June 10, 2013

Kumusta Pamilya,

Maganda and linggong ito! Transfers has been really great…a lot of learning but the transfer has been to a very beautiful area. I am now in Tabaco 1C with Sister Andrada. She is from Rizal, Philippines. She is the oldest of three girls in her family….and she is just a fire ball of energy. But it has been great having the opportunity to work together. I am training Sister Andrada in her second half of the twelve weeks training program. (The Elders were teasing me that I am just the finisher of training…but I have learned a lot from being able to help these sisters in the second half of their training). She is a really great teacher and I have had many blessings through our companionship. Our area covers a large area…or at least right now it seems really large. But we don’t travel around by tricycles like in Sorsogon and Iriga…we travel around by padjacks—they are bicycles with small (when I say small I mean small) sidecar. It has been a fun experience trying to fit me (a large American) and a Pino in one of these….but maybe I will learn. The people here are very kind and loving…I am really excited about the area and I am trying my best to learn the people and the language….because, you guessed it…it’s not Tagalog! There is some Tagalog, but to be able to communicate with a lot of the people here, you have to speak Bicol. So that is one more thing to add on my list of things to learn. The apartment we live in is beautiful. It is a up-down (that is what they call an apartment that has two levels)—the area is great and there is so much to see from our bedroom window (Saging trees or “banana trees”). It is a little difficult in the apartment, because the water pressure is really weak….so for Monday…I had to send my laundry out. We will have to see how to make everything work here J. 

I don’t have much to write about the work, because we have only had a few days this week to work, because of transfers. But I am really excited about working with the people and helping them to gaining a stronger faith and trust in their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We are striving to reactivate many parents in order to baptize their children and we are striving to understand how to help those who have a Catholic background understand their personal relationship with Heavenly Father. I am learning more about my relationship to Heavenly Father and how much He desires for us to know of His plan for each of us.

As for details on the new mission…The new mission president will do orientations with us on July 4^th & 5^th. There will be a mission division the week before, but we all know what areas are in each mission…so I will have to update you more as we get closer to the new president coming in. If you look at the email I sent to you about the mission presidents, he is the Philippino. It will be really great to see how everything goes J

I think that is about all that I have for you this week, but I am excited for this next week and I will try to get more pictures for you…I am having trouble getting my pictures to you...next week...

Pero…mahal na mahal kita!!!

Ingat lagi,

Sister Pace

June 3, 2013

Pamilya ko,

oh....where should I start?! This week was a great week...the work was really low and we did not have a lessons...but that is not how we should really measure the success that we have in an area. I felt the most benefits or blessings this week, than any other week that I have had here in Iriga. We had many lessons with less actives, to help them to come to church and return to the gospel. The lessons were really great, because you could feel the Spirit so strongly and there was a commitment to become better. We had a family home evening with the branch on Saturday, and we had invited some of our less actives and some of our investigators....how grateful I am to the Lord....almost all those that we had invited, came. And so we then committed them to attend church services the following morning. We fasted that the Spirit would bless them and help them to come and listen to the testimonies of the members. I have gained such a strong testimony of fasting....the Lord may not be instant in answering your prayers or your pleas through fasting...but He does answer. We had two of our investigators attend sacrament meeting. And one of our long time less actives attended with her children. It was such a blessing. Mom...you were so right about the reason why I was sent here. I may not have the opportunity to reap the blessings of being a missionary in the area....but I am playing a crucial role in planting seeds in the hearts of the people that are here. Which leads me to my second note of business. Transfers are this Tuesday...Sister Pace has been transferred to....Tabaco 1C with her new companion Sister Andrada. I will now be in the Philippines Legaspi Mission. It has been a challenge to think of what to expect or how to overcome the fears that come to mind. But I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and for the people that I will be assigned to. I may not understand the reason now, why I am being sent to a different mission...but I know that there are still souls that need saving. I don't think I can express enough how grateful I have been for this opportunity that you have blessed me with...without you....I wouldn't be here, to turn to my responsibility and be a righteous servant of the Lord. And how grateful I am to have the opportunity to learn about my Heavenly Father and His plan for His children on earth....how glorious it is! So now it is time to look forward to another six weeks...and then we receive another assignment :) There are 16 missions total in the Philippines....and probably many more to open in the future.

