Week 56: mahal ko ang mga Filipino!

August 5, 2019

WOW is it such a WONDERFUL time to be alive! So much happened this week!!!

Sunday we had District Conference (equivalence of Stake Conference) and what i feel like touched me the most was when our mission president spoke about staying safe in life. He told a story about a Return missionary he release while he was serving as a stake president and how a couple of months after his mission he came to him with a big sin to confess and as he started to talk to this RM he asked him when was the last time he prayed, read the BOM, went to church, the temple, etc. and it had been a long time since he had done any of this! And then my mission president went on to tell how its the little things like our prayers and scriptures that keep us safe in our life. So my invitation to all of you is to NEVER forget your morning and night prayers, and to read the Book of Mormon everyday, even if its only one verse, and go to church! I can testify that as you do these simply, but important things in your life that you will find yourself on your way God's Kingdom! In my life this is where i find the most joy is when i know im doing the things that God wants me to do!

Monday we found out that Sister Ela would be transferring and that i would receive a new companion! We also had a FHE Monday night with Sister Paoleen (She was just baptized July 20, 2019) and her family and another family in the Branch and our Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Craig, and the Elders in our Branch joined us! We had lots of fun and its just something different to be surround by a bunch of members learning about the gospel and then getting to play games together, and what makes it better is that I get to do it in the BEST PLACE EVER with the BEST PEOPLE EVER! 

Tuesday I got to say goodbye to missionaries that finished their full time missions and were headed home (it was a batch of about 16 Americans and like 3 Filipinos). Then we got to pick up some sisters at the mission home who would be training the new sister missionaries coming the next day, but they live in a far area so they stay the day and night with us. But GUESS who was one of the sisters training?! SISTER SY, I trained her right after my training from November 2018- February 2019. This will be her second time to train, and im so excited for her. And because she was staying with us, she got to work with us for the day and so it was so fun to see the changes since she was a new missionary! 

Wednesday i met my new companion Sister Crossley, shes from Montana, USA and is a tall blonde Sister too! We had a lesson this week and the people we were teaching have a 93 year old grandma with Alzheimer and like 5 times during the lesson she asked me and Sister Crossley if we were sisters (and she would only speak to us in English). We are batch coming into the field and flying to the Philippines, but while i was in the MTC, she visa waited in Texas for 6 weeks. But she is seriously so awesome and we are just smiling and laughing all the time. 

Thursday we were able to follow up Sister Jenny after teaching her about the Law of Chasity. And since teaching her that lesson she has stopped wearing short shorts and now wears shorts that hit her knees, and even within her home she has removed things that are in complete harmony with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we were able to give her a picture of the Manila temple and of Jesus Christ to replace those things she removed! She is just amazing and loves to just share with us all the time how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed her life! She has also been willing to give up a long time habit of drinking coffee and she said once she started to stop drinking coffee, it was as if she didnt even think to even drink it, like God was giving her the power to stop (it made me think of Sister Evelyn when she started to stop drinking coffee while we were teaching her). And she told us that her husband has started to notice her not drinking coffee and he very supportive of her.

Friday we bought our self's a pint of ice cream because it was a hot day!

Saturday was good, i have realized that i dont do well in the heat and that i dont do well in the cold either. like during our studies it just got a little cold and i had to get my bed sheet to wrap myself in it so that i wasn't cold, but then an hour later the sun was out more and i was then still inside the house, but sweating (without the blanket on me) and wiping my sweat away. Even in the grocery stores im freezing with the air con! So weird!

Sunday was Fast Sunday and the coolest thing happened, after i had just sat down after bearing my testimony, Sister Jenny scooted closer to me on the bench and asked me if she could go up to the pulpit and share too! So she went up there and bore her testimony about how she prayed to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet and that Gods answer to her was to read the Book of Mormon, and that she knows that the Book of Mormon is true! She just loves to share about all the experiences she has had happened to her since we have started to teach her the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Then when we went to her house later that day to teach her we only had about 20 minutes to teach her because we had curfew, and after the song and prayer i was about to skip asking her about how her praying is going because i know shes praying, but for some reason i was prompted to just ask her and so i did and she told us the sweetest thing. That for lunch that day he husband came home and she had lunch ready and so they sat down at the table and she told her husband and daughter that she was going to say the prayer to bless the food, and this was her first time to do this. And she told us that after she did that that her husband just came up to her and hugged her and just told her how he loves what she is becoming! Ahhh we were just so happy for her and we couldn't stop smiling!

Being a missionary is the greatest thing to be in the world, you get to experience so many blessings and miracles all in the short period of time! The people here are amazing and i continue to be amazed with the people we find that God is preparing to hear the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ! I love my Savior Jesus Christ and i know this is Gods work! I love you all and hope you have the greatest week!

Sister Thayn

-Sister Ela saying Goodbye to the Gragrandza Family

-Me and Sister Sy reunited!

-Transfer day 

-Me and Sister Crossley

-I found myself an oreo shake and yes thats Sister Despain in the background. She was my mtc companion in Manilla and now is one of my housemates in this area! its the best!