Week 32: PITO KA BULAN NA, ANO?! (7 months now, what!?)

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Maayong hapon friends and fam!

Yes I hit my 7 months on the 24th and I honestly just felt like I hit my 6 months yesterday! 

Anyways here are some highlights liwat of this past week -

[This is 2 weeks worth of laundry, it's as big as me!]

Tuesday - 

This day was so much fun!It was actually very timely because it was the peak of my sickness and we had an Area Medical Zone Conference. They talked parte sa (about) physical health the whole time while I was physically dying (not really dying pero I just didn't feel well).It was also really cool because the conference was multiple zones so basically half of all the missionaries serving here [in the mission] were there!I also got to see my old zone and missionaries serving in my old ward and they gave me letters from members. One of my recent converts who was baptized sang April 28 wrote "Bisan wa'ay kaw dun di, nagapabilin mangud ya mga memories kag ya mga ginpatudlo mo kanakon,| which basically translates to even though I'm not there anymore, I left her memories and also everything I shared with her about the gospel. When I read her letter it made me so happy because I hope this is how I'm remembered not only in my first area but also in my next areas I serve in. I hope they remember my example, my testimony of Jesus Christ, and how I made them feel when I shared my testimony. Pero amo 'na, the rest of the day was really important trainings about health and after we had inspiration trainings from President Cruz and his assistants. After the conference I asked for a priesthood blessing to help me with my sickness. I'm really grateful that we have the priesthood on the earth today so that it can bless each of us according to our faith! After everything finished, we had exchanges with the STL's so I was the one who went to a different area and Sister Fuentes stayed in our area. I was able to be with Sister Green for a day! She's one of the only other Americans serving here so Iloilo. It was weird and kinda hard to speak full-on English!

[I spy someone trying to take a picture of me! haha]

Wednesday- 

I was still with Sister Green and we didn't get to work that much because I rested to try to get better. Pero we were able to go out sa gabi (at night) and we had a Family Home Evening! It was so much fun, we taught an object lesson and the kids of the family really enjoyed it. It was spiritually uplifting to be with Sister Green, I learned a lot from her. She is just so kind and loving, I had such a good time working with her even though it was only for a couple lessons/hours. At night time we exchanged and I went back with Sister Fuentes to our area!

[While waiting for group pic]

Thursday/ Friday - 

These two days were pretty much the same. We didn't teach too much but we were able to "Open-Your-Mouth" a lot! It's so rewarding when I talk to someone and they actually think I'm from the Philippines, like I commonly hear "Taga Manila ka bala?" or "are you from Manila?". I'm full Filipino pero the first few months that I was here, people would assume I'm Polynesian or something because I don't have the "slang" or accent that an ordinary Filipino has. So I guess that means that I don't have an American accent as much as I used to!

[😊]

[Sister Bruno! 😄]

Saturday - 

This day there was a baptism! It wasn't our baptism but we went to support the Elders. Baptisms are always a spiritual experience. It's just unexplainable the feeling I get pero I know that I felt the Holy Ghost as a way of confirming to me that the work we're doing is true and real for the salvation of God's children. Just like it says sa 2 Ne. 31: 17-18, 21:

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. 

I know deep in my heart that this is the doctrine of Christ and He hasn't left us helpless in which we don't know what we should do. He has given us a clear example for us all and He's hoping that we choose to follow Him!

[Exchanges! 😄]

Sunday - 

I was a speaker for sacrament meeting! I talked about charity a.k.a. the pure love of Christ. If we think about it, how can our Heavenly Father give His only begotten Son just for us? and also how can Jesus Christ sacrifice Himself just so that we can repent from our past mistakes? IT IS BECAUSE THEIR LOVE IS PERFECT. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love is so perfect that we can't comprehend how much They love us! I'm so grateful for their everlasting love. Also for sacrament meeting we had a musical number and 6 of us (full-time missionaries) sang "Thy Will Be Done" by Nik Day. You guys should listen to it, it's an amazing song! (Video below)

[Some letters from members from my first area.]

That's it for my week, I hope all of you are doing maayo gid!

Halong kamo pirme, 

Sister Ventura

Philippines Iloilo Mission (Jan 2018 - July 2019)

--

Send an e-mail: 

elza.ventura@myldsmail.net 

Written letters and packages: 

Sister Elza Ventura 

Philippines Iloilo Mission 

Osmeña Street, 

Arevalo, Iloilo City, 

5000 Iloilo 

Philippines

*Some names have been changed or omitted to protect the privacy of individuals.

Week 31: Nakasakit, pero work gihapon! (I got sick but I'm still working!)

*URL Links to scriptures and related material are enabled.

Maayong aga po sa inyo liwat! (Yes it's morning here!)

