifer)
- Lumpia, lechon manok, fried bananas, mangos, lechon baboy. (Scott)
- Chicken/Pork Adobo Lechon Manok (Rotisserie Chicken) Filipino BBQ Chicken Halo-Halo (Iced coconut dessert) Pancit Canton (Ramen noodles without broth) Filipino bread of all varieties. (Robb)
- Big Bang candy bars. (Ted)
- Chicken adobo, Pansit, Milk fish, Mango Coco nut, Egg with eggplant. (Adam)
- Pork adobo is the best – Longanissa (short, stubby, red sausages) are sweetly savory and delicious – tocino is also a big favorite – fried fish, especially yellow-fin tuna – BBQ chicken stuffed with lemongrass and dipped in soy sauce and calamansi. (Lee)
- Many foods. (Andy)
- Fried eggplant; Squash with coconut milk; Spicy pork with coconut milk and peppers. Anything with coconut really. (Geoffrey)
- Sugar cane. Adobo. (Meralde)
- Seafoods. (Pangs)
- Lumpia. Tocino. Garlic rice. Banana Catsup. Cracker Nuts. (Brian)
- Chicken inasal. Oven baked lapu-lapu. Fried fish. Lapaz bstchoy. (Gil)
- All Filipino and American food which I like. (Eric)
- Lechon, mango, pakwan. (Vernice)
- Big shrimps. Rice cake and cassava. (Anthony)
What was a funny experience?
- We were visiting a less active for the first time and her non member daughter joined us and she was intrigued with Americans and she was asked me all the basic questions we always get asked, “are you rich?” “What do you eat? Salad? Bread?” And then after the twenty questions she asked me if I would sing the American national anthem for her! I wasn’t going to say no so I just started singing what little bits and parts I could remember (I know I’m bad American citizen) and she stops me and says in English, no, stop! You’re a disgrace Andy starts singing the American national anthem word for word and when she finishes looks at me and says “Te?” (Jacey)
- While I served I had the opportunity to teach two deaf investigators. In order to do this we had to learn American Sign Language. If we didn’t know the word for something we spelled it out for our investigator, and she would show us the sign for it. We did this for the word ‘prophet,’ and we taught her very simple lessons about Prophets for three days. At the end of three days our second deaf investigator joined us and we decided to recap what we taught the other one. When we signed prophet, or what we thought was prophet, we got a strange look from him. It turned out that the sign we thought was prophet was actually the sign for deer as in the animal. So for three days we taught our first investigator about how God calls deers to lead and guide his people. And that our current living deer was Thomas S. Monson. (Spencer)
- It was raining and my umbrella caught onto a tarp and I fell into nasty gross water with who-knows-what in it. (Shalyse)
- Accidentally falling down a muddy hill on the side of a rice paddy with my companion. (Bryce)
- When they fed us BBQ. (Sara)
- I fell into nasty stream while crossing a bridge one night, then proceeded to teach a lesson covered in all sorts of different “stuff”. (Russell)
- In Prez. Roxas on my first night in the area, I took a bad step of our stoop and fell in the canal sang tae. (Jordan)
- When my companion and I were chased by a peacock. (Pearly)
- At our apartment in President Roxas (now in the Iloilo mission), I stepped off of our stairs to open air and fell into a river comprised of human waste. (Jordan)
- Playing American football with the American missionaries, without knowing the rules of the game. (Warren)
- Catching the investigators that are hiding from you. (Shiean)
- One very poor family had a dog pass away, and the next day we showed up to their house to see that they had a new puppy. When asking about the puppy, the 7 year old girl said, without taking a breath, “Yeah last night Dad come home with a bag and he said he got a dog so I was thinking that he had a dog that got hit by a bus that we would eat for dinner but then I looked inside and IT WAS A PUPPY!!!” (Adam)
- Using a tiny indoor bathroom with no lights only to discover I was in there with the families giant pig! (Jennifer)
- Had a crazy man, with no shirt on, walk up to me and ask in perfect English what time it was. Satisfied with my answer, he kept on walking down the street and started humming a tune. (Robb)
- Riding on top of a bus in a downpour. (Ted)
- Being called ice ice kendy because my name on my mission was Elder Kennedy so the kids wanted to make a song out of my name. (Adam)
- A guy on a tricicad (bike attached to a side car) tried to overcharge us for a ride since we were white and he thought we had a lot of money. Out of nowhere, his bike tire popped and we told him it was probably because he was trying to mess with God’s messengers. (We still paid the ridiculous fare he requested because we felt bad for him having to buy a new bike tube.) (Lee)
- We crashed on the motorbike. (Andy)
- We had an investigator on a little island accessible only by rowboat. On the island, there was a bamboo bridge that led us through a mangrove forest. One of the Elders, a large 6 foot 5 guy, was a little too big for the bridge and broke right through it and held on desperately to avoid falling into the black mud below. We, instead of helping, decided to capture the moment on our cameras, laughing as he struggled to stay up. It was all in good fun, and he was glad we got pictures. (Geoffrey)
- My companion is scared of spiders. Then he saw a spider in our bedroom. What we did is to pull out all the things inside the room just to kill the spider. (Meralde)
- During off day. (Pangs)
- My funny experiences during my mission are: When I do proselyte, then suddenly it got rain…we run in the rice field then I fell and got dirt on all my clothes. (Eric)
- Lie down on a couch over 2 missionary sisters. (Vernice)
- We caught an investigator at back of the house trying to flee. (Anthony)
What was a crazy/dangerous experience?
