Home Sweet Home! Welcome home!

Home Sweet Home! Welcome home!

To the rescue!

To the rescue!

After the storm

After the storm

P-Day Hike

P-Day Hike

All wet!

All wet!

Flooding

Flooding

Bagio, Tropical Storm

Bagio, Tropical Storm

A day to remember!

A day to remember!

Zone or General Conference

Zone or General Conference

Elder K and gummies

Elder K and gummies

Street sitting

Street sitting

Jogging on the beach

Jogging on the beach

Elder K 21st Birthday

Elder K 21st Birthday

Birthday Mango Icecream

Birthday Mango Icecream

Elder Verzo - Big Boss!

Elder Verzo - Big Boss!

Elder Verzo new comp

Elder Verzo new comp

Mission Tour

Mission Tour

The Best Zone Ever! My comp circled

The Best Zone Ever!  My comp circled

Teaching with Elder Misbach

Teaching with Elder Misbach

Leganez w/Pablero Family

Leganez w/Pablero Family

Zone Leaders Conference

Zone Leaders Conference

Iloilo Zone

Iloilo Zone

Filipino Smile

Filipino Smile

Elder Misbach's back

Elder Misbach's back

Elder K face

Elder K face

Big pig!

Big pig!

Clothes dryer on the beach

Clothes dryer on the beach

The Seduco Wedding!

The Seduco Wedding!

Hookey bobbin in the Philippines!!

Hookey bobbin in the Philippines!!

Three Iloilo kids

Three Iloilo kids

Iloilo lil boy

Iloilo lil boy

Happy mug shot

Happy mug shot

Digging it

Digging it

Grocery Shopping

Grocery Shopping

Airport scene

Airport scene

Iloilo Trio!

Iloilo Trio!

Yum yum green and all!

Yum yum green and all!

The Fearless Duo

The Fearless Duo

Hiy-ya!

Hiy-ya!

A little out of focus, but happy!

A little out of focus, but happy!

Heleman Warriors?

Heleman Warriors?

Baptism Rhea, Geneva & Dave

Baptism Rhea, Geneva & Dave

Me and Elder Booth w/face paint

Me and Elder Booth w/face paint

Sheryl's Baptism

Sheryl's Baptism

Baptized in July

Baptized in July

Basking in the Light

Basking in the Light

Monday, November 28, 2011

Garrett will be speaking December 11th at 11 am at the Canyon Road Church,
2115 North 1000 East, Canyon Road, Pleasant Grove, Utah.  

Last letter


HEY FAMILY!!! 
     It’s Monday right now, 8:45 am.  I am waiting for my suit coat to be finished and then I will be heading to Iloilo. 5 pm is my interview with President.  Then Tuesday we have a workshop to help us learn to write a resume and stuff. Then I will hit the skies on Wednesday. I love you all. See you in a few days. 
      I was sitting in Sacrament yesterday up on the stand behind the piano, it was really weird thinking that next week I would be sitting in our chapel with you guys. CRAZY thought. Well Love you all! I’m excited to see My FAMILY!
Good bye na.
-Elder Kirschbaum

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Wk 107 November 21, 2011


Whoaa There,              
:)
      DAAA.... It’s really close now. It doesn't really seem real though yet.
I don't think it will until I step off the airplane in Salt Lake City. It is always so emotionally....bending to have a big Changing moment in your life. My feelings right now slightly reflect the feelings of leaving the MTC, or saying bye to you when you dropped me at the MTC. I remember it being so scary flying over the different islands of the Philippines for the first time, and not knowing what in the world to think. "Would I be preaching the gospel as soon as I got off the plane?" "Would I be able to understand the people?" It was just so unreal and nerve racking. I remember the Flight was really clear so you could see down to the islands. It was super beautiful. It was like I was in a dream. Then I saw smoke everywhere, and it looked like there was a war going on...which I learned later was just the burning of sugar cane. Anyways....after the whole experience and emotions are over....hahaha. It was like nothing happened. I was there now living in the Philippines and it felt....normal....ish.
      That is pretty much what I am feeling now. And even though it really feels weird now...as soon as I have slept in my own bed a few days :), it will be all just like a big dream. It is weird to think that..."the mission" that I pondered about and thought so much of as a kid, and always saw myself going on,...is now over. Haha, I never imagined my life after "the mission". It was always just up to the mission. Haha now I have to clue in where to go in my life. :) joke. Anyways.... there is a little bit of my thoughts about going home, aside from being excited to see...ya'll.
     Here is a little update with the Lord’s Work. Alfonso will be getting baptized this week. I am super lucky to be the one to baptize him. So yeah Father! We will be baptizing on two separate continents. That is kind of cool to think about. The work of the Lord will go forth boldly and nobly until it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every nation, and sounded in every ear.  It is cool that we are fulfilling that prophesy ....at the same time. :)
      I am so happy to live in this time now. And I am so happy to know these gospel truths, that so many people would die to have, if they only knew it was there. I love you all and am so glad that we will be together forever.  It amazes me how God provided the way for his Gospel to be restored. I am so grateful to know that with all my heart. And I am so lucky to be one of the Lord’s missionaries to preach that...It is true.
 I will see you in....A FEW DAYS FAMILY!
-Elder Kirschbaum

