Tuesday, December 30, 2014

MTC 2.0 ( 2nd Week ) Let It Snow .........Let It Snow.....


MTC 2.0

On Tuesday, December 30, 2014 3:50 AM, Jayzon Christian Sy <jayzon.sy@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Dear Fam,

Hello How are you doing mom? I'm okay ra in here! it was really fun this week since Christmas day. Was able to listen to an Apostle Elder Russel M. Nelson. Christmas was great I woke up having a pile of snow outside the dorm! I really felt the spirit of Christmas.

I learned alot about Christmas. Christmas is'nt all about us. Its about the Birth of Christ. The birth of Christ bestowed us many gifts. The gift isnt temporal. The gift we receive from Him is Eternal and Spiritual. Every Christmas we receive gifts that are for ourselves and for ourselves only. The gift we receive from Jesus is for us and the best part is we can share it. The gift of his gospel is great! We can feel the peace and joy in our lives through the gospel. You know what makes it better? We can share this gospel to others, so that they too can feel the joy and happiness we feel. That inspired me alot, as a missionary, I have the chance to share to others Heavenly Fathers love for us. Its great I can't wait to go out to the field and share the message.

Christmas was really great! Last night There were two speakers Brother Richard Elliot ( the pianist for the Mormon Tabernacle choir) he shared a bit and mostly he played inspiring songs. He is so talented. He played the piano with his hands and feet! For the first time I saw a piano/organ with keys below the chair. The Next speaker is Brother David Archuleta..... Yes.. DAVID ARCHULETA HAHAHAH! He shared his testimony about us going in the field and how marvelous is the work we are doing. Of course, he is gonna sing. He sang lots of song and it was great! I really felt the spirit when he sang. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Shen Dan Jie Kuai Le.    Xin Nian Kuai Le

Love,
Elder Sy
















Monday, December 29, 2014

Christmas Day Call From MTC









7:39 am Dec. 26, 2014 Friday ( 4:39 pm  Dec. 25, 2014 Thursday ) << SLC Time

At this exact moment of time did we receive Elder Sy's telephone call from the Missionary Training Center. How excited are we upon knowing that it was him on the other line. We couldn't find the exact  words to  express ourselves as to how we've felt that moment. ( We were told that only twice a year do missionaries have the chance to call home, and that is during Christmas and Mothers day ). So you could now imagine this excitement coming from us his family.

Prior to that, on Dec. 25 evening we were busy sending emails to Elder Sy hoping he would be able to read those mails ( We know there's no chance he would be able to knowing the MTC rules) letting him know that we are opening all our email addresses and the skype just in case . We almost stayed awake the whole night until dawn before we came to realize that Elder Sy couldn't be reached at this moment.

But it was worth the wait though. The call lasted about 22 minutes. (I think that was the time allotted to every missionaries). We took turns in conversing with Elder Sy over the phone. His mom first, followed by me then his Shiobe Reese and next his favorite brother Zach whom he missed the most. Brent didn't get the chance to talk to his brother for he was upstairs busy playing on his computer and us excited talking over the phone that we forgot about him.

Time flies so fast that the only thing i remembered what Elder Sy ask me was " Did you missed me Dad " ? That made me ponder long after the conversation ended. I was thinking why did he asked that question in the first place. Maybe he could tell from our body language that it was OK for us his parents that he would be away from us for a long time. If he could only know how we missed him so much with  heartaches and  the pain we try to hide from him so that he could go to the mission field without any hesitation and the burden of seeing us in tears as he left.

I can tell by the tone of Elder Sy's voice over the phone that he is enjoying his moments at MTC. Another thing that i noticed with our conversation was  this new accent of his.

Glad to know that he is moving on along pretty well .





