Sept 30th Every child, every person is great in the site of God, and I know He loves each of us more than we can ever imagine.

Where has the time gone? This is the 6th week of me being here in Lagonoy, meaning that we find our transfer announcements on Saturday! I feel like I just got here and it has just flown by! 

This has been one interesting week and one with many interesting/amazing experiences. 

To start out, last Monday we had an FHE at the Less Active family's house, which we had planned 2 weeks earlier, but when we got there, the son was gone, and we did not see the father anywhere. They were watching their favorite TV show, so medio (a little) distracted, and I was avoiding looking at the screen, so I was looking around the house, and something caught my attention in the window sill.... I though whoa... that looks like a real... SNAKE. But I said it in a calm manner to my companion "Whoa look at that.. (Pause) uh snake". She looked over and screamed "AHAS" (snake in Tagalog) and she ran to the kitchen. It was about 3 feet long, and ahhh creepy! The Sister, looked over too, and we all ended up screaming following Sister Baluyot. The Tatay (father) came running in ready to kill it but it had left so fast when we all screamed it was no where to be found. After this Tatay, who is normally a little quieter, was so talkative and then in the time this all had happened the son came home with his girlfriend and we were able to have the whole family together for FHE, we watched the Restoration video, and the son’s girlfriend said she would be okay with us teaching her! Who knew seeing a snake could be a blessing! (Just for reference I am pretty sure all snakes here are poisonous so people are very afraid of them, because if you are bit, you most likely die). So this caused the father to really reflect and he said he and his family need to refocus their priorities and come to church. Pretty crazy experience I'd say.

This week we had another neat experience looking for less actives, and we ended up teaching a woman that only speaks in Bicol, and a little bit of Tagalog. My companion knows just as much Bicol as I do, so there was a lot of head nodding and trying to understand her, but I felt the Spirit, and we were able to testify to her, even though there was a slight language barrier. This really is the Lords work and He uses us, even when we are far from perfect or far from capable to do the tasks in front of us at times. He makes up for it (:

On Wednesday we (my district) built a house made out of bamboo all day as a service project for this less active member that lives in our neighborhood. I learned how to tie the bamboo sheets together for the roof! It was a really hot day, and we were a little tried from it, but it was just what this member needed and we were happy to help her. 

This weekend the Sisters in Lagonoy 1st Ward (Sister Morales and Sister Richins) had a baptism and we invited an investigator but they ended up not coming at the last minute, but we stayed to help out and support them. There were so many people there, so we tried quietly bringing in more chairs, and I may have forgot about the spinning fan above my head and it clipped part of the chair and pieces went onto one of the Elders head. I felt SO bad, but it was okay and it all worked out. I feel like there are always little things that go wrong at baptisms, or something happens, but it was a beautiful service nonetheless and I was really excited for the 4 girls who were baptized. 

This Sunday we had Ward Conference, and we have been preparing for this ever since I first came to Lagonoy. Our Bishop wanted to make sure everything was perfect for the Stake President, and things went smoothly. We had one of our investigators come to church,Tecele, and her baby Marla, who is about 8 months and has the curliest hair I have ever seen on a baby! So CUTE! ahh I love her, and she is always so giggly. We also had the highest NRM/ASM (New/Returning Members Attend Sacrament Meeting), so we were really excited about that. One Nanay we have been trying to help get to church and she has not been since Sister Baluyot has been here, came to to church (: We jumped and squealed when we saw here ride up in a padjack.

I am being serious, I LOVE being a missionary, and they are so right about feeling a happiness that I have never experienced before. I have experienced a very deep happiness that nothing can compete with. I have felt the love of God for His children here in the Philippines and I feel so blessed to be here. Every child, every person is great in the site of God, and I know He loves each of us more than we can ever imagine. I hope that we can all recognize the blessings from the Lord in our lives, they are everywhere and in everything we do (: 

Mahal Kita at maraming salamat po para sa inyong supporta. xoxoxx

Adorable Neighbors

Sis. Richins and Sis. Webster

September 22nd Know the Lord is mindful of us, and we must do our part to feel His presence in our life.

