Week 80 - Ang Mga Huling Araw

 Posted on March 23, 2020  |  

Wowza, mga kapatid! This week was crazy insane. On Monday, we had a party with our recent converts and our upcoming baptismal candidates. We ate a bunch of food, including jackfruit and fried chicken. We were joined by the sister missionaries assigned in Pagudpud and their upcoming baptismal candidates (who are relatives of our recent converts). Then we went to Pasuquin to get some extra cash to last out the month. [Read More]

Evacuation

 Posted on March 17, 2020  |  

This is a series of emails from Elder Tripp’s mission president regarding the covid-19 pandemic and the evacuation of all missionaries from the Phillipines. President Peterson’s letter to parents March 15, 2020 Hello parents of Philippine Laoag Missionaries, Thank you for your patience and faith as we move through this challenging worldwide issue of COVID-19. It seems every day we are receiving new mandates and orders from the government. Although there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in our mission boundaries, the Government of Ilocos Norte has been one of the most aggressive of all the provinces in the Philippines. [Read More]

Week 79 - C0R0N4V1RU5

 Posted on March 15, 2020  |  

We’re, uh, working hard. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Eq7CamxQCbx5jKwe8 Things are really different for us here on the mission. As some of you know, church services are cancelled for the entire world. It’s somewhat hard to be a missionary for a church that doesn’t have Sunday meetings. We will, however, press forward with teaching others how to follow prophetic counsel and study the Come, Follow Me program. I love you all very much, and I pray none of you get CoViD-19. [Read More]

Week 78 - Concerted Effort

 Posted on March 8, 2020  |  

Beloved friends and family, This week, Elder Funk and I finally got through with the crazy idea to put on a concert here in Bangui. We met with the Municipal Administrator, printed out advertisements, and prepared handouts, all while spending nine hours a day doing missionary work. It was pretty crazy, but we got it all done and sang our hearts out in the “Best Public Park in Ilocos Norte.” The fountains were going, the lights were on, and we got to share with everyone there about the blessings they can get from the gospel. [Read More]

Week 76 - Itama n'yo ang aking Pagbigkas

 Posted on February 24, 2020  |  

Friends and Family, Here on the mission, things get more exciting! Pics: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qdWi2DLiSqCojzvr5 We are working our butts off every day to meet new people and to help them receive Christ’s gospel. I know that this is His true church, and that people really can receive His help if they ask in faith and act accordingly. I know not everyone will accept this message, which is why we never force people to do anything. [Read More]

Week 75 - Buko Nakakaloko

 Posted on February 17, 2020  |  

Friends and family, We had a lot of good experiences this week teaching the people who attended church. We have been able to meet new people to teach and to invite. Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1vm1pB7mLzznxs5x6 We had a really spiritual experience where we met an old lady who was worried that her granddaughter would not have fare to get to her college the following week. We were prompted by the Spirit to promise the woman that if she came to church on Sunday, she would have the money that she needed. [Read More]

Week 74 - Trip Gets Funky

 Posted on February 10, 2020  |  

Hey-ey-ey!! Friends and family, Here in Bangui, we’re having a good time. Elder Funk and I are working all the time and meeting so many great people. I’m learning so much, and Elder Funk is teaching me so much. The Spirit has been so present in our contacting and teaching. We had one nonmember who had a lot of experience with missionaries say she felt something this week that she had never felt from prior missionaries. [Read More]

Week 73 - Transfers Na Naman!! + My Companion Gets Sick

 Posted on February 2, 2020  |  

This week Sister Mata graduated her training, so our district celebrated at district council. On Wednesday, we worked with Brother Cura and Brother Malapit. They know basically everyone in one barangay in our area, so we met their many relatives. Then my companion, Elder Mamauag, cooked us pinakbet for lunch. On Thursday, we woke up at 3am and my companion went to the hospital in extreme pain. We proceeded to spend the next three days in the hospital, finally getting back to our area Saturday night. [Read More]

Week 72 - Kapudawan ditoy kapurpurawan

 Posted on January 26, 2020  |  

I got my camera back!! :) :) This week we had: Zone Conference We got together with all the missionaries from Banna in the south to Bangui in the north in Laoag. Our mission president instructed us on how to be better missionaries. We learned a lot about making second contacts more effective to increase our effectiveness as missionaries. Finding We continued looking for God’s chosen in our area. We had a few excellent contacts that we feel will really progress. [Read More]

