Kevin Durant of Devin Durant?!

Dear Family,

     Okay, so the title of my email is what it is because yesterday at Church, Elder Newson (senior couple) comes up to Sister Lockwood and I and tells us that on Feb 7th, at 2 pm, Kevin Durant is coming to Malvar chapel to give a teaching seminar. Sister Lockwood and I look at each other and say, "What? Kevin Durant?" And Elder Newson says, "Yes, he was an NBA player." And THAT got us waaaay confused because Kevin Durant is NOT Mormon! So later we find out maybe he meant DEVIN Durant...although that doesn't really help because I don't know who he is. BUT he WAS pro-NBA and apparently Mormon and WILL be coming here to give a seminar. February 7th. Pretty cool. I'll be waiting for that :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLADYS! 
     YOU ARE 17 YEARS OLD?!?!? WHAT!!! 17?!?! I remember MY 17th birthday! How are you growing up so fast?!?!?!?!?!??! I cannot imagine what Daddy and Mommy feel, watching US three grow up. DON'T GROW UP!!! Remain five and chubby forever! I love you and miss you. You are so beautiful and you are so talented. I miss singing with you and jamming out by the piano and also I miss annoying you by talking to Ether really loudly every night for five months. Just kidding. You are one of my best friends. I love you. ENJOY YOUR 17TH YEAR!

LEHI'S DREAM...PALAWAN VERSION
     So remember how in Lehi's vision (Book of Mormon) he walked in a "dark and dreary" waste? Well this past week we had a brown-out (black-out) occur here and it was literally PITCH BLACK! Everywhere! Of course we had flashlights and stuff but when we turned them off it felt like we were wandering in the wilderness. Way cool. The stars were bright and beautiful and the air was crisp and I felt like I was in a desert or something. Seriously. Light pollution = bad. No light pollution during a black-out = good. Also Mom I know you're going to say something like, "Why were you out walking during a black-out?! Can't you go home to your apartments?" Love you Mom. Don't worry. God is on our side. We work in the light and in the dark :)

LARRY AND "THANK YOU" 
     Here's what I wrote in my journal. Larry is a man we have been teaching and he is GOLDEN. I think I told you guys about him last week. Remember his First Vision comment? Anyways:

     "This man has been prepared to listen to us. I could go into full detail of the entire lesson that we had- mainly his questions about why we eat blood and about the spirit world etc.- BUT. The one thing that stood out to me in the entire lesson was at the end. I cannot tell you what I was saying to him. Maybe something about the importance of prayer. But all I know is that I talked to him about praying, and I was talking for a bit, and then...out of nowhere, just as I finish talking, Larry reaches his hand out to shake mine, and firmly, he says, "Thank you."

     His comment caught me off-guard. I was not expecting that. It immediately brought tears to my eyes. That "thank you" was so real...so sincere. It caught me by surprise. That moment, those two words, will perhaps be one of the biggest memories I will have of my mission. Thank you, Larry. Thank you, Heavenly Father."

I'm telling you guys - people's lives are changing. I am in awe. 

POVERTY AND PRIVILEGE
When I really stop to take a look at where I'm at, at where I walk and where I drive by, I cannot believe that I am really living here. I am been so blessed. Mom and Dad you guys have worked hard to provide a good life for Gladys, Krystal and I. I will forever be thankful for the family I grew up in.

INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH
     From zero to five to two! Two this week :) It's okay! Two is better than one and better than none! We are happy! The work is moving forward! All the patience is really worth it!

     I love being a missionary. Just two and a half more weeks with Sister Lockwood. It kills me! I love her so much.

Here's a poem to end things off:

Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees. 

The further sky, the greater length. 

The more the storm, the more the strength. 

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.

I love you all! Happy birthday Gla! Keep the faith! Keep the smiles! Be nice to all. Kindness goes a long way.

Kindness goes a long way.

With love,
Sister Teo

From Zero to Hero!