My birthday was a good one...time with the people I love the most and doing the thing that I enjoy the most too...the branch was so loving and it was nice to have wonderful birthday wishes. As a district we celebrated today....not too many pictures, but a few. I bought a cake for them and we went out to eat....and then we went to a member's house and had ice cream and played billards. It was a good way to celebrate with my fellow missionaries.

I will try to let you know about my new area next week...it should be an adventure :)

Mahal na mahal kita!!!

Sister Pace

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

 

May 27, 2013

Kumusta,

wow...everything that happened last week is a little hazy...it was a challenging week, because since we are a new area, we are struggling to find new investigators... so we spent part of the week tracting and doing all that we could to find new people to teach. talk about being exhausted...but there are many other blessings to be found. We had many opportunities this week to go out and serve those around us...such a great way to feel the love of Heavenly Father. We also had a baptismal date set for one of our investigators. We are really excited,but it is a double effort, because his father is a less active. My companion and I are doing well...I am trying to get through everything and trying to figure out how to help the people...and my companion is thinking about transfer day. It started about....what....three weeks ago. So nothing new, but makes it hard sometimes to work, when they are worrying about what is on the other side of the rainbow and not what you have on the side you are on...but you know....sometimes it happens. So transfer announcements are this saturday...so Monday I will let you know if I am being transferred or not.

The pictures are from out activity today as a district....I am eating a coconut...sobra masarap! it was fun, but hot!

I am sorry that this email is going to be short...I am trying really hard to think of what to share with you...there is so much,but so little time.

I will have to write more next week...but thank you so much for everything and I hope you know that I love you all so very much and I always have you in my prayers.

Ingat lagi,

Sister Pace

May 19, 2013

A day after I spoke to you, I received your package. Thank you so very much for everything! I was so happy to receive it :) And thank you so much for everything inside...perfect!

This week has been a lot of learning. We had Zone Conference...so I got to meet a large amount of the American sister in the mission. It was a great opportunity to learn about being obedient and striving to help those that we are teaching, through the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.I am so very grateful to have the opportunity to be a missionary. We have come to the point where there are no longer any investigators that will listen to our message....so this next week is focused on finding new people to teach.

Everyone here is getting excited because Transfers are coming in two weeks...but as my companion says...birthday mo muna! Birthdays are celebrated so differently here...the birthday person pays for everyone's meal if they go out to eat. So we will see what I will be paying for...;)

We had a one day mission with the branch....it was a great opportunity for the members to find those that have been lost along the way...I hope to play a big role in missionary work, even after the mission.

I am sorry that I don't have much to write about this week...maybe I will have more next week,with some pictures.

One last thing...a scripture: Mosiah 4:6-12. It talks about our salvation through Jesus Christ. We have no other way that we are able to enter into the kingdom of God. We must have trust in God that He has given a way for us to receive eternal life, and that Jesus Christ has suffered for us. "...if ye shall do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins: and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true." I know that as we strive to live the gospel and put our trust in God and His Son, we shall find the way to gain greater knowledge and become even as He is.

I hope that you all have a great week and I will try to have more next week.

Mahal na mahal kita!

Sister Pace

May 6, 2013

What a crazy week again. I am really learning a lot from this calling as a trainer. And the hard part is feeling so tired from constantly doing something...even on p-day. It was nice this morning to go jogging....but it was a slow jog, because the sisters couldn't keep up with me. My companion is great. She is a wonderful teacher and really great with the people. She is helping me to learn Tagalog, but there always seems to be little time to study.We are working with a lot of the members here. Our difficulty right now is the less actives. We are having the hardest time getting some of them to come back to church. But i have really come to see the sorrow that Heavenly Father has for His children, when they choose not to follow the path that He has given them. We have many less actives that have told us that they do not want us to return...but how great has been the power of he Spirit as we have shared with these LAs the importance of the gospel in their lives...the Spirit works so greatly in our responsibilities as missionaries. I know that the Book of Mormon is a Another Testament of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that the gospel has once more been established on the earth, through Joseph Smith. I have had the opportunity to share with the people here, and I have gained a greater knowledge and understanding of the importance of the gospel in our lives. As we work with some of our investigators, it is great to see their desire and hope in the gospel. And to know that we are able to give them the happiness that they have always wanted. I thank you so much for the statement that you sent to me weeks ago, when I first arrived in Iriga..."I think you were placed in Iriga to plant a seed into the hearts of those who are ready to hear the gospel, but don't be discouraged if they are not being receptive. Things will happen in the Lord's timeline, not our timeline...we are so anxious to have those fantastic moments, but it's those small moments that add up to become that fantastic moment. We just need to be the Lord's instrument & trust in him to do his work for our fellow brothers & sisters. You are right where you need to be, to be teaching those who may or may not be ready to take that step towards a better life. None of us are perfect & if we were, we wouldn't have need for this gospel...simple & true! We work on our shortcomings every hour, every day, every week, etc...just remember that we are here to help others realize their potential."

