Pray for the Lord's help and he will help you!

This week ended up being another good one. There was some rain, some shine, and a lot of time walking through both as we tried to find the people the Lord has prepared for us to teach.

 It was a good thing I had rain boots this week! Because I don't know what I would have done without them. 

 For example, when we woke up on Saturday morning, it was dumping buckets outside, so we geared up with umbrella, rain jacket and rain boots before heading out to work.

That afternoon we were blessed with the awesome baptism for Austin and Garalyn which was very spiritual and left us all super happy. 

 After the baptism, the Najera kids (some of our recent converts) wanted to go home and change clothes before their "New Beginnings" and asked if they could borrow my umbrella.

 I said sure, but to only take the umbrella with the flowers. Unfortunately, they didn't listen! And ended up taking both my and Sister Segovia's umbrella... and they didn't come back, leaving us stranded at the church in the pouring rain.

Fortunately for us however, I happened to forget my other umbrella the other day in the area we would be working in that night, so using my rain jacket as a cover for both of us, we ran to find a tricycle and headed to Cobangbang. That's when I got REALLY thankful for the rain boots, because in order to get to the house with my umbrella, we had to walk through flood waters in the dark almost up to my knees... in an area with lots of cows. Meaning lots of cow poop as well. YUCKS!

Unfortunately for Sister Segovia,

she did not wear rain boots...

. . . so safe to say, she washed her feet REALLY well after that. 

Besides that, I had a lesson on love last Tuesday in exchanges with Sister Leu.

 I was so grateful to have gotten to work with her and once again, saw the importance of humbling yourself before the Lord, calling on him for help and relying on Him as we go about doing His work. Sister Leu brings the spirit to lessons really well and her overwhelming love can be felt from over a mile away, so safe to say... it was a great day of work and I am grateful for everything I learned from her. Now I need to strive to work harder as well.

In addition, we also experienced a miracle last Thursday when we went over to our investigator Jiko's house. We met Jiko a few weeks ago when we stopped him on the path because he looks Korean and Sister Segovia is obsessed with Korean people.

At first he didn't really seem to listen and after a few appointments when he still wasn't keeping any commitments, we finally decided to get real serious and told him that if he wants to know if our message is true, he is the one that has to act. After that we committed him to read and pray about our message and left him with a prayer.

When we came back last Thursday, the first thing Sister Segovia asked upon entering their home was "so did you do what we asked?" To our surprise, Jiko answered "Yes." To which we responded: "Did you get an answer?" Again he said: "Yes." So finally we asked, "So... is what we are telling you true?" For the final time he responded: "Yes."

Immediately the spirit flooded the room and we ended up having an amazing lesson. The spirit was so strong and left me remembering the Lord's promise to us: that if we ask, we will receive and if we knock we will find.

I know that is true. I have just had too many miracles on the mission for it to be otherwise. We pray and pray and pray and every time, my prayers get answered! Especially when we work as hard as we can to make it happen. 

Here on the mission, one thing I have learned that has really helped us in doing the Lord's work is praying for the Lord's help. When we have a specific goal or plan, we will pray for the Lord to help us accomplish it and every time we are surprised when he always comes through. It really makes you realize, God will NEVER get tired of helping us--His children--to succeed. All the odds are in our favor! We just have to keep pushing, keep trying and relying on Him until the very end. Because it is always in the end and all the great experiences along the way that make the little bumps and turns in the road worth it.

  And, before I go, I wanted to give a shout out to the Acayan Sisters!  I am thankful for all the help we have gotten from the Acayan Sisters and excited for Sister Acayan to start her new journey as a missionary this week.  She will be serving in the Cebu mission!

I love you all and hope you have another great week!

Until next time!

Love,

Sister Matheny

True Love

It's crazy how once you spend enough time in one place, how much you will come to love the people there.

