This was gonna be great...

Welp, I have had a GREAT week! I really have.

I had all these wonderful things I was planning on sharing with you all and what not but you know, this computer decided to take forever to load and now my time is UP! Naku! Sorrrrrry about the lame email! Hopefully next week will be better!

Lets see, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Big news of the week:

1. Got to go back to BAAO and see my people! It 

was the best. I thoroughly enjoyed it. They are still strong in the faith and progressing even more!

2. Got my Christmas package delivered right to my apartment door steps Christmas Eve morning by our AP elves. Nice surprise! It was perfect! Exactly what I needed thank you! 

3. Made M&M cookies! YUM!

4. Studied all about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was so enlightening and filled me with hope! :) The gospel really does bring hope to all who will listen and follow Jesus Christ. 

5. Skyped with the fam! They couldn't hear my voice but its all good. Loved every second of it anyways!

That's all for now! So lame, I know. I love you all though and can't believe that I am heading home in less than 2 months! Stay amazing and keep smiling! There IS hope for us all, through Jesus Christ. Just trust and follow Him.

-Sister Roderick

Ang Paasko y' Paalala

Merry Christmas to all! :)

I love Christmas! The lights, decorations, food, music, family gatherings, festivities, lahat! This is my second Christmas on the mission and it feels great. :) Being a missionary is the most wonderful thing and even more special at Christmastime, as Jesus Christ is on everyone's mind.

This past week I went on my first exchanges as a sister training leader. Long story short, they were two of the best days of my whole mission so far. The spirit was so strong and we felt guided they entire day! Tuesday, I worked with Sister Villarca and on Wednesday with Sister Iloa. Two amazing missionaries who love to work hard and walk fast. (My perfect match!) I can't even explain how great our work was those two days! Heavenly Father was there guiding us and literally gave us the strength to keep going, to talk to one more person, to invite one more person to listen, to push ourselves just a little more to be that much better. We found many wonderful, potential FAMILIES! You know me and those families. Can't hold me back when it comes to teaching them. The best thing in the world. Aint nothin gon top that.

Friday was our Mission Christmas Conference in Naga. So fun! We watched Frozen. You know. :) (don't worry Char, we will still watch it when I get back!) It was a day full of friends, laughter, food of course, and topped off with a wonderful message from President Reeder.

This Christmas season will we CHOOSE to LET Christ in to our lives?.. I know that Christ lives. He is our Savior and Redeemer. LET HIM IN. Embrace His goodness in your lives and follow Him always.

Merry Christmas all! Maligayang Pasko! Mahal na mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Roderick

Choose to Be! :)

The flood is gone. The sun is out. The Christmas music is playing through the streets. And this is one happy sister missionary.

I have noticed this week that as I walk down the street, I do this little jolly bounce step thing coupled with a huge grin on my face that doesn't seem to wipe away. It is a great way to live. Being a missionary is not easy. Having people yell at you or lie to you or blatantly ignore you or rudely kick you out of their house is not a very fun endeavor BUT aint nothin' gon' bring me down. Like that great English of mine? :) It is true though! One of the biggest things I have learned so far on my mission is that it ALL depends on me! If I want to let things get to me, of course I am going to get discouraged and down...BUT if I CHOOSE to be positive, upbeat, happy, patient, encouraging, hopeful, and kind, it all works out! No matter how many supposedly "bad" things happened that day, it is up to us whether we will think of all those "bads" or find a way to turn those supposed 'bads' to 'goods'! and moooove on. Not worth it to get hung up on the little things. 

I am so happy to be a missionary! I love Christmas time! This is a beautiful, cheerful, love-filled, magical time of year. Still not sure why I am here in Nabua, it is so so so different than anything I have had to deal with my whole mission, guess that's why I am here, to learn something new. Anywho, I am hopeful and my faith is strong that Heavenly Father has a plan for us all, including for me and these people here in Nabua. Miracles are a'coming. I just know it. Enjoy your Christmas season and keep striving to be more like Jesus Christ every single day! It's the little choices we make, the way we use our agency, that brings us closer to and helps us become more like, Jesus Christ. 

Mahal ko po kayong lahat! Merry Merry Christmas!

-Sister Roderick

Covered in Tubig

Where on earth to begin. This past week and a half certainly did not go anything like I expected it to.

Monday- Last night in Libmanan. It was sad. I miss them but I gotta move on.

Tuesday- Transfer day in Naga. Good to see the other missionaries, sad to say goodbye to my second kid in the mission, nervous as always to get a new comp and area. I was called as a sister training leader, the sister who goes on exchanges with other sisters, and am assigned in Nabua, Iriga...aka next town over from my beloved Baao! Mixed feelings there. My new companion is the lovely Sister Gayla Prakash from Fiji. She's awesome. She also goes home in January so yep, just one transfer with her then boom, my last transfer in the mission. Where did the time go?!

Wednesday- I worked in a trio with some sisters in Naga while my comp and her batch were fixing their visas in Manila.

