One year of Learning!

As usual, what a week!

 If there is one word I could use to describe this week it would definitely have to be LEARNING! This week I have learned so much about myself and really had the opportunity to grow through all of the awesome experiences we have had. 

 And as the week draws to a close and the new one begins, this is what I have to say: I am so grateful for awesome kabahays (roommates),

~ Sister Sosoter & Sister Segovia ~

 an awesome companion

~ Sister Matheny & Sister Habla~

 and an all-loving God who have helped me to push through.

For one, Monday ended up being a GREAT start of the week. After having a few hours to rest, and even an opportunity to take a NAP, we were all pumped up and ready to go. 

As we were working, I really felt the spirit was there, pushing us along and helping us as we went from house to house teaching. 

I think that day really helped motivate me throughout the rest of the week.  So just to share a couple of the awesome moments we have had this week:

Tuesday night, we went over to one of our investigators homes only to find them washing laundry by candle-light in the pitch dark! So quickly, we pulled out a flashlight and started helping them to finish their load. I remember as I sat there in the dirt, helping wash laundry, just feeling so happy! I had this huge smile on my face as we laughed and had a good time. As we washed, all of the neighbors slowly started to gather around in order to help instruct me on how to "better wash" the clothes, haha! So by the time we were all done, there were about 10-15 people gathered around and we were even able to teach them a short message before heading out.

As we walked away from the house (me all covered in mud), 

we both felt so happy and accomplished for what we had been able to do to help.

In addition to great experiences, we also experienced some challenges (as usual in missionary work). I remember when I woke up with a headache on Friday which continued to Saturday and left me feeling so guilty as I tried to push through and put in my best effort to work hard, yet feeling that there was no way that I could do enough.

 I just remember praying on Saturday morning as we were about to start our personal study and just begging Heavenly Father to know what we should do. As I prayed, I suddenly had the strongest impression that we should change our schedule to make room for the General Woman's Conference that they had just told us about the night before.

So quickly, we got our stuff together and headed out, making it just in time for the first talk. As we watched, I slowly felt all my inadequacy drain away and as we left, I felt the spirit so strong that the messages shared in the General Woman's Conference were true.

More than anything, I felt God's overwhelming love for and trust in me, and a stronger desire to help others to feel His love for them. 

As we were leaving the chapel, I realized that Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to be perfect right now, He just expects us to do our best. And our best won't always be the same. We all have times when we are not feeling our best--whether emotionally or physically--and in those times, I know that God does not expect us to run faster than we have strength. But he does expect us to do what we CAN to do our best.

So as we started leaving the chapel after the General Woman's Conference, I started to ask myself: "What CAN I do?" For one, I couldn't make my head stop hurting, so I decided not to worry about it so much. But I could walk faster and say hi to the people around me, so that's what I did.

As the day went on, I gradually found myself becoming happier and happier as I focused on what I could do instead of worrying so much about what I could not. Coming home from that day, I felt happy and surprised by how much we were able to do with the time we had and was so thankful for the help we had received from Heavenly Father to accomplish it.

As I thought back on this experience, I couldn't help but be reminded of 1 Nephi 7:12, which says: "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."

I know this is true as I have seen God's hand time and time again, helping us to push through all these crazy experiences in life. He really is there, he really does care, and he hears all your prayers.

I learned that again this transfer when I finally got to experience a BUDO FIGHT, which I have been praying to experience since Sister Stackhouse told me about them back in Goa.

In a budo fight, you basically set out a bunch of banana leafs in a row, 

 on which you set all your food . . .

 and then everyone goes for it . . .

 with their hands.

 No plates, no silverware.  Just lots of fingers!

Well, it ended up being just as fun as I expected and by the time it was over, I was SOOOOO FULL!

In addition, we also had a good time when earlier this morning, we got to do a service project in the Elder's area, where we sat for a couple hours on hands and knees pulling weeds out of the ground.

 That ended up being SUPER FUN! Especially since the service was towards the top of a mountain, so the view was BEAUTIFUL!

 Finally, I am SOOOO happy that this week I have hit the one-year mark! 

 

To be honest, the time has gone so fast! And it's weird to think that just a year ago, I was sitting in the MTC with Sister Mosher and Sister Whaley all worried about if I was going to be able to learn the language or what it would be like in the Philippines. Thinking back to that time, I am so happy to say that now, I'm a lot tanner, a little thinner, and have a grasp on the language. 

Thinking back, I wonder why I worried so much! Because as I am learning now, God can do all things for us if we just exercise faith in Him.

