Monday, October 26, 2015

Characters Moulded

Monday, October 26, 2015
Dear family, 

Aftershock
     Not sure if you guys heard on the news but metro Manila experienced an earthquake aftershock last Monday, at around 9 p.m. I FREAKED OUT!!!!!! 

     Sister Pamesa and I had finished planning for the night and we were just chilling - I was writing in my journal at my desk and she was sitting across from me - and then all of a sudden she just said, "Earthquake." And I was like, "What?" And then she said again, "Earthquake!" And then I realized that YES, it was an aftershock! My first ever experience in my life! The earth was SHAKING! My chair SHOOK! It was swaying back and forth! My table was too. I was so dizzy afterwards. I can't imagine what a REAL earthquake would be like! Ahh! All these firsts here on the mission! 

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Ugly tears & goodbye
     Saying bye to Sister Pamesa this past week was HARD! It was my first time (since saying bye to Sister Lockwood on Palawan nine months ago) that I cried ugly tears while saying goodbye. Sister Pamesa (she is probably reading this) is my second longest companion since I was in training, which lasted for twelve weeks. All of my other companions I've only been with for six weeks at a time. With Sister Pamesa we had twelve weeks straight. It's not easy saying bye like that. I miss her alot! But she's super cool and has everything planned out and will get married in 2017 (sorry, Sis) so her life will WORK OUT!!!

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Fruition
     Guess what ELSE I figured out this week? Remember the Segovia family from when I was on Palawan? Our less-active family that we reactivated, both Sister Lockwood and I? They will always have a special place in my heart. They are SO, so special. This week I found out that they are attending Temple Preparation classes at church now!!! And that Brother Segovia is all good with his Word of Wisdom problem! And that Sister Segovia is a seminary teacher now! WHAT! 

     Tell them that a year ago and they would've kicked you out of their house in disbelief! What! I can't even believe it myself! Is God THIS merciful? He changed their lives...Sister Lockwood and I tried SO hard and gave SO much love to this family those 12 weeks we were together, and I worked with the Segovias for 6 months....and now 6 months later....the fruits have been borne. I am moved to tears. 

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FRESH START
     With Sister Pamesa's batch left about 28 missionaries. 28 missionaries went home this week. BUT...the new incoming batch gave us 34/35/36 new missionaries! That's a LOT of new missionaries! President was telling us that this marks a fresh start for the mission. That this is time for all of us older missionaries to lead by example. But these new missionaries aren't the only ones that are NEW right now. With all of the old missionary leaders that went home, President called NEW missionary leaders to replace them! (There is a lot of NEW happening right now here in the mission.) Sister Esmolo is one of them; she's a new STL. New, new, new. Sometimes "cleansing" of this sort is good! 

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To teach
     And so on that note of Sister Esmolo being new...she just flew off of Palawan and landed in Manila on Wednesday. She's had to adjust (again) to the business of Manila and how people walk super fast (guilty as charged!) and how there are a billion cars and people all around her. It's a bit disorienting to come off of a peaceful island to this city. Seeing here and helping her reminds me of when I got off of Palawan in May...Can you believe that it has been half a year? It's been six months! And with her being a new STL I have to basically "train" her like how Sister Pamesa "trained" me. Getting her familiarized with all that us STLs do has been a treat! Teachers learn the most when they teach. 

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To be taught
     I don't think I can stress enough how MUCH I love that when you have a responsibility in the mission, you get to meet with President TWICE as much when you attend different meetings with him! I love learning from President Ostler. He is so wise. So, so wise. I love President so much. 

     Anyways- President also recently decided that STLs will sit in on Stake Coordination meetings from now on. It used to be only the Zone Leaders (elders) that went to these things but now President wants the sisters to be involved in these types of councils too. And so last night Sister Esmolo and I attended stake coordination for the first time. WOW. So much stuff goes on. It blows my mind that a 20-year-old girl can sit beside a stake president and just...talk about missionary work. That a 20-year-old girl and a 21-year-old-girl and these other young elders...can have such an impact in these types of meetings. Leaders listen to us! And they teach us. Humility, as I have learnt, is so important in these things. To be humble and to accept counsel (and even correction) from leaders. It'll be quite an experience for me these next couple of months when we attend stake coordination again!



     That was my week in a nutshell! Too much happens here on the mission; there's never enough time to tell all my stories. BUT I will say this: this week someone guessed, ON THE FIRST TRY, that I am SINGAPOREAN! AND NOT KOREAN! Drives me crazy. Oh man. 


I love this work.


