Maayong gab-i! Kamusta kamo? Abaw sa diin ko magsugod. ....Well this week was insane. It was probably one of the craziest and most challenging weeks of my entire mission...pero buhi pa kami Tuesday we we started out with a District Council training for Magsungay District! The next day started our back to back exchanges with the Sante Fe Sisters. Wednesday, Sister Sales my baby came to work with me in Bacolod 2nd Ward. It was so fun to get to be companions again, even if it was just for a day. I love her so much! Thursday I went to Santa Fe to work with Sister Caguntas. Their area is beautiful. I was so happy to be back in the bukid! It was also super fun staying in their house because it was me and 5 Filipinas. All five of them sure had a good time teasing me, but hey, at least I ate real good food that night! We were able to teach the Tuerca Family on Saturday. We showed up to their balay and Edgardo was so surprised to see us because it had been raining and he didn't think we would still be out working. We said "Rain or Shine Tay, we're here for you!" and then he told us to go call for Allan so that we could teach them! We went over to find Allan at his older sisters house just across the way. Allan decided that it would be better off if we all met together in their sisters house, so that's what we did. Richie and Tay Edgardo came and we got to meet Christie and her daughter KC. We prayed and followed-up with their praying and reading. They love the Book of Mormon and always ask such great questions. Allan had lots of questions about Jews and Gentiles and we then had an awesome discussion about the Gathering of Israel, It was really neat. Last week we also gave them study journals and pens and now Richie writes down all the scriptures he likes. They are so pure. Since it was Christie's first time she started asking a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon and what priesthood was. After further explaining about it, it seemed to just immediately click with her. Her heart was open and the Holy Ghost was able to testify. After explaining a little bit more of the Priesthood she casually said "Aww that means that Allan can baptize us after they get baptized?!" and then she continued saying, "I wish my husband was here so he can change and baptize me and my kids." We were SO SURPRISED..... We had just met her. She asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon, and said they would read and try to come to church. This family has my whole heart. I love them. We also went to the Jara Family. Dan and Gamay came (An older couple that got baptized back in March) It was awesome because even Rodney, the father of the Jara family was there. His first time EVER joining the lesson. Prayers were answered and more miracles. It was a challenging lesson, but also a great one. The Spirit was present because we did our best to avoid contention. Rodney will take some time to develop a testimony, but he seems more open-minded than he did a month ago. More miracles. Well our Saturday didn't really happen as we had planned. This was the day Sister Christensen and I really sat down and asked ourselves is there a reason we run out of time, all the time? We had so many people to teach this day and we were so excited to get going, especially because we were back together in our area after 2 days of not being together, but every time we looked at our watches we would be so surprised, because what seemed to be 5 minutes had already been an hour. We got overwhelmed with how much we had to get done with little to no time. We were really discouraged and started feeling like we were doing something wrong. I realize now, just as everything else, it's a test of our faith to continue to give our best everyday, even if the hours are small. If we give our best, that's all God asks for. The coolest part is, if you just continue on, you still see the miracles just as we did this week. This Sunday was also the craziest Sunday I have ever had. The Morales family, The Tuerca family(Allan, Richie, and Edgardo) The Jara family( Rhoda, Cathy, Mark, Julie Mae, and John Kain) came to church. Sister Christensen and I gave talks on missionary work and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Allan and Edgardo took the sacrament for the first time, because they thought they had to be members. Allan afterward told us with the biggest smile on his face, "Sisters I felt so good as I took the Sacrament, I'm so happy." Because we were sitting on the stand we noticed how deeply in thought they were and how seriously they took partaking of the Sacrament. It reminded me of our Zone Conference this week. I loved how we talked about how we can make sacred things more spiritual. President talked a lot about the Sense of the Sacred by D Todd Christofferson. Ginhambal niya "If a person does not appreciate holy things, He will lose them. When absent of a feeling of Reverence, We grow casual in attitude and lax in conduct. Eventually it will lead to no accountability to God and those things that are sacred will become diminished and forgotten." As I watched them partake of the Sacrament, They truly had a sense of what was sacred. It made me realize how many of us, labi na gid myself, grow casual in the Ordinance of the Sacrament and forget just how sacred and special it should be. It should be the spiritual highlight of every week. If we do the spiritual preparation required, we can be just like Allan and say, "I feel so good, I'm so happy." Love you all! Sister Adams Em has not wanted to think about coming home the last few weeks, but she knew that she needed to, if she were to come home early for school. She didn't like the idea of coming home a whole transfer early, so after talking to her president, he told her that there were missionaries going home on her bday, Dec. 18th, and some were going home Dec. 23rd.
