On to the Next BIG Thing!

You know how almost every week I write about how there is always something crazy or new or interesting going on in the mission? Welp, this week and the week to come are definitely no different. This past Saturday we received the transfer announcement to let us know who would be moving/transferred to a new area, and who would be staying..well the consensus is...

Drum roll please....Sister Roderick will be TRANSFERRED. Yep. It has been a good, solid 3 months here serving in the Canaman D area (Santa Cruz, Igualdad, and Sabang). I am definitely sad to go but I am excited for what the future holds and all the other exciting adventures coming my way. I know that God has a plan for me and I am putting my full trust in Him as He knows what I need, what the people here need, and where I can best serve as His servant.

In other news for the week, this week was Christmas! Wow! Good times. :) Christmas Eve is actually bigger of a holiday than Christmas Day so we had a curfew on Christmas Eve but not Christmas Day (even though just about everyone was drunker than drunk this whole past week, I am a bit worried for the New Year) Anyways, it was a weird weird feeling, wearing short sleeves and crocs in 85 degree weather on Christmas, that is for sure. BUT, it was good! It wasn't much different than any other day in the field honestly. We focused our lessons more on Christmas and the Savior but still taught plenty of lessons, tracted, studied, etc. We spent pretty much the whole day in our poorest area, Sabang, just tracting, sharing short messages with anyone and everyone that would listen and passing out pictures of Jesus Christ with the articles of faith on the inside and information about our church on the back. It was really a neat experience. We didn't get any new investigators from it but it felt good to be spreading true Christmas cheer and uplifting others around us. What better way to spend Christmas right? Teaching, loving and serving like our Savior, Jesus Christ. It was a very Merry Christmas here in the Philippines. :)

Then the next day I got to skype my lovely fam. It was good to see you guys! I loved hearing all your voices and seeing your pretty faces! :) I miss you guys! I was talking to my mission president the next day about Christmas and skyping the fam, because we had interviews with him, anyways I told him that it was really good to see my family but that it really made me realize how much I have changed. I was afraid skyping would make me homesick but honestly it didn't. I love my family, I love my friends, music, movies, parties, normal food, etc., but it really made me realize how much I LOVE being here. It is not easy living in a foreign country with foreign people, language, food, things, culture, everything, but I absolutely LOVE it. I am very very happy to be here and to be a missionary at this time, in this place, and for these people. I miss some things about home, of course, but this is where I am supposed to be right now and I am going to make the best of my time here. :)

On a less happy note, I was apparently not thinking very clearly when I left the computer shop after skyping my family and I accidentally left my camera on the desk...by the time I realized I had left it and returned to the computer shop to see if it was still there, someone had taken it. Gosh darn it. I was not the happiest camper. Not much I can do though so I will be going to get a new one today, before I leave the city tomorrow.

We gave 2 of our investigators baptismal dates this week! Woo hoo! What a great goal for the new year huh? Be baptized by proper authority and make covenants with God. I am so excited for them and am praying that all will go well and they will be able to be baptized soon!

Another thing that really hit me this week was just how important and truly amazing Preach My Gospel is! EVERYONE needs to be reading and studying Preach My Gospel, on your own, as well as together with your family. It is so great and I love it so much! It is a wonderful resource for people of all ages and is not just for full-time missionaries! USE IT. Read it with your family, study it, ponder it. It is remarkable and has so many amazing resources within it, basic gospel doctrine, scripture references, quotes, suggestions, stories, activities, etc. It really is so great and I encourage and challenge all to read it along with your scriptures for greater understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to come closer to our Father in Heaven.

I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to the new year with excitement, motivation, and desire to change and become better people. What a great time to push ourselves, set new goals, and make plans to change parts of our lives to become closer to God and more like Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives. Much love to all!

Mahal kita!

-Sister Roderick

What Gift Will You Give to Christ?

Maligayang Pasko sa lahat!

What a beautiful time of year this is! 

This week was potentially the longest, most fun, most rewarding week of my mission so far. Everything that could have happened, did happen, I swear. We worked hard and played hard too, believe it or not. haha This Thursday was our mission-wide Christmas party. Talk about craziness. It was so fun but a bit overwhelming at times. Imagine over 200 missionaries plus that many chairs plus mission leaders plus packages and boxes and supplies and everything under the sun, packed into 1 gym at the church (not a big gym either) Yeah, hectic. It was really cool to see all of my MTC buddies though and to meet a ton of other missionaries. Plus 2 of my missionary friends, Sister Simbol (lived with her for the past 3 months) and Sister Christensen left for home the next day after the party! That was weird and sad to say goodbye to them but it was good, oh yeah I am now in a trio again. 2 trios in 3 months. Wow. So many things I never ever expected to happen on my entire mission, let alone in just my training! AH! Anyways at our Mission Christmas Party we mingled, watched the Legend of Johnny Linggo (might be one of my favorite movies now), had a talent show (so funny!, the Hakka included, had a gift exchange, ate lots of yummy pinoy food, took pictures, listened to President and Sister Reeder share a message, and yep, that's about it. It was a very jam-packed, fun day.  

One thing that President Reeder talked about was the wonderful opportunity we have as missionaries to be here for Christmas and to spend so much of our time dedicated to serving others and serving God. He pointed out that very few times in our life do we actually get to wear the name of our Savior on a badge on our chest, right over our hearts, and what a reminder that is to be the best representatives we can be for Him that gave His life for us. Likewise the Spirit of Christmas is not just a 1 month a year thing, the Spirit of Christ should be a part of us every single day of every single year. We must remember who Jesus Christ is, what He did for all of us, and how we can be more like Him in our daily thoughts, words, and actions.

We also found out one of our investigators is pregnant! Don't tell, but I have known for a while. I could just tell something was off. Pretty exciting though huh?

YES, drum roll please....ACE is officially a member of the true Chuch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! He was baptized this past Saturday and confirmed a member yesterday, Sunday. He also received the Aaronic Priesthood after Sacrament meeting yesterday. One of the best days of my mission so far for sure.  

Saturday, the much awaited day, finally came. His baptism was supposed to start  at 1...no one showed up til 1:45...cool thanks for the support guys. It was fine, and we were expecting that (filipino time) but it was still stressful and frustrating. Anyways, we finally got started (with the solid maybe 15 people there (including 7 missionaries...)) at 2:05. All went well after that! It was so beautiful. He looked a little nervous as he stepped into the water but he took a deep breath, went down, and emerged a new man. :) He was so happy! I couldn't get over it! We were all smiling so big! We went to check on his sister (non-member who came to his baptism) who was waiting outside the bathroom for him while he changed into dry clothes. We started talking to her about her experience watching her brother's baptism. She began crying to us and thanking us for bringing him back to them and for helping him change his life around. She explained how much she had missed having her brother being around and how much of a better person he has been lately. It was a very tender moment. She told us she had such a good feeling, something that she had never felt before. (That's the Spirit!) It was amazing. We were all tearing up. After he changed, the missionaries sang "I Love to See the Temple" in Tagalog. Ace then bore his testimony. If there were any dry eyes in the room before, there weren't now..wow. Talk about breathtaking. That was the most simple, yet powerful testimony I have ever heard. He was overcome by his emotions and spoke with so much power, the Spirit was overwhelmingly wonderful. He truly is a new person. The gospel is amazing. 

