June 7, 2010

Well everybody... here is my weeks events and thoughts...

Monday we committed Albert Fermin to be baptized on June 19th! He is so excited!!

We had an incredibly lesson with a lady we've been teaching for 2 months, Arlyn. She is awesome and has some difficult trials. We made a deep connection with her and she really opened up to us. We all cried a bit and we verbally told her how much we love her and i know that she really knows that we do. She thanked us and i felt for a moment what our Heavenly Father feels for all of us. He REALLY loves us... and to feel that love for someone else is the most amazing feeling ive ever felt! He wants us to return to Him so bad! Help Him to achieve His purpose/goal by making sure you will return to Him.

Thursday was a difficult day... I felt like i knew nothing and my companion was very frustrated with me. Avoid contention with everything you got. My mission president told me a great thing in my interview... Contention happens when two people think they are right and the other is wrong... but if just one stepped down and simply just apologized no contention would exist. Be the first to apologize even if you know you are right... eliminate contention. Trust me, blessings will come to those that do so!

Friday was AWESOME! I felt very blessed after thurs being so difficult. Interviews were awesome and i learned lots about Charity and Love in our training from our ZL's. The rest of the day was great too. Sister Taperla and I were really united and had the Spirit when we taught! We spent some time going around trying to meet people and had lots of fun talking with everyone. We met a Korean through this girl that always says hi to us. He has been here a year and doesnt speak well cebuano so we were about equal. He didnt understand a few things i said so maybe i am getting this language! hehe. I also had my first halo-halo on Friday! Its like a specialty dessert here. Its ice cream and crushed ice and all sorts of other toppings... mine had coconut, jackfruit, jello, corn, beans, frosted flakes, and a few other things. It was tasty! Never thot to put corn or beans in a dessert but hey... it was yummy! Our dinner appt fell thru so we went to the BBQ Haun... YUM! What a good good day!

Saturday we had a big FHE at a members house (the Fermin Family... which is the family of Albert). A bunch of things happened that were unexpected and S. Taperla got frustrated and turned to me at the last minute and told me to teach cause she didnt have the Spirit. At first i was frustrated cause here was 30 people, i didnt have a plan and i cant speak cebuano all that well. But after 22.7 seconds what Andrew said to me right before going into the MTC came to my mind... "This is a good thing... This is a good thing..." I changed my attitude and decided to make it a good learning experience! It went really well and Sister Jamin helped me explain the scripture i shared more deeply. I shared 3 Nephi 18:21-22... so that is the scripture of the week. I know that family prayer and FHE (meeting together often) is so important and we all should strive to be better at these things! I know it isnt always easy but try... If you put forth the effort, Heavenly Father will give you strength that you didnt realize that you had! PROMISE!!

Sunday we had great attendance... 55! And 4 investigators! We were very happy!

This week we have lots planned!!... Saturday a big branch activity and Sunday the Cebu Temple decication!! We are so lucky to be able to watch it!

I love you all and hope all is well!!

Gugma-Sister Jones

P.S. Tell Kristin that i got her email and i love her and will write her a handwritten letter tonight and send it tomorrow. And to Carson... i sent the mass email to him every week but it usually gets sent back as delivery failed.. but only to him. Does he have a new email or something? I just dont want him to think i send it to everyone but him... cause i send it to him!

May 31, 2010

FAMILY!

The work is going good. Im getting better at this whole missionary thing every day i think. Prayers are keeping me going. I think to myself, how lost and hard this world/life would be without prayer! And why dont we pray more!?

We had Zone Conference last Wednesday and have interviews this Friday! I love seeing President Malit and Sister Malit! I learned a lot from Zone Conference and it was great to see my fellow missionary friends. Mom, i told Elder Darrington how you and his brother work together... we think thats pretty cool! E. Darrington truly is one of my favorites!

We are getting some new good investigators... and they are families! It's so hard to tell how they will be but so far they are great and seem interested. The hardest thing, i find, is getting them to church! We try so hard to emaphize the importance but they never come. If anyone has advice on what we could do ill take it!