Thursday- Went and waited for them to get back, met up, got lunch, more waiting and stuff, then finally made our way to Nabua. To get to Nabua you have to drive right thru Baao so that was exciting and weird all at the same time. It will be fun though because we get to go on exchanges with the sisters in Baao so I will get to see all my people again! :) Yay! That night we did studies then got to go work for a couple hours. So funny thing is, since I was assigned in Baao before, I came and worked on exchanges in Nabua about 4 or so times so I already know a lot of the people...bonus. It will be good. 

Friday- District Meeting and District lunch in the morning then work! Glorious work. 

Saturday- Lock down. Typhoon Ruby was supposedly making it way to us, hence why we were put on lock down and not allowed to leave the apartment. A little rain here and there but that's all we got until Saturday early in the morning when the rain and the winds came. Lots of it.

   Side note- here in Nabua we are supposedly the low point of Iriga/the whole Naga Mission so when it rains, it floods..

Sunday- Still on lock down so we didn't even get to go to church! Can you believe that? What kind of missionary doesn't go to church?..but ya know, not much you can do when a typhoon is going on outside. So yeah..

Monday- Lock down, hence why we didn't get to email.

Tuesday- We were supposed to go to Naga for a Mission Leadership Council Meeting thing but waist-high water covered the town so we had no way to get out of the city and did not get to go. So sad, I was excited for that but next time na lang. That afternoon though we were able to walk out to centro a ways with our fellow elders and see the damage..walking in knee-high water in the middle of town! What! It was so crazy! It felt like we were at the beach..right outside the grocery store! haha Man. Praying it doesn't rain anymore so the water can finally go down.

Wednesday- Were able to go out a little again and check some of our area.. I say some because well with deep water still covering almost all the streets, we couldn't go far and couldn't see much.

I am sick of staying inside but there is nothing else to do. We have read, studied, written letters, cooked, talked, taken pictures, slept, eaten, done laundry, cleaned, and more but my head is seriously spinning from boredom. I miss work! We are almost done with the second week of this transfer and we have not even had a full week of work. Ugh. They are estimating that it will take at least another week for the water to go down.. That is no bueno. We are struggling here but learning lots of patience. :) 

Happy that we finally got electricity back and were able to email! :) We are alive and safe. I hope you are doing well and have lots of dry land there :)

Mahal ko po kayo! Take care! :)

-Sister Roderick

Here we go again!

Transfers tomorrow, I'm transferred. I was told I will be staying a couple days in Naga with a temporary companion while I wait for my new comp to get back from fixing her visa in Manila...which pretty much narrows it down to where I am about 95% sure I know who my new comp is and where I am going BUT we will just have to wait til tomorrow to find out for sure :) ..she is for sure a foreigner though and for sure this is her last transfer in the mission...going to kill another one. 

Mixed emotions this week. I didn't want to tell people I was leaving before I actually knew and even then, I didn't want to make a big deal so I just kind of kept it on the DL that I am leaving Libmanan. Goodbyes are never easy. I told one of my Nanays at church that I was leaving and she started bawling right then and there, in the middle of the entryway, with people walking all around her! Oh billy. I guess I could have thought that one through a little better but I was NOT expecting that response! hah I will definitely miss this place and especially these people. 

Funny to look back to my first transfer here and how much I did not want to be here and was looking forward to leaving..well, the Lord works in mysterious ways and I have truly grown to love these people as my own family. I feel like in my other areas, I have gotten really close to one or two families but here is different.. I feel close to everyone and am going to miss them all! It's a toughy. Despite me going to miss them, I feel good leaving, meaning I feel like I have really given my everything to this area and to these people and now it is time for me to move on to somewhere else and I am okay with that. I feel content in that I have done the very best that I can to build up the Lord's kingdom here in Libmanan and now it is in His hands. :)

Thanksgiving was a good one. We had a big thanksgiving meal with our district after district meeting. :) Sis Falcon and I made mashed potatoes and frozen peach pies, which actually both turned out really well. Yumm. Then we had fried chicken, rice (of course, can't live without it), bananas, and root beer..what a grand Thanksgiving feast. It was delicious. :)

Holy guacamole, we had so many people at church yesterday it was great! (and for the record, no, it was not because I am leaving, no one even knew yet that I was leaving), but truly the Lord answered our prayers and blessed us with so many people at church! It was a great Sunday. :) Last night we had dinner at the district president's house and later tonight we have another dinner at the home of one of his counselor's. Mmm benefits of working hard...oh yeah and having the whole district presidency living in your area boundary.. :)

Ano pa..I strongly dislike packing. It's terrible. Especially when I just washed all my clothes to pack them nice and clean...and now its pouring rain! My clothes are never going to dry by tomorrow morning! AH! Oh well, it will all work out, it always does. 

It is freaking me out a bit that this is now my second to last transfer of my entire mission. It goes too fast. It never ceases to amaze me just how much you can learn every single day! Staying strong. Working hard. Christmas is soon, I'm soooo excited! I love Christmas! :) 

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

On A Roll!

