Week 36: TODAY IS MY 8 MONTH MARK ON MY MISSION.

*URL Links to scriptures and related material are enabled.

Maayong aga everyone!

[Look, I'm walking on water]

[Video of the rain!]

Can you guys believe it? Today I have only 10 months left of my my 18-month mission where I've wholeheartedly been serving Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father!

So weekly update once again:

Monday - 

I forgot to mention last week that last Monday morning before it was time to wake up, Sister Quinton slept talked in Ilonggo. It was so funny and they say that when you dream in a foreign language, that means you're fluent, haha. 

[So cute!]

So after emailing we went to buy some school supplies. Funny story, so I bought a stapler and what I thought were staples, but when I got home, I opened both the boxes and it turns out I bought a stapler and a MINI STAPLER 😑 Noted: always check what you buy, haha!

Sa gabi (at night), we taught our new investigator that we had just met last week. She's been reading ang Aklat ni Mormon (The Book of Mormon, Tagalog version) and she seems to enjoy it a lot! She told us she repeats a sentence a couple of times just so she can fully understand what she's reading because it's in Tagalog. I love her diligence to try to understand! Sis. Quinton and I decided that next time we would give her ang Libro ni Mormon (Hiligaynon version) so hopefully she understands it more. 😊

[They wanted to take a picture! So cute]

Tuesday - 

A member fed us for lunch and we were able to teach her other family members as well (her daughter who hasn't been going to church and her daughter in law who isn't a member). It was a good opportunity and they had really cool insights sa verse we shared sa ila (to them) which was Mosiah 3:19.

[I LOVE RAMBUTAN. Luckily I'm not allergic haha!]

[I love these kids!]

Sa hapon (In the afternoon), a member met us up and worked with us. I love when members work with us, especially when we teach investigators because it adds one more witness to the truthfulness of the message we share as missionaries. So we have one investigator that we've been teaching for a while and she's really sweet- pirme willing siya nga magpamati sa amon (she's always willing to listen to us), but she hasn't been keeping commitments of reading the Book of Mormon. So I was thinking of what we can do differently to really help her see the importance of our message. And I remembered in my Personal Study earlier that day I read Alma 4:19, which basically discusses about how we can really change people if we bear PURE TESTIMONY. So that lesson, Sister Quinton, the member and I truly testified from the bottom of our hearts. Us three felt the Spirit so much but she still didn't seem to feel what we were feeling. It was tough at first because I felt so warm inside when I was bearing my testimony, pero still nothing. But now I realize that it's okay. She felt the Holy Ghost, and I know she did because of this section that I read in the Ricciardi letter:

"In D&C 50 verses 13-14, 17-22 it says:

13 Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained? 

14 To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth. 

17 Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? 

18 And if it be by some other way it is not of God. 

19 And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? 

20 If it be some other way it is not of God. 

21 Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? 

22 Wherefore, he that preacheth (Missionary) and he that receiveth (investigator or companion), understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.  

When you are teaching by the spirit of truth, and you feel the spirit, know this…that the hearer of the message is feeling it too. Whether it is to the same magnitude as you or the same emotions is not relevant. Whatever “extra” good feeling they have, no matter how subtle, is the Lord’s promised mechanism from the above referenced verses that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together. 

Now that experience seems like we certainly did not “rejoice” together, but that was the investigators choice, his freedom, if you will. Is this so? How are we to know? The truth is, the spirit was there, he felt it, we felt it, we identified it, and he chose to assign those feelings to something else. That is ok. He has that agency."

I love this because it's so true.. we all have agency to choose for ourselves and what we want to believe. And that's okay! Looking forward to the next lessons with her.

Wednesday- 

Visited the stake Patriarch again and Sister Quinton and I love visiting him because having served the church for so many years, we learned so much from him!

[Jeepney pics!]

Thursday - 

Learned a couple cool things sa district meeting. Out district leader showed us a video about agency (now that I think about it, I see a recurring theme in my week because on Wednesday talked about how my investigator has that agency). Anyways sometimes we think about why bad things happen especially when we're trying and are good people. The video talks about how God has given us agency or the power to choose purely for ourselves. In order for us to be able to do that we need 4 things: opposition, law, knowledge of good/evil, and the power to choose. One of my favorite quotes actually is "Everyone wants happiness. No one wants pain. But you can't have a rainbow without a little rain." If there weren't the bad parts of life, we wouldn't enjoy or know the good things in life. 

[Our district at Zone Conference!]

