Second email!!

Hey pamilya!!!

Thanks for all of the letters and updates on everyone! And especially the packages for my birthday!! I loved everything! It was hard being away for my birthday but that made it so much easier so thank you! We had a little celebration in our room with the cake and stuff. I'll sned you a picture. I love hearing from all of you so keep them coming!! Not much happened this week. We basically are doing the same thing we always do, that is study, study, study. Oh you know how I said I didn't want to be district leader? Well as much as I didnt' want to be district leader, I really didn't want to be zone leader because they do a lot more! So guess what? I was made zone leader! Haha so yeah that means a lot more responsibility and meetings. Oh well it's good. It'll force me to work harder and so it really is a blessing. Anyway I'll tell you about my companions or my companion and the others elders in my district. Elder Smith is from West Jordan and went to West Jordan high school. He wrestled and played football. He has a really good singing voice. He's the only child in his family. Well he has step brothers and sisters but he is the only child of his parents. Does that make sense? He cracks his neck a lot. And im not just talking a few small cracks. I'm talking huge blistering cracks. haha i swear one of these times his neck is going to snap in half. That's about it for him. Oh he's good at the language too. Elder Manley is from temecula, California. He is really witty and hilarious. He ran track and swam in high school. Elder Oakes is from olympia, washington. He played football and basketball. I think he only played football in high school though. He is a happy, funny man. Elder Howell is from st george and he loves baseball. His brother didn't go on a mission and I don't think his dad did either so it's cool that he is here. He's awesome. He and I get along really well. We all do but we especially do. They are awesome. We have good times in here. So I saw Elder Caine and Murphy this week! It was awesome seeing them becasue I don't get to see them a lot since they are on west campus. Oh and I saw Elder Christensen (matt) at the devotional on sunday and I was able to sing Log right when he got in! I knew he was getting dropped off at 1:30 so I went and waited for him and i saw him and got to talk to him for about 10 mintues! It was so awesome to see him. I see Elder Tingey and Lunt all the time. We have the same meal times and stuff so yeah its nice to see them. I think I'm going to send my daily planner home before I leave here so you can see my schedule everyday and stuff but I"ll quickly tell you what I do everyday. I wake up every day between 6:15 and 6:30, shower and get ready. Sometimes I do pushups but I'm so tired that I cant' bring myself to do them most days. I'm ttrying to get better at just doing them. Then I have personal study from 7 to 8:10, then I have breakfast. AFter that i go to class for three hours. Then we have more study time, then lunch at 1:10. then I have class again for 3 hours until about 5:45, then I have daily planning time and then dinner at 6:10. Then I either have an hour of gym, then online language study, then back at the residence at 9:30 then to bed at 10:30. thats my schedule at a glance. some things change but I'll sned the planner so you can see. The food is good here. I mean it tastes good. Its a little rough on the body but it's good. Cant' complain.The language is well... coming. No it's not that bad. It just takes work and time. We have two investigators we're teaching and the lessons have to be 100 percent cebuano. Its tough but it's good practice. So one of the things they really drill into us is our purpose (obviously). but our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, the gift of the HOly Ghost, and enduring to the end. The thing they keep drilling into us is that this doesn't only apply to invting investigators to come unto Christ. Our purpose is to invite everyone (teahcers here, missionaries, family, friends, etc) We all need coming unto Christ. I know I do. Anyway I thought that was really cool and everytime I email I keep a prayer in my heart that I'll know what to say to invite you all to come unto Christ so I can fulfill my purpose as a missionary. During language study I was listening to The Daydawn is Breaking and I was flooded with the Spirit and with a perspective on the future. I want all of you to listen to it especially when times are hard. I testify that that day will come. that the day will come when Christ reigns on the earth. Where we will rest from our trials and our challenges. I know it will it come and it's coming soon. In tuesday devotional, Elder James Martino I believe his name was, testified that Christ lives. Ive heard that statement a lot but for some reason it was different. I felt my eyes open a little bit and I knew that that statement that Christ lives was true. Ive always known He lives but at that moment it was so clear. so I add my testimony to Elder Martino that Christ does live and that he is literally in charge and guiding this work. He is at the head of His Church. the hardest thing about being here so far is the fact that you all can't be here to experience with me. I want you to feel what I feel, to learn what I learn more than anything. and just becasue you arent here doesnt mean you cant experience these things. I pray for all of you that you are having experiences like this at home. I hope this is all making sense. I feel like it's all jumbled and stuff. It probably is so I'm sorry but I hope that you know what I mean. I love you all so much! I think and pray for you all the time. Literally all the time. Everyone prays so much in here, its unbelievbale. and every single prayer I pray for all of you individually. One last thing, Elder Martino talked about members helping us and how we need them to do this work. he talked about Amulek and how he was a member missionary with Alma (cool huh). He talked about how it was Amulek that astonished the people, not necessarily Alma. he said find your Amulek in your missions. I immediately thought of all of you. You are all amuleks. YOu have powerful testimonies that can be used to astonish people. Be the amuleks for the missionaries and for the people around you. I've found in here that missionary work is just bearing testimony and teaching from your heart and through the spirit of what you know to be true. I used to think it was some complicated thing but it's just sharing what you know to be true. Elder Martino gave a great statistic. He was a mission president and he said in that mission they had 1 out of 700 people baptized by knocking doors. The mission had 2 out of three people baptized when the lessons were in a member family home. How amazing is that? We need help from the members to fulfill our purpose as missionaries. I'm sorry I'm all out of time. I'll write all of you individually again! Thanks for all of the prayers! I truly feel the strength from them every day and I need that strength. Its hard and tiring in here so the prayers are so needed. Salamat kaayo (thanks so much) again for all of the letters, packages, prayers, etc! I love you all and I pray for you individually every single prayer! I love you so much! Keep updating me on things. "Life is to be enjoyed, not endured!" -President Hinckley. Enjoy life everyone! I love you and miss you all! 

Love, Elder Fox