Hello family and Friends;

This week has flown by so fast it is insane. My time as a missionary is so short.. I am still not fluent, but it is getting there. I have learned to take it step by step, word by word, and try to just do my best, and it doesn't hurt to just try.. if I say it wrong people usually help me anyways and they don't mind.

This week we had  very fun FHE (Family Home Evening) with this family that lives rally close to the church. The father is less active, and the teenage children, but the mother very active in the church. We had the WHOLE family there, 7 kids total, and it was so fun. We played games and made a"title of liberty" banner like in Alma 46:12 for their family. And I may or may not have made no-bake cookies to share (: aka my favorite, and the one cookie I know how to make with ingredients here and no oven. I must say they were delicious! But it was such a night, and it was good for them to all be together, and focus on their families spiritual needs. 

We went less active searching his week... I call it scavenger hunting, because it can literally be so hard sometimes, and we just ask around if people know them, then they say oh down there.. then we ask people down there and they say back there. Joke lang, but really it can be quite challenging at times, but awesome when you are able to find people. One quite funny, really cool experience this week from looking for less actives was we were told, oh she lives right there, so went there asked the daughter for her mother, went in, sat down, and then realized the woman we are talking to is not a member of the church. She was so nice, but spoke Bicol mainly, but luckily we had a member with us who spoke Bicol. We taught her a little lesson and she said we could come back and share to her family again. Kind of funny how you look for someone, and are led to someone else. Totally the Lords hand in His work.

So this week we had interviews with our Mission President, President Reeder, which were in Goa, so I got to go back to my birthplace (aka training ground). When there, Diane, the investigator I was so close with in Goa, had her baptismal interview... she passed, and I got to see her come out of the room after May have started crying so much.... tears of joy (which believe it or not i really don't cry here very much- I am more tough skinned). But ahh we hugged, and she freaked out that she got to see me. It was the best moment. Her baptism is this Saturday, and I got permission to go to it since it is a 15 minute bus ride away. I didn't tell her though, so it will be a surprise (: ahhhh I am so happy for her. Her life has changed so much, and it has been the best experience to have been able to witness the change in her and see the glow she has from it. 

I may have had a very very bad cough at the interviews, so Sister Reeder told me to go to the doctor. I got my blood drawn in the hospital.. what an experience haha. They doctors’ offices and hospitals are a little different here than back home, but I felt safe and it was sterile. It is just a virus though, no worries... I am getting better. 

Another amazing experience this week was we were punter like no other and it was only 6:45pm, so I said okay... let’s go tracting. I felt we should go down this back path that I had been wanting to go down, and we went all the way to the end of it... got barked at my this huge dog, and this baby started crying so we turned back around. I was praying so much in my heart to help us know where to go, and we passed this one house, and I prayed to know if we should go back, I felt a little prompting... go back to them, so we did. And we met this family who was having their weekly Bible study with a young adult from their church. They welcomed us in, and we all talked about Matthew 6, and then they asked us to share our message. It was such a quiet evening, which is so rare here sometimes, it was the perfect environment to teach and share our testimonies. We felt we should share how the Book of Mormon and the Bible go together so perfectly and that Christ shared many of the same sermons in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon also. It was an amazing experience and we are excited to go back there this week. 

So last week I mentioned the referral from a member we taught about missionary work, and we were supposed to meet with them on Monday, well they may have canceled due to rain, but we met with them last night.... BEST LESSON! They are seriously so awesome! I love teaching them! The girl, is 22 and her boyfriend a little bit older than her, but they are both so awesome! They ask so many questions, but they are perfect questions, and all literally can be answered through the Book of Mormon or the knowledge we have as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have really come to realize that the biggest questions of this life, or little things that people wonder about can be answered through the knowledge we have as members. We know the answers to questions of the soul, we know our purpose in this life, where we came from,  what we need to do to return to our Heavenly Father, and where we go after this life. Ahhh I am so happy to know the truth, and so happy to share it with people. I think I was probably non-stop smiling in the lesson we taught them. That was one thing my companion told me this week actually is that I smile a lot in lessons and Ii started noticing that I do. I really am so happy to be a missionary. There are hard times, but there are moments that make every hardship worth it for sure. 

