Big News

But first PICTURES!!
One of our investigators in a coconut tree.

This is our front "yard" whenever it rains (which is almost every day)

My companion and I riding a carabaw at the Agsunod Families field.


October 23, 2011

My big news this week- Transfers was Friday! My companion and I spent all week stressing as we waited for the transfer announcement to arrive on Wednesday night to know what was going on. My companion felt certain that she was transferring, but neither of us wanted her too. We received a simple short text: "None of you are transferring." I don't think I've ever been so happy about a transfer announcement before. After how my two transfers in Oton turned out, I felt certain that I would never have two transfers with a wonderful companion (excluding the two with my trainer at the very beginning of my mission). I'm so happy I was wrong. This next transfer is going to be really fun.

Another thing that made this week so great was just this weekend. Since I've been in San Jose, we've been trying our absolute best to find new investigators so that more people have the chance to learn the gospel. We've had very little luck and in the last two weeks, most of those we found have let us know that they are no longer interested. Doing our best to not become discouraged, we headed out and started finding again. We started contacting some referrals that we had been given and learned only that they either weren't interested or that we had been given a wrong address. We didn't know what else we could do. Saturday, after running out of people to visit, we decided to look for another referral. This referral was the miracle we had been looking for. The very first person we asked not only knew who she was but took us to the correct house. Sister Eriza had already read the pamphlet and asked if she could have another because someone took it and she wanted to read it again. She is so excited for us to come teach her this week. Then, Sunday we were blessed with even more new individuals to teach, various families in the branch brought with them a non-member family member who each expressed interesting in learning about the gospel. I'm so excited for a new week of hard work!

Other than that, this week really has been good. I've just finished studying again about hope and really learned a lot about what it means. Hope is about looking to the future and knowing that it will be great, despite heartache and sickness and challenges. It's about knowing that Heavenly Father has wonderful blessings in store. Hope is light, it is bright, it is the glow that comes from anyone who knows that there is so much more to life than just breathing. My dear friends, please know that there is more to life than what you see! Life can be fulfilling, satisfying, and over-flowing with joy. I once heard someone tell me that they didn't need to improve their life because they were content. That is such a sad word. I could never describe myself as being content, I'm over-joyed and excited and nothing in the world could make me stop wanting to be filled with the sense of accomplishment and purpose that the gospel provides. For those of you who know little of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, for those of you who feel that life has no purpose, that we eat, breathe, and die; I invite you to learn from missionaries serving where you live that which I teach every day. Life has purpose, and it is beautiful.

Palangga Ko Kamo!

Our front "yard" whenever it rains (which is almost every day)