  Before coming to the Philippines, I never expected to find my true love here. But to my pleasant surprise, since getting here, the Philippines and it's people have completely stolen my heart . . .

 . . . and safe to say, I never want to leave.  

Sad to say however, before this relationship started, we both knew it would be temporary, so if nothing else, I am determined to take as much of the Philippines home with me when the time comes and to leave my all here in the last few months that I still have. I love these people so much and everyday, I just love them more!

I love the way you can talk to anyone you want here and they are so open and willing to be your friend right away. 

I love slouching in tiny little tricycles as we weave our way around all the pot-holes in the road. I love how whenever I am hungry, there is always a tindahan nearby where I can buy some bread and home-made peanut butter to snack on. I love saying hi to everyone I meet and the way I feel every time I get to share the gospel with someone

 (or something 😉) . . .

That all being said, despite my love for the people here, there are still some things that will never change: I still am terrible at cooking Filipino foods (especially fried fish), I fall every-time I walk through a rice-field, 

and I am still the favorite foreign delicacy of all the mosquitoes here, but then again . . . I guess nobody's perfect and I think there will always be things to adjust to no-matter what your situation, that is what life is all about!

So all-in-all, this week has it's share of laughs, 

 joy, 

tears, pain and everything in-between. 

There were times I really couldn't hold back the tears when our investigators opened up to us about their worries, problems, and struggles, trusting that we would be able to help. There were other times I couldn't stop smiling because I was so happy as people opened up to us in tears and gratitude for the change this gospel has brought to their life. Yes, this week definitely had its heartbreaks, and there were times that I came home so exhausted, I didn't think I could go on one more day.  It was at these times though, that I have really learned to CLING to my Book of Mormon (my Iron Rod) and after the good, the bad and everything in-between I know that The Book of Mormon has the power to get you through anything life has to throw at you.

In addition to my Book of Mormon, I think that it is truly my love of this place and these people that also help me to keep going everyday.

 It is forgetting myself and putting them and their needs before my own that ends up giving me what I need to keep going and to love them even more. Because as it says in the scriptures, to truly find yourself, you first have to lose yourself.

 Lose yourself in the work, the people, the needs of others, and more than anything: Lose yourself in Christ, our Savior, Redeemer, Brother, Friend and the one and only way to what we all truly seek: peace, love, happiness and never-ending joy in the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

Sure, there might be bumps in the road to get there, but I promise that if we just keep pushing along, enjoying the ride as we go, then it will all work out for the best in the end.

So for now, I think that is my plan, just keep going, keep loving, keep walking, keep sharing, and keep enjoying every day and every moment and every second the Lord has blessed me with here. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week full of Love, Laughter and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Love,

Sister Matheny

The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives!

So this week ended with another splash with the baptism of Jesrel . . . 

 . . . as we spent our week working hard, working smart, and even managed to find a bit of joy, some great success and many miracles as we went about doing the work of the Lord. 

This week was the start of another Transfer here in Daet, and a lot has changed since last week. For one, out of all the Sisters here in Daet, 4 out of the 4 companionship's had a transfer, meaning Sister Segovia and I are the only companionship of Sisters that hasn't changed since last transfer (which I am SUPER excited about!)  Sister Segovia is AWESOME! 

And I am continuing to learn so much from her every day.) In addition, I am also excited to be kabahays with Sister Sosoter again (we were kabahays in Iriga and Naga) and also, Sister Sorenson is moving to Daet zone, which means I will get to work with her before going home. I am SUPER excited for that!

~ Sister Sorenson, Sister Black, & Sister Matheny aka "white girls club" ~

So the official diet in Daet has begun! With the days going by faster and my time getting shorter, Sister Segovia and I have been trying our best to slim down before heading home (because we both go home at the same time), and so far, we seem to be doing good.

