This is His work!

As usual, this week has been full of ups and downs but overall it was a great week! Sister Villa and I have been working our hardest to invite others to come unto Christ and it has been really cool to see some progression in our area. 

There are still a lot of people here who are struggling to overcome the effects of the Typhoon but things are slowly getting back to normal. 

(Check out the root ball of this fallen tree!)

This week, some of our areas have finally gotten back power so at night, everyone is gathering together in houses that have TVs to watch the news, because they haven't been able to for the past few weeks. That has made it a little hard for Sister Villa and I to teach in the evenings (everyone is too focused on the TV) but all is well, I'm just glad everyone is recovering alright :)

So one thing about the Philippines: it seems like everyone here likes to play with rubix cubes, and most of them are really good at it. So this week, I went out and bought one, which I have been messing around with ever since. I am so close to solving it! I just can't get the third layer. (And the only instructions I have are in Chinese, which doesn't help me at all).

At first--I will admit--it was a little bit of a distraction, but I have actually managed to start using my new rubix cube and inability to solve it as a finding tool. I started carrying it in my bag so that whenever I see someone solving a rubix cube, I can pull out mine and ask them to show me how to solve it. While they are showing me, I am able to share a little bit about the gospel. It has been working really well, and is actually kind of fun!

So this week, I experienced my first "earthquake"! Sister Villa and I were sitting in a lesson on Wednesday when I suddenly thought "something is different... why is my seat moving?" In the corner of my eye I could see the canopy was swaying as well, which really confused me! It took me a minute to realize that I had just experienced my first earthquake! It was kind of cool, but I can see how it would be scary if it were bigger, since there is not really much you could do for shelter. 

Additionally, I got to try chicken face this week! It was alright, but I just couldn't get past the fact that I was literally eating a chickens brains and eyeballs, which took away from the mushy flavor a little bit :)

So... the people!!! As usual, they are amazing! I LOVE all of our investigators and getting to be a part of helping in this work. 

 Additionally, we have finally started getting some of our investigators coming to church. We have a couple who are really progressing, which we have loved getting to be a part of! But along with all the progress and the good times, we've also had a few heartbreaks this week as well. One that really stuck out to me was our lesson with Jobert.

To start, Jobert is AMAZING! He has the strongest, most beautiful testimony and just being around him you can tell how much he loves God. He has such a strong desire to chose the right, read the scriptures, and he knows the Church is true. Also, he really wants to be baptized. There is only one problem: his mom is not supportive of him being baptized. 

It is so weird because every time we teach him I am reminded so much of my best friend Emily and her conversion story. 

(Emily & I taken in October of 2015.  Emily is currently serving a mission in Madrid, Spain!)

These past few weeks, he has been gathering the courage to tell his mom he wants to be baptized. When we went over this week, he had finally had the courage to ask. With tears in his eyes, he told us that the answer was no.

It was so heart-wrenching to see Jobert, who I have really come to care for, look so defeated. I didn't know what to do or say. So after a minute or so of painful silence, I just started talking. I shared with him Emily's story and how helpless her situation seemed when after all her efforts, prayers, and desire to be baptized her father was still dead-set against her being baptized.  It took a year of diligence, patience and effort until Emily was able to be baptized. I finished by testifying that I know Heavenly Father really does know our hearts and intentions, and if we are willing to work for it, all of our righteous desires will be fulfilled. But not without real effort and diligence on our parts.

As Elder Holland said: "Salvation is not a cheap experience". So why would we think it would ever be easy for us when it was never easy for the Savior, who was perfect. Missionary work and conversion are supposed to be hard. 

They are supposed to require something of us. We must have a real desire and exert real effort to put our faith and trust in the Lord. We must always be willing to put God first, no matter the circumstance.

From my few weeks here in the Philippines, I can honestly testify that the Lord will provide. Always. Whenever we are willing to trust him enough to allow him to.

I honestly believe that in order for a person to come unto Christ, they will need to learn to trust in the commandments and judgments of the Lord before anyone else on this earth. 