- In my first area a signal three typhoon was going to hit us so we had to go on lock down in our apartment for three days until it passed by. The rain flooded everything out wind destroyed many small homes and blew big branches off trees all over the roads. It was the most dangerous experience I had on my mission. (Jacey)
- I was assigned to an area way up in the mountains and in order to write emails for P Day we had to come down off the mountain to the nearest city and we would spend the entire P Day down in the city and travel back the next morning. One time when we came down it was after a mini typhoon. All the rivers had over flooded. The bridge we normally crossed to get down was entirely flooded, too flooded for vehicles to cross. The bridge was also just two wooden railroad beams about twice as wide as a tire. We really had to get down off the mountain, so we decided to tread through the water. The water had flooded over the bridge up to our waist and was going 20-30 MPH. It was literally white water. It was also night time and hard to see our footing. We tread across very carefully trying to balance on the wooden beams that were under water and trying not to be swept away. Fortunately we all made it across safe and sound, but it was probably one of the scariest things I had ever done. (Spencer)
- Getting chased by a Carabao and running down the mountain in the rain to get away from it and the owner is watching it all go down. (Shalyse)
- Walking home after curfew because we missed the last tricycle home. (Sara)
- Tropical Storm Frank that came thru Kalibo in June 2008. (Russell)
- Tracting in a tropical storm, lightening hit and downed a tree during a testimony at the door. We were invited right in! (Jordan)
- One time we were crossing a bamboo bridge when one of the poles slipped and our feet fell through. That bridge has been repaired since that experience. (Bryce)
- When a Muslim investigator told us in outrage not to come back teaching him and asked us to leave holding a big butcher knife. (Pearly)
- Street contacts in a typhoon. (Jordan)
- Eating dog meat with my companion, and after midnight, we both have a feeling that there something moving inside, which made us crazy. (Warren)
- Walking in the middle of the rice field in the storm with only the lightning lighting your path. (Shiean)
- When I was set apart as a missionary, my Stake President promised me many blessings. A couple days later, there was only one thing that I actually remembered, and that was a protection from snakes. (FYI, have a family member write stuff down during the blessing or write it down immediately afterwards.) I thought that was pretty cool, though probably inconsequential. One day my companion and I were walking along the edge of a rice field, the grassy edges are balance-beam skinny, and if you misstep you get your foot six inches deep in watery-mud. While walking, I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally misstepped and got a shoe full of mud. While Mormon cursing under my breath due to the fact that I would have to clean off my shoe when we arrived at our next appointment, my companion, who was walking behind me, said, “Did you see what just happened?” “Yeah,” I replied, “I just stepped in the mud!” “No,” he responded, “there was a snake on the path, and had you not stepped in the mud you would’ve stepped on the snake!” So take blessings seriously, and be grateful that the Lord is looking out for you. (Adam)
- Once my companion had an odd skin rash and I teased her that it was leprosy only to find it it actually might be and she needed a skin biopsy done. Luckily it was not leprosy. (Jennifer)
- Riding on top of the bus because there was no room in the bus. (Scott)
- Had an investigator almost get shot while we were in the middle of a lesson. The shooter’s gun malfunctioned and he fled. (Robb)
- Riding on top of a bus in a downpour. (Ted)
- Riding on top of the bus. To make it clear, I was on the roof of the bus. Eating balut for the first time. And to top it off, eating dog and not being told what it was. (Adam)
- My companion and I were chased by an angry drunk man with a machete who was upset because we didn’t invite him to church. We had to hide out for an hour or so before we felt safe. (Geoffrey)
- I had a motor accident when were going to one of our areas in the mountains. (Meralde)
- When serving in sugarcane area. (Pangs)
- Riding on top Jeepney with power lines hanging low. (Brian)
- Bus accident. (Gil)
- My crazy and dangerous experience that I have is when one of our investigators pointed a gun on us and want us to testify that our church is true. (Eric)
- Ride on a bus top load from Dalaguete to Minglanilla around 5 towns away or less than 2 hours travel. (Vernice)
- We rode on the top load of a cargo truck full of sugarcane from San Carlos city to Canlaon city and vice versa. (Anthony)
What was a spiritual experience?
- My most spiritual experience was my very last FHE in the mission. We had a big group of members and the senior missionaries heading out to a part member family. Their home was ruined in Ulanda that hit a couple years ago and were living in an old chicken coop. Curtain walls and a tin roof to shelter them. They had no power so they used flash lights and lanterns for light. And the whole evening had a wonderful spirit and was fun but it did not truly hit me until we were singing the closing hymn, ‘I am a Child of God,’ I could feel heavenly fathers love for this family and I knew they felt it too. No matter what their circumstance they were full of joy and I knew they would soon be baptized. I went home that same week but the remaining of the family has been baptized just recently! (Jacey)
- Baptisms and preparing them to be baptized. (Shalyse)
- Every day was a spiritual experience. Rather than a single moment, the most spiritual experiences involved watching conversion and then hearing a new convert give their testimony. (Bryce)
- The Morante family baptism and Tobias and Chorly’s wedding. (Sara)
- Giving a woman a blessing and her gaining a testimony of the church thru that blessing. (Russell)
- While tracting, there was this certain old man who called us from the street and asked if we could teach him the gospel. We set an appointment. As we went along the discussion, we felt a strong impression to commit him to be baptized. He accepted the invitation and to our surprise, he throws all his coffee beans out and promised never again to drink coffee. Eventually, he was baptized. (Pearly)
- Having an investigator tell my Zone Leader (during baptism interview) that any time the investigator had a question, we would answer it before they could even ask. (Jordan)
- Tracting the whole village and no one accepting. When you are about to give up, looking at the last house and all hope is lost. But then you collect all the courage in you and knock. The man who answered the door says nobody is home. Then you drop all your hope but then a woman comes from the same house and calls out to you and says, ” I’ve been expecting you”. (Shiean)
- You’ll get a lot of spiritual experiences as you spend all day, every day in each transfer (6-week changes) bringing investigators closer to Christ. However, some transfers, the Lord will give you a companion that you need to bring closer to Christ; and often while bringing them to Christ, you realize you weren’t as close as you thought yourself. One such transfer, I got one who was close to being sent home. He had the best teaching skills and affability of any companion I had my whole mission, but was lacking in the Spirit a tad due to some mission rebelliousness. Due to me not having an eternal view of how much this Elder had progressed in the few weeks we had together as companions, we would often butt heads on smaller issues which I thought was affecting our ability to have the Spirit with us. For the most part we kept our squabbles and negative feelings on the inside, but they were beginning to boil up. In our area there was one highway that ran north-to-south that all transportation took place on. The buses stopped traveling around 7:30 pm, and with a large area, we always made sure that we were back in the neighborhoods around our residence by 7 pm. If not, it meant long waits for already crowded buses, and more often than not long walks due to no transportation. One Sunday evening, my companion and I went on splits with two brothers in their 20’s who were very poor but very willing to help share the gospel. We split off in the early afternoon and said that we would meet up back at the house at 7 pm so that our ward missionaries could get home. I arrived at 7 pm and began to cook dinner for my soon-to-be-returning companion, (or so I thought.) 