Kumusta lahat tayo?

Kumusta lahat tayo?

This week was great!  I learned a lot and am loving it here!  I have been reading the Alkat ni Mormon araw- araw (everyday) in Tagalag and it has really helped me in my studies. The language his hard, but God is greater than any challenge!  As I have been reading I have been able to understand the Book of Mormon better.  One thing I have learned from it is to not complain about things because if you don't complain and just do it, God will bless you even more for being obedient.  I want to be a Nephi missionary and not a Laman and Lemuel Missionary!
The biggest challenge I have with the language is that it restrains me and makes it harder for me to teach, this has given me the opportunity to trust more in God and less in myself.  I have felt the support from all of you and I am so grateful for family and friends that support me so much!  I love the rice for every meal, the delicious mangoes, Tagalog and most of all the people!
Yesterday I was assigned to go to the hospital with a sick missionary with asthma. He is so awesome! His name is Elder Gavinio and his dad is a Jeepney driver. I spent the night at the hospital with him and was able to help me with my Tagalog.  This afternoon he was released from the hospital, which was really nice actually just like the states.  After, we went to McDonald's which was really good!  The portions are so small here, no wonder the Filipinos are so small. hahaha!  Driving back I saw the slums and it was really sad, the worst poverty I have ever seen.  Lots of garbage everywhere.  The slums really got hammered from the typhoon.  Our investigators have been doing really well, Sheena is really interested and brought her kids to "church".  I am so... ready to get out there and serve!!  I am so excited.  I gave a Book of Mormon to the nurse at the hospital.  I hope that he reads it, you never know! :)
I am grateful I have had this experience and wouldn't want to be anywhere else!  I love my mission already and have grown so much already!  God is in the detail of our lives if we let him be!  God be with you, I am praying for you and love you.

Elder Murdock

Week 3

Hey Everybody!

This week has been so awesome! I loved it here at the MTC and have grown so much! A few days ago I experienced my first TYPHOON! Ya it was pretty exciting! The power was out all day on Wednesday and it was SO hot! We spent three hours cleaning up the wreckage of fallen trees and palm leaves. It is amazing how much damage can happen in a few hours. It was a category 3 out of 4, but no worries we are all safe! :) I have two new investigators Jamar and Sheena.  It is so hard to teach them when I barely know any of the language. It has taught me a lot about trusting in the lord and relying on the spirit to be the real teacher.
I am so grateful for all of your support and love hearing from you. It is fun being here but it is so hard to not be able to go outside in the real world. The food is pretty good. A lot of the same stuff, I look forward to the ice cream we get twice a week. The new batch of missionaries came in today, so now we are the middle batch! I am 1/3 of the way done with the MTC! Yes! then I will be out in the field! :) I was able to go to the temple today! It was so wonderful I am so grateful that it is the same everywhere you go! :) I am glad you had fun in Flaming Gorge! It sounded like a blast! :) I have been learning so much and have grown a lot already in this short time. One lesson I have learned is that attitude is everything! It is important to keep a good attitude and have faith that it will all work out! Being here has not always been easy but I know that the sacrifice is always worth it! God is mindful of all of us and gives us adversity that we will ask for his strength. I love you so much! I am grateful for your prayers. I pray for you. I love being a missionary! :)


Elder Murdock

Pamiliya

Kumusta Pamiliya ko?

How are things? I have loved being here in the Philippines and have grown so much in the past week. I would like to share just a few experience that have strengthened my testimony. First off, Tagalog is SO hard! They have just thrown it on to us and it has been like drinking out of a fire hose, hahaha. I have been studying more than ever before. The second day of the MTC we had our first investigator Manuel. It was soo scary. He only knew a little bit of English so it was hard to get our message across. We taught him every day until yesterday when he gave us response to our teaching and became our new guro (teacher).  He said that we focused to much on the language and not enough on the investigator.  I have learned that it is SO important to teach people not lessons! I will work on how I teach because I am a messenger of Jesus Christ himself! The language has been my biggest challenge but I know that for what ever reason I have been hand picked by the Lord to serve in the Philippines. One time when I was pondering why I was called here I saw a glimpse of a Filipino family in my mind. I realized that this is one of the reasons I have been called here. This makes the sacrifice of leaving my family worth it. I love the people already! Some of the Filipinos call me Elder Tall, hahahaha. It has been funny to see their reaction to my height. A lot of the missionaries that are are foreigners here are from US or Tonga or other Polynesian islands. The food is pretty good! We have had rice for every meal including breakfast, I am not sick of it yet! :) We had hamburgers and they were not that great, hahaha! The last thing I would like to share with you is a lesson I have been learning. That is obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles! I know that is true! One rule that has been really hard for me is that we are not allowed to eat any snacks outside of meal time in the cafeteria. Man and I thought that no eating outside the kitchen was hard! hahaha. I have been striving to be exactly obedient and not make any excuses.  For example our mission president asked us shave everyday and so I do even though I probably could go without. I love the spirit here. Thank you so much for your prayers and fasting thank you for your love, I can feel it! I know that I am doing the right thing being here.



Love you always,

Elder Murdock

July 4, 2014

Hey Family!

Thank you so much for your mail! I feel way happy that you all have thought so much about me and I really really appreciate your prayers! I am loving it here. Today we arrived at the MDC and got my name tag!! yay! :) My first companion in Elder Syphus from St. George! he is really cool. The people here are so awesome! I already love the Filipinos! It has been so fun to meet them and see their happy faces. I have heard probably fifty times today that I am tall. haha I wonder why hahaha! My p-day is on Friday just so y'all know. I am excited to learn tagalog and know that it is all worth it!
On the plane I read a scripture I would like to share with you: "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you." John 14 I have felt close you as I have been 4,000 miles away.

Love you always,

Elder Murdock

1st letter- July 3, 2014

Hey family!

I wanted to tell you all that I arrived safely and that although the flight was way long! It wasn't as bad as I thought! The Missionaries that were with me were really cool! I sat by Elder Vantasl and he was really fun to talk to. We went to KFC to day and it was sooo different and of course served with rice :). The people here seem nice. I am so excited for my work to begin. It is raining so hard right now, Like more than I have ever seen! Total culture shock. I want you all to know that I am happy and loving what I am doing already! I feel your love! I will email you tomorrow and tell you more, just wanted to tell you that I am safe and happy! :)

Elder Murdock

Setting apart as an Elder and Goodbyes

 After being set apart as a Full Time Missionary!

What a blessing to have Dad, both Grandpa's, and President Davis be in the circle!

 Others who were there to support!  

Mom, , Madie, Jacob,Kaden, Grandma Forbush and Grandma Murdock.

 Saying Goodbyes!  So hard!  Sacrifice brings forth blessings!

Eternal Warrior

Ready to join the Army of God as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in the Angeles Philippines Mission!