[OOTD (Outfit of the day)😁]

Yes this week I was on the verge of getting really sick pero since I still had enough energy to walk and teach, I didn't let my sickness stop me from going out!

Highlights of this week once again:

Monday (after emailing) - 

We had dinner at a members house sa gabi (at night). They literally feed us so much here, it's awesome haha!

Tuesday - 

[One of our investigators😊]

I didn't think that I would be able to go out because as in I felt soooo sick. Pero the thing is, we had an appointment with an investigator and I really didn't want to miss it because she is expecting us and is really looking forward to it! So I gathered up enough energy and we went out in the afternoon. As we taught her, the Spirit was so strong and I knew at that moment that I had been blessed to go out and push myself so that we can teach her. And after the lesson I didn't feel so sick anymore so we continued to work until night time!

Wednesday - 

[When it rains, everyone hangs out at 7/11 😆]

Today was a bit of a struggle because everyone we scheduled to go to wasn't there! Even the people who are always there sa balay nila (at their home) weren't there. It's really hard when we don't have people to teach but we didn't give up and go home. What we did was that we OYM (Open Your Mouth) and we talked to as much people as we could. Like I've said previously, I used to be soooo scared but I've been doing better the more I've been speaking to people. I'm not as scared as I used to be.

Thursday - 

[Jeepneys are always full sa (during) rush hour!]

We have one recent convert sa area namon (at our area) that has been so sick that he wasn't able to go to school for like 3 days! I'm grateful that we were able to ask the Elders to give our member a blessing. I know that we have the true authority on the earth today where we can get a blessing to heal us when were sick, however it really depends on our faith if we believe that we can be healed 😊 (Fast forward to Sunday - He looked so much better and he got enough energy to go to church.)

Friday - 

[Shrimp Sinigang 🦐]

We had district lunch and we ate Sinigang nga Hipon (Shrimp Sinigang). Sister Fuentes cooked it and it was so good! At district meeting we talked about faith and I love thinking about what it means to be faithful, especially out here in the mission. As a missionary every little thing we do is an act of faith. When we wake up in the morning and pray to Heavenly Father, I am showing the faith that He can answer my prayers. As I go out and share the gospel, I have the faith that they will feel connected to what we are sharing through the Holy Ghost. Without faith I really can't imagine how missionary work would continue!

Saturday - 

Saturdays are supposed to be busy because everyone usually doesn't have work or school but we forgot to account for how people go out and aren't home! So it was another Wednesday type of day. We tried going to the homes of investigators and wala sila (they weren't there) again, so we just OYM'd liwat. I know that no effort is wasted!

Sunday - 

[Instead of flowers, she put gulay sa ear niya 

(vegetables at her ear) haha]

One of the speakers this Sunday service talked about something that really stuck out to me. She talked about how a lot of people go to church and are just on their phones and stuff. Sometimes we go to church because we have to and forget the real reason why we go. She said if we think about the time of our conversion and the real reason why is because of Jesus Christ. If we go to church and just focus on Jesus Christ we won't feel the need to be on our phones and steer our thoughts away from the real reason why we go. Kabalo ako nga kis-a (I know that) we get lost in the daily things we do but sometimes we need to take a step back and remind ourselves of what's important.

That's it for my week, tani maayo kamo tanan!

Halong kamo pirme, 

Sister Ventura

Philippines Iloilo Mission (Jan 2018 - July 2019)

--

Send me an e-mail: 

elza.ventura@myldsmail.net 

Written letters and packages: 

Sister Elza Ventura 

Philippines Iloilo Mission 

Osmeña Street, 

Arevalo, Iloilo City, 

5000 Iloilo 

Philippines

*Some names have been changed or omitted to protect the privacy of individuals.

Week 30: It's beginning to feel like Summer...

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Maayong hapon family and friends!!

[SOOOO CUTE]

This past week still rained alot but there were more sunny days than usual. It's starting to get so hot liwat (again) and yeah I don't understand the weather. It kind of reminds me of Hawaii because out of no where it can rain like so hard! 

Anyways, here are some highlights sang week ko! 

[IT'S FINALLY HERE HAHA]

Tuesday - 

We visited an older couple (they're both 70+ years old) who were recently baptized a couple months ago. We haven't been able to visit them since my first week [in this area] because it floods like crazy lapit sa balay nila (near their home). And also every time we go, they're not there! Pero this day was the perfect day to visit them because they were both there and it wasn't raining - blessing! So anyways because it has been raining sobrang kabaskog (so strong), they also haven't been able to go to church. 😟 However, this day we had such a spiritual lesson and found out all the trials they're going through right now. It's honestly so heart-breaking how strong their faith is and how they have these type of trials. Pero at the same time, I know that they have these heavy trials in their life BECAUSE of how strong their faith is. They never forget to pray and read and they are just so humble about all the blessings they have, although it isn't much. They are really an amazing example to me! 