Dear family,

     Whenever I sit down at the computer each Monday, my thoughts run in a million directions. I wish that I could take you guys on this journey with me. Miracles happen, everyday, left and right. I wish everyone could go on a mission. Missions are so good. I learn so much, everyday.

From zero to hero:
Guess how many INVESTIGATORS turned up at Church yesterday?!?! Remember how we have had ZERO turn up for the past ten weeks? GUESS WHAT! FIVE SHOWED UP! Five! Five?!?! Five! Five investigators came to church! After two months of zero people....five people came! I'm not sure anyone could be as excited for that as Sister Lockwood and I were. These five people included Brian and Fatima Anasis (husband and wife AND their two young girls), Jing-Jing, Tess, and Edna Quisido. When I come back to the Philippines to visit I will definitely be coming back to Palawan to check on these people. I don't know what lies up ahead for them but I know that I will forever remember them as being the FIRST FIVE investigators that I have EVER had at Church. Zero to FIVE! If you're thinking that's not a big deal...STOP! Because it is a big deal! I am so happy. I am so, so happy. We have a lot of work to do with these five in the weeks and months and years to come but I KNOW that they will blessed for the first step that they took.

Shanghai is right next door: 
SO remember how I mentioned in my email last week that we have Chinese neighbors? Guess what AGAIN! They are from Shanghai! What! The world is so small. I talked to the Dad. He's just here on a trip right now but he said that his daughter lives here permanently or something. Hopefully someday soon I will be able to start up a conversation with them!

BUDGETING:
What does that even mean? Just kidding. I have a (better) concept of money. As of right now we get our funds twice every month, on the 1st and the 15th. Starting Feb though, President Ostler is changing that to just ONCE a month! He wants the missionaries to learn how to budget. So instead of P4000 two times a month, we'll be taking out P8000 at one go. Not sure how that will gooooooo....but....if I can learn how to budget on the mission...........I can use it after the mission? :) Definitely still something I am learning.

Scripture for you, Mommy:
Proverbs 31:28.

"You two are different":
Two of our less-actives- WHO ARE NOW REACTIVATED!- said to Sister Lockwood and I last Monday, "You two are different." Imagine this- missionaries have been working with them for forever. They've known the church forever. But for them to have been reactivated with US as THE missionaries...the statement "You two are different" has such great meaning. We love these two women. Also on Wednesday we had FHE at the Lopez's home with our senior couple missionaries (will get to this topic in a bit), and Sister Newson (the senior couple missionary) looks at Sister Lockwood and I and says, "I wonder who the missionaries are that managed to get the Lopez's to come to Church! So many pairs of missionaries have tried and tried and tried and always failed. I wonder who they are!" AND I just look at Sister Lockwood and we just smile SO BIG at each other. And Sister Newson says, "Was it the two of you?" :)))))) Smiles all around.

"I've heard this before":
We taught a new investigator this week. Larry Moral. After we recited the First Vision to him he scratches his head, scrunches up his face and says, "I've heard this before. It's in the Bible somewhere." NO! It's not in the Bible, Larry! You heard this before, that's right. But you heard it in the pre-existence! How cool is it that he said that?! He literally has NEVER heard the First Vision before, that I know. But the fact that he was SURE that it was so familiar........we are closer to the veil than we know it, guys!

FAMILIES ARE FOREVER:
The branch held a funeral service for a member who passed away earlier this week. This member- Brother Rogelio Galupe- was literally just baptized a month ago. He knew then that his leukemia would probably get the best of him and that is actually one reason why he wanted to get baptized. How amazing is it that he managed to receive this ordinance before his passing? Life is too short. It is too fragile. But relationships perpetuate beyond the grave. And that is something I will forever treasure.

    I LOVE YOU FAMILY! The work is great! Sure there are mountains to climb everyday (literally and figuratively) but I have found that when you are grateful and cheerful, everything becomes easier. And if I'm planning on staying here until April 2016, gratitude is definitely a virtue I will need to sustain me!

Have a great week!

Gladys you turn 17 next week! Stop growing up so fast!

