High On A Mountain Top During Super Typhoon Haiyan.........

My first Transfer!!!  My new area is Majayjay.....

Ok so like the earthquake, were were luckily safe and not really affected.  We where not able to work for 2 days so instead we just stayed in and studied while having brown outs left and right (power outages) and other things.

Then on Saturday we had no water....we were able to work but, we couldn't take showers.   We had to walk over and get water in jugs  use that to take showers and then work.  After a while the water was turned back on, that was a blessing from our work.  My new area is Majayjay, with Elder Calisaan.  He is awesome & he is always happy,  is so inspiring it helps me keep going.  My new area always reminds me of the song "High On A Mountain Top" it's great!!!!

The water here is so cold for showers, I almost want to cry.  My companion screams as he takes one so its great.  The area is something interesting, it feels like never ending walking sometimes.  Along with that its amazing views that they have here.

Many bridges that look like if I walk on them they would brake, so I always let me companion go first to see how that it.  Other than that its pretty cool here, so I still sweat but not as bad as my last area.

We don't change Elder Sarmientos writing, we think it pretty cool to see how his thought process is now in the language of Tagalog.  How he forms his sentences and words.  So sometimes you will read and it might not make since, but that's ok....it's only for 18 more months.

The Tagalog is always coming sometimes slower than other times, but its still good.  Well I don't have much time so I got to go.  Everything is good here though.  Sooner than Later it will be my 6th months than Christmas!!!  Can't wait to for my first Christmas here in the PHILIPPINES  YEAHHH!!!!  ha ha

I told Elder Sarmiento we were getting so many people asking about him after the Super Typhoon, here is what he wanted us to share with our Ward and on his Blog

Something I learned, no matter the opposition, no matter the trials, no matter the struggles, I have learned the Lord is always there.  He always helps us in ways we may not even know.  From my understanding we may not know them all but, as we seek to see them more day by day we can see more happiness in our lives.

Well take care everyone!!  Love you and Miss You All!!!  Take care til' next week!!!
Love you all but, I got to go.  BYE!!!!
-Elder Sarmiento

That is One Big Jungle Ant!!!

I'm Getting Transferred & It Sounds Like Another Challenge...........

So where to begin for this week.  Well I guess I will start off with my companion who just left.  Before he did we got to really talk about this last transfer and he told me that I was the first companion to not fight with him.  He told me I was his best friend on the Mission.  He is going home this week, and well I am still here to continue the things he showed me here.  He was really an amazing missionary.

He has taught me so much and he helped me really become the Elder I am now with the things I learned from him.  For example, now that he is gone,  I am in a trio and we went last night and taught our investigators.  For the other two they had a recent convert who's husband is almost to being Baptized, but he wont give up cigarettes.  As we taught him I was really thinking, "How could I help this man really know.  What can I say that would help him"?  For them, they have had a hard time.  Like Janessa, the wife has Cysts on her Ovaries and they really want children.  They have asked to keep them in our prayers so it can happen.  As we taught them, trying to show that the Word of Wisdom needed to be followed, I really had the spirit tell me to say something.  Not so sure at first, I had to pause, what was I going to say to them, and just sit there and ponder.  As I did this I got the reassurance.  Once I knew it was something the spirit was guiding me to say, I told them immediately, "brother, if you follow these things the lord can and will bless you with a child".  At that moment you could really feel the spirit just overtake the whole room.  It was an amazing what I can do if I follow the spirit.

Elder Thompson this last transferred not only sowed me how to follow, but also how to invite the spirit in our everyday lives.  This week was an amazing week.  I also found out today that I am getting transferred on Thursday.  I am getting more information tomorrow, but yes next week I will be in a different area and I could possibly be there around Christmas.  So I am excited.  It sounds like another challenge.  BTW, is Uncle Jeffrey and Aunt Ginger coming here to the Philippines for Christmas this year?


Well I got to go but,  I love you all!!!!!!  Take care.  Until Monday!!!!!

Love-Elder Sarmiento

I don't change his emails, but have noticed each week how his writing is becoming more and more broken english.  In the Philippines they speak "Taglish", Tagalog and English.  His last Companion Elder Thompson's blog has pictures of the two of them, they became great friends!!!!  

I am posting this on 11/7/13, the day Catagory 5 Typhoon Haiyan is hitting the Philippines.  We have no idea where Elder Sarmiento is since he has been transferred, but we do know that all Mission Presidents have moved their Missionaries who are in the path of the Typhoon to safe areas.  
-J's mom 

We Were Sent To An Island For A Ground Breaking Ceremony.........

Ok so I first of all went to the small island in our mission called Marinduque.  I wasn't able to email yesterday cause we went "Cave Exploring" there.  So the pictures are from Saturday morning when we made it to the island, and also the ground breaking they had.  The building will be about 50 yards from the ocean.  After that we had a 2 hour boat ride and then a 4 hour bus ride back to our area.  We traveled from the North all the way and went the furthest South that we could in our Mission. 

The Island was amazing, it looked like Jurassic Park!!!  ha ha.  We took pictures, but its nothing compared to the Real Deal!  Anyways we got to do so much on the Island!!!  There was a ground breaking,  we attended a branch with AirCon on Sunday, then Monday we got to go into a cave!!!!  Very cool and we also got to go on a White Sand Beach!!  The water was soooo clear, you can see everything in the water, when your on the beach!  It was Amazing!!! 

Other than that adventure, I am almost at my six month mark!  My Tagalog is pretty close to fluent.  Sometime soon within the next two transfers,I will be transferred soon so that will be cool.  I love the area here, but I kinda just wanna go somewhere else and learn more. 

I am realizing more and more that as a missionary, people think Missionaries know everything.....well I have realized as I teach and the spirit helps, I learn more myself!! For example, we found people here in the area who are deaf!!! (elder sarmiento took 3 years of ASL in high school, thought he would never be able to use it on his mission)  My sign language came out and it was great.  Here in the Philippines they don't have a Philippines sign language, they actually learn English!  They don't know Tagalog!  It was Fun!!!! We know are actually teaching them and its great!! 

Anyways I don't have much time, hopefully next week I will but, anyways I love you guys!!!  I miss you all and soon we will be able to SKYPE!!!!

Malapit Na!!!!!!! Sige!!!!!!! Ingot Kayo!!!!! 
-Elder Sarmiento