October 28, 2013

Kumusta!

This week was filled with so many miracles...some really hard to accept and others that just filled us with joy. This week was a blessing as we went out to focus on our investigators and help them to accept the gospel more freely in their lives.We were able to strengthen the testimony of many of those that we love and care for and what a blessing it is t see their testimony grow little by little. We had a hard time on Wednesday when all of our appointments fell through...we had to accept the fact that we needed to improve in our efforts...so we made some resolutions and went to work...little by little we have seen the blessings from our labors. On Thursday we went to Legazpi, in order to take Sister Siola'a to the thyroid doctor...it was a very long day of waiting and traveling and I ended up being sick at the end of the day. We had one of our investigators have his baptismal interview...we are having a baptism on Saturday!!! it was so awesome to see the GIANT smile on his face as he walked out of the interview :) We put a lot of effort into getting our investigators to attend church...the problem is...it's election week. and so we did all we could. And we fasted and prayed for our area and those that we are teaching....the blessings were so beautiful. it is so important to always have faith that the Lord will fulfill all that you ask Him...if you ask in faith. We prayed that our "golden family" would attend church. They didn't show up to sacrament, but we got a call during Gospel Principles...they were on their way :) It was such a blessing to have their family attend church and feel the spirit. they have so many questions and the branch is really excited about their family too. We saw the hand of the Lord working through us to bring about the blessings of the gospel in the lives of others.

---Sister Pace---

Philippines Legazpi Mission

October 21, 2013

Kumusta!

This week was a really great week. We have been really focusing on building up our area...it hasn't been the easiest process, but we are doing the best that we can. This week has been a process of trying to find new people, contact referrals and increase our teaching pool. There has been many blessings as we have contacted former investigators and felt the Spirit touch each of us, as we shared the principles of the gospel. And to have the opportunity to see the people that the Lord is preparing...maybe not for us, but the missionaries that will be in the same area too. And how much these people (who have been prepared) will recognize you as a servant of the Lord. It makes me want to be better everyday, when I know that there are people that are placed in my path, who can recognize us as the servants and messengers of the Lord. We had a wonderful Family Home Evening with several of our investigators...and there was no electricity. So we taught by candle light :) It was great fun and there was a lot of learning and having a good time. We are excited for one of these investigators, because he will be baptized on November 2nd. He is awesome and has been such a testimony builder to me...He said that after he is baptized, he wants to serve a mission. I know that the Lord has placed him in my path for a reason and how grateful I am for his example. We received a referral from a member last week and had the opportunity to contact them last week...the story is touching... This gentleman lives next to a "Born Again" chapel, but is not devoted to that faith. He has been searching, because he knows there is still something more. When we went to go find him, his cousin in law was talking to us. Brother Bue was out in the field he said. Most of the time when they tell you that, you just have to return another day...but he said that he would go fetch him. We waited and prayed that there would be a good result from this appointment we found ourselves at. When he approached us, you could see that he had been working hard out in the rice fields, but he had such a wonderful smile on his face. We started to talk and he shared with us about his beliefs, and shared with us how he had always seen the missionaries walking to other parts of the area, but never to his house. He knows several of the members that live in the area, but none of them ever really invited him to learn more or gave his name to the missionaries...until now. I don't know why we never went to his house before, or why now we are just starting to share the gospel with him...but I have a feeling that there is  time and a place for everything. And the Lord does prepare people for us to share the gospel with. It makes me want to try so much harder to listen to that Spirit to help me to know who the Lord is preparing for us. But I know that the Lord is doing the same for all members of His Church....I invite each of us to seek for that opportunity to fast and pray for the trust if the Lord, to then share the gospel with them....there will be miracles. We have another wonderful investigator that is "soul searching"....she is trying to find what she knows she needs. The hard part is time and the rest of the world....but we shared with her about the Book of Mormon and she shared with us that she felt the Spirit (not what she called it, but she explained that she felt "something"), when we had shared with her the guidance that the Lord wanted to give to her through the scriptures. We are hoping to help her progress more this coming week :) We had a sad accident happen this last week in the neighborhood...an individual got hit and drug by a drunk driver. It was a really scary scene. We were heading home that night about 7:50 pm and I told my companion that we should eat out (not the usual thing that I say, but I said and we went to a restaurant)...but when we were heading home we ran into the police and the entire neighborhood. By the time we got there it was 8:20 pm...the body was still on the ground and people were all over. We are not too sure what happened, but we are certain that there was a reason why we didn't go home at 8 pm...but how sudden death came to that individual, who left a family behind. We are hoping that we can find out more to have the chance to share the gospel with the family and provide some consolation. And hopefully the city will do something about putting lights up in the area....for now, we are taking the long way home, because there are more lights....and speed bumps.