7:30 approached, then 7:45 and not until after 8 pm did my companion return. I knew there was likely no transportation available, and our ward missionaries lived a good 6-7 miles away. No members of our ward had cars whom we could call up and ask for a ride. Still harboring negative feelings that my companion showed up so late, he gave the fare to our ward missionaries as he walked them to the gate. As he sent them on their way, I heard him say “If there aren’t any more buses, just come back here and you can sleep here for the night.” Allowing anyone inside your apartment, let alone sleeping the night, was a BIG mission no-no. As my companion returned, I told him, “You know that in 30 minutes they will come back, knock on the gate, and expect to sleep the night here, right?” He sarcastically responded with his trademark smile, “Oh don’t worry, the Lord will provide!” Sure enough, after 20 minutes, we heard a knock at our gate, and the ward missionaries were let into the house. Fuming with anger, I grabbed my two inch foam mattress off my wooden framed bed, threw it on the ground in front of the ward missionaries, and glared at my companion as I walked into a side room. He followed me in, to which I, lacking in the realization of the vast improvements he had made over the previous weeks, blurted out in disgust, “I’m sick and tired of not being able to be obedient because of you!” With the only moment of calmness he would express the rest of the evening, he traveled with the two ward missionaries the 30 or so yards from our apartment to the highway to wait for a bus. Still fuming, I thought of all the disobedient things he had done that made my point of view correct. ‘How could he make such a promise he knowingly couldn’t keep? How can he expect any help from the Lord with the rebelliousness he keeps showing?’ I knew as soon as I approached them at the road, the Elder would lay into me with anger. I then thought about I was currently being disobedient by not being with my companion. I knelt down and prayed, quite specifically, for the Lord to make everything right. That I would be able to have the calm head that had been eluding me the whole evening, and that the Lord will give us a way to follow the rules set up by the church government body and our mission president. I walked out to the highway, and immediately got lambasted by my companion. “How could you be so insensitive!? It’s not their fault that there isn’t any more transportation at this time of night! I’ll tell you what I’ll do! I’ll wait here until midnight, and if there still isn’t any transportation, I’ll walk with them the 7 miles on the highway, and then the extra mile to their house, so that I can be obedient. Will that make you happy?” The poor ward missionaries stood awkwardly 30 or so feet away from us, knowing full well that they were the cause of our arguing back and forth, but also knowing there was absolutely nothing they had done or could do about the situation. My companion finally ran out of breath. I asked him, “Have you prayed for a salakyan (vehicle) to come by?” “Well,” he responded, “I obviously don’t have the Spirit with me, so why don’t YOU pray?” The highway was completely empty, as it was on all Sunday evenings after dark. The only lights on the highway were an occasional privately owned car that doesn’t stop for just whomever. You could see the highway for miles in each direction due to the rice fields that lie adjacent to the road. I folded my arms, bowed my head, and repeated a prayer similar to the one that I had said in the apartment. No sooner did I raise my head and open my eyes, then far off in the distance I saw a private vehicle with some kind of weird light on top. I asked my companion, “Elder, how much does a taxi fare cost?” “What are you talking about?” He responded, “How long have you been in this area?” “Four months.” “And how many taxi’s have you seen?” “None.” “There aren’t going to be any taxis coming by, especially on a Sunday night.” Slowly but surely, the vehicle got closer and closer. The closer it got, the more we realized that it was indeed a taxi. But the question was, did he already have someone he was driving? And if not, would he really pick us up when he is looking to return home for the night? We began waving at him as he approached, and fortunately he pulled over. We asked him if he would be willing to take our friends home, in which he responded he would drop them off at the edge of the highway. Apparently he had driven someone home from the airport that lived far out of his normal range of travel and was on his way home. We paid the driver and just like that, they were on their way home. I looked over to my companion to see his lips pressed grudgingly together, with an expression of ‘that wasn’t supposed to happen so fast!’ As we entered our apartment, I thought about the advice always given to couples when they get married. “Don’t go to bed angry!” Although it was late, I decided it might be a good time to use the advice. I told my companion that I didn’t want to go to bed until we got everything sorted out, in which he responded, “Sorry, I was just hungry.” He turned off the light and climbed into bed. This experience has always been a bit of a 1st Nephi 3:7 to me. The Lord, the prophet, the mission president, etc., will never give any commandment without providing a way to accomplish it. On the one night that we had our most precarious incident, heated argument, and need of the Lord’s help, he delivered by providing a way for the two ward missionaries to get home. Provided a way that had it been on any other night, there wouldn’t have been a taxi driver going way out of his way to be available in our time of need. I’ve often thought of that experience whenever I think that some commandment or responsibility might be too hard, or more so too inconvenient, to follow through with. (Adam)
- We were teaching a woman with an amazing testimony of the Gospel and her husband refused to allow her to be baptized. We decided to fast for his heart to be softened and before we had even finished our fast we were told to stop by her house because the husband wanted to give consent. It was a great testimony to the power of fasting with prayer. (Jennifer)
- Getting a letter from the first presidency so a man ,who had been faithfully attending church with his member family, could be baptized. (Scott)
- We met a potential investigator in the market one day and he said we could visit him at his house later. We went to his house that evening but he wasn’t home (which was odd because he seemed very interested when we talked to him). It was late, so we were about to head home but my trainer asked me what I thought we should do. I was inspired to tract one more house (I HATED tracting, so my suggestion was as crazy as anything else), so we did. There was a family and a couple of friends of the father at the house, so we did a short lesson and left a Book of Mormon with the family and one of his friends. Unfortunately, the father and friends were all drunk so we figured it was a waste of a lesson. Later, when we returned for a follow-up lesson, the daughter answered the door and returned the Book of Mormon we had given and said they weren’t interested. However, she said that one of her father’s friends to whom we had given a Book of Mormon was VERY interested and he was waiting for us to come back, so she led us to his house. He progressed for a little while and we continued to come back and teach lessons but it soon became apparent that he was losing interest. That’s when the crazy story I mentioned above happened. In the middle of our lesson, we started hearing gunshots and crazed, drunken yelling about stolen chickens or something (cock-fighting is a big deal there). Our investigator was a chicken surgeon. It was his job to sew up the chickens as best as possible after a cock fight so that they didn’t bleed to death. The crazy, gun-toting man came to our investigator’s door and threatened him and pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. We all thought it was over as we figured our investigator would get shot and then all of us would get shot as witnesses. But nothing happened. Confused, the crazy, drunk man fled the scene. We were all a bit shaken up, so we ended the lesson and went home. The next morning, our investigator showed up at our house and told us that was a sign to him that he needed to change his life and he wanted to be baptized and he wanted us to teach his whole family, too. We ended up teaching and baptizing his whole family. (Robb)
- Baptism interviews. (Ted)
- When someone accepted baptism at the beginning of the first discussion. Feeling God’s love in the whole room after praying about the Book of Mormon. (Adam)
- We were going to be late for a crucial appointment on the other end of town and at that time of night, there were no rides. We prayed and then I was inspired to start running. Just as we got to the top of a hill, a ride was driving by, on his way home from his shift. If we weren’t running, we wouldn’t have been at that precise location when he passed and we would have missed him. (Lee)
- We healed the sick. (Andy)
- My companion and I were having a hard time finding, so one day my companion had us teach some drunk men sitting on the side of the road. We taught them and made a return appointment. The next day, we came back and tried to teach them but they avoided us. One woman came up, though, who had seen us teaching the day before. She was a less active member who lived next door. Long story short, the Lord put us in her way and her children were baptized and they are all very active now. (Geoffrey)
- It was when Elder Ardern interview us personally with my companion in a room. (Meralde)
- Lot of baptisms. (Pangs)
- Too many to count…. loved serving! (Brian)
- Dedication of Pasi Iloilo for missionary work. (Gil)
- Every discussion as we shared. Joseph Smith’s first vision. Conference with President Gordon B. Hinckley and other apostles. Personal Priesthood Interview by President Leishmann and feeling his genuine love for us. Being called as a District Leader and asking for the Lord’s guidance. (Vernice)
- When we blessed a sister in Cadiz City that was possessed by an evil spirit. We held the power of God and the evil spirit was cast away. (Anthony)
What are some interesting facts about the Bacolod Mission?