I am so happy and really have been feeling the lords hand in my life here in Lagonoy. I hope that this finds people well, and know the Lord is mindful of us, and we must do our part to feel His presence in our life. I love this gospel, this church and I cannot wait until General Conference.

 xoxox 

Sept 16th In Sickness and in Health.....

This week has been a week, but a good one for sure. There have definitely been some hard days though. 

I had a 102' Temp Friday through Saturday evening. I had a couch, congestion, headache, fever, sore muscles.. you name it haha. I literally could not sleep either due to my coughing all night. I felt like death on Saturday, but I wanted to work so bad. We went out in the morning, had a really good lessons, talked to some people on the street, came back and my fever was almost to 103' lol. We had the Elders come give me a blessing. I rested for like a half an hour and said, okay lets go out haha. I can testify to you that Priesthood blessings are so powerful! And if we have faith we can be healed, or be strong enough to fight the sickness and do what we need to. I am still couching now, still sniffling, but I can tell you the Lord has blessed me for giving my all, and working hard through this sickness (again- I am starting to think that my immune system is not liking Lagonoy). But I just keep thinking about what Elder Holland said once, " When you come home from your mission, you should have had worked so hard that there will need to be an ambulance there to pick you up." Not exact word for word, but something like that.

It was also quite funny yesterday. We were sitting in Gospel Principles class yesterday and the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric peeked in and said I was going to be the speaker in sacrament meeting.... uh with 20 minutes to prepare......and I was coughing, sneezing, and sniffling like crazy. But it went well (: I talked about the Holy Ghost, and His role in our lives. It just made me laugh thinking.... okay this sickness, giving a talk, training, learning Tagalog... I am becoming one stronger person here. Just have to keep working hard, and doing my best.

Monday we had an FHE with a recent convert family and it was such an amazing experience, because I felt we were in the right place at the right time. The mother started crying and telling her concerns for her children, and all that she had been stressed about, and we were able to help her focus on how she can turn to the Lord through the hard times, and through prayer feel His love, guidance, and care. It is hard to put in words the experience but it was so great.

So on Tuesday we felt we should teach a less active member about missionary work, and ask them to pray specifically for someone to introduce to us, invite to church, and be given the chance to enjoy the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. Last night, she told us, " Sisters my friend wants you to teach her! She wants a Book of Mormon and said she wants to come to church also". So we have a lesson with her tonight, and I am so excited! 

Friday we were punted like no other (meaning no one was home, or they hid from us.... no joke 2 people hid from us lol- but its all good). It just so happens that we were in our farthest area that day, and had to take a tricee to get there, but we decided to use our time effectively and talk to others around us. We saw some people moving the material for their roof so we joined in and helped them carry it all, talked to this woman who was walking by us, and visited other less actives we hadn't ever been to. The coolest part of the day was when we got a text from Sister Morales telling is that a member in her ward asked if we could go visit her inactive sister. So we decided to find her, since we were in the area she lived in. We asked around, kept walking, asked more, then finally we were led to this house in the middle of a rice field. By this time is was 7:30, so dark, and we were a little hesitant, but I was pretty determined to find this woman (: so we went there. Turned out... wrong house.... but we met this amazing woman who welcomed us in, and was so excited to hear what we had to say. We testified of the Restoration of the Gospel and that we have a living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. She wants us to come back, and I am looking forward to going there again.

I really love training Sister Baluyot and she has been so willing to step up to the task and become a more obedient, stronger missionary alongside me. I really love this area. It is not very progressing investigator wise, but slowly we are adding to our pool. I have high hopes! We have had some really neat experiences this week, and little miracles.

I have been reading in 1 Nephi 8 a lot,  about Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life, and I really like these verses:  

"5 And it came to pass that I saw a ^aman, and he was dressed in a white ^brobe; and he came and stood before me.

 6 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.

 7 And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.

 8 And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have^amercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

 9 And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious ^afield.

 10 And it came to pass that I beheld a ^atree, whose ^bfruit was desirable to make one ^chappy.

 11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the ^afruitthereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the ^bwhiteness that I had ever seen."