 Merry Christmas All! Remember what Christmas is really all about! 

I loved this from the recent First Presidency Christmas Devotional, 

“Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God,” President Monson said. “His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He lived for us, and He died for us. What can we, in return, give to Him?” 

What will you give to Christ this year? I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ and know that He knows and loves each of us personally.

Much love this Christmas Season!

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Roderick

Ace! 

Ward Christmas Party

A Big Ol' Smile in My Heart

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good week!

Can you believe Christmas is in 9 days?? Me neither! It is so crazy! Especially with it being 90 degrees and humid outside, this will definitely be a Christmas to remember. 

Welp, a grand week this has been indeed. 

We visited with a recent convert this week and planned to teach her about enduring to the end. It was my turn to lead the lesson so I started in with a question...I said that it was great that she had taken that initial step to be baptized and make those covenants with God, but that this was just the beginning and how was she personally going to stay on the path of righteousness..she looked down, was quiet for a few seconds, then tears began to pour down her face. I was very confused and felt very bad at first. I had no idea what I had just said or did to make her cry so you can imagine my confusion. Anyways, she began to explain how since she was baptized, things in her life have seemed to just be falling apart and how she has been really weighed down with sadness and feelings of loneliness. It was really hard to listen to and all 3 of us were crying as she was explaining some trials that she has been dealing with. She told us that she had not told any of the previous missionaries that had taught her but rather she just pretended that everything was okay, until now. I don't know why she decided to open up to us but I know that that question I asked was an inspired question from God. I didn't know how to ask that and was not planning on starting like that but as soon as I opened my mouth, that was what came out. I am so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the power the Spirit has to truly speak through us as we are God's messengers and instruments in His hands. I felt impressed to ask if Sister wanted a Priesthood blessing. She said she did and we told her that we would return as soon as we could with a worthy Priesthood holder to give her a blessing of comfort. We did just that and returned with a member of the Stake Presidency who lives close by. The Spirit was so strong in that room. Sister texted us later that night and thanked us for being there for her and for bringing someone to bless her. She told us how the pain and sorrow that had been weighing her down for so long was gone. She said that she was able to think clearly again and seemed to have completely forgotten the trials that were causing so much pain and anxiety in her life. I know that her pain was lifted through the power of the Priesthood. What a remarkable experience that was to be there and to hear from her the power it had in changing her whole countenance and literally lifting the depression from her shoulders. 

The next day was Ace's baptismal interview! Woo! We went over that morning and talked with him to go over any last minute questions he might have had then off we went to meet with President Reeder. They came out of President Reeder's office 40ish minutes later, President walked over to me, shook my hand, and said "Congratulations Sister, He is ready." AH! Yay! We are so so so excited! We literally could not wipe the smiles from our faces the whole rest of the day! We are so excited for him and he looks happier than ever! This truly is a great and marvelous work! Ace's baptism is this Saturday at 1pm! It is going to be a very long, crazy, jam-packed, fun week but we are beyond excited!

Thursday we have our mission-wide Christmas party/activity, pretty much all day Thursday so that will be really fun! The first time our entire mission will be together in one place! Cool huh? Lots of pictures to come, I'm sure.

A batch of missionaries leave the next day to return home, including one of our Sister Training Leaders that I love so much. So because Sister Simbol is returning home this week, Sister Sanft will become our temporary companion for the next week and a half until transfers, making us a lovely trio again. Crazy huh?

Then Saturday we have Ace's baptism at 1, followed by our ward party at 5. So much going on! 

Definitely an exciting week!

This week we have really been trying to focus on teaching families and can I just tell you how much more beautiful our message is when we get to teach it to a mother, father, and their children. This gospel is for families. Baptism's are great and wonderful but when families learn and grow in the gospel together, it is truly beautiful. I am so excited to continue to try to teach whole families and to help them  recognize the importance of being together forever and how the gospel of Jesus Christ is the way to make that happen. 

I love this gospel. I love being a missionary. I love sharing my testimony. I love my Heavenly Father. I love Jesus Christ. I love Christmastime. I love the true Spirit of Christmas. As Christmas approaches, take a second to think about all the blessings in your life and what Christmas really means to you. This has already been a very different Christmas season for me and being  here has really helped me focus on the true meaning of Christmas and to focus on my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Like President Monson said in the Christmas devotional, if you take the last syllable from Christmas you get the Spirit of Christ. That is what is of most importance. Not just in December, but year-round. We must turn our focus to Christ and center our lives on Him. 

I know Jesus Christ is my Savior. I am so grateful for that knowledge and for the knowledge that He lives. He lives and He loves me. It's true. He loves each of us personally and wants the very best for us. Where is your focus this Christmas season?

I love you all! Sorry to all those whom I have not been able to respond to yet but know that I love you, think about you, miss you, and pray for you always. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Mahal Kita!

-Sister Roderick

Cooking in our apartment

Heart to Heart

Hello All! :)

How are you? As always, things are crazy, yet wonderful all at the same time. This is now my 3rd time being at the computer shop (different shops each time) because we have had a nice, wonderfully convenient influx of brownouts today! Yay! So I don't have a ton of time for my nice long email (I say that every week and yet I always write way more than anyone wants to read, oh well, let's see how much I can write this week) 

Ace's baptism is in less than 2 weeks! He is progressing still! Reading, studying, praying, searching, making new slideshows about the gospel everyday. Really though. He is awesome. You guys already know that though. Well this week, we were teaching Ace about the 10 commandments and in particular keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Long story short, he began to bear testimony to us of the truthfulness of the gospel and began crying as he explained some tough experiences he has had in his past and how the gospel really is the answer to all of his prayers, the only thing that has made him full, truly spiritually full, in his whole life of searching. The lesson ended with the 3 of us, Sister Webster, Ace, and I crying and expressing our love for God and Jesus Christ and bearing testimony of this true gospel. It was a wonderful experience for me, one that I will never forget. It was very humbling too. To have a 37 year old man crying and opening his heart to you, a 19 year old girl who hasn't experienced anything close to what this man has been through, that is something that touches your heart and really helped me recognize my call as a missionary. I am truly called of God to bring these truths, this gospel to these people. Wow. During our lesson he expressed to us his true desire to be baptized, to be made clean, and to rid himself of all those burdens, guilt, and pain that has been weighing him down for so many years. I have never seen a greater desire to change and to become clean than what I see in this man. What a great example he is to me. We must trust God, have faith, and act on that faith by repenting, being baptized, receiving the Holy Ghost, following the commandments, and enduring to the end. Any commitment we give him in preparation for baptism he does immediately, without second thought about it. He is doing every single thing he can to become clean and to become ready to make those sacred covenants with God. I am so very grateful to be one of the missionaries to find him and to guide him on his path to true conversion. What a remarkable man. 

Also, remember Ariel and Oliver? Ariel and Oliver are the 2 cousins that are actually Ace's cousins too, crazy I know, anyways, Ace came with us the other day to teach Ariel. It was amazing how much he helped and how strong his testimony is. It was really cool to see a non-member bear testimony of the gospel truths and to explain how he has come to know it is true, why he is getting baptized, and why Ariel should do the same. Thanks Ace! Talaga, astig po siya at sobra handa po siya din. 