Friday- 

Zone conference, YAY! Some highlights I'd like to share is that President Cruz said "Pleasing everyone is the formula for unsuccess." That's so true, we can't please everyone, but we can try our best to please the Lord. Then Sister Cruz also shared "Whatever thou art, act WELL thy part." So as a missionary, I am a representative of our Savior. I know that we need to do our best in our day to day to fulfill our "parts" in life.

[All Christmas-y in September! 

Is it too early for a Christmas Card? 😆]

Saturday- 

Today was that day that I haven't been looking forward to. It was a really tough day, everything bad was just piling up. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I was thinking, "why is it like this? Sister Quinton and I have been as obedient and as diligent as we can be." We literally come home tired every night because of how hard we work everyday and I was really thinking, "why us?" Pero I remembered what my dad told me just before I went on my mission. He told me that whenever it gets hard (because it will) to read Doctrine and Covenants 121 & 122. I cried so hard when I read D&C 122:7 and just one part I'd like to share is "know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." It was so applicable that ultimately all that we experience is for our good, whether we know it or not.

[The wind was not in my favor haha]

Sunday- 

Stake conference! It was a good Sunday, 2 of our new investigators that we met last week came to church for conference! It was good day, I just love Sunday!

[Saw them once again! Yay!]

[No one was looking at the camera (first pic) haha]

That's it for my week! Tani maayo gid kamo tanan!

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 35: SUPER typhoon here sa Pilipinas, DON'T WORRY MAAYO AKO (I'm okay)

*URL Links to scriptures and related material are enabled.

Maayong aga everyone!

[Welcome to an alley I walk down pretty much everyday]

So yeah this past weekend there was a typhoon, not any normal typhoon but a SUPER TYPHOON. We took a lot of safety precautions and I'm so grateful for the mission leaders and for the church in general for making us as missionaries feel safe! We weren't affected too bad pero we experienced yung aftermath of the typhoon a.k.a really strong wind and rain, pero not just normal wind and rain it was a bit crazy. Pero amo 'na we're all safe! I hope the people in the northern part of Philippines sa Luzon are okay and also those in Hong Kong!

Pero here is a weekly update as usual, I don't have too long pero just a quick update 😊

[Just saw some cute flowers and decided to take a pic 😊]

Monday (after emailing) -

Sister Quinton and I visited our investigator (whose baptismal date is coming soon) and her family that we wanted to start teaching. Pero to make it short, when we got there, they were busy and stuff and so we went to one of their neighbors who we started teaching. When we got there the brother that we teach wasn't there but his family was, so it was a good opportunity to meet them and get to know them. After a little while, the brother arrived and he was so tired from work but he was still so willing to listen as we shared a message about Jesus Christ. Kanami kay (It's cool because) the Lord always provides a way for us as missionaries to fulfill His work because Sister Quinton and I were SO SET on teaching our investigator's family, pero since that didn't work out, He still provided a way! I know that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ always provide a way for us even if it's not the way we necessarily expected, pero Their way is a better way!

[Haha this random little girl wanted to take a pic]

[Left hand and right hand 😄]

Tuesday - 

Today was tiring (well actually this week was tiring! haha). We went to like 5 different people and they were all napping! I'm convinced everyone takes a nap after lunch, it's crazy. This was actually a blessing in disguise because we went to one subdivision to try to look for a former investigator but we couldn't find her. We asked around at the tsanggie's (mini stores) and instead we met one sister who is so nice that she automatically told us to come into her home right away. It was so cool kay we had just met but she quickly opened up to us about her life and about her faith. Her boyfriend is apparently not religious - that was my first time actually meeting someone diri sa Pilipinas (here in the Philippines) that's not religious and doesn't go to any church. Pero overall they're awesome kag excited gid ako to get to know them more! Later in the day we visited a less active Nanay (elderly lady) who hasn't gone to church this year. So we shared her Mosiah 13:16-19 in the Book of Mormon. I'll just share one of the verses-

19 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

So yeah our lesson was awesome kag spoiler alert, she went to church on Sunday!

[One of the families in our ward! They're so sweet!]

[Christmas already!]

Wednesday - 

We had zone interviews. It was nice to talk to President Cruz and I was also able to see Sister Cruz too! They decorated their house all Christmas-y like already because here in the Philippines when the "-ber" months start, it's the countdown to Christmas. I love Christmas and I'm excited to spend it here in the Philippines.