We are on a roll with having great weeks here in Libmanan! The work is moving at a fantastic pace and we are doing our best to keep up with it. We are still working hard with those Priesthood holders and in finding families. It has been a very fruitful week! We are working with a couple families in particular whom are showing great desire and progress in the gospel. :) 

Yesterday at church we had 24 less-actives/recent converts at church! Many of whom had not been to church in years! It was a truly miraculous day! One young man in particular had just texted us Saturday night to ensure us that he would not be coming back to church, that he simply could not live up to the church's standards, but thanks for our efforts to help him..Well that was a bit discouraging, but nonetheless we prayed fervently that his heart would be softened and desire to live the gospel again..you can imagine my great delight and surprise when in walked this 22 year old young man who had not been to church in over 10 years. He later texted us saying that he had not expected to go to church, he doesn't know what happened, but somehow he went to church. Wow. Truly a miracle! :) So happy!

This week was also week 11 of training for Sister Falcon meaning she was to lead in all planning and teaching, and that she did. She said she didn't really feel or notice a difference, but boy did I. It was a great learning experience I think for her. She is improving so well! It was hard at times for me not to jump in when she struggled a little but she handled every situation just fine with little prompting or help from me. Our teaching is more powerful and unified. :) Good week.

Transfers are next week. Almost positive I will be transferring and spending my last 2 transfers in another area but who knows what could happen, we will find out on Saturday night.

I ate octopus this week. It was rubbery. Not the favorite thing I have ever eaten before but hey, at least I can say I tried it right. 

Mahal ko kayong lahat! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :)

-Sister Roderick

2 Weeks Strong

I feel good! So good! I am happy and healthy and loving life! Everything in the work has changed since I have gotten all better from being sick, it is a complete difference from before and I LOVE IT! So happy to be better again :)

So for the longest time I have been saying, we are focusing on Priesthood holders and families..welp it's taken a few weeks now to really get the ball rolling with that but now things are rolling faster and faster and it is just dandy! :) We have one family in particular that we are teaching whom I absolutely love! We just met them last week BUT I already feel so close to them and am so excited for them to keep learning and growing in the gospel. A family with 9 kids (woo hoo!)..we've met mom, dad, and 5 of the kids so far plus a couple of their cousins. AND its even better because its an older family, meaning not a bunch of little kids, these are kids from the ages 16-27 that we are teaching..5 young men, with good morals, high standards, desiring to serve God and follow Jesus Christ. They are ready. God truly does prepare people to accept His gospel. Nothing better than teaching families..especially when they are just thirsting for the truth..we walk in, the Spirit teaches, they recognize, and lives are literally changed, all while I get to sit and watch the change take place. The true blessing and joy of being an instrument in the Lord's hands. :) 

We had exchanges this week again in Pamplona with the Sister Training Leaders. Had exchanges with my batch, which was fun. A sister who came with/will go home at the same time as me. We were both able to reflect on our progress and all the things we have learned on the mission. Cool experience. :)

We also had zone conference this week where President and Sister Reeder plus the Assistants came and did a whole day training about the Priesthood! It was great! It was a fantastic discussion in which I learned much, and my testimony was most definitely strengthened about the great need for, blessing, and importance of the Priesthood power, and likewise worthy Priesthood holders, in our lives.

*Mom, you would be so proud. I played piano for the zone conference!! Yep. I was scared out of my mind, shaking ferociously, and all but it went okay. The first 3 verses at least went alright haha then I kind messed up, but I just kept pushin through and it all worked out. I would count that as a success though for my first time to ever play for people to actually sing! haha :) yay for chances to use our talents and be pushed outside our comfort zone! 

Love you all! Take care this week! :)

Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Roderick

Pics:

Rock on for being the only American sister in my zone for the past 6 months! :) 

and that's me scraping the inside of a coconut. I don't know what that's called in english. haha

I feeeeel good da na na na na na na na!

I knew that I would! 

YEP. All better. 

Meds kicked in, rested a day and back to work! Woo hoo. :) It feels so good to be back to my normal self again!

We are doing well this week. 

Working hard as always. and likewise seeing lots of progress. 

Still focusing on working with the fathers to help the families. Going well. 

Lots of members getting callings and becoming more truly active and converted to the gospel. :)

This week we are putting a special emphasize on finding families, with lots of great goals and plans to help with that. 

Already last night, we were able to find a new family, 9 kids, who were very receptive, lots of questions, and anxious to learn. Miracle! I love teaching families! Can't wait to go back to teach them again!

That's all for now folks. No more time. But love you and miss you all! Take care this week and keeping striving harder to not only LEARN the gospel but to APPLY it and LIVE it. The blessings will come. :)

Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Roderick

If Ye Believe These Things, See That Ye Do Them

And the growing just keeps on keepin' on, it's the best!

We have seen many challenge in our area this week but accompanying those many challenges, came many blessings and beautiful, little miracles.

I've struggled a lot on my mission to know exactly where to focus my efforts because the need is different in each area and sometimes when we try to focus on too many things at once, the end result is usually much less progress or improvement than if we had focused more on the center of the target and just attacked it with all we got..

Welp, last night we had the great opportunity to watch a Philippines Area Special Broadcast in which Elder Oaks, his wife, and other general authorities spoke to us...one of the main things that Elder Oaks discussed was those things here specifically in the Philippines in which we, as missionaries, and all need to be focusing our efforts...Obtaining more worthy, full-tithe paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders and centering our families on the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ-including praying, reading the scriptures (Book of Mormon and Bible), and attending church services, with special emphasis on partaking of the Sacrament, as a family.

