Week: 11

Date: Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 11:39 PM
Subject: Week 11
 

" MONDAY: My first Zone Activity!!! It was super awesome. We had permission from our President to start it at 7am...which meant that the sisters and I needed to wake up at 5:30am. We woke up early because our Zone Activity was being held at our Zone Leaders Chapel in La Muan. Well, we get there right at 7am, and no one is there! So we headed over to Jolibee right across the street for some breakfast, and then back to the Chapel to find our Elders there...who had just gotten there as soon as we were done eating. TSK TSK they were all late (: We all had decided to  have a Sports Day. Of course, we did not just play..we also had our regular Personal Study all together. Instead of having kasamahan study (companionship), we had Zone Study instead; we shared what we learned from our personal study with another. For sports, we played basketball, volleyball, badminton and soccer.....sometimes, in the rain! I was not worried about getting sick. Afterwards, we took tons of pictures and all headed over to a place called Mang Inasal for our lunch. Sobrang Masarap (super delicious!). And no, we did not wear church clothes during our sport events (: Sis. Soliven, kasama ko (my companion) were unable to work this day because she was not feeling well. It might have been from playing in the rain, but she said this is the first time she has felt really sick...but not the first time she has played in the rain. I really hope she feels better.

 

TUESDAY: District Meeting. The second day/time we met with our Zone! Awesome workshops as always (: After our meeting, Sis. Soliven and I headed back to the apartment instead of going out to lunch with everyone, because she was still not feeling very well. She decided to take a long nap before going out to work. We decided to only go out to one appointment because of how ill she was. We headed to our appointment, which fell through..I laughed inside because I then thought to myself, "Heavenly Father must have done this on purpose so that Sister Soliven could rest" (: Before going right back home, we headed to PureGold for a few groceries. For dinner, we went downstairs to Bishop's house. Gosh, it is always so exciting when we have dinner with them because the food is always a surprise! This time, she gave us a "thanksgiving" type of dinner, with hamburger patties, mash potatoes, gravy and vegetables. It was pretty nice not having to eat rice, just for this time (: Afterwards, Sis. Soliven headed straight to bed. Oh, I really hope she gets better!! (: Also, I received an awesome letter from my one of my former MTC companions, Sister Smith (serving in Manila) and I nearly cried because I miss her so much. I also told her to be on the look-out for Elder James Hart, for those of you who know him (:

 

WEDNESDAY: TODAY IS MY FIRST ZONE CONFERENCE/ "MISSION TOUR"!!!!!!! The sisters and I needed to wake up early again and travel outside of our area for the conference. Our speakers: President & Sister Revillo & Sister & Elder Arden of the 70, from New Zealand. Their accents are so cool! The Mission Tour was divided into two parts. Our intermission, lunch (:...which means that Sister Revillo would be taking care of our lunch, which meant that it would be really delicious filipino food! The Zone Conference all together was just amazing!!!!! Also at the Zone Conference, we had about 6 zones all together, so tons and tons of missionaries!!!!!! I had the opportunity of seeing Elder Malmrose (former District mate from the Provo MTC)!! I love being able to meet up with my former District; I miss them all so much! After taking a huge picture with all of the zones at the conference, the sisters and I headed over to a dinner appointment we had with Sister Gaddi (RM and Member who lived in Sister Soliven's/ my area in Cupang). We were too full to finish everything because we were given so much food/dessert at the Zone Conference. Pero, we were not just at Sister Gaddi's house to eat. We were there to also celebrate her birthday and share a message with her regarding referrals (: Because we returned home around 7pm, Sister Soliven and I were not able to work again this day. I pray for her all the time and I was getting a little worried about how sick she had been getting. Pero, everything will be fine because she was able to make a Doctor's appointment for next week!  (: I know that she will get better throughout this week.