I know that if we can learn to do that, the Lord will provide.

As it says in Matthew 14:30-31 on the occasion that Jesus calls his disciple Peter out to the water, it says "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him and said unto him, o thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Sister Villa and I will continue to teach, encourage and support Jobert as he continues on the happiest path in the world: the path to salvation. I felt so crushed going home from that lesson, but as I pondered what had happened I remembered that as long as we all just do our best, everything will always work out in the end.

I don't know when Jobert will be able to be baptized, or when things will work out. But I know that if he continues to do his best to follow the Lord and come closer to Christ, everything will work out for him eventually.

Because at the end of it all, we are all children of an all-knowing, all-powerful God who loves us more than we could even comprehend. I bear witness that He will never give us more than we can bear and that He will never desert us. Through him, anything is possible. So as it says in Mark 5:36 "Be not afraid, only believe."

I hope you all have a great week and never forget to rely on Christ when you feel like you are sinking! I love you all,

-Sincerely, Sister Matheny

P.S.  I have added some pictures to last weeks post that I didn't have time to upload if you are interested!  :)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!!

It feels like forever since I last got to email, but it has definitely been a whirlwind of a past couple of weeks here... literally. 

 To start, I lived through my first Super Typhoon here in the Philippines, on Christmas Day! And since then, I have been living without power. 

We finally got the power back 2-3 days ago and let me tell you, I don't think I have ever appreciated light, cold water, or electric fans so much! Because we've had literally no light at night, we have been working in the morning and doing all our studies by candle light at night, which is not nearly as cool as I thought it would be. We have been living like they did in the "olden days"...I wouldn't recommend it!  ;)  Anyways, we have power again now, so all is well!

So the Typhoon... for one, it was pretty bad so the Lagonoy sisters ended up evacuating to our apartment over Christmas. That was definitely a party! There were 8 of us, but only 5 mattresses (one of which is covered in rat poop so no one really wants to sleep on it) and I was sleeping closest to the window! Scary!

The room across the "hall" started flooding during the storm when one of the windows got ripped open so we had to go outside to close it. While we were out there, I saw roofs and all other types of things flying through the air... it was kind of freaky. 

Anyways, it has been a fun couple of weeks since then. I have finally hand-washed my laundry... in the dark, bought some raid and killed all the cockroaches in the back room. That was scary. I sprayed it in the crack in the wall and a ton of cockroaches started running out. I couldn't even count them all! One even landed on my shoulder. So gross! After that was all said and done, I counted about 15 cockroaches lying dead all over the floor, not including the ones that got away or died behind the pipes. Let me just say, the experience was so scary, I had trouble sleeping that night. 

So, the service. Since the typhoon we have had a couple of service projects because there were a lot of houses that got damaged or destroyed in the typhoon. Most of the people who's homes got destroyed were living in ipa-huts and are super poor. So they don't have the materials or money to rebuild. 

It has been really hard because there is not really much we can do about their money problems. But we have been doing our best with what we can, starting with a couple service projects! 

The one that stood out the most to me was our service project for an old Nanai and her family. Their entire house was completely caved in during the storm but they have nowhere else to live so they are living in the rubble. 

When we went over, we begged Nanai to let us help her and her family. Like most Filipinos though, she was really stubborn at first, telling us that she could manage. But finally, we convinced her to let us come over the next day and help clean up some of the rubble. 

 Unfortunately, when we woke up the next day, it was pouring rain outside. My first thought was "Oh no, we won't be able to do the service project!" But after texting the Elders in our district, we decided to go anyways. So on the way, me, Sister Villa, 2 of the elders, and 2 members from our ward picked up some breakfast for the family and all hopped on a tricey to head over. 

When we got there, Nanai didn't want us to help because it was pouring rain, but we insisted because we were already wet. So because Nanai didn't have enough cleaning supplies for all of us, I spent the next 2 hours on hands and knees in the mud cleaning up rubble and sweeping away trash and debris with my hands.

  By the end, we were all soaked and covered in mud, 

  but I think we were all super happy too, even Nanai who was crying and thanking us for the help. 