So yep, we are a bit excited for his baptism. That will be a big, busy, insane day. We have Ace's baptism at 1 (meaning it won't start til at least 2 with Filipino time) then we have our ward party that night at 5! Woo! It's going to be a great day!

Another investigator of ours, Alex, is so close to baptism! He has so many amazing questions and we always have just wonderful lessons with him. He is so smart! I think I talked about him last week? I don't know, the weeks just seem to run together now. But we taught him this week and he again was asking lots of deep, hard, great questions when finally after reading a scripture he says excitedly "You know what I just realized?! I can't get answers to all my questions, I am not going to know everything, I just need to have faith. Faith, yeah." Can I just tell you as a missionary, that is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard? YES. Bingo my friend! You got it. Thank you! It is so true. We are not going to know everything. Faith is the first principle of the gospel for a reason. It is so important! Picture yourself surrounded my fog. It is pretty scary to be surrounded my that cloud and that darkness and we essentially have 2 choices in that situation: 1. let yourself be frightened, sit down, and refuse to move, or 2. pick yourself up, take a deep breath, and step forward with faith. As we step forward into that fog, it is still dark, it can even still be a little scary, but with every step we take we are able to see just a little bit further ahead of us until finally we make it through. The same is true with life. Sometimes we face challenges in life and it seems that there is no way out but as we humble ourselves, kneel down and pray to God, then get up, ready to act, and step forward continuing on the right path, then Heavenly Father will help us and guide us through our different hard times. Remember the wise words of our good friend Alex, "I just need to have faith." There you have it folks, simple as that. :)

Some other funny/weird/crazy things that happened/noticed/fun facts from this week:

-went to a fantastic, cute, classy, delicious, little, restaurant this week: White Bean-so good!

-went to find the house of a padyak driver we met...his wife took us behind there house to this back shack thing, opened the door, and invited us in...but luckily I saw in beforehand and noticed all the lovely people in there worshipping idol things and saying different chants...we kindly declined..yeah, it was scary.

-everyone and their mother smokes here. it is gross and I am pretty sure I am going to die from secondhand smoke

-we were standing in line at McDo's the other day to get an ice cream (in the middle of centro, a ton of people, bright daylight, lots of cars and what not passing by) when all of a sudden a little kid, maybe 2 years old, pops a squat 3 feet away from me, and pees on the sidewalk in front of everyone...no matter how many naked children I see running around each day, things like that still shock me everytime. It is so sad. :/

-one day this week, Ariel was at work when we went to teach him so we asked if anyone else was home and ended up teaching all 5 of his siblings plus a cousin! our investigator wasn't even there! it was awesome! haha hopefully some of them will become investigators in the near future

-we had zone training this week- we are now allowed to drink coke products, and we found out that we have been eating bawal (forbidden) food...whoops. turns out this type of pancit canton (like ramen noodles) has tea in it...we didn't know but I still felt bad, anyways, that one is cleared up now, don't worry :) (and we gave all our pancit packets away to a family that we have been teaching through what we call "tao po-ditch" haha instead of ringing doorbells you just go to people's gates and yell "tao po?" meaning "people?" and then they come, so we tao po-ditched and left them some din-din :)) put that bawal food to good use eh? haha

-we had a Stake Relief Society Christmas activity this Saturday and to say the least it was potentially the craziest, longest, most overwhelming activity I have ever been to! It was really fun but there were SO many people! 

-today we went shopping for some new skirts at Ukay-Ukay (there version of thrift stores that are literally on every street corner) and I got 2 skirts then we met a lady there that is a member from another ward and she gave us each 2 skirts free! yeah buddy! my frugal, cheap self really likes and appreciates that. 4 skirts for 120 pesos (aka less than a dollar for each skirt) that my friends, is a dang good deal. :) 

It has been a great week. Lots going on, as always but I love it. I never get enough sleep, my showers are still ice cold, and I get at least 5 mosquito bites a day, oh and we have cockroaches and lizards living in our apartment, and I LOVE IT. It is amazing to be here in the Philippines, talking, meeting, interacting, teaching, and loving these people. I would not rather be anywhere else right now. This is where I am supposed to be right now and let me tell you, I am very grateful to be here. I love you all and hope your Christmas month is going well so far!

Life is great! Be grateful for what you have and recognize God's hand in your life every single day. He is there for us and loves us dearly. Thank you for all the support and love!

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Roderick

Power

Shout out to my favorite soon-to-be 7 year-old, Charlie Elizabeth! Happy Birthday Char-Bar! Love you and miss you lots! :)

What a week this has been. Sister Webster had her toenail removal surgery thing last Tuesday. Pretty much they wheeled her back in a wheelchair (hilarious and totally not necessary) and sent me to sit in the hot, un-air conditioned hallway to wait. That was a cool experience though because it was just this man and me sitting out there in this hospital hallway. (btw it was very very weird not to have my companion with me, I was freaking out inside the whole time, "where's my companion?" "I'm supposed to be within sight and hearing range always!" "Ahhhh what if she gets kidnapped?!" "What if I get kidnapped?!" yeahhh internal struggles of a sister missionary haha) anyways, I committed to myself at the beginning of my mission to try my absolute hardest to talk to as many people as possible and to never let an opportunity pass in which I could have shared the gospel. It is impossible to talk to everyone but I try to talk to as many people as I can and for those who I may not get to actually share a message to, I smile, wave, say "Hi" to, etc. I am just determined to be the best I can and to represent Jesus Christ and His church in the best way possible. Anyways, the man in the hallway terrified me. Not because he was mean or big or anything, but because I knew I had to talk to him but in case any of you lovely people forgot, I am not fluent in Tagalog. Yeah, it is kind of difficult or something at times. So yep, you betcha, I started talking to him, and yes, you better believe my heart was pounding like crazy, sweat building up on my forehead, and the Tagalog slowly, terribly, spurting out of my mouth, but it went well! No he is not getting baptized, no I did not teach him the entire gospel, but I was able to talk with him, visit with him, give him support and comfort as he was waiting for his 2-yr-old son to come out of cleft lip/palate surgery, and plant that seed in that man's heart. My Taglaog was terrible and my heart was racing but I felt the Spirit speaking through me and helping me know what to say to the man. It was a really cool experience. I felt accomplished after giving him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and keeping true to my commitment to talk to everyone I can. Sister Reeder, Preisdent Reeder's wife came to the hospital and stayed with me for about 40 minutes while I waited. She asked me if that man I was talking to was a member and was very surprised to hear that he wasn't but that I was talking to him and sharing the gospel with him. That surprised me that she was so surprised. It was a good reminder to me though that I am doing good, I am doing the best I can and that is all that is asked of us. Isn't that why I am on a mission? Isn't that why we are blessed to have the gospel in our life? So that we can share it with others?...Why would anyone want to keep this gift and truth and blessing to themselves? It is too wonderful not to share. I love sharing the gospel. :)

 Alma 26: 35-37  "Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we...

Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever."

Sooo after about an hour they let me go back to see Sister Webster. They made me put on a gown and shoes and a hat thing hahaha when I saw her we both about peed our hospital gowns laughing so hard. She was sitting in the hospital bed with her toe all wrapped up and big. We sat and waited for the doctor to let her go, taking pictures of course, and talking about how weird it was not to be with each other for the past hour. It was so good to see her again! It is so funny how attached you can get to having a companion. It seriously was the weirdest thing not to have her with me even though it was just an hour! Anyways then Sis Reeder drove us to get medicine then we went back to our apartment to finish studies and let her toe feel better. She still wasn't feeling so great but we went out that night anyways for a few hours :) We were blessed for sure. Every lesson we taught that night, the spirit was just so strong and we both knew that Heavenly Father had blessed us for our efforts to go to work despite the pain she was in.

