So this week was great. Our numbers were low, like number of lessons and stuff, but the week was so fulfilling. We had some really awesome lessons.
One Nay (mom) in the ward who was just baptized in 2009, introduced us to her son who is inactive and his wife who isn't a member, in sacrament a few weeks ago. We set up a time to see them, and that time was this week. We scheduled on Sunday that we would come Thursday night so Thursday night rolled around, and like, we had worked so hard all day and usually we take dinner at 8pm-9pm because everyone here wants to be taught from 5-8 after work. Anyway, so 8pm rolls around and we head on over the Nay Rumbaoa's house, pretty dang tired but excited to get to know Brother Herlucks wife. I had a feeling maybe it would be one of those like mother in law's who want their kids to be active, and so against their will the mom invites the missionaries over and its awkward, but for some reason I felt pretty okay as we were walking over. We get there and literally... I was so far off the mark. They were so excited we were there. We sit down in one of the smallest houses I've been to here, all 5 of us squished around this little table in the corner, and begin just talking. It was so fun! We talk talk talk, and Nay shares a little of her conversion story, and then we start getting Angilyn (the wife of the less active son, herluck) to open up more. She starts telling us about her past religious experiences and we kind of get a feel for where she's at. Her mother in law then says "angilyn knows how to pray" and angilyn says "yeah, i've been practicing". So great! She says the prayer and then we just gave a short over view of Lesson One, the Restoration. Usually after an overview, we usually just teach them how to pray and leave them with that commitment, but she's got that one in the bag. A thought entered my mind to just teach principles 1 and 2, God is our Loving Heavenly Father and the Gospel blesses families. We get teaching and asking questions, and we find outso much about her family background and Herluck too, and how herluck was adopted randomly off the street by nay rumbaoa as a single mom, etc. angilyn then just starts crying and explains how grateful she is for Nay Rumbaoa and Herluck for taking her in and being her family because she comes from a broken family and how grateful she's been for nay's example, seeing her kneel every night in prayer and being faithful in church attendance. It was so awesome. I explained to her that even if you come from a broken family, that one day, she and herluck with have their own family, and that if they build their family on this gospel, they can start over with their OWN family. sister atienza and i just follwed the spirit and the lesson was so good. We asked her to say the closing prayer, and in her prayer she just straight up said how happy she was that we came by the night we promised we would and that she knows this is the true church. it was SUCH a cool experience, and we saw them yesterday again at church. She is so stellar and has such great faith. Herluck is becoming active again and it's so awesome.
RJ got baptized Saturday! despite all the piece of crap, unlucky, stupid, and dumb things that happenend in preparation, his baptism was beautiful. he really has changed and his family is 100% active again. They are so awesome and I know leaving this area is going to be so tough, i've become so attatched. After the training of S. Atienza, I will have been here almost 7 months. AH! I love this place and am so happy for RJ. He is so humble and is a different kid than he was before.
Some fun/random things:
-we as missionaries from the alicia zone, sang the mission song at our district christmas party and i accompanied us on the violin. we put it together in about 6 minutes. i'm pretty grateful for my mom for starting me on violin, cause i just played the whole song by ear and it turned out awesome. i also played an efy song to accompany another couple singing at the dist.christmas program and again was grateful i can just play by ear and accompany people here. ah i'm so glad i have my violin!
-its been raining like crazy
-now that i understand more, i understand what people are saying to me as we walk by. example: hey i know you have a cell phone, just add my number to your phone, eh? hahaha earlier this morning i about died when i realized that i totally understood him as we walked by
-people yell to me that i'm sexy. such a confidence booster
-christmas devotional at the mission home was sooo awesome. i saw all of my companions. it was a "half mission" get together. the only crappy part was we all had LBM that night, haha i went to the bathroom 6 times
-i was so sick this week, a nasty cold and super bad sinus pain. i finally gave in and called the mission presidents wife, she told me what medicine to get, and now i'm fit as a fiddle.
-i have less than a year left here. what the
-sister ateinza's one month mark was yesterday
-i heard a little girl in the church say WTH (but the real phrase haha) and i couldnt stop laughing
-a lady in our ward had a shirt that had the f word on it, but like, she had no idea it was bad
-i love receving revelation here on the mission for my life after the mission
-i love my mission
Merry Christmas. I am so excited for Wednesday! AH! Life is good and God is good. 3rd Nephi 13 "god knows that we have need of everything...." ah he really does know exactly what we need, he really does. and if we're doing what we should be, we have no need to worry about tomrorow. merry christmas
-Sister Hafen
Haha the elders giving me a hard time, and me being a loser haha.
haha the "baklah"
The Dela Pena Family. Sister Atienza, Josephine, Justine, Sarah, me.
Gumbauan with Blessie Mae.
All of my companions!!!!! I was so lucky that we all had the same christmas devotional, because the mission was split in half randomly. I love them, so good to reunite.
Christmas Devotional!
MACDO! So dang good. I spent a lot of pesos here but it was worth it.
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