Characters Moulded

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