 

There is a reason to why I am here in Iriga...and I realize it little by little each day. I try not to think about the little amount of time that I have in this opportunity...but it is crazy to see the time go by so fast. I am listening to the CES fireside and I love how Elder Walker states about President Thomas S. Monson that He gave himself to everything that the Lord called him to. Not because he was concerned of other's thoughts, but because He knew it was the Lord's way. The Lord truly does call and qualify those that work in His kingdom.

 

Mahal na Mahal kita!!!

Ingat palagi,

Sister Pace

April 29, 2013

GrAbE!!! What a week!!!! Transfers were on Tuesday. I stayed in Iriga and I received Sister De Leon as my companion (picture attached).She is from Tarlac, Philippines. Sobra mabait siya! I was so excited to have her as my companion :) I was called as the Senior Companion...it was fun while it lasted...she was teaching me Tagalog and I was teaching her how to become a better missionary....it was such a great combination! And it was so much fun teaching with her, because I knew what she was saying and I knew that we both knew what we were going to teach...

On Saturday I received a call from President Bliesner. It was a call for an emergency transfer and I was being asked to receive the new companion in my area. So Sister De Leon and I packed her stuff and left the next morning to receive our new companions. My new companion is Sister Tumagoy. She is in the middle of her training. So I went from being a senior companion for four days and then became a trainer in four...so it has been a lot of adjusting to try to train a new sister. Sister Tumagoy is a really great teacher and has the potential to become a great missionary. I am excited to train her...I have already learned so much from being with her :)
This week has been busy with traveling and exchanging companions, so very little appointments. But from the appointments that we have had, there have been some really great miracles and blessings. We had one of our investigators progress in their prayer....it may sound so small...but as it says in the scriptures, "and thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things". It was such a blessing to us to see her pray and I felt the Spirit as we shared with her the Book of Mormon. We also had one of our investigators attend church...she really enjoyed it and the members were really supportive in our work to bring her to the branch.
The weather is hot as usual here...there are a lot of concerns of dehydration among the missionaries and so it has been a goal of mine to avoid it. But it has struck many of the missionaries already. The new batch of missionaries that came in this Tuesday were filled with 18 yr old Elders and 19 yr old Sisters. It is so amazing to see the Lord working in this to bring about the salvation of His people.

April 21, 2013

What a week....it went by so fast. We had a lot of events occur and a lot of preparation for a national service day, here in the Philippines. On Saturday we went to cut bamboo in order to prepare to make fences for trees we will plant this saturday. we have a member in the branch that had cancer and has been really sick for a long time...we went to visit him and with time he has gotten better...but this week, when we went to visit him, He was walking around. It was such a miracle to see him moving around. It truly was by the work of his faith that he has gotten better and now will be more able to worship his Heavenly Father. We also went to visit an less active in our area...she was open enough to tell us about her past and her desire to return to church. We are hoping that we will be able to help her to make her way back. When she told us about her past and the concerns she had, you could see that the Lord had prepared her and softened her heart to be ready to come unto Jesus Christ. The weeks are all filled with trying to find those that are ready and prepared and helping those who have fallen to return back to the joy and safety of the Shepherd's fold. Saturday we received transfer announcements and I will be staying in Iriga. I am temporally with Sister Paguigan for a day and then tomorrow I will go to see who my new companion is. It is exciting. Well....hopefully I will have more to tell you about next week :) ps. here are some more pictures :)

Ingat palagi and mahal na mahal kita!

Sister Pace

 

jeepney

traveling on top of a bus

how they drink soda

 

Brother Oronan