 

THURSDAY: Today started very very slow. Sister Soliven is still very sick, but we still headed out to work around 3:15ish, very slowly but surely (: Heavenly Father provided a blessing in disguise for us as we rode a Jeepney to our area. Usually, our jeepney stops at a certain station, but he wanted to drive me and Sister Soliven all the way into our area! We were so thankful because walking from our station to our area is actually..quite a long walk and we had planned to pay for money for a tricycle for Sister Soliven's sake and for the sake of our appointment, but the Jeepney driver drove us all the way to our first appointment and did not charge extra (: THANK YOU THANK YOU! Our first appointment was with a lady named Tess. I had actually contacted her on splits when I was with one of the Sister Training Leaders. Tess is such an amazing woman. She has gone through so much in her life, but she has stayed so strong. We shared the first two principles of the Restoration with her: God is our loving Heavenly Father & The Gospel Blesses Families. Sister Soliven had me explain the second principle. I felt impressed to ask her certain questions while explaining the principle to her; the Spirit was so strong between us that we both cried. I commended her for her faith and strength as a mother and Sister Soliven and I knew how happy Heavenly is for her. Her strength reminded me of my own mother's strength and I am so thankful for everything my mother has done for me (small shout-out haha). Afterwards, we were finally able to meet Brother Lirrios (member, but his job alternates with Sundays). Brother Lirrios is super awesome. He is a policeman and when he is not doing anything at work, he reads the Book of Momon. HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!?!?!!? We shared a message with him and his family about the Temples and Families. We headed back home a little early so that Sister Soliven could get some sleep and relax. SHE WILL GET BETTER! (:

 

FRIDAY: Instead of having Weekly Planning, we decided to move that to tomorrow so that we could work more this day. For work, we headed out to see Brother Andy Mariano, then Jane Vera and then the Obena Family. We had a very great work-day! Great lessons, great feed-back and the strength of the Spirit! I led all of the lessons today and gave all of the commitments. It was pretty scary doing that my first couple of weeks, but practice really does make perfect (: For dinner, Sister Soliven and I headed to Greenwhich Pizza, which is joined with a Jolibee. Greenwhich has BOBA!!! So...I sorta had some (: 

 

SATURDAY: Today we had our Weekly Planning, which went extremely well and we attended an INTERFAITH Event, which was held in one of LDS Chapels. Our Event would contain Marikina Missionaries and Sumulong Missionaries...which meant that I would be seeing Elder Smith (District Mate from Provo MTC)!!! The topic at the InterFaith Event was "Families"; we were privileged to be joined by/hear from a Catholic pastor and a Methodist pastor, as well as our Stake President. Many people attended and it was very very successful. Also, I saw Elder Smith!! We talked for a quite a long time. I am so glad he is doing so well on his mission. He is turning into an Area-Book-Missionary. HOW COOL IS THAT!? After the event, pictures, Sister Sliven and I were craving some seriously delicious food...so we took a Jeepney to Chowking. I think Chowking may be my favorite Fast Food place to eat at. I feel like I am at home eating my filipino grandma's home cooked food. It is pretty great. Because of Weekly Planning and the Event hours, Sister Soliven and I were not able to work today. It is a good thing we switched weekly planing from yesterday to today..so that we could work more yesterday (:

 

SUNDAY: Today I gave a talk in my ward about Selfless Service, in which I was joined by Sister racaza, one of my kabahay sisters (one of the other three sisters who lives in my apartment). Apparently, everyone really liked our talks. I did my best to throw in as much Taglish as I could haha. I just really love Sundays, because I consider it my "Breather-Day" (: After church, we all ate at the Micairin's House, as we do every Sunday (: and then headed off to work. Brother Adolf (Ward Mission Leader of our Ward) worked with us this day. We were able to visit the Lirrios Family, Sister Macariola and Benjie Barlan. With Benjie we introduced him to the Book of Mormon and came well prepared to answer all of his questions. We invited him to read and pray to know about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. We know that he will receive his answer as he has a true desire to know (: In the evening, we received a call from our APs to know who would be training this next transfer: Sister Racaza and Sister Tibungcog!! Which means that either one of them or both of them will be transferred!!! HOLY MOLY!!