Week 71 - Finding Plus Beach Day

 Posted on January 20, 2020  |  

This past week we were joined by the presence of a tall American elder, Elder Wilson, in his capacity as one of “The Finders.” He was funny, crazy, and super bold. He came to our area and helped us to find people. As part of a threesome with him, we spent a whole week looking for people interested in coming to church. We met a great many people who agreed to come to church this Sunday, and they repeated their commitments when we followed up with them. [Read More]

Week 70 - Seventy Times Seventy

 Posted on January 12, 2020  |  

Dearest friends, relations, acquaintances, former companions, etc, This week was a great week. As in, positively exceptional. This week my companion and I finally came up with a system we like for working in the area. We do it, and it makes both of us happy and less stressed. We worked real hard to find people, walking distances others have called “exceedingly far” to go to people’s homes. We had exchanges on Thursday. [Read More]

Week 69 - Nagasat nga Baro nga Tawen!

 Posted on January 6, 2020  |  

Friends and family, This email is going to be short, as not a lot of stuff happened, and I have no pictures sorry sorry. This week we New Year partied. The Filipinos enjoy New Year’s more than any other holiday, so the celebrations were large with many fireworks. Afterwards, I went to Laoag on exchanges with our zone leader Elder Orozco. He’s another American elder from Utah. It was lots of fun, and we got to eat at McDonalds for old times sake. [Read More]

Week 68 - And A Happy New Year

 Posted on December 29, 2019  |  

Friends and Family, Thanks so much for following my mission this year. I’m glad for your constant prayers and support on my behalf as I face what may be the most challenging and changing part of my life. This year’s end, I’d like to leave with you my continual testimony of the living Christ. The Son of God lives today and He leads His Church through divinely inspired servants. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church on the earth today. [Read More]

Week 67 - Merry Christmas from the Philippines (x2)

 Posted on December 23, 2019  |  

Family and friends, I successfully endured the hecticness of transfer day and made it to my new area in Bangui. My new companion is cool and really helpful. He is also the district leader here in the Bangui District. Unfortunately, my camera got left behind in the craziness of transfers, so for the mean time, I only have pictures from other people. – This is our new Branch Mission Leader (Brother Jhansen) and I [Read More]

Week 66 - Tripp Gets Off The Bus

 Posted on December 16, 2019  |  

Family and friends, This week Elder Sabas and I worked our very hardest to meet as many people as we could. We were able to meet more than one hundred people, and many of them showed interest in the gospel. One spiritual experience we had this week was one in which we made a mistake. My companion and I visited an investigator with a plan in mind, but when the lesson began, my companion experienced a “stupor of thought,” and he could not understand what it was we were about to share. [Read More]

Week 64 and 65 - Bus Trip to Christmas Conference

 Posted on December 9, 2019  |  

Family and friends, I’d first like to apologize for not sending an email last week. We had our Christmas conference. We met all sorts of people these past couple weeks. Most of them were not interested in our message. We did, however, meet some people who have potential. They truly respond when we ask them questions. They bring up honest concerns with keeping commitments. They allow us to help them find solutions to the problems they face. [Read More]

Week 63 - Tripped on the Bus

 Posted on November 24, 2019  |  

Family and friends, I’m still in the Philippines doing missionary work. It is a lot of work everyday, even more now than when I started the mission, but I know it’s worth it. My companion and I compared heights, because I didn’t believe that I was eight inches taller than him. We measured, and I am truly eight inches taller. My companion got his tooth busted when we ate some corn, so he’s getting it fixed today. [Read More]

Week 62 - Trip on the Bus

 Posted on November 18, 2019  |  

Friends and family, This week was a new week. We met a lot of new people, by giving them pictures of Jesus. As it turns out, everyone here loves Jesus. Elder Patricio finally left us. How sad : (. But Jaspher finally got confirmed! : ). It only took the most stressful twenty minutes of my whole life. I hope the pictures make up for the shortness of this email. [Read More]

Week 61 - The Group Is Breaking Up

 Posted on November 10, 2019  |  

Hello, family and friends. Kamusta kayo? I’m so glad for this opportunity to email to you. I’m also glad to share with you the small improvements and spiritual experiences I’m able to have on the mission. I’d like to share that almost everyday we’re able to have an experience where someone feels the Spirit, and we’re able to testify to people that God loves them more than anything. This was the last for this cycle of the SoBaDing district, and we were all able to have a good time. [Read More]

Week 60 - Visiting the Cemetery

 Posted on November 3, 2019  |  

Dearest friends and family, This week was rather uneventful in terms of missionary work. We did not have a lot of success in returning to visit people, nor did we have success in finding new people. On Wednesday, our recent convert, Brother Jaspher, joined us for work. It was really good to hear him bear his testimony, and he really wants to join us again in the future. On Saturday, we celebrated a local holiday where everyone goes to the cemetery all day. [Read More]