I don't know if this will copy right, but I bolded and underlined " after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness". 

I have been thinking so much lately of how I need to be willing to walk in the darkness and follow the Lord, trusting in Him that He will lead me safely through this life, that He can bring me to where I need to be, but I need to be willing to go through trials, to face the hard times on my mission, to be able to taste the fruit of eternal life one day, and enjoy the greatest happiness I will ever know. The Lord expects efforts on our part, and we need to show Him we are willing to do what is needed to return back to Him.

My brothers and sisters, if you feel you are in darkness or facing many trials, turn to the Lord. He will bear you up, lighten your load, and help you see your life through His eyes. I know we are all far from perfect, but we have a perfect example to follow, our Savior Jesus Christ. I love Him so very much, and I am grateful to have the privilege to testify that He lives everyday. I love this gospel.

Hope all is well, and keep being strong through the hard times.

xoxox

ps... I ate balut again aka the picture hahaa

Sept. 9th Just got fingerprinted and Mugshot......... for Visa paperwork.

Well I just ran some fingerprints at the police station...

haha joke lang. But I am in Naga right now, and I did have to fill out some paperwork out for Visa's and do some fingerprinting/ mug shots. I guess my batch was so big that there were some Visa issues, or they had to make some adjustments to get us here faster, so we just had to check in and do some paperwork. So so many people from my batch are here today and Naga, and we get to spend out P-day here. SM food trip! The have crunchy peanut butter and tostido chips! haha

But anyways.... I am so happy! I am finally not sick anymore, I forgot to mention I was, but i have had a cold/ sore throat/ sinus thing since I was transferred. But I can finally say today I am better. I read this talk this week from Neal A. Maxwell, and he referred to sicknesses or trials with sicknesses as being tutoring/ learning experiences. It really has been a trial, and experience for me. I kept sniffling through lessons, and coughing, but they Lord really blessed me for doing my best, working hard, and not letting my cold stop me from teaching the people. I am just grateful it’s over with now (:

Let’s see what has happened this week...

We had exchanges. I was with Sister Simbol again in my area. Kind of funny since I have been here one week and don't know the area, or the turns or where to go as well, but it was an adventure. We taught this one woman who was a referral, and we hadn't been able to teach her yet. It was such a powerful lesson. One thing I have learned so much lately is people are very often so quick to open their hearts and tell us everything, as representatives of the Lord. They recognize who we are, and put it all out there. She opened up to us so much, and through the gospel we were able to bring her comfort. It was an amazing feeling to meet her needs and know she recognizes who we represent. I have also realized this time is so sort to be able to have this opportunity; I need to take advantage of it as much as possible.

We have had 3 members work with us 3 times this week, which is awesome. If you have the opportunity to go with missionaries to appointments, GO! We really appreciate it, and it makes for better lessons. 

Well it really is Christmas now here, haha

There is Christmas music playing here right now, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (: I am one happy camper! (Christmas is a 3 month Celebration here in the Philippines)

The language is coming along for those who are wondering. I am trying to pick up some Bicol words (which is the main language here). I want to focus on Tagalog first, but it has been helpful to be able to recognize the main Bicol words, when people use them. Honestly sometimes my companion will say to me, I didn't get anything they told us, haha she is from Tarlac, which is near Manila. We do our best (: I really have loved being a trainer, and especially training Sister Baluyot. She is such a sweetheart, and loves everyone. She really strives to work so hard too. We make a good team! I feel like she is training me sometimes lol

We have Ward Conference on September 29th, aka Courts birthday, and I was made the Choir Director haha. I may have passed it off to someone else though since I really am not musically inclined at all, and have the hardest time leading. Like mom would always say, I have no beat (: hahaha

But really I am so happy here, and it has been a rough start in our area, but it progresses everyday and I am so happy to be here. I have really come to realize more than ever that things take time. The language, my teaching skills, communicating with companions, adjusting to new areas, but with time, effort, love, and the Lords help, all things are possible and we find the miracles and blessings in it all. I love the growth I have had as a missionary and I look forward to all the more growth I have yet to have. I hope all is well. Be smart, and love everyone. xoxxoxox