 

MONDAY: Today we had our District meeting instead of on Tuesday for this week, because tomorrow we would find out who is being transferred. Also, tomorrow would be no work/studies. All the time would be dedicated to cleaning our apartment and helping whoever is being transferred to do what they need to do. After District Meeting, we all took tons of pictures, because it would be the last time we see each other, possibly. For District Lunch we headed to....CHOWKING haha! OH my goodness. I am not gaining weight..I am actually losing weight haha! After Lunch, Sister Soliven and I headed over to the MRC (Missionary Recovery Center) for her check-up. The MRC is actually across from the Manila Temple and it is inside the Manila MTC. I got to see the front office and a few classrooms as well as the cafeteria. Afterwards, due to time, we went home, were unable to work and had a kabahay dinner of all our leftover food with the other sisters. WONDERING WHO WILL BE TRANSFERRED!

Today: This morning we were called by our Zone Leaders to  know that Sister Racaza would be transferred! Which means that Sister Tibungcog will be bringing her new companion to our house tomorrow around 1:30ish!! HOW EXCITING!!!! So far, we have cleaned our house and had breakfast...that is it..not lunch yet. Also, we found out that our fridge & toaster are not working...GREAT haha, we will be getting that fixed soon! Well for the rest of the day, after emails, we will all be doing stuff, I am not really quite sure what exactly we are doing because we gave all of our time to Sister racaza since today is her last day with us (: 

So a new goal that we heard from our President is that missionaries who finish the 12 weeks program will be training on their very next transfer! Which means, I may be training Nov. 6, 2013. HOW EXCITING!!!!!!!!

 

Well, the rain has been pretty hard here and there have been quite a number of floods, but all is well (: Thank you everyone for your awesome emails/letters/words of wisdom. (:

 

I miss you all. I love missionary work. I love the Philippines.

Until next time!

 

Sister Escobar "

Week: 10

Date: Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 1:17 AM
Subject: Weekly Letter, 10


" Tuesday: District Meeting and a fun day (: Tons and tons and tons of rain! WOOOO!

Wednesday: Part of our work: we were invited to a birthday party for our investigator Fidel (17). We were hoping our other investigators (his brother John Rae with friends Miles and mellord) would be there, but they were job hunting. So we had a Family Home Evening with Fidel and all of his friends who attended his birthday. It was really silent at first, until I broke the silence with my English. We were then talking like crazy! We had a great lesson on Family Strength, all of the friends sang our opening/closing hymns and we played games/ate tons of food. We also took tons of pictures. Very successful and so much fun (:

Thursday: We ran into the Obena Family and finally had the chance to meet the father, William, and his son Emmanuel. They both had so many questions! It was pretty sweet because we had the answer to the ones he had asked! We also taught Angel Demayo (mother-in-law is an active member) and my companion and I would like to give her a baptismal goal date for November, so hopefully  our next appointment with her doesn't fall through!

Friday: We visited Helen Adams. She actually attended Church with us on Fast Sunday and we hadn't talked to her since then because of her busy schedule. She was very excited to see us and we were definitely very excited to see her. She is so awesome! She also has a desire to be baptized, but they are for very different reasons, so my companion and I would like to touch on a couple principles from the Restoration before we give her a baptismal goal date (:

Also, my companion and I were invited to meet an investigator named Luz (her cousin is a ward missionary couple in our ward). Luz has been very very sick and she wanted a priesthood blessing. So an explanation of the Priesthood was needed first. Sister Soliven and I did not expect to talk because there were three other members with us. We actually had no idea what was going on or where we were going, until we arrived at Luz's house. I was very nervous to speak because I had never testified or even mentioned my feelings about the Priesthood. I wanted to make sure that what I said would benefit Luz. So, when it was my turn, I took a deep breath and spoke. While speaking, I felt peace and after, the peace remained with me. It reminded me of the power of the Holy Ghost as well. The rest of that day seemed just wonderful.

