03/29/2010 -- Burgos Area

ok so first i need short black socks just normal ankle socks like i have at home but black. we're allowed to wear them cause it's exceptionally hot here. also i need a mini pmg I'm not sure where you get them but my friend has a tiny preach my gospel. and i need a money clip wallet thing. they're small but have enough room for one or two cards and your money clips to the front.
anyways obviously i haven't got your package yet it takes about a decade to receive those. haha.

but anyways so I have a couple of baptism dates like 4 before transfer I'm just hoping all of them don't miss church so that they can be baptised. here they have special standards for baptisms. they have to go 4 times in a row without missing more than 1 but ya so we'll see.

right now is harvest so everyone is working hard. it's hard to get any males to teach but plenty of females around and speaking of females i know what its like to be a celebrity now seriously it's getting ridiculous. all the girls love white people with big noses. it's crazy -- you don't understand --when someone has a baby the first question you ask is .... is it white? you also can't say it's dark or they will get offended. it's like telling a mom her baby is ugly but if you say it's pretty you say it's white haha weird huh! also all the soap here is whitening soap like toothpaste but soap lotion. its hard to find normal soap. haha o and I'm tan already and no I'm most definitely not used to the heat i don't think I will ever be but anyways -- i got to get going.

love ya
jas

03/22/2010 -- Burgos Area

hey mother
it's pday again i don't have much to write about -- the Philippines is HOT and everyday a new adventure. i can speak better and better everyday. but anyways i want to know how much it costs to ship anything anywhere from here to England or here to there just wondering. in the area I'm at there's this guy that an make back packs just like dakine or camelbac or anything like that and he can put whatever logo you want on it or make it however you want it. it's pretty freaking cool and it cost 300 pesos which comes to about 7 dollars -- 45 pesos to the dollar so you figure it out. o and i got a pair of pants made and it cost me 325 pesos so it was way cheap and they're tailored all perfectly like a tux or something and you pick the fabric you want and everything. I'm going to get a bright orange and neon green to send to dad and Eric but i need all their sizes! haha o and you can get a whole suit made here any color you want and any style you want for about 1200 pesos unless you get a more expensive fabric then its like 2500 at the most.
but anyways tell everyone if they need a backpack or anything let me know and i'll have them made. me and elder Hale will be in the area for awhile i think cause both our comps go home after this and they don't send brand new people here with nobody that knows the area.

but anyways it's pretty cool here but i cant wait till i can speak the language a bit better -- that would be nice. anyways i hope you're enjoying your trip. you better help Andrea put together a little album with pictures like you sent me documenting your trip and of the kids. and i mean that!

anyways tell dad he better start working on his tan now so that i can take him to the Philippines when i get back.

o i wanted to tell you a little about the transportation -- so if you're traveling from city to city a bus cost about 20 pesos, if your traveling from like town to town or not passing through very many towns then a jeepney is 15 pesos, and if you're traveling inside a town or city a trycycle is 10 pesos so really the transportation here is way way better than Ecuador or the US. it's seriously way cheap -- the bus from Manila to Cauayan was 8 dollars a person so if they thought Ecuador was a cheap vacation here it is way cheaper. a meal here cost 35 pesos so that's like 80 cents and it's a meal you can't finish. the only thing that's expensive here is bottled water. it's like 25 pesos i think -- they figure only white people drink it soda is 9, 10, or 11 pesos depends and the soda is all in bottles like Ecuador.

but anyways i wanted to give you the run down. everything is way cheap here. it would be a cheap vacation but maybe its more expensive in the bigger places i don't know but nobody tries to rip us off either cause we're white cause there is nobody white in their little village. They try really hard to impress you, if anything they give us a better deal

anyways though love you guys! talk to you next week. and my typing is so bad cause i got a keyboard and the buttons stick and won't press very easy.

love ya
Jas

1st Week in the Philippines!! (Comp. Elder Saet)

1st Area:
Burgos
Companion: Elder Saet (Filipino)
Roommates: Elder Hale (from MTC District from Orem) & Elder Abitria (Filipino)