Sept. 2nd Laganoy Area... I am a Trainer

Well I had a feeling I was going to train and here I am (: haha

I didn't find out until we were at exchanges and they announced it. My new companion is Sister Baluyot, she is from Tarlac, Philippines and I am her second trainer. Her first trainer became a Sister Training Leader. Training lasts for 3 months, so I am her trainer for  the last 6 weeks of training. But really, she is training me. She is so awesome, we have so much fun! She and her other companion opened the area, and lets just say it has a lot more work and people to find.

Oh yeah I am in Laganoy 2nd Ward, which is in the same stake, Goa Stake, and I am currently sitting in Goa at a computer shop because we come here to withdraw our support/money. I saw the Goa Bishop this morning, and went to my favorite little place to eat, Mango tart and saw the workers I know there. Its nice to be able to have some familiar surroundings and know the area decently well still. Lagonoy is a about a 20 minute bus ride from Goa, and is a lot smaller town. We don't take tricees there hardly ever, except to our far area. If we do use transportation its a padjack.... a bicycle with a bench attached and an umbrella over it. They are awesome, except I feel so bad because I am not the lightest person ever and I hate seeing them struggle to push us up little inclines. Luckily most of the area we are in is pretty flat.

So my trainer, Sister Morales, lives in the same house with the new American trainee, Sister Richins from Logan, Utah. She is so sweet and just got here Wednesday. I have been able to give her so much advice, especially because I had the same trainer haha. They are the the Lagonoy 1st Ward, and we have two elders in our ward. So I am in area B and the Elders are area A. One of the Elders is from my batch from the MTC, Elder Sonderegger. So its fun to know so many people here, the area. It makes it lots easier to adjust.

The ward is awesome here too! I actually had met the Bishop and a bunch of the members at the Goa Stake conference and other events. I have has several people tell me, "oh, I saw you walking in Goa". Which is kind of weird to realize, but I really do stand out here haha. I forget about it sometimes, even when people yell random English sentences they know at me everyday haha.

So this last week during a lesson, I had a chicken fly onto my head repeatedly about 6 times... not exaggerating hahah. It was hilarious. I had to just let it chill there during the prayer because it is so loud when you try to move it. I don't know why he was loving perching on my head. It was quite hilarious.

One really neat experience I had was we were walking through this Barangay and all of sudden I hear "Sister Webster!!!!!!". It was one of our investigators from Goa, Maize. She is really good friends with Liezel Baer, the family I am really close with in Goa. She went to one of our baptisms, I have a picture of me and her, we taught her once, and have taught her brother too. The reason why we haven't taught her much is because she lives in Lagonoy the whole week for school and has such a busy schedule and can never meet with us. But she told us she pretty much considers herself a member. When we saw her, she asked if she could come with us to out appointments, so she came to two of them. Ahh I love her. She is so awesome, and hopefully soon she can be baptized!

This week this little old lady we went to visit, a less active member, spoke all English to us. I answered her all in Tagalog haha. She is so cute, 75 about, and still exercising always. She went off and told many stories. Its hard to stop people sometimes and not be rude, but she told us how to eat, be healthy and take care of our bodies. There are a lot of little old ladies in this ward, and babies, my favorite things, cute old people and babies! haha

One neat experience I had this week was we were reading 3 Nephi 18:4, 9-12 with this less active who hasn't been to church for some time now, and the Tagalog just flowed during the lesson, but even better I felt the Spirit guide me so much of what to say and teach to her needs. It was so powerful! I asked if she would come to church, and she paused for some time and said. "I promise... I will be there" and she sat by us yesterday in church (: I have really come to realize this totally is the Lords work, and if I don't have His help, and the Spirit in the lessons, then there is no lesson, no conversion, and I do not fulfill my responsibility as a missionary.