---Sister Pace---

Philippines Legazpi Mission

October 14, 2013

Hello,

This week was filled with so much excitement and so many things to do, but there were so many great blessings. We had a lot to do with transfers...I am still in Tabaco. Which is great to me...I love it here :) I received a new companion...Sister Siola'a, from Tonga. She is just the greatest ever. We have loved this week so much. But we have had a short amount of time to go out and work, because we had to go to the hospital for Sister Siola'a. But all is well and the concern is a small concern.

The work here has just been exploding....the work of the Lord is real and true. We have felt the hand of the Lord working through us and using us as His instruments to bless the lives of others. We had lessons with many investigators that we had taught about three months ago, that had stopped listening to us...we returned to them and their hearts have been prepared to receive the word of God. What a blessing it has been to see the Lord and his love for us. We had many blessings this Sunday...It was General Conference and we had many investigators attend. The Buenconsejo Family (who is so very dear to me) they attended church as a family. I spoke to Sister Buenconsejo afterwards and she says that she has many questions for us....but hopes that she has some free time for us to come over. I love this work and I know that the Lord has placed me here for a reason. I hope to continue to be of help in the Lord's vineyard here in Tabaco. We had several opportunities to invite our investigators to follow the example of Jesus Christ through baptism...we are making progress :)

I loved General Conference. There were so many great talks…there just isn’t enough time to sit and listen and soak it all in. But it is so wonderful it is to see the power of the gospel in the lives of so many and the blessings that it gives to each of us. I know that the Lord lives and that He is mindful of each of us.

Sis. Siola'a & Sis. Pace

October 7, 2013

Kumusta!

How are you all doing? Life has been great here.....hot, wet and hot.  Did I mention it is wet??  The work has been rather slow. And that will be on our part as missionaries...hopefully we can "find" ourselves and get the work moving progressively. I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life so much this week and I have seen the hand of the Lord in the lives of those that we have been teaching. Since it was the last week of the transfer there was a lot of farewells, because no body knew who would be leaving until Saturday. We had many celebrations because one of the zone leaders is going home....he has definitely left an impression on the people here...and he has blessed many lives :) I am very grateful that we had the opportunity to have him as our leader. We also had a baptism in the branch...this was the greatest baptism I have participated in. They reminded me so much of our family. I attached a picture of them (they are the ones all dressed in white). They are just such a blessing to this branch and so strong in their testimony about the gospel.  Right after the baptism we received the transfer announcements....

I will be staying in Tabaco for another transfer! I can't say that I am really sad about it. I am actually really happy to stay here another transfer, because I love the branch, I love the members, I love our investigators,...I just love it all. I have figured that there is a reason that I am staying here and so I am trying to prepare myself for the expectations of the Lord. I am making goals on things I can improve and how I can bless the branch here and bring God's child to Him. There is a picture that I attached or sent with Sister Andrada and I with another family. This is the Buenconsejo family. They are my pride and my joy. They are my focus. They have such great potential to become like the family that was baptized on Saturday...and I am trying to figure out how I can help them receive the gospel in their lives. They attended the baptism and then a branch activity afterwards and the branch was really supportive and loving....they really felt the love and joy from the members. I am so excited for this next transfer! Then I get my new companion tomorrow. It will be really exciting to see who I will have.

We had many blessings come because of the baptism and we are continuing to strengthen the members and investigators. I am so grateful for the opportunities that the Lord has given me and knowledge to fulfill His work and His glory.

 

---Sister Pace---

Philippines Legazpi Mission

 

Would you like to go there for your health check up?

Besmonte family baptized on Saturday

Sis. Pace & Sis. Brizuela

Buenconsejo family with members from the branch

Pres. Guanzon, Buenconsejo family, Sis. Pace & Sis. Andrada

cheap Christmas decoration made from straws

 

