My mission is leaping by!

As I'm writing this on the 29th of February, I've just realized I'm now officially half-way through my mission! It's crazy to see how many things have happened in just this short amount of time. This week we had a couple funny experiences in trying to recontact some people. At one house right as we walked up I saw a pair of legs dash behind the wall. Wanting to play detective, I quietly walked to the side of the house to find the man we were trying to contact hiding there. After making awkward eye contact with me for a split second, he dashed away and hid inside his house. He's wasn't obvious at all hahaha.

I think one thing I wish people knew about missionaries is that we can always tell when people try to avoid us or hide. At least we now know he doesn't want us to share with him! Even though we've experienced people like that, just in these last two weeks we've had a plethora of people open their homes to us. Miracles are happening. When people leap away from you, God will provide others who are ready to leap into the Gospel. 

Dog Days of Summer

So basically every day here is summer and filled with lots of dogs. Most of the dogs just roam around and I learned that if you just shhh! them they'll go away and not bite you. However, this last week, as I was riding on the outside of a trike, this dog came up and started chasing ferociously after us. It got about 1 foot close to me when the trike driver noticed him and then proceed to fearlessly kick the dog with his foot. The dog quickly tumbled away with no threat of returning. Needless to say, I am thankful for Arnold the Trike Driver for saving my legs. I've needed my legs a lot this week as we've been doing more walking then ever in trying to find people. One thing I love about Filipino people is how welcoming and kind they are, even if they obviously don't want to hear our message. Sister Cayanan and I were able to teach lots of new people and I'm thankful for all the miracles God has given us in our work this week.  

I'm a new mom!

I'm still here in my second area Masinloc, but guess what happened? I'm now training! In the mission, people colloquially call those who train, Nanay (mom) and their trainee, anak (child). So yep. I'm now the one responsible for everything. My new trainee is from the Philippines and she is perfect. Like, she already knows everything, including Tagalog! I honestly feel like she's training me haha. I know that even though I'm only 8 months on my mission, the Lord will qualify those whom He calls. I'm excited to see what adventures lay ahead and am happy to continue His work. Oh, and Happy Valentines Day from the Masinloc sisters!

Word of the Week: baliw --- crazy  Ex: There are lots of baliw people out there in the world for sure!

I Went Down to the River to Pray...

Studyin' 'bout that good 'ol way! There's a river that runs through my area and it's always very pretty to look at. Back when missionaries first came, it was also the location of their baptisms. We had a service project this week where we picked up garbage off of the beach to help restore it's former glory. Even though it was at some points an arduous process, it felt good to see it clean and new. In a way, our service is similar to helping people repent. We had a zone conference (see picture of all the missionaries) and a large theme of it was about how we can help our investigators fully repent before their baptisms. It's amazing to see the change the gospel can bring into people's lives. I know that as we develop faith in Jesus Christ and repent for what we've done wrong, we become worthy and ready to be baptized into His church. I'm so thankful to be His representative and help people clean their own beaches so that they can be beautiful too!

6 More Weeks of Winter, Early Spring or....

More summer sun of course! I felt somewhat dumb this last week when I asked the other sisters if they celebrate Groundhog's Day in New Zealand and the Philippines. I realized that of course they don't because 1) it's always summer here and 2) they're in the other hemisphere anyway. Haha it's alright, at least there is always good weather to proselyte in. This last week we continued to help our investigators prepare for their baptisms. Basically how it works, is we extend a baptismal goal date (usually 2-3 months in advance) and then continue to teach and help them prepare to be worthy to be baptized on that date. Of course, if the person doesn't feel ready by their date, it can be rescheduled. As missionaries it's wonderful to have front row seats to a person's conversion and reception of the restored gospel. I know that even though we all are at different spiritual levels, through diligence seeking and prayer, everyone can gain the truth for themselves directly from God. Whether it be here in the baking sauna of the Philippines or in misty Seattle, we are all His children and He is just waiting for us to turn to Him.

I am the termite-ator!

So this morning I woke up to find that termites had eaten into our ceiling and were falling directly on me and my bed, and then proceeding to eat me too! Well, I had to wash my sheets anyway. Of course, as a missionary, I started thinking about the spiritual implications. The termites are somewhat like our little sins that we think we can ignore because of their seemingly insignificant impact. However, when left alone, those sins add up and eat away at our spiritual sensitivity and leave us with nothing but a bunch of bites (that itch really bad too). 
Through repentance though, we can become clean once again and enjoy the blessings that God wants to give us. Just this last week, Sister Tantiangco and I have experienced many miracles in our work. Our main investigator family is coming to church and is making plans with others to enable them to continue to come. The 14 yr old daughter works as a maid on the weekends and through her faith, asked permission to have Sunday mornings off so that she can attend church. 

The mother, whose work is the only source of income for their family, is also making the sacrifice to take time off too. Even though they walk for about 20 minutes each Sunday morning, it's amazing to see their faith growing stronger and stronger. We recently taught them about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. They have a lots of things they need to correct, but since we taught them, they've already made substantial changes. I'm so happy here on my mission and despite all the little critters that seem to always target me, I know that God is shaping me into becoming a better servant of the Lord.

Knock knock! Who's there? The missionaries!

Actually, there are no doors here, so instead people shout "Tao po!" which means "People." I wonder how effective it would be if I shouted "people!" at homes when I come back. Anyway, this week, our mission president gave us a mission wide goal of finding 1000 new investigators. Even though this seemed like a daunting task for Sister Tantiangco and I, we saw lots of miracles in our finding. We found a couple sweet families who are willing to hear from us and even a couple accepted the invitation to be baptized. I'm so grateful to be given the opportunity to gather scattered Israel and be a part of this marvelous work! 

Word of the Week: Swak --- fitting perfectly Ex: My high fashion industrial design crocs are swak!