The area we are in was just opened. Its going to be a lot of work, and I am feeling a little bit stressed with being a trainer, not being fluent, and getting to know all the peoples names, area, and much more, but I have really come to rely on the Lord so much more, and I feel so much closer to Him. I know He is right by my side helping me. I want to be molded and shaped into the daughter He wants me to be. I hope this finds everyone well and that you know I am happy, safe, and so grateful to be serving in the Lords army.

xoxox

Sister Webster

Sister Baluyot & Sister Webster

August 26th My First Area Transfer... Goodbye GOA

Well the transfer announcements came in... paki-drum roll (please haha)

I am transferred! And Sister Barlow, my companion, is going to Train! 

We half knew it, and half were still in shock when we found out, but I am excited for what lies in store.

This week has been a good one and I have noticed so much this week, how much I have grown, and how much I REALLY love the people here. Part of my heart is being left here. I have cried, laughed, taught, and become so close with members and people here and I will really miss the sisters I have been around. Sister Barrameda left about an hour ago to go to the mission office. Her mission is over, and she always would tell me, the time flies, take advantage of every moment. I am really realizing that this week. Time is flying and I need to give it all I have.

Yesterday was my last Sunday in Goa, and I talked in sacrament meeting about Missionary work. I prepared a decent amount, and literally looked at my paper like twice. The Tagalog just flowed! I don't know if it all was correct haha but I felt that I was able to convey what I wanted to, and share from my heart, in Tagalog! I also may have cried a lot yesterday. We took pictures with a lot of the people in the ward, with Bishop, and with some of the people I love so much here. My heart feels so torn, I feel like I am leaving family. Its even harder knowing I most likely will never see them ever again. One of our investigators told me she has been praying all week I wouldn't be transferred, and cried during Sacrament meeting and when I told her. She is so sweet, and I am really going to miss her. The Baer family, the one I send a lot of photos of, is making my favorite Filipino food, seetaw adobo style (like string beans) tonight and we are having an FHE there. I fee so much love for the people here and I am so blessed to have had Goa be my first area.

Some events this week: Sister Barlow and I found more less actives who have not been to church in a long, long time. We had some interesting experiences but some very good ones too. 

Most of the very interesting ones involved us running into very drunk men, and us retreating back, saying oh sorry we will come back another time lol.

But one of the people we found was this man who was baptized in the 90's, when he was 21. He welcomed us in right away. He told us he teaches at an academy nearby, has a masters, Ph.D, is a layman minister, teaches mathematics, and the list goes on. Pretty much a very involved, smart man. We asked about his conversion and how he met the missionaries, shared some scriptures and what ended up happening was he opened up to us about why he left the church. He faced so much persecution from his family. The family member who is still a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has pretty much been disowned and outcast-ed. He then turned us and said" If you had to choose your family or religion what would you chose?", (Which just for reference this was the first lesson I have ever taught in English on my mission, but he told us to talk in English so he could understand us better haha and he has near perfect English). Woah, I have never been placed in that situation to have to choose, but it really made me reflect and think would I?

The answer plain and bold was yes! I recited the scripture, Matthew 9:25, 

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." We ended up being there for a really long time, and the Spirit was felt so strongly. We both testified of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Brother, thanked us for coming. He said "I feel a change in my heart today, thank you for that". I still think he is not willing to face the persecution of his family but he said he knows what we were testifying of is true. He knows its true.

We as Gods divine children, MUST make sacrifices for Him. It is expected of us. God gave His son, who suffered so much in the flesh for us, and we too must suffer at times, and face persecution for the Lords sake. I am not him, I do not know what he went through, but I do know that my elder Brother, Jesus Christ, suffered more than any one can imagine to do the will of the Lord and if He could do all that, and give His life for the Lords sake, we must be willing to also.

I have an unshaken faith that this is the true church of the Lord. I may not be asked to "physically" give my life for the Lords sake, but I must be willing to. I am coming to find who I am, and who the Lord wants me to become through serving Him. I have learned so much being a missionary and I really look forward to applying these principles for the rest of my life. I love this work, this is the Lords work, to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". May we all put our hands to the plow and share the gospel with our friends, neighbors and family.

