Week 6 - May 28, 2017

Well week 6 when you are in the office is CRAZY. There are departing missionaries, incoming missionaries, trainers meeting trainee meetings, Missionary Leadership Council, lots of guests at the house (including the rats still) and of course this is the week the ward decided to include the missionaries in Ward Choir practice every other day...so all in all we were only able to work 17 hours which was a bummer. BUT we still have good news to report and I am so excited to have a full week of work next week to start of this last transfer right!!

MLC with my old companion Sister Barbante and my old district leader Elder Munda

Sister Thurman, the mission secretary we love :) 

Oh and this week our power got cut for a couple days so we got to have sleepovers at the other sister's house.

How kawawa we looked transferring from house to house with no power.

I love seeing Sister Ellsworth!! We are going to be roommates at BYU when she gets home :)

 John John- The grandchild of Nanay Nida our baptism in April- he is SO amazing!! This little 10 year old chastises the other kids for not listening in our lessons and he reminds his grandma the whole week about church. He has already spoken to his father about being baptized and becoming a missionary. The goal for his baptism is this saturday! The faith of kids is amazing.

Nanay Nida 

The rest of our investigators....well we are keeping a couple and have to let go of some that love the missionaries, but don't love commitments. Which means finding this week!

Funny Moment: We have been in the office so much that it has started to feel like my second home. And my family knows, at home...I do random weird dancing. So that happened one night for like two seconds to relieve some stress, and my apo Elder Bagtasos just comes up and goes (he's practicing on his English) "What's your problem? Are you dancing?" My companion and I died 1- at his English but 2- because most of the missionaries, especially elders, only know me as kind of a strict missionary hahah so we was shocked at seeing the real sister Walters! Soooo funny.

Tagalog:

masama ang pakirdamam ko- My feeling is bad (The equivalent of "I feel sick")

Health Update: 

Thank you for the prayers fam I love you so much and I have felt them in that we haven't lost any work time due to sickness! Although President tells me to go the hospital and rest when he sees me nauseous or dizzy but....it's okay. Time is limited! I will be more healed out working than in a hospital, right? :)

House Update: 

We found the rat home. Cleaning that with rats popping out everywhere and scurrying around because their home was being torn apart...man my gross tolerance has shot up here.

Surprise visit from Sister Hazel (our recent convert in my last area)

Spiritual Thought:

President showed a video of a talk from Elder Holland about Jesus Christ's conversation or almost more of interrogation with Peter. He asks him three times if he loves him, and we know Peter is sensitive about threes by this point ;) But Elder Holland was so expressive about how literally Jesus Christ means to say, "When I said leave your nets, I meant forever. Don't go back, don't look back, if you love me. Feed my sheep." I thought of how many times the Lord has felt exasperated with me when I forget my promise to Him with all my heart and mind, and instead think of my personal wants and priorities.

I know as I focus on my love for our savior Jesus Christ, I will be able to accomplish not only the goals that I want for this transfer, but the plans that HE has for this part of the vineyard he has entrusted to my companion and I . I know I have a lot of growing to do still and can only achieve that by putting Him first in my life, and letting that love for Him increase my love for others and our investigators.

I feel so blessed to be a missionary and to be able to wear His name on my chest all day, every day. I know it has power! I am determined to be worthy of it and live like Him, all the rest of my mission days, and even after, so I can truly learn how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, the savior that I love.

Sister Walters

"Sister Walters, You've Been Transferred Permanently to the Hospital" may 22, 2017

Mom that's a joke. 

But we had transfer calls this week and Sister Ormsby and I are still together! She will kill me in the mission! (That's what the last companion is called on the mission) I love her so much- we are having a great time, she teaches me a lot about real world life and I teach her about mission life. 

Also...back to the hospital this week, but didn't have to go down to the capital! I started losing my hearing randomly and so the ear doctor poured all this bubbly hydrogen peroxide in it, found a fungus (awesome right) and gave me medicine. Probably from the dirty shower water. I love this place. 

The 6 hour drive back home by myself....so awkward

My beloved companion 

BUT MIRACLES STILL! Even though our area has been kawawa with all my time out, AMY WAS BAPTIZED THIS WEEK! 

Just goes to show we aren't in this work alone. God always is there with us, and will even take over when our weaknesses have taken US over. 

