Mayong udto po sa inyo tanan!
This week was pretty awesome and now I'm going to make sure that my e-mail is frequently drafted so a repeat of last week won't happen! There's been a lot going on as usual and it's hard to keep track of everything but I'll try my best to update you all!
This past weeks highlights -
Last Monday:
We didn't really have a full P-day because we had to travel to [the city] for MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) and since our area is far, we had to leave at like 2pm because it always gets dark here in the Philippines early, like mga 6pm. Random funny thought (I think it's because I'm no longer assigned in the city and I'm more in the province) - here at [my area,] people get up really early and go to bed really early like 7pm/8pm and when we proselyte when it's already dark people are always like "You sisters are out so late!" When in reality it's only like 6pm/7pm. But so yeah we got to [the city] after a pretty quick 3ish hour trip and slept over at the other STL's apartment.
Tuesday:
YAY MLC! It was my 2nd one ever and it's so cool because it's
daw another zone conference that is just really motivating and enlightening. Just one highlight of the entire council that was like a recurring theme was
obedience. Just some stuff they shared about obedience:
- Jesus Christ was obedient in His pre-mortal life
- Obedience brings blessings, but EXACT obedience brings miracles
- Obedience is the first law of everything
- Everything that we know that matters starts with OBEYING God's will, and then actually doing it!
Kag thank you po Sister Cruz for always making us brownies! You're the best!
[My desk 😊]
Wednesday:
A highlight of today was when we visited our friends that I wrote about last week. We have been plotting the perfect time to teach
Tithing especially to the father of the family because he always says that "one of the differences I've seen that I really like in your church is that you don't ask for money because in [another] church I feel bad when they pass the basket around and I can't give money." So
siempre Tithing requires we give 10% of our income to the church to contribute to building the kingdom of
God here on earth. So before the lesson we had a game plan and had a member come and everything because we wanted to be prepared and give them a spiritual experience. I'm glad be prepared so well because the lesson was SO GOOD. They didn't even question why we need to give money and they just totally agreed. It was truly such a spiritual experience and it was the cutest thing ever because
Tatay said "I don't regularly make money because I don't have a job, but every once in a while when coconuts fall off the tree I sell them. Is it okay if I only pay when I make money like that?" I love his honesty and I know that they as a family have truly been prepared by the
Heavenly Father to receive the entirety of the blessings He wants them to receive.
[Just chillin' on the back of a trike!]
Thursday:
I woke up with a sore throat 😟 So we didn't do too much today, we just went to district meeting and helped the other sisters in my zone be the best missionaries they can possibly be. I was so drowsy during the meeting but I am just happy we went to district meeting because we were able to share with the district what we learned from MLC! After we headed home and I slept for the rest of the day.
Friday:
I healed so quick. Thank you Heavenly Father! I honestly thought I would be out of it for a while but we were actually able to work and I'm grateful I was able to get the strength and energy to proselyte. But so yeah shout out to Sister Coronel and Sister Gonzales for taking care of me and bringing me up water every time my water bottle was empty!
Saturday:
YAY it was a pretty full day of work! One we haven't been able to have in a while. We had 2 members who are preparing to go on a
mission come work with us so it was 5 of us total just all over [the area]. We have [a friend] that's an older
Nanay and isn't a member yet but her husband is a member. It's really a challenge to teach her because she can't read and also it's really hard for her to remember what we teach her. But it was such a blessing that even though we hadn't planned that the 2 member Sisters would come work with us, they had an amazing contribution to the lesson and
Nanay finally remembered a principle that we've spent weeks trying to help her understand! Work is just so different when there are members that join with us missionaries. I invite you members all over who are reading this to take the time to work with the missionaries in your ward! You are an instrument and a key role in the lessons to help others come unto
Christ!
[This little boy follows us around when we go to our furthest area - he's so cute!]
Sunday:
The Sabbath Day is always the best but busiest day of the week! I really enjoyed
Sacrament meeting because one of the speakers talked about
temples and
eternal families - one of the basic truths we share frequently
bilang missionaries. She shared how this past week she watched a devotional that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave. Elder Holland spoke about how he broke ground for the future
Urdaneta Philippines Temple and how important temples are. He shared an experience about how as a young parent with 3 small kids and still going to school, he and his wife were challenged by their Bishop to go to the temple weekly. It was a challenge but Elder Holland and his wife talked about what
sacrifices they could make so that they can go weekly to the temple. And because of the sacrifices they made they were able to go 52 weeks in a row! How amazing is that, especially since they had 3 small kids at the time and were still going to school. And I love this experience that Elder Holland shared because it goes back to what I learned at MLC about obedience. Are we making sacrifices to show to
the Savior that we're willing to continue being obedient to His commandments? I know that even though there isn't a temple here in [my mission] (
tani there's one soon) that there are ways we can constantly remember the
promises we made and are still making to
the Lord. The people here in the
Philippines are so faithful and make the time to go to the temple yearly and they are such an example to me! Let's make sacrifices to show our Savior we love Him!
[Sunday 😊]
Kabalo ako nga matuod gid ang missionary work. Paagi sa missionary work, di-lang 'ta mabatyagan ang pagpalangga sang Diyos para s'aton pero mabatyagan man naton ang pagpalangga sang Diyos para sa iban nga mga tawo. Kabalo ako nga kita tanan amo ang mga anak sang Diyos kag nahidlaw Niya gid kita, kag gusto Niya gid nga magbalik sa Iyang presensya. Ginhatag Niya gid ang paagi para sa aton nga magbalik sa Iya. Makabalik kita sa aton Amay sa Langit paagi sa aton Manluluwas, si Jesucristo. Kabalo ko matuod po ini tanan kag ginabilin ko 'ni sa pangalan ni Jesucristo, Amen.