Hey,
I forget to tell you that we got caught in this crazy Flood on Tuesday, and ended up swimming around helping people cross this place with a heavy current so they could get home to their flooded houses. Here is a few pictures. Oh yeah, and we were on the radio. Mmmmhmmm. Our clothes were filthy when we got back four hours later. The other picture is our district today going on a hike. Enjoy.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Wk 105 November 7, 2011


HEY FAMILY!                                                        
     This week flew by. And now I only have like 3 weeks left. I am super excited to see home again. But I am going to be super sad to leave this. 
Me and Elder Buluran are having a lot of fun. We are working hard and just having a lot of fun teaching and meeting new people. I am super glad he is going to be my last companion. We both help each other out a lot. Elder Buluran is bad at getting up in the morning and the same with me. So we set a goal this last week, where we put our mattresses side by side and when the alarm goes off we wrestle and smack each other around. That sounds kind of....Fruity, but so far it has worked great.
     Kristine will be baptized this week. Our branch is really excited. After her baptism we will be having a fireside where we will be watching the movie of Joseph Smith. She is doing just great. She is well into the Book of Mormon and is teaching her family a lot. We have been able to teach her family this week too, which was great.
     Alfonso is doing great. He is a funny man. This last Sunday our Gospel Essentials teacher, who is pretty much a bible scholar, taught the lesson. He taught about gospel principles in a really simple and exciting way to help the new converts.  It was a really good lesson. He has a lot of love in his voice. Bro Alfonso really looks up to the Gospel Essentials teacher. 
      I just asked my companion if anything crazy happened to us this week. Then I remembered....We ate DOG. Sorry if you’re a dog lover. We had DOG for our new converts daughter’s birthday. It was really hard to eat, but I wanted to try it. As I was eating it, my thoughts couldn't help but wander to the many loving dogs I have known in my life. I will just leave it at that. 
     Mother, I found a woman who is going to make an "Americana" Suit Coat for me. Not yet sure how much it costs.
Welp I am keeping it short. 
I Love you All!
-Elder Kirschbaum

Friday, November 4, 2011

Wk 104 October 31, 2011


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!                  
AHhhh,                                           
     I'm freaking out reading all your letters. "Garrett your coming home soon, Garrett, Garrett" Ahhhh. Haha. Then hearing about Caleb getting home. Ah man. Tell that man Hi for me.
     So my comp right now is the bomb. We have been having a lot of fun working together. He kind of reminds me of a mix of Caleb and Josh, he randomly makes high-pitched animal sounds and says random funny stuff. Then his Josh side of really sincere looks you in the eye and smiles. Yeah he is pretty good at English.
     Today is Halloween. There are lots of little kids running around dressed up as Aswangs - A mystical creature who during the night his upper half of his body dislocates from his lower half, sprouts wings, and flies around stealing little babies.
      The Filipino belief is Aswangs can get a little out of control. We had an investigator that would put salt around all the doors of the house. Then she had little red bags with garlic and other crazy things pinned to her kids. Whenever we went to her house she would tell us her latest encounter with the Aswangs. We were able though to help her with belief in Jesus Christ, and she told us she started praying when she was scared and not doing other rituals and stuff. (as I am typing this a little kid is talking about an Aswang next to me.)
     We have had some awesome progress with Alfonso. Actually later tonight I will be cooking Ginatang Pukbet na may Baboy. (a coconut vegetable soup with pig) and having a Family home evening over at their house. We will be playing a round of Scrabble, that is for sure. He is doing great. We gave him a blessing that he would remember the scriptures when he was tempted to smoke. The other day he told us that he was having a big craving to smoke and a scripture popped into his head. The scripture was about setting aside every sin. Every sin. It motivated him enough to conquer the craving. He will be ready for Baptism soon.
     I have been reading Jesus the Christ lately...Yeah it’s pretty much>....Mind BlowING! I am almost half way done with it. I have planned it out so I will be done before I am done with my mission.
     Kristine is doing awesome! She will be baptized on the 12th of this month. She says nothing will stop her. We had a family Home evening for her birthday on Friday night, and invited her family. Her dad and brother came, that helped a lot. We will be visiting her family this week also.
     Well I am doing great, preaching the gospel, becoming a chef, and loving this branch. I love you all. Till next time
-Elder Kirschbaum