March 18, 2013

So...the moment you have been waiting for... Sister Pace has been transferred to....

IRIGA 1B

The area is four hours north of where I was in Sorsogon. So it was a fun trip from one place to another. But Iriga is definitely beautiful in all senses. Iriga use to be one set of sister missionaries, but now there are four of us...so my companion and I have the new part (as you can probably take from the 'B'). My companion is Sister Pal from Tarlac, Philippines. She is 21 years old and has been out for a transfer longer than me...but she is in my batch to leave in May 2014. She is really great...sweet in every aspect and really quirky too ;) It has been a lot of fun working with her :) She has been in the area since she arrived in the mission...in November. She is a pro-tracter and a loving missionary to all the people. I am so grateful to have her as a companion and so blessed to have her as my senior companion :)

This last week was really tough...one because of transfers, but two...because it is a new area, it is to square one--less actives and tracting. Everyday we spend a good amount of time tracting to find new investigators. There are so many less actives in this area...well...most of the less actives in our branch are in our area (1B). But I am starting to figure that there is a reason to why the Lord has Sister Pal and I in this area...we may not know why right now, but we will come to know sooner or later. I never thought that I would go from an area where we could easily find investigators and work to bring more members to our Savior...but it is really tough here. Most people are deep Catholic and it becomes hard to share what we believe with them, because they don't want to hear it. But I am trying my hardest to remeber that I have a purpose here and I know that as I try my hardest to be a righteous disciple, the Lord will bless me and help me to bless and help the people here. Since being here, there is a lot to be learned. I am learning to rely on my Lord and to turn to Him and submit myself to His will...I am not perfect at it yet...I know that through the power of His Atonement, all is possible.

The members in this branch are really great and so full of love. Iriga is so beautiful...I think it is more beautiful than Sorsogon...I attached a picture of the scenery outside our front door. And I will take more pictures sa inyo.I really enjoy it because it is so quiet where we live. The scenery is so different from Sorsogon...the houses are all so beautiful and large...it seems to be more established...I have not seen any "shacks" as houses in this area. The people are a lot easier to understand too...not so far south, so the Bicol is not as deep...but they still have their own dialect. But they all speak some Tagalog and I can understand them for the most part...the hard part now is that they all speak so fast! But it will all work out.

Thank you so much for your emails and I am happy to have had the chance to email you this week!!!

Love you all so much!!!! Mahal na mahal po kita!!!!

Ingat po palagi,

Sister Pace

 

converts from Sorsogon

Iriga

 

March 11, 2013

There was a lot going on this week....it felt long, but it went by so fast. We had a family home evening with a less active family, Labasbas. They are really great and there is a spirit within their family that just makes your feel so happy and joyful in their presence. Many of our appointments throughout the week fell through, but we tried our best to continue forward in faith. We had a community service project (CSP) for one of our recent converts, Antonio. We went out to a house that has be "rented" to him, in order to be able to live. He had been rejected out of his family's house in another part of Sorsogon. So we went out to help harvest rice and clean up the area for him. It was great to see the branch member come together and help. We even had an investigator (who was baptized this saturday) come out and help us harvest and clean up the area. We had our typical visits to our less actives in one town...and things have just turned for the worst. It is so disheartening to hear the stories...because I am to the point that I don't know how to help them or know what to say. I hope that they start to remember their Lord, so that He can help them. We have a new investigator this week, who is 80 years old. She is a very sweet little old woman. I really enjoyed teaching her and sharing with her the joy of the gospel. I hope that we will be able to continue to share with her the blessings. One of the families we teach is largely less active, but we teach the wife of one of the brothers, who is a recent convert. I have not always felt comfortable teaching them, and so it was really surprising when I went in with a plan to share about faith. I felt so comfortable sharing with them...and I felt that I really learned a lot about faith and the principle of building our faith in God. I really felt the Spirit and I felt that both parties were benefactors of the lesson on faith. We had Zone training on Friday...there was a lot to be learned about teaching pure doctrine. I really learned a lot about what I want to do in order to become a better teacher of the gospel. It has been a struggle because in many cases, there are struggles in beliefs of how to teach, between companions. But maybe both parties learned something... We had another lesson for an investigator, but ended teaching his less active grandmother...she was complaining about the time for church. And that was her reason for attending another church. I didn't understand all that she said, and I don't know if I got my point across to her, or if I know what I said exactly. But I bore my testimony to her about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being the only true church...the time may not be perfect, but the doctrine is perfect. I felt that it was one of those of moments were you confound the unbelievers...or I offended her. I haven't gotten down the language, so I don't know what she thinks about what I said. We closed the week with a lesson with our most recent convert, Marnil. I can't tell you how much joy I have in this convert. He reminds me so much of myself when we joined the church. You can see the light of the gospel in his eyes and the strength that the Lord has given to him. I have so much pride and joy in this convert...I am going to miss seeing him progress. As for transfers...I will not find out where I am going until tomorrow, during transfers. However...here is the story...My companion and all the other sisters in our apartment were really certain that Sister Carrasca was going to be transferred...enough to the point that she started packing and taking pictures with members, etc. And I was okay with the fact that I was staying...I didn't do anything to prepare for transfers. And then when the announcement came Saturday morning...I saw the excitement and joy of transfers drain out of her. I wouldn't say that she is bitter or upset...just really disappointed. I am going to miss Sorsogon...it has a special place in my heart :) But I know that the Lord has a plan for me. The biggest thing with me being transferred is to prepare me, for April....because I will probably train in April...a native though, because I don't have the language down (unless I get it this next transfer). We will see what the Lord has in store for me. I will tell you next week where I have been placed.
Until then....Mahal na mahal po kita!!!
Ingat po palagi,
Sister Pace

