Area: San Marcelino
Companion: Sister Rowley
STL and Trainer
Monday,
December 30, 2013
Hello beautifuls :)
Merry Christmas again! It
was such a blast to skype with my family this week, it made it seem like no
time had passed, except for the fact that Bradley is getting all huge and
ripped and Rachel is losing her baby voice :( Anyways, I had a wonderful week
here in the lovely P.I. Can I just say that giving is wayyyy better than
receiving. It's amazing how much your perspective of Christmas can change on a
mission. As you all know by now I absolutely LOVE the Sevillaga Family, pretty
sure I write home about them every week. Well they are my family away from
home, and Sister Rowley and I decided to spoil them for Christmas this year. We
started off the night with the Christmas Story from the Bible, Luke 2, then we
brought in two HUGE five gallon garbage bags full of presents-we were practically
white sister santa clauses. It was the most exciting Christmas I have ever had.
Seeing their faces as they opened their presents was brought more happiness to
my heart than all of the Christmases I have ever had combined, it was priceless
to say the least. They were soo grateful they all wanted to cry.
Well not only did I play
santa claus this week, but I also got to play superman! I went on exchanges
with Sister Lim and we went into her area. We were in the middle of a lesson
teach a less active, when all of a sudden I see the ladies two little grandkids
climbing up a tree. Well climbing up a tree is fine, but the problem is the one
girl was 4 the other 2 and the little 4 year old girl had her 2 year old sister
on her back and was climbing up the tree. At first they were all laughing and
giggling having a blast, until they got up so high that it scared them and they
realized they were going to get really hurt if they fell. They both started to
cry and me watching the whole thing could just see what was bound to happen
next. I couldn't take it anymore, I threw my bag down, got up and sprinted over
to the tree and grabbed the little girls out of the trees. It was a little bit
dramatic as well as traumatic for the girls, but no worries, everyone was safe
haha.
Yesterday Sister Rowley
and I were going to visit one of the less actives in our area but he wasn't
home, however the man at the gate looked JUST like him, so I asked if they were
related. Sure enough they were brothers. We started talking to him trying to
figure out his life story, and turns out he was also baptized way back when. He
started opening up about everything going on in his life and I feel like I was
reading a history book way back from the medievel times (however you spell
that). Turns out he is on some combat group thing, he's like their leader over
in Mindenau, anyways when he was over there he ended up marrying a lady that
was Muslim, then eventually he was baptized Muslim. Well they had a baby boy
and she was pregnant with their second child, a baby girl. One day he came home
to find out that her family had sold her off to another man, the other man had
paid the family for her. (I didn't even know this still happened!) He was heart
broken as anyone would be, and never saw her again or his little daughter. He
ended up moving here to Zambales with his little son and is still sort of in
contact with his daughter that he never met. Well his little girl is now 11
years old and lives with her grandfather (her mom's dad), and this man got a
phone call from his ex-wife saying that her father was selling their daughter
to some random man who is paying a lot of money for her! This poor little girl
is 11 years old and is being sold to be wifed! My jaw was on the floor as I am
listening to this poor helpless father tell me this story. He feels so hopeless
and helpless as he has no money to outbid this guy, and is just upset that his
wife could ever let this happen. I didn't realize things like this were even
legal anymore (which it's probably not,) but so sad and so crazy. Anyways he
actually lives in another area so we are going to refer him to the other
missionaries and I hope they can help this poor man.
Well we have some more
baptisms coming up soon that we are super excited about! This Wednesday will be
the baptism of Aj Sevillaga (23) the oldest brother of the Sevillaga Family.
Also next Saturday will be Wilma Gonzales (the sister of Nanay Sevillaga).
Wilma has had three baptismal goal dates that keep getting pushed back because
she would have problems with her word of wisdom. However, amidst all her
problems she has come to church almost 10 times in a row now. Right now being
the holiday season, people that sell vegetables try to work every day in
different cities to try to sell as much as they can and make a ton of money
since a lot of people are buying right now. She told me Saturday night that she
wouldn't be able to come to church on Sunday, she had to go sell in Subic or
she wouldn't be able to pay her house bill this week. We told her that if she
wants to get baptized on January 11, she had to come to church Sunday. She
wants to be baptized soo badly so said that she prayed that somehow she would
be able to find one of her nephews to go tinda for her so she could come to
church. Sure enough, she found someone to sell for her, so she came to church
and then was planning on going and selling once church was over. (she is
telling us this story Sunday night), she looked at us and goes, sisters, after
church I called my nephew to see where I could go meet up with him to get the
vegetables so I could go sell in the next city, sisters he sold EVERYTHING.
That has NEVER happened. Tears fill her eyes and she goes, I KNOW this is
because I went to church this Sunday. I know this is Heavenly Father showing me
the importance of keeping His commandments. Of course Sister Rowley and I are
just gleaming and soo happy for her. I know this is true. God gives us miracles
as we are obedient to His commandments.
Ahh life is good here in
the Philippines. Transfers are this January 15, I'm more than likely being
transferred since I have been here almost 6 months now. I will enjoy every
second that I have left here in San Marcelino.
Love you all, Happy
Holidays & Happy New Year! Be Safe! I come home in less than a year!
December 2014, crazy!
Sister Pilkington
xoxo
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