With love,
Sister Teo

P.S. So I get to the computer shop and realize I left my camera at home. Bummer. SORRY! Pictures next week!

Miracles

Dear family,

Perhaps the greatest convert of my mission will be myself.

Miracles happen. Hearts change. People soften.

This last week we had a sister come to church who hasn't been to church in FOREVER. Literally, forever. And we were able to teach this same sister FOUR times in seven days- this has never happened before. Everytime that we went to her house we would always be turned away. There would always be a reason (excuse?) for why she couldn't see us. But what changed everything was love.

It started out simple. Sister Lockwood and I just started with a little note, and a bag of cookies. That very same day she had received a HUGE package from Hong Kong, so you can imagine our dismay when we turned up at her house and saw their family opening a million things of far greater worth than our simple note and bag of cookies. But that note and those cookies must have changed something. I am sure it did. The love we tried to show her - after six weeks of being turned away, and I am sure as with the many weeks before I got here to Palawan - worked.

The next day we were able to teach her. She let us into her home. And we came back the next day. We taught. We came back twice again in the days following. She sat and listened to us. She talked to us. She made sure her daughters were present for the lesson too. A single mom, and three daughters.

I know that it isn't Sister Lockwood and I changing her life. It's something greater than us.

She came to Church yesterday. I could have cried when I saw her walk in. You have no idea how long we had been praying for her. And for the first time in our companionship, we had fasted for this sister last week. The blessings were immediate, no? I refuse to believe that it was just coincidence that the tides changed in our favor. It wasn't a stroke of luck. It was God. It was Christ.

Also- remember the Lopezs? And how Brother Lopez first lost his job because he was going to Church on Sunday and couldn't work on that day? GUESS WHAT! As of yesterday their WHOLE FAMILY was reactivated! And Brother Lopez found a job! What! No! Miracles left and right!

I am coming to realize that no matter how much I prepare myself to tell you guys everything, the words will probably never fully come. Ether once told me, "The mission will be your best kept secret." How true! The mission is my best kept secret. There are so many things that only God and I know. That only Sister Lockwood and I know. Things that only my journal knows. But that's okay. Because what matters is that I am coming to see, for myself, the reality of this gospel. The power of the Atonement. The power of God.

I AM SO BLESSED! I AM SO LUCKY. Don't worry, Mom, Dad. You taught me well. I count my blessings everyday.

In other world news:
I forgot to tell you all last week that I am no longer the "baby missionary" in the apartment! Or did I? I forget. Anyways we had a new missionary come in about two weeks ago. Her name is Sister Vaka. She is Polynesian-Canadian. I LOVE HER! Our apartment is the bomb. It feels so good not being the youngest missionary anymore! It's almost strange to think that seven weeks ago I was where Sister Vaka is! Everything gets better with time.
We have Chinese neighbours and they were fighting in Chinese the other day and I thought it was hilarious. Just thought you guys should know. I miss Chinese people. They are one of a kind.
The Newsons! Senior couple missionaries! Assigned right in our ward! We are so lucky. In Manila there are just TOO many missionaries that it is IMPOSSIBLE for couple missionaries to work so closely with any of them on a frequent basis. But here on Palawan, SPECIFICALLY Santa Monica, we get the Newsons! They are the best! They are like our grandparents. So loving, so kind. I can't wait to go on a senior mission when I am older!
I love you all so much! As each week passes I love these people more and more. I remember at the start of the mission having to beg Heavenly Father to help me love them. But now that the language is coming, the love is always there. I love the Filipinos.

We have interviews with President Ostler this Wednesday! I can't wait to meet with him and talk with him. Him and Sister Ostler both- I have such respect for them.

Always praying for you guys!

With love,
Sister Teo

P.S. I know the picture is blurry and weird but in a nutshell that is my relationship with Sister Lockwood. I love her like a sister and we have so much fun all the time!

   

BRING ON 2015!

