from August 4:

This week was great! I wasnt too sad leaving sister Roos. I knew she was ready to move on and share her knowledge and train. She really is a great missionary and i cant wait to see her grow even more! I was so happy to be companions with sister maloata. We actually met in the MTC and we joked about us being companions and here we are! We've been together for a few days now and i've already learned so much from her! I want to be samoan when I grow up:)

We are really working on applying the trainings our mission President gave us about the 10 minute lessons to members and church tours! We have a few people to visit this week and will be sharing the blessings that come from sharing the gospel with family and friends from Alma 31:34-35. We're excited to work closer with our members. We want to train and gain the trust of the members so they can work on retaining while we focus on investigators. We've already have been seeing so many blessings and miracles! 

The Solinap family have been investigators since the previous missionaries were here. Brother Joe Marie would lie to the sisters about his cigarette smoking and we just taught him and were bold and loving and he started to trust us and is being super honest! He hasnt smoked in 2 days now. He says he's getting stomach aches but he says he just prays and he feels better! Yesss! Sister Cecilia has been ready for a long time now. Through them we met Phoebe and Marisel and they will be getting baptized all together on August 24. THEN, we met their daughter-in-law who is a part member and now has a baptismal date for August 31. We met two previous investigators on sunday afternoon and they have dates for September 14. Can you believe it!? Its only been less than a week and we've already seen so much progression! We're already giving dates in september!!

I'm so excited to do more work here in Silay. We also are doing the church tours on fridays at 6pm. We have so many young men who have committed to come and play and last week we met someone who acutally came in and was soooo prepared! She said she has been looking for the truth and we were able to teach her the message of the restoration. She prayed and she said she felt so good about what we taught her. It was my first time teaching a lesson in all english! it was so difficult describing things i've been used to describing in Ilonggo. Also, the First Vision, I should learn it in English:) We will be doing church tours every week now!

Sister Maloata and I will be doing exchanges with sisters in two zones! Its going to be a little stressful but it'll be fun:) Shes soo amazing. I'm just glad i'm doing this calling with her. Shes just so calm and super confident. Its great;) The house i'm in is great. We have sooo many cockroaches but i prefer them over mosquitoes. We have to shower outside in the back of our house cause our bathroom inside is upstairs and the water pressure isnt strong enough hehee. Its a little colder here too! i've actually been wearing my cardigans that i brought! Its nice;) We get a nice breeze at night. 

We're teaching a young man and he speaks tagalog! its sooo hard to speak tagalog! I just taught in a mix of english and ilonggo. Sooo hard! I need to brush up on my Tagalog skills, which are non existent because i havent spoken that language in over a year now! I'm praying in spanish now, and it takes me FOREVER. HOpefully i can get the hang of it soon:) 

I met this young man this week. His name is Michael and hes amazing. He used to be the leader of a gang here in the Philippines. He was being taught and was baptized in May of this year. Now he comes and works with us every week. He is getting ready to serve a misson! SO cool! He has such a strong testimony. I cant wait to see all the miracles he'll be doing on his mission. Seriously such a humble guy. 

Anyway, my week has been amazing. I miss Talisay but i'm excited to be here in Silay:) Lots of work to do here!

~Tofa soifua~

(take care in Samoan:)

Loveyou allssss:)

from July 28:

This week was so full of the spirit! Brother Alan Mana was baptized this past Saturday. Words cannot explain how happy I felt that day. It was really a miracle that we were able to see the baptism go smoothly. We showed up early because we knew we needed to fill up the font somehow because there was a  black out. The first thing we did was kneel down in prayer and asked heavenly Father to help the baptism go well. We didnt know HOW that would happen but we knew brother Alan was important to Him, and that his baptism would go well so he could feel the spirit. It was quite an adventure getting that font filled. We found out there was a water well in the back of the church, so we emptied two 20 gallon garbage cans and used little ones to scoop water out and fill the 20 gallon can. We did like 30 trips. It took us like 12-14 scoops of water to fill one 20 gallon can, then it took 30 times to fill the font enough to immerse Brother Mana. You do the math. Honestly, it was all heavenly Father giving us the srength to do that. We had two brothers helping us take the 20 gallon to the font. So what we did mostly is fill the 20 gallons. AHh! and I'm not even that SORE! Yeah, I have superwoman strength. It was so worth it when, as we sang "I am a child of God" at the conclusion of his baptism, he teared up and told us how happy he was to be baptized. I was filled with such an overwhelming feeling of love for Brother Mana and I just KNEW, God was happy because one more of His many children made that special promise to Him, to follow His Son, and that regardless of the situation, nothing can stop miracles from happening. 

His children had a date to be baptized on August 3, but they will be baptized on August 10 instead so Brother Mana can baptize them. We just know that as he feels the power and love from using his Priesthood, he'll gain a stronger testimony and endure to the end. 