Ingat sa la hat (: xoxox

August 19th Pamilya at Kaibigan

Hello family and friends... pamilya at kaibigan

I am writing and a little warn out from the sun from going to the beach today, that’s right we got to go to the beach for our district activity. Of course missionaries cannot swim, or go in the water. But we had so much fun sitting in the sand, and taking jumping photos (: It was so relaxing listening to the ocean waves and reading the Book of Mormon on the beach. It was actually a rainy day, with a strong ocean breeze, but it was the perfect thing for Preparation day. I am so blessed to be serving in the Philippines, where God has placed so many beautiful wonders. I have been thinking a lot this week about how amazing ALL of Gods creations are. The ocean, the sand, the flowers, the trees, and all of them different all around the world. I also have thought a lot about His most amazing creation, US! We are each designed, and created in His own image, but all different in our own ways too. I feel so blessed to know God's plan for us, to become exactly like Him, perfect and immortal.

Just one random tid bit from this week lol. I saw another monkey! I was so excited and even more excited of where we found him lol. So we were walking after an appointment and Sister Barlow was like "hey lets walk down this way". Then right when we walked down this road, I felt a prompting... talk to that man. So we stopped and chatted with this man, we asked him about his family, and such. We saw the monkey too and that started some conversation. But then he started saying something, I could not understand fully, and then he said something around the lines of "my daughter Glizzy is a member". LIGHT BULB went off in my mind. Glizzy was one of the names I had written down as one of the less actives in this area! We literally, not on purpose found a less active member! We were so excited! We made an appointment to return and hopefully we can get to know Glizzy and help her return to the sheepfold of the Lord.

I have had some really neat experiences this week and we have one new awesome investigator, Joyce. She is Liezel's cousin (the girl who comes with us once or twice a week, and is preparing for a mission). She really has the Spirit of missionary work, and has been sharing the gospel with all her family and friends. But her cousin Joyce, so sweet, and so smart. She adds so much every time we teach one concept and is very interested in learning more. One neat lesson with her is I was having a very tiring day. We had went looking for some less active members earlier in the day, and it may have been very hot. I got pretty sunburn, and really didn't drink a ton of water, but w had some of the greatest lessons, and I spoke some of the greatest Tagalog. My companion said it all just flowed and it was so good. This day was such a testimony to me that this truly is the Lords work, and it is not me that teaches to the hearts of the people, but the Sprit. Through me, the exhausted, sunburnt, dehydrated sister missionary to work miracles to speak and share the gospel of Jesus Christ in the peoples language. I know that it really truly is not me. I really am an instrument for the Lord, and He is ready and willing to help always.

Another really amazing experience this week was we had a change of plans right before we went out to work. Our Bishop drives us in his tricycle every Thursday to our far area, Salog, to visit the members there, but this week he had something come up right before, so we had to change our plans right when we were walking out the door. Which if you know missionary work, or have served a mission you know, you study and create lesson plans for the people you will see later in the day throughout the morning. But you may also know that sometimes, all the plans fall through and you become flexible. I have a stronger testimony now of the Lord will help you know where He wants you to go. We made a new plan really fast, ran out the door, and went looking for a list of less actives we knew lived in one area. We found 3 of them, which is A LOT, because most the time the people have moved or they are no- where to be found. Then we taught the mother of one of the less actives and she started weeping when we asked her to pray, and she said she was so grateful for us and she felt so happy. Then we met this amazing woman when we were walking to the next place and taught her about Family History work, because she had so many questions about it.

I have really come to realize this week that the Lord works through us so much to fulfill His work. I am giving my time to Him, and He is making me an instrument in His hands, IF I am worthy of it. Obedience as a missionary is of great importance and I want to be exactly obedient to the commandments of the Lord, and the Mission rules.

I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ here on this earth. He has called a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, to be the President, seer, and revelator for His church, and I am lucky to be one of the missionaries around the world, testifying that Jesus is the Christ and He lives, and through Him we too can live. I love the Philippines, the people, the culture, the love I feel here. I am grateful for all the Lord has blessed me with and I know He knows me by name, and is there when I need someone to rely on. May you trust in the Lord always and follow His first and most important commandment: "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:30)

If we love Him, all the other commandments follow (: 

Love always,