- We are the number one baptizing mission in the Philippines and also geographically the smallest! And we have a vision that we believe in and live to help us become the best missionaries that we can become. We have an ice cream tradition, it’s the best. (Jacey)
- At one point under the direction of President Lopez we were the top baptizing mission in the world. Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) is the language primarily spoken there, but you will likely encounter Tagalog speakers as well as Cebuano speakers. (Spencer)
- We baptized weekly! We are exactly obedient! We survived 2 typhoons! (Shalyse)
- They speak the Hiligaynon language. Inasal is a local specialty. It is the largest producer of sugar in the Philippines. (Bryce)
- No soda, basketball was bawal for a few months, email was bawal for a few months. (Russell)
- Cebuano assigned, never had a Cebuano area….. The kindest people on earth live in my mission. They love people, and especially missionaries. (Jordan)
- The place, which is beautiful, and the people are awesome, that’s why Bacolod is known as “The City of Smile”. Our mission boundaries consisted of two islands during our time. You are lucky if you get to be assigned in the other island… such a lovely place! We can picnic at a beach during one of our preparation days and play football on beach sands. (Pearly)
- You can get tailor made pants for around 10 dollars. You need to be able to cook for yourself. You will rarely eat with members. (Jordan)
- Many virgin forests that you will enjoy exploring. (Shiean)
- In 2012, they began teaching Hiligaynon (or Ilonggo) in the Mission Training Center, which is the native language of speakers found in Bacolod mission. Before that, Elders would learn Tagalog and then have a tough transitioning to the new language. Due to the increasing size of Bacolod mission, they gave away two Cebuano speakings stakes/districts to one of the Cebu missions, to the dismay of the missionaries that enjoyed learning and using Cebuano. (Adam)
- It is now split into 2 missions, Bacolod and Ilo Ilo. I served 6 months in Roxas city on Panay which is now part of the Ilo Ilo mission. (Jennifer)
- It is now split into the Ilo Ilo and Bacolod missions. (Scott)
- The Bacolod mission used to include what is now the Iloilo mission as well, but it was split around 2010, I believe. I spent about half of my mission in the current Bacolod mission boundaries and the other half in the current Iloilo mission boundaries. The Bacolod mission is one of the highest baptizing missions in the Philippines (at least, it was back in 2005-2007). The Bacolod mission is the sugar cane capital of the Philippines. There are sugarcane fields literally everywhere you go on the island of Negros. The Iloilo mission includes the island of Guimaras which is the mango capital of the Philippines. In fact, there’s a very good chance that those dehydrated Philippine Mango snacks you can get at Costco come from Guimaras. Almost all of the Church members in the Bacolod mission are first generational members. There are just now starting to be second generational members. I never met a third generational member to my knowledge. I would say that most people in the Bacolod mission are either sugar cane workers, fisherman, or public transportation drivers. The most common public transportation in the Philippines in the jeepney, but in the Bacolod mission, trikes (motorcycles with a sidecar) are more common. There used to be 5 different languages spoken across the Bacolod mission when it was combined with the Iloilo mission: Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Aklanon, Capiznon, and Kinaray-a. Now that the Iloilo mission has been split off from the Bacolod mission and the Cebu mission has absorbed a part of the Bacolod mission, only Hiligaynon is spoken in the Bacolod mission. (Robb)
- Every time I transferred, I had to speak a different language. (Ted)
- Don’t go in the water with shorts on when jelly fish are near by. Beware of the aswang and the white lady ( just kidding, but not really) always point with your lips. It is not a meal with out rice. Every one has a nick name. (Adam)
- Baptizing mission. (Andy)
- Bacolod is the sugar capital of the Philippines. It’s also known as the “City of Smiles” and the people are known for being happy. (Geoffrey)
- Weekly baptism. Top baptizing mission in Philippines. (Meralde)
- Many people we meet and share the true gospel. (Pangs)
- Working with the Spirit. (Gil)
- Seek first to obtain His Word before declaring it. Missionaries are just commoners without the Holy Ghost. Be true to yourself and others. Love your companion. Live within your budget. Obey the mission rules. (Vernice)
- 1. Pres Leishman and family are very best great leaders. 2. It was a great harvest. (Anthony)
What was the weather like?