THAT is EXACTLY what we have been working on here so diligently these past many months. It was such a blessing and relief for us to hear those words come from a living apostle of God, that we are helping in some way. shape, or form, to help build our Father in Heaven's kingdom on earth, in this time. 

That is still our focus here in Libmanan and in the whole Naga Mission and boy are we seeing change. :) Elder Oaks also mentioned how a true gospel culture means that we are WILLING to CHANGE.

In Mosiah 4:10 we read that "if you believe all these things see that ye do them."

 It is not just enough to believe, we must ACT. and Act Now. 

Saw one of our focus priesthood holders bless and brake the sacrament for us this week-with clean, white button-up shirt and all. It was a glorious sight. 

Found many members and new potential investigators this week, answer to our prayers.

Caught a jeepney last night (completely empty-never happens at night) on our way home from the broadcast in Pamplona!! M.i.r.a.c.l.e. 

Many wonderful things happening here. I know this is the Lord's work. I know He loves His children, that's US! I know He is here for us and will NEVER leave us. Choose the right. Turn to Him. and Do as He Did.

Mahal ko kayo. Happy Halloween! :)

-Sister Roderick

P.S. I have been trying to have a bit more fun on the mish (don't worry, nothing too crazy) to help my companion learn better, enjoy the work, not get so stressed (like me..), and of course for us to bond and become more united in our work...soooo late Friday night we decided to show a bit of how we really feel inside after a longgg, hard week and we became ZOMBIE SISTERS!..haha fun stuff. not usually my idea of a good time but ya know it turned out to be fun for us I think..also, it started raining while we took pics and videos..and being the smart me, I clicked the self-timer thing on the camera then ran to where she was..outside the front door...soaking wet from the rain..stepped right on that nice wet tile and biffed it..you bet, right in time for the camera to snap a pic of me sprawled on the ground! hahaha couldn't stop laughing bout that one for a while.

Have a great week, laugh more ah! :) It helps. 

Comfort Zone

There is no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone.

Aint that the truth.

We have a bajillion people to visit every week (with all the less-actives and investigators we already know) so it is not every day that we actually are teaching new people..welp this week was a bit different. We have been focusing on asking and contacting referrals to expand our teaching pool and to really find those people whom Heavenly Father is preparing to receive the gospel right now, sooo we met LOTS of new people this week. Definitely uncomfortable at times but every single time, we grow from it and it stretches us just a little more. Stretching sometimes hurts but boy is it worth it. 

I have really been trying to set myself aside and turn out towards others this week. I still sometimes see the natural man in me fighting selfishly to come out but whenever I fight back and serve others instead of myself, I am ALWAYS happier. At first sometimes we think, no I just want to do this, or not do that, or my way is better...well realistically we can learn SO much from others, we just need to humble ourselves a bit, FORGET OURSELVES and kick the pride to the curb. Boy is it hard. But the greater feelings of peace and love that we receive in return is far better than whatever we originally thought would make us happy..

Still learning lots. Never ceases to amaze me how much more I still need to learn and master in life but despite all my many weaknesses and challenges, the enabling power of the Atonement gives me hope for what lies ahead. 

"The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity." -Elder David A. Bednar

Take care Lovelies. 

Mahal ko kayo. :) 

-Sister Roderick

Sira, Sira, More Sira

To be honest, this week was a tough one. 

We seemed to be punted left and right, our investigators went out of town or got really sick unexpectedly, and more.

My good, expensive umbrella just decided to fall apart.

My black watch split in two.

I put off buying a new umbrella and watch with the hopes that I could still fix them but I ended up buying a new watch and umbrella...both of which broke after 1 day of using them...mannn. haha definitely been a week full of little trials that have caused me to stop, hold my tongue, put a smile on, and press forward ever trusting that God is here and knows what is going on. 

I have been studying a whole lot about faith this week. Something that is so simple and yet sometimes quite difficult to do. I have learned tons about my Savior Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven and their desire to help us, if we will just believe. Just desire to believe and they will bless us and help us along the path back to them.

Despite the many little challenges of this week, we were able to stay positive, push through, and keep working as hard as we could. 

Although we were unable to visit with those progressing investigators, we were able to see many miracles in different areas of the work..We had a coordination meeting finally again this week! (which we have been pushing for for a long time now) as well as got to meet with the branch president for a bit and discuss some things we need help with, as well as how we can better work with them. It was great! I am learning a ton about the importance of follow-up! :) Excited for the next few weeks to see the progress as we continue to work more closely with these leaders. 

Transfers are tomorrow. I will be staying another transfer here in Libmanan to finish the training of Sister Falcon, which will make a total of 6 months for me here :) 3 transfers left. Work, work, work and trust in Him that knows it all. Nothing else we can do. :) Smile. Press onward, ever onward. Never. Give. Up.

Mahal ko kayong lahat! Ingat!

-Sister Roderick

Come and See

What a spiritually, emotionally, and mentally rejuvenating week! :)

This week we had our trainer and new missionary workshop in Naga.

District Meeting all about personal revelation. (fantastic)

Interviews with President Reeder. (the 5 minutes I always greatly    anticipate every 3 months...such a wise man..love learning from him)

THEN GENERAL CONFERENCE! What an amazing week!