[He's a little hipster and an artist!]

Wednesday - 

We went to a funeral viewing of one member who had recently passed away. It was the 2nd funeral I've ever attended and so I didn't really know what to expect but one thing I did notice is how none of his family members cried, not even his wife! I know that wa'ay sila naghibi (they didn't cry) because they have the knowledge that through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can be with our families together FOREVER. Tungod they know that they will see him again, I know that they were comforted through the Holy Ghost. And here's a video I'd like to share related sa sining nga topic:

Thursday - 

Had such an awesome district meeting today! The Zone Leaders came to our district and shared about how the Atonement applies to the challenges we have in the mission and not only the challenges of our investigators. The mission, like I say, isn't always easy, pero I know that we feel this way because this is the way Jesus Christ felt. As I wear Jesus Christ's name on my nametag and represent Him each day, I strive to become more like Him, and becoming like Him isn't easy, it honestly gets harder but it's so much more worth it because at the end of trials I really feel the happiest that I can be. It's sort of hard to describe, the feeling is unexplainable! Pero yeah, it was a spiritual experience 😊 

Friday - 

[THAT'S A LOT OF SPAGHETTI]

Just a highlight of today was that a member fed us for dinner and I was surprised at how much food there was, it was like a fiesta pero it was actually only dinner! Haha, I'm really starting to get addicted to Siomai! 

Saturday - 

[Before the Baptism!😊]

It was actually another day of non-stop eating, there is so much food here, I feel myself starting to gain a bit, haha! But anyways, today was a good day, we had a Baptism! She's 9 years old and is the niece of one of the members in our ward. Here at our ward we have one new missionary who barely entered the field so we had him baptize her as his first time. And since it was his first time, he performed the ordinance FOUR TIMES! It was crazy but that just shows how important it is nga we are baptized as Jesus Christ was - and that is that we are baptized by immersed completely into the water (not even a hair can come out of the water) by one who has Priesthood Authority. 

[Haha interesting part snack 😝]

Sunday - 

The Sabbath Day 😊 We went extra early to church so that we can shake the hands of all the members and investigators as they walked into the chapel. There are so many members here so it was a good opportunity to get to know people more! 

Monday (before e-mailing) - 

[Cook fest! Does something seem wrong in the 2nd picture?😝]

[The Zone Leaders called this American/Filipino fusion. 

A+ for presentation! haha]

We had Zone Activity today and we had a cook fest! After we played basketball (I lowkey suck now pero people are so kind enough to tell me I play well, haha)! After we went to the mission office because we had to get our flu shot. While I was there I got a small package from Sister Reyes filled with cookies! Haha, I miss you Sister Reyes, thanks for thinking of me! 

[I received only one cookie 😩 joke lang!

I just couldn't wait for a picture and ate it all]

[Thank you President kag (and) Sister Cruz for taking our District home!]

That's it for my week, until next week again!

Halong kamo pirme, 

Sister Ventura

Philippines Iloilo Mission (Jan 2018 - July 2019)

--

Send me an e-mail: 

elza.ventura@myldsmail.net 

Written letters and packages: 

Sister Elza Ventura 

Philippines Iloilo Mission 

Osmeña Street, 

Arevalo, Iloilo City, 

5000 Iloilo 

Philippines

*Some names have been changed or omitted to protect the privacy of individuals.

Week 28/29: Hoping to flood the area not only with water, but with the Book of Mormon!

*URL Links to scriptures and related material are enabled.

Maayong hapon everyone!

[The usual pic with Sister Cruz 😄]

Sorry gid wala e-mail ako last last week. Here's some updates from last last week: 

I feel like I'm getting to know the area more and more. Our are is still big pero siempre not as big as my first area. Being in the city is so different because there are so many people everywhere we go. There are so many opportunities to share with people that they are literally sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. That's one of the things that I struggled to do sa 1st area ko. Like going up to people and just starting a conversation with them without freaking them out is really something I'm starting to overcome. Like up until now, I'm scared that they see me, assume I'll sound like them, pero when I open my mouth it's definitely not what they expect! So here sa Philippines if you have an accent they call it "slang." So me, I have American slang! Pero little by little, I'm doing better. One verse that I feel like really testifies to what I feel is D&C 84:85 - 

85 Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. 

Honestly when I think too much about what to say, I overthink the conversation and it ends up being too late! This is just the beginning of street contacting para sa akin but I have built so much faith that the Holy Ghost will give me the words to say when I need it. 

