Dec. 30th Happy New Year

What an amazing week! I cannot believe Christmas is over, my birthday is tomorrow, and I am going to be training again!
That’s right; we have transfers tomorrow on my Birthday (12/31). I am staying in the area, and Sister Roderick is leaving (I am going to miss her so much), and I will be training again! There are no foreigners coming in this time, so I know I will be training a Filipina, but I don't know her name or where she is from yet. I will meet her on Wednesday, and be temporary companions with Sister Sanft, and her companion for Tuesday, and work in their area with them. This week is bringing in the New Year. A new companion, new investigators, and new perspectives. I am so grateful to be staying here in the Canaman Ward, and excited to keep serving the people here!

But as for this past week, Christmas was great!
On Monday we had FHE at the Carr Family's again (Ariel, Oliver, Julius, etc.). We had set up a scavenger hunt for pieces of a puzzle we had made from the Liahona and it was so fun! They loved it! The puzzle was off the Nativity, and we shared about the greatest gift God has given us, His Son, Jesus Christ.
Christmas Eve we ate at Ace's with Sister Merly, a member who works with us a lot and Brother Franco, our Ward Mission Leader. We had lamb! It was so good, and they had just got it from their farm earlier that day! I cannot say that I have had that fresh of lamb meat before, but it was very good! We were very full afterwards.

On Christmas day, I got to Skype my family.. and KIRA! I was so happy to see her, we may have both started crying and were smiling non-stop. I love my sister, and I am so happy she is serving the Lord right alongside me, in Guatemala. I also am so happy to have the most amazing parents, and sister, Courtney! They each are so strong, and have helped me become who I am today. Family is the best (:  I really have not been home sick. It is definitely different here for Christmas, but it was so humbling. People have so little here, yet give so much! They are so creative and resourceful! I really felt and have a better understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.

We had interviews with President Reeder this week, and I was sung Happy Birthday in Chinese by Elder Zou. It was awesome! Then in Tagalog, and English. So many languages! I am so grateful for President Reeder and all that he teaches us. I appreciate the words of advice he so freely gives to us missionaries. He sticks to the simple doctrine, doesn't complicate things, and really has helped me realize that the little things are of the most importance because they are what help the big things happen. I know that I am supposed to stay in Canaman. I was a little surprised when we received the announcement, but at the same time I wasn't.

I am ready to train again, and looking forward to meeting her on Wednesday. I have heard that all the new sisters coming in are Filipina, and I am excited to have a Filipina companion again to help me grow more in the Tagalog language, and learn more about the Filipina culture.

This week has been very amazing. It is my 22nd Birthday tomorrow and I thought, let’s try to teach 22 lessons for my 22nd Birthday. We have been averaging around 16 a week lately, and we thought why not push ourselves this Christmas. We hit 22 lessons exactly, and seriously we feel so blessed! At first, we didn't know if it was going to be possible, but we used our faith, and worked really hard, and were rewarded. We also decided to be bolder with baptismal dates, and we have 2 more! I can testify with my whole heart that if we put our trust in the Lord, He will make up for our weaknesses and make the impossible, possible.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I was overwhelmed with how many of you sent me an email, and seriously it made my day (: Maraming salamat talaga!

I know this is true. I feel so blessed to be a servant of the Lord at this time when the Lord is truly hastening His work here on the earth, and especially at this time of the year. I love my family, friends, and every one of God's children. We really truly have such great worth as His children.
Hope all is well, and Happy New Year to all (:
xoxoxox

Dec 22nd Maligayang Pasko (Merry Christmas)!!!

Maligayang Pasko (Merry Christmas)!!!

This has been one amazing week! Filled with so many different things, but all so amazing and uplifting. We had our Ward Christmas Party (full of videoake and games), Christmas Mission Conference, Aces baptism, and lots more.

For starters Monday we had Family Home Evening with the Carr family (Ariel, Oliver, and Julius-and many more). It was so fun, and we shared a message about the Light of Christ in our life. They are 3 of our Investigators, who are actually cousins of Ace, but that we have been teaching and have been coming to church with us. They are awesome! One amazing family. I feel very blessed to know them!