I love love love learning about my Savior, Jesus Christ and how to better live His gospel!

I pondered long and hard before conference and went with a couple questions in mind and heart that I was hoping and praying I would receive some guidance on throughout the conference...talk about ON POINT! I have such faith in my Father in Heaven and in His great plan for all of us. I couldn't get enough of what our different leaders were preaching! It was all so wonderful and I truly received answers to my questions and concerns. God DOES know all. Just trust in Him. 

One of my favorite talks was by Elder David A. Bednar (what a fantastic way to close conference)...

Some thoughts he shared that stood out to me:

"Devoted disciples of Jesus Christ always have been and always will be valiant missionaries. A missionary is a follower of Christ who testifies of Him as the Redeemer and proclaims the truths of His gospel...

We are inviting you to hear the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ so you can study, ponder, pray, and come to know for yourself if the things we are sharing with you are true...

Bring all that you know is true, good, and praiseworthy—and test our message. Just as Jesus beckoned two of His disciples to “come and see” (John 1:39), so we urge you to come and see if the restored gospel of Jesus Christ enlarges and enriches that which you already believe to be true...

Sharing with other people things that are most meaningful to us or have helped us is not unusual at all...

The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides the cleanser necessary to be made pure and clean, the soothing salve to heal spiritual wounds and remove guilt, and the protection that enables us to be faithful in times both good and bad...

The invitations we extend to you to learn about and test our message grow out of the positive effects the gospel of Jesus Christ has had in our lives. Sometimes we may be awkward or abrupt or even relentless in our attempts. Our simple desire is to share with you the truths that are of greatest worth to us..."

For the whole talk:

 (which you should all read, ponder, and apply to your lives!)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng

I know we have a living Father in Heaven and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I am so grateful for our church leaders in this day and age and especially for our living prophet, Thomas S. Monson through which we receive new revelation and guidance for our lives and our families. Study the words of the prophets new and old. Don't only study and 'enjoy' it, but go and LIVE it. 

Mahal ko kayo. Ingat kayo lagi!

-Sister Roderick

From Dark to Light

Hey hey hey! :) Update of the week from your favorite foreignay:  

Lots happening here in Libmanan. We are still focusing on our Priesthood holders and their families and that is going well..seeing some progress there. We are also doing a lot better in helping our investigators progress toward true conversion and baptism.  Our work is struggling a bit right now because of the little time we have to actually work, due to conferences, meetings, and trainings this past week and this coming week.. but we are doing the best we can to visit our people and help them continue on the right path. 

For the past few weeks we have been focusing on one potential future missionary less-active in our branch and his whole group of non-member friends...they have really been progressing and there is so much potential there! Saturday night they told us that they would be leaving the next day for work in Manila..that was hard to hear after the many weeks of sweat and struggle to help them change their lives around but after many prayers I felt more at peace and that God has a plan and knows what is going on. He is in control. Even though I still don't know what is going to happen, I feel better about all of it and have faith that it will all work out.

Miracle of the week for me, the following day after that sad news, at church in Pamplona, out of nowhere, in walked the Genorga family, the family that I taught back in Baao. They came that long way just to see me and go to church with me :) Wow. It was so unexpected but really was a blessing for me to feel and see the tender mercies of Heavenly Father in my life.

As far as training is going, we are doing really well. Sister Falcon is honestly learning at such a rapid pace, it is exciting to see her progression every day. She says she hasn't really felt homesick yet so that is always a plus. Sometimes I forget that she is still new and just start going "full-speed missionary" again and then she kindly reminds me that I need to slow down.. :) It is hard sometimes because I just want to go, go, go but she needs to take things slower at first so that she can really learn and get a good foundation for the rest of her mission. I am grateful for her patience with my imperfect self and I am excited to continue to see the progress of our area in the next coming weeks.

ALSO, in our various meetings and my studies and what not this week, there seemed to be a great focus on the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the importance of prophets..well Sister Falcon and I really tried to teach that better this week and man, I can't even explain the difference it made! As we explained better the pattern of dispensations and apostasy over the history of the world and then emphasized the great need for another restoration in these latter-days after the great apostasy, it just became so obviously clear and evident to those we taught of the truthfulness of what we were teaching. It was beautiful! :) God's plan is perfect! We have the fullness of the gospel today on the earth through the calling of prophets of God! how important it is for all of us to listen and heed the word of the prophets! :) Just in time for General Conference too. The gospel is the greatest. :) Can't wait to watch conference this weekend! 

Ingat kayong lahat! Mahal ko kayo!  -Sister Roderick

Here Comes the Boom!

Anyone seen that movie? Pretty sure I watched it with you fam..or Mel? I forgot, can't even remember what the movie was about but as I started typing this email, the theme song just started playing in my head...maybe it's a sign.

Here. Comes. The. BOOM.

Man, progress is fantastic. Blessings are beautiful. And miracles are everywhere.

This week has been a long, hard, amazing week of lesson after lesson and blessing after more and more blessings!

Sister Falcon and I have noticed so many wonderful miracles happening in our area right now. This area is just bursting with potential! :) 

I know Heavenly Father has a plan for every single one of us and is aware of what we need and when we need it. It is such a cool thing to be the instrument by which the Lord blesses others and delivers the gospel! 