Another highlight of last last week is that we had a Relief Society activity to get the members more involved with Ministering. It was cool because since I'm new to the ward, I feel like I was able to get to know the members more! Also last last Sunday. we had a baptism for a child whose parents grew up [in this area] pero he was born sa Northern California! His family including tita's, tito's, and cousins all came to the Philippines for vacation, his baptism, and his birthday! It really reminded me of my family because they all had American slang. I'm excited for the time when my family and I all come back to the Philippines too! At the service, Sister Fuentes and I sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" and "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus." 

Okay now updates for this past week: 

Tuesday - 

[Zone Conference met an old friend of my parents]

We had zone conference! I always love zone conference because it gives me the spiritual uplifting I need to motivate me even more in inviting others to come unto Christ. Two highlights I'd like to share are about "the worth of souls" and the power of the Book of Mormon. Sa conference, they discussed D&C 18:10- 

10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; 

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love every single soul that has, is, and will live. It's my duty as a representative of Jesus Christ to help people understand their worth in Their eyes. Tapos, about the Book of Mormon, let me just say nga I LOVE THIS BOOK. I finished the Book of Mormon for my first time ever here sa mission ko and I have never felt so close to my Savior. The promised blessing in the BoM intro is so true where it says -

Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” 

This book can really change lives if we read it and allow it to change us as we apply it in our lives! 

[My area is so city haha]

[But there are also some not so city parts!]

Wednesday - 

[On the way to our CSP]

We had a CSP (Christian Service Project) where we helped a member. 

Thursday - 

[I thought America loved fries, but Philippines loves fries even more. DO YOU SEE HOW BIG THIS IS?! haha]

Just a highlight of this day was district meeting. One of the other missionaries said something I'd like to share. Siempre (Of course) he said it in Ilonggo pero I'll translate it as accurately as I can. He said, "Everyday is like a lesson where we are the ones being taught and Heavenly Father is the teacher. We open our day with a prayer saying our hopes and desires for the day and at the end of the day we close with a prayer reviewing how the day went and what lessons we learned." 

[An old hymn book!]

Friday - 

[This sums up the rainy season]

Today was a funny day! So I was sitting on the back of the tricycle (behind the person driving the motor) and it was raining really hard. We drove through one part nga nabaha (that flooded) and the water rose up so high that I lifted my feet so that my feet wouldn't get wet. Galing, when I lifted my feet up, ONE OF MY SHOES FELL OFF! I screamed and the trike driver stopped while I jumped off into the water to find my shoe. I couldn't find my shoe at first pero I ended up seeing it sinking into the water and someone helped me get it. So yeah it was ironic, these type of stuff seem to always happen to me. #AccidentProne. Haha! 

Saturday - 

[He's showing me all his toys 😆]

[Play money]

[😊]

Today was a crazy day. I walked on water! Joke lang pero we did walk through a lot of floods where the water reached halfway up my knee! It was really hard to work because the rain was so strong and we were soaking wet. Pero we didn't let that stop us 😊 Anyways, one of our investigators got interviewed for baptism and she's all set to be baptized this Saturday, yay! I'm excited for her to receive all the blessing from following and ehemplo ni Jesucristo (example of Jesus Christ). 

Sunday - 

[The cables have branches growing on them - grabe!]

A highlight of yesterday was Fast and Testimony meeting. We've been trying to reactivate a less-active family and these past few Sundays, the tatay (father) of the family has steadily came to church. And yesterday was awesome because he gave the opening prayer and also bore his testimony in front of the congregation! His testimony was short, simple, yet powerful and it hit me right at my heart. He expressed his desire to go to the temple and it made me realized how blessed I am back home to have a temple that's only a short drive away. The closest temple for members here sa Panay is Cebu so they have to take a boat and they usually only go once a year. 

[They're still playing volleyball in the rain!]

I forgot to mention that on July 24, I hit my 6 month mark here on the mission. Only one year left?! I can't believe it. One of the most important things I've learned these past 6 months is the power of the Book of Mormon. In Jacob 2:8 it says 

8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul. 

Here sa mission, and life in general, it's not always easy. There are a lot of things that don't go they way we expect pero the Book of Mormon literally heals! Any questions we have about anything can be answered by reading.. nagapati gid ako (I really do believe). 

I hope all of you are doing maayo gid!

Halong kamo pirme, 

Sister Ventura

Philippines Iloilo Mission (Jan 2018 - July 2019)

--

Send me an e-mail: 

elza.ventura@myldsmail.net 

Written letters and packages: 

Sister Elza Ventura 

Philippines Iloilo Mission 

Osmeña Street, 

Arevalo, Iloilo City, 

5000 Iloilo 

Philippines

*Some names have been changed or omitted to protect the privacy of individuals.