This is what she said this week, "I decided to stay. I can always go to school, but I will never get this back." I cried as I read, because I am so happy that she loves her mission, the gospel, and the people so much! It will be interesting to see what experiences she will have, that she might have missed had she not been delayed from her shoulder surgery. She thinks her date to come home will be January 11th.? She will take second block classes at UVU, starting March 1st.
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Abaw! This week flew by. The Tuerca Family. Tiy Edgardo and Allan already accepted baptism but want to pray about when they need to be baptized. (Tiy Edgardo is still set on having his Baptism on his birthday, October 20) At the end of our lesson we also extended a baptismal invitation to Richie, because for the past couple times we have gone to visit them, he was sick. That's when he sincerely asked how he would know if he received an answer to his prayer about whether he should be baptized. We started to explain about the Holy Ghost, but the coolest part was when his own brother Allan turned to him and started testifying of how he came to know it was true through his feelings from the Holy Ghost. It was sincere, and honest, and so powerful coming from his own brother. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I was so happy. A testimony is strengthened and solidified as it is given. The Chua Family and Priesthood Blessings. So this family was a referral from our dear Mary Jane Francisco, the wife of our ward mission leader. They deliver water jugs to this family, and we decided last Sunday to go visit, and now we are teaching them! The father of the family just had a horrible stroke this past April, and the wife and daughter take care of him currently. We finished teaching them lesson 2 about the Plan of Salvation and now we have their new house helper wanting to learn more. Not only that, but this past Saturday, the whole bishopric came to their house with us and gave Bobby Chua a priesthood blessing. Bobby cried, and it was really touching. He doesn't know how to talk again yet, but he understands and feels the spirit.🙂 The Kantara Family. The Kantara family was found last transfer while they were buying tickets for something....I think? Sister Zollinger and Sister Christensen never could find the time to go back and find where they live. Sister Christensen said they had put them in the plan for the longest time, but it wasn't until this week we finally found them and went back to teach. They were so surprised to see us, because it was so long ago when they had talked with them and asked if they wanted to know more. It was so amazing, and the spirit was so strong as we taught about the Plan of Salvation. If it wasn't the right time teach them back then, it definitely is now:). The Jara Family FHE. This Saturday we had a big FHE with the Jara family. Members came with rice, and we came with Sudan (4 big bangros) It was great, and they were all willing to have a FHE with other ward members, and It was so much fun, and a big break for her kids and husband. They started to be taught not long ago and have been making slow progress ever since. Rhoda, the mom has been going to church for the past few weeks and loves it. She started to read the Book of Mormon and we feel like she truly believes it is true. It's going to take a while, because her family are devoted Seventh day Adventists. With Rhoda leading the way, I think they will begin to also develop testimonies. If anyone has any tips on how to fit everything into 24 hours, we'd love some advice. This next week consists of a district council training (I have to train), 2 days of exchanges, zone conference, speaking next Sunday, and then giving a training with the ZL's and stake president at a stake missionary fireside that same Sunday! Please pray for us haha. I love being able to see God's hand every day in the work, even in the smallest of ways. Every day we come home exhausted, because of all we have to do, but prayer, and daily tender mercies keep us going.