Remember Ace? Welp he is doing just dandy. We had dinner at his house again last night and it was some of the best food I have ever had! It was SO GOOD. Yum. Really, we could not stop eating. His Mom's lumpia is the best lumpia I have had here so far in the Philippines, is is delicious! Anyways he is doing great! He came to church for the 4th time in a row yesterday and is so ready to be baptized. We are really excited for him to be baptized and are so excited for the 21st of December to come around! :) Oh earlier this week, we were leaving his house after teaching him and I couldn't find my shoe...well turns out his dog, Power, took my shoe and chewed it up. Yup. It still works though so that's good. haha Yes Mom it was my tan Keens shoe too. I couldn't help but laugh, there was nothing else I could do haha he offered to have it fixed but we'll see, I feel bad. Anyways that is excited eh? 

I had my first fish on Saturday since being here in the Philippines. Yep, already been here 2 months and just had my first fish. Luckily it was tilapia so it was one of the less fishy fish...haha It was pretty good but I am still not the biggest fan of fish. It takes so much effort to eat around those dang tiny bones. It was an overall good experience though, hopefully it always goes that well. :)

On our way to teach a recent convert this week, there was a group of teenage boys standing around the canal (there is a little river, canal, gutter thing that is allllllll over the place here to drain the water, I don't know how to explain it, but the water is disgusting and if you touched it you would probably die on the spot) Anyways, we asked what was going on and apparently there was an eel in the gutter thing and they were trying to catch it! HA! What?! Where did that thing come from?! We didn't get to see it but I thought that was the craziest thing. 

Also, we went to visit one of our investigators earlier this week, whose uncle just recently passed away. When we got to the house, her son told us that she was at the hospital because she had gone in to labor...we didn't even know she was pregnant...She was 5 months along and things went bad and the baby didn't make it..Mom is okay but the baby passed away. We were shocked and felt so bad. Two major losses in this poor family's life one right after the other. Although this was shocking, terribly sad news, it made us even more grateful for the gospel in our lives and the opportunity we have to share it with others and with this family to give them hope, guidance, and comfort in this time of sorrow in their life.

This has been a long week but a very short week all at the same time. Oh one more thing, we missed Thanksgiving. YEP. It is true. That's what happens when you lose yourself in the work I guess. :) Kind of sad that we forgot but it shouldn't really surprise me with the amount of things on our to-do list always. I hope everyone else had a splendid Thanksgiving though! Lots of good food, football, and giving thanks with friends and family! :) What could be better?...Oh yeah being on a mission ;) haha just kidding, but really, there is no place I would rather spend my Thanksgiving. What a great way to spend Thanksgiving, teaching people about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sometimes, I wonder how I got so blessed. I am a missionary. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, the knowledge of how I can be happy here in the life and someday return to live with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again. I am happy. I am so unbelievably happy and at peace. :) That's what the gospel does for you folks. And we get to share that with others! What is holding you back? Whatever it is, put it aside and get to work. :) We have great reason to rejoice! 

I love you all so much and am so grateful for all the letters and support I have received! You guys are the best. Make this week a good one. :) (especially you Charlie, party hard, have lots of cake and ice cream, and be nice to everyone) LOVE YOU!

-Sister Roderick

Let me tell you 'bout a guy named Ace

Well folks, it is Monday again!

I would like to inform you that I am healthy and happy as can be! Whoot whoot! Our bodies are amazing and truly a great blessing. My companion on the other hand has been struggling with her ingrown toenail again so that has been a toughy this week. We are going to the hospital tomorrow for her to have surgery to remove her toenail (sounds delicious huh) and so hopefully that will fix the problem. 

Anyways...

So last Monday we sure enough went down to Centro to do some finding. We got to Centro, and naturally all eyes were already on us so the staring didn't lighten up at all when I sat down right there in the middle of everyone. I whipped out my chalk and began drawing the Book of Mormon. Yep. Well, embarrassed and nervous out of my mind, I just kept on drawing. No joke, 30 seconds into me drawing, I looked up and saw a massive crowd of people standing over me, staring at me. My heart was pounding out of my chest!!! So, my 2 lovely companions began talking to as many people as they could while I drew as fast as I could. I couldn't write and draw things fast enough! I figured, if this was the only association these people have with the church for the rest of their lives, what would I want them to see, think, feel, and know. So I just wrote and drew and wrote and drew, anything and everything I could about this true church. It was such a cool experience. We were there for over 2 hours, talking to people, handing out pamphlets, getting people's contact information, and teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was slightly overwhelming and definitely forced me to go outside my comfort zone but I learned a lot and we were able to talk to so many people, as well as at least get out church's name out there for those hundreds of other people who came and watched but we were unable to talk to. Cool huh. Overall success. We got quite a few referrals for other missionaries as well as for our area. :)

So Tuesday, the 3 of us went to the transfer point, where all missionaries being transferred go to meet their new companion. We went to pick up Sister Abarabar, our new Filipino companion for the next 2 days. Crazy huh, 4 of us sisters in one area, crazy but sweet! Technically while in training you aren't allowed to go on splits with other missionaries, you are supposed to stay with your trainer, but I got permission to go with the other sisters since they didn't know our area as well. I felt pretty special. But that's what we did all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Part of the day I was with Sister Abarabar, later Sister Sands, then that night, with Sister Webster.  Pretty neat experience to go with different missionaries and to see their methods and ways of finding and teaching. I think more than anything though, Sister Webster and I realized how much we love each other. At the end of the day on Wednesday, we met up to change companions and split up for the last time that day and she almost started crying, just gave me a big hug, and told me she missed me. It was a good realization for both of us I think that we are very lucky to have each other as companions. I love that girl, I'm going to miss her when transfers come.

Speaking of transfers, we found out this week that transfers are on New Years' Eve aka Sister Webster's birthday..sad day huh? That's so sad, we thought we were going to have another week after that together but I guess not. Sad sad day.

Also..so we live with the Sister Training Leaders and on Dec. 21, one of them will be going home, so she only has a couple more weeks on her mission! Crazy huh? Anyways so for the 2 weeks or so between the 21st and transfers, her companion will not have a companion...soooo come Dec. 21st, we will becoming a trio again, with Sister Sanft, a tongan sister from Hawaii, our sister training leader. This is the weirdest, craziest, most random training of my life. I never expected any of this to happen on my mission, let alone in my training! It's cool though, I'm learning lots.

