So another week of missionary work has come and gone and we are working harder than ever here in DAET to help get our area moving.
Since last week when I first got my transfer call that I would be moving to Daet, so much has happened! I have traveled A LOT and have been spending a lot more time adjusting to my new area and my new companion.
There are a lot of things I miss about Iriga... Sister Habla was a great companion and I definitely feel like I learned to be more LOVING from her, and in addition I also miss my investigators there a TON! When I went to go say that final goodbye Monday night to some of them, I couldn't hold back a few tears. But that's alright, I know it is for the best, and little by little I am growing to love Daet as much as I loved Iriga. I know that if I just continue to put in my best and give it my all here, then I will be able to completely adjust and the Lord will help make me able to do everything that is asked of me.
For one, I am SUPER excited for this upcoming transfer with SISTER SEGOVIA! She really is an AMAZING missionary! And I learn so much from her every day! For one, she has such a great vision for this area. I remember when I first got here, she told me that she wants to get 20 investigators at sacrament meeting! When I heard that, I immediately remembered my time back in Naga when I said the exact same thing to Sister Black.
I knew then that it was possible, just like I know now. But I also know it won't happen unless you get a set of 2 missionaries who both believe with all their hearts that it is possible and are willing to work with all their strength to make happen.
Well... I feel like that is definitely something both Sister Segovia and I can do! Up until this week, both of us had a record sacrament attendance of 13, but just this past week (mostly because of how AMAZING Sister Segovia is) we managed to raise that number to 18! I was SOOO amazed that within the first week of this transfer, we were able to reach that many investigators at church, and suddenly our goal to have 20 investigators at church started to seem low. Suddenly, I started to think that it might even be possible to have 30 investigators attend sacrament meeting if we just keep working hard and doing our best every day.
Speaking of working hard, Sister Segovia really is a hard worker. I am so grateful to be her companion and just this past week, I have already seen that I think this companionship is really going to push me to improve, work harder and do more. For one, I already know that I am going to have to learn to be MORE CLEAN! Because the only thing that seems to bother Sister Segovia is a messy house. I really like Sister Segovia, and I don't want her to hate me because I am a messy person, so on our first day, we sat down and had a "serious" conversation.
In that conversation, I told Sister Segovia "Look: I know I am not a clean person, so I am sorry if I make a mess... but I want to change! So please if I make a mess, don't hesitate to tell me and I will make sure to clean it up right away". Hopefully that will help...
Also, we really are dieting in Daet!
Because Sister Segovia seems obsessed with eating vegetables! Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with veggies, but they are just different in the Philippines! So are the fruits . . .
But, it seems like all the vegetables here are really mushy, which I am not a big fan of. So to be honest, I haven't really eaten many veggies in my entire mission! And now, Sister Segovia wants me to eat them! So hopefully I will lose some weight because of that.
Anyways, today, I actually happen to be emailing from NAGA! Because we got to come into town for our Missionary Leadership Meeting tomorrow (MLC) which I am excited for! It will be my first time getting to go to one of those meetings so I am really curious to see what will happen... even though it was a 4 hour drive to get here to Naga.
About the whole leadership thing... it is not nearly as bad as I thought! From the start of the week, I have already seen what an amazing blessing and opportunity that being an STL can be, because it will give me the opportunity to help and serve even more people! Which just means that I need to work harder and pray for help from the Lord because HE is the real LEADER and TEACHER here, so we need to all do our best to listen to Him.
I remember when we got to do call-in summary reports last night, and follow-up on the success of each companionship of sisters in Daet, I felt so blessed for the opportunity to learn from each of them and the things they are doing that are successful so that we can incorporate it into our own work as well.
In addition, because we came into town today for MLC, I also got to see Sister Sosoter and Sister Cobral (my kabahays and STLs in Iriga) and they let me call and catch up with Sister Habla for a minute. When I talked to her, I almost started crying because it was so good to hear from her and to follow-up on all the people I love there. In some ways, I feel like it finally gave me the "closure" I needed to leave behind that area and give my full effort to Daet.
Anyways, I have seen the Lord's hand helping us every step of the way here and have been grateful for His help throughout the mission! We are excited for Christmas here and just want to share the true meaning of CHRISTmas with everyone we can during this special month.
Love,
Sister Matheny
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