October11,2015

SisterKaylaCalica,
I'vesharedthisadvicetoallthemissionariesthathavegoneoutfromourwardandIwantedto
dothesameforyou.I'msoexcitedthatyou'regoingtothePhilippines!You'regoingtoloveit.
First,yourexperienceintheMTC.You'llloveyourexperiencethere,andonethingthatcan
greatlyenhancetheexperienceis
joiningtheMTCchoir
onSundays.Ican'tbelieveyou'llonly
betherefor2weekssoIdon'tknowifyou'llhavethisopportunitybutifyoudo,takeadvantage
ofit!
AlsointheMTC,youllprobablybetoldtoget
twojournals
,oneasyourspiritualjournal,and
theothertowriteaboutwhathappensonyourmission.Yourspiritualjournalwillbegreatfor
studyandyourpreparationfortalksandlessonsthatyouwillbeaskedtogiveinvarious
meetingsthroughoutyourmission.
Nextisthe
powerofthemembers
.Whenyougettoyourfirstarea,introduceyourselftothe
BishoporBranchPresident,andalltheothermembersoftheward/branchcouncil(Relief
Societypresident,YoungMenspresident,YoungWomenspresident,WardMissionleader)
andletthemknowhowexcitedyouaretobeservingintheirwardorbranch.Sayhiandshake
handswitheverymemberthatyoucan.Hopefullyyoullbeabletomeetwiththewardcouncil
everyweekoratleastonceamonth.Youllreporttothemaboutyourweek(howmanylessons
youtaughtandwhoyourecurrentlyteaching).Askthemtoholdyouaccountableforyourwork.
ThisisallinadditiontobeingaccountabletoyourDistrictandZoneleaders,andyourMission
President.
Loveyourtrainer
.Yourmissionpresidentandhisassistantshaveprayedandthoughtvery
carefullyaboutwhowouldbethebesttrainerforyou.IaskedmytrainerTagalogquestionsall
thetimethroughoutthedayandwouldmakenotesinmyplanner.I'dalsoaskhimaboutbeinga
missionaryandwouldtryandfollowhisexample.Thatswhattheyretherefor.Normally,youll
getatrainerwhoisinthemiddleofhermissionandisexcitedtotrainandtobeagoodexample
toyou.If,however,youdogetatrainerthatisnearingtheendofhermissionordoesnt
particularlyhaveastrongdesiretoworkhard,then
you
willhavetobethestrongone.Prayfor
herandletherknowwhatyouaretheretodo,thatistobringsoulsuntoChrist.
Loveandserveyourcompanions
.Yourenotgoingtolikeeverysingleonebutyoushould
stilllovethemandprayandstudywiththemsothatyoullbothhavethespiritasyouwalk
aroundandgotoyourappointments.Ihadtohelpafewmissionarieswhowerehavingtrouble
andittestedmypatiencebutItriedtoalwaysbecheerfulandjustlovethem.Mybrother
Michaelsharedwithmethathewashavingproblemswithoneofhiscompanionsandwhathe
chosetodowastomakehiscompanion'sbedeverymorning.Thisgreatlyhelpedtheir

relationshipandtheywereabletohavethespirittogether.
Asyouwalkaroundlookingforpeopletoteach,alwaystryand
seethepotentialinevery
personthatyoumeet
.IalwayslikedtoimaginethattheguysthatImetcouldbecomegreat
EldersQuorumleadersiftheyacceptedthegospelandwerebaptized.Remember,everyoneof
usthatisalivealreadyacceptedChristsplanthefirsttime.Wejustneedtohelpthem
remember,torecognizethespirit,andacceptitonemoretime.Youwillofcourselovethe
peopleyoumeetlearntolovethePhilippinesevenmore.Therewillcertainlybedayswherethe
weatherwillbesouncomfortableespeciallyinsummer,butyoujustneedtolearntoloveit,
haha.Irememberwalkingoutofthehouseinthemorningafterourcompanionshipstudyand
justthinkingtomyselfhowIlovedthesunandtheheat.Whenyousmile,ittricksyourbraininto
feelinghappy,soyoujustneedtobesmilingallthetime.Youdonthaveanyrealreasontobe
sad!YoureworkingintheLordsvineyard,helpingbringtopasstheimmortalityandeternallife
ofman.
Dontbeafraidofrejection
.YoumighthearNoonehundredtimesbeforeyouhearone
Yes,andthatsok.Youreplantingseedseverytimeyoubearyourtestimonyandopenyour
mouth.PresidentMorganhassaid,youmightneverknowtheextentofyourinfluenceasa
missionary.Peoplewillbewatchingeverythingyoudo,anditisimportanttoknowwhoyouare
representingandwhosenameisalsoonyourmissionarynametag.RememberHimalways.
Thatsourpromisethatwemakeeveryweekduringsacrament,andyouhavetheopportunityto
reallylivethispromiseeveryhourofeverydayforthenext18months.Whatablessing.The
Filipinopeoplearesoniceandgenerallydon'tliketorejectsoyourobstaclewillbetogetthem
tokeeptheircommitmentssuchasreadingtheBookofMormonandgoingtochurch.Iknow
you'llbeagreatmissionaryandamexcitedtohearaboutyourexperiences.
Imthankfulforyourexampleandyourwillingnesstoserveafulltimemission.Iknowyour
familywillbeblessedforyourserviceandyourlettershometothemwillgivethemstrength.I
knowthatJesusChristlivesandthatHeisoursaviorandredeemer.IknowthatHediedforus
andthatHealsowasrisenagain.IknowthatHeguidesHischurchtodaythroughProphetsand
Apostles.IknowthatJosephSmithwascalledasatrueprophetandthatthroughhim,wenow
havetheBookofMormon,anothertestamentofChrist.Iknowthatthebookistrueandthatwe
cangrowclosertoGodandtoChristbyreadingitandlivingbyitsteachings.Iknowthatwecan
allreturntolivewithGodinheavenifweallcontinuetokeepthecommandmentsandour
templecovenants.

ChristianJohnson