03/15/2010

i have one word to describe the Philippines "HOT" ok so i could tell you all about the philys but you wouldn't believe it seriously to start off its probably the best looking place on earth until you get to where there is civilization if you could call it that. The people are so so nice you ask them if we can share a message or anything and they're like sure --beats working! pretty much nobody has refused us at all. but everyone lives in these little huts seriously!! Our house is a palace considered to their houses with no floor. and our house is seriously roughing it.

we don't have any running water so we take a shower in the free flow which is like a spring just like the spring at the farm sort of. luckily for me elder hale lives with me and my companion elder saet and elder abitria there both natives as you can tell but they speak awesome english so it's a plus.

everyday we get home and i say so elder hale how was it and he just shakes his head and laughs. i mean it's way cool but so so different. me and elder hale lived the whole week off of 15 dollars and we ate out every single meal. seriously a hundred dollars here goes a long long way. everybody rides the water buffalos for work and stuff. they're called caribou but they're huge. we take tricycles back and forth to Roxas and Plaes but mainly we just walk walk walk. it's pretty crazy.

Here are some things i saw this week ... i saw a spider a little smaller than a tarantula on my mirror next to my bed (but we got him), i saw a cock fight twice now, a lot of the ladies aren't bashful when breast feeding not even at church, so you can image what i saw there! it's like watching national geographic. elder hale saw a rat in his room, i saw this guy fishing with this cool net that was cool, i saw 2 paved roads yesterday (2 besides the one by our house (that's a lot), i had these kids get me a mango from the tree. they find all sorts of things to do for fun like shooting mangos -- which means throwing rocks at the tree. i don't know what else to tell you! i saw a lot of new things. it's sort of like ecuador but way way more poverty and way way more shocking -- but it's fun if you can get past the heat and little showers. but i guess all the places have running water just not ours.

mother i need iodine tablets. they're these tablets you drop in water to purify it. it has to be the tablets cause people offer you glasses of stuff like Kool-aid and i feel so bad refusing so if i had those i could just drop in the tablet when they're not looking. anyways i think that's it. the families barely have enough to feed their families. some days they go with out meals. its hard to see.

also here they love white people a lot and to have a bigger nose is like the ultimate thing so every time we go to a house with a bunch of ladies they always like grabe pinakagwapo siya which is like he is the most handsome. haha! then they ask how i got a good looking nose weird huh. all the girls when we walk by just turn and giggle. everyone just stares at us. like when they pass! and it's not impolite to stare here so they stare. it's sometimes really weird. my president of the branch he keeps telling me to watch out!! he's pretty funny. anyways though my companions are done typing so we got to go!

i'll talk to you next week on sunday for you
love ya, jas

MTC - District

Journey to the Philippines!

Elder Ward left the MTC around 4 p.m. on March 8, 2010, for the SLC Airport. After getting checked in and all their luggage weighed in (all the Elders luggage weighed in at 50 pounds or under - Jason said this was a miracle!) ... all the missionaries were allowed to call home (I understand there were about 40 or so missionaries heading to the Philippines - not all on the same flight .... but would eventually end up in Manila together.) There were 6 Elders in Jason's travel group.

We got to speak with Jason at around 6:30 p.m. He seemed so excited and happy to be headed to the Philippines and especially to be out of the MTC. I loved hearing the excitement in his voice. He bore his testimony in Tagalog which sounded awesome .... even though I have no idea what he said. It was amazing to me how fast he was talking in Tagalog. He talked to Robert, Eric, and I for a few minutes then decided it would be a great time to call Elder Matthew Ward in Puerto Rico. (I had his number from when he called home at Christmas time.) Matthew kept saying, "What are you doing, man?" (Not sure if he thought he might be breaking a mission rule or what! - I hope to find that out later!) Then, Matthew ended up giving big brother, Jason, some new missionary tips and advice. (Have yet to hear what that advice was!) I would have loved to hear their conversation! No time in SLC to call us back - so at 7:45 they were off to the LAX Airport!