Alrighty my stories this week are about our ASTIG investigator, Ace. Ace is 37, not married yet, very healthy, very spiritual, and one of the most amazing people I've ever met! We found him looking for his inactive uncle. The first time we met him, we walked in, sat down, he looks at us and literally goes "okay, start. go. why are you here? what do you want to share?" hahaha talk about golden. Unfortunately there wasn't a babae (woman) in the house so due to mission rules we were not allowed to teach (but of course once we told him that, he jumps up, runs outside, and comes back 10 minutes later all disappointed saying he couldn't find any babae willing to come) He's great. So we have been teaching him since I have been here in the Philippines, so over a month now. He has a baptismal date for December 21st and we could not be more excited! He has come to church for the past 3 weeks, reads the Book of Mormon and prays every single day. I gave him a picture of Jesus and of the Manila temple when he committed to baptism as a reminder of his goal and to help keep him motivated. Well when we went to his house for dinner last night (oh yeah we had our first dinner appointment last night...with out investigator! haha usually you have dinner appointments with members, but whatever, it was great and so yummy!) anyways when we went there last night, we saw his computer and get this, the background to his computer is the Manila Temple! I have never met someone with such a desire to go inside and to perform ordinances in the temple. I am so excited for him! AND I'm hoping, if I am still here when he goes through the temple, I might be able to go with him! That would be such a wonderful experience to watch one of my investigators go through the temple! Wow. Also, we were eating, talking, and what not and he randomly puts on the powerpoint slideshow/video about Joseph Smith that he made! YEAH. He spends his free time reading about Joseph Smith and making videos about the life of Joseph Smith. Sister Webster and I got all teary eyed, we were so touched! He has such a strong testimony of the gospel already. We love him so much and are so excited for him to be baptized and to continue on the path of righteousness! He is such an amazing example to me. He told us this past week that he had been drinking with friends and not doing very good things in his life, he got really sick, prayed to God for help, committing to change his life around, when 2 days after his prayer, 2 sister missionaries showed up at his front door. How amazing is that? Heavenly Father really does answer prayers. I am so happy that Heavenly Father trusted Sister Webster and I enough to send us as answers to Ace's prayers and to be instruments in His hands to bring one of His children back to the fold and back to the truth. 

My testimony has grown so much about the Book of Mormon and about the power it holds. Ace is one of those investigators who thought our message was good and liked what we had to say but truly believed and became converted as he began to read and study the Book of Mormon. He told us this week that he is planning on reading the whole Book of Mormon before his baptism! Isn't that amazing!? I am so excited for him! He has motivated me to read my scriptures more and to ponder the teachings there. I know that if we read the Book of Mormon everyday, looking for ways to apply the words and teachings to our lives, we will find specific answers and guidance for our lives. Study the scriptures, read them and ponder them daily. Pray for answers, pray for understanding and guidance, then get up and act. Do those things which are good and which we are commanded to do, those things found in the scriptures. If we never read or pray, how can we expect to receive answers and help? We must do our part in order for God to do His. I know we can receive personal answers to questions, problems, concerns, etc. in our life, IF we study the scriptures and pray to our Heavenly Father. Just like Ace, we need to read and pray daily and we too can become closer to God and find answers to our questions. 

I love you guys and hope all is well with you! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I think about and pray for you guys every day. I love being a missionary and would not give up this happiness for anything! This is where I am supposed to be right now and boy am I grateful for it. 

I love you unconditionally! Oh, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :)

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Roderick

It's that time again….

Can you believe that another week has already gone by?

I honestly don't know where the time goes. Insanity.

Welp, good week this week. Of course many happenings, as always. :)

This week was maybe a bit more normal than the week before other than the fact that there were still 3 tall, white, sister missionaries walking all over the place so we got more attention than Justin Bieber, I swear. Craziness.

There are definitely ups and downs to every companionship, that goes for being in a trio as well. Both of my companions have been here in the Philippines now for 7 months so they are about at the same page as far as the language and culture experience and understand goes, and both of them have served in the same areas so they know a ton of the same people so that has been hard to just sit there and not have any clue what is going on while they jibber on and are on the same page constantly. Anyways, it has been a toughy for me this week to just stay calm and be patient with them as well as with myself. 

We also had exchanges this week, my first missionary exchanges! Whoot whoot! I was really excited but nervous at the same time because I would be in my area with one of the Sister Training Leaders...meaning I would have to lead and direct us around town because she is not familiar with my area...great..Welp exchanges came and it went fine! It's amazing how when given the opportunity to lead and to have greater responsibility, so often people will truly step up to the plate. Not that I haven't been contributing in lessons and what not, but Sister Sanft, the sister training leader who I was on exchanges with, she really had to rely on me to guide us and to introduce her to people, something I have not had to do yet before. It was good for me I think because I realized that even though I am not great at Tagalog and even though I don't completely know my way around Naga, I know more than I give myself credit for. I was able to introduce Sister Sanft, explain who she was, explain why she was with me, explain who we were to new people, and start the lessons! It was great. Sometimes I think it is just nice to break out of your normal routine and be with others, try new things, etc. so you can reassess how you are doing and not get in the same boring rut of doing the same boring thing over and over again. It was good. I like exchanges now. hah anyways, we were able to teach some less-actives as well as some investigators on our exchanges and it was neat to see how she teaches and handles different situations. It is truly amazing how much we can learn from other people. Dad you always say, "A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others." I feel like it is the same for the good things about people. We can learn so much from humbling ourselves enough to learn from those around us and to try new things in our lives to be better people and to improve and grow everyday. We should never plateau. No matter how slow the increase may be, we should continually be on an upward climb, striving every day to grow intellectually, emotionally, and especially spiritually. :) I love learning. It's great.

So funny story from exchanges, we went to visit a man we talk to on occasion and he told us his aunt wants to talk to us, so naturally we get in his padyak and he drives us over to her. We start walking toward her house when we see this little old lady, wearing a pink and white polka dot dress, with a white fanny pack on her waist and pink crocs on her little feet, walking down the street. You betcha, that ladies and gentleman is Estrella. She is hilarious. She told us how she is from New Jersey but comes to live here for a couple months every few years and how her nephew had told her about the Mormons and that she was interested in our message. So clearly we had to teach this truth-searching, knowledge thirsty 70 something year old. Turns out she speaks Tagalog but preferred us to teach in English. Never thought teaching in English would be SO hard! We couldn't do it! We Taglished it up. We tried our hardest to speak in English but it just felt wrong! haha can you believe that? Yeah, trust me, me neither. ha anyways, no joke, 5 minutes in to our lesson, she told her nephew who was still standing close by, that he needs to be baptized into the Mormon church..she then proceeded to tell all of her great-nieces and great-nephews the same thing and asking them, "do you want to be Mormon?..you should! They are good" hahaha Sister Sanft and I were losing it, we were laughing so hard! Who does that? She is golden! Old, very old, but golden! She told us she would pray about being baptized and that she wants to come to church with us. She was traveling yesterday so wasn't able to come, but we are hoping and praying that she will be able to come next week and that she will be a force for good among her family. She is too funny, I love that little old lady. We went back to her on Friday for my companions to meet her and to teach her and she asked us, "Am I too old to be baptized? Are you sure I'm not too old?...I might get scared or something." haha true, we are a little worried about her going down into the water but I'm sure things will work out. :) Anyways, exchanges went well, Estrella is a doll and I love her. That's all.

The next day we had a zone training. It went well, not much too report there. We did some cool stress management exercises and discussed how things are going in our zone. 