Week 59 - Third Times The Charm

 Posted on October 27, 2019  |  

Family and friends, I finally have more pictures this week! In short, this week we were very busy. We had interviews, cleaning checks, zone conference, a baptismal service, two birthday parties, and we traveled to the very farthest end of our area. The highlight of this week for me was finally baptizing Brother Jaspher Menor. Pictures to come next week when I get them from our Branch Mission Leader, who was also newly called this week. [Read More]

Week 58 - Neapolitan

 Posted on October 20, 2019  |  

Hello family and friends! This week no pictures, because I forgot my connector thing at our house. This week we did a lot of missionary work. I got to train at our district council meeting, and it went well. I gave everyone a chance to participate, and I think everything went well. We had exchanges with our district leader Elder Corachea this week, and he was able to help us get in contact with someone he met from our area who’s really interested in the gospel. [Read More]

Week 57 - Triple Threat

 Posted on October 13, 2019  |  

Hello, my friends and family. This week we did all sorts of fun stuff. We had our first district council of the cycle. We also had the opportunity to watch general conference. I’m so grateful to hear the words of the living prophets and their modern day guidance to us. We had some good experiences this week with teaching lessons. I remember we had the chance to meet some less active brethren in our area. [Read More]

Week 56 - Try Some Tri-some

 Posted on October 7, 2019  |  

Friends and family, This week was a great week of missionary work. I’m so happy to have two wonderful companions, Elder Sabas and Elder Patricio. Sorry for the poor photo quality. It’s so crazy to have a third companion. It’s really weird for all of us, but this has really allowed us to be really efficient in talking to people and in teaching lessons. I’ve enjoyed learning from the experiences of my companions and having the opportunity to teach with them. [Read More]

Week 55 - Transfers Again

 Posted on September 30, 2019  |  

Friends and family, This week was pretty average as a missionary week goes. On Tuesday, we had a district meeting, and we discussed how our areas were going. Our district leader taught a wonderful lesson on developing the faith to find. It can sometimes be hard to believe that there are people out there ready to receive the gospel, but they are there, and we will find them if we believe. [Read More]

Week 54 -This isn't hiking, this is dying

 Posted on September 23, 2019  |  

Friends, family, and others, It’s been another week, and I barely remember everything that happened. We started off this week on Tuesday. On that Tuesday, we worked a full day, and we committed more people to come unto Christ. On Wednesday, we took a trip up to Laoag to listen to the council of our wise leaders. They offered us council on becoming more efficient in missionary work, advised us to give more consideration to the Bible, and gave an opportunity those of us who are heading home to inspire us to be better. [Read More]

Week 53 - We Make Some Videos

 Posted on September 16, 2019  |  

This week in Dingras… Two faithful missionaries get to leave their assigned companion and spend a night and day in a new land. That’s right, my friends, exchanges again! I got to be companions with the ever faithful Elder Corachea. We worked out in Solsona, and it was a blast. We even got to participate in harvesting rice. Also this week we had a great experience where someone accepted an invitation for baptism on the very first time we extended it. [Read More]

Week 52 - One Year Older and Wiser Two

 Posted on September 9, 2019  |  

This week we got to have the happy experience of interviews with the mission president. It looks like things are gonna be okay! I always feel more inspired and invigorated after interviews. We also got to eat lots of food. Multiple branch members in our area had birthdays this week, so we got to eat well. So well. The branch president made tacos. Real tacos. I’m so happy and so very, very full. [Read More]

Week 51 - One Year Left (Yikes!)

 Posted on September 2, 2019  |  

This week we had to do more FINDING™. The hardest part of missionary work is finding people who will listen to your message and honestly consider it. Many nice people will let us have an hour of their time, but few will take the time to follow through on our invitations. In the pictures, our neighbors have a pet monkey. It’s sort of strange. He stares as we do our laundry. [Read More]

Week 50 - Half of a Hundred

 Posted on August 26, 2019  |  

Hello! I’m somewhere new now! In bright, beautiful Dingras, Ilocos Norte! I’m a bit further than I thought from the city of Laoag, the big city in the mission. It feels a lot like my first area, but there are many differences. For the second time in my mission, I have kabahays (“house mates”), who are also the zone leaders. Yikes! My area does have the 7-11 though, so more 7-11 adventures to come! [Read More]

Week 49 - Seven times Seven(ty)