I know she is still living in rubble, but at least her house is all cleaned up and ready to start rebuilding now. 

Additionally, while we were there I got to catch one of their ducks 

and hold a giant spider that I found! It was in the mud while I was cleaning and climbed onto my hand. I was surprised when it didn't bite me and I realized that it actually seemed pretty nice, so I ended up giving it to the kids to play with. 

Speaking of spiders, I was writing in my journal (by candle-light) a couple of nights ago...

 ...when I looked down to see a massive spider on my floor! Seeing it, I took immediate precautionary actions by proceeding to stand on my chair and start screaming for my roommates to come and kill it. Sister Baylosis came up and hit it really hard with a shoe (which did nothing) so then it ran and hid behind my desk. We couldn't find it after that so we all went about our night until I looked over to see it sitting on Sister Villa's desk. 

After that, I spent the next hour chasing it around and hitting it with various shoes, but the spider refused to die. Finally, I gave up and doused it with raid, which was really effective. I should have just done that at first!

Besides that, it had been a good couple of weeks here in the Philippines. The Filipinos are all shocked when they see me cleaning (because they are all convinced that all Americans have maids), the kids laugh at me when I talk to them (they are so cute!) and I got to try lechon! Which is basically where they just take the whole pig and roast it over a fire. It is so delicious! Way better than a thanks-giving turkey in my opinion.

With all of these crazy experiences, I wondered for the first time if I can do this: a mission.

 It has honestly been pretty tough hand-washing laundry in the dark, living with no power or internet, and helplessly watching the Filipinos here struggle so much! But as I have done my best to just smile through the hardships and to be as helpful as I can, I have found that I am happier than ever here in the Philippines. Of course I still miss my family, and was SO SOOOO happy to be fortunate enough to call them on Christmas (before we lost cell service) but more and more I am coming to learn that life is really just what you choose to make of it.

 I could choose to feel sad and sorry for myself but what good would that do? So I will continue to work hard, do my best, pray, and smile through it all because I know that in the end, everything will all work out. After all, seeing the struggles of some of the people here, I think I have it pretty good :)

If you have time, I would really suggest watching this video. It is awesome!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-014-the-will-of-god?lang=eng

Have a great week to you all!

-Sincerely, Sister Matheny

Week Five in the Philippines!

As usual, this week has been a whirlwind of emotions and super busy; all of which was awesome! I am getting better at the language every day, unti-unti (little by little) and I am learning more about the Filipino culture every day. 

 I got to try a ton of new/tasty foods this week, 

saw my first rooster fight and experienced a couple of blackouts but overall, life here has been pretty good!  :)

Last week, I had a little less time to email than normal because we had to go to Naga for a Christmas conference Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning. It was really fun! 

At the conference, we all played games, had a cook-off between the different zones, and had a talent show. The talent show was really funny/fun and I definitely felt the spirit really strong through a couple of the musical numbers. But my favorite part was definitely the food. 

  Everything we cooked was so tasty! Even the coconut drink for desert. Before coming on my mission, I hated coconut (which they eat a lot of here). Fortunately, coconut here is way better than what we have back home so I'm slowly starting to like it. My favorite desert though, was the gram cake. . .

which is hands down my favorite desert in the Philippines.  After living here, I don't know if I will be able to go back to American food!

Wednesday we had our final lesson with Brother Emmanuel, which was probably the hardest part of my week. Throughout the lesson the spirit was so strong! We testified our hearts out, but it still ended up being the last lesson. He still wants to be friends though and says we can come say hi every once in a while so I still have hope for the future, but that was the last lesson for now. 

It was really hard for me because I see so much good in Emmanuel. He is patient, humble, keeps commitments and is so kind to the people around him. I know this is not the end though because I know how much God loves him and I think He still has a lot of awesome plans in store for Emmanuel.

After the lesson, I was in so much shock that I didn't realize until I got home that I understood everything that was said during the lesson! There was even one part where Sister Trisha said she would share her testimony in Bikol. When she started speaking, I remember thinking "that's not Bikol, that's Tagalog!" I understood it all perfectly and didn't know until after that it had in fact been straight Bikol. 