Saturday: BUSY BUSY DAY. Temple Tour Day: I went on splits with Sister Tibungcog to pick up Sister Elisa Macariola (less active) at 6am. We needed to assist her out of her house into a trike because of her limitations with her wheel chair. She was very excited to attend and she brought her helper with her, Ann (friend's daughter who is 14..I think). This was my first time riding a trike on the outside, and it was pretty cool (: We then met up with the other sisters (as well as other less actives and investigators). For my companion and I, our investigator family showed up (Gabriel, Analisa and Girly Aplacador). Our zone rented a jeepney for this specific trip; we unfortunately needed to wait an hour because it had a flat tire on the way over to pick us up, but we were picked up and headed straight to the Temple. The jeepney was so full that some of our elders needed to sit on the floor. Temple Tour Day had four stations and the "fifth" was a Temple Video. It was so awesome. Our investigator had so many questions during the tour and they felt so close as a family that day as well. All of our Zone's investigators/less actives loved everything about the Temple Tour! They also bought tons of souvenirs from the Temple's Visitor Center. Our temple tour day ended at 1pm. After dropping off everyone at their stops, the sisters and I quickly ran over to MacDo (McDonalds) for a quick lunch and headed back to our Chapel to set up for the Open House. We were so exhausted setting up chairs and tables. Not too many people attended the Open House, but it was definitely a great experience. Helen Adams actually showed up; it was a blessing for me and Sister Soliven because we didn't expect any of our investigators to show (they had all said they had previous engagements). After Open House, Sister christine (member) took us sister missionaries out to dinner at a place called Tamagoya Noodle House. I was so full and knocked out as soon as I got home! SUCH A GREAT DAY. TONS OF PICTURES AT THE TEMPLE! (I also saw Elder Crowther!!!! from my MTC DISTRICT)

Sunday: I just love Sundays. We were unable to work this day because I was very sick, but I received a blessing from our Ward Bishop (:

Today: This morning, the sisters and I woke up at 6am to meet our Zone at 7am at La Muan Chapel. Today was our Zone Activity (which happens once every transfer: just like Temple Day and Temple Tour). After Personal Study and Zone Study, we started our "Sports Day"! We played basketball, volleyball and badminton...in the rain. It felt so great..I might get sick tomorrow, but I am okay with it because it was totally worth it...hopefully I don't get sick -_-. Tons of pictures also. We were talking about who would potentially be transferred next week. wahh. We then ate lunch at a place called Mang Inasal. Sobrang masarap (very delicious).

Last week was definitely great and this week will be even better. Today has started off this week with a bang! Tomorrow we have District Meeting, which means MAIL (I never expect any haha) and then Wednesday is Zone Conference (I might see Elders Despain and Malmrose from my MTC District). Last week flew by so quickly and my companion and I are very thankful for the experiences we received.

It is very true when people say that 18mon-2yrs is not a long time at all when it comes to serving a mission. Time definitely flies by super fast, especially when you are working! I cannot believe transfers are already next Wednesday; we all will find out next Tuesday who will be leaving and staying. I am pretty sure I will still be in Cupang, Marikina...but things can change according to the inspiration our President receives. I am doing great here in the Philippines and as a side note, I had water up to my knees a couple times (: It is true that a mission is hard, but it is not impossible. To those of you preparing to serve missions in the MTC/at home, know that where you are called to or have been called to is specifically where you need to be because of the people who have been prepared by Heavenly Father to hear the Gospel from your mouth. To those of you thinking about whether or not to serve missions, pray about it with a sincere desire to know. (: I know this Gospel is true. Alam ko po na totoo ang Simbahan ni Jesucristo ng mga Banal sa mga Huling Araw. If I did not, I would not be serving a mission and I would not be a member of this Church.

Thank you to everyone for your awesome emails!!!

