Thursday, July 28, 2016

Week 3

Kumusta mga tao!! This week was pretty HYPE. So as you guys know I'm in choir, and we got to sing with the Nashville Tribute Band which is a christian rock band and it was pretty fun, expecially singing together as our zone sat next to eachother! Our zone is easily the best zone in the MTC. 

As you can kinda tell, my spelling isnt the best, because now my brain is starting to function only in tagalog!! I really didnt think this would happen. But its really exciting. Whenever I say english prayers, I say tagalog words in them automatically. It's amazing to see the gift of tongues helping me so much in this experience. 

So Tuesday! Tuesdays are my favorite days as well as Sundays because we only have one 3 hour class and then a devotional at night! During our class on Tuesday, we do something called a "TRC" which is where you teach two 20 minute lessons to members of the church in tagalog. Elder Hunt and I taught a 70 year old Filipino. Her name was Sister Konishi. She was easily one of the funniest and happiest people I have met. Our lesson to her was about the Law of Tithing and as I was bearing my testimony about it in tagalog, I felt like I should bear my testimony to her about prayer and how important it is. So I used my favorite scripture about it which is D&C 10:5. And the number 10 in tagalog is "sampu" so it kind of sounds like "shampoo" and as I was telling her what scripture I was sharing with her, I accidently said shampoo and she looked at me and said "Ano?" (what?) and started laughing at me and used the hand motions as if she was washing her hair. It definitely humbled me a lot and it was super funny getting roasted by an older lady right in the middle of the lesson!...... and we sat there for about 5 minutes laughing at what I had said! haha! Later that night we had a devotional by Spencer J. Condie of the Quorum of the Seventy! It was a super good talk about Lehi's dream. I think because we read it so much, we sometimes look over it. But he went really in depth about it and it was such a great time to listen to him. 

OH! Yesterday all the new missionaries came in, and as we were going to class, we saw a girl with balloons for her birthday! So me and a bunch of other elders in our zone sung happy birthday to her! Her face lit up and was so happy that we did that. It was super great! 

So, yesterday all the older missionaries from our zone left to the Philippines and it was sad because we got super close with them. But now they are on a 26 hour flight to the Philippines (just air time is 26 hours) so, I'm feeling extra sorry about that. But I got the opportunity to get really close with our Zone Leader. His name was Elder Waite and he is going to the Baguio mission.  I found out we are going to the same college after our missions and we are both wanting to go into dentistry!!! So awesome!  I cant wait for that. 

So, since the older missionaries left we got new missionaries and so that makes us the old people! We gained about 60 more people and so now our zone is around 110 people! Which makes us the LARGEST zone for the REST OF THE YEAR in the MTC! And ALSO WE ARE THE BIGGEST group going into THE PHILIPPINES! Crazy RIGHT? Its so awesome and we have so much masigla and where ever we go our whole zone is always hyped, its great. Also I have the opportunity every sunday to bless the sacrement in Tagalog! Its super great!!!

I know that this church is true with out any doubt. Being in the MTC for the last 3 weeks has helped edify me. I have felt so much of my Heavenly Fathers love for me. I know that he blesses me everyday and knows me by name. I know that Christ Lives and that he died for me so that I can live with my Father in Heaven again. I know the Book Of Mormon to be the word of God and that both the Bible and Book of Mormon complete Gods word for us. I know that as we read both of these sacred books, we can come so much closer to Christ and God. And through those scriptures, we can feel their love for each and everyone of us. Iknow that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and was called by God to restore the church. I know this to be true without a shadow of a doubt.

Mahal KITA!

-ELDER AGUIAR

Me and Elder Waite

Huge choir practice on Sunday!