Baptism victory pose

The baptism was beautiful, it was so cool so see her husband baptize her and to bring a family together in the gospel. President sang with us at the baptism, this song called "Precious Family Dressed in White." And yes of course I messed up in the song. It's not complete with out a little blub from Sister Walters. 

Their baptism!!

Tagalog Word of the Day: 

If you want to try starting your prayers in Tagalog this is how 

"Ang aming minamahal na Ama sa Langit.." Our beloved Heavenly Father..

Baptism victory pose

Spiritual Thought: 

I love D&C 1:30 where the Lord declares so boldly that this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is the "only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, and well pleased.."  I recently read the talk "Why 1820" and it has an awesome timeline of how Christ established his church while here on the earth, and then every step of how it fell away, the completion and fullness of the Apostasy, how the Catholic, and Protestant and other churches formed and the Restoration, why 1820 was the only time the Lord could restore his true church and it could survive and grow. Even without the facts, I had a firm belief in this Church simply through answers to prayers and the blessings I've seen, but as I serve the Lord here on the mission, He continues to prove to me the truthfulness of His church and how He truly is the one guiding and leading this earth. I know without a doubt that His son is Jesus the Christ and he built His church her on earth. I know that it was lost for a period of time but because of His love for us. he showed himself to a young searching boy, called him as a latter-day prophet, and restored the Priesthood keys and authority to Him. By the grace of god and the faithfulness of members it has not only stood but spread itself across the world today. I know it is still guided by our Heavenly Father and directed through Jesus Christ. I know we have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, living apostles, and that the Priesthood is real. I am so grateful to be a part of it and let others know the truth as well. 

I love you all!! 

Sister Walters 

Donuts Are Cooler When You Get to Go Inside Them - Happy Mothers Day!

That type of a donut is actually called a CT scan but we'll talk about that later. 

Monday was an awesome night in that our president invited us to his home for Family Home Evening and we brought our investigators, the Abat family!! President did some great BRT (build relationship and trust) with the Dad. So hopefully we can get him to shoot for the Celestial kingdom instead of Terrestrial. 

FHE at President's :)

Tuesday and Wednesday were traveling around the mission days again teaching music for our Jesus Christ devotional! It's getting closer so hopefully, everything will pull in together. 

Then it was back to my second home... the MRC. (Missionary Recovery Center located in the capital, Manila) After weeks of not being able to eat, fatigue, dizziness, eyes going yellow, the works, and a couple of doctors, we ended up with a cool CT scan aaannnddd I've got Ascariasis! The doctor just reads the results and goes "Congrats!" If you have a weak stomach don't look it up- basically, it's parasites. Am I terrified to eat ever again? Yes. But will the mission prevail? YES! The docs here got me on some cool meds, it will all work out. 

Never forget St.Luke's hospital 

This weird radioactive drink think I had the night before my CT scan 

Slept with Sister Trussel at the hopsital after her surgery :) 

So no one has been able to work in our area this whole week and I am just praying for our investigators but as soon as I get back I'll hit the ground running until they bring me off the plane on a stretcher. 

Saw my first Trainee again! 

Saw my Trainer again! 

Seeing other missionaries at the hopsital. They know Abby! 

The Church is true everyone.  

*SHOUT OUT TO MOM FOR MOTHERS DAY! Also, you will laugh, we used to joke with our mom how she bears her testimony everywhere even when we go to church on vacation. Then yesterday I bore my testimony in this ward in Manila, cause when you get the feeling you gotta just go! I've gone to church there every time I've come to the Recovery Center though so I figured it was okay :) I love you, mom! Thanks for the great example! 

Also it is so fun being in the came country as Sister Zarbock- whenever I come down and see missionaries here or her mission president I love asking if they know my best friend and they are like "YES WE LOVE HER!" So keep up the good work Abz :) And all my friends around the world! Even if we can't be like Sister Hardcastle and Elder Parkinson in the same mission AND zone.  And all my friends around the world! It is amazing we are all serving right now. 

View from the Hospital. Manila is crazy different from the province. 

Sister Walters 

May Pus Kasi

Highlight of the week

 was my adorable comp getting her ingrown toenail pulled out. She just got rushed into this operating room and Sister Tesch and I weren't allowed to go in. Then she comes out and stories about how she felt everything, the doctors just spoke fast Tagalog, and she was still pretty confused but still "slayed the surgery" as she puts it. We bought her a quarter pounder though from Macdo (McDonalds) and she was all right. 