 In addition, I also experienced my first MONSOON this week which left us walking through tons of water and fighting umbrella-breaking winds and rain as we trudge through rice-fields trying to make it to all our appointments over the past few days. In addition, the monsoon also made it hard to sleep because I was SOOOO COLD! I kept thinking, Oh no. What am I going to do when I get home if I think the Philippines is cold!

But lucky for me in the rain, I was able to use my rain boots and raincoat that my mom sent in the mail, which protected me from the worst of the storm.

 I remember coming home on Friday thinking: "if I could go back and repack for my mission, I would forget all the fancy stuff and just take some rain boots and a rain jacket." Because they make the HUGEST difference! Thanks mom! 

In addition to all of that, this week was definitely a week of miracles. We have seen so many amazing things happen this past week and I am just so grateful to get to be a part of it all! For example, we have been teaching Austin and his family over the past few weeks and really focusing on answering their questions and help them receive an answer as to whether or not our message of the Restored Gospel is true. I remember at first, Austin in particular had TONS of questions and didn't seem any closer to accepting the gospel or our answers after each visit.

Finally, one night as we were teaching, I had the sudden prompting to just have him open the Book of Mormon as he struggled to get an answer from us as to whether or not it was true. I asked him If he believed that God would be able to answer his question. Austin said yes. So I said, "Well, if that's true and this is really the Word of God, and God is all powerful, then you should just be abler to open the Book of Mormon and the answer will be right there. If it really is GOD'S word, HE will be able to answer your questions using this book". After that, we had Austin just open the Book of Mormon.

When Austin opened the Book, I was surprised when it opened right up to 3 Nephi 29 and 30, which just so happened to directly answer all of his concerns. We committed him to pray about and read the chapters and left their family with a prayer. The next week, we also invited Austin to attend seminary.

Seminary classes combined with the answer Austin received from the Book of Mormon have really helped make a difference for Austin and we have seen a huge and miraculous change in him just this past week. After our lesson on Saturday, we were surprised when he suddenly testified to his whole family that he knew the things we are telling them are true and that he wanted to be baptized. We went home that night thanking God and feeling so amazed by the mighty change of heart that Austin had received.

In addition, we also started teaching the Apuon family this week, who have come to love this past week so much.

I remember after first time we met Nanay Swelie last week on the road near there house and setting a return appointment with her, we were not actually able to find where they lived when they went to the appointment. 

To be honest, after missing the originally (but very loosely) planned meeting last week, I actually didn't really plan to return. But I had the strongest feeling that we needed to go back, and I couldn't get that old nanay out of my head! So this week, we went back and were able to teach nanay Swelie and her whole family this week!

The first time we taught, I was surprised by how many questions Rolando (the grandson-in law of swelie) had for us. Apparently, he has been searching for the truth for a while now and was about to give up hope before we came. After our lesson yesterday, he opened up to us and told us that the first time we taught, he felt nothing and wasn't really interested at all, but every time he reads the Book of Mormon he feels it (the spirit) so strongly and is so grateful that we knocked on their door. In addition, this week Brother Rolando even took his whole family to church! Including their 2 week old baby, and 2 more kids (ages 6 and 4) which is a REALLY hard thing to do in the Philippines! Especially since they don't have any strollers, or baby holders. They all had such a great experience and after church, I almost cried as 69 year old Swelie got teary eyed telling us that even though she didn't understand all the English (since she only has a 4th grade education) she felt the spirit so strong and she knows that the message we are sharing is true.

And I know that it is true too. In my 15 months here in the mission, I have really seen the power of the Book of Mormon and this Gospel in changing lives, giving hope and helping others to make it through their trials. And after the service I have given so far, I have definitely come to the conclusion that there is nothing that can change the life of a person like the Gospel of Jesus Christ can. It is the glue that holds families together, helps us fight through our struggles and will ultimately bring us back to live with our Father in Heaven again some day. It is SOOOO true. And if you will just read the Book of Mormon with an open heart, willing to act on the answers you will receive, then I know that God will answer. And through His Holy Ghost, he will testify to you that it is true. And like all the amazing people I have met here, your life will change too for the better.