The Barreto boys are going to be baptized on the 17th of August and the young women in the Despi family will be baptized on the 10th. We're working so hard. We know there will be more miracles. We need to be at the right place and the right time and as we are exactly obedient and study out where we need to be, we'll be there and find those who are ready for this gospel. 

So ya, crzyy. Another funny story. We went to a memebers hhouse cause we're teaching her son. Well, its a little down hill and when it rains it FLOODS! As we left her house, we noticed how dirty and flooded stuff was and the memeber was telling us how we should use her rain boots to walk through the water! Only problem, there was only one pair:) So, did I mention my companion is a cheerleader and shes been lifting girls for the past few years? FOr a competitive team? Well, she got to use her skills on the mission because she put on the boots and carried me out to higher land:) it was pretty hilarious. We couldnt stop laughing. But yea, that was my adventure for the week. 

For sister Rizas baptism, we had a problem with the font water. It was like, mountain dew yellow and nasty. So we improvised and used a tampon to filter out the water;) Thanks Tampax!

Theres a seven 11 here in Silay! Like 10 minutes away from us! I cant wait to go get my slurpee:) I've been dreaming of it forever now! yay!

I love my mission~!

sorry I'm a little behind. this is from July 14:

Maung hapon sa tanan mga ambian kag pamilya ko!

WE had a really great week this week! We finally bought umbrellas and our ward is so happy!

We're seeing some great progression with the Despi family! Sister Priscilla, the mother, came to church! We are still trying to work on brother Juan. He fishes on Sunday so we shared the story about Christ and him telling the fishermen to cast their nets on the other side of their boats and they were so much more blessed when they did so. He seemed to enjoy that and says he will go to church this coming week. He read in the Book of Mormon! We did a little dance because we were soo happy to know he had exercised his faith and experimented on his own by reading. He really enjoyed what he read and committed to continue to read. His children ask us for reading assignments every time we visit. They're seriously so stinking cute!

The baptism was wonderful! Joy joy and Em em were so excited and happy to be baptized. I dont think anyone else was glowing as much as their mother was. She was soo happy to see the blessings pouring in to their home. We're now working on Elmer John and trying to get him fellow shipped and feel the love of the gospel and the Spirit its bringing to his home. Sister Evelyn really has such a powerful testimony and started crying when we told her she can fast for Elmer John. 

Sister Riza will be entering the waters of baptism this coming week. She as well has such a powerful testimony and love for the Gospel. 

Brother Alan will be baptized this coming July 27. He too, just blowed us away when he shared with us how he came to know about the Gospel. People really are being prepared to accept these things:) Its a miracle! 

I've really been enjoying reading about the Stripling warriors and about Captain Moroni. I love how brave and how commited and diligent Moroni was to the cause of his country, people, and religion. I have been striving daily to become like him in his diligence with the work. Seriously, il'm obsessed, all of our reading assignments are  in Alma:) 

Great week! I love it:) 

UPDATE!

This week was a little exhausting.

On Friday morning, I wake up to do some exercising(which i've been
doing a TON lately yay me!) and my companion comes in and doesnt look
too good and says that she thinks she got a fever in the middle of the
night. We dont have a thermometer so we called the sisters that live
down the street from us and they brought us theirs. I checked her temp
and it wasnt too bad but she did have a fever. As I was getting ready
to do studies, she walks in and tells me she wants to rest for a
second, I look up and see a SUPER pale Sister ROOS. I yelled at her
telling her to lay down and started freaking out and saying, "My
companion is dying!" THEN, I checked her temp and AHH! She was at
100.3...thats when I really started freaking out. Long story short,
she had some sort of virus thats going around the mission and we've
been stuck at home for the past 4 days with me playing nurse! I'm
pretty good at it:)) Cause shes not dead! I was so scared cause I
think the last time I had a fever was when I was like 10 and i've
never had to take care of a super sick person. Ayy, so scary but I"m
good, its good, anyone else in the future, you get sick....I GOT YOU!

Anyway, our ward ROCKs and they stopped by and gave us food and just
came by to lift sister ROos up. SOOO nice. We had to come email
because if she doesnt email her mom she will probably think shes dead
and come after me.

We have some super sweet stuff coming up. Our investigators came to
church but unfortunately we didnt get to see them because we didnt go
to church. Our ward visited us to make sure we dont go less active:))

But we're sooo excited to get out there and get back to work!

We had a really fun time with one of our investigators earlier in the
week. He was drunk and we didnt really realize it so he started
telling us how he believed Joseph Smith was a scientist. hehehe soo
funny.

Also, to cheer my companion up, I danced to the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir hehee, it was EPIC, I know you all wish you were there.

Anyway, this is a really long update. My mom hasnt emailed me and i'm
killing some time so you all have a more detailed account of whatst
going on in Talisay.
I've had tons of time to read the scriptures which is always super
sweeet. My mom just sent me an email. Later ya'lls, i guess i better
start working on my Texas accent.

