Well . . .
This was one of the quickest weeks of my life! As my first full week as an STL, I learned an incredible amount of love and understanding for the sisters already. I am so grateful for this additional way to serve and expand the way I serve. I am finding this added responsibility to be very rewarding so far. I am realizing that the skills i use as a missionary are the same skills i will use as a friend, leader, and mother after the mission.
As an STL, I travel between zones and go on exchanges with the sisters I am given watch over. I love it sooooooooo much! I already went on exchanges with Sister Vea in. . . . SAN JOSE! (my old area during the typhoon). I love getting to meet so many more sisters, especially living really near the mission home and office. I stay busy all the time with phone calls with the APs, ZLs, my DL the other sisters' DLs, etc. I really get to know everyone else in the mission! especially with the upcoming MLC (a meeting for the ZLs and STLs with President and the APs) in two days. :) NOpe, we don't have a car. No sisters have cars here, only office elders, APs and the Tacloban ZLs. We just walk or ride jeepneys or vans or buses, etc. :) I have 4 different companionships to work with: Carigara, San Jose, Downtown, and Palo. That's only a few so we have time to work in our own area!
It honestly feels soooooooooooooooo good to be back in Tacloban 1st Ward. There's a lot of destruction here still in the neighborhoods, but for the most part, life is up and running. Robinson's (a mall) reopened completely just two days ago! yay! As I was in San Jose, I went to one of the areas right by the airport where it was hit the most by the typhoon. It looks like a ghost town. All the trees are gone except the trunks of some really big trees. Yikes. Life is so fragile. Since i've been back, i've been able to hear so many stories about what happened to others during the typhoon! Some of them are pretty crazy, like all the members in the Fatima chapel (500 plus people) crawling into the attic of the church to escape the flood, and another family hanged from cable wires on the powerlines to stay above water. Remind me to tell you more details when i have time. . .
Our curfew is 6pm because things are still unstable in some ways. Not sure how to describe. Life goes on like it did before, but there are constant reminders of the storm, if that makes sense. And not all the street lights are fixed yet. But I feel safe as long as there is light out. :) We work with a lot of members too so we travel in groups so we're safe and stuff. Just as precautions. I've only been here a week so I'm not sure how things are now. But i really feel safe and that people respect us as missionaries.
My area is awesome! I actually share my area with the APs and the ZLs which is fun. :) We have giant family home evenings all the time! And then I get a ride in their car.
I haven't met our new President Maurer yet, but we hear he is incredible. He had a meeting with the office elders yesterday afternoon. The elders tell us he is the happiest, funniest man ever! He's from Australia and lives in New Zealand. :) Cool accents! Also, he was involved in the Area Seminary/Institute stuff. Not exactly sure, but sounds like an incredible teacher.
I wish I had time to write you more. . . maybe I'll handwrite the rest this week. LOVE YOU ALL!
This is looking to be one of the best transfers of my mission so far!
Scripture of the week: Moroni 7:25-26; 32-33
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Day 390 Tacloban, Philippines
Sooooooooooooooooooo much has happened this week. First off, I'M BACK IN TACLOBAN 1st WARD!!! I'm not in the San Jose area but I'm in the same ward that I was in during the typhoon. My area is shared with the APs and the ZLs (because somehow I became an STL) in V&G, Sagkahan, and Fatima. I'm not downtown but there's a lot more professionals in these barangays (um. . neighborhoods. that's the English word, haha). There's still a lot of destruction in these areas, but many of the members have been benefited by the home building project by the church and HELP International. It feels so good to be back! Even though I was only in this ward for a month or so, I absolutely loved it. My companion is Sister Woodruff. Love her already! :) All the members joke that we are prophetesses or something because of our last names, haha. We live next door to the Downtown and San Jose sisters in our own apartment. :)
Also GUESS WHAT! Since I get to go on exchanges with other sisters, I get to go back to San Jose AND Carigara (my first area)!!!!! Tender mercy right there. And learning Tagalog in Allen is really paying off here, although I need to relearn the Waray2x here.
Hey do you get letters or emails from my mission office/president? Just curious. Also, I got the multivitamins this week. Salamat hin duro! And Ally Wilkin you are INCREDIBLE! Thanks for the package pal! :D :D :D
So let me back up before transfers.