Another memorable lesson this week was when we returned to teach a less active and her grandchildren are all visiting for the holidays. They had been here in October and we had read with them, and given them the Book of Mormon. This time, they told us they have been reading when they come home from school and are in 1 Nephi Chapter 12. The oldest is 11 years old! They are all so adorable and so attentive when we share with them. They are all still young, but have such a strong desire to learn, and read the Book of Mormon. It’s cute, when we come to their house and say, "Tao po", they all say "Sisters, the Sisters!!", and run out to greet us! We cannot help but love them! So cute!

Thursday we had our Mission Christmas Conference, where the whole mission came together. We watched The Legend of Johnny Linggo- so funny, had some food, talent show, and lots of time to socialize and see everyone. This was Sister Christensen, and Sister Simbol's last day! So weird, they are home now, and I really miss them, but they were amazing examples to me, and I know they worked hard through their whole missions.

That evening in preparation for Ace’s baptism we have reviewing some of the lessons, and we had him teach us the Plan of Salvation. It was awesome! He was so prepared for his baptism, and he finished reading the whole Book of Mormon cover to cover in Friday, the day before his baptism!

His baptism was a bit stressful, as is any baptism haha. It was to start at 1pm, but started at 2pm, but it all worked out once it had started. His sister was able to come and it was such a spiritual experience for all who were able to be there. The speakers did amazing, and one was especially touching about enduring to the end.
It really hit me that this is only the beginning for Ace’s new life as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. He has so much more to endure, and trials to overcome, but I am so happy he knows the truth and has the fullness of the gospel in his life now!

I am so grateful, and so blessed to be able to witness the change and conversion in one of God's children. Ace's testimony after he was baptized was one of the most beautiful, heartfelt testimonies I have ever heard. He testified of how he knew the Book of Mormon is the word of God with tears in his eyes, and how he is so grateful to have found what he was searching for. He said his soul was hungry and he found the answer the search he has been on. I know he will do all he can to endure to the end of this life, and obtain eternal glory with our Father in Heaven.
I am so blessed to have been able to help one of my brothers find the path to return to our Father in Heaven, and His Son Jesus Christ.

I am so blessed to have been here in the Canaman Ward at this time, and to have been a part of such a miracle. The Lord Lives, He loves each one of us so much. At this time of Christmas we not only focus on the birth of Christ, but what His birth into the world actually means for us, Salvation! We are saved through our Brother, Jesus Christ. I love this Gospel, and the knowledge I have gained about my Savior, Jesus Christ. I have been reading Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage, and I KNOW Christ is the Only Begotten of the Father, and the One called to Atone for ALL of God's children in order to return to Him. I love you all so much, and hope you can reflect on the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season. Enjoy this time, serve others, and give of yourself, you will gain so much more in return (:

Dec. 15th 2013 - "The Spirit of CHRISTmas"

