Trials and Miracles!

Area:  San Marcelino

Companion:  Sister Rowley

Monday, November 18, 2013

HELLO PEEPS.

This week was a week of both trials AND miracles. Can't have one without the other di ba (right) ? :) This Wednesday will be my FIVE MONTHS. Crazy! Time really just flies.

Diseases: I know I'm living in a third world country but all those diseases you hear about always just seemed so foreign. Unfortunately they aren't so foreign anymore. One of our recent converts had Dengue fever last week, and this week when we went to check on her, she and her mom had gotten malaria. These diseases are real, and so sad. I hate to see the people here suffering. It also hit me that these things can happen to me when Sister Querido handed me a worm pill at zone conference - we get to take those bad boys every six months, and yes, some missionaries have gotten worms, yikes!  

Wilma: So Wilma is the first investigator I ever taught here in the Philippines and I just absolutely adore her. She is the sibling of Nanay Sevillaga. Her baptismal goal date has been set for November 23 and she has been absolutely solid, she is such a good example to her family. She even quit her job to keep the Sabbath Day Holy & to be able to come to church so that she can get baptized. Monday night we went to the Sevillaga's and after our lesson, Tatay drove us home as he always does in their little trike & he handed me a letter--it was from Wilma. That night Sister Rowley & I were sitting on our bunk beds, she had the dictionary in hand, I had the letter, & we were trying to understand first her handwriting, & then second the Tagalog. (it was a pretty funny sight, we struggled). Turns out she has been having a really hard time with her siblings, they have just been mocking her non-stop & calling her the devil everytime we leave the house. They say, "you can't be Mormon if you get mad at people! that's not Christlike, & things of this sort". They were really getting to her head, and now she was saying that she doesn't feel worthy & now she's too shy to face up to us. She kept saying sorry and that she can't get baptized. My heart was in my stomach by the end of that letter. One night we went to go visit her and her sister said she was over at the Sevillaga's, Sister Rowley and I sprinted over there to seize the opportunity to talk to her. We sat her down and just told her to tell us everything. She wanted to cry, she explained everything to me--after a long conversation full of scriptures we were finally able to sort everything out. Unfortunately we had to push her baptismal goal date back to December 14, she was so extremely sad. But she is still strong nonetheless & was at church on Sunday & was extremely happy. We are visiting her lots to make sure things continue to go well for her. Satan really just has a way to get to our investigators.

Marjane: Marjane had similar feelings as Wilma. Her parents aren't really in the picture in her life, she lives on her own with her brother. Her friends have been her support system growing up, they have always been there for her through everything. Sunday night she was telling them how she was going to be baptized on Sunday. They just started ridiculing her, telling her she jumped into things way too fast, and really got her second-guessing herself. So she texted us Monday saying she can't be baptized, we just responded saying lets meet at the church tonight and talk. Needless to say, after another long conversation, scriptures, sharing personal experiences, lots of tears, and a big group hug, she came to the conclusion that she KNOWS this church is true, and it's time for her to make her own decisions for her life. She said she is strong enough to stand up for herself, and that she can't deny the happiness she has felt in her life from this gospel. Needless to say, beautiful Marjane was baptized on Friday. It was the most beautiful baptism. Very simple, not a lot of people there, but the people that were there were the most important to her. She bore a beautiful and simple testimony. She will no doubt be a leader of this church, she is so giving, humble, and her testimony so strong. 

Church: Best week of church in my life. Sister Rowley and I always stand outside to greet our investigators and the branch members as they come to church. This week we see Wilma and Michael Sevillaga watch up, we were stoked! Then next came NANAY SEVILLAGA and she was in a SKIRT! She rocked that thing, what a babe! This is the second time my whole mission that Nanay has come to church. She has a baptismal goal date for December 14 and we told her if she wants to get baptized she has to start coming! You could say Sister Rowley & I were SHOCKED. We were so excited! Then right after her came John-Mark, JL, Tatay, Josh, and their friend that is now living with them. Half the Sevillaga family was at church this Sunday, incredible. Work. In. Progress. :)

Zone Conference: We had zone conference down in Olongapo this weekend which was incredible. It was great to hear the wise advice of our zone leaders, mission president, and senior mission couple. From preach my gospel there is a quote that says, "The attitude you have towards your mission is an inner reflection of your love for the Savior." We cannot afford to not do well in our mission, it all goes by too fast, and there are too many souls to save to waste time. Elder Gorringe challenged all of us for the next three weeks to do the obedience challenge - to follow every single rule with exactness for the last three weeks of this transfer. Sister Rowley and I have taken it upon ourselves and we have already seen lots of little blessings in our lives from it as well as the lives of our investigators. I have found that we always need to assess ourselves and be a little better today than we were yesterday. I am doing my best to really just get lost in the work, that is when time really flies. I have turned outwards and think more about my investigators, recent converts, and less actives. "When we look first to the interests of others, we improve more rapidly ourselves"-Lorenzo Snow. This is so true, I am constantly striving to think less about myself, and more about others. I know as I do so I will be blessed, and so will all the people that we come in contact with everday.

Sorry this e-mail is a little shorter than others. I love this mission, it keeps getting better and better every week! I am doing well, I love my branch, my investigators, my leaders, I am SO HAPPY HERE. I encourage all of you that are thinking about going on a mission to just GO! & everyone at home, work with your missionaries, members are VITAL, in this work. 

Love you ALL!

Sister Pilkington