With love,
Sister Teo





All These Steps Forward

Dear family, 

Never forsaken
     This last Saturday, on the 17th of October, Caroline Grace Lumapas got baptized, And the unfolding of the events of her baptism were miracle-filled. Up to the very minute that she stepped into the waters of baptism, Sister Pamesa and I were, for sure, saying prayers in our hearts. Because about twenty minutes before she got baptized, she was in tears. Because about five minutes before that, she got word that some people (that she loved) that she was expecting to come...were not going to make it anymore. And to be honest I was so disappointed. I remember turning around in my chair, seeing her face in her hands, and being so disappointed. I remember saying in my head, "I thought we had fasted and prayed for a miracle, Heavenly Father. Why is this happening?" I was in tears all throughout. But I still kept praying. I kept the faith. And literally ten minutes before she would step into the water...I looked out the window. Saw a car pull in. Saw Carol's member boyfriend, Josh, step out of the church to the parking lot. Saw a man walk in with him. It was Carol's brother. The only member of her family to make it.

     He made it, and he saw Carol get baptized. Carol did it. She took courage, despite persecution, despite doubt, despite rejection. She did it. And she was a hero that day. (PLUS she made her OWN rockin' program! What! I've NEVER seen a baptismal program SO pretty!) 

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From dark to light
     Later that same afternoon, Ronel was baptized as well. Ronel is the first investigator that I've had where we found, taught, and baptized, all from start to end. We met him towards the end of July and I cannot tell you the amazing change that we have seen in him. The first time we met him he looked so weighed down. It wasn't that his life was problematic. It was just that...there was this heaviness about him. And this Saturday, after stepping out of the font, and especially on Sunday, after being confirmed...the light about him. He shone. He literally shone. His face, his countenance, was literally LIGHT. This gospel does something to people. And it's a real thing, a real change. I have high hopes for Ronel. Hopes that the gospel will do for him what a high-paying job or the luxuries of this world will ever do for him. He is happy. And he will continue to be happy. 

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Baptism - by Zonrox and Baygon
     Zonrox = bleach. Baygon = cockroach-killer spray. 
     For real. This last Wednesday all four of us in the apartment cleaned out the ENTIRE apartment. Our apartment is TINY. Way tiny. I don't think I've ever lived in such a small space. (But it's actually possible!) Anyways...everyone knows me, right? Do I like insects? Roaches? NO. No, no, no. And I think we killed about 50 huge ones that day. Oh my goodness. So gross. And so as a disclaimer...yes, there will be pictures. Of those cockroaches. So disgusting. Ew. Can't get over it. The night before that I had even DREAMT about cockroaches...................I can't believe how many cockroaches were in the apartment. Okay. I'm done. 

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Jerry
     I think we had with Jerry what I would consider a pretty powerful lesson this last Monday. We brought a rope with us (from our 72 hour kit!) and at the start of the lesson we tied his hands together. Pretty tight. And we told him that this is basically the state that he is in now. His addiction- it is a bondage. We hoped it was powerful for him, because it sure was powerful for us. That is what addictions do to people. They tie them down. I will never forget that lesson. 

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Changing weather
     So I know that a storm is passing through the area, although the actual typhoon is up north. The winds are cold (SO GOOD!)...but so is the water. If someone told me a year ago that I'd shower in such cold water, I'm not quite sure I would have left on my mission. Actually, if anyone even told me HALF the things that would happen to me on the mission, I'm not sure I would have left! This mission cracks me up!!!! 

    And last night I woke up with a nose that wouldn't stop running, a throat that was BURNING, and body chills. It was so unexpected. Earlier that day at church I had been feeling a little off, but I didn't think too much of it. Well, something definitely went down in my body last night because I could NOT stop sneezing! And then I had this weird cough that made it hard for me to breathe and I thought I was going to die in my bed. Good thing I'm still alive typing this. Yes!

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On the streets
     I also just have to put it out there that last night...as Sister Pamesa and I were going through the ward list to try and find all the less-actives roaming this area (you will NOT believe how many less-actives there are in this country! All around the world!), we talked to a woman sitting by a corner and tried to ask her for help. She was smoking a cigarette, dressed in a hoodie, no big deal. And then all of a sudden, while we were just casually speaking with her, a man rides by on his scooter, stops by, this woman pulls out for her bag a PLASTIC bag, and the man hands her something, and then rides off. All within ten seconds. Um. Yes. We saw drugs dealt in front of us

     Sister Pamesa and I tried to think of something else it could have been, but we KNOW that based on where we were and our surroundings and their behavior, that woman dealt drugs. That was a FIRST!!! I can now say that I've seen drug exchanges go down! 

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Sister-training-leaders...plural!
     Guess what! Our roommates are being called as NEW STLs! And so with Sister Pamesa leaving, I'll be the oldest STL in the apartment! Weird! My new companion will be Sister Esmolo, whom I have never met but whom I know is going home in April with me!!! She's currently on Palawan right now (in the Puerto Princessa branch) and will land on the mainland this Wednesday. Let's see how this goes! 