September 30, 2013

I am sorry that I really don't have anything to report on this week about the work. It has been going really well and we are preparing for the end of the transfer. There are many things that have been learned and acquired and there are blessings to be seen in our lives and in the lives of those that we are teaching. I continue to learn daily about the power of the Atonement and the gospel in my life and in the lives that I have been entrusted to care after. And I learn daily about the reality of this plan which our Father has so kindly given to us. I know that as we truly come to understand the love that our Heavenly Father has for us and the blessings that He desires to give to us, we understand more of what we are to fulfill in this life. He loves us. He knows us. And he wants us to be happy. But we must listen to Him and heed His counsel. I know that we may not be perfect now....but that is why the Lord gave us His Son--Jesus Christ. I know that as we come to understand the purpose of the life of Jesus Christ, we will come to feel the glory of the Lord in our lives. I know that we can overcome the sins and transgressions that we have in our life, because of the enabling and redeeming power of the sacrifice we call the Atonement. I have found that this is our power against the temptations we face daily and the energy to endure through struggles our Heavenly Father desires us to face. We may find the times dark, gloomy and unbearable...but there are reasons and truths to be learned in order to help us to come to a better knowledge and understanding of what the Lord said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it;and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25) I am finding that we must lose our life...every part of it to gain what really matters the most. That means that we give every part of ourselves that is contrary to the ways of the Lord...and we rely on the Lord to transform us into who we really are. This is all possible through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This I know to be true and I love to search for it and apply it in this time entrusted to us...and this I hope to leave with you to ponder. I love you all!!

September 23, 2013

Kumusta!

This week went really well and there was a lot to learn from all the experiences.We had interviews with President Guanzon this last week. That was a really big help to me. We had some really great lessons with our investigators this week and have felt the Spirit lead and direct us to know how to bless the lives of the people that we are called to serve. We had a wonderful lesson with a less active about the Book of Mormon, but turned into the law of tithing, because she had questions about it. It was a really great lesson, because she understood more of how the Book of Mormon could help her to understand the laws of God. We continue to find those that the Lord is preparing for us and strive to overcome the struggles and situations we are faced with. There is currently a low pressure going through Tabaco and it has been very unpleasant with all the rain and wind....but it should be disappearing this week.  Other than that we haven't had much go on this week, because of all our meetings at the church...hopefully more time this next week.

 

---Sister Pace---

Philippines Legazpi Mission

September 16, 2013

Hello,

This week was a really busy week. We had a lot of meetings--Mission Tour, Exchanges and sisters visiting. It was a eventful week with learning about the gospel, our role as missionaries and how to teach the gospel to others. I had exchanges with Sister Ianuzi on Tuesday, which was a really great learning experience. I was really grateful to have the chance to work with her. And I learned a lot from her efforts as a new missionary. We had the Sisters from Catanduanes come and visit us, because of events that were taking place in the mission. It was a great break (and stress also) to have four sisters in one apartment. We learned a lot from one another and learned about the importance of the gospel. One of the Sisters, Sister Fausto, is from Zamboanga. Her family is in the an area that is under war...all people are under red alert. I hope that you will keep that people of Zamboanga in your prayers. She shared with me about the situations that are presently there and it was a very different perspective of life, but that is the reality that she has lived with. I was greatly touched by here example and the love she has for the mission. We both served in the same area in Sorsogon....so we shared a lot of stories about the members there :) We had a wonderful opportunity to go to Legazpi and learn from our Area President, Elder Nielson. We learned a lot about our responsibilities of the missionary and the role of the gospel in our work. We talked about the power of the Atonement in our work...it all came from a talk by David a Bednar-- In the Strength of the Lord. It is a really great talk and I encourage you to read it :) We learned about companionship...which was a great review and has provided some fruit in our companionship. We were also told that President Guanzon and Elder Nielson would select four missionaries to interview. Guess who got interviewed....yup...Sister Pace. It was a really great experience and I felt that I learned a lot from it. Our whole week was ended with some really great lessons and experiences. I felt that the Lord was really using us as instruments in His work. We had one investigator that had prayed that we would visit her...and when we went to teach her, it was exactly what she was waiting for. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to see the hand of the Lord in my life and in the lives of others.  I know that the Lord loves each of us and desires for each of us to receive of the blessings of the gospel...we must be willing to turn to Him and listen. And as we humbly go before Him, we shall see His face.

 

---Sister Pace---

Philippines Legazpi Mission

 

 

missionaries from the zone traveling in a jeepne

Sis. Pace & Elder Brent H. Nielson

 

HERE IS THE EMAIL THAT WAS SENT TO MY PARENTS FROM ELDER NIELSON: 

 In the subject line: I met your daughter!

 

Dear Mom and Dad,

Last week my wife Marcia and I were touring the Legazpi Mission.  We had the great fortune of meeting your daughter, Alexa.  She is outstanding in every way.

I had the opportunity to meet with her personally.  While she misses her home in New Mexico, she is dedicated to the work.  We are very fortunate to have her serving with us in the Philippines.  Thank you for sending and supporting her.

If there is anything I can do to help you or your family while she is serving with us, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely yours

Elder Brent H. Nielson
Philippines Area President