community service project-harvesting rice

 

members of the branch

March 3, 2013

This week has been good. There was a lot of sun this week...I have a nice sunburn on my shoulders and neck from walking around. I feel like a farmer. (Like from Matthew 13) Planting seeds in the ground...The work has been hard, but we are hoping that some seeds begin to sprout. Many of the appointments we planned this week fell through, or people were always busy. But there is always a bright side to things, right?! We had many opportunities to talk with neighbors (mga kapitid na bahay) and share with them the gospel. Some have resulted in return appointments. We are continually trying to figure out how to help our investigators to come closer to their Savior...and sometimes it becomes really difficult when you are speaking Tagalog and they are speaking a different dialect. We have several investigators right now that are having difficulties in getting married, in order to qualify for baptism. Some of the stories are really sad and others are just impossible. In the end, some investigators are going to have to remain investigators for a long time, in order to qualify for baptism. There are baptisms about every week here...good...but the hard part is keeping those new members active in the wards or branches. We are seeing a lot of that as we re-evaluate the members, recent converts, less actives and investigators in our branch. We are hoping that we can continue to strength the branch, so that the missionaries can have help from the ward/branch. If there is one thing that I have learned thus far, it is this: Members are so highly important to the work of a missionary. For without the member the missionary work is of no point. We need the members in order to bring people into the fold of God. I hope that I will never forget my calling...because my calling will never really leave me.

Hope you all have a great week and I will tell you all about the week soon!

Ingat po at mahal na mahal kita!

Sister Pace

February 25, 2013

Pamilya ko,

This week was great. It has rained everyday and has definitely provided for fun. (as you can see the picture of my shoes ;P)The weather is really wet and should be until next month. We had a lot of appointments and preparing for a baptism. Marnil was baptized yesterday morning and it was awesome to see how dedicated he already was. He received the Holy Ghost and the Aaronic priesthood that morning also. The branch is also encouraging him to prepare for a mission...but his mother is terrified about it.(picture of Marnil with Sister Carrasca and I) We have two investigators that we met with this week...both have breast cancer, in different extents and stages...but it is amazing to see how the Lord prepares people and shares a spirit within them. We received exciting news...we have the name of our new mission president (I will send the email from our mission president)! But there is also more exciting news....there is a new mission...the Legaspi Mission. Here's the catch...Sorsogon is in the Legaspi mission. There is a possibility that I will be a different mission come June. The transfers in June will determine which mission I will be in. Lots of work to be done and plenty of things to be done :)

The June 6 transfer will establish the mission you will serve in after July 1. Those assigned in the Legaspi Stake, and Bulan, Sorsogon, Masbate, Catanduanes, Tabaco and Ligao districts will be in the Legaspi stake and serve under President Guanzon. All the rest will remain in the Naga Mission. The Ligao zone will be split in June, creating the Iriga zone.

 

Jasmine & Bernadette

Marnil

a day in the life of Sis. Pace's shoes

 

L. Barry & Sharon L. Reeder from Perry, Utah-new mission president

 

February 18, 2013

This week was great. There was a lot of work to be done and we did our best to fulfill our purposes. A lot of running from one place to another and diligence to find those that the Lord has prepared for us. We found one individual that has been laden with an illness for a good amount of their life and was told that they only have a certain amount of time to live. As we sat there and shared with them about our purpose as missionaries and as they told us about their beliefs and the role of God in their life, tears started to roll down their face...they told us that they were grateful to have us in their life....we are an answer to their prayers. It was such a tender mercy to see the Lord giving up this opportunity to meet someone who is so prepared to have the gospel preached to them. I am really excited to go visit them tomorrow!!! We also have one of our other investigators getting baptized this week. He is a 21year old college student. Astige siya! I am so excited for him. When we were preparing him for his interview with the Zone Leader, he continued to expand and share with us his testimony of the gospel. We are so excited for him, because you can see God watching over him and helping his life.
We had Zone conference this week about our Area Books and how we can better organize and keep them clean for the next missionaries that follow us. It was a really great insight into the importance of our work. The mission president also announced the arrival of 24 sister missionaries coming in April...he said that most of the sister are going to have to train. So here is the fun part..I don't know if I have to train or not, but the mission president told me that if I do, I will be training a native. I was a little scared about the thought, but I have found that no matter what, the Lord knows me, He knows my strengths and my weaknesses and more importantly He knows my capability. And for the things that I am struggling with, He will qualify me. So I get to prepare for a possibility to train another missionary. So come in three weeks, I will find out if I stay in Sorsogon or transfer to another area.
I have a funny story to go with this weeks update. As you will see I sent a picture of a shoe...my shoe...only one shoe. So we went out to an investigators house, out on the pier. When we enter into houses here, we leave out shoes outside the door. So as we went into the house of our investigator, I left my shoes outside the door. But after our conversation with our investigator, we went to put our shoes on and there was only one of my shoes at the door. The entire household went around the house and around the pier to try to find my shoe...no luck. Whether it was a dog, a kid or one of the residence, I shall never know. It was really kind of funny, because my shoes are muddy and not clean...and the one they took has a hole in the heel...what are they going to do with one shoe?! But I ended having to walk back into the center of town with flip flops on...to buy new shoes. You have to have some excitement in the week...and that was mine :P so now I have to watch my shoes... :P This next week is another busy one...so I am excited :)
Hope you all have a great week and I will talk to you next Monday!!
Sister Pace
p.s. the other picture is a valentine from our recent convert Arjay :)

