Oh my Gulay (oh my vegetable)! How the time has flown!
This week has been super busy and so full of awesome experiences that I don't even know where to start. I remember looking back on Friday and not being able to believe that it was almost P-day again. So the time really has gone by incredibly fast. This week, we had a district activity where we got to go to Port Alfred in San Jose, Philippines...
...and spend some fun time on the beach!
It was so much fun!!!
Starting today is Sister Stackhouse's last week on the mission. Sniff, sniff.
It's so weird because I feel like she has been here since I got here! She is super smart, an awesome missionary and has also become a good friend as well. I have learned so much from her example and am really going to miss her when she goes home. She said that the time has gone by really fast and I believe her! For me, I can't believe that next week I'll have been on a mission for 6 months! Yet it only feels like it has been a few weeks, where has the time gone?!
~ Me, Sister Stackhouse, & Sister Jimenez in a tricy ~
~ Sister Satini, Me, Sister Stackhouse, & Sister Jimenez ~
Anyways, I feel like part of the reason Sister Satini and I had such a fast week was because we "worked smart" and got a lot done.
We came up with some new ideas for our area that we decided to try out this week and they ended up working out really well! As we have been getting to know each other it has been getting easier and easier for us to work together and mix our awesome ideas together so we have the best plan possible. :)
Speaking of the best, one of the best things about this week was my mom. This week I got a ton of packages from her which my kabahays, companion, and I all loved! It was like Christmas all over again when I came home to a new box a couple of times this week.
I was SOOOO excited to open them because my mom always sends the BEST stuff ;) And I think my kasama and kabahays love her too because they were just as thrilled as me when we opened up the packages and there was tons of good stuff inside.
I know one of the best things my mom sent was a ton of different toys to give away to the kiddies.
Since then, I have been carrying around bouncy balls every day to give away to the kids we teach and see playing outside. I think that two experiences that touched me the most were both times when I have never seen a kid so happy to get such a small gift.
The first experience, we were just getting out of a lesson when we saw this kid playing with part of a coconut shell and a cup. When we saw him, Sister Satini and I both immediately felt like we should give him a bouncy ball to play with. We handed it to him and his whole face lit up. As we were walking away, we watched him run over to his friend super excited to show her the new toy, it was adorable!
The second time, I gave a couple bouncy balls to these little kids who always say hi to us in one of our areas. When I gave the ball to the little boy, he literally started jumping and yelling "YAY! YAY! YAY!" It was just about the most adorable thing ever!
So I guess this is the part where I give a huge shout out to my mom.
She really is amazing and has been a HUGE help to me, even though she is on the other side of the world. Growing up, that was always something that I noticed about my mom, she is just about the most selfless woman I have ever met! She is always doing everything she can to help me and the people around her, it's awesome!
"Matheny's always win" is our family motto. lol ;)
Anyways, this weekend was super busy as we tried to plan a baptism on Saturday. It seemed like everything kept going wrong super last minute so to be honest, I was definitely feeling a little stressed about it all, because we really did want to have a good baptism! But in the end, everything ended up coming together really well and the spirit was super strong!
The baptism was for our investigator, Nanay Asor, and it has been so cool to be able to see the change in her these past couple of weeks. When we first started teaching her, she wasn't sure if she wanted to be baptized and was always waiting for the perfect time. As we taught though, it was crazy to see her change. Now she has one of the strongest testimonies I have seen here and always tears up when she bears her testimony. At the baptism, when she had the opportunity to share her testimony, it brought tears to my eyes.
That was definitely a highlight of an awesome week, but to make things even better, two of our investigators (Brother Roberto and Sister Trisha) also had their baptismal interviews this week, which went really well. I was especially excited for Brother Roberto because we have seen how much he has changed these past few weeks and how excited he is for his baptism.
I remember when we were at his house the other day helping him to prepare for the interview. We started asking him if he would be willing to keep different commandments after his baptism and he stopped us by saying that he is willing to follow any commandment God gives him. He just wants to do the right thing and follow the Lord's plan for him, it's incredible!
By the end of that lesson, the spirit was so strong and I was so happy. I feel like we put all this effort into teaching the restored gospel to our investigators and in the end, I feel like I always end up learning more from them than they do from us!
As missionaries, we are meant to teach repentance and baptize converts.
Every week we are so privileged to be a part of all these amazing people's conversion stories and see how powerful the gospel really can be at changing the hearts of men. Since I have been here, I have seen people stop smoking and drinking, overcome different challenges in life, and gain a new light and happiness that they didn't have before.
I know that the gospel is true and that it really does have the power to change people :) I know that it changes me more every day.
Anyways, I love you all and am so thankful for the emails I get each week. I wish I had more time to respond to them all!
I hope y'all have a great week! :)
Sincerely, Sister Matheny
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