Dear family,

2015 IS HERE! Do you know what that means?! It means that I get to be a missionary for the full twelve months of this year!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, that was a little over the top. And maybe a little sarcastic. #sorrynotsorry. Okay. Won't use hashtags anymore.

BUT! I really am looking forward to these next twelve months! Wow! Twelve months. One year. When I think too much about it, the thought scares me. My mind can go off in all sorts of different directions very, very easily. And so I've trained it. I've trained my mind. I never let myself get too far ahead of myself. One day at a time. One hour at a time. Step by step. There are certain things that I cannot control, so why freak out about them? I can do this! You can do this! We all can! There is something about the mission that has almost forced me to develop this "I-can" attitude. That's good, right?! Sister Teo takes on the world!

ALSO- BEFORE I FORGET, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRYS!!!! HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN!!! AHH!! How are you sixteen already?!?!? I remember when I turned sixteen! Wasn't that just yesterday?! And this year I turn twenty? What! I have no idea where all the years have gone (such a cliched line, but so true). Happy birthday! You are so beautiful and bright and smart and your future is as bright as your faith, so in that case you ain't gotta worry about a thing because YOUR FUTURE IS LOOKING GOOD! I am so proud of you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hopefully my letters get to you guys in Shanghai soon! Or at least before GLADYS' birthday on the 26th!

Couple of thoughts from this past week: 
- People have been asking me if I am Filipino. I know last week I said this but this week I've gotten really specific questions- "Are you Bisayan?" HAHA. What! Mom! Do I look Bisayan? How do people from Bisaya even look like? Earlier today a member also asked me "What province are you from?" Province as in province from the Philippines. Cracks me up all the time!

-Guess who fell sick on New Year's Eve...AGAIN?! For the second year in a row? Me!  No idea why, but it was just a cold that went away the next day. I got to sleep in (YES!!!) and that helped ALOT. I'm okay now. But I thought it was super cool that on both Dec 31, 2013 and Dec 31, 2014, I was sick! (Ether- "fell sick" vs. "got sick"...? ;) Inside joke)

-Speaking of New Year's, it was DEAD SILENT- EVERYWHERE. The streets were empty, there weren't people around... It was quite a New Year's! We had to return home to our apartment by 6 pm on New Year's Eve because people get drunk a lot around here during that time of the year, BUT! We had a blast, Sister Lockwood and I, just sitting in the apartment, doing NOTHING! Well, we tried playing games and we laughed a lot, so it wasn't really doing nothing. I love Sister Lockwood! I say that every email, but I do! New Year's Eve 2014 was definitely one to remember.

-I am so glad that I am serving in the Philippines. It is almost like God knows that I don't have thick enough skin (yet) to serve elsewhere. We talked to two people this week that were really firm believers in their own faith - one was a Finnish man who claimed that he didn't like any religion because everyone thinks that Islam is bad, and the other a Filipino Jehovah's Witness. Eek! They were very strongly opinionated. Sister Lockwood and I handled the situations well but I definitely cannot imagine serving elsewhere! The Filipinos are always so humble and kind and they all believe in God, so it's never an argument about religion with them. But these two people! They were something. I am so glad that God knows what I can take and what I can't! Hopefully by the time this is all over I will have thicker skin!

All in all, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! I have realized that this is very much a mental game. You either let yourself be happy, or not. And everyday that choice is mine. And I've been happy! It starts from within. It is possible.

Thank you guys for the Christmas package! Needless to say there was crying. I love you guys so much. Also please thank all those who wrote me from Church! INCLUDING BETTY! BETTY! IF YOU ARE READING THIS- I LOVE YOU! I'll write ALL of you guys back. So much love! Missionaries love mail. Or at least, I do. So thank you! I loved it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KRYSTAL ONCE AGAIN! AHHH! And Gladys' seventeenth is in what, two more weeks? Three more weeks? The 26th. SO JEALOUS! You guys are growing up too fast. I love you both. I have the most beautiful sisters on the planet.

I will hit my third-month mark this Saturday, January 10th! Who's counting with me?!?!?

I love you all!

With love,
Sister Teo