[Sister Cruz 💖]

[Cute babies eating mango and rice]

Thursday - 

We woke up with a bunch of warnings for the Super Typhoon so President Cruz told us to buy food and supplies that could last for a while just in case the typhoon hits us. So we bought rice (alot of rice!), water, etc. This day we also visited the former Patriarch of Iloilo. We visited him because we found out from members in our area that he lives in our area and that he was hospitalized this past week and hasn't been able to go to church. When we went to visit him, Sister Quinton and I expected to like share and to spiritually uplift him through his medical problems pero instead it ended up being the other way around! He and his wife have such strong faith and they have had a lifetime of being faithful members of the church! They were converted many years ago and Patriarch was actually the first and last Branch President of my area and then he became the Patriarch and with his many years of serving that calling, he's given over 2,000+ Patriarchal Blessings! It was just so cool to get to know them and that's what I hope for all those that I am able to convert, that they remain faithful all their lives and become leaders in the church. I'm excited to get to know them more 😊

[Saw this cute picture in a jeepney! haha 😅]

[Wooo six months sa Pilipinas!]

Friday - 

TODAY I HIT MY 6 MONTHS HERE IN THE FIELD. 6 months already in the Philippines? yeah I always say that but it's crazy how fast times goes! We had district meeting today and it made me think of a goal that I want to achieve at the end of my mission; I want to be able to look at everyone (everyone I walk by and stuff and those I teach) the way that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ look at them - as children of God.

[Zone Leaders came for District meeting 😊]

[Our Zone Leader looks like Ferb from Phineas and Ferb 😆]

Saturday - 

Today was a crazy day, we experienced the aftermath of the typhoon and the wind and rain were so strong. I'll show a video (below) but you probably won't be able to tell through the camera!

Sunday -

Sundays are very long pero it's definitely the best day of the week because we're able to go to church and see all the members and it's nice to be spiritually uplifted. So what actually happened was sa aga (in the morning), we went to pick up our investigator at her home and when we got there, she said she wasn't going to go to church with us. Sister Quinton and I got so sad and we didn't know what to do because we didn't want to force her because she said she's busy. So what Sister Quinton did was that she went back to talk to her while I waited off to the side and after a while she started showering and we made our way to church! She said that she's really busy and would only come for the first hour but she ended up staying all the way through.
The adversary is so real, especially when those who are close to changing and becoming like Jesus Christ are progressing, but I know that we are stronger than the opposing forces!

[We played a game where the consequence 

means you get powder on your face! haha]

That's it for my week, I hope you're all doing well 😊

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 34: Learning to manage time!

*URL Links to scriptures and related material are enabled.

Maayong ago everyone, friends, kag fam. 

[😁]

[Me telling her that I'm the view! Haha]

This past week was pretty good kag pretty busy. Damo guid nga mga tawo kinhanglan namon kadtohan (There are alot of people we need to go to) but it always feels like we don't have enough time in the day! Honestly if we could spend the entire day and night out finding people who need the Gospel in their lives, we totally would, galing kinhanglan namon magtulog (the thing is, we need to sleep)!

So amo 'na, just some highlights of this past week:

[Her first Siomai!]

[Cuties]

[Random trike pic]

We have one teenage girl who's on date to be baptized on September 29 and this past week we started teaching her entire family! So actually we're not the first set of missionaries to teach them, they actually started listening to missionaries THREE YEARS AGO! It was just so cool kay the father of the family asked "Why are there so many churches on the earth today?" I know that there are a lot of people who have those type of soul-searching questions kag it's my job as a missionary to let them know the truth! But so yeah her family is awesome kag kabuot sa ila (they're so sweet)! I know that it will be easier for our investigator that's scheduled to be baptized if her whole family supports her by actually joining her when listening to missionaries. So just grateful gid ako that we have the opportunity to teach them bilang isang family (as one fam). Maybe there's a reason why 3 years ago it just didn't progress for them as a family, pero I'm praying that this is the Lord's time on His time table for them all to know the truth about Jesus Christ!

[She misses the aircon]

[District lunch!]

[Elders in our Ward]

We have a lot of new investigators that we've been teaching, which is great because that's sometimes one of the hardest parts of missionary work. Now the only problem is finding their availability. That's one of the main struggles we've had this past week because we have met so many people who are willing to listen and are really wanting answers to questions pero it's been difficult having a set time for us to visit them. A lot of them are on-call to work and so when we ask them when we can come over to share they don't want to say a specific time and then it ends up being that they're not there. So yeah busy gid and mga tawo diri (The people here are really busy!) It's like this is the Los Angeles of the island, haha!

[Just casually taking flood pictures. Haha!]