 Posted on August 18, 2019  |  

Dearest friends and family, I greet you on this week with a brand new outlook on life and missionary work. A rejuvenating energy has entered my body, and I’m ready for a whole new cycle. But…I’m getting transferred. I will leave my home in Baua, Cagayan and go to Dingras, Ilocos Norte. For the first time, I’ll be senior companion. For the third time, I’ll have a Filipino companion. This week was spent working with the youth in our area. [Read More]

Week 48 - Dagat Pala

 Posted on August 11, 2019  |  

Hello, friends and family. This week, we didn’t do a lot, because we got very busy. On Monday, we went to Aparri and bought stuff and stuff. On Tuesday, we worked hard and went to many people. We were able to reteach sister Jennifer, who continues to want us to visit. We also ate dinner at the 1st counselor’s home. On Wednesday, we visited a bunch more less actives, but few of them show desire to come back. [Read More]

Week 47 - Working Hard

 Posted on August 4, 2019  |  

Friends and family,

soy sauce

stuff my stuff

tan my tan

dog dog

trees

Elder Denton Elder Denton

nice roof our nice roof

Sorry for the shortness of this email. More next week.

This week I did a lot of missionary work. I went to a wedding and a birthday party. And we committed three more people to baptism. Beverly’s getting baptized this weekend.

All is okay. That’s all my time for this week.

Until next time,

Elder Tripp

Week 46 - The Number Doesn't Matter

 Posted on July 28, 2019  |  

Hello friends and family! This week was fun, but not as fun as previous weeks. We didn’t get a lot of success but we did: Get the branch list! Yes, we finally got a list of who lives in the branch, so we can find less actives and bring them back. Get a referral! People are telling us about their friends who want to listen to the missionaries. [Read More]

Week 45 - I Took a Video

 Posted on July 21, 2019  |  

This week, we had a Tropical Storm. It was very, very wet. I’m still wet. We even went outside. My umbrella got destroyed. We also ate a pineapple. It was fresh and delicious. We’ve been meeting a great many new people. I also had exchanges with Elder Labuson on Wednesday, so Elder Denton went ♫To the coast of Santa Ana♫ and I was left all alone to fend for the area. [Read More]

Week 44 - Makataktakkiak!

 Posted on July 14, 2019  |  

Hello friends and family, This was the first week that Elder Denton and I were together, so, of course, I took many pictures. But this computer won’t let me upload them. Shame on him. Otherwise, I’m still alive. I feel the Holy Spirit testify everyday. I read scripture. I preach repentance. I walk a lot. This week, we experienced a cool coincidence. The missionaries in Santa Ana, being mga masisipag, ended up meeting someone from our area. [Read More]

Week 43 - Tapos na #7

 Posted on July 7, 2019  |  

Good news! We had some baptisms! The opportunity to teach this kids and play a crucial role in their spiritual development was a blessing for us. The best experience was for Lance. He started out very shy, not even willing to give Yes or No answers to us. Finally, things came to a peak of stress for him, and he actually went to his room to cry. His father went and talked to him for a few minutes to try and cheer him up. [Read More]

Week 42 - The Week To Life, Universe, and Everything

 Posted on June 30, 2019  |  

Naimbag nga aldaw, kadakayo nga amin, (Good day to you all) I’m alive! This week was full of week and also missionary work. On Monday last, we got really masipag and worked on preparation day. We were able to go out and find four new investigators! It was loads of fun as one person we met showed us the “shortcut” to get from their house to the road, and it was pretty much sneaking through the middle of the rice fields and following sketchy dirt paths through a forest. [Read More]

Week 41 - Happy Birthday To Me

 Posted on June 23, 2019  |  

For those of you who don’t know, it was my birthday last Wednesday, so now I’m a healthy 19 years old. Otherwise, we had a baptism this past Saturday of Reymund Juan and Barry Givero. These two boys have been super fun to work with, and it’s been great to help them to learn about Jesus Christ. They keep coming to church, although they were shy to bear their testimonies. I hope these boys grow up to serve missions and be good priesthood holders here in Baua branch. [Read More]

Week 40 - ♫ ...to the coast of Santa Ana! ♫ and Sick Days

 Posted on June 17, 2019  |  

So… so… I’m sick. Very sick. Since Thursday. I’ve worked a handful of proselyting hours since then. My companion got sick too. It’s probably some thing we ate. But… On Tuesday last, we had a normal day of missionary work. It was cool, and we visited all of our baptismal candidates. On Wednesday, I had exchanges with our district leader Elder Rees on “♫ …the coast of Santa Ana! ♫” and it was cool. [Read More]

Week 39 - Kwon Kwon Kwon Kwon Kwon

 Posted on June 9, 2019  |  

Friends and family, This week was pretty good. Monday we went to Aparri to have fun. Then we had fun, but we lost our cellphone. Yikes! (We got one later, though) Tuesday, we went and ate at the Kangaroo Beach Resort. We have some potential investigators who live near there, so when they said to come back later we went and ate lunch there first. Then we went back and taught some lessons to a guy named Jonald. [Read More]

Week 38 - Matagal Ka Pa! Hahahaha!

