So to be honest, this week has probably been one of the craziest and unexpected that has happened to me so far. Let me just say, it has definitely put Sister Raneses and my faith to the test as it seems like we have had to push through trial after trial this past week.
But despite the road bumps and the twists and turns in the road, it was a good week none the less, and definitely had a happy ending.
But to start, this week... I GOT ROBBED. Yup... that is definitely something that hasn't happened until now. We were at a teaching appointment and one of our investigators that had tagged along managed to slip some money out of my wallet. Luckily, the other investigator that was there noticed and after the lesson, told us what had happened.
We headed over to their home and asked the investigator to return the stolen money, but they took of running. We weren't quite sure what to do--and our phone had just died--so we followed them to the border of our area and then we had to let them go.
Long story short, it kind of turned into a whirlwind of a situation that left Sister Raneses and I feeling a little frustrated and depressed the next day (Sunday), especially when we found out that this is not the first time that investigator has stolen from us.
Anyways, the other big event that happened to us this week was last Tuesday. So last Tuesday, I FINALLY finished my painting...
...for the proselyting by the arts gallery that happened last Saturday. Basically, hundreds of investigators from all over Naga showed up on Saturday for a tour of the chapel, some videos, and some messages using the art, it was really fun and cool the way they set it up! They even got professional artists to come from Legaspi and Manilla to paint live and give painting tips. Here's some of the artwork displayed at the gallery (can you find mine?)...
It took a lot of effort to make it happen, and I was SOOOO relieved to have it finally done!
To be honest, with the time I had I was happy with that I was able to do...
...and even more happy to get back to a normal schedule. I think out of everything though, I was the most excited to get a good nights sleep.
I remember just laying in my bed Tuesday night, feeling all the stress drain out of my body, with a huge smile on my face as Sister Raneses turned out the lights, and was asleep almost instantaneously. Unfortunately, it felt like only a moment later when I was startled awake by the lights at 2:00am when Sister Raneses woke me up saying the faucet in our bathroom downstairs would not turn off.
I forced myself out of bed, headed down and sure enough, the water faucet in the bathroom wouldn't turn off. As I "gently" tried to twist the faucet closed, the whole nozzle broke off and started shooting water all the way up to the ceiling. My first thought was: "my mom's right... I guess I am a walking disaster. I do break everything I touch..." and then I sent Sister Raneses to wake up Sister Marino because neither one of us knew where the water line was.
I held the faucet closed as best as I could, while Sister Marino and Sister Raneses looked for a way to turn off the water, until finally we resorted to tying the faucet shut with a couple of plastic bags before heading back to sleep.
The next day, I will admit, I was exhausted and annoyed at our faucet for interrupting my sleep. But everything ended up working out alright because on the bright side of it all, when the plumber FINALLY came on Thursday to fix the faucet, he attached a bright and shiny new faucet head and even fixed our toilet before leaving, so now... IT FLUSHES!!! YAY!!!! No more dumping tons of buckets of water into it trying to get it to flush!
I remember having mixed feelings of joy and wonder as I flushed the toilet for the first time in 9 months. Part of me felt like I might have been dreaming, the other part wanted to sit in the bathroom and flush the toilet over and over again. I don't think I have ever been so happy to go to the bathroom as I have this week! It almost felt like Christmas at our house, and for me, the flushing toilet makes the broken faucet, exhaustion, and the two days we spent without running water all worth it.
Besides that, today marks the end of Sister Raneses's and my first transfer together, and the half-way mark of her training. It is insane how fast this transfer has slipped by! Heck, it feels like it just started yesterday! Which kind of freaks me out about how fast the upcoming transfer is going to go... especially since Sister Raneses is definitely one of the best companions I have had so far, and I will definitely cry when we have to say goodbye.
So I guess that means we need to work harder this upcoming transfer to make everything/our last transfer together (maybe) worth it.
Overall, it has been a bumpy week full of all kinds of experiences, good and bad.
I felt surprise and joy as one of our long-time investigators finally determined to stop smoking and threw out all of his cigarettes while we were there. As well as when I watched a new light appear in one of our investigator's eyes as she resolved to work towards baptism. Also, I felt joy when after a couple weeks of striving and effort, Sister Francia was finally able to receive her baptismal interview and is now preparing to be baptized this upcoming Saturday.
I know we all have challenges in life, and sometimes when those challenges seem hard, it can be easy to miss all the blessings we are receiving as well. For me, I think this week was kind of like that. But I know that we get to choose what we will focus on, so it is up to us if we will choose to focus on the clouds in our lives, or on the silver linings.
I promise that as we choose those silver linings and keep smiling through the storms, then all times of life will be happy, no matter what our circumstances. Just think, we are so lucky to have friends and family to lift us up in hard trials, bright futures to look forward to, and better days to come. And if all else fails, and everything in life seems hopeless, then this is my advice: go find a toilet, and flush it! Because we are so blessed to have such luxuries in our lives. So, if nothing else, at least that can bring some joy and comfort in life's hardest times.
I love you all and hope you have a great week.
Sincerely, Sister Matheny
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