My last week in Goa :'(

Wow what a blur! This was the last week of our transfer and I definitely think it was a good end to a great six weeks! This transfer we have had 5 baptisms, with lots more on the way next transfer and have met tons of new people we are excited to start teaching. The only sad part about it all, is that I won't be the one teaching them anymore :'( because this upcoming transfer I am moving to NAGA!!!! So I guess it is going to be a little bit bitter sweet. 

On the one hand, I am really REALLY going to miss all of our investigators here,

Sister Satini, 

and Sister Jimenez

 but on the other, I am excited to start a new journey in a new area. The other slightly-scary/slightly-exciting thing about my new area is that I will be companions with SISTER BLACK!!!! I am super excited to meet her but also a little nervous because she is an American foreigner just like me.  The only difference is that she is newer than me, which means we are going to have a TON of fun learning Tagalog together :P since I'll be the more experienced missionary in the language and to be honest, hindi ako marunong na magsalita ng Tagalog (I can't speak Tagalog)

Anyways, I guess I will take this time to speak about my AMAZING area in Goa one last time before I have to say goodbye tomorrow...

So pretty much every single day this week has had something special happen, we have seen miracles, 

eaten LOTS of good food, 

 and we also had two baptisms this week.

 To start, I want to talk about the MIRACLE. So I will just say, GOD REALLY DOES ANSWER PRAYERS and fasting really works. So this Monday, we had an FHE planned at our investigator Roberto's home. We invited several of our other investigators and were hoping to be able to have a couple fun activities and a lesson for them all there. I remember on Sunday, we dropped by one of our investigators--Brother Israel--and invited him to come the next day. He said he wasn't sure but that he would check his schedule. I remember I really REALLY wanted him to be able to attend, because I felt very strongly that it would be a HUGE turning point for him, but I didn't know what we should do to make it happen.

That night when we got home, I was thinking of EVERYTHING we could possibly do to help when I suddenly felt very prompted that I should fast. So before bed, I opened up a fast, praying that Brother Israel would be able to make it on Monday. 

So the next morning (Monday), we texted him to give him all the details and let him know when we would come get him. I had this HUGE knot in my stomach all day just waiting for a reply and finally, in the afternoon we got one. Immediately, my heart lurched as I read the words "Sisters, I will not be able to make it tonight. I have things I need to do". In that moment, I felt so crushed. I didn't know what to do, say, or how to react. I felt that I had been doing everything I could to help him be able to come and yet... he wouldn't be able to come.

After that, Sister Satini and I asked about what he needed to do and how we could help and were more than a little surprised when out of the blue he texted us saying "The things I needed to do have been canceled". We were so excited! I almost jumped for joy inside the grocery store when we got that note. 

Anyways, long story short we hit a couple more little bumps in the road after that but in the end, everything ended up working out and we had an AMAZING family home evening at Roberto's home. It was a full house and I saw my prayers answered in more ways than one while we were there.

I saw the spirit working through and with our investigators throughout the whole night, and the air was thick with the spirit. After, on the way home, I felt so HAPPY. I felt we had been part of a miracle and was so grateful that my prayer has been answered.

For me, it ended up being another confirming experience that God really does love each of his children dearly and that when we ask with real intent and do everything we can, God will ALWAYS help us. He is always there, he is always listening... sometimes it just takes a little effort on our part to hear him ;) But I promise, that when we are willing to do that, it is all worth it in the end.

In addition to that experience, I definitely shed a couple tears at our RS anniversary when I ate a pepper that was so hot, I thought steam would come out of my ears! I had been eating a salad one of the members made and they didn't tell me I wasn't supposed to eat the peppers, let me just say... I don't think I have EVER had so much WATER in my life!

Additionally, we had a super AMAZING baptism this week for our investigators Sister Trisha and Brother Roberto. We had an awesome turn-out and the spirit was almost palpable. After the ordinance, I almost cried as Roberto stood up and shared his testimony about the gospel. As he was speaking, he had to stop a couple times because his eyes were getting teary and I could definitely feel the spirit as he spoke. It is at moments like those that I really remember why I am here and why I came on a mission in the first place.

 I remember when I came out on a mission, I just prayed that I would get to be a part of some people's conversions stories and get to see the gospel change lives. I have only been out for three transfers and already I have had that prayer answered time and time again.

The gospel really does change hearts and I am so grateful to have it in my life.

Finally, I am really going to miss Sister Satini in my new area.

 She will be training next transfer! I am super excited for her! And I know that our investigators will be in good hands with her. 

I really have learned so much from her about loving the people and not only working hard, but working smart as well. I feel like we had a good thing going and I will definitely miss her in Naga.

Anyways, I could talk FOREVER about all the amazing things we are so fortunate to experience every moment of every day here, but for now I will just finish saying that I am so grateful to be a missionary. I know I say that all the time, but it is because it is TRUE! I wouldn't trade my time here for anything in the world, it has been some of the best time of my life.

So for any of my friends and family back home who are thinking about serving, JUST DO IT! It will be worth it. And even though some days are sad, hard, happy and full of crazy new experiences, every moment is full of joy and I promise that you will NEVER forget it :)

I love you all and hope you have the best week ever!

