Where do I even start? This week has been unforgettable.
FRESH-FACED AND INNOCENT
This week Sister Esmolo and I were at the mission home the same time that the new missionaries were that were coming into the mission. Man! They looked SO innocent, I couldn't help but laugh at how fresh and FOB they looked! It made me think of how my batch mates and I must've looked like that 14 months ago as well. Every missionary has to go through that awkward first stage of missionary life, right? I get a kick out of observing how new these kids are. Bless their hearts. The mission will change their lives as it has mine.
THE CELEBRITY LIFE
OKAY. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START ABOUT THIS. Let's just say that I've officially been ON TV! HAHAHAHAHA. (tears of joy and tears of sadness at how awkward everyone looks on TV........#ugh) So get this: Tuesday at around 6 pm we get a text from Sister Duford (one of the couple missionaries) saying that all of us choir members will be sleeping over at the mission home Wednesday night, because Thursday early morning at around 4 a.m., we'd have to leave and make our way to the Santa Claus house. So everyone makes their way to the mission home on Wednesday night, we practice from about 9 p.m. to 11 p.m (while waiting for everyone to get in), go to bed at 11:30 p.m., wake up at 2:30 a.m (it is a NIGHTMARE sharing two bathrooms with 14 young ladies trying to prep themselves up for national TV), and are on the road at 4 a.m. Talk about living the life of a celebrity! The adrenaline was pumping all throughout our performance on TV 5 but we were dead tired by the time it was over. We got home at about 8 a.m. and I knocked out the minute I crashed onto the bed. We were allowed to take naps and I definitely napped like a baby until 12 p.m. At 1 p.m. we started practicing again (all of this happened at the mission home!) to get ready for our performance at the TEMPLE/MTC later that night. I had sung my lungs out the entire morning and all during practice (which probably wasn't the wisest thing to do) and so by the time we performed for all these religious dignitaries of the community that had been invited to a special Area Presidency dinner inside the MTC...yup, my voice was cracking left and right. Embarassing. BUT THANKFULLY my duet with Sister Indino went well! It was a MIRACLE. Miracle, I tell you. Oh. It feels so god that we did well on the song. BUT ANYWAYS, YES. We were their dinner entertainment that night and after the night was over so many people kept asking all of us how we were still happy and smiley and bubbly and energetic. (Truth be told we were dying inside!)
BUT HERE'S ANOTHER THING: During our practice at the MTC, as we were preparing for that night (Wednesday night), Sister Ostler gets a call/text from GMA 7 telling her that they wanted us to sing the next morning! This was NOT planned from the start! We got notified only 12 hours before and everyone hadn't brought extra clothes to wear and we hadn't expected to sleep over the mission home ANOTHER night! Well. It had to be done! And so we all spent a second night at the mission home. Giant sleepover. Very tame. Not wild at all. Everyone knocked out. Missionary sleepovers are the best. HA.
GMA 7 was much more intense than TV 5 was. Maybe because GMA 7 is bigger than TV 5 is. Anyhow, wow. We were so tired that everytime the camera turned off and we weren't on-air anymore, everyone just collapsed onto the staircase/the floor and we just closed our eyes and laid on each other's shoulders. And then every time the camera came on again, Sister Ostler (bless her heart) would start dancing like a crazy lady to try to get us to laugh and to get our spirits back up THERE so that we'd be smiling on TV and not look haggard. Talk about the best 48 hours of my life!
I don't even know how else to describe this experience except that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! I didn't think I'd be a missionary AND perform with all my friends AND be on TV?! The important thing though wasn't so much about being on TV as it was about touching these people's hearts with our music. That was our main goal. And so, as wonderful as it was being on TV...I loved singing at the MTC and temple the most. There was such a beautiful, serene spirit there. That was my favorite.
I'll stop rambling about this. ASK ME MORE OVER SKYPE IN THREE WEEKS.
SATAN'S SNARES
Remember the amazing 15 year old girl we started teaching only just recently? Sheila? Well, keep her in your prayers this week because...she went online this week and read some stuff, out of curiosity, and those websites weren't lds.org or anything and we ALL know what happens when people try to get their information from Google or Yahoo. Not good. And unfortunately that's kind of what happened to Sheila. What she read really confused her. It started to get to her head. We went back to her yesterday and talked about that experience and it made me so sad to see that her fire had dimmed down. She is so ready to receive the gospel but Satan is working just as hard to keep her away from it. I've really learnt the importance of receiving personal revelation/answers from GOD and from reliable sources. And so we told her, "Trust the spirit. Trust what you feel. What you feel will never lie." Fingers crossed!
TOGETHER FOREVER
Sister Esmolo and I were able to attend a family sealing this past week. This family - the MORAL family - were very close to Sister Esmolo when she'd served them on Palawan, and President granted us permission to witness their sealing. This was my FIRST time, and...I cannot put into words what I felt. I felt...like I was on fire. When their two little kids came into the room and joined Brother and Sister Moral...the tears just wouldn't stop. How beautiful. I saw a family get sealed right in front of my very eyes. It made me think of you, Mom and Dad, and how the two of you were sealed, probably in such humble and modest circumstances. Two new converts to the church, with little/no support from your own families, kneeling in the temple, being sealed...I thought about that the whole time I was in the sealing room. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for helping us be a forever family. Thank you for letting me be with my sisters for ever. Thank you.
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I love you all so much. I can't stop laughing at those screenshots Gladys and Krystal took of the performance. UGH. I hate candid shots. #imamissionary...butimforeveragirl
With love,
Sister Teo
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