Elder Squad

Sisters teaching me to vsco

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Week 2

Wow! So what an awesome week. I started this week off with an awesome Sunday. Sundays are easily my favorite day of the week. We started it off with sacrement meeting with our Zone which has about 50 people in it that are all going to the Philippines. Its amazing. Then we all went to choir which has like 800-1000 people in it. Its so cool to sing with that many people!! I'll send a picture of it. Oh after choir, we have a Sunday devotional every week and this week we watched the "Character of Christ" video which was amazing. It is a talk by David A. Bednar (an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles). Afterwards guess who showed up?? Elder BEDNAR!! And I was only 5 rows from the very front!!! What an amazing meeting! He did a question-and-answer meeting so anyone could ask him a question out of the crowd and he'd answer it personally, about scriptures, doctrine, or things your having troubles with in the mission. What an EXPERIENCE! I loved it. My companion got to shake his hand which I'm bummed about, but oh well. 

The rest of this week, has been just the usual. The gym just opened again because they just finished the floors. And basketball and volleyball has been hype. I've had so much fun with both of them! I play both of them every morning. Our zone is so awesome. We sing so much and we all get along pretty good. We play basketball in the dorms and hang out everynight before bed in the lobby. This next week 100 people will be added to our zone so we will have about 140 people in our Philippines zone. The gift of tongues is super real. I know I've blessed by Christ to learn this language!! I've been dreaming in tagalog its super weird. To suddenly dream in a language I've only studied for 2 weeks... I sometimes catch myself thinking random thoughts in tagalog too. Really something I need to get used to! But other than that its been a normal week! Oh and I'd love to hear from you guys! Feel free to send me a "dear elder", which is a free site to where you can send an email to me, but it comes to me in a form of a letter so I can read it during the week and not just Thursdays! 

Here is my address: 
Elder Cody Louis Aguiar
AUG24  PHI-QUE
2005 N 900 E Unit 102
Provo UT 84602

Oh and I've heard people in my residence hall talk about Pokemon go. Like what the heck is that? Apparently it just came out and everyone is bummed about it! Haha I've never heard of that ever!

MASIGLA!!
-Elder Cody Louis Aguiar
Me and Elder Bland with my American tie
At the Provo temple
Surrounded by two countries

Zone temple walk

Choir practice!

Me!
Tag picture

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Elder Aguiar and my tall roommate

Week 1

KUMUSTA PO KAYO

Wow what a week. So I thought my p-day was on Monday but I was disappointed to find out I have them on Thursdays. The MTC is amazing! I actually love it. Its cool to know that 2800 other people that surround you are here for the same exact same purpose, to serve the Lord. The spirit is always here with us its awesome. I got to meet the mission presidents the day I came in and that was such a super cool experience. 

The second day I was here my companion and I had to teach an investigator about the restoration in ONLY tagalog. So that was so stressful. But a good stressful. Elder Hunt and I have taught her every day for a week and she COMMITED to be baptized which was super cool. (even though we found out she is a worker here at the MTC missionary training center). But the spirit my companion and I felt was real and through our studies and reading the Bible and Book of Mormon, we have felt the love of Christ and that is a wonderful feeling. 

So day 8 here in the MTC and its awesome. We have 35 people in our district, which means we have a group of 35 going to the Philippines and we have another 55 coming in two weeks. All of us are starting to bond and its so legit to have so many friendships. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Oh! Also, I'm in the choir they have here and all the 1000 missionaries that are in it, we get to sing back up for the Christian band The National Tribute Band, so that will be legit. 

Also my companion is Elder Hunt, he is from Richfield, Utah. We have turned out to be complete opposites... which isnt the worst but its hard to find things to talk about. Our conversations have consisted of his girlfriend, him hunting, him fishing, and him talking about his truck. As you know me, I've never hunted and in vegas, and there isnt really any fishing. But its all fun to have conversations.  And believe it OR NOT, out of all 4 people in our residence room, I'm the most responsible... Crazy right?! 

We went to the temple today and it was so amazing! The spirit was there and I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that we are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and that he knows each of us by name. I know that he cares so so much about each and every one of us and that he is by our side always. Next week I'll send a longer email. I love you all.​

Love, Elder Aguiar