The Home Run

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!

+ + + + + + + + + + +

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. 

+ + + + + + + + + + +

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. 

+ + + + + + + + + + +

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. 

+ + + + + + + + + + +

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...

+ + + + + + + + + + +

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. 

+ + + + + + + + + + +

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.