I love my Savior SOOO much and am super grateful for the opportunity to serve here in the Naga Philippines Mission! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Matheny

Let's all try harder, do more, and lose ourselves in the Lord!

First off, before I say anything about this week, I want to give a big shout out to and express my gratitude for President Thomas S. Monson. 

We were in the middle of our Missionary Leaders Conference (MLC) in Naga when we received the news about his passing away. And I know I wasn't the only one who was sad when we got the news.

Here on the mission, I have really come to love and respect Thomas S. Monson and the other General Authorities and have really drawn strength from their words whenever I am feeling down. I am thankful for the sacrifices that President Thomas S. Monson made for all of us and will definitely miss hearing his talks at General Conference.

So the start of this new year marked the end of another transfer and now we are ready to start fresh for 2018 this week as the new transfer rolls around the corner. To be honest, I am excited for this new transfer to start! With MLC, exchanges and all the extra meetings we have had this last week, I am TIRED and SUPER ready for things to get back to normal. This is the first REAL preparation day we have had since I got here to Daet, and I am feeling SUPER REFRESHED and ready to go.

To be honest, when I woke up Tuesday and started getting ready for the day feeling super tired and stressed about the upcoming exchanges, I just remember pouring out my heart in prayer to heavenly Father saying: "I am really not feeling my best today, but please give me the strength to give my best so that I can live up to what You are expecting of me".

During exchanges, we are meant to set an example of a "model missionary area" so that the other sisters can get some ideas that they can take back to their own areas. But since I am nowhere near perfect, the standard for exchanges is always SUPER intimidating.

But thankfully, Heavenly Father answered my prayer and as the day went on I was amazed time and time again by the miracles He gave us to help push through. Even though many of our planned appointments fell through, we still managed to end the day with lots of new investigators and even more successful lessons.

 It was once again a lesson to me that if you put your trust the the Lord, lose yourself in His work, and just keep praying, HE will never let you down.

Anyways, after that, we had a crazy next couple of days! Wednesday, we woke up early for the 3hr. bus ride to Naga for MLC. As usual, I learned a TON we can take back to our zone and was super grateful for the extra opportunity for training, but by the end I was tired and not looking forward to the bus ride home.

We got home exhausted, but sill had to finish up studies before going to sleep. After that, we had a super crazy Thursday and Friday, where we had to cram in district meeting, working with the other Sisters in their area, District Leaders Conference, trying to cram in all our appointments and weekly planning. So safe to say, I didn't really sleep or even stop to sit down for a minute for the past few days.

By Saturday, we were running all over the place preparing for the baptism of 3 of our investigators and the baptismal interview of one more. It was a little hectic but in the end, it all paid off with the baptism of Zyril, Jedsel and Chrisha which was super spiritual and went really well.

Coming into this area my first week, I remember feeling stressed when Sister Segovia expressed to me that she was worried if we would even be able to have any baptisms in December. So this whole transfer, we have been working and fasting and PRAYING, working, fasting and PRAYING even harder. And I have been amazed and so shocked as I have seen the hand of the Lord providing miricle after miricle for us to meet our goals! After a transfer of hard work, we managed to go above and beyond what we had originally planned with a total of 9 baptisms this last transfer.

I know that it has nothing to do with me or Sister Segovia that we were blessed to be a part of so many miracles, and to have received the privilege of becoming an instrument in the Lord's hand. It is all because of Him. It is all His work, His glory. I am just grateful to be a little tiny part of it.

And it is remembering those miracles, those lives changed, those smiles and prayers of the people I have grown to know and love saying "Thank-you. Thank-You Heavenly Father for all these blessings You have given to me" that push me to keep going and hold out to the end, even when I am tired and my strength is gone, leaving me completely and utterly weak.