- It’s tropical weather and they have two seasons: hot, hot and rainy. The hot season is our spring and summer time, it’s hot in the high 80-90’s with 100% humidity. I would sweat most just sitting down in their non air conditioned homes. The hot rainy season is my favorite because it cools off quite a bit! But when it rains it pours! And it is always the hottest right before big rain storm comes in! That’s how we always knew it was going to really rain. (Jacey)
- Roughly 90 degrees with a hundred percent humidity 24/7 year round. It rained frequently. There is usually a dry season around spring time and there was a rainy season around early fall. There are occasional typhoons, but they usually aren’t too bad there do to the fact that there are islands to the east of it that break up the storm. (Spencer)
- Hot, humid, rainy. (Shalyse)
- It was very much tropical. There is a summer season and a rainy season. It is always hot and rainy through, during either season. Tropical storms are frequent. We were there during Typhoon Haiyan. (Bryce)
- Hot and humid or hot, rainy, and humid. (Sara)
- Hot, rainy, hot, rainy, hot rainy, humid, hot. (Russell)
- Two seasons: Hot (rains for a few minutes most days). Rainy (still hot, but rains every day, some times a week at a time). (Jordan)
- Hot during the summer but cold towards the end of the year. Of course, don’t forget the rain and typhoons too! :-). (Pearly)
- Two seasons, hot and rainy/hot. The temperature was never below 60 Fahrenheit. Rainy/hot season means heavy rain every day with periods of multiple days raining without cease. Average temp 85+ degrees Hot season means 10 degrees hotter on average, with rain a few times a month. (Jordan)
- Crazy, you will go outside in the morning with the sun smiling at you and then it will hide behind the clouds and shower you with the rain. (Shiean)
- http://us.worldweatheronline.com/bacolod-city-weather-averages/bacolod/ph.aspx You learn why God gave man eyebrows. It wasn’t just for vanity purposes. You will learn why in the field. (Adam)
- Hot and raining. (Blake)
- Hot, humid and raining or hot, humid and not raining. (Jennifer)
- Hot / Hot & Wet. (Scott)
- It is almost always hot and humid. During monsoon season, it rains HARD. I have never been as soaked in my life as quickly in my life as monsoon season in the Philippines. It’s usually either sunny or rainy. It’s not overcast very often without rain. (Robb)
- Wet or wetter. (Ted)
- Hot, sticky and some times not so hot and sometimes very, very wet. (Adam)
- Some months were rainy, some months were dry, but all months were hot. Paradise, I think they call it. (Geoffrey)
- Rainy, sunny, windy. (Meralde)
- Hot and cold. (Pangs)
- Hot, muggy, rainy. (Brian)
- Most of the time the weather was fine. (Gil)
- Hot in Cebu…seldom rains. Fresh air in Negros Island with sugar cane plantation… Hot on summer days and when it rains it pours on Negros. (Vernice)
- Warm and cool. (Anthony)
Any things you really like about the area/people?
- Well I googled Bacolod when I got my mission call and the first thing that popped up was ‘City of Smiles’ and I loved seeing how accurate and true that was as I lived with those people. They were so kind and nice. They would treat you just like you were family. Every person you’d pass on the streets would great you! It was unlike any other place. (Jacey)
- The people were amazing, they were some of the kindest people you will ever get to know. They are a very humble and simple people. (Spencer)
- Everything. (Shalyse)
- It is easy to talk about Christ. The people have great faith and are happy to talk about religion. (Bryce)
- How everyone wants to laugh and love all the time. (Sara)
- It is the best place on earth. The people are amazing and I loved getting to know them and their culture. I would love to go back for a visit someday! (Russell)
- Beautiful place, beautiful and friendly people receptive to the gospel. (Pearly)
- People were generally very humble, and loved the missionaries. You will see some of the most beautiful sites, and most tragic. You will learn about true poverty. (Jordan)
- Bacolod is a “smile”, and a home to friendly people. (Shiean)
- They were the poorest people, but you would never know by how much they smiled and how genuinely happy they were. You’ll realize that you really don’t need “stuff” to make you happy, because chances are you have more than them, and chances are they are still happier than you. Due to their Catholic roots they have a great understanding of who Christ the person is, they just don’t have a personal relationship with anyone in the Godhead. People are very open to inviting you in and learning about the gospel; having them want to take action and make changes to their life is a little harder. Take the time to talk to as many people as you can between appointments and ask qualitative questions to have the Spirit help you figure out who are MOST ready for the gospel. If you talk to 100 and then visit the 10 you are most prompted to teach, you will have better success than by simply teaching everyone who lets you in the door. Ask the kids if they know families who don’t let their kids “lagow,” or hang out outside the home. Also ask the kids if they know any grown men who don’t smoke/drink all the time. They will lead you to the people who are most ready. (Adam)
- The friendliness of the people. (Blake)
- They were kind and happy. No matter their circumstances, they were so generous and kind. The country was lush and green and there were some incredible waterfalls and caves. (Jennifer)
- Their willingness to give you all they have despite the fact they do not have much. The widows mite! (Scott)
- The people are the best. They are friendly, jovial, and optimistic. They are also humble. They love Americans for the most part and love joking around. Don’t get offended if they try to rib you. They like to say “Hey Joe!” to white people (presumably a reference to GI Joe), and many missionaries let it get under their skin as an insult, but it’s really not. They’re just trying to be friendly and have some good-natured fun. The perfect response is a salute or a big-exaggerated wave and a smile. You’ll make their day. Promise. The Philippines is beautiful. It’s similar to Hawaii in its natural beauty. Lush jungle, sweeping green farmland, tall lush mountains that sometimes come right down to the ocean, beautiful sandy beaches, coconut trees everywhere. It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world. (Robb)
- It was just amazing. (Ted)
- Friendly and kind…always offered a snack. Humble. (Adam)
- They are kind-hearted and always willing to give you anything, even at their own discomfort – they have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and sincerely want to do good – they are hardworking and humble. (Lee)
- Lovable people. The People are always smiling. (Andy)
- The most humble, friendly, happy people with little worldly reason to be that I’ve ever met. Every day was a joy. (Geoffrey)
- The tone of their voice. As if they are singing when they talk. (Meralde)
- Dumaguete. (Pangs)
- Sweetest people ever… been back twice and confirmed that fact! (Brian)
- During that time, the people were so simple and are receptive to the gospel. (Gil)
- People are more hospitable in Negros than in Cebu… They are more open. Though most Cebuanos are die hard sto.nino devotees will politely express their firm belief not in argumentative way. Place is not boring because there is a lot of beautiful scenery, farms, mountains and beaches. Everything you need is available. (Vernice)
- The testing ground of your determination to serve…they are so nice and ready to harvest. (Anthony)
Any packing/clothing advice?