Tuesday, December 23, 2014

MTC ( The First Week )


2:03 am Dec. 23, 2014 Tuesday

MTC is so great right now! everyone here is the nicest people. When you walk down the hallways or anywhere in the campus people say Hi in the language they are assigned. i've got two companions in the MTC. Elder Brandley and Elder Miner. Elder Brandley is the FUNNIEST. he is striving so hard to learn chinese. Elder Miner is the Tough smart guy, he gets alot of things done. Ive learned so much from them, thats the reason why we have companions that is to learn from each other. Guess what? Im the district leader! I was called to be a good example and leader for my district. I have 4 sisters in my district, and only us three elders are the only guys. Everyone in the district is learning alot! They strive hard in the Language training! You know whats tough? Ever since the first day the teacher came in Dropping his mandarin, and everyone couldnt understand. except for me, I could understand a bit... YI DIAN! Then we were told to SYL (speak your language) because thats how we get trained from the teacher. We had our first lesson and we had to teach in mandarin! Elder brandley and Elder Miner Tried their best! It came to a point we didnt know what to do. We couldnt just sit there and stare at him right? So I had to bring out my memory in Mandarin, and it went so good and smooth that I was able to close the lesson! Im having a great time here in the MTC. my study habits are getting better. Theres alot of personal studies, and we have to learn the language on our own. Reading the scriptures is great too! Its in the classroom when we are going to learn. Its so quiet and all HAHAHA! anyways Im runnning out of time! See you!

love,
Elder Sy









Monday, December 22, 2014

Sights and Sounds of the Mission Call with Bits and Pieces


4:15 am Dec. 22, 2014 Monday

A short clip of  My Mission Call :

















                                                                   See You In 2













Saturday, December 20, 2014

P-Day @ MTC Dec. 18,2014 Thursday




3:15 am  Dec.19,2014 Friday ( Philippines Time)

What you will notice of the E-mail picture above  states that Elder Sy is already inside the MTC. Letting us know that he is alive and well kicking and that's it. And then came the words " I'll email on pday".

 Since we wont be seeing and hearing from Elder Sy until "pday", we might as well take a look on what that word really meant and as  to why Elder Sy has to wait until "pday" to do those email stuffs.

The journey begins.

Preparation day (or P Day as it is often referred to) is a missionary’s once a week chance to do big shopping trips, play sports, do laundry and write letters home to family and friends.
Preparation day is the one day a week in which Mormon missionaries get a break from their usual proselytizing labors.
It is called preparation day because it is designed to help missionaries prepare physically for the week ahead.
Preparation day ends around dinner time (about 6:00 P.M.), after which missionaries are expected to carry on normal activities.

After reading the meaning of Preparation Day, two things comes to my mind.

First:  Personal Time Management

Learning to use skills of effective time utilization will often work small miracles in the life of a busy person; and in today’s world, everyone seems to be getting busier and busier, especially the leader. So let’s explore together some of the basic keys to using our time wisely, beginning with some misconceptions and then looking at some basic principles and helpful practices.

We normally operate under some myths concerning time. We often think that we can save time or that we can make up time. We also hear that, “Jayzon has more time than I do,” or, “Brent seems to stretch his time a little further.” It is a valuable exercise to step back and review the fact that each person has the same amount of time as the next person—168 hours each week. We cannot save time, in reality. There are no time banks. We cannot make up time; it goes by at a fixed rate always. Jayzon does not have more time than we have, and Brent is not able to stretch time—it does not have a rubberlike quality. Of course, many of these so-called myths are a simple result of the terminology of the English language. However, we often let these subtle meanings carry over into our reasoning about our time use.

There are some basic principles and fundamental concepts of time utilization that are very helpful in learning to manage our time better. The first is the concept that we don’t really manage time but rather we manage ourselves in the amount of time we have. So we are really addressing the subject of self-management.We must learn to operate most effectively in the uniform allotment of time each of us has received.

A second fundamental principle that relates to effective time management is the constant focus on results. The individual who focuses on the required results rather than on activities will find the greater results actually occurring. We often race at high speeds all day only to discover that we have been doing things rather than getting things done. We have been involved in many activities but have not accomplished the results.