Ace's baptism is this Saturday.. AHHHHHH so excited! He had his interview this week, passed with flying colors, and seriously he amazes us every day with all he learns and understands. Anything we teach him, and commandment, Word of Wisdom, Tithing, he says of course he will follow it if God says it’s a commandment. He teaches us every time we got to his house. He also made a slideshow of his conversion story, (of course I was crying while watching it), and he has a little slide for each of us! We feel so loved, so lucky to be the missionaries to have met him, and I know he is so ready for this Saturday.
This last Saturday we went caroling to less actives, and investigators! Ace, Ivy, Jane, Sister Pedres, Brother Franco, Sister Ranosa, and Ariel came with us and we were able to go to many houses in one of our barangays. It was so amazing! Turns out people carol here for money all the time. Children have caroling all over the streets with hand-made drums following people for pesos, but people realized we were just doing it for fun. It was successful, and we were able to help them meet faces of people in the ward, so when they come they know people. I never thought I could sweat so much while caroling Christmas songs in December. It was a very humid night, but so fun (: People here are very Christmas spirited and so happy. There are Christmas lights all over and many home-made decorations (: That is one thing I love here, is even if people don't have the money to buy things, they get very crafty, and make decorations with what they have (: It's awesome!
One really neat experience is we were in the right place at the right time. We were visiting with a recent convert, and she has been having some really hard times lately. We visited with her, and had a Priesthood holder in the area come and give her a blessing. I have such a strong testimony of the power of the Priesthood, and if we have faith, like the people Christ healed with the Priesthood when He lived on the earth, we too can receive blessings of comfort and sickness today.
This week we had exchanges. I was with Sister Sanft and we were in their area, which are people in our ward also. We taught many less actives, which we have very few in our area so it was weird to teach a lot of less active lessons again. One of their investigators that we went and taught is Reynold. He has been an investigator for some time now, and when we got to his house, one of the members in the ward had come over and drawn a very detailed picture of the Plan of Salvation, so we had him teach it to us. We pretended we were students and had him teach the whole thing to us. Sister Sanft may have recorded a lot of it... I will try to get some of the video. It was awesome! He knows it all so well, and has been coming to church more so hopefully he will be baptized soon. PS. His son, the cutest thing! I always give him candy on Sundays (:
Another lesson that stands out to me was one with one of our investigators we have been teaching for some time now. They have not been really keeping the commitments, but we felt we should go to them. The mother just had a miscarriage, and her husband who is usually gone, was there. We were able to sit down and share with their WHOLE family. All 6 kids and the parents. The father quoted the 1st Article of Faith, and then went to his bag and pulled out the Articles of Faith card with Christ picture on it we had given him. He said he takes it with him always and reads it while he travels! It was amazing! And I know we were there right when we needed to be.
I know there are some people I will teach in this area, who may not accept the Gospel now, but Sister Roderick and I strive to do our best to help this become their time, or prepare them for when it is their time to accept the fullness of the Gospel. I love each of them so much. That is one thing I have noticed so much this week is how much I love the people here. Even the random padyack drivers who always yell out to us, and our security guard friend at the gas station. Every one of them is a brother and sister of ours, and we must see them for how God sees them. Each person has a divine potential, we are here to help them see it, and recognize their divine worth as Children of God.
We got to watch the The First Presidency Christmas Devotional and I loved it! It was so good, and if you were not able to watch it you should! It's on lds.org.
We had 4 investigators come to it, and it was perfect. We also found out our neighbor is a member and she came with us to church yesterday. We had 9 less actives/ or recent converts at church, and we normally have 3-4. I love this work. I feel so blessed, and loved here. Merry Christmas to everyone, and may the time of this season bring you light to your soul, and bring the desire to bring the light to other souls as well.
 "If we drop the last syllable in 'Spirit of Christmas' it becomes 'Spirit of Christ'
- President Thomas S. Monson

Love to all of you,

Merry Christmas

Dec. 9th, 2013 "I know Christ lives, and He will come again to this earth"

Where do I start?  This has been an eventful/long week, but everything has been good. Sometimes it amazes me how much can happen in one week while on a mission.

Monday we decorated our apartment for Christmas, and I must say it looks AWESOME! I hopefully will be able to send photos today. We have had some computer problems, but it is all good now.

We had an amazing experience with Ace on Tuesday. We know without a doubt he has repented of his sins, and is so ready to be baptized. he is such an example to me. When he needs to make a change in his life, he changes it. He doesn't question anything, he just knows if it is coming from God, he must do it. We are so blessed to teach him. He has been making a Christmas/Nativity Slideshow this week to EFY and church music we downloaded for him. He also came with us to a lesson to his cousin, and pulled out quotes he had read earlier that day from President Thomas S. Monson, and other things he had found online at lds.org. So pretty much he is awesome. I think I have been saying the same thing every week, but every week he amazes us.

So I had a checkup at my doctors, and we may have ended up giving him a Book of Mormon, and he told us he rather would read in Tagalog, but kept the Tagalog one, and we said when we came back for our other checkup, we'd give him one. He was the one he was asking me questions about the church while he was doing the procedure on my toe.

This last Saturday, we had the Stake Relief Society Christmas party.... SO many people! We had a less active member who has not been to church in 10 years attend! She did not stay for long, but she came (: The party was so fun! Food, a little market, and many skits/performances. I may have recorded most of them (:

We also had any amazing conversation with our security guard friend at a gas station in our area. We met him once before, and have stopped by and shared little things here and there, but i felt the Spirit testify to me, and Sister Roderick said the same thing after we left, that he is truly seeking for the truth, and he asked us, "If there were prophets, and apostles then, shouldn't we have them now?". We were beaming and said, "We have an answer for that question" (: He is awesome, and he doesn't live in our area. We have given the referral to the other missionaries, but do what we can when we see him!