- No. (Jacey)
- Don’t pack too much. Try to keep everything to two bags at most. You can have clothes tailor-made fairly cheep over there and they are great quality. Also don’t worry too much about shoes, buy rubber “Easy Soft” brand shoes available at most malls over there. If you can get a hold of a pocket size scripture set those are great. Gospel art books are also awesome. (Spencer)
- Clothes that are light and things that are easy to wash by hand and that dry fast. (Shalyse)
- You won’t be wearing a suit in the mission so take that into consideration. Get some good shoes. Leather doesn’t hold up the greatest in mud and water all the time. Also short-sleeve, breathable shirts are the best choice. (Bryce)
- Buy shoes when you get there. For sisters, try to pack clothes that don’t require layers. (Sara)
- Buy pants over there. Light shirts. Bring a few good pairs of flip flops. Take Doc Martens for church shoes. They will last the whole time. (Russell)
- Plan on rationing “new” Gs and dress shirts. It feels really nice to put a brand new shirt and unders in your last transfer. Same goes for razors and other toiletries. If you can, learn to use a safety razor before leaving and then you can take a 100 pack from Amazon for $10. (Jordan)
- Pack what you need the most. Don’t forget to bring insect repellant. Don’t bring too much stuff. (Pearly)
- Plan on needing to replace shoes at least 3 times. Rain destroys leather shoes. Don’t buy an expensive suit for your mission. You will only need it in the Mission Training Center and your first and last day in country. When you go home, it probably will be too big. (Jordan)
- Bring lots of face towels and garments. Weather is warm. (Shiean)
- You won’t need a suit or long-sleeve shirt out of the Mission Training Center. Load up on short-sleeved shirts. Hopefully, you started buying stuff for your mission AFTER you opened your call. I wasn’t so lucky and got to have a new suit or two for when I returned home because I didn’t bring any with me. (Adam)
- Short sleeve shirts and pants. (Blake)
- Bug spray…the mosquitos were no joke! Light clothing in patterns. Sturdy sandals (for girls). Poly cotton because cotton never lasted with the weather and washing. (Jennifer)
- Pack light, pack in water resistant bags. Clothing needs to be robust and be able to hold up to abuse. (Scott)
- Don’t buy more than one suit. You will only need it in the MTC. You will never wear long sleeves in the mission. Don’t bring a lot of pairs of slacks either. Just bring enough to get you by in the MTC. There are tailors in the Philippines that can make you a custom-fitted pair of slacks for far cheaper than you can buy in any store in America. And they will be much more comfortable as they have the Philippines hot, humid climate in mind when they make them. Do bring lots and lots of short-sleeved, white, button-up shirts. One for each day of the week at least. They will get worn out by the time you come home because they are hand-washed on a board. Be ready to either have your parents send some more half-way through your mission or bring double the amount you think you need. Pro-tip: you can have a seamstress/tailor flip your shirt collar around once it gets worn down and effectively double the life of your shirts. As far as garments, get dri-lux or mesh. Do not get cotton or poly. Dri-lux or mesh work great for the hot, humid climate. Bring some ties, but don’t worry too much about that. You can buy them in the Philippines and there’s also a healthy trade system between missionaries (at least in my mission). (Robb)
- Leave your suit home or at the mission office. Take one more pair of shoes than you think you’ll need. (Ted)
- Shorts, T-shirts, no winter clothes and I mean not even a suit jacket or a wind breaker. NO winter clothes. A few jeans and 7 pairs of dress pants, 7 white button short sleeved shirts. (Adam)
- You do not need a suit coat…ever. (Maybe they still require it for the MTC, but we left ours at the mission home and never used it once until the mission was over.) – comfortable shoes are the most important thing in your wardrobe. Make sure they’re broken in before you get out and start walking 10+ miles per day. (Lee)
- Don’t bring anything you want to have after your mission. It’ll all be worn and torn and dirtied. Light clothing would be best for the heat. Other than that, don’t worry. You can buy everything you forget at a low price. (Geoffrey)
- Sisters, don’t bring shorts or pants. (Meralde)
- Pack only what you need most but it is better if you can carry just 1 back pack. (Gil)
- Light clothes is highly advisable… Buy water resistant shoe covers or boots because downtown areas are prone to flood when it rains… Don.t bring much stuff since there are also good quality things here…shoes, bags, clothes..temple garments are cheaper here. (Vernice)
- Casual clothing is best for summer except if you will be assigned in Canlaon city. It’s like Baguio City. (Anthony)
What blessings did you receive from serving a mission?
- A relationship with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It was my biggest desire going into my mission and it’s been such a huge blessing as I go back into the real world, so much easier having that relationship with them. (Jacey)
- I gained a stronger testimony and knowledge of the Gospel. I am also serving in The Navy, and I get paid an extra $500 a month because I can fluently speak Ilonggo. I also have a number of lifelong friends and special memories. (Spencer)
- Job opportunities and school is a lot easier. (Shalyse)
- Greater knowledge in almost all aspects and experience. I have many new friends now. Also happiness is a blessing you will receive. (Bryce)
- My marriage, job, and who I am today. (Sara)
- A testimony of the restored gospel and of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Russell)
- Fully understood what charity really is. Became strong in all my challenges in life. My faith grows and testimony strengthened. I now can say, I became a better person who are wiser in making correct decisions. My mission made me the person I am now. (Pearly)
- A better understanding of prayer and scripture study. (Jordan)
- Being married in the temple with a wonderful husband. (Shiean)
- This is like trying to choose a favorite scripture or having Brigham Young pick a favorite child. It’ll give you the opportunity to live with people from a variety of different backgrounds, personalities, and experiences. By then time you get married, the adjustment won’t be that difficult, because you have seen it all. You’ll learn to love learning, love teaching, and love people. For the first time in your life it won’t be about ‘you’; it’ll be about everyone else. And because of that ‘you’ will become an exponentially better person. You may get to learn a language and use it after your time is up, which will continue to help you connect with people from different backgrounds and have a better understanding. Even your speaking skills in general will be much better, because every person you meet will be unique, enjoy different things, and have different personalities. (Adam)
- Too many to list. My entire life has be positively affected by my mission. I still talk regularly with those I served with. When I am faced with hard things, I know I can get through. My testimony continues to grow and strengthen each day. (Jennifer)
- Too many to count. (Scott)
- I now understand how blessed I am to live in such a rich country. I never take my worldly blessings for granted. My testimony of the Gospel became bulletproof on my mission. There have been times when I have wavered in my commitment to the Gospel and times when I have doubted certain things and I am so grateful that I can fall back on my experiences as a missionary to get me through those rough patches. I can’t reasonably doubt the truthfulness of the Gospel after serving my mission. It would simply be dishonest. (Robb)
- Countless. (Ted)
- I learned to follow the Spirit. I learned the Spirit converts. You can never pray enough. I got closer to my Father in Heaven and I got to know my Savior more. (Adam)
- Showing empathy – increased humility and perseverance – better understanding of the plan of happiness and how it applies to lots of unique people in unique and personal ways – greater appreciation and love of my Savior and the Atonement – stronger belief in prayer and faith and how they can work miracles in our lives. (Lee)
- I learned their language fluently. (Andy)
- All. It’s not about what we get from it, but I got a larger world view. I became more worried about the less fortunate. I became less shy. I’ve gotten more than one job because of my service. (Geoffrey)
- I found my beautiful wife and got married in the temple and found a decent job. (Meralde)
- Lots. (Pangs)
- Perspective. (Brian)
- Spiritual maturity. (Gil)
- Life has direction. Resiliency in tomes of challenges… Feel more closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Learned how to love and serve people around you. Happy and contented on whatever materials we have. Loving family. Supportive Church members. Increased leadership abilities .Enjoying work and Church callings. True and meaningful friendships. Increased testimony about the gospel and its truthfulness. (Vernice)
- Strengthened my testimony that this is the only true church upon the face of the earth. (Anthony)
What are some skills you gained?
