"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear"
I had absolutely zero idea that there was even a possibility of an earthquake hitting metro Manila until I read your email last week, Mom. It didn't exactly freak me out; I just thought that you were a mommy being a mommy who was just scared for her missionary daughter. But then here were some of the other events that took place throughout the week that started to make me a little bit nervous:- MONDAY: When Sister Barrido and I went grocery shopping after emailing, we got a call from one of the members in our area. She called, asked us where we were, and told us not to stay too long in the mall because there was a possibility of an earthquake hitting us. I cannot tell you the fear that overcame me that moment. I was literally in tears. I didn't know what to think; I kept telling Sister Barrido, "I'm scared; I'm scared." We visited this member's house later that evening and they told us that Bishop had gone around to all the members' houses telling them to get ready for whatever was to come. Definitely some spice added into the start of our week!
- TUESDAY: A couple days later, while we were doing companionship study, our electricity went out. (I swear it is just me.) We looked out our window and saw a bunch of workers fixing the electrical cables right outside of our window. We later found out from a tricycle driver that they were doing maintenance on those cables because...(ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?) WE LIVE RIGHT ON A FAULTLINE! HAHAHAHAHA. I can imagine you freaking out at this, Mom. Our house is on a faultline. Yup. I am living on a fautline. Our street is on a faultline. FAULTLINE. If an earthquake hits, well, we all know which street is gonna be tremblin'!
- SUNDAY: All of us missionaries had a meeting with the ward council yesterday after church and Bishop told us that the week before, during stake conference season when Elder Vicensio of the Seventy was in town, all the leaders of the Makati East Stake had had a meeting together. Bishop then said that at the end of the meeting, just right before someone was about to give the closing prayer, Elder Vicensio (mind you, Seventy here!) interrupts and says something along the lines of, "I just had an impression to say something about this, but all of you bishops here, please visit as many of the members in your ward as soon as possible, and tell them to get ready their 72-hour kits. We don't know what is going to happen with this fore-casted earthquake, but if it does happen, we need to be ready."
Nothing has happened this past week. I'm still alive, and I'm still writing this email! But I will agree with that one scripture in the D&C that reads, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." That wave of fear that overcame me last Monday in the grocery store was a terrible feeling. As I contemplated how to better remain at peace with whatever the situation is/may be, I have learnt that preparation really precedes miracles. I know that God protects his missionaries. Thank you all for any prayers said on our behalf this past week!
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Selfish or selfless?
Heavenly Father gave me many, many opportunities this week to practice patience as well as understanding as well as compromise as well as love as well as charity as well as any goodly attribute. Many times this week I have told myself this over and over again: "This mission is not about you. This mission is not about you. This mission is not about you." I am learning to be selfless. I am learning to put others in front of me. I am not perfect at this yet. The natural (wo)man is selfish. But I pray so hard that by the time April 2016 rolls around that I will be a more loving, more patient, more charitable person. I am miles to go! There is so much more to improve!"If you don't love someone very much, you probably haven't served that person enough. If you serve a person, you will love that person." This is my quote of the week. I am going to put it to the test. I know that there are reasons why Heavenly Father puts certain people in our lives. I will not disappoint God.
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Marco & Carolyn
I have big hopes for this couple. I'm not sure if I've written home to you guys about them before, but Marco and Carolyn are two of our investigators that we have been focusing on recently. Marco is PM (Part-Member) status...ish. He was baptized at 8, along with the rest of his family, but somehow the Church lost his records and so he has been back to investigator status since then. Carolyn is his "asawa" (spouse) but they are not yet married. They have an adorable, beautiful baby girl named Charmaine together. She is three months old. In order for Marco and Carolyn to get baptized, they are going to need to get married first. That is their first obstacle. We are really pushing for them to make things happen, even if it means getting "certified" before a judge first before having a grand reception/wedding. Their second obstacle is that Marco will have to quit smoking.
Where this is a will, there is a way.
Marco and Carolyn currently live with Sister Makiling, Marco's sister. Sister and Brother Makiling feed us sisters every week, without fail (unless we cancel). Every Thursday night, we have a dinner appointment at their house. These dinner trips will be so much more worth it now that we have Marco and Carolyn to work with whenever we are there! I know that with Sister Makiling's support, Marco and Carolyn will be able to make it to the temple one day.
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A mother's relief
One of the LAs (less-actives) in our area is the Villahermosa family. They are so, so lovely. There are...seven/eight of them in their family. Two adults and then a bunch of kids. The missionaries have visited them for a long time. This past week, as Sister Barrido and I sat and taught Sister Villahermosa, amidst some screaming children, amidst the noise from outside, all three of us seated humbly on the floor of her home, she cried. Sister Villahermosa cried as she told us how grateful she is every time that the missionaries visit her. She described our visits as being a "relief" of sorts. She said that for those twenty minutes that we are together with her, it is as if her house is just a little bit more full of love. That she is just that little more at peace. It isn't easy being a mom with so many little children to look after. I cannot take credit for anything that Sister Villahermosa feels whenever we are at her house. All I know is that as missionaries, we have the right to have the Holy Ghost with us. The Spirit is what Sister Villahermosa feels everytime we are with her. The Spirit changes lives. It is all the work of the Holy Ghost.
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Dressed in white
If you've seen the pictures that I've sent, the two women dressed in white are none other than Nanay Erlinda and Cris! They aren't related; just neighbors. Anyways, their baptism itself was a story for the keeps because what should have originally started out at 3 p.m. only begun at 4:30 p.m. because the Bishopric had been confused/mixed up with who was supposed to be presiding and the one that should've presided thought that the baptism would be on the next day. Needless to say, Sister Barrido and I were a little nervous. Was the baptism going to happen? Was Nanay Erlinda and Cris feeling a little upset that their baptism was in chaos, to say the least? NOPE! Nanay and Cris were good sports. The baptism eventually happened and Nanay and Cris went under the water and up. I love the feeling I get from seeing people emerge, all radiant, all bright, all glowing. They get to start all over again! A fresh start. Nanay used to gamble in order to get the money she needed to support her family. Cris is only 17 but this church will bring her so much direction in her life. I know that God is merciful and Christ's Atonement has covered everything that happened to them before their baptism!
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Favor
If someone can get Kaede (Takeshige) to shoot me an email/message really fast, I would really appreciate it. I want to talk to her a little about her leaving on her mission but I don't have her email address! Thank you!
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Gentle Reminder
GUESS WHO GETS TO GO TO THE TEMPLE NEXT WEEK!?!??!?!?!? FINALLY!!!!!! AFTER HALF A YEAR OF NOT HAVING BEEN!!! AND GUESS WHEN WE WILL BE GOING?!?!??!? JUNE 9!!! THE DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY! BEST. BIRTHDAY. PRESENT. EVER. June 9 is a Tuesday. This means our P-Day will be on Tuesday next week. Not on Monday. You guys won't be getting any emails from me next Monday, but they'll come in on Tuesday! I can't wait!But until then, I love you all! Sorry that this email is coming in a little late today. Our email accounts weren't working earlier this morning and so we decided to go and get our grocery shopping done first. Poor Sister Barrido though, her email still isn't working. Must be a problem with the church's server.
"And charity suffereth long, and is kind and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil..." (Moroni 7:45)
With love,
Sister Teo
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