Padayon lang kamo ah. Palangga ta kamo pirme! Sister Adams (We got to talk to Em on Google Hangouts for a little bit. She said that the people generously feed them all of the time. She had bangros 3 times in one day. It is her favorite fish to eat so it was great. She said she eats a lot of things that she has no idea what it is, and prefers it that way. :) She loves most of the things she eats. She said they are teaching around 80 people right now, and seeing miracles as they are so busy with other duties.) Hello everyone! This week I got a little bit more used to the big city. I still can't figure out the whole jeepney route, but hey that's what I have a companion for. This area is really progressing and even though we were so busy with our first MLC, and exchanges, typhoon type weather, and flooding, and more sickness, we are amazed at the people that seem to pop out of nowhere for us to teach. (I asked her if she had showers and hot water now that she is in the big city?) "I still have good ole bucket showers whoot, and no, you never get hot water here haha." This week Sister Christensen and I also switched places. I was sick all last week and she was sick all this week. It all happened when we went to go visit a cute family that has a barbecue stand where they sell chicken feet, dinuguan (pigs blood), and tinae (chicken intestines). We stopped to talk and decided we should probably buy something....we went with the tinae. Later we came to find out it wasn't fully cleaned on the inside of the intestines, because Sister Christensen's stomach started hurting. Even with all of that we still saw so many miracles. One of those miracles is the Tuerca family, Edgardo, and his two sons, Richie and Allen. We met them a couple of weeks ago, while their father was pumping water to do laundry. They are so pure. I can't think of any other word to describe them. Everything we teach clicks for them and I have never had someone I'm teaching, love the Book of Mormon as much as they do. They all came to church, and accepted baptismal dates for September. The only problem is, Edgardo wants to be baptized on his birthday in October, but Allen stopped, looked at him, and said layo gid ina! (That's so far away!) Hopefully we can just convince him to get the Melchizedek Priesthood on his birthday and get baptized sooner haha. This week we also had the baptism of a cute 9 year old girl named Maxim. The end of last transfer her grandpa came to the missionaries, and asked if she could be baptized. She has been going to church for years now,and everyone just thought she was a member. We started teaching her everyday last week,and this Saturday she finally became an official member. Time is flying by.... I'm loving every minute of being a missionary! Love you all! Have a great week! Sister Adams Maayong aga This week was good and the transfer started out on a good note. We had a Baptism and I got food poisoning haha. Bacolod is a whole lot different than what I'm used to. It's a whole lot hotter, & dirtier, we ride in nothing but jeepney's, and there's not a single sugar cane field in sight, but the people we're teaching are pretty awesome. This week we taught Edgardo and his two sons, Allen and Richie in their late 20's. When we first stopped by their house, Allen and Richie didn't look too excited to see us, but Edgardo was all for it. We taught the Plan of Salvation about kon sa diin kita naghalin, but after that, they didn't want to just stop at the first question. They wanted to know it all. I love the change we saw as soon as we continued to teach. The Spirit was there, and God's plan of Happiness connected all the dot's for them. Saturday, Kenneth and Sergio were baptized. It was cool to get to visit them both everyday this week, even with a fever, to help them prepare for their Baptisms. They were both the last ones in their families to officially be baptized. It was cool to see how excited their families were for them. Now they can all start working on making it to the temple. Most of the rest of the week I spent in bed with a fever, but it was cool to still see the miracles happen, even when we weren't able to do as much work. Something I've realized this week is change never stops or rather it shouldn't.
We teach the same thing everyday to people. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this is the process by which we use the atonement of Jesus Christ and become more like him. The process by which we change our very natures. No matter who we are, we have stony places in our hearts that we can still change in order to become more of the person we are meant to be. It's a beautiful process that happens over and over again. I'm so grateful for His Atonement and the chance it gives me to become new and start unlimited times over. Love you all! Halong Kamo! Sister Adams |
Sister Emily Adams
Philippines Bacolod Mission April 18, 2018-October 2019 Mailing Address
Sister Emily Adams
Philippines Bacolod Mission Galo St. between Lacson & Mabini Brgy.22, Bacolod City 6100 Negros Occidental Philippines Archives
January 2020
Companions Provo, Utah MTC
#1 Sister Anna Wilde From Dallas, Texas Taylor, Arizona
#2 Sister Jamie Stuart (trainer) Pleasant Grove, Utah & #3 Sister Kendall Richards Idaho Falls, Idaho Show Low, Arizona
#4 Sister Brooke Casebolt Roy, Utah Manila, Philippine's
#5 Sister Perry Serving in the Iloilo mission from Fiji Sagay, Philippines
#6 Sister Lauren Schenk (Trainer) Syracuse, Utah Sagay, Philippines
#7 Sister Ashley Ellis Highland, Utah Pulupandan, Philippines
#8 Sister Andrea Camille Sales Isabela, Philippines Hinigarin, Philippines
#9 Sister Castillo Sta. Cruz Zambalis, Philippines. Hinigarin, Philippines
#10 Sister Natalie Miner Pleasant Grove, Utah Cadiz, Philippines
#11 Sister Kate Blakeslee Meridian, Idaho Bacolod, Philippines
#12 Sister Kalyx Christensen San Diego, California Bacolod, Philippines
#13 Sister Stephanie Garcia Pangisan, Philippines Bacolod, Philippines
#14 Sister Santa Barbara Marikina, Manila, Philippines Bacolod, Phililppines
#15 Sister Eliza Clark Corvallis, Oregon |