We weren't able to go back to Mark before I left, but Irene seems to be doing awesome. She brought her neighbors to the lesson and will go to church after the funeral of her brother-in-law. She just keeps having one trial after another.
I found another awesome investigator while i was on member splits with Melanie Habla. I asked her why she had religion in her life or what is the purpose of church in her life? She told me that even though she's been a Catholic forever, she is struggling to find answers to her prayer when she prays to the saints and mother mary. Then she asked us with tears in her eyes, "What is the purpose of church? What is my purpose?" We were guided to tell her that as she follows the gospel of Jesus Christ, she will be able to have the guidance of the Holy Ghost once she is baptized by proper authority, etc. She committed to be baptized on the first lesson! And she said the only reason she hasn't tried attending church before was because she thought we prayed to Joseph Smith. We told her no and she said, "Well, then i"m coming to church with my family on Sunday!" And she gave us referrals. :) Love it when that happens. I can't wait to hear from Sister Mier what happened with her.
I went to the worst funeral ever. I was invited to play piano for the funeral service a member who was a pioneer for the church there in Allen. She died at age 96 or something. Definitely her time to go. But the family (who weren't members) were all in complete hysterics. Like, they had to be dragged out of the room when the procession started to the gravesite. And there was one lady screaming MAMA and stomping her feet and then she laid on the coffin. I was definitely messing up the hymns i was playing because I could not focus. I am SO GRATEFUL to have a knowledge of the gospel of God's plan. I felt happiness and relief that the woman had finally passed on to her rest. Well, hopefully, since the funeral was at our LDS chapel, the Catholics who attended will have their eyes opened and be willing to listen to the gospel in the future. THE CHURCH IS SO TRUE!
Well, I'm out of time, but I love you all!
Sister Amanda Smith
Also GUESS WHAT! Since I get to go on exchanges with other sisters, I get to go back to San Jose AND Carigara (my first area)!!!!! Tender mercy right there. And learning Tagalog in Allen is really paying off here, although I need to relearn the Waray2x here.
Hey do you get letters or emails from my mission office/president? Just curious. Also, I got the multivitamins this week. Salamat hin duro! And Ally Wilkin you are INCREDIBLE! Thanks for the package pal! :D :D :D
So let me back up before transfers.
We weren't able to go back to Mark before I left, but Irene seems to be doing awesome. She brought her neighbors to the lesson and will go to church after the funeral of her brother-in-law. She just keeps having one trial after another.
I found another awesome investigator while i was on member splits with Melanie Habla. I asked her why she had religion in her life or what is the purpose of church in her life? She told me that even though she's been a Catholic forever, she is struggling to find answers to her prayer when she prays to the saints and mother mary. Then she asked us with tears in her eyes, "What is the purpose of church? What is my purpose?" We were guided to tell her that as she follows the gospel of Jesus Christ, she will be able to have the guidance of the Holy Ghost once she is baptized by proper authority, etc. She committed to be baptized on the first lesson! And she said the only reason she hasn't tried attending church before was because she thought we prayed to Joseph Smith. We told her no and she said, "Well, then i"m coming to church with my family on Sunday!" And she gave us referrals. :) Love it when that happens. I can't wait to hear from Sister Mier what happened with her.
I went to the worst funeral ever. I was invited to play piano for the funeral service a member who was a pioneer for the church there in Allen. She died at age 96 or something. Definitely her time to go. But the family (who weren't members) were all in complete hysterics. Like, they had to be dragged out of the room when the procession started to the gravesite. And there was one lady screaming MAMA and stomping her feet and then she laid on the coffin. I was definitely messing up the hymns i was playing because I could not focus. I am SO GRATEFUL to have a knowledge of the gospel of God's plan. I felt happiness and relief that the woman had finally passed on to her rest. Well, hopefully, since the funeral was at our LDS chapel, the Catholics who attended will have their eyes opened and be willing to listen to the gospel in the future. THE CHURCH IS SO TRUE!
Well, I'm out of time, but I love you all!
Sister Amanda Smith
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| Pictures of goodbye in Allen |
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| A view from my new apartment window as things look right now. It's near the same property as the mission home (not my old apartment which was about a half a mile away from this one). During the typhoon, this new apartment flooded about 4ft. |
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Day 383 Allen, Philippines last interview with President Andaya. . . . :(
I can't believe it's time for the Andayas to go home. . . I had an awesome last interview with President Andaya. It was really short, but it went well. I almost cried at the end of the interview because i realized it would probably be the last time I see him unless I transfer this week through Tacloban.