I am coming to see that as we put out trust in the Lord and all our effort into the work, we really do see miracles. For me, that lesson ended up being exactly what I needed. I learned so much about teaching, was able to reaffirm my testimony, and was able to see at least one miracle come from all my efforts to learn Tagalog.

On Thursday, Sister Villa and I went on exchanges for the first time! So I was companions with Sister Stackhouse for the day and Sister Villa was with Sister Hausaia. It was so amazing to get to learn from Sister Stackhouse! For one, she is also American so she has a really strong American accent when she speaks Tagalog, which is a lot easier to understand than the Filipino accent I have been hearing (so I followed the lesson  a lot better). Second, since we are both American, all the people here wanted to talk to us! So it was super easy to get OYMs. Third, Sister Villa is an amazing trainer and an amazing missionary, but Sister Stackhouse has been here for over a year so she has a lot more experience than either of us. 

She had a couple of really cool ideas for OYMs and it was so fun to learn some different methods of doing things. I loved getting to work with her and hope that I can be half the missionary she is one day. She really helped get me motivated and ready to work hard the rest of the week.

Since then, Sister Villa and I have been working hard to try to bring the gospel to the world! As I am learning Tagalog, I am starting to get better at recognizing what people are saying and it is becoming more and more apparent how awesome Sister Villa is. She is very good at teaching and always explains things so well in a way the investigators will understand. It is hard to believe she has only been on a mission for three months!

Anyways, I got to try chickens feet this week! 

 They were super tasty! To eat them you basically eat the tender, fatty meat off the bone. It is a little tedious, but definitely worth it. Also, I saw my first rooster fight yesterday!  

Apparently, it wasn't a "real" rooster fight because it wasn't very climactic at all. I was actually a little disappointed. I think the best part of yesterday though was our final lesson of the night. We taught this 80 year old couple and their (great??) grand children. The grandpa was practically deaf so we ended up having to shout the plan of salvation at him and half way through the lesson, there was a brown out.

Since it was night, the house went pitch black. It didn't end up being a problem though because within a minute or two the family had a couple of candles lit so that we could keep teaching.

It was really nice! I felt so much love for that family and was so happy as we continued the lesson. These people really are tough. They take what comes without complaint, with a smile on their face and everything always seems to work out alright in the end.

Within a couple minutes, the power was back on, we finished our lesson and headed home. That was a fun trip! We walked down a half-mud, half-dirt, bumpy road in the pitch black. Lets just say my feet weren't nearly as white as normal by the time we got home. It was fun, I just tried not to think too hard about the fact that their might have been cow poop mixed in with the mud.

As I was walking the other day I started thinking, I don't think my mom would like living here.  I tried to imagine her hand washing her laundry, picking rice and living in a shack with dirt floors and bugs and I almost started laughing.  To be honest, I'm not sure I could live here!  I guess I do but we have a nice house with real beds, walls, and a washing machine.  I am so thankful for that and the longer I'm here, the more I realize I have taken for granted!  

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

At our Christmas conference Sister Zapanta told us the story of David and Goliath and compared it to our doubts. She said that our trials are like Goliath. They are giant, strong and seem very prepared to attack us. They have on shields, armor, breastplate and helmet while it seems like all we have is a sling and a couple of stones. But she said that the power of faith is greater than any of our doubts. Like the small David took out Goliath with a stone, we can overcome our doubts by faith. Through faith, there is absolutely nothing we can't do.

So even though some days I might feel homesick, or we might go through rejection after rejection I know that if we just have faith, all of the Goliaths in our life will eventually be conquered. I know I have a lot of Goliaths here in the mission. But as I am learning to trust/believe in the Lord more and more, I am finding that my Goliath aren't really as intimidating as they first appeared. 

I hope for another great/productive week full of fun and a ton of new experiences. Have a great week to you all! And Merry {early} Christmas! :)

-Sincerely Sister Matheny