One of my favorite experiences this week was when we went to go see Ariel, and he wasn't there, but his brother invited us in, and we had all of his siblings watch "Finding Faith in Christ" with us. It was perfect! They are such a sweet family, and so loving to each other. Hopefully we can teach them all together more often.

I have such a strong testimony that the Lord lets other plans, or things fall through, either for us to learn, or for other greater things to happen. When we get punted, or when no one is home, I have been trying to think, okay what does this mean, and what are we to do now. I have been learning so much about patience, timing, and that the Lords will, and His time, is what we must live by, and not our own. We need to be willing to wait for the right time for things, and be patient with ourselves and others. Small things, lead to greater things. All of our good work, leads to the bigger picture, and bigger blessings.

I know Christ lives, and He will come again to this earth. Now, today, is the time to repent. Don't hesitate to do so. We will be, and the Lord will be much happier the sooner we repent and strive to live a better life than yesterday. I love you all, be safe, and pray always (:

Dec. 2nd, 2013 "I love being a missionary. Nothing tops the amazing feelings here, and I am so grateful for my area"

Happy Thanksgiving weekend... Sister Roderick and I may or may not have forgotten about Thanksgiving until yesterday (December 1st) hahaha (: and Happy 23rd wedding anniversary mom and dad!)

This week has been a fun one, just like every other week haha.
I may have had toe surgery... It’s pretty gross story, but pretty much I got an ingrown toe nail and I tried fixing it and it got infected... sorry if this is T.M.I haha but yeah so I had to have a procedure done on my toe, and what an experience. I feel this is a procedure they would do in a little doctor’s office, no big deal. Here in the Philippines, I had to change into a gown, get a bracelet, and was wheeled in a wheel chair into the scariest white tiled, big operating room. It was pretty freaky, and I couldn't understand all the nurses were saying in Bicol hahaha. The doctor, I had met before this and thankfully I love him! He is awesome, and such a good doctor. He is actually a heart, and lungs doctor, but can do all around things. So yeah... it was an interesting experience, but I don't have to limp around anymore and the pain is gone! So I am one happy missionary again. It started a while ago, I just have been toughing through, but I am so grateful it’s fixed now!

Well enough of the grossness haha but the work has been great! That procedure got me back on my feet and we were able to work that afternoon. Maybe shouldn't have haha but it was so worth it. We had really good lessons that day.

I love being a missionary, and seeing the effects reading the Book of Mormon, and God's words has on people. I love it when we are able to be in a lesson and the Holy Ghost testifies so strongly to them that what they are reading is true, and they are smiling so much and enjoying what they are reading. The Book of Mormon, and the Bible have such much power in them. I know I am a better person, and am becoming closer to my Heavenly father when I read from the Book of Mormon.

We taught all of our very progressing investigators on Wednesday, so it was one bust filled, very spiritual day. They are all doing so great and we had our Ward Mission leader come with us to two of them. He has such a strong testimony and deep knowledge of the gospel, so we love working with him. We taught Ace about Word of Wisdom, and the Law of Chastity, and he pretty much taught it to us. All we said was Law of Chastity and he brought up a scripture he had read in Alma 38-39 about Alma teaching his son Shiblon about the law of Chastity. It was awesome! He also continued on saying that we need to keep our thoughts, actions, and words clean... He is awesome! He soaks up everything, and really applies it all to his life immediately. I want to be more like him, and very willing to give up everything, and stand up for the truth always. He is an amazing example to me.

On Thursday we went to one of our investigators that I had tracted and taught with Sister Sands when we were all split up. We had given her a Book of Mormon the previous visit, and I asked her if she could go get it. She came out and it was all marked with leaflets and the titles of the chapters. Her name was printed on the side of the book, and she told us how she had wanted to make things easier to find when she read! So awesome! She also loves learning and really tries to grasp all we teach her and make comments on it all and how it applies to her!

