Highlights:

-We had a mission tour this week! Elder Haney of the area presidency came and gave an incredible workshop on obedience, teaching with the spirit, and "finding scattered Israel", that means finding those who the lord has prepared because this is the time to harvest! He was super bold and didn't sugar coat just the way I like my speakers, kind of Elder Holland style "just enough to singe your eyebrows" 

- Our ward auxiliaries came up with a plan to have FHE's at houses of recent converts or investigators getting baptized to really stress the importance of foundations in families we all got together at the Pascua house last week! Its still so incredible to me to see the difference and spirit in their family after they were baptized and now we are teaching the Dad because he is back from Manilla! What an awesome experience to see those you taught, use their conversion to teach others. Sister Lani Pascua is already the most incredible missionary. 

- MY FAMILY SENT A PACKAGE! Yes mom the protein bars are a.maz.ing. and it actually came just in time for my....

-6 MONTHS SA MISSION FIELD! ("sa" means like any preposition, in this case meaning "in") We celebrated by eating breakfast at Macdo (mcdonalds) which actually is a pretty big deal here. That American super bad for you breakfast tasted so. so. good. Still a bitter sweet day though because honestly I am Filipina now and I love it here and 1 year is just not enough time left. 

- WE ARE MOVING! Yes we actually realized there are more things wrong and unsafe with our apartment besides the sink hole next to our house (apparently we are supposed to have a flushing toilet? Didn't think that was a big deal...) anyways we found a new apartment and are now in the process of having leaders look at it and stuff like that. So that's exciting :) 

Tagalog Word of the Day:

"iniano niya yun' kuwan" - literal translation means "he is what-ing the thingamajig" Filipinos like to congugate "ano" meaning "what" as a verb when they feel it's obvious what they are trying to say and "kuwan" is the word you use when you don't quite have the right word on the tip of your tongue. That sentence is not very uncommon so you can see how vague the language is hahahah I love it 

Missionaries can Laugh Too:

We visit this very older member in our ward every other week and she is super hard of hearing so Sister Berry is praying and in the middle Nanay Gray asks if she should start praying or who should be praying, then towards the end she asked if Sister Berry was done praying yet. After the first interruption literally I thought I was going to bite my hand off I was laughing SO hard on the inside but stuck my fist in my mouth to not burst out during the prayer. When she left to grab us some crackers Sister Berry and I diiieeeeddd laughing- those moments when you are trying to pray and be reverent but something interrupts hahaha

 

You know you're in the Philippines when..

The Bathroom is called the "Comfort Room" or CR 

Spiritual Thought:

I realized my gratitude again this week for our knowledge or modern revelation, and that God didn't stop speaking to his children after the Bible. Through God's power Joseph Smith was able to not only the Book of Mormon but the books of Abraham and Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. These support, clarify, and solidify all gospel truths taught in the Bible and we were able to show that to Sister Eilyn this week! (She is one investigators SO prepared by the Lord, her obedience, excitement, and willingness is so inspiring to us) She had a question about us being spiritually alive before we came to this earth and she LOVED how the creation in Abraham 3 added to her knowledge of the creation as told in Genesis. A number of times now when she bears her testimony of Joseph Smith and this church, she refers to that experience and the holy ghost that filled her (maiinit na pakiramdam "hot feeling") when she read that- deepening her testimony that Joseph Smith really had the power of God to give us revealed truths and this Church contains the fullness of the Gospel. 2 Nephi 29:9 I know what that scripture teaches us about God is true and I feel so so blessed every day to be a missionary of this church. We are so incredibly lucky with the complete and perfect gospel that we hold. 

Sister Walters