 So that's what I'm going to do. And that's my invitation for all of you. 

I know trials can be rough, but with the Lord's help, we CAN always make it through. So "let us be faithful unto him" and I know He will do the rest.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Sister Matheny

P.S. I also want to give a big shout-out and happy B-DAY to my mom. Thanks for everything mom! You deserve the best B-day ever! I love you!

There is beauty all around!

As usual it has been a good week here in Iriga as we have done our best to work hard and make the best of everyday.

 Now that I have been here in Iriga for a couple weeks, I am starting to get the hang of our areas here and am gradually learning my way around every day. Daily, I am always surprised and shocked by the beauty of this area.

  It has been a little different from my last areas in that it seems to be a mix of a little bit of everything: rice fields, mountains and country as well as markets, neighborhoods, and city. So that has been really fun. Also, there seems to be a mix of small nipa-huts and "American-sized" mansions here as well.

I remember one time in particular yesterday when we were picking up some investigators for church that we were passing through one of our prettier areas and I just felt so overwhelmed and amazed  by the beautiful scenery all around us. Looking at all the green trees and mountains surrounding us, I couldn't help but think: "I am so lucky to live in the most beautiful place in the world"

Besides that, life here for us just got a little more luxurious this week when on Wednesday, we moved to a new apartment. 

And although the moving itself was long and exhausting, it has all been worth it because now, we are living in a beautiful new apartment right next to the senior couple here in the mission, which has been really fun!

For one, I rejoiced to find that in our new apartment, we have a flushing toilet again!

Which is even nicer that the one we had in Naga, making the fact that I have to duck while using the shower here totally worth it.

And check out this beautiful kitchen . . .

 I feel so spoiled!  :)

In addition, Elder and Sister Hanson are SUPER nice! And have been really fun neighbors!  The other night, Sister Hanson even baked some cookies in her oven, which she shared with us. That was the first time I have eaten chocolate-chip cookies in over a year, and they were glorious.

To show our appreciation for all the nice things the Hanson's have been doing for us, I made them my favorite desert here in the Philippines: gray-hams (or mango float), which we brought over Friday night and all enjoyed while sitting in their nice, air-conditioned living room.

About the AC... I think that might be one of the things that has changed the most about me since I started the mission. I remember when I first got here, I always would get so excited to sit in an air-conditioned room and couldn't understand why some of the Filipinos didn't seem to enjoy it that much. I remember having trouble sleeping sometimes because it was so hot and being so confused that sometimes, my companions had trouble sleeping because they were "cold".

Now though, I sometimes dread going into an air-conditioned room if it has been a while, out of fear of freezing to death or feeling sick because of the cold. And sometimes, my electric fan is even too much for me to handle at night, ha ha! So I guess you really can adjust to any climate if you need to.

Finally, our work this week definitely hit a little bit of a dip as day after day we seemed to experience problem which kept us from putting in a full days effort. On Tuesday and Thursday, Sister Habla and I both weren't feeling well, which made it harder to work hard. After that, moving apartments on Wednesday definitely cut down the possibility of proselyting and on Friday, it started raining so hard that no tricey driver would take us out to where we needed to go until the rain stopped about 45 minutes later.

So by the time the end of the week came around, I was definitely feeling a little desperate for a full and solid day of work. So when I went to bed on Friday and woke up Saturday morning, I remember telling myself: "no matter what happens, we are going to have an awesome day of work today"

My enthusiasm ended up a little short-lived however when as lunch time came around, the "afternoon-sleepies" hit hard. It was so hard for me and Sister Habla to concentrate! But remembering the promise I had made to myself earlier that morning, I continued to push through.

 By the end of the day, we were able to come home having achieved our goals and with a big smile on our faces and I was so happy that despite the setback, we were still able to have such a great day.

I think that from this experience, I really learned that if we just trust in God and do our best, no matter what the circumstances, that everything will always work out in the end. He always makes up the difference. I know that He loves us and has an awesome plan for each and every one of us :)

 I hope you all have a great week! 

Sincerely, Sister Matheny

I'm Twenty-one!!!

This week has honestly been one of the best I think I have had since I started the mission. For one, it was my birthday! So throughout the whole week, I had anxiously been counting down the days until the 16th, when I knew I would get to open the beautiful package I had received from my mom just a few weeks before. But before I talk about the contents of that beautiful box, I think I'll start from the beginning of this awesome week.

So for one, I have been having a lot of fun here in Iriga. 

