This internet shop we are at has these ancient computers that are so bulky and this keyboard reminds me of all the keyboards I used on Palawan...perks of living in the Philippines!
Count Your Blessings
This is something really small and will probably be insignificant to the most of you, but since being on the mission I have become more and more sensitive to recognizing when tender mercies come my way, and while this past week has seen a lot of tender mercies, the tender mercy on Wednesday morning has got to be my favorite of the week. So I've established a good compromise with all of my companions throughout the mission that on alternate days of the week, we will go running outdoors during exercise time at 6:30 a.m. in the morning. Where we live here is really near the chapel, and the church grounds are huge and perfect for doing laps. But the downside is that the chapel isn't always open; sometimes it is locked up and we can't get in because we don't have keys. WELLLLLL...on Wednesday morning, while I was on exchanges with our STLS- and I was with SISTER QUILICOT! SHE IS MY STL- we walked over to the chapel.......and I was expecting it to be locked up and closed...and I was feeling a little bummed out that I couldn't get my run in.........when all of a sudden a man shouts out to us that the gate is unlocked!
HALLELUJAH!
The gate was unlocked, I did my run, I sweated and had a good workout, and that was definitely a tender mercy from the Lord. Insignificant, but I know that God blessed me with that :)
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Ellen
No, not Ellen Degeneres (although I miss her shows). Ellen, as in Ellen Dialoga. I met Ellen while I was still at the Buendia chapel serving in Makati 3 and 4. She was an investigator back then and had come to church with her LDS friend who was visiting from Utah. We established a good connection and friendship from the very start, but then we learnt that we couldn't teach her because she didn't live in our boundaries. We were sad, she was sad, but nothing could be done; we did what we ended up doing with Sheila: we handed Ellen off to the other missionaries in her area.And well...GUESS WHAT?! Guess who is trailing Ellen now? Guess who is in the same ward as this wonderful sister is? ME! HA! I had NO idea that from the first time we met her and interacted with her and encouraged her to meet with the missionaries...that she would eventually GET BAPTIZED! She is our recent convert in this area! She got baptized January 2 of this month. And all of this started from when we met at Buendia in SEPTEMBER! God works in marvelous ways. I didn't get to see her to baptism, but we did start her off (being the first missionaries she met) and now we get to keep teaching her as our recent convert! Whoopee! (P.S. She is the sister in my pictures with Sister Kumari.)
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Similarities
I also have to say: this area reminds me a lot of Santa Monica. And we all know how Santa Monica was like for me...I've been praying a lot that I will see this area through eyes of optimism and hope! Hope that people will listen and act and choose the right. Hope, hope, hope.+ + + + + + + + + +
Fresh Start
I don't think that I've mentioned this yet/fully explained this yet, but Sister Kumari and I are fresh-starting this area. There are other terms for this on the mission: "shotgun", "whitewash" etc. Either way, to fresh start an area means that both missionaries are coming into the area NEW and without help from any other previous missionary left behind. Simply put, the two sisters that were here before us both got taken out, and Sister Kumari and I got put in. To fresh start is not easy. I commend every single missionary that has ever fresh started an area. You basically start from scratch and dive into the area book and figure out who the investigators are and where they live and who the members are and where on earth the area boundaries are etc. This is such a good chance for me to learn the true nuts and bolts of missionary work! (And don't forget that we are topping this off with TRAINING!)
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Eighteen Now
But let's end this off on a different note.HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A BEAUTIFUL SISTER! And by "Sister," I am so glad that this time I am actually related to you by BLOOD! Happy, happy birthday Gla. I love you so much and I know that when we were little we fought a lot and screamed at each other and I will never forget that one argument we had where you left the house and slammed the door really loud and I was so mad and you were too...HAHA. We've had a lot of fun with each other. I am so proud of how far you have come (even though you still have a long way to go!!!) and of all the lessons that you have learnt and for the warrior inside of you that keeps pressing through. High school is hard and I wish I could be there with you through this part of your journey, but let's just comfort ourselves with the fact that we'll both be in UT together this fall! (Sorry, Krys!) Happy, happy birthday, Gla. You are so beautiful and have such a bright future and I can't even imagine all the boys that I will need to fight off that will want to get to you. You are doing so much better than you think and being 18 is a big deal, yes, but age is just a number and I know that your soul is much older than just the number '18.' I can't wait to be reunited with you again in 12 weeks! HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A SISTER I LOVE WITH ALL MY HEART!
This mission is a beautiful, beautiful dream.
With love,
Sister Teo
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