They landed in Los Angeles about 9:45 p.m. our time ... and called us about 11:00 or so ... he told us that one of the Elders saw Shawne Merriman (NFL San Diego Chargers player) and they talked to him and I think gave him a passalong card. When they were about to board - someone told them they were in the wrong line and tried to get them to board with the pilots! I guess missionaries do look like pilots?! They boarded and headed off for their 15 hour flight to Taipei, Taiwan! I was hoping to be able to hear from Jason again in Taiwan but really wasn't getting my hopes up!

I did make sure I was home by 3:10 p.m. just in case Jason called again. Sure enough about 5:50 p.m. the phone rang (private caller) and of course I answered. It was Jason calling from Taiwan. I asked him if he was tired ... he said he wasn't tired at all - he had a good 15 hour nap! They were all hungry when they got off the plane - it was 6:10 a.m. in Taiwan - but they still were able to get some food by pointing at what they wanted (cuz they didn't understand a word anyone was saying), got their chopsticks, and all tried to eat their food. (He kept telling us that he was going to get a BIG steak dinner in the airport - but it didn't happen.) Jason said the food was really good though! A bunch of the Elders bought International Calling Cards and called home again. Jason tried to call Andrea in England - but she didn't hear her phone ring and didn't answer so he left her a short message on the answering machine (it was 1:30 a.m. in England). I loved hearing all the commotion in the background! While Jason was helping another Elder with his calling card - ours got cut off and that was the end of our conversation. Oh well - we know that he is definitely happy and excited to get to the Philippines!!! Only one more flight to go!

On one of the layovers - they got to talk to a Filipino family. They talked to them in Tagalog and they kept asking how long it took them to learn Tagalog and they were all like 2 months. The family was pretty shocked that they were speaking it so well! : ) Jason kept saying how NICE this family was.

At 9:30 a.m. Taiwan time they boarded another plane to Manila, Philippines, and arrived there at 11:45 a.m. (Wednesday) which is 8:45 p.m. (Tuesday) our time. They basically skipped Tuesday!

All night I kept thinking about all these Young Men in dark suits and ties aimlessly wandering around airports. I think I was a little worried about them being lost or something. But I know they are in the Lord's hands and if they are obedient they will be guided in whatever situation they are put in. Jason was with a great group of Elders in the MTC and they all became great friends.

From Manila - I understand there is about a 10 hour bus ride to the Cauayan Mission Home and then from there he will get his new companion (trainer) and head off to their area which could be up to 5 more hours of travel.

At this point I assume that Jason has made it to the Cauayan Mission Home and I know for a fact that he is ready to SERVE the Filipino people! We hope to hear from Elder Ward on his P-day which is on Monday!

I am so happy that Jason is finally in the Philippines and on a mission!!! Now the countdown to his return can begin! : ) and I can't wait to hear all the happenings of his mission!

GOOD LUCK ELDER WARD and ENJOY EVERY MINUTE!!!!

PS - Don't take all of this Travelog as factual .... it is all what I remember him telling me - but I may have gotten some of the facts wrong. I hope that Jason wrote down his journey and when he gets home we will have to compare journal entries!

Flight Itinerary to the Philippines!

CHURCH TRAVEL CWT DATE 08MARCH10
50 EAST NORTH TEMPLE ST AGENT JJ/SL BOOKING REF 4DEQUA
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84150
TELEPHONE: 801 240-5111 WARD/JASON ROBERT 184384-I
FAX : 801-240-5115

MISSIONARY TRAVEL
PHILIPPINES CAUAYAN MISSION

SERVICE DATE FROM TO DEPART ARRIVE
_____________________ _____ ______________ ______________ _______ ______
DELTA AIR LINES 08MAR SALT LAKE C UT LOS ANGELES CA 745P 849P
DL 1183 MONDAY INTL INTL
T ECONOMY TERMINAL 2 TERMINAL 5
RESERVATION CONFIRMED 2:04 DURATION
AIRCRAFT: BOEING 757-200/300

EVA AIR 08MAR LOS ANGELES CA TAIPEI 1125P 610A
BR 1 MONDAY INTL TAIWAN TAOYUAN 10MAR
V TERMINAL B TERMINAL 2
NON SMOKING MEAL NON STOP
RESERVATION CONFIRMED 14:45 DURATION
AIRCRAFT: BOEING 777-300ER

