Urdaneta Mission Tour 2016 with Elder and Sister Bowen!

Urdaneta Mission Tour 2016 with Elder and Sister Bowen from May 3-5th.

Every year, the Urdaneta Mission is blessed to have a General Authority come and visit the Mission to give instruction and to help us be our best. This year's Mission Tour took place from May 3rd to May 5th and we were blessed to have Elder Shayne M. Bowen , a member of Seventy, and his wife, visit us. Elder Bowen currently serves as the First Counselor in the Philippines Area Presidency. He will serve as Area President of the Philippines Area effective August 1st, 2016.

Mission Leadership Council

To start off the tour, our Mission Leaders gathered in the Mission Home to receive instruction and inspiration from Elder and Sister Bowen. Our Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders are really fine and remarkable missionaries that God has prepared and refined to help push the work forward.

Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders preparing themselves for the Council Meeting

Elder and Sister Bowen, giving their messages and instruction

Our Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders shaking hands with Elder and Sister Bowen as they leave right away for their areas after the meeting.

Mission Tour Zone Conferences

The Mission met in two different locations over the course of 2 days. The first location was the Dagupan Stake Center and 5 Zones met together on May 4th, 2016. The second location was the Urdaneta Stake Center and 6 Zones met together on May 5th, 2016 The Conferences both started at 8:30am and went till 12:30pm. After that, we had lunch by Bishop and Sister Samoray of Rosales Stake.

Zone Conference Notebook.

Elder Bowen touched on a few topics during the Conferences to help stretch our missionaries even more. Here are some of the main topics and ideas that were taught to our mission:

1. Lack of Power
As missionaries, we have been given authority to preach the gospel. However, our power comes from our obedience and desire to do the Lord's work in His way and by His power. Every time we disobey, or choose to use our own methods and power, we experience and feel a lack of power. We also learned that there are no -ites; we are all citizens in the Kingdom of God. "Misery loves company" and no one wants to sin alone, thus we need to help each other experience power in our every day lives by being obedient.

2. "... so that we know who we are and then we can act accordingly"
We were reminded by Elder Bowen obout who we actually are. We realised that many of us do not understand to the fullest extent just who we are and our eternal potential. We learned that many of us belong to lost tribes of Israel and that it is our calling to help in the Gathering of Israel. We were reminded that all of us are children of promise and have all of Abraham's, our grandfather's, inheritance promised to us as well. Because we now know who we are, we can definitely act accordingly. No one will ever sell their immense birthright "for a mess of pottage".

3. DO 30 Testifying Contacts Daily
We were challenged to increase our Testifying Contacts(or Open Your Mouths) to 30 a day. As we testify to people more often, even if we do not get a return appointment, we know that no effort is wasted and that one day, they may accept the truth.

4. DO 30 Minutes of Planning each night
Elder Bowen pointed out to us some learning points coming from the creation from the foundation of the world. The Gods created the worlds first spiritually, then physically. We were admonished to follow in their footsteps and to do 30 minutes of planning to "spiritually create" our day the night before, and then "physically create" our day when we actually went out to work.

5. Arise at 6:30am every day
We were taught to change our mindsets and "arise" each morning at 6:30am. We should not "wake-up" but rather "arise" to the day and to the tasks at hand.

6. "Receive the Holy Ghost"
We are all familiar with this phrase that is used to bestow the Gift of The Holy Ghost on newly-baptized members. The word "receive" indicates that it is not a passive thing but rather an active one. It involves the agency of the person to "receive" the Holy Ghost daily by doing his/her best to follow the commandments, thereby receiving the Holy Ghost's constant companionship and help.

Dagupan Zone Conference
-Aguilar, Alaminos, Bayambang, Dagupan and Lingayen Zones

Missionaries arriving at the venue for the Conference

Pictures of our missionaries during lunch

Urdaneta Zone Conference
-Calasiao, Mangaldan, Rosales, Rosales East, Urdaneta, Urdaneta North Zones

Apartment Checks!
Apartment Checks are a part of the Mission Tour and it is always a pleasure to go around to randomly selected apartments to visit the apartments and areas of our missionaries and to feel of their Spirit. This time, we went to 4 Apartments throughout the course of 2 days. We were pleased to see that our missionaries are doing well and glad to know and find out about little things that needed to be resolved.

Conclusion

Picture with Elder and Sister Bowen, and President and Sister Deyro at the conclusion of the Mission Tour. Standing behind are the Assistants and the Office Staff. 

As with all Mission Tours, this one flew by quickly and it was time to say goodbye. We really enjoyed every thing: the food, the friendships, but most importantly, the Spirit that was felt and the lives that were uplifted and changed. Now, it is up to us to apply the things we have learned to bring the Mission to a whole new level. We know that we will achieve it as we do His work in His way and by His power.