I love being a missionary. :) 

 Love you all! Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

Strong Priesthood = Strong Families

Here in Libmanan, we focus on families, and especially on tatays.

Our vision for these next 2 transfers is helping priesthood holders, or potential priesthood holders, help their families come unto and stay founded on the teachings of Christ. So far, so good.

We have been working with one couple and their little son to help them get to the temple. Our branch had a temple trip last week and we were hoping and praying this family would be able to join..welp a week before, they told us that they just wouldn't be able to make it this time around but hopefully next year..Sis Lua and I were a bit crushed because we had been doing everything we could to help them prepare..well yesterday at church, the sister came up to me and whispered, "Sister, we were able to go to the temple." I was pretty certain I must have heard wrong. When I asked her what she had just said, she said again, with a big smile on her face, "We were able to go to the temple!" I was so happy, all I could do was smile real big and give her a hug! :) I later was able to talk to brother for a minute, (they are both very quiet, kind of shy, usually just keep to themselves people) and he looks at me with just pure joy shining on his face and says simply, "I suppose there is no greater, more beautiful place in all the world." True that.

So happy that our efforts are helping somewhere. :) So good to see them enter the temple and be sealed for all time and eternity. 1 family down, many many more to go.

My aki and I are doing just dandy. Sister Falcon is just go, go, go and its great! Very helpful. She seems to not really be struggling much with the culture adjustment at all so that's nice..now we just have to keep working on the language. She is really anxious to learn and to apply what she is learning. Very helpful :) Lots of good things happenin' here in Libmanan.

Lots more I could/wanna say but time is limited...ahhh ayos lang ill tell you all about everything over some yummy chicken bryan in a couple weeks. Love you all! Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

P.S. It rained and flooded a lot this week. Fun stuff workin' in the rain. :) 

Oh and here's my new comp. cute little peruvian.

Proud Mommy

Said goodbye to Sister Lua this week. I miss her.

Met my new kid this week. She's great. :) Meet Sister Claudia Falcon from Peru. Yup, Peru, wasn't expecting that one. She is from Peru but moved to California with her dad 7 years ago so she is fluent in Spanish, English, Portuguese, and is working on Tagalog. 

Big test for me, this one is. 2 foreigners with me as the trainer. Whoo. It's cool to see how much my Tagalog has improved though. We've made it together a week already so my Tagalog can't be that bad right? ha who knows. But yeah, that's whats going on.

She is 24 years old and has such a love for the gospel, it is amazing! Her love for Jesus Christ and his gospel radiates in everything she does. She is a great example to me. We are getting along really well and just doing our best to help others come unto Christ. I can feel this new, fantastic energy coming from our companionship. I know as we continue to rely on Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and follow the promptings of the spirit in all that we do, we will see tremendous miracles in our work here. 

Funny thing, since she is Hispanic, she fits right in with the dark skin, brown-eyed appearance of the Filipino people, so the people naturally try to talk to her first instead of me...well she doesn't understand them so I am the one who responds or translates for her which then totally takes the people off guard and it is hilarious. every. time. I don't know if that made sense. But I can only imagine how weird it is for a white American to be translating in Tagalog for someone they thought was Filipino.Yeah thats all.

Helaman 4:12-15  

Really hit me this week. We can do nothing if left to our own strength only. We must repent, put aside our pride and then we will be blessed. 

Love you all. Take care!

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

P.S. got my first email today about me going home....what on earth. its sneaking up on me! AH! run away!!!

It's a Girl!

Yep, you read that right. 

Transfer announcements were Saturday night and the zone leaders called to tell us that Sister Lua is transferred and that I will be training again.

2 kids in the mission. Man. Honestly, at first I was scared out of my mind because the first time didn't go so well BUT then I prayed about it, and have been really trying to study and enter this new companionship with positivity and hope for this time around. ha I am feeling pretty good about it now. 

I realized that the first time I trained, I did everything I could to make things right and it still was a very, very hard experience, which could likewise happen again, BUT the important thing for me is that I am doing all I can to make sure things work and of course to seek help from the Lord and to listen to the Spirit. Although I am still nervous, I am excited as well for this new opportunity to learn and to grow closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. Keep my new trainee and me in your prayers please. :) 3 more months here in Libmanan. Craziness. Some people move a ton in the mission and others, like myself, end up only having 3 or 4 areas their entire mission. After this training I will just have 2 more transfers left in my mission so I will most likely just have one more area. What. Time is ffffllllyyyiiinnnggg.

Sister Gemma was baptized on Saturday. She is kind of a quiet one so never usually asks questions or adds much comment to anything so we were a bit nervous for her time to share her testimony but it was beautiful! She was so cute and nervous standing up there in front of all of us but you could really feel the spirit as she spoke and explained how she has come to know that this church is true. I am happy for her. Now on to strengthening faith and enduring to the end. :)

The other night during daily planning, about 9:30 or so at night, Sister Lua and I are just sitting at our desks when all of a sudden my head starts swaying and I feel dizzy and think I might pass out. We both stop talking and are just staring at each other for a few seconds before we realized that we were both feeling the same thing and I wasn't going to pass out but rather we were experiencing an earthquake! Ha! It was the weirdest feeling! 

