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Maayong aga friends and family!
[I love this family 😊]
I had a pretty crazy/eventful week! I guess I can say this'll be unforgettable for me.
Just some of the stuff that happened:
MISSION TOUR -
AKA best day of my mission life ever. Elder Teh came and I had such an inspirational and spiritual experience. Just some things I'd like to share that he said were that "faith means learning to take a few steps in the dark, not entirely walking in the light right away." Also Sister Teh shared "Heavenly Father is so patient in teaching us lessons that He wants us to figure out." I feel like this is exactly what I needed for my halfway point in my mission to help me continue to be an effective representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[After mission tour 😊]
[This is a really creepy picture,
S. Quinton's halloween costume.. joke lang!]
PWD (Person with disability) -
Joke lang not really. SO what had happened was that on Friday we had just finished teaching a new investigator and the lesson was really good and all and all of a sudden on the way out to the main road, there was a sharp piece of wood that I didn't see and I just felt something on my foot and when I looked down, the piece of wood was in my foot! It went in diagonally and not straight down to the bottom. I was so freaked out that I immediately took the piece of wood out and I threw it to the side and sat on the floor. And then I felt like I was about to faint (not because it hurt but because I really don't like blood). So while I was sitting on the ground I felt so light-headed and I couldn't carry myself so I laid on the ground. The investigator who we had just taught came out and kept apologizing. But after a few minutes I calmed a bit and was okay, but my foot hurt really bad. So later that night we went to the ER and they had my foot checked out right away and they x-rayed my foot to make sure there aren't anymore pieces of wood left in there. It's a pretty deep wound but I'm glad they gave me antibiotics. They told me to come back if anything happens but my foot seems to be healing just fine 😖
[My area is only missing a beach!]
Overall I didn't get to work this much this week because I've just been staying home healing my foot. But I know that the Lord knows this was going to happen, so that's why He put us in a trio! So that my other 2 companions can continue to work and continue following up with our investigators while I stay home and rest. Perks of the trio life 😁
[NBA 😁]
But honestly it has been a rough week but I know this is only a small dot of what the Savior has felt. He not only felt emotional and spiritual pain, but He also felt physical pain. It's kind of sad because if you all remember a couple weeks ago, I was talking about one investigator who hasn't drank in a while and was doing really well and on track to be baptized this Saturday. However yesterday while I stayed home with one of the Sister Training Leader's, S. Quinton and S. Salan went out to visit him and they saw that he was drunk. Like so drunk that he couldn't think straight and it was sad because I didn't find out until S. Salan and S. Quinton came home. It was totally unexpected because he said he was doing fine, but apparently there were a lot of stuff he was stressed about that he didn't tell us about... But in the end I know this happened for a reason, probably he wasn't ready to be baptized this Saturday and so this happened so that he can better prepare himself. It just makes me think about how Jesus Christ feels every time we sin or every time we make a mistake. I'm grateful for the opportunity to understand a small piece of how much the Savior loves us and wants the best for us. Because honestly I love this investigator so much and I've learned so much from him, and because of that, I want the best for him. And I know that means helping him through this relapse.
But yeah sorry for the short email once again, it's kind of stressful to email! Haha but thanks for all your support as always!
Hope you're all doing well 😊!
Halong kamo pirme,
Sister Ventura
Philippines Iloilo Mission (Jan 2018 - July 2019)
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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.