But you know what, that is okay with me, because that's what God is here to do. He takes the things that are weak and makes them strong (Ether 12:27; 2 Nephi 33:4). He is the way, by losing ourselves to Him, we will ALWAYS win. I know that is true because I have witnessed it time and time again here on the mission.

So lets take this time to try harder, do more and lose ourselves in the Lord this 2018! I love you all.  Have a great week.

Love,

Sister Matheny 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Wow! Time really does fly! It seems like just yesterday that I was celebrating a New Year With Sister Stackhouse and Sister Villa, excited to start my full-calendar year as a missionary. I remember at that time, a year felt like SOOOO far away! I would listen to Sister Stackhouse tell stories about her mission, different areas and how fast the time had gone for her. But for me, it still felt like I had FOREVER left! But now, I cannot believe I am already looking back on 2017, and that I can now say: "I JUST SPENT EVERY DAY OF 2017 AS A MISSIONARY!" And I am actually kind of sad to have just finished the fastest year of my entire life.

It feels like we just haven't stopped! Day after day we are facing new challenges, and meeting new people to help. And I have never felt like we have had less time!

With our super busy schedule this week, including Christmas, New Year, exchanges, 3 baptisms and 3 baptismal interviews, we ended up having to push our personal study to the night. Which has definitely been a challenge for me. Because it means that we don't have the extra time we need to cook, clean, wash laundry, update our journals or even just take a minute to cool off.

Instead, we have been waking up everyday at 6:30am sharp, trying to cram in the time to cook, eat, shower, exercise and update the area book before 8:00am when we start our planning.

After that, we rush out the door without a minute to spare before getting home around 9:10 or 9:20pm every night, doing our personal study and then going straight to sleep. Needless to say, it has been a pretty draining week just trying to keep up with everything.

But thankfully, with Christmas and new-year celebrations complete and a bright new year in front of us, we are excited to get back to a relatively normal schedule and a week of hard work to start the new year.

Speaking of the new year, thankfully the noisy chickens in my first area got me used to sleeping through just about anything, so I didn't have any trouble falling right to sleep last night without being bothered by all the karaoke, loud music, horns, fireworks and just about any other noise you could think of just outside my window. Let me just say... Filipinos really know how to celebrate New Year! I don't think I have ever experienced such a noisy one.

In addition, like I said earlier, I was SUPER happy to get to end this year with the baptisms for Queenie, Lochita and Lochita's daughter, Daniella. It was such a great baptism and the spirit was so strong.

 As Sister Segovia and I were walking home from work that day, we couldn't keep the smiles off our faces as I felt so blown away by all the miracles he has done for us this month.

I remember when I first got here to Daet, Sister Segovia was SUPER worried because she didn't know if we would be able to have any baptisms for December. But once again we saw the miracles of the Lord working in our life, as time and time again He proved to me that if we simply work hard, do our part and HAVE FAITH, He will do everything to help us succeed. 

Sister Segovia and I have been blown away by how many people The Lord has helped through us here in Daet, and how much more there still is to come. I am SOOO grateful for every second He has given me here, every person He has allowed me to help and every little thing He has done to help us succeed here in the Naga Philippines mission.

It's true, I have seen a lot of self-improvement over the past year. I feel like I have changed a lot, and now, I want to make it a New Year's resolution to make those changes permanent. I want to be able to take everything I have learned home with me from the mission. I want to continue to learn to clean, cook, and work hard. To continue to do my best to help those around me. To continue saying my prayers, reading my scriptures, and to continue to rely on the Lord.

Because now, after 15 months of trials, challenges, ups and downs, I know that is the only way to truly live :) With the help of the Lord, our Savior and Redeemer, JESUS CHRIST!

I love you all and challenge you to find ways to not only make Jesus more a part of your life this upcoming year, but also to find ways to make Jesus more a part of who you are as well 

I love you all and wish you a GREAT start to 2018!

Love,

Sister Matheny