- I am a lot more understanding and patient with others. Those aren’t really skills but kind of I guess so I’m counting it. (Jacey)
- I became fluent in Ilonggo, and familiar with American Sign Language, as well as Cebuano and Tagalog. I became more physically fit. I learned how to teach others about the Gospel. (Spencer)
- Communication skills and people skills. (Shalyse)
- Language skills, organizational skills, planning skills, a better ability to connect to people from different cultures, really good Asian food skills, and a bunch of other things. (Bryce)
- Communication, problem solving, coordinating with mission and church leaders, positivity, discerning the Spirit, obedience, etc. (Sara)
- Budgeting, people skills, study habits, cooking, a few new languages. (Russell)
- How to really listen and rely on the promptings that comes from the still small voice, overcame my shyness and enhanced my teaching skills. (Pearly)
- Planning and being diligent. (Jordan)
- Socializing with other people. Teaching effectively. Learning how to sell. (Shiean)
- If you don’t already, you’ll really learn to love kids. They help get you in the door to teach parents, and parents will join the church because they will want their family to develop the light that they see in you as missionaries. (Adam)
- Hard work. Language skills. Ability to talk to people. To try new things. Look to the Lord in all things. Be grateful. Confidence in travel. (Jennifer)
- My 2 year camping trip. (Scott)
- I learned how to talk to complete strangers. I learned how to learn new languages quickly. I learned how to accept the faults of others and recognize my own faults. I learned how to live with people you don’t necessarily like all that much. I learned how to be obedient, even when I don’t understand why a rule is important. (Robb)
- How to recognize the Spirit. (Ted)
- Communication to others. To take care of myself. Iron. Cooking. Creative ways to make any presentation interesting. (Adam)
- Showing empathy – creativity – talking with people in a convincing but respectful way – self confidence – confidence in the gospel and it’s ability to bring happiness – organization – humility and perseverance. (Lee)
- Teaching skills and having confidence when talking with people. (Andy)
- Talking, teaching, not being afraid. Working with difficult people. Focusing on important things. Scheduling. Handling stress. (Geoffrey)
- Confidence and how to approach people and mingle with them. (Meralde)
- To become strong. (Pangs)
- People skills that have helped me in my career. Planning, calendaring. (Brian)
- Teaching skills. Fellowshipping. Building relationships of trust. Friendshipping. Leadership skills. (Gil)
- Teaching, leadership, social, interpersonal, time & financial management. (Vernice)
- Leadership and teaching skills that I enjoyed today in my church callings and in my job as a Training Director of Secon Security Training Academy and various schools. (Anthony)
What do you wish you knew/did at the beginning of your mission?
- I just wish I would’ve know the Book of Mormon better and Preach My Gospel. They are everything in our mission! (Jacey)
- The Pamphlets are golden!!! Use the pamphlets. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Also get really good at ‘How To Begin Teaching.’ For each of the principles create one way to teach it that works for you, and adapt from it. If your companion isn’t the most obedient and hard working don’t worry about it. Don’t give into the temptation to be disobedient with him, but don’t be super strict on him. Just let him know you don’t feel comfortable doing XYZ and that your companion has the agency to do it. But if he gets too far out of line don’t be afraid to tell your leaders. Start with district leader, then Zone leaders, then assistants and use the president as a last resort. (Spencer)
- Attended the temple more cause there is not one in Bacolod. Read the Book of Mormon all the way through and also Preach My Gospel. (Shalyse)
- I wish I knew how to be more bold and assertive in teaching people. (Bryce)
- To relax, don’t stress, and be happy. (Sara)
- Work off the existing member list to find and reactivate members along with part member families. (Russell)
- That I should have read the whole Book of Mormon. It makes all the difference. (Pearly)
- Ask more questions in the Mission Training Center. (Jordan)
- More about the Book of Mormon and the History of the Church. (Shiean)
- Honestly, that I wouldn’t be speaking the same language that I learned in the Mission Training Center. (Adam)
- I wish I had studied the language a little harder so it would have been easier to be myself. (Jennifer)
- Language. (Scott)
- I wish I knew how quickly 2 years goes by. The MTC feels like an eternity, and the mission gets very hard at times and time seems to go by so slowly, but when I came to the end of my mission, I realized how short 2 years really was. Don’t be in a hurry. Live/work in the moment. Work hard every day. You don’t want to feel any regrets that you could have done more. (Robb)
- How to recognize the Spirit. (Ted)
- Full testimony of the gospel. Practiced talking to people. Learned how to cook. (Adam)
- I wish that I had learned their language fast. (Andy)
- Talk to everyone. You have to talk to everyone. It’s in Preach My Gospel, but so many missionaries don’t really understand it. It took me about a year to understand. (Geoffrey)
- The paper work 🙂 (Meralde)
- Become good missionaries. (Pangs)
- Work hard. Role play (practice teaching). (Brian)
- I wish I read and understand the Book of Mormon fully. (Gil)
- Prepare full financial support…so I will receive the exact / no deduction monthly support. (Vernice)
- So challenging…a lot of adjustment with first companion, people and places. (Anthony)
Any advice/testimony for pre-missionaries going to Bacolod?