On a less sad note, the new President Maurer sounds just as awesome as President Andaya. He'll be my THIRD Mission President, haha. I really can't compare between all the presidents because they are all exactly what the mission needs at certain moments and they are called of God and led by revelation. :) I've heard that he's a really good teacher because he used to be a well-known Institute teacher and stuffs. Exciting!
Irene is doing ok. She still reads but we are having a harder time helping her want to go to church. Also, during our last lesson when we asked her about being baptized again and how she feels about setting a date, she says she wants a sign before committing to a specific date. We then helped her recognize the signs she's already received from the Holy Ghost. Hopefully, this will sink in and she'll realize that she already has her answer.
We contacted an awesome referral the other day: Mark. He's also a professional, referred by his brother (another investigator). At the door, he got straight to the point: he was born Catholic, but he recognized how the religion contradicts the Bible sometimes. He has a ton of good questions for us (like where did Joseph Smith get authority to explain the gospel? so he already understands the concept of needing priesthood authority!!!!) and committed to set aside time for us. I can't wait for the return appointment! ;)
LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLL!!
On a less sad note, the new President Maurer sounds just as awesome as President Andaya. He'll be my THIRD Mission President, haha. I really can't compare between all the presidents because they are all exactly what the mission needs at certain moments and they are called of God and led by revelation. :) I've heard that he's a really good teacher because he used to be a well-known Institute teacher and stuffs. Exciting!
Irene is doing ok. She still reads but we are having a harder time helping her want to go to church. Also, during our last lesson when we asked her about being baptized again and how she feels about setting a date, she says she wants a sign before committing to a specific date. We then helped her recognize the signs she's already received from the Holy Ghost. Hopefully, this will sink in and she'll realize that she already has her answer.
We contacted an awesome referral the other day: Mark. He's also a professional, referred by his brother (another investigator). At the door, he got straight to the point: he was born Catholic, but he recognized how the religion contradicts the Bible sometimes. He has a ton of good questions for us (like where did Joseph Smith get authority to explain the gospel? so he already understands the concept of needing priesthood authority!!!!) and committed to set aside time for us. I can't wait for the return appointment! ;)
LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLL!!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Day 376 Allen, Philippines Mission CSP & Conference!!
What a week. First off, I can't believe Ashley is home!!! That means I have less than 6 months left. . . But i'm still a baby in the mission! I feel like time is at a standstill because the weather never changes, haha.
If you ever want a cool subject to study: ministering of angels. Speaking of which, can you DearElder me Elder Holland's talk on Angels? Salamat! :)
After a crazy 7 hour van ride through the jungle, we finally arrived in Tacloban for our MISSION CSP!! and CONFERENCE!! Whoooooh! (fyi that's super rare here). There were crazy rumors going around that an apostle was coming, but instead we got to see some RMs and one of my old MTC teachers. We stayed two nights in Tacloban in a different sisters' apartment (sad news: my old apartment was bought by the RLDS church and they are turning it into a Bed and Breakfast, apparently). Tacloban looks AMAZING!! Full of people! cars! Stores full of stock! :)The top stories of the buildings still need a lot of work, but things are up and running. There are a lot of freshly painted/restored buildings, murals, etc. And there's a program called Tindog Tacloban that controls the fundraising for the city.
We cleaned up the General McArthur Park and then had a good bye Conference for the Andaya family. Sooooooooooooooooooo sad. Can't even describe. BUT we get to see them this week for Zone Interviews! The last time i had an interview with President Andaya was my first transfer in the field! I'm so excited! :)
I forgot to write about Irene! She's doing awesome! She is still in the grief period from the death of her husband, but she agreed to be baptized if she knows the church is true. she reads! (that's a miracle where many people can't read very well). She asked us why we claim the Book of Mormon to be the most correct book on earth. She thinks really deeply and considers what we say.i really feel the Spirit during our lessons with her.
Oh the package came! Those are some heavy Swedish Fish, haha! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! The best part were the letters. :) Thank you thank you!
