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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.