[Sunset! and another new fruit I tried]

[👍]

Another highlight of this past week are the members of the ward! The members here are so sweet and are so supportive of us as missionaries. We have a lot of members here who are RM's (return missionaries) so we have been able to talk to them about their past experiences with sharing the gospel while they were out on their missions. And doing that kind of helps them get excited of how they can help us as missionaries and also how they can participate in Ministering. Because honestly, this work is impossible to do when it's just us, the full-time missionaries, we need the members and everyone to help out in this work! As President Thomas S. Monson said,

"Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work."

Full-time missionaries are temporary in an area, so it's so important that the members of the church really help out! I truly believe that it is faith that will help us to accomplish missionary work and spread the gospel to all the world.

[😁]

[A friend of my brother and Sister Apao
(serving in Hong Kong Mission!)]

[Sunday!😊]

Pero yeah this past week has just been really busy and there's so much work to do but not enough time! Here on the mission I knew that I would learn alot about the Savior and the Gospel but it's crazy how much I've learned about other things like budgeting, cleaning, cooking, and especially TIME MANAGEMENT. The mission is truly a blessing on so many aspects and not just inviting others to come unto Christ. Being out here and serving I've grown so much and just reflecting on these past few months being out here sa Philippines I've changed so much. I really feel that everyday I'm becoming more and more of the person that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want me to become! And I hope as all of you are living your lives and all, I hope that you guys also reflect on your growth and think about who They want you to become! God and Jesus Christ can definitely make more of ourselves that we can ever make of ourselves, if we give everything to them and trust them!

Sorry email is so short once again, I have a lot of emails to reply to! I'll try to do better next time 😆

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 33: Nanay na ako! (I'm a mom!)

*URL Links to scriptures and related material are enabled.

Maayong aga!

Yes I'm a mission mom a.k.a. nagbata ako (I gave birth), haha pero I'll get to that later. 

[Just passed by this cool sign!]

[Sister Quinton, my mission daughter! 💗]

Just some updates of this past week:

Monday (after e-mailing): 

Zone Leaders called me and told me I would be training! I got so excited and I was almost shocked that I am training already. Pero I know there's a reason why and I know it will be an amazing experience. Sa gab-i (At night) we stayed up late because my companion had so much stuff to pack for her transfer the next day.

[Funny trashcan sign]

[Tuesday - Transfer meetup point!]

Tuesday: 

Transfer day! I took my companion to the terminal and I met up with my temporary companion, Sister Rogers! I also found out that they would add another companionship of Elders to the Ward I'm serving in and they would take part of my area. The area that's progressing the most! I was kind of surprised and didn't know what to do, pero I'm so lucky one of my STL's used to have my area, so we had exchanges and she basically toured me around my area. It was honestly such a tiring day but it was really rewarding and it makes me excited to meet so many more people in my area that are ready to hear the Gospel.

[At the STL's apartment!]

[My temporary companion, Sister Rogers!]

Wednesday:

Let me just say that I love Sister Rogers! This day we deep cleaned and rearranged everything in my apartment to prepare for my mission daughter. 😊 It was honestly so tiring but I love the new arrangement and I couldn't have done it without Sister Rogers. 

[So cute!]

Thursday: 

Trainers and Trainees meeting. This was one of the biggest batches ever! They were 33 total new missionaries. The meeting was like a combined zone conference kay I saw like missionaries I haven't seen in like so long! And since they hadn't seen me in so long they were surprised that my American accent is going away. They were saying stuff like |wow you're really Filipina now!| Haha, these past few months I've really struggled with the language but it makes me really happy that my hard work is paying off and that people can hear the results. 😁 Around after lunch time they revealed who we're training! I was the last to be announced of the sisters so it was nerve-wrecking. Pero amo 'na my trainee is Sister Quinton! She's so sweet and I'm excited to help her out with anything that she needs.

[First P-day together with Sister Quinton!]

Friday: 

Not much happened this day but it's just so crazy like speaking English most of the time, like I'm honestly struggling and my word placements are so weird haha!

[Video: Ulan]

[A cute package from my companion's parents!]

[What's in the package 😁 American products haha]

Saturday: 

We had weekly planning and it took quite a while because we aren't really sure where to go but I'm glad nga subong we at least have an idea of how to figure out the area! 

[Sister Quinton's first district meeting!]

Sunday: 

It was a great Sunday! It was also Fast and Testimony meeting so one of my favorite Sundays. Most of the members who bore their testimony were youth because the past week they went to a temple trip to Cebu. I love hearing their experiences and seeing how they truly believe our church is true at such a young age. 

Sorry my email is kind of short today pero not too much happened this week because there's a lot of adjusting going on! Pero I'm just so excited to be companions with Sister Quinton, she is so sweet and I love her already!

Tani maayo gid kamo tanan!

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.