We do have one AWESOME investigator! He is the only person in his family that isnt a member. The tatay has been a member for awhile but the mother and other kids are recent converts (within the last year i think). Albert will be 18 next week. The second week i was here we tried teaching him and it was an absolute struggle getting him to even come in the house. He wouldnt look at us or give us the time of day. I tried asking him if he knew that he is a child of God and the God loves him... He didnt know and didnt seem to care to know. What i would call stubborn to the max!... Well... two weeks ago he attended the multi youth conference with his siblings and other nonmember friend. Something awesome must have happened at youth conf. He was at church that next sunday and when we went to teach Tatay Fermin he came in and opened a Basahon ni Mormon and read with us. After we turned to him and told him we want to teach him and asked when we could come back... He said "Tomorrow!"... oh, you have no i idea the excitement that started running through S. Taperla and my bones!! So we had a great lesson with him last week and he asked lots of questions... and he was at church again on sunday! And we are teaching him tonight too! I cant even explain the happiness i feel to see this total 180 change in this young man! He is a great example of Ether 12 and God making weak things strong after the trial of our faith. He took action/exercised faith and went to youth conference and now God is strengthening him! We also found out that he was the only one from our branch that bore his testimony at YC! He said that he isnt a member yet but he knows that this church is true... what faith huh! Man, the church IS true!!

We keep trying to teach this catholic 82yr old lady that loves to read. We always saw her outside her house reading so we gave her pamphlets to read. She read them so this week we tried teaching but she kept saying how she hasnt heard about Joseph Smith being a prophet in her books (Duh... cause they are catholic)... She also said that Adam wasnt a prophet, just the first man, which i didnt know that they catholics believed that. She was funny but frustrating at the same time. Its funny how those people that are such good people and seem to have such great faith because of how religious they are, actually dont exercise faith at all cause they are so blinded. If only she really opened up and gave it a chance she would know.

The last thought i have is about family. This sunday the district president talked about families and temple marriage! And then in sunday school we talked about families. "Families are the most important institutions in this church." And then i was reading in the 'Preparing to enter the Temple' book and it says how other things in the church are organized in regular buildings but families, we organize them in the temple because of how important they are. Remember that... Remember to love your family!... Family is where its out. If we arent striving to strengthen our families we have nothing! I love my family so so so much!

Well keep it real! I love you all!

Gugma
Sister Carissa Jones

MAY 24 2010

Pics arent working again... sorry :(

This week was full of ups and downs like always. My language is improving slowly... im determined to not be that missionary that comes home and never learned the language! My companion, S. Taperla, says im getting better so thats good. I really wish i had a language study hour but S. Taperla wants to go out and work at 10 so i just try to cram it in at night or if we come home to take a nap i just study while S. Taperla sleeps.

A few highlights of the week...