Second: Setting up Goals ( Daily Planner)

In using a planner, there is a simple little formula that helps in day-to-day planning. This formula is as follows: (1) list what needs to be done on a daily to-do list; (2) prioritize the list by identifying the most important items and marking them with a lettering or numbering system; (3) write down the tasks to be accomplished on a daily calendar, beginning with the highest priorities; (4) live by your calendar, revising your plan as needed. Many interruptions will arise, and you must be able to reset priorities as various interruptions change your plans. This is where the real skill of personal planning applies. We can plan our day very skillfully; but if we are not able to revise as various needs change or as new demands affect our day’s plan, then the effectiveness of our personal planning will be limited.

Another helpful technique is to ask oneself, “Is there a simpler or quicker way to accomplish this task?” With a little concentration, almost every responsibility we have can be simplified, thereby saving some time. Our powers of creativity come alive when we concentrate carefully on how we can do a task better, or quicker, or with less cost. Every individual must use these powers of concentration and creativity to simplify and reduce whenever possible. Part of a individual’s task is to be protective of the time of his people. So to make a task easier, or to eliminate a meeting, or to shorten a discussion would help his people have more time to use in the important activities of genealogy, or welfare, or missionary work, or scripture study. These most important areas of eternal significance must not take a back seat to less important temporal, but urgent, deadlines, meetings, and obligations.

The challenge to better utilize our time grows larger and larger as we take on more of life’s responsibilities and leadership roles. By seeking to master the separate skills that relate to our personal effectiveness, we will be able to meet this challenge. We will be able to strengthen our contribution to the Lord’s work, our impact as leaders, and our faithfulness in managing carefully one of the most important resources given to us by the Lord in this mortal life—time.

Me and my wife knows Elder Sy is a man of few words. But we also know that there are a lot of thoughts in his mind going on , and he is very good at finding just a few words to represent those thoughts. ( I think that's one of his talents ). That is why before he leaves home going to his mission ,we give him something of an alternative. A small Camera.

And there would be a  time when words are hard to come by,and expressing yourself is difficult,  and by just clicking ..... clicking .... clicking by the use of that camera, we all knew that a picture paints a thousand words. and that would be enough.



Friday, December 19, 2014

Finally........... Touch Down @ ( SLC ) Salt Lake City International Airport ( Dec. 17, 2014)


3:18 am ( Dec. 17, 2014 )

The long and much awaited update of Elder Sy's flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles needs to continue until further notice from the man himself ( Elder Sy ). After all, we  know how taxing and exhausting it is to travel the distance of 7372.2 miles / 11864.4 kilometers ( PHIL - UTAH ) with approximate travel time of  15 hours and 19 minutes excluding the stop over intervals of  in-between flights. So we forgive you Elder Sy for all of this restlessness coming  from us, your relatives , friends, and loved ones. Nevertheless, we are even more grateful to those in  (SLC) Salt Lake City waiting for your arrival. Bro. Rubi who is one of the pioneer members of Mabolo Ward who is currently based  in SLC, promised and volunteered to fetch Elder Sy at the airport . He made that commitment way back in June 22 of this year when he happened to attend that Sunday services and was around to witness as Elder Sy read his Mission Call.

Meanwhile, sister Babes Rubi was all hands-on on updates about the arrival. She prepared Elder Sy's coats, beanie, a jacket, gloves and winter bedroom slippers. She even told sister Sy that they are going to have lunch with Elder Sy together with the 2 other missionaries and then tour them to Temple Square and of course, take pictures, pictures and more pictures, before taking them to Provo MTC.

3:45 am
We jump and shouted for joy when Sister Babes informed us that Bro. Rubi is already together with Elder Sy and the 2 other missionaries. We still need to ask Elder Sy the names of his 2 missionary companions.



Kudos to the Rubi Family. We love you guys and more power to the two of you.

And so as promised.......... pictures, pictures, and more pictures.




















Coming up next :
Elder Sy will talk about P-Day @ MTC