Thursday night, I wasn't feeling so great when I went to bed. couldn't fall asleep, come 2 in the morning I decided to go try to use the CR (comfort room aka bathroom) and ended up throwing up all over the place. Lovely huh? No. It wasn't lovely at all. Not sure how I got sick, why I got sick or what it was that I had but I was sick...again. Ugh! I am so sick of being sick! I got a solid 0 hours of sleep that night, I was up sick all night and went back upstairs to our room right as my companions were waking up. So no, we did not get to go out to work that day. Trust me, I was not a happy camper. Not just because I was sick, but because we didn't get to work! I hate being sick and not getting to work! It is terrible. So yep, I had some stomach bug grossness thing Friday and Saturday then felt well enough to go to a baptism for an investigator in our ward Saturday night. One of our investigators came too and it was a beautiful service. The missionaries sing pretty much at every baptism so we sang a hymn in Tagalog in front of everyone, that was cool. Side note: No one sings here. It is so sad. I feel like I am singing a solo or maybe a duet every time we sing here! No thank you. hah I miss all the nice, loud, joyous hymns in the Bristow ward, oh well, I'm working on that though. People are funny here. :) That's all I should say about that.

SUNDAY! Sundays are H-E-C-T-I-C here. Talaga. So hectic are sundays here. I love them though. We taught lessons in the morning, racing across town, ran to church (not really, but we booked it), then taught more lessons after church! That rarely happens because we kind of have studies or something that we are supposed to do...welp it didn't really happen this week, whoops, always room for improvement right? BUT! Ace (the hilarious, awesome, sobra astig investigator of ours), Ariel, and his cousin Oliver all came to church! This was Ace's second Sunday and he is really enjoying it he says. We have been trying to get Ariel to come to church with us since we met him my first week here, so a long time, and he finally came! I'm not sure what changed but he came, and he brought his cousin! Well funny story actually, they came a little late so they sat behind us in Sacrament meeting so after the meeting Ace turns around and jumps and goes "Woah! What are you doing here?" Turns out Ariel and Oliver are Ace's cousins! We have been teaching them both and had no idea! So funny! No joke, EVERYONE is related here, it's odd. cool at times but I'm pretty sure people end up marrying their siblings sometimes because the families are so confusing here. haha oh boy. So that was neat that they were able to come to church :)

Today is Monday. It is P-day. Today we are going to centro, the literal center plaza thing of Naga City to OYM, open your mouth, and try to do some "finding" there and boost our teaching pool. I will be drawing different aspects of the gospel in the Centro place while my companions stand nearby talking to others and teaching about the gospel! How cool eh? Pictures to come for sure. We are praying it won't rain so this can actually work. :) It should be a pretty neat experience. 

This week I learned I need to be more patient with myself. It is a difficult thing to do at times but it is something I am working on. So this week, like I said, was hard with the whole trio thing for me. I had some frustrations and felt pushed aside at times and was not very happy, despite the smile on my face. So I prayed for help and pretty much told Heavenly Father that I will try to let these things go and love my companions no matter what. Well, I felt guilty for the frustrating feelings I had, etc. and felt like I needed to just rely on God and get over myself. Although that was a great idea, I realized that it does not always work to just forget things and try to move on by yourself. Yes, I prayed for help and yes, I had faith that God would help me, but I went into my prayers kind of with the way I was expecting to be helped, rather than being open to how God knew I needed to be helped, if that makes sense. Anyways so...long story short, we had companionship inventory the other day..that's when it hit me. I felt guilty for the feelings I had and frustrations I had and I prayed for help, expecting to receive greater patience, or have those feelings taken from me or just be able to cope better, but instead He sent me 2 great companions that asked how I was doing. Next thing I know, I told them everything that I had been feeling and immediately afterwards, ALL of the bad, hurt, frustrated feelings left me. It was such a blessing. It helped me to see that we not only need to humble ourselves enough to pray and ask for help but rather we need to humble ourselves enough to pray to Him and then also to accept the help He provides, regardless of how we want, or expect the help to come. I did not want to talk to my companions about what I was feeling, but Heavenly Father knew that that is what I needed and that that is how I would find relief from those feelings weighing on my heart and mind. Remember to turn to God. He knows us far better than we know ourselves. Go to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, willing to submit to His will, and to do that which He commands of us. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love all of us so much and know us personally. What a blessing it is to know that we can turn to them and literally talk to and converse with them at all times and in all places. I know God answers our prayers. :) 

Oh and I forgot, we got transfer announcements Saturday night. Sister Sands is being transferred this week, she will be training and opening an area. Woo that will be a party, that is what Sister Webster and I did. Also, tomorrow, our trio will become a foursome haha yep, not exactly sure how this will be working out but Tuesday and Wednesday while they wait to get new trainees, they will be living with us and working in our area so our foursome will split up I guess and work in our area. Kind of cool. Stressful but way cool! What a great opportunity that is for us to kickstart our area some more and teach a ton of lessons and meet a ton of new people! I'm excited! 

Welp that's about all I have time for this week. Not too much exciting news this week. 

I am alive and well. I still love being a missionary, siyempre. :) Tagalog is still hard. I am still way excited for Christmas, PASKO NA! (means Christmas is close) I love you all and hope to hear from you soon! 

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Roderick

Yolanda

Not a single day goes by without some pure craziness happening. No exaggeration whatsoever.

This past week was a hurricane of many levels. From New Missionary Training Meeting, to getting a new companion, to an actual Hurricane and Typhoon, to a spider bite, to no electricity for a whole day...yeah..there is always something exciting happening here.

First and foremost, we are all safe and sound here in Naga after first the earthquake and now the typhoon and hurricane. There are still missionaries missing in other missions but my area is doing just fine. We are praying very hard for all those affected worse than we were. There was lots of rain last week and Thursday night we had a bit of flooding on some of the lower streets, about 8 or so inches of water in some areas, but not too bad. (We were actually on our way home Thursday night when a big car drove past and water got splashed up on us, all 3 of us were drenched on half of our body haha it was great) There was a brownout Thursday night while we were still out and about. We were walking down one street and all of a sudden, all the electricity in the city went out and it went PITCHBLACK. It was SO dark. We immediately pulled out flashlights and tried to carefully make our way down the road without being run over by tricess, padyaks, and cars. That was pretty crazy to literally watch as all the lights in the city just shut off at the same time, kind of freaky. We made sure we had our 72 hour kit all ready to go and what not then waited for the storm to hit. It rained really hard all day Friday with lots of strong winds outside. We were not allowed to go outside to work so we stayed inside and studied by flashlight all day long. We didn't have power pretty much all day Friday. We got power back around 9:40 Friday night. We didn't have power and weren't allowed to go outside so all the sisters in my apartment ordered McDo's. haha We texted our order to McDonalds and they delivered our sandwiches to us haha poor delivery guy. Luckily it wasn't raining anymore by the time he came but we still had no power so he couldn't see anything and couldn't find our apartment. So funny. We met him at our gate, paid, got our food, etc. it was really funny. haha We realized that they had given us cokes instead of sprites and it's against mission rules to drink dark sodas here so we knocked on our neighbors door and asked if they wanted them. It was 3 girls and it turns out one of them is Mormon! What? haha they just moved in and are here for work but we are hoping that we will get to teach all of them and that she will be able to go out with us sometimes and help us! How cool would that be? Anyways, so we woke up Saturday and were given permission to go back to work. We did our studies and then headed out. There were some branches, lots of leaves, and your occasional random something or other out of place but for the most part everything just looked normal. There was no flooding and it was very very hot outside, just like normal. 