Sincerely, Sister Matheny :D

I LOVE this work!

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. 

Before, I had always understood what conversion was but I had never seen how real/effective/powerful it really is.

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

Hydrating my Body and Soul

This week has been full of water. Lots and lots of water. The weather has gradually been warming up here and I've had to drink more water than ever to stay hydrated the past few days, which probably means I've just started drinking a normal amount of water since I feel like I have a tendency to not drink enough.

Anyways, in addition to staying hydrated, this week was full of a lot of great learning and teaching opportunities for me and Sister Satini. I feel like I've learned a lot about myself and seen a lot of development in my relationships with my kabahays, companion, and our investigators here as well as a lot of development in my own self-confidence.

Since I've gotten here, I have been really working on developing the Christ-like character of humility. I have been focusing my scripture studies on learning what humility really means and trying to develop it in my own character. I have also been praying for greater opportunities to exercise and gain stronger humility. And let me tell you, God really does answer prayers. And the hardest part about learning to be humble is it seems like the only way to develop it is in the moments you are feeling the most pride. Learning to set aside that pride is not always the easiest or most fun thing to do, but as I have said before: usually it is the things that are the hardest in life that end up being the most needed and worth it. So I guess I will just carry on and alisin ang pride ko (get rid of my pride).

So when I first started to work on the Christ-like character of humility, my first question was "what does humility really mean?" because it seems like there are tons of different ways someone could be humble. When Sister Villa and I were companions, I learned that one way I needed to learn to be humble was by trusting more in God and His timing. I feel like I had a tendency to become impatient or even frustrated because I want only the best for our investigators and sometimes I felt like no matter what we did, we weren't helping enough.

Learning to trust in God and His timing has been difficult at times but has been really helping me to become a more effective missionary. Whenever I feel frustrated or impatient about Heavenly Father's timing I have to remind myself that He really does love each of His children and loves them perfectly. Heavenly Father always knows best and will always give us exactly what we need in life in order to have the greatest opportunities for growth and success, if we will allow Him.

Sometimes I feel like no matter what we do, it is never enough to help those around us. While it is true that there is always something we could do better, it is also important to remember that as long as we are doing our best and giving it our all, that is all Heavenly Father is asking of us. The rest will come along in His perfect timing.

Anyways, this transfer I have continued to learn about humility and why it is such an important trait to develop.

As I was reading in the Book of Mormon the other day, 

a thought came into my mind about humility. I started thinking about all the people we have taught the past few weeks and what makes the difference between those who progress and those who don't.

As I was thinking, I realized that many of the people we teach do have great faith. They read the scriptures, go to church and have a genuine desire to come closer to Christ. But it is not the people with the most faith that I have seen progress the most. Instead, it is typically the people who have the most humility and who are willing to set aside their own wants and desires in order to follow God's will for them.

Realizing this really helped me to understand why it is so important for us to learn to let go of our pride and to become humble.

I know that God sometimes answers prayers in the most unexpected ways, or through the people around us. For me, becoming companions with Sister Satini has given me many more opportunities to work on developing humility.

I feel like being her companion has blessed me so much. For one, she is very easy to smile, laugh, and have a good time with. For another, she is a very hard worker and has a lot of great ideas for our area. Finally, I feel like our personalities go together in such a way that we have both had greater opportunities to learn and grow from one another. For example, it seems like all her strengths emphasis where I am being the most prideful, giving me greater opportunities to work on and develop humility.

At the end of each day, we always seem to come home having learned something from each other, which has really helped our companionship to grow and our lessons to improve. Like when Sister Satini came home one day saying "It is not about who is right and wrong, it is about listening to the Holy Ghost and following his promptings, because his ideas will always be better than our own."

Additionally, we've had a lot of fun watching our investigator's testimonies grow as they develop stronger relationships with Christ. For example, when we went over to Brother Roberto's home the other day and asked if he had started his reading assignment we gave him (the cover page and introduction of the Book of Mormon) only to find out that not only had he finished that, but he had also read all the testimonies of the witnesses and Joseph Smith and started in 1 Nephi. Or watching the change in one of our investigators (Nanay Asor) as she has slowly come to see the importance of baptism and is now excited for her baptismal date this Saturday! :)

We've also had lots of fun, like when we went over to one of our investigators and we got to see her big Karaoke machine they had rented for some type of party. 

So as usual, despite the little challenges and bumps in the road, 

 I feel like it has been a very fun week here in the Philippines.

I love you all and hope you all have an amazing week :)

Sincerely, Sister Matheny

Alam ko na ang simbahan ni Jesu Kristo ay totoo at na mahal Niya tayo. Alam ko na bilang nagsisikap tayo na lumapit sa kanya, lalapit Siya sa atin. Alam ko na totoo propeta po si Joseph Smith at na ang aklat ni mormon ay totoo. Sobrang nagpapasalamat ako para sa pagbabayad-sala ni Jesu Kristo at alam ko na sa pamamagitan ng Plano ng Kaligtasan, magkakaroon tayo ng forever kasama ang ating Ama sa Langit, si Jesu Krito at ang ating mga pamilia.

Just never forget how much Christ loves you and everything will work out in the end :)