 Posted on June 2, 2019  |  

Beloved friends and family, This week was full of kwon as transfers happened and stuff. We said goodbye to Elder Rebito and Sister Baker and hello to two brand new missionaries. Then I got sick for a day and we only worked a half day. That sucked because we missed cake. (One of the members knew we planned on visiting that day, and she baked us a cake. We didn’t end up going, so we missed cake. [Read More]

Week 37

 Posted on May 26, 2019  |  

This week things continue to trundle on as usual in Baua. We continue to face to same problems but at least it’s okay. Today is transfer day, so in the coming week we’re going to see some new faces, but Elder Miñosa and I are staying together, probably until he goes home in August. Woot woot! Missionary work continues to be the focus of everyday, rising at 6:30 just to get everything done. [Read More]

Week 36 - Zone Con, Batch Pic, New People, Ant Bites, Service, OYMs, etc.

 Posted on May 19, 2019  |  

Pictures at the end of the post. My Grandpa asked a lot of good questions in his email, so I’m going to copy the questions and answers here for all you to see. – Is it a difficult mission to find people to teach? No. It is very easy to find people to teach (on the first visit). It is hard to find people who will progress. – We all have this idea that the Philippines is such a good missionary place due to so many missions and temples announced. [Read More]

Week 35 - We Ate Some Coconut

 Posted on May 12, 2019  |  

Friends, family, and others who read this, That is all. Until next time, Elder Tripp Okay more stuff happened. Last P-Day we experienced the aftershock of an earthquake in Aparri. The next day we had district meeting, followed by delicious cheap lunch. Our primary focus has been on the closer barangays (neighborhoods). They are: Sta. Cruz, San Jose, Bigot, Baua, Cabiraoan, and Sta. Maria. The other two barangays in our area are pretty far from centro and the church. [Read More]

Week 34 - Ang Putik Ng Daan

 Posted on May 5, 2019  |  

Hello all! I’m still alive, and I’m not rabid yet. I got to eat frogs, eggplant, and chicken feet. Sarap! Longer email next week when the computer shops work better. Love, Elder Tripp Additional info from mom: Short email was due to loss of internet when a 5.5 earthquake hit the area. It was not that close to them, but he said they felt it and it knocked the internet out. [Read More]

Week 33 - Nakagat ako ng aso

 Posted on April 28, 2019  |  

Hello friends and family! I’ve returned to regale you with stories from sojourn in the Philippines. with Elder Minosa This past Wednesday, we were having a good day, until I got bit by a dog. It wasn’t that bad. The weirdest thing about my new area is how close we are to the ocean. It’s very strange to see all that water. My companion is trying to teach me how to play basketball. [Read More]

Week 32 - Akala Mo Patay Na Ako

 Posted on April 21, 2019  |  

Hello, my friends and family. This week, we went and I met the members in Baua. After bidding farewell to a few choice friends in my last area, I left on a 10+ hour trip to Baua, Cagayan. I basically went to the 2nd furthest away area to my last area, so it’s really different here and a lot more humid. My house here is smaller, but it is still quite nice. [Read More]

Week 31 - Transfer na Ako

 Posted on April 14, 2019  |  

My friends, family, compatriots, men-in-arms, acquaintances, loved ones, and to whoever else this come, I wish you the best in your lives and activities. I know my life is pretty different right now, but this opportunity to be deeply connected to the spirit is awesome. This week was pretty okay. I got new stuff for my camera, so pictures: (There would be a link here, but all the USB ports on this computer are broken. [Read More]

Week 30 - The big Three-Oh

 Posted on April 7, 2019  |  

Hello everybody. I broke my camera’s SD card somehow, so I couldn’t take any pictures this week. Sad days. On Monday, we did P-Day stuff. Woots. On Tuesday, we met a sister who committed to a Baptismal Goal Date on the first visit. We later learned she was from another city, that’s in another mission, so she’s already back home. On Wednesday, we did missionary work! And then we got punted. [Read More]

Week 29 - Everything is Feeling Fine

 Posted on March 31, 2019  |  

Hi everybody!! I’m still alive and stuff. This week was cool and fun, but I forgot to take any pictures. I’ll definitely remember this week. Sorry po. On Tuesday, we had the final district meeting with our district leader Elder Nagarathnam. He’s going back to his home country of Sri Lanka to serve the rest of his mission there. He’s a really awesome guy, so I hope to meet him again someday. [Read More]