Okay, so now to backtrack a little bit. On Tuesday of this past week, we knew that a hurricane was coming and we were getting a lot of heavy rain so we stayed out and continued to teach but stayed alert and aware of what was going on in case we were told to return home early due to impending bad weather. So we were in the middle of a lesson Tuesday night when the APs called us. We were afraid they were calling to tell us to go home so we told the girl we were teaching sorry and answered the call. (don't worry though guys, I kept talking to her, yes in Tagalog, while Sister Webster was on the phone :)) Well we were not being told to go home early, hah whoops. BUT they were calling to tell us that we would be becoming a trio the next day. Yesiree. I am now in a trio. tri. three. 3. there are 3, tall, big, white american sisters together now. haha it is quite comical actually. Our new companion is Sister Briar Rose Sands from Lehi, Utah. She was in the Goya area but was emergency transferred here to us in Naga City. Whoop whoop! I must admit that I never expected to be in a trio while on my mission, let alone while still in my training! It is okay though. Things are going alright. So to keep the story short and sweet, the sisters in the Goya area were really, really close to a recent convert sister there. The sister got into some trouble with dealing drugs, the sister missionaries tried to help the sister stop dealing, got involved with some not so great people, all the tricee drivers knew where the sister missionaries lived, they were being watched, it was really dangerous, lots of other things happened, so all the sisters were pulled out of that area. It was very traumatic for Sister Sands so she is not her happy, jolly, usually self. It has been hard for me because I am not exactly sure how to handle this situation but I am smiling, staying positive, loving her, serving her best I can, and just trying my hardest to help her get back into the normal missionary swing of things. She has had some difficulties with all of her past companions and so I think she is just tired of so much drama and trouble here but we are anxious to help her get back to her normal self again. She is only with us for 2 weeks, so this is her last week with us, because transfers are next week. We are not exactly sure what will happen with transfers but we will see I guess. We are just taking things one step at a time right now. One day at a time. 

Exciting stuff eh? let's see. What else...oh Dad! I used my Plan of Salvation kit thing this week with an investigator! He is a very visual learner and was not understanding some of the concepts we were teaching so we whipped out the Plan of Salvation pictures, laid it out for him, and he totally understood it! It was great! It was fun too. We were all just sitting on the ground with a member that came with us, we laid out all the pieces, talked about each one, and just had a grand time. It was a much more relaxed setting, just talking, laughing, and learning together, it was a great experience. 

I was called "Barbie" this week and our first day that Sister Sands was with us, we were walking down the street and someone called out "Hey look! Charlie's angels!" hahaha add those 2 to the books of names I have been called while on my mission. People are so funny here. Also, one of our investigators, Ace, is so hilarious. He is 37 but looks and acts like he is 25. We could have sworn he was way younger. Anyways, he always kind of picks on me/jokes with me/I don't even know what to call it haha but this week at one of our lessons with him, I couldn't think of how to say something in Tagalog, he could tell I was getting a little frustrated with myself, so he points to a pillow on a chair by me that is a heart and says "I love you," and says to me, "Don't worry, I still love you." hahah He is so funny! We all just laughed, but it was kind of nice that he was just telling me, even though your Tagalog is not so great, I still love you and appreciate you trying ha Then the next time we were there, he called me "the girl Tarzan." Yep. I am the girl Tarzan. He said that I am always laughing and my laugh is loud so when I laugh it is like I am Tarzan hahah of course that just made me laugh even more so that didn't make matters any better. Oh and another time, I didn't know something so I looked at Sister Webster and whispered something and he scoots closer to me and in a really low, funny whispering voice goes, "psst psst psst what?" hahaha we were all dying. He is seriously one of THE funniest people I have ever met! He is just such a jokester, so happy all the time, and always messing with me and joking with me. It's too funny. Last night he texted us to say thanks for inviting him to church and to say goodnight and he said "regardz to Ms. Queen of SMILE no other than Sis. Roderick hehehe" What a funny guy. I love him so much! I love all of our investigators so much! :) The people here are the best. I love them all. 

Oh so yes Ace came to church with us yesterday! It was so great! Things did not go perfectly, of course, but the Spirit was still there and he had the opportunity to meet other members and feel loved and welcomed by them. I love going to church, especially when investigators are there with us. Go to church guys. It is a commandment from God and it the most important thing we do each week, go to church and partake of the Sacrament. 

So speaking of church here...it may or may not start late and end wayyy late haha aka I essentially go to church for 4 hours each week. Our classes go over time every single week. It kills me. I try so hard to stay positive and enjoy being there, but sometimes it is hard. So yesterday in Relief Society I was sitting next to a very old Nanay in my ward. She is so sweet and very funny. She asked to borrow my book and of course I let her. She said she wanted to read the story in it. I gave it to her, expecting her to quietly read the story to herself...you can imagine my surprise when she began reading it out loud. Not even whispering..haha she was so loud! I was dying! I could not control my laughter, it was so embarrassing! Everyone was looking at us but she was oblivious to what was going on and I didn't know what to do so of course I just kept laughing and shaking and trying to control myself. It was so so so funny. Then she kindly gave me back the book once she was done reading, as if nothing had even happened. She is comedy. I love that woman.

Well language wise, I am doing better at Tagalog. I had many members, investigators, and even my APs tell me that I have gotten a lot better in Tagalog so that was a nice little confidence booster for me. I am also slowly but surely learning Bicol. Pretty much our sacrament meeting is just in Bicol...that is difficult but that's okay. Eventually I will understand what is going on right? :)

I love it here. I love the people here. I love the weather (even if it is hot hot hot sometimes) I love the church. I love the prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love God. I love my family and friends. I love being a missionary and am so grateful for the opportunity to share this truth with others. Be good. Choose the right. Be grateful for everything. Smile. Be happy. :) 

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Emily Roderick

Riding in a padyak

Lookin' out the padyak

Mom and Dad were so worried my Christmas package wouldn't get here in time!  Here it is mid- November and I already got it!

The effects of Yolanda in Naga - Rain, wind, flooding

But for a Small Moment

How are you wonderful people?!

It has been a grand ol' week here in Naga City. 

Drum roll please...I am free of sickness! Whoot whoot! Let me just tell you how relieved I am to be all better and not be on my death bed anymore. I feel SO much better! Man am I grateful for good health and for my body. :) What a blessing our bodies are. 

Let's see where to begin. Welp due to me taking time to get better along with having multiple curfews this week due to holidays, we didn't get to go out and teach nearly as much as we usually do, but at least we got to go out right? So we got punted a lot this week (meaning lots of people canceled lessons with us or when we showed up, they told us they were busy so we didn't get to teach them) Anyways, that was difficult but we were able to find other people in that time instead so that was neat!