Not too much to report cause we spent a few days helping her recover from the surgery but we did the best we could with the time we had and are happy to report.

Amy Magbanua is progressing towards her baptism on the 20th! It should have been this Saturday but we are going back to the capital, Manila next week so we have to move it. The only struggle is she still refuses to speak at the front after her baptism so...we're working on that ;) Trust in the Holy Ghost woman!! 

National Service Day was a success!!! We helped paint and clean a school. 

Tagalog Word:

Walis- Broom

The brooms here are just a bunch of bamboo sticks tied together. I'll attach a picture!

Spiritual Thought: 

Shout out to my fav lil girl Sister Tesch for sharing this in her our companionship study the other day.
I love in Alma 20 how the King doesn't kill his son Lamoni because of the love he sees that Ammon has for Him. That love and compassion become the gateway for Ammon to testify, the king's heart is softened, and later he is taught by Ammon's brother, and converted through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

It was just another reminder for me that no matter what our responsibilities are in life, or on a mission, the most Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father want from us is to truly love God, as Christ does, and subsequently. love all our brothers and sisters here, as Christ does. True love will lead us to unselfish service, willing obedience, and the "fountain of all righteousness".

We need to pray for that love and charity "fervently" as stated in Moroni 7:48. If we do that, and let the Lord put that love into our hearts, it will become the basis of our faith and hope in this life. And lead us to do what we need to gain happiness and eternal increase in the life to come.

Sister Walters 

Is This a Sign I will Have Four Children?

Everything has changed again this week aaand my prayers were answered! I got my fourth kid (am training again) and this time it's a filipina!!! So pumped. It's a little different though because she is a short term missionary while preparing for her actual calling so she hasn't even gone to the MTC yet, she came straight from her house. We teach her how to be a missionary, she teaches me Ilocano and cracks my back.

We are allowed to buy sunglasses so our eyes don't dye from the dust and the sun.

But really she has got this amazing fire for the work and always keeps us on our toes!! (We also have the same name :)) 

My literal name in the mission though is "Nay" now, short for "nanay" which means mother. Zone leaders even made me a special jersey for it hahaha. 

One of these guys here is a recent convert who writes about every missionary in this black journal. It's so funny! 

Exchanges this week! I love working in the other sisters' areas and getting to know their investigators better so I can have more effective follow-ups with them. We met one new guy- Larry- who is very prepared. He commented about the "aura" that I and my companion have, and actually all the members he knows. So we sat down, sang to him, and explained why. As he read Mosiah 3:19 from the Book of Mormon he fought tears from spilling as he was so impacted by the words- how we need to become saints in this life. We explained that's why this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints- his only true and living church where we can be cleansed from all carnal state and worldliness. It was a powerful lesson. 

Actually, the week was full of meeting more prepared people and the work is really progressing so thank you for all the support and prayers!! 

Tagalog / Ilocano / English

Alam ko ang Aklat ni Mormon ay totoo 

Ammok nga jay Libro ni Mormon ket agpaysu 

I know the Book of Mormon is True 

Philippines Moment:

Filipinos looveee the dance so for our FHE for this part member family we are gonna baptize, the sister missionaries led the game and everyone had to do their own dance moves- even the ward council brethren got way into it. 

Funny Moment:

Sister Tesch looveess street food ( chicken head, intestines, blood, etc.) 

Found a cheap rat trap for our little friend and of course, my fingers are the only thing it's caught so far. 

Spiritual Moment:

The Tan Family was really touched by our sharing of how the Holy Ghost is what pushed us to find their house and we had another lesson filled with the spirit for that family! I am really grateful for the Book of Mormon. The dad in the family had a lot of questions because he reads the bible pretty diligently. I love testifying of how the Book of Mormon goes hand in hand with the Bible and we will truly "draw nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book." As we read the whole introduction with their family- their doubts slowly went away and we saw they eagerness build to experience for themselves the miracle of the book. 

I know our prophet Thomas S. Monson was inspired when he shared his short but powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. "If you are currently not reading the Book of Mormon each day, please do so." It is the only way we can be in this world and not of it, truly live the gospel, become more like our savior Jesus Christ, and ultimately return to his presence. I firmly believe no man can enter to live with God without a bedrock understanding and testimony of this inspired and sacred book. Once again, Ammok nga jay Libro ni Mormon ket agpaysu!! 

Mahal ko kayong lahat mga kabsat (kapatid) (brothers and sisters) 

Ate Walters