Tuesday we went to a members house around lunch time and there were tons of fiestas going on. After teaching we went with them to one of the fiestas for lunch. It was super yummy and they feed you so much food at fiestas. The fiestas are to celebrate saints... so its a catholic thing. And we love people of all religions and respect them... especially when food is involved :) On our way back to the members house some of their neighbors insisted that we join... pretty sure it was because there was an american... me. We all laughed and decided to eat again! We were so stuffed by the end and couldnt believe we just attended two fiestas back to back... WOW!
That night i taught a cool lesson from Mormon 9:31 to an awesome girl in our ward! We were just talking with her about trials and such and this scripture popped into my head so i turned our casual talking into a lesson... it was neat and I really felt the Spirit.
Thursday was a very very long day but awesome! We did so much teaching and i was able to push through and teach effectively. We walked SO much that day! From 4 to 9 we were constantly on the move. We taught lots of families and met some great less active families that we hadnt met yet. We hiked out to the bukid to visit this lady we met the other week and she ended up not being home so we were super tired when we arrived home. We walked most of the way home barefoot because it just felt nice. It was at least a 3-4 mile walk! The next day we found out that two girls later that night had been killed in the exact area we were walking through (but later in the evening, past our curfew when we are already in our house). We felt blessed and we always feel protected. This is the work of God... and as we are obedient and diligent we missionaries are protected!
Friday was a difficult day... most of our appointments fell through but we never stopped going! We walked a ton that day just from house to house of people we knew trying to find people to teach. The night ending with a nice dinner at Pres. Ang's house and hey, at least we got lots of exercise in!
I dont know if ive mentioned it yet but there is a guy in the branch that is 45 and has crushes on all the americana missionaries. So, thats me now. Its awkward at times and S. Taperla is starting to notice how he will always move from where he is and sit by me. It isnt to a point where he is crossing a line so im ok for now. I just hope he keeps his distance so i wont have to be transferred from this area soon. He is a good member and really helps with the missionary efforts and everyone knows that he is like that with the americanas so im safe. S. Taperla and i get a good laugh about it sometimes and other times i just want to punch him... haha.
Yesterday, Sunday was good. Sacrament meeting attendance went up to 48 and we made lots of visits. A few families we were really expecting to be there werent there so that was sad but we have appts to visit them all this week so we will try again!
Im excited for this week... number one: to work and teach and become a better missionary... and two: we have zone conference on wednesday! I love seeing and hearing what President Malit has to say to us. He is the best ever!

I love you all and you are always in my prayers!! Remember to learn all you can!... Scripture of the week... 3 Nephi 27:26.

Gugma
Sister Carissa Jones

P.S. Tell Kristin if she hasnt written me yet im going to have to beat her!!... and that goes for Kyle as well!!!!

May 17 2010... to all

This week was actually pretty dang slow! We got punted tons but our main saying is "No effort is wasted!"... Sister Taperla and I had to say it a lot to each other.. hehe...

As you can see i didnt get transferred... we are still in Naval, which i was super happy about. Im not ready to leave this place!

We did have a giant service project on saturday. It was national service day for the church so all over the Philippines we were walking around wearing cute, bright yellow vests cleaning. We took down all the political posters and such since election is over. The way they campaign is much different... no yards equals no yard signs (hehe)... so there are papers and banners stuck to all the walls all over the streets. We had a good time as a branch and had a yummy lunch!!

Im getting better at teaching and just spitting things out in cebuano. There are times where i truly feel the Spirit take over and help me speak with ease and without question. The words just roll from my mouth. Its true... the words and things you study will come to you at the exact time you need them through the Holy Ghost! Its awesome!

Every third sunday the missionaries in this branch talk so... we got talk! YAY! I talk on service and fulfilling our callings. As we serve one another we are greatly blessed! Make sure you are doing your calling to God's expectations. Also, please do visiting teaching and home teaching... that is one thing we are really trying to get the members to do and really struggling with. It is so important and you will be so much improvement in the ward if everyone works together and does their visits!

I lied last week... it gets up to like 115 at least during the day. I took my temp thing out with us one day... RIDICULOUS! All the sweating is really helping my lose weight. I put on my jeans to do service on sat and they wont even stay up! I didnt realize i had lost that many inches in my waist! SAWEET!... no worries... im not like deathly skinny by any means!

I really dont have much at all to say and my pics arent loading on this comp so sorry... they will have to wait till next week.

But the scripture of the week is Moroni 9:25-26... Keep your chin up!

Gugma
Sister Jones

May 10, 2010 After the Mother's Day Phone Call

I love you all SO MUCH! It was great to talk with you! You lifted my spirits and give me strength to tough it out and keep going... thank you! Tell grandma and grandpa thank you so much. It was so great to hear their voices! I wasnt able to get out my thanks cause i was crying but thank you for your love and support. I feel it pick me up when im having a bad day... Know that you are always in my prayers and i couldnt do this without you. You are the most important people in my life and i love you more than you know!

Scripture of the week... Joshua 1:9

Gugma
Sister Jones

PS to answer the question about the temp... it gets up to 105 maybe during the day and 80 at night... thats my guess