EVA AIR 10MAR TAIPEI MANILA 930A 1145A
BR 271 WEDNESDAY TAIWAN TAOYUAN NINOY AQUINO I
V TERMINAL 2 TERMINAL I1
NON SMOKING MEAL NON STOP
RESERVATION CONFIRMED 2:15 DURATION
AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A330-200


RESERVATION NUMBER(S) BR/CHIZJE DL/OWAD8Y

WARD/JASON ROBERT 184384-I
ETKT:BR/695 7570148317
006 7570148324

-----------------------------------------------
RII AMY T - EXT 27845
.
(XS) MISSION PRES RAUL VILLENUEVA
PH 011 63 78/ 652 0770 OFFICE 652 0772 HOME
..
* NOTICE * STATE OR FEDERAL PHOTO I.D. REQUIRED AT AIRPORT.
BECAUSE CHECK-IN TIMES AROUND THE WORLD MAY VARY BASED
ON THE INDIVIDUAL AIRPORT AND DAY-TO-DAY SECURITY ISSUES
PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY FOR YOUR FLIGHTS.
IF YOU NEED FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING AIRPORT SECURITY,
PLEASE CONTACT THE AIRPORT DIRECTLY.
MISSIONARY TRAVEL (800) 537-3537 OR (801) 240-5111
EMPLOYEE TRAVEL (800) 537-1232 OR (801) 240-1387
GENERAL AUTHORITY TRAVEL (800)453-3860 OR (801)240-1000

03/08/2010 (Last email from the MTC)

My last night was fine a bunch of my district are having weight issues and it's pretty funny like i mean they have too much weight for their luggage! haha but anyways I'm like sitting there telling them stuff to get rid of but I'll tell you all about that later! I'll probably call about 5 ish so be expecting that
love ya and talk to you in a bit
Jas

(2nd Email)
k so i got some time and my comp wants to email so you get 2 this week. I sent Matthew a little package with 16 stamps so he better get it. It's just a big padded envelope and the lady said I needed 13 so i just used the rest of mine and my roomies! My comp is still having weight issues with his bag but I think we're getting closer. I'm perfect one bag weighs 48 and the other 46 so I'm all good!

I wanted to tell you i'm not gonna call you i mean its only been 2 months ... it's not like I've been gone that long so I'll just talk to you Mother's Day....................................hahahaha just joking (mom take a couple deep breaths before you have a heart attack.) I cant freaking wait to talk to you guys! It seems like it's been 2 years already in this place time seems like eternity but im gonna be in the phillys tomorrow well i guess wednessday! Dad how jealous are you? So i guess one of the 7 wonders of the world are around my mission the rice terraces so that's gonna be cool. But in the airport I'm going to get the biggest steak ever for dinner i seriously can't wait for that either. When I'm basking in the sun tomorrow I'll be thinking of you guys in the snow haha. It does suck to leave my investigators though. but it's not too big of a deal the church calls them like 24 7 so they get lots of calls! It will work out alright though!

I'll talk to you later
love ya
jas

03/01/2010 (MTC 1 Week Left)

hey everyone

So as you probably know from missionary mom i leave the 8th so I'll be calling you on Monday sometime for sure. but mom so I'll be hosting again Wednesday this will be my 3rd time. That's the thing where you wait on the curb for new elders and you show them around -- so i might get that one girl you where talking about (that one girl is Chelsea McKenzie). I always get the sisters for some reason.

but anyways so this week we finally started learning about what the Philippines is really like. our tutor brought a whole book to show us about our mission. we're his favorites cause we always go and see him. and our teachers have started to tell us more stories and less learning so that we'll be ready. I'm so excited! it's only one week away.

but as for stuff to leave -- I'm just going to mail it. i could leave it at the front desk but you can only leave it there for like a day i think its probably easier just to mail it and there's a bunch of stuff. there's a check in there from Eileen and Glenn that i endorsed too that you need to put in my account. also i sent you a Tagalog letter in the mail to so you're going to have to find someone that can read Tagalog to translate otherwise you'll have no clue what it says. (What a sweet son - sends us a letter we can't even read?!?!)

but anyways love ya
jas