- Trust the Lord and be exactly obedient, the miracles will follow! (Jacey)
- Don’t drink unfiltered water!!! Don’t drink unfiltered water!!! Don’t drink unfiltered water!!! I caught a parasite and had to come home after having some very strange, scary, and weird hallucinations because I drank unfiltered water. Cooking with it is fine, but don’t drink it. Also obey the mission rules, an don’t be afraid of the mission leaders, they are your friends. Your mission president is like your father. You are going to have some rough companions, don’t worry about it, you will get through it. Just remember that it’s only temporary, then you can come home and choose your own companion. (Spencer)
- Don’t worry about the language it will come and the members love helping you learn it! Eat all the food and enjoy every minute! (Shalyse)
- Study Preach My Gospel, plan to be 100% obedient at all times, and plan to baptize many people and reactivate many more. (Bryce)
- I know that the church is true and if you go out on your mission with all your heart, might, mind, and strength (and never stopping no matter how much good you did the day before and tired you may be) you will be forever blessed. (Sara)
- Go to work. this isn’t a vacation. Be prepared to work. (Russell)
- Read your Book of Mormon from cover to cover and ponder it’s message to gain strong testimony. Always listen to the promptings that comes from the Holy Ghost. Remember, He is the teacher and you are just an instrument to relay the message. BE HUMBLE! Love your companion despite individual differences. Also, love the people you come in contact with. And last but not the least, OBEY MISSION RULES and focus on your mission with an eye single to the glory of God. Above all, give thanks to God. (Pearly)
- You don’t know enough, study more. (Jordan)
- Study the Book of Mormon and gain a testimony. (Shiean)
- Make sure you are worthy before you head out, and it isn’t shameful to wait longer while getting it fixed. Be yourself…you don’t have to conform to the stereotypical Elder, but you do have to throw out the parts of you that aren’t in line with the gospel. (Adam)
- It’s hard, so very difficult, but the lessons, growth, and testimony are worth every drop of sweat, every mosquito bite, every tear! One day you will think to yourself, ” I get it now! This is what a missionary is!” Only to realize your time is close to an end. Enjoy and learn from each moment. (Jennifer)
- Love it and live it every day like it’s your last day! (Scott)
- Love the people and love them quickly. The more you learn to love the people, the harder you will work and the more sincere/stronger your testimony will be. Really learn the language. Don’t just learn enough to get by. Speak it as much as possible and really try to become a “local”. It will open many doors. (Robb)
- Remember your not in America (or your home country). Let the people be Filipinos. (Ted)
- Read the Book of Mormon as much as possible. Pray a lot and don’t worry about what you are going to do when you get home. (Adam)
- You need to be obedient all the time, that you will receive more great blessings in your mission like baptisms. (Andy)
- Read the Book of Mormon. As many times as you can. Love the Book of Mormon. It will be your best tool and friend. (Geoffrey)
- Mission will be very tough. You’ll get tired and when that time comes, just pause then take a deep breath, then work again. Use your time wisely. Work well with the members. Get as many teaching appointments as you can in a day. Beat your goals! (Meralde)
- Yes. (Pangs)
- Be humble at all times and exercise charity to everyone. Seek people in need and try your very best to help them. (Gil)
- Love the people..they will feel it you are faking it. Be enthusiastic and dynamic. It’s contagious… same with any negative attitude. Read Ensign, manuals and church books always because stock knowledge comes in handy as you will always be substitute speakers and teachers. Be sensitive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and develop an attitude of acting upon it promptly…do not procrastinate. Do not try to impress others, your co missionaries, Mission President or members. Impress the Lord! Lock your hearts but open your eyes widely. Strive to gain your unborrowed personal testimony of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, the Church, our prophets and apostles, and God and Jesus Christ love for us and you too will be amazed how the Spirit works as you teach. (Vernice)
- Have faith in Him. Enjoy your work. Love your companion and support the goodness that stands out for the bad doers. (Anthony)
What was a funny language mistake?
- I was training a Filipina and she knew nothing about the Ilonggo language so she was always asking me what words meant and she asked me what ‘ambot’ meant so i answered ‘I don’t know’ (the meaning of ambot) and she’d just be like oh okay. But several times through out the day she would hear me use ambot so she’d ask me what it meant and I would answer with I don’t know and I could tell she was getting annoyed after awhile so then I was like wait! She thinks I mean I don’t know the meaning of ambot but really I don’t know is the meaning so I tried to explain this to her and it took like a good ten minutes haha. (Jacey)
- While I served I had the opportunity to teach two deaf investigators. In order to do this we had to learn American Sign Language. If we didn’t know the word for something we spelled it out for our investigator, and she would show us the sign for it. We did this for the word prophet, and we taught her very simple lessons about Prophets for three days. At the end of three days our second deaf investigator joined us and we decided to recap what we taught the other one. When we signed prophet, or what we thought was prophet, we got a strange look from him. It turned out that the sign we thought was prophet was actually the sign for deer as in the animal. So for three days we taught our first investigator about how God calls deer to lead and guide his people. And that our current living deer was Thomas S. Monson. (Spencer)
- Instead of saying can we please kneel, someone said let us repent! (Shalyse)
- Said Jesus killed for our sins instead of Jesus died for our sins. (Sara)
- Libog in ilonggo means confused. Libog in talagog means horny. Told a family that only spoke tagalog, “nalibog si Soseph Smith” think about it….(Russell)
- Busog means full (stomach) Busong means pregnant….. don’t tell your first investigator that you wouldn’t care for the snack they offer by saying “busong na ako” (I’m pregnant) (Jordan)
- Busong and busog are very similar words. Busog means full (not hungry) Busong means pregnant “Busog na ako” means I’ve had enough to eat. “Busong na ako” means I’m pregnant now. (Jordan)
- I asked a male tricycle driver if he has a “bana”(husband) 😀. Instead of “asawa” (wife). (Shiean)
- Sometimes when Elders would transition from Tagalog to Ilonggo they would use Tagalog until they would learn the Ilonggo word, and then they would start using the Ilonggo word. Sometimes missionaries would accidentally morph the two words together. While an Elder was being trained, he, his companion, and a ward missionary were teaching a 10 year old from a part member family. The Tagalog word for ‘answer’ is ‘sagot,’ while in Ilonggo it is ‘sabat.’ The Elder accidentally morphed the two together and said ‘sabot.’ So while he thought he was saying, “I know that if you pray you will receive answers,” he ended up saying, “I know if you pray you will receive pubic hair.” Everyone else in the room had a hardcore ROFL, luckily the 10 year old hadn’t learned that word yet. The new Elder learned what sabot meant at the end of the lesson, and was upset that the others had laughed at him without telling him his mistake. (Adam)
- Not a mistake, but I loved when people would talk about us assuming we did not understand, then we would do a street contact to them. (Jennifer)
- Tuli – haircut. Tuli – circumcision. The emphasis makes all the difference! (Scott)
- It’s very easy in Filipino languages to mix up the words “kill” and “die” as they share the same root word. I and many other new missionaries make the mistake of testifying that “Jesus killed us” or “Jesus killed for us” instead of “Jesus died for us”. (Robb)
- I asked a sister if she was something inappropriate. (Ted)
- This is a language that is hard to learn before. (Pangs)
- Too many. (Vernice)
- Mamahaw I thought was breakfast snacks pala. CAMPO I thought military camp katubuhan pala. Agogo I thought dancer ice candy pala. (Anthony)