Week 28 - Four Times Seven is Twenty Eight

 Posted on March 24, 2019  |  

Kumusta kayong lahat? This is Elder Tripp, back at it again with a weekly email. Sa una, Elder Witt and I went back to Baluarte and paid a small fortune ($5) to be allowed to take pictures with the tiger. It was pretty cool to be able to actually touch the tiger and stuff. At the end, there’s a picture of a delicious Filipino delicacy. It is pig’s blood inside of pig intestine. [Read More]

Week 27 - My companion is 35 years old

 Posted on March 17, 2019  |  

Hello, friends and family. When life gives lemons, don’t make lemonade without figuring out how first. It’s really sour. It’s hard to cook without non-stick cookware. My attempt at making wrap bread was not incredibly successful. The blood tree was a cool thing we saw as we were tracting. We don’t know what it is. There are some big beetles in the Philippines. This one flew into our house. Please pray for sister Eli Gonzales. [Read More]

Week 26 - Just for Kicks

 Posted on March 10, 2019  |  

Hello, my good friends. Sorry, but I had to send all I had. It has my new companion though. Monday: Elder Maroket left me. I cried a little. Then I went out with the Vigan elders. We also lost our cell phone. Tuesday: Vigan! Wednesday: Vigan! My new companion arrived at 7pm, so we stayed in Vigan. Thursday: We finally got back to the area, and we went out and proselyted. [Read More]

Week 25 - Maraming Salamat

 Posted on March 3, 2019  |  

Maraming Salamat My friends and family, It is a pleasure to serve the Lord. Sometimes people see the light you radiate and serve you. Other times, people curse you and call you bad names. All in the all, the good out numbers the bad. The first few pictures are of Talong Harvesting (Part 2). Shine and her neighbors gave us even more talong. We even managed to spell my companion’s name in eggplant. [Read More]

Week 24 - the 24th week

 Posted on February 25, 2019  |  

Hello everyone! All smiles here in Magsingal. No sad days, only happy ones. On Monday, we had a dinner appointment with the Quereza family. Their son just got out on his mission, so we got to be there when he called back home. It was good for Elder Maroket to give him advice on missionary things. On Tuesday, we went to Laoag for zone conference. President Peterson continued to focus on obedience and on the commitments to become a member of the church. [Read More]

Week 23

 Posted on February 18, 2019  |  

Hello. It’s me. Ako pa rin po si Elder Tripp. This is my weekly email. This week started out really well. The Santo Domingo branch president took us and the sisters to Vigan to the dancing fountain, and then treated us to dinner. In Pagsanaan Norte, one of the people we teach has a piglet that is really small. I’ve never seen a pig this small in my life. We learned a lot about the sister we were teaching there, and we expressed our desire to help. [Read More]

Week 22

 Posted on February 11, 2019  |  

Hey y’all. It’s Elder Tripp again. Monday: P-Day! We went and played a lot of basketball!! Tuesday: Exchanges!! I went to Vigan with Elder Wolfley from Utah! We had a blast! Wednesday: Normal day! I took pictures of a river in Cabaroan. Thursday: District Meeting!! Friday: Weekly Planning!! Saturday: We went and did a one-day ministering activity in Santo Domingo. We contacted many less actives and invited them to church. Sunday: We went to church and had great attendance! [Read More]

Week 21

 Posted on February 3, 2019  |  

Hello everyone! This week we did all sorts of fun stuff! On Monday, we went grocery shopping and thrift shopping. I got two shirts and a jacket. On Tuesday, we went to district meeting and then we spent all day proselyting. Then we almost had a dinner appointment, but we were too late and there were no buses. We waited almost 100 minutes, and there was still no bus. On Wednesday, we went out and proselyted again. [Read More]

Week 20

 Posted on January 27, 2019  |  

Dearest friends and family, I hope that all of you are well. This week was a pretty average week. Elder Maroket and I went out and taught a bunch of lessons, committed people to read the Book of Mormon, and hoped that people would come to church. Oh, and I didn’t get transferred. Looks like I’ll be in Magsingal for a bit longer. On Monday, we went and ate pizza in Vigan with our Zone Leaders, Elder Clarke and Elder Magturtur. [Read More]

Week 19

 Posted on January 21, 2019  |  

Friends and family, Pictures this week. Featuring: Me with my district, before transfers; Me on exchanges with Elder Nagarthnam in Vigan; Me on exchanges with Elder Clark-e, the perfect(ish) Zone Leader in Sinait My training is over now, so now I’m just a regular missionary. Magsingal is still much the same. All of our momentum is building towards possibly having a couple baptisms this month and many more before the end of this cycle (March 3). [Read More]