This morning, I got electricuted! I was getting out of the shower and went to turn off the light switch and it shocked me! Straight shock from the tip of my middle finger all the way to my elbow. That was early this morning and I still feel a ringing in my elbow. Freaky. Scared me pretty bad but no worries, I am still alive and well.

Inspiration for the week..Sister R, a blind sister in our branch here. She is easily one of the most positive, jolly people I have ever met. She is always just beyond happy to talk to you and to learn more about you. She has many kids and went blind a few years ago due to physical trauma to her head. She stood up in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and bore the sweetest, boldest testimony. She then proceeded to recite Helaman 5:12 (one of my favorite scriptures) from memory. You have to realize that after Sister was baptized many years ago, she went inactive and just recently returned to the church. This sister who cannot see, has her daughter read to her the scriptures in order to better understand the word of God and was thus able to memorize the scripture. Wow. Truly inspiring to me. She knows the those words are true. I too know the scriptures are true. So let's read them, study them, ponder them, take care of them, and use them as Heavenly Father would have us use them.

Keep on keepin' on. Talk to you all soon. Take care!

Mahal ko po kayo! :)

-Sister Roderick

One Year Agad!

This week I hit my 1 year mark. What. Feels kinda weird. I don't really like this whole time-flying-by-thing..it is freaking me out a bit.

It was a good week though.

After the many, many stressful weeks I finally was able to sit back for a few minutes this week, reflect on what has happened these past 3 months here in Libmanan and honestly, with relief, say to myself that progress has actually been made, and not just a little bit. It was a GREAT feeling! Still is. Even though there is still a long way to go, I am proud of this area, its leaders, and its members in putting forth greater effort to help the church grow and the members become more established here. One part to our Naga 'Rising to the Mission Vision' is to always leave our areas better than we found them. That has been one of my major goals here on my mission so far, that whatever I do, I do it with the betterment of this area in mind. Every area is different. Every area needs something else. But whatever they need, thats what I  give them so as to better HELP the area progress and not hinder the Lord's work from progressing. It has been really amazing to see the Lord's hand in every single one of my areas so far. When we, as missionaries (and members) strive to be exactly obedient, and seek for the Spirit to guide our work and our lives, we begin to do His work, how He wants it, when He wants it, and how He would have us do it..and in return are blessed as He has promised us. This is all about our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We must align our own will with theirs. It is great.

For my "one-year," Sister Lua and I roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for smores! Yum.

Today we went on a hike to some falls in Palong, Libmanan for our district activity. It was super fun and refreshing. District Activity= transfer time again. Crazy no? Saturday night we will find out who is staying here in Libmanan and who is leaving. I have no clue what is going to happen. ha so we will all be surprised. :)

Also, sister Gemma is getting baptized this week! Her husband was baptized many years ago and has since become inactive but is slowly coming back to church again and this weekend sister will be baptized! We are really excited for her! She's awesome.

Oh and this week, Sis Lua and I just had some enlightening or something, I'm not exactly sure what happened but we both gained this great amount of energy and motivation to really get our investigators to gain testimonies and to help them progress toward true conversion (remember we have been focusing almost all of our efforts on less-actives so not much has been happening with our investigators butttt now, things are getting rolling again and it feels so great!)

We have been much bolder this week. Loving of course, but bold and actually committing the people to do things. Just a few days of this and an progress is beautiful. More updates on that in the weeks to come.

Feeling good. :) Almost all sickness has left my body, I think, so we are both just go go go. :)

Had exchanges this week with Sister Andres. Remember her? My companion for 3 weeks in Baao ha That was fun. It was cool to see how we have both grown so much and man, every lesson was just so powerful! It is really cool when you get two kind of 'seasoned' missionaries who know more of what they are doing and don't really have much fear anymore together because you just rock and roll all day long. haha It was fun. 

Love you all. Talk to you next week!

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

Keep Smiling

Happy 14th Birthday to Jordan!

Perfect patience is really a tough thing to acquire.

This area requires a lot, and I mean, A LOT of patience. 

It is definitely not always easy, actually I would venture to say we have yet to do anything that was 'easy' here in Libmanan but I am happy to say that things are growing, things are progressing, and we are all coming closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I hope you are all doing well. This week there have been many times when I was so exhausted I couldn't even hold my own head up or the things coming out of people's mouths were so rude and not Christlike that I had to literally bite my tongue from not responding to them, and then other times where we saw some of those we teach doing those things which they should not have been doing. The natural man wants to get annoyed, angry, even lash out sometimes, but I have really been trying to step back, think clearly, count to 10, think of my Savior and what He would do, then press on with brighter hope and faith for the future. It certainly is not easy and I am still working on it every single day, but I know if we stand up straight, put a big ol' smile on our face, and press forward with faith, it will all work out and we will become better, stronger, and closer to our Savior through our diligence and perseverance.

Never give up. Never. 

Love you all. Keep smiling. :) BIG smiles. It makes life a lot happier, promise. 

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

P.S. It was Sister Lua's birthday this week so that was fun getting to celebrate a little bit with her. :)

A Sense of the Sacred

Hey fam and friends!