The lone shoe

 

February 11, 2013

This week was filled. We had a lot of lessons and many lessons fall through...but the days were filled with service of the Lord. We have many less actives here and we are trying so hard to balance our work out between the less actives, recent converts and finding new investigators. So many things to do and focus on...but sometimes you just have to keep moving and have faith that the Lord will place people in your path. We had a lesson with an LA...he came to church on Sunday and we had the opportunity to teach him on Tuesday. I know that the Spirit was with us as we asked him about his experience. Up to this point, we really had no idea why he had stopped attending church. But after I asked him this inspired question, the flood gates opened and we were able to find out about all his concerns and why he had stopped attending. I know that the Lord was with us as we sought to help him resolve his concerns.

The language is coming along...I wouldn't say that I am anymore fluent than I was before...but I have definitely seen the hand of the Lord in my life as I have turned it all to him. I was studying in Matthew 11:28-30...The Lord tells us to come learn of Him.I was thinking about how I could apply this in my work as a missionary and I thought about the role of Jesus Christ--to fulfill the will of God. He states "wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness; and then all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) He says that as we do this, all things shall be added unto us--Matthew 10: 7-10. I have seen this as I have sought for the welfare of others and not on whether I say things right. I know that the Lord is mindful of all my needs and concerns. But as I forget these and work to help others in their needs and concerns, I will be empowered from on high. I work every week to speak the language as much as possible and that is only where I can begin.

I tried isaw (chicken intestine) this week...not one of my favorite. In fact...probably one of my least favorite...but maybe it was just this one time...I will try it again later. I also found a favorite fruit...guava. It is sobra masarap! One of our members gives me one about every time we visit...looks like a green orange, and you just eat the entire thing. There is a lot of adjusting still to the culture here...but I am slowly making it.

February 4, 2013

This week was filled with many appointments...we visited Sister and Brother Cagunot again. It was great to teach them and we actually were able to have Brother Cagunot attend church again. Still more work to do, in order to help them reach the temple...but with the strong faith of Sister Cagunot, maybe we will get there :) Many of our lessons are focused with the LA. Our mission president said that we have one of the weakest branches in the area...we are trying so hard to help the members stay active....but there is only so much that we are able to do as missionaries. But I have realized that there are the same faces every week and there are only a few strong leaders in this area...so it is really hard, because they have to work a lot harder to build up themselves, but also build up those that are no longer active. We taught a family out in Pang-Pang...they live in the middle of the jungle...and it rained right before we went out. I am starting to think that I needed to bring mud boots. But we went out to teach the Janaban family about Mosiah 24:10-16. I may not be able to understand Bicol, but I definitely understood the language of the Spirit as Brother Janaban testified of how this scripture story applied to him. He wants so badly to have his family sealed in the temple, but it is difficult, because there family does not have the funds to pay for transportation to and from church every sunday (transportation is 9PHP and there are 7members in their family = 63PHP one way). I know that the Lord will watch over them and help them as they make the righteous choices that will help them to reach the temple. We have two more baptismal dates set for our investigators...we are really excited for one of them--Marnil. He is 21 years old...his mother is a leader of another religion and his father is an LA. Him and his mother are investigating, and he was so excited when we invited him to be baptized...his mother is still uncertain because of the concerns of what others will think in the community. We hope to help her relieve her concerns...she believes everything that we teach and is happy to learn more, but fears man more than she does God.

This week in the language has been better...I may not understand anyone still...but I feel that I am more capable to express myself in Tagalog and share my thoughts more freely. However...still working on the conversational stuff...that will take me some time. But the other sister missionaries in our apartment keep telling me that I have really good Tagalog and that there are a lot of members that admire me in my Tagalog....but they all understand that I am not able to speak in Bicol. So one step at a time and I will be able to make a bigger step. The other sister tease me that when I return, I will become a MTC teacher for Tagalog...haha...I think that is so funny ;P but who knows!?

Well...that's my report for the week :)

mahal kita at ingat palagi!

Sister Pace

 Pang-Pang

 new district

 



 Aldrin & Ivan

 



Bro. & Sis. Cagunot with the sister missionaries