Week 18

 Posted on January 13, 2019  |  

My beloved friends and family, This week was full of the Spirit and full of nerves. On Tuesday, I had the hard task of leading the area with Elder Nagarthnam. Essentially what that means is that another missionary and I worked in Magsingal, but I had to be in charge of everything. It was really hard, and I was glad it turned out okay. No pictures of that in the album, but I wanted share about that. [Read More]

Week 17

 Posted on January 6, 2019  |  

Friends and family, We’ve reached another P-Day and another chance to communicate together about our various life situations. I’m glad to here that many of you are doing well, whether snow or shine, busy or slow. For those of you that suffered illness or misfortune, I continue to pray for your health and welfare. For the new year, many of you know about the new Come, Follow Me curriculum and it’s focus on personal and family scripture study. [Read More]

Week 16

 Posted on December 31, 2018  |  

Mga minamahal na kaibigan at pamilya ko, Masaganang Bagong Taon sa inyo! Being a missionary continues to be really blessing for me in all that I do. I hope that all of your lives are blessed in the New Year as you strive to be better disciples of Jesus Christ and improve yourself. I got to talk to my family this week, so hopefully they relayed to you at home that I’m definitely still alive, and the answers to all their questions. [Read More]

Week 15

 Posted on December 24, 2018  |  

Mga kaibigan ko at pamilya ko, Maligayang Pasko from Elder Tripp here in the Philippines. I hope you receive whatever gift you need or want the most, and that you share the greatest gift, the light of Christ, with all you meet. No pictures this week, because I didn’t take any. Sorry to everyone. More next week, for sure. The most significant happenings this week were the branch Christmas party and our Light the World event. [Read More]

Week 14

 Posted on December 16, 2018  |  

Mga kaibigan ko at pamilya ko, Malapit na ang Pasko! Excited kami na mag-spread ng spirit of Christmas and Light the World in Magsingal. I continue to appreciate every reply that I receive. I thank you for your words of encouragement and prayers on my behalf. I continue to pray for you as well. I will go by the pictures I took, ‘cause that’s the record I have of the week. [Read More]

Week 13

 Posted on December 11, 2018  |  

Mga kaibigan at pamilya ko, Dahil sa Christmas Conference sa last two days ako, wala akong oras na mag-email itong linggo. Briefly on Christmas Conference: It was essentially a gathering of all the missionaries in the mission in Fort Ilocandia near Laoag City. The conference was two days. The first day we had a opening devotional, followed by a few hours of catching up. Then we had a nice dinner, followed by presentations of music and dance by all the zones. [Read More]

Week 12

 Posted on December 2, 2018  |  

Mga kaibigan at pamilya ko, Finally I have a home in Magsingal, and no longer commute to and from San Juan every day. Pictures of the new house: the front the yard living room dining room stairs to the bedroom kitchen In other news, the work is well in Magsingal. Now that we live there, the work is much easier to get to. As well, we had more exchanges this week, this time with the ZLs (Zone Leaders) in Sinait. [Read More]

Week 11

 Posted on November 26, 2018  |  

Mga kaibigan ko at pamilya ko, I hope you all are having just a wonderful time in your lives. I know that struggles sometimes come, but it’s really just an opportunity for improvement. Whatever your life is like right now, I’m praying for all of your welfare. Dito sa Pilipinas, all is well. We hit our first rainstorm, so that was fun. Rice is still delicious, and we eat it almost every meal. [Read More]

Week 10

 Posted on November 19, 2018  |  

Mga kaibigan ko at pamilya ko, Things continue to be blessed here in the Philippines. Many people receive us willingly, no matter what religion they are nor how badly I butcher Tagalog. The children are so cute, and so many of them repeatedly ask us for high-fives and handshakes. We teach so many people, so I will just describe in short a couple of the families we visit. The first is a family where the dad is a member, but his wife and his kids are not. [Read More]

Week 9 - photo dump

 Posted on November 12, 2018  |  

Hello everybody, Once again my time is brief, but I hope I can share with all of you some of the experiences I have had since getting to the Philippines. So to clear things up, I’m serving the Municipality of Magsingal, in the region Ilocos Sur. I live in the municipality of San Juan, go to church in the municipality of Santo Domingo, and go to district and zone meetings in Vigan City. [Read More]

Week 8

 Posted on November 5, 2018  |  

Hello friends and family, This email will be shorter than the others because I have squandered my time for writing emails with other emails, but I still want to give you all an update. So, in the fashion of another elder, I will make a list. Final send-off from Manila MTC was wonderful. Balut was interesting. Long bus ride to Laoag through the middle of the night was tiring. Mission home was awesome. [Read More]

into the field

 Posted on October 31, 2018  |  

No letter to share, but a few pictures from Elder Tripp’s departure from the Manila MTC and his arrival at the mission home in Laoag.

