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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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 |