We found one part-member family, the San Andres pamilya. We had baptismal records for the mother, father (both had since passed away) and the 2 oldest children. The 2 baptized kids are now living in Manila but we were able to share a message and get to know a couple of their siblings. It was really sad because the man and his sister were both quite bitter toward us. They were still kind but there was a bitterness on their words that was sad to hear. They told us that no members or missionaries have come to visit them since their mother passed away, some 23 years ago. Wow. That is really sad and unfortunately this really offended the people and their opinion of LDS members is not as great as it should be. I am grateful for the opportunity we had to go talk to them. It really was a miracle how we found them too. We have tried a couple times now to find this family,without any success, when the other night we decided to try again. We searched and searched and finally found the address of where the family supposedly lived. We asked the owner of the shop if she knew the SA family and eventually we figured out that the numbers on all the homes and buildings in that area had changed about 2 years ago...grrreat right? how on earth were we supposed to find them now? Well, turns out she told us to try down the street and ask at the motorcycle repair shop. So we did. At first they told us they didn't know the family then another man came out and he knew the family and directed us to their house! It was such a blessing and I am so glad we were able to meet them. It was definitely hard to sit there while they told us how awful their life is and how hard things have been and no one has even tried to see them, but the important part is that we found them now and I can't wait to teach them again and hopefully their hearts will be softened and recognize how the gospel will be able to bless their lives. The hardest thing for me with this man and his family is when he told me I am too young to know anything and to really believe in what I am teaching...

Talk about a slap in my face, heck it felt more like a stab to the heart. That was so so hard. We tried to just bear testimony to him but he just wouldn't hear what we had to say. 

I know with all of my heart and mind that this is the true, restored gospel on the earth and that this is the church that Jesus Christ himself established on the earth so many years ago. I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today who is called of God to lead this church and these people. I may be young, I may not have that many experiences, I may not be that educated but I have asked God if this is the truth and I received confirmation for myself from God through the power of the Holy Ghost that this is the true gospel and that only by following its precepts and following the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ can we return to live with God someday and receive eternal life. I know that anyone and everyone can and needs to pray to God and receive an answer for themself that this is true. Please don't tell me that I don't know what I am talking about. I cannot deny God. I cannot deny the answer I received. I will follow the example of Jesus Christ. I will keep the commandments and be obedient to my Father in Heaven. I will pray to Him and read my scriptures because I know it is word of God. I will be married in the temple of God and I will strive every day of my life to be a better person, draw closer to God, and become more like Christ. And you better believe I will share this gospel with everyone I can because it is true and it is the right way, the straight and narrow path back to our Father in Heaven where we can live with our families forever. I know what I believe.

Okay I am running out of time already but I wanted to share this cute analogy our district leader shared with us this week at our district meeting. He was talking about how important it is that we do everything we can here on this earth to return to our Father in Heaven and how much He loves us and wants us to return to Him. He then related it to the movie Toy Story. Bear with me okay. Woody lives in Andy's room and is so close to Andy for a really long time then one day he gets lost and taken on this wild chase around town. He does absolutely everything in his power to return to Andy. He makes friends along the way, he loses his arm, he gets dunked in a bowl of cereal, almost eaten by a dog, stuck in a machine full of aliens, etc. He goes through a lot on his way back to Andy. Sometimes he got upset, frustrated, impatient, and even sad at times. He had good experiences and bad experiences along the way. At one point, he looks down at the bottom of his boot and looks at the name written their "Andy." I imagine he thought he never would return to his owner and lost all hope at times. BUT as he kept trying, helped others, and endured to the end, he was able to eventually make it back to Andy and what a joyous return that was. 

Likewise, we are the Woody's in life. We lived with our Heavenly Father before this life and were sent here to earth to gain a body, have experiences, to learn and to grow. Sometimes we get frustrated with ourselves and others. We get impatient, downhearted, disappointed, sad, and even lose hope sometimes. It is not easy. It was never supposed to be easy. We all have our own challenges and concerns, but if we follow the gospel of Jesus Christ, have faith, repent daily, keep the commandments, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end, then we will be able to make it back to our Heavenly Father again! Our Father in Heaven loves us so much and wants us to return home safely to him more than we can understand. We must do everything in our power to return home to him. We can do it. It is hard at times but he loves us so much that he has given us lots of things along the way to help us return to Him, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the perfect example, Christ, our families, the scriptures, a living prophet, prayer, and many more. Nothing is impossible when on God's side. Whose side are you on? Are you trying your hardest every day to be the best you can be and to make it so you can "stand blameless before God at the last day?" We're not perfect, but we can try. :) 

I added a lot to what my district leader said but I thought that was a great analogy and very creative. Thanks for the idea Elder McBride. :)

Another thing from this week, I read a talk that Sister Webster had and it was SO GOOD. You guys should all look it up (Mom, maybe if you find it could you post the link on my blog? thanks!) It is entitled "But for a small moment" by Neal A. Maxwell from a devotional he gave on September 1st 1974 at BYU. It is kind of long but well worth it. Read it. Learn. Enjoy. Change. :)

We are really trying to get closer to our ward here so that they will trust us and do more on the missionary front. We made an announcement in Relief Society on Sunday about how excited we were to be there and how anxious we are to go out with the sisters in our ward. We then sent around a sign up for sisters to sign up if they would be willing and interested to come out with us. So many sisters signed up! It was great! We are anxious to get to work with these sisters! 

Oh also, yesterday was Fast and Testimony meeting. All the other missionaries in our ward bore their testimonies last week in Sacrament meeting while I was in the hospital so my companion and I were asked to share this week. I was SO nervous, can I just tell you. I had shared my testimony in Tagalog in the MTC all the times but all those people were bad at Tagalog haha so it was a bit more nerveracking to get up in front of my whole Filipino ward and speak their native language to them while trying to express the feelings of my heart. It was difficult alright but nonetheless I wanted to do it. I jumped right up and began talking. I introduced myself, and bore my testimony completely in Tagalog whaaa. Yeah I guess you could say I was proud of myself or something. (it wasn't because of my Tagalog skills though by the way, it's hard to speak for 3 minutes in another language when you are really bad at it, but let me assure you, when you let the Spirit speak through you, things go much much better. it was awesome!) So in the middle of bearing my testimony, I was talking about how we all have hard times in life and if we have faith and keep pushing through everything will work out..well no joke, right as I was talking about having hard times in life, out of no where it started POURING. I am talking torrential downpour people. It was so dang loud in the chapel as I am awkwardly standing up there with so many eyes glaring up at me wondering what I was going to do. Well you know what I did?...I spoke louder. It was really hard to do because I already was not comfortable being up there trying to speak Tagalog but I could no longer just talk normally because they couldn't hear me, so I had to yell my terrible Tagalog straight into the microphone. Yep that was a challenge for sure, but I pushed through and finished strong. :) It was pretty funny though I must say.

Oh also real quick, this morning all the missionaries in the area as well as their investigators and ward members met at the church and played basketball! It was so fun! Yes I woke up at 5:45, 45 minutes earlier than normal, just to go play basketball but it was well worth it. Oh the things I do for some good basketball..oh and for my investigators too :) No really it was great! We are getting creative here in how to bring people closer to the church but step by step it will happen. On eof our investigators, Ace came this morning and he said he had a really good time and got to meet some other men in the ward and play some basketball as well as see our beautiful church building. What a great idea. I loved it :) 

I love you guys so much and I am so grateful to be a missionary! Don't be afraid to share your beliefs with others! You have the power to change lives!

Thank you for all the prayers in my behalf. I love this gospel and am working hard every day to proclaim it to the beautiful people of the Philippines! 

Have a great week! Remember who you are! :)

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Emily Roderick

Elder Neal A. Maxwell's speech, But For a Small Moment:  

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1022

Sisters in Em's Ward playing hoops

Em showing her mad skills

She's still got it!