Manila MTC “graduating” class from the Manila MTC

All of these missionaries entered the mission field on Oct 31 - headed to various parts of the Philippines

Manila MTC All of the new missionaries to the Laoag Philippines mission

Manila MTC With President and Sister Peterson

Week 7

 Posted on October 26, 2018  |  

Aking minamahal na pamilya at mga kaibigan, It’s been a bit since I last wrote so I’ll try to chronicle in short my experiences of the past couple of weeks. Heads up, I’m going to switch between “I” and “we” a lot, because all my experiences feel so collective with my district and my companion that it’s hard to claim that I did these things alone. On the the fifteenth of October, half of my district left for the Philippines, leaving the rest of us behind. [Read More]

in the mail 5

 Posted on October 22, 2018  |  

The first part was written in light green ink, so it didn’t scan well. Here it is: Dearest Family, It is with sincerest regret that I write to you for what may be the last time. As I sit on my final preparation day at the Provo MTC, I look back on my weeks here. My initial arrival, which was clear and crisp. My initial personality and self, now far gone from who I am and yet farther from who I seek to become. [Read More]

Week 6

 Posted on October 19, 2018  |  

Nanay, I have received a good many letters since my last email, and I am happy that you guys care about me so much. The other missionaries in my district have spoken at length about the capability of calling my parents from the airport. Many of them have burner phones, so hopefully I will be able to use one of theirs. Else, I will probably just try to borrow someone’s phone. [Read More]

in the mail 4

 Posted on October 15, 2018  |  

Paragraph 2 Tagalog and translation: Pero sa pamamagitan ng gracious efforts ng obispo ko at mga kaibigan ko, nagsosorvive ako. Sobrang mahirap ang wika, pero nagiging madali ito. Minsan boring ang klase, pero sobrang espirituwal ito. Napakabait ang mga guro, at as time goes on, nagiging mas effective at teaching sila. Diba, hindi mas Tagalog. But with the gracious efforts of my bishop and my friends, I volunteered. The language is very difficult, but it’s easy. [Read More]

Week 5

 Posted on October 12, 2018  |  

Mga minamahal na kaibigan at pamilya ko, Things are well at the MTC. Learning in this holy place feels so much more fulfilling than any studying I’ve done before in my life. Every time we sit down to either study the scriptures or the language, I feel edified by the great spiritual atmosphere. This is the Lord’s work, and he blesses us in all our efforts to serve him. Our district looks ahead with eagerness to the Philippines. [Read More]

Week 4

 Posted on October 5, 2018  |  

Tatay, Things are going pretty well here. Devotionals are awesome, district is awesome, teachers are awesome. This week we learned how there are three different types of “when” sa Tagalog. Kailan (question), Kapag (conditional), and Noong (time). Tagalog is pretty crazy. There is going to be a missionary choir in the Saturday afternoon session of conference, pero I’m not going to be in it. There were only about 300 slots and 1600 missionaries vying for them. [Read More]

Week 3

 Posted on September 28, 2018  |  

Mga kaibigan ko at pamilya ko, I hope that all of you have been having a lovely time of it in all efforts you have been pursuing. Some of you have already seen some previous emails, and others have not, so I will re-cap in short my experience so far. Hi! My name is Zephram Tripp, and I’m currently serving as a missionary of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. [Read More]

Week 2

 Posted on September 21, 2018  |  

That story by President Eyring is sort of funny, but is a really realistic view of the natural man. I hope that throughout my mission, I can learn to be less selfish and self-serving. A week in the MTC is not super exciting. The standard day has me getting up at 6:30, eating breakfast around 8, exercising at 10, lunch at 12, class from 1:30 to 4:30, dinner at 5, class from 6:15 to 9:15, and then heading back to the residency. [Read More]

Arrived in the MTC

 Posted on September 14, 2018  |  

Not much has happened since I made it to the MTC. In the past two days, it’s been a whirl of activity, but much of it feels very condensed in my memory now. When I last emailed you, I had not even met my companion yet! I was the first in my district to arrive, but companion was the second to arrive, so I was not alone for long. My companion’s name is Elder Almeida, and he’s from Colorado. [Read More]