On Friday we were able to teach the Plan of Salvation to an investigator who we have not been able to teach for a while due to different schedules, but I have missed her! She is the one who was so happy when we told her there is a living prophet. She loved learning about the Plan of Salvation, The more and more I teach it to people, the stronger my testimony is. I know God's plan is so perfect, and He has promised us so much, if we just follow the commandments he has given us.

The Sisters in our ward had a baptism Saturday, that we attended, and Ace, Ariel, and Oliver came! Then on Sunday they all three came to church again. It was a good Sunday. We had dinner at Aces with a member named Merly, and taught him about Obedience and Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. We had taught him about fasting this week, and he fasted this Sunday. Such a good guy. Cannot wait until he is baptized!

I love being a missionary. Nothing tops the amazing feelings here, and I am so grateful for my area I am in now. I know it won't be forever, but I am really loving it so much. Maybe I can train here again (: We shall see what the Lord has in store, and all the people I still have yet to meet (:

Hope all is going well and you all are having a good week. xoxox

Nov. 24th 2013 "ACE"

So this week can pretty much be summarized into one word, or name... Ace.
I think Sister Roderick and I cannot stop beaming because we have been so blessed to have the most amazing investigator! Ace has been to church 3 times already and plans on going for the rest of his life! His baptismal date is December 21st, and he talks about it all the time. We have seriously been so blessed to have found him and have met him.
I have witnessed a miracle for following mission rules, and making sure we are being obedient. This amazing experience may have still had the same results, but I know because we followed rules, we were blessed to not only plant the seed in his life, but to be here for the harvest also. We met Ace when we were looking for his less active Uncle, and he invited us in to teach. We realized there was no woman there, so we told him we needed to have a woman there while we taught, so he ran around trying to find one outside and he had no luck. We told him we would return another day, and have someone with us. We did and ever since he has been reading the Book of Mormon and is so excited to be baptized.
His background on his computer is the Manila temple, he showed us a slide show he made last night about the life of Joseph Smith, he has the goal to finish the Book of Mormon before his baptism, he sends scriptures (from Alma usually) to his friends every day, and asked for pamphlets to give to friends. Last night we had a dinner appointment at his house, and he showed the slide show he made... maybe shed some tears! I feel so blessed to be the missionary to teach him, and so grateful that the Lord makes up for our weaknesses. Sister Roderick and I are far from great when it comes to speaking Tagalog, but the Lord makes up for it, and he has felt the Spirit, and is being truly converted for himself.
I love this work, and I just wanted to share this little missionary miracle we have been witnessing unfold in front of us.
Some other things that have happened this week:
So Monday, we tried a new finding tactic. We went to the downtown plaza at around 4pm, and had Sister Roderick draw the Plan of Salvation, and other church related things in chalk while Sister Sands and I talked to people that came and stopped and watched. Within 5 minutes we had a crowd of about 50, if not more surrounding us! It was so nerve racking, BUT awesome! It was so fun, and we got a bunch of referrals for other people, and ourselves. We wouldn't do it every week, but it definitely caught some attention and we would say it was successful. We handed out a lot of pamphlets that night!
The following day we became a companionship of 4 due to transfers and they were waiting for the trainees to arrive, so we were companions with Sister Sands still and Sister Abarabar. We just keep switching companions in the morning and the afternoon, so I felt like we were on exchanges Tuesday and Wednesday, but it was so fun I was a little stressed since I was the one over the area, but we used it to help us and found about 8 former investigators that we had record of, and gained 4 new investigators, and even more contacts. So it was awesome (:
One of the Former Investigators that Sister Sands, and Sister Roderick found when they were working together was Alex. He was taught by the missionaries 2 years ago, is so interested, has so many questions, but the missionaries just stopped visiting him for some reason. He said he was devastated when they never came back. We taught him on Saturday, and let me tell you I am excited to continue teaching him. He asks such deep, good questions, and really absorbs it all! I thought before my mission I would be intimidated by people who ask a ton of questions, but I have come to realize I know more doctrine and scriptures then I give myself credit for. There is definitely room for improvement, but I know the Spirit helps us teach to people like him.
Another thing, our ward now has 10 MISSIONARIES! Yeah our district is now all the missionaries in our ward! Pretty crazy right! We all had investigators at church on Sunday! Even the new Elders who had been in their area for 3 days found a new investigator! The new Elders in our ward are, Elder Ligan, from the Philippines, and Elder Zou, from Hong Kong. The first Chinese missionary in our mission! They are awesome!
I am so happy to be a missionary, and I know I am where the Lord needs me to be at the time I need to be here. He has a plan for each one of us, and through prayer we can align our will with His. It is so hard to put off the natural man and to forget ourselves, but I know when I forget myself, and get lost in this work, I am so much happier. No words can explain the happiness I have felt on my mission, and if you can this week, share the gospel with someone you know. Trust me, it is an amazing feeling to help someone come one step closer to their Father in Heaven, and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Through Christ we can return to our Father to live with Him again in heaven. There we will be relieved of pains, sicknesses, and heartaches. Keep on enduring, it’s worth it (: I know it!
Love always