Love ya'll critters

Take caree

Updattteeee

WE can now email other fulltime missionaries so this is going to be short. I have some catching up to do:))

I love Talisay. I love my companion. And I love my mission. 

I had a nightmare the other night that i was serving a mission in Texas.

I have ten minutes left. 

Basically i'm having the time of my life and just loving the work and oh man, how I love the people. I'm obsessed with Filipinos:))

I am officially pinay. I get told all the time now!

We have some fun stuff coming up. We're having a missionary fireside and the whole ward is involoved and super excited. We have been getting tons of referrals and we have some exciting baptisms coming up. 

I love love love.love.love.lovelovelove. my msision.

I dont think you all got that.
BUt i do

Have a great week all!

here's an update...

i dont have a shift key or a v...well it works sometimes

so here goes

hello friends and lovely family

i am now in a city called Talisay. i'm a mom! my trainee is sister roos from san antonio texas. shes suuuper funny so i have like a total six pack from laughing so much. i'm whitewashing again and its soooo fun! sort of , of course its tough but its great because we hae awesome support from the ward! we have ward missionaries working with us eery single dayyyy. aweeesomeee. our priesthood leaders wear suits here which doesnt eer happen cause hello, we're in the philippines. but its so awesome to see them dressed up super nice for church. i saw a brother that was in my ward in my first area so that was cool. he's now married so he lives in my area now. we hae such strong relief socity members here. lots of temple marriages;)) i loooove the bishop here, he offered to work with us on friday!! woohooo. his wife is also sooo amazing. i want to be like them when i grown up;] we hae an area right by the ocean and we always go there right around time to watch the sunset. it blows me away how beautiful it is here. my companion was telling me about all the stuff ive been missing, like moies and music and stuff and i just thought how i'm not missing anything. you are all missing out on thissssss. hehee;] i love teaching and we hae a senior copule here and they rockk. 

we are living in a brand new house. eerything was brand new when we walked in so basically i am sooo spoiled in this area. we have a awesome ward missionary leader, awesome leadership and ward, house, area, and my companion. so pretty much i'm super spoiled and i'm so blessed to be in such a nice and established area. one of the pioneers here in the ward knows how to speak spanish. it was really funny cause i couldnt een speak anyyyy. ahh. like my cousin cory said, i'm not mexican anymore hehe. its coool cause een the filipinos tell me i am super pinay. yay score!

i reached my year mark so i started sleeping with my nametag;] i'm just going to enjoy the rest of the time i hae here and work work work. 

loe you alll

i have no shift buttons and the v button works only sometimes. i love this work. its great. you should all try it sometime.

palangga kamo namon

Heres an update for the homies

Mauri!

ITs SO HOT! I've been showering like 3 times a day hehee..

Anyway, our area is split and we're starting to get the hang of it. The problem is my area is a little sketchy and we're always left hanging. So we do a ton of finding and oym'ing. Its a ton of fun. There were elders here a few years ago and they seem to have visited everyone! Most of the people we find were previously taught so they already have a background on the church which is cool. We found a less active who was baptized when she was 9 and hasnt gone to church since and she was soooo happy to see us. She really wants to come to church. I thought that was pretty cool. Even how many years after she still remembers the good feelings and wants that again and she knows she can get it through the gospel. 

We had a really great service day with our whole zone. We went to an area called Punta Taytay. The beaches here in Bacolod are suuuuper nasty. The ocean is the peoples backyard so they just throw all of their rubbish and we dug through at least a foot of rubbish. We had so many garbage bags full! I wish I had taken a picture, and we only cleaned up a small area. SO crazy. So, just dont litter kay? :)

We had exchanges and I was with a sister Davis whos been here for like 3 weeks. Shes such a sweetheart and it was so funny seeing the reactions of the Filipinos to her blond hair and blue eyes. They were a little confused why if she's american and I am too, and why we look so different hehee. I had to speak mostly English and we did some practice teaching in English and it was so hard! Its so difficult to express myself and explain and give examples.  

We have a zone activity later on today which should be fun. The Sinemas are so great! I love senior couples. OUr Kiribati sisters taught us one of their traditional dances and its sooo fun but ahhh, sakit! it hurts to sit and the arm movements ay, my arms are sore;)) But its so fun. I'm so going to get into this stuff, its a workout and so fun. We're going to perform at our zone activity hehee.

Nothing much else going on in Magsungay. I'm so excited for Claudias wedding and so proud of ALe's graduation. My mom was called to be Relief Society President and Diego is bringing home medals everyday from swimming and art and math competitions. Show off;) 

My grandmother is pretty sick so any prayers for her would surly be appreciated. I was told she might not make it before the time I get back. Its so weird that such an important person might be gone when I get home. Cge lang, plan of happiness no? 

I love you all and miss you dear friends and family. 

Palangga ko kamo<3