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     I love this mission. Earlier on as we were riding to the mall, it was raining and I was on the back of the motorcycle (of the tricycle) and the rain was hitting me and I was thinking, "I'm going to get more sick!" and I was seeing the people all around me and the stray dogs and was breathing in the kind-of-smelly air...and I thought, "This will never happen to me again. I will never again experience this." 

     I'm seeing, day by day, why God sent me here to the Philippines. These revelations come, little by little, in increments. But they come. It has been an adventure. A once-in-a-lifetime adventure. And I am happy that I came. 


With love,
Sister Teo








Monday, October 12, 2015

The Home Run

Monday, October 12, 2015
Dear family, 

Far-reaching
     I remember, before the mission, looking up different mission blogs and missionaries to see how they were doing on their missions. I always looked up to them for all that they were doing and seeing them serve made me excited to go out and serve. This past week at interviews, a couple of missionaries from the Pasay zone (we are in the Makati zone) had their interviews, too, with President, and there I met an Elder Dustin. 

     He's relatively new (still in training) and the first thing he said when I asked how he was, was: "You were companions with Sister Lockwood, right?" I was like, "Yes! How'd you know?" And then the revelation: "My mom found you and Sister Lockwood's blog while we were preparing to send me off on a mission." AWKWAAARDDD! I remember being in Elder Dustin's shoes a year ago when we FIRST went on MTC exchanges and I met a couple of the missionaries here on the field that I had blog-stalked during MY preparation too! AWKWAAARD. Super awkward. That was the only thing I kept saying over and over to this elder. AWKWARD. It is SO awkward knowing that people have known/actually read what I go through every week...............................................I can't wait to tell Sister Lockwood that she also gained herself another reader!

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The first and great commandment
     The longer that I am here the more I see how hard it is for some people to put their whole trust in God when it means that they'd have to sacrifice being mocked/ridiculed/misunderstood by their family. It is a hard decision to make, to love God with ALL your heart, even when this means loving Him more than our earthly parents. But as I've thought about this alot recently, Daddy, your conversion story just keeps coming back to my mind. 

     Thank you for having loved the Lord enough to put everything at risk, to have walked away from your full-time job and your young siblings and your aging parents...to serve the Lord. And to even have joined the Church. Thank you for trusting God enough to have taken that big step of baptism. I have NO idea where I would be now if you hadn't made that decision those almost-three decades ago. I am so, so grateful. It is with this gratitude that I keep encouraging my investigators to move forward with faith. They WILL bless the generations that come after them. 

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Double trouble
     Just kidding! More like double HAPPINESS! Carol and Ronel are both getting baptized this Saturday, on October 17. Carol's baptism (in the 4th ward) will be at 12 noon, and Ronel's baptism (in the 3rd ward) will be at 3 pm. Both passed their baptismal interviews with flying colors and I know, I know with all my heart, that they are ready for this next big step. I love Carol so much. So, so much. She is so courageous and I KNOW that she will bless her family. As with Ronel. He has the potential to become a great teacher in the church. I am glad that both the wards in which they are in have stepped in to love them and befriend them. I pray with all my heart that they will keep running towards the waters, towards the 17th. 

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Shoe snatcher
     This last week after we taught Caizy at a member's house, all three of us- me, Caizy, and the member, whose name is Sister Rose- realized that each of us had a shoe missing. Creepy? Yes. Our shoes were right outside by Rose's door, yet by the end of our lesson we walked out and realized that our shoes were missing, each of us coincidentally missing a pair. The next day the shoes returned, but Rose's neighbor said that "the dog" had taken it. UMMMMM. No. Dogs do not coincidentally take one of each pair of three women's shoes. It was a human. There is a shoe snatcher somewhere. CREEPY. 

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Wanderers
     I will never get used to number of homeless people I see in this area. So many people sleeping on cardboards, under highways, by abandoned shops, under trees, by the train tracks...I didn't know that so many people could be so displaced and homeless. Homelessness is a phenomenon that will always intrigue me. To live without a home...I could never imagine not being able to return to a shelter of warmth and love and protection...

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We all want to be free
     Jerry confessed to us yesterday that he hasn't actually been able to give up smoking. It broke our hearts. Addiction is real. He won't be baptized on the 17th of this month and we do not yet know when his next baptismal goal date will be, but Sister Pamesa and I feel it best that we just work with him on FIRST overcoming the addiction. Because it is REAL. And it is hard. Jerry started when he was 13 or 14, and now he is 27. That's more than a decade of being tied to something. And he can't walk away easily, neither will Satan let him. And so that's our next big step for him. To help him break free. Because we CAN. We CAN change. But he's got to want it bad enough. There's a lot to work on here. 