November 18th 2013 " I love the Gospel, and the hope it brings into the lives of people."

Well, this has been another week of sicknesses. Just kidding, but poor Sister Rodrick got sick again, this time a stomach bug, so we couldn't work for a couple days, but we surprising at such high numbers this week! It’s amazing how the Lord blesses you with these miracles and makes up for our weaknesses.

We had a really good experience Monday night. We met this less active member a few weeks back that had just moved in. She had seen the other Sisters we live with and she told them to tell us to stop by. When the storm came, we told every contact in our phone that if they needed help to let us know. She texted us Monday and asked if we could have someone come and give her a blessing. We had to run all around to find, locate, and talk to 2 Priesthood holders in our ward, but after some time it all came together and she received the blessing she needed. It was a good experience to see them fellowship her, and help her feel welcome into the area. We felt the Lord use us as instruments to help her receive the blessing she needed.

Tuesday we had exchanges. Sister Sands and I went with Sister Simbol (this is my 3rd exchange with Sister Simbol- I love her). We were in their area and had a very good day. She is an amazing example to me. We went tracting for about 30 minutes and we felt prompted to cross the street and go to one house. The man we visited with was taught 3 years ago by the missionaries, and seemed very curious to know more again. He said "If I find your church to be true, I would convert. I will go where the Lord wants me to go". Such a neat experience for me.

On Wednesday I felt a very similar prompting. We were walking in one of our barangays and had extra time so we were going to stop by a potential investigator. We walked past this road and this woman caught my eye. I kept walking, but had an impression... 'talk to her'. I kept walking, then I was stopped dead in my tracks, and had to go back. I knew I couldn't walk past her! She invited us into her home, we shared a short message and she asked us to come back Sunday. We did, and I loved it. She asked us, "What can I do to strengthen my family?", or course in Tagalog, but she is so interested and wants to know so much. I am excited to keep teaching her (:

That same day we taught a woman names, Estrella. She lived in New Jersey for 45 years and had to come back to the Philippines. She is in her 70's and said to us, she wants to be Mormon. Sister Roderick met here when she was on exchanges with Sister Sanft, and she kept saying she wants to join our church. That was my 2nd lesson I have taught in the Philippines in English. She told us she understands English better than Tagalog, so we said okay....it was SO hard. I have somewhat converted many words in my head to Tagalog.

We had 3 investigators at church yesterday, and it was so good! The topics in church seemed to match up with what we have been teaching them at this time, so it was really good. The Lord is so mindful of all of us. I love this church!
Our one investigator, Ace... is so awesome! He has come to church 2 times now, writes down every scripture they say in church, and reads every scripture we tell him about. He has such a strong desire to do what the Lord wants him to do. We are blessed to know him. We have been studying the Plan of Salvation with him, and he texted us last night saying how beautiful Gods plan for us is. He also was able to come to a baptism we had in our ward on Friday. That was a good experience for all of us. I know that we all need to be baptized. It is the only way to enter into the gate to return to our Heavenly Father. Gods plan for us really is PERFECT! I am so blessed to be able to share this good message with others here.

I love the Plan of Salvation, and I know every single one of us here on this earth chose to follow this perfect plan from the beginning. I love the Gospel, and the hope it brings into the lives of people. The Book of Mormon is not just a book; it is the word of God for us. Read it, ponder it, and pray to know it is true. I know you won't regret doing so (:
I love you all so much xoxoxx  (Sorry, no pics this week.)