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If you ever want a cool subject to study: ministering of angels. Speaking of which, can you DearElder me Elder Holland's talk on Angels? Salamat! :)
After a crazy 7 hour van ride through the jungle, we finally arrived in Tacloban for our MISSION CSP!! and CONFERENCE!! Whoooooh! (fyi that's super rare here). There were crazy rumors going around that an apostle was coming, but instead we got to see some RMs and one of my old MTC teachers. We stayed two nights in Tacloban in a different sisters' apartment (sad news: my old apartment was bought by the RLDS church and they are turning it into a Bed and Breakfast, apparently). Tacloban looks AMAZING!! Full of people! cars! Stores full of stock! :)The top stories of the buildings still need a lot of work, but things are up and running. There are a lot of freshly painted/restored buildings, murals, etc. And there's a program called Tindog Tacloban that controls the fundraising for the city.
We cleaned up the General McArthur Park and then had a good bye Conference for the Andaya family. Sooooooooooooooooooo sad. Can't even describe. BUT we get to see them this week for Zone Interviews! The last time i had an interview with President Andaya was my first transfer in the field! I'm so excited! :)
I forgot to write about Irene! She's doing awesome! She is still in the grief period from the death of her husband, but she agreed to be baptized if she knows the church is true. she reads! (that's a miracle where many people can't read very well). She asked us why we claim the Book of Mormon to be the most correct book on earth. She thinks really deeply and considers what we say.i really feel the Spirit during our lessons with her.
Oh the package came! Those are some heavy Swedish Fish, haha! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! The best part were the letters. :) Thank you thank you!
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Day 369 Allen, Philippines ONE YEAR....
So I'm pretty much in denial that I only have 6 months left. . . . I feel like I just got here!
So Stephen Ferrera was baptized on Saturday! Honestly, I'm so relieved because there's been some strife between the wards here about ward boundaries. . . It's hard to follow some Church policies when things are rather casual here. But that's why missionaries are here to help establish the Church. :) Stephen was supposed to be taught by the other ward, but things didn't work out that way. But now his records are in the the ward and everything is fine. :)
I still think I want to continue with Psychology. Why? I see so many mentally challenged people here. There is practically no help here for the mentally insane--- they have to go to Manila. A lady I knew had a stressful event happen in her life that triggered a psycho-attack. She received a blessing from the elders and we visited her the next day. She was singing non-stop as we talked with her. I didn't know what to do!
We had an awesome experience finding this past week. We a met a lady named Irene and she is sooo prepared to hear the gospel! Her husband died 40 days ago and a member of the Church has been her biggest help during his sickness and death. We just barely had our second lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation. When we spoke about temples and eternal families, she got chills! She read the two pamphlets we left her and has already started the Book of Mormon! And she knows English. :) I'll keep you updated on her!
Sorry, it's short this week, but I love you all!!!
P.S. I'm going to Tacloban this week for a MISSION CSP and CONFERENCE! Super stoked.
P.S. How old is Tyrel? is he the 2nd youngest? That's sooooo coool!
So Stephen Ferrera was baptized on Saturday! Honestly, I'm so relieved because there's been some strife between the wards here about ward boundaries. . . It's hard to follow some Church policies when things are rather casual here. But that's why missionaries are here to help establish the Church. :) Stephen was supposed to be taught by the other ward, but things didn't work out that way. But now his records are in the the ward and everything is fine. :)
I still think I want to continue with Psychology. Why? I see so many mentally challenged people here. There is practically no help here for the mentally insane--- they have to go to Manila. A lady I knew had a stressful event happen in her life that triggered a psycho-attack. She received a blessing from the elders and we visited her the next day. She was singing non-stop as we talked with her. I didn't know what to do!
We had an awesome experience finding this past week. We a met a lady named Irene and she is sooo prepared to hear the gospel! Her husband died 40 days ago and a member of the Church has been her biggest help during his sickness and death. We just barely had our second lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation. When we spoke about temples and eternal families, she got chills! She read the two pamphlets we left her and has already started the Book of Mormon! And she knows English. :) I'll keep you updated on her!
Sorry, it's short this week, but I love you all!!!
P.S. I'm going to Tacloban this week for a MISSION CSP and CONFERENCE! Super stoked.
P.S. How old is Tyrel? is he the 2nd youngest? That's sooooo coool!
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