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The last stretch
     And here's what this whole week as boiled down to: that October 10 has officially come and gone and that I celebrated with donuts and 12 candles to represent 12 months. It was General Conference on the 10th and 11th and Sister Poutua and Elder Clark (from my MTC district!) were both at the same chapel as I was to watch the rebroadcast, and so it was a MERRY reunion as we talked about and screamed about and rejoiced over this one year's journey! One year! One year. That's 365 days. I don't think that I have ever been SO out of my comfort zone. But I would never trade this one year for anything else in the world. It has been so hard, but so happy. The mission is an irony, but a good one. The mission has been a refiner's fire. So hard. But so good. And so here's the last stretch. This is the home run. These are the last four transfers. And my goodness, I cannot believe it. 


I love you all SO much. And guess what? 10 more weeks until Christmas call!


With love,
Sister Teo 

P.S. The last picture is with Sister Tiana from the SHANGHAI BRANCH! She came over to Manila for her endowment last Monday and she is already on her way back to Shanghai. BUT! She's in the SHANGHAI BRANCH! And she remembers you, Dad! I asked her if she knew all the people in the District Presidency and she could only name President Dyer and President Lindsay BUT then I showed her a picture of you and she laughed and said, "YES! I know him! He gave a talk at our YSA Convention and he was SO funny!" Well. Guess you left an impression Dad! But go talk to her! She is AWESOME! Sister Tiana.










Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Another Week

Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Dear family, 

Carol, Jerry & Ronel
     Let's start this email off good and happy: Carol, Jerry, and Ronel are ALL set for their October 17th baptisms! They are scheduled for their interview with the District Leader this Saturday, in between General Conference sessions and maybe even after. I am so, so, SO happy! Sister Pamesa and I are making sure to fast for them tomorrow because you never know what can go wrong (or right!) in two weeks. 

     Carol has gained this NEW courage about her that is so touching to witness. She has grown so much in faith. Jerry has 
a new light about him
too, and he even came to shirt with a WHITE SHIRT AND TIE yesterday! And Ronel is awesome. Full stop. He is super deep. Super. He's a writer, and so as he goes through the Book of Mormon he tells us all these insights that he has and it's DEEP. So deep. My mind is blown away by how great these two sons and one daughter of God are. Fingers crossed for October 17! It has been a GIFT to see them change over these months...

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Can't Be Seperated
     I just have a word to say about the "No-divorce" thing here in the Philippines.........Okay, nevermind, I won't say it. I have to be polite about the laws here. Even though we all know that it is SUPER BA...LO...NEY..............SUPER! So many of our investigators/ recent converts can't EVER go into the temple to be endowed/sealed because of this law! Because they can't get "divorced" from their previous husband/wife and the annulment, as they call it here, costs a BOMB for these people. WHY?!?!?!?!

     It broke my heart this past week as we sat down with one of our investigators who was supposed to be baptized really soon, but then told us that...he would rather not, because he just CAN'T live apart from his "now-wife-but-not-really-wife-because-legally-she-is-still-married-to-another-man." This really troubled me the entire week. He made up his mind so fast that he would put off baptism/salvation/being saved...because of love. I don't doubt that he loves her. But talking with President this week...how much of it is really love, and how much of it is lust? President told me that if he really wanted to be baptized, he would overcome ANYTHING to be baptized, even if it meant going his whole life not living with this woman UNTIL the annulment happens. Ladies and gentlemen, salvation is not easy! 

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Families
     This past week I also got a letter from one of my investigators from a previous area telling me that she wants to run away from her live-in-partner/"husband"/(not really husband because they aren't married yet either), which ALSO broke my heart. (Okay, it was just a really heavy week, dealing with all of my investigators' problems!) 

Families are SO important. 

I've learnt that SO much over this last year. Families, families, families. It all starts in a family. It all starts with husband and wife, and the kind of life that they decide TOGETHER, to build. It isn't all husband. It isn't all wife. It is husband and wife. And then there are the children too. If a family is happy, the world is just that much happier. It all starts in the home. I cannot wait to take all these lessons and apply them in my future family! 

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October 10th
     Okay, so I haven't technically hit my one-year mark yet so I'm not going to comment on that too much...YET. I will save all of my long, joyous "HOOORRAAAAYYY!!!!" rants for next week, but thank you all for remembering and for your happy wishes!!!!! I can't believe that October 10 is just right around the corner! And I get to celebrate it with watching General Conference! Best gift ever. I cannot describe the journey that I have experienced. Wow. Everyone should serve a mission. It's like, life school. #nokidding

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    Pictures this week are of me eating durian - I LOVE DURIAN!!!!!!!!! The durians here (from Davao) are WAY better than the ones in Singapore! - and then there are a couple of pictures from MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) this past week. Sister Veras is an STL now too and we were reunited this past week! I love her!!!!!!!!!!!! 

     Have a great week everyone! This last week went by so fast but so slow. Let's see how this next one goes :) 

I love you all so much.

With love,
Sister Teo






With love, Sister Teo © 2014