 Smiles seem to come easier, 

I am feeling super happy and everyone is SOOOOO nice! 

In addition, my kabahays and companion are AWESOME! So we have been having a party here everyday.

One thing I have really loved here in Iriga is eating with my kabahays again. Almost every day--breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner--we all sit down together, eat, laugh and have a good time. 

Honestly, I had forgotten how much I missed that from Goa. Having an awesome companion is great, but it's always nice to have a couple of other friends too.

This week, there has definitely been a huge focus on FINDING, which means we have been making an extra effort to smile and talk to everyone. Day after day, I have seen miracles, hardships, and met so many awesome people.

 So looking back on the week, I feel happy with what we have accomplished.

Now, that doesn't mean that everything this week was happy. We also had our fair share of trials too. Like for example, when I woke up on Thursday covered in mosquito bites and then we walked around in the scorching sun all day only to be turned down at almost every house. I remember coming home that night feeling so discouraged. I asked myself why had we ended up so empty when we are doing everything we can to measure-up and to be exactly obedient missionaries.

So to be honest, I definitely woke up feeling a little stressed on Friday morning. As we went about our work, I couldn't help but feel that no matter what I did, it would not be enough to help the people here. Later that afternoon, I found myself opening up to President about the way I had been feeling in interviews and ended up getting some awesome advice from him.

After the interviews, I started to see a huge change in our work over the next couple of days. I started trying to stop stressing so much about all my inadequacies, and instead focus instead on all the things I can do to help the people here. I really started to see God's hand in our work as people seemed to start finding us instead of the other way around.

I remember one experience in particular when we were walking by the gas station and one of the members working there referred us to a kid sitting outside: John Michael. John is 12 and has been sleeping outside the gas station because his mom left him when he was still little and his dad got sent to jail last year, so John ended up being left an orphan.

As we sat in the park sharing with him the and listening to him share about his life, family and how if his dad weren't in prison, he would be able to study right now, I couldn't help but hold back a couple tears.

It's so weird to see the way people live in different parts of the world, and it definitely teaches you not to take anything for granted. 

 Here, many people have lost a child to sickness (because they couldn't afford medication), others don't have an education and some stopped early because they have to support their family.

I remember asking Sister Habla why they didn't finish school first, so that they could earn more money to provide for their loved ones, and she said that many people stop schooling here because they are forced to choose between life and future. If they don't work now, there won't be anyone to work for in the future. So for me, just seeing what some of the people here have to sacrifice for an education definitely makes me realize how lucky I am. And I definitely don't plan to take my education for granted again when I get home.

But anyways, Saturday FINALLY came around and I woke up with a huge smile on my face. Right after getting up, Sister Sosoter (my kabahay) ran into the room, yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" and gave me a big hug!  I was honestly so excited I felt like I could explode! Later, I was surprised to find a sign saying "Happy Birthday Sister Matheny" downstairs, which Sister Sosoter had made for me, it made me SOOOO happy!

After a great morning of work, we ate at my favorite place (chow king), bought new umbrellas (because my last one broke so I have been frying in the sun this past week), 

and headed home so I could open my beautiful package.

  Inside, I found all types of awesome stuff, which made me so happy that I almost cried. 

In addition, I was surprised and so happy to find letters from home inside the box. So thank you mom, dad, Carter, Lauren, my mom's primary class, Miss Denise, the Lukenbills, Sister Cole, the Groppe's, the Croft's, and the Wienerts (minions is my companion's FAVORITE, so she can't stop opening the singing card).

After that (and studies), we headed back out to work and had an awesome day! We were surprised when one of our investigators wrote a song about what they had learned from the restoration pamphlet, which was definitely a first! We also had another great lesson with John Michael, before buying some ice-cream and sio-pao on the way home. I had originally planned on using the sio-pao as a "cake" because I thought my mom might get mad if I didn't have one,

But soon after getting home, I was surprised when Sister Sosoter, Sister Segovia, and Elder and Sister Hanson walked in with a cake! 

 I was so happy that I almost cried! And after that, we got to finish an awesome birthday with cake and fried chicken.

I remember I went to bed that night thinking: "this has definitely been the best birthday ever!"

Every day, I grow to love this work more and more and have been happier and happier. ESPECIALLY when we are out sharing! It's weird, little by little, I have found myself serving out of LOVE instead of out of DUTY.

So all in all, I can definitely say that this has definitely been one of the best years of my life, and I'm excited for the one to come! I love you all and hope you have the best week ever!

Sincerely,

Sister Matheny