Wow! What another great week here in Iriga! So this week has probably been one of the most challenging and rewarding I have had since starting the mission.
To be honest, it seems like every day, the mission becomes more challenging. Now, don't take me wrong, that isn't a bad thing... it just means we have to always be striving harder and doing more to reach our best.
I remember at the start of the mission, feeling really encouraged as I thought to myself "all I have to do is adjust to life here and then it will be a breeze!" Oh, how I was wrong :)
True, the trials now are not the same as when I got here. I don't have to force myself into the freezing shower water everyday (because I'm used to it) and I don't scream AS bad when a cockroach lands in my hair, but in other ways, the trials have become more real. Little by little, I have had to push myself to reach higher goals, pray more sincerely, and meet more people. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, and I'm not sure I'm doing a great job of it now, but all in all, I am so grateful for the tests of patience, faith, and hope that my Heavenly Father gives me each day to help me continue to grow and always be pushing to be better than the day I was before.
Little by little, I have really felt my love for this place and the people here increase and I LOVE getting to be a part of their lives and watch them change and grow.
More and more, I am really learning that this work is not about me, it is about THEM. All the people we strive to help each day.
When THEY are happy, I am too. When THEY are sad, I always want to cry and walking from place to place, I always feel stressed that we don't have time to meet more of them!
If there is one thing a mission will teach you, it is how precious time is. Every single second is a blessing, so we should use each of them wisely.
I think out of everything that happened this week, what I remember the most is waking up the other day and just thinking... "I don't EVER want my mission to end. I don't EVER want to go home! I just want to be a missionary forever".
Nothing can describe the joy of this work and how thankful I am for my family (especially my mom) who pushed me to come here. I was never expecting to change in the ways that I have, or to have become so happy. I really do know that this is God's work, this is His restored church on the earth and that He loves us so much and will never desert us.
Besides that, I also want to thank my awesome mom for yet another care package!
It came just at the right time too... So, we have this investigator, who is my FAVORITE person EVER! He is SOOOO awesome and really knows this is true. But we saw him drinking alcohol last week, and then he started hiding from us. It is so hard to describe how much that hurt me (that he doesn't trust us that we won't be mad at him or anything) and I have been praying really hard for him. To be honest, I was feeling SUPER depressed about it when the package came, so it really helped to cheer me up, especially when I saw the pizza sauce!
So, we are just going to keep pushing and working hard in the upcoming weeks.
I hope you all have a great week!
Sincerely,
Sister Matheny
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