Until next Monday (:

Sister Tatiana Escobar "

Week: 9

Date: Sun, Sep 8, 2013 at 10:27 PM
Subject: week 9


" This week was very interesting (:

Monday: Sister Soliven and I decided to go to a thrift store...which was pretty cool...I bought two skirts.  Afterwards, we ate at Chow-King, again (don't worry we are using our money wisely), and then we went back to Robinsons (the very large, 4-story mall). At Robinsons, we decided to do a little bit of grocery shopping because it had more options than the store near our house. However, shopping there was not the best idea -___-. We had so many things with us that is very hard to travel and carry everything on the two jeepneys we rode. It was hilarious. Anywho, we had a great Monday...pero we are never repeating what we did (:

Tuesday: District Meeting! Today was our District Leaders birthday (Elder Vandyke from Utah) and we also found out that it was our last day with him because he was being transferred ): Also, on this day, Sister Soliven and I sang Lord My Redeemer for our District Meeting Presentation. I think the other sisters recorded it, so I will try to send it to my momma (: Today we also worked with Donna (18yr old member). She is super sweet and she plans to serve a mission next year! We did not have too many lessons, but we were able to teach the Balanlay Family (about church attendance) and Mary Rose (about Joseph Smith). After wards, Donna took us to Macdo...MCDONALDS. The menu still trips me out because of the rice options. It was pretty good.

Wednesday: We worked with Adolf (ward mission leader) today!....all of our appointments fell through. Sad day.

Thursday: no work because Sister Soliven was very sick

Friday: no work because I was very sick.

Saturday: (Adolf worked with us) We worked super hard to make up for Thursday and Friday. We first visited Gabriel!!! Gosh, he is the coolest investigator ever and his family is so awesome! We showed him the Restoration video (the short version). After the video, he told us a dream he had about someone pouring water over him. My heart stopped and Sister Soliven felt impressed to invite him and his family to be baptized. THEY SAID YES!!!!! Their goal date is October 12!!!!  Afterwards, we visited Jane Vera (who has been investigating the church since June 2012). She wants to get baptized so badly, but there are many complicated family trials she is going through at the moment. Sis Soliven and I will be talking to President Revillo about her on the 18th, to see if there is anything that he can do. I shared 2Ne 4:16 with her. I love her and her children! We then headed over to John Rae's house; inside were Mellord, Miles and John's younger brother, Fidel. They all gave such great feedback! We also found out that Fidel's bday is on Wednesday and he wants us to come. So we said that we'd come if we turned half of his bday into an FHE (family home evening)..."with games"(according to Sister Soliven)...they said yes! After our awesome day at work, we headed over to Sister Villanueva's house (member/with the other sister missionaries) and she fed us a feast. By the way..I LOVE MANGO FLOAT (:

At her house, I felt like I was back at home with my filipino family. Tons of food and karaoke; of course I did not sing, but I wanted to with all of the songs they were singing...in ENGLISH hahaha. We also took some pictures.

Sunday: I LOVE SUNDAYS SO MUCH. I am really getting to know the members more and more! I taught a part of the Relief Society lesson regarding the priesthood...it was a little nerve-racking, but they really liked what I had said. Adolf worked with us again! We first went to Maricel, or Nene (a friend of Juliet). We taught her an overview of the pamphlet and we are excited for our return appointments with her! Afterwards we went to Benji. We showed him the restoration video and he had so many questions. HE ALWAYS HAS QUESTIONS, which is what we want (: Also, he really liked the video. He has so much potential (:

Dinner was a huge question mark because we sorta ran out...well, it's another story...so Sister Soliven and I had rice, chocolate milk and ritz crackers...mmm (:

This whole week should be pretty amazing. For Pdays, Sister Soliven and I don't work because of our curfew (all missionaries are supposed to work on Pdays at 6pm, but we can't because we need to leave Cupang at 7pm)....so we decided to try and work today from 1-3pm, which caused us to make quite a number of sacrifices for our regular Pday. So really, my only Pday part are these emails! If today doesn't work, we report to President and he tells us whether we can work on Pdays or not ): Also, this Saturday will be very exciting because it is our Temple Tour with our investigators/less actives! So far Sis. Soliven and I have one less-active and a couple investigators. I JUST WANT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE ALREADY!

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing great and I miss you all!

And always remember, "Every Member A Missionary"

Sister Tatiana Escobar "