Another week come and gone.

Hope you are all doing well and staying healthy and strong. :)

This week.

Hmm. Still not over this sickness. My throat is still sore and I'm just dragging a bit but I feel it leaving..sana. So this week I am praying that we will get ALL better and be able to kick some serious rump this week to get this area going again. 

The past several weeks we have spent finding the members/less actives right? Well now that we have found just about all of them, we are hoping that this week we will be able to just go, go, go and teach, teach, teach. YES. I miss a more of a normalish schedule of teaching. :)

Friday this week we had our Zone Conference. :) So President Reeder and his 2 assistants came down to Pamplona and we had hours of fantastic instruction and learning. I love it. 

President had us all read the talk "A Sense of the Sacred," by Elder D. Todd Christofferson before the conference then Friday we went through it and had a great discussion about those things which we hold sacred. 

I learned a ton and really gained greater reverence for those things in life that are truly sacred, or at least should be.

I think everyone should read that talk and re-evaluate how we treat different things in our life. 

Ask yourself, what do you consider 'sacred' in your life? Why is it sacred to you? How do you act, or what do you do, to express your reverence and respect for that thing, place, person? 

There are so many distractions in the world that we sometimes lose our sense of sacredness. If we truly understand the gospel, those things that God has blessed us with in this life, our families, the prophets, the scriptures, our bodies, the temple, etc..we will re think how we talk and act about such things. Read the talk. Ponder it. Apply it to your life and together let's bring back that proper sense of sacredness that has so often been lost due to the distractions of the world. 

Love and miss you all. Stay strong. Read your scriptures every day. :) Take care!

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

Up Down Up Down Up?

Time is ticking down...yikes!

10 things of my week.

1. Zone training on Thursday. Always great. Love hearing from my mission leaders and seeing the other missionaries. Weird to me that I am not one of the 'old' missionaries in the mission. Huh? When did that happen?

2. Sometimes it just hits me that I am in  the Philippines, speaking Tagalog. Think about it, crazy right? It hit me the other day mid-sentence when my companion (whom I love dearly and will miss when transfers come around) and I were talking in straight Tagalog. I am still far from being fluent but finally I feel like I can understand and communicate decently! Yes! Just upward from here.

3. We're sick. yucks. 5 of the 6 missionaries in my district have the same sickness- cold, cough, congestion, fever bleh. Work was slow this week.

4. Someone broke into our church building this week and stole our computer...uh oh. Not sure how that happened and what we are going to do about it but yeah, not good.

5. Attended another funeral.

6. 3 service projects. I am getting pretty darn good at using a machete to do just about anything yardwork-y. Dad, you gotta get one. Plus I am so tan! People keep telling me I am turning Filipina now ha YES! :)

7. You know how we have been searching for all the 'lost sheep?' or the members that no one knows anymore. Welp we walked for about 2 hours out in the middle of nowhere bukid or rice fields to find this guy. His brother is a member that we visit here close to town and who just happened to be out working way far out in the bukid when we showed up..i wish i could have had my camera ready. Tatay's face was priceless! He is working up on the roof of their farm house when he sees us walk up and his eyes get HUGE and mouth drops. hah he goes "why are you here? how did you get here? what? what?" hahaha funnier in Tagalog. Anywho, he was so shocked that we went all the way out there. Then when we asked him where his brother (the less active) was he simply pointed to a guy sitting close by and we all started busting up laughing. Yup. The crazy sister missionaries that walk and search all over just for you. We gon' find you. No empty seats. :)

8. Had a meeting with our branch mission leader yesterday. Apparently some of the members aren't too happy with our work. Not sure why. It was discouraging for a bit then we realized we are working dang hard and there should be no room for complaining so we just put on a big smile and are gonna work harder.

9. Passed our cleaning check this morning. :) That's good. A clean home really is a happy home.

10. I have started reading the book, Jesus the Christ, this week and it is phenomenal. I am at this point where I never want to stop reading the scriptures and other like books. I love increasing my knowledge of the gospel and having my faith and testimony grow. Although I still have a long way to go, I can feel the conversion happening in me. Change is always present. I am  continually striving to be more like my Savior everyday and to follow his example. I challenge all of you to reassess your life and think of what you spend your time doing. You have 24 hours in 1 day. Do you spend your time wisely? Are you using your time  to learn, grow, and come closer to our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ? Try it and you will gain much greater joy and motivation in your life when you strive harder to center your life on Him and to do all things with a desire to become more like Him.

Love you all. Mahal ko kayo! Take care! :)

-Sister Roderick

Success is in the Air. : )

Week full of finding, cleaning, and getting our act together...

Exhausted as always but the good exhausted where you know you have gotten so much done that you can fall into bed and sleep a nice, long, good, peaceful sleep.

We have sort of become the clerks of this Libmanan Branch this week. More responsibilities but at least someone's getting work done. 

Keep the faith! Never give up. Obey with exactness and the blessings WILL come. Not always immediately, but I promise they will come. 

Not much more to say. I think this is a record for the shortest email of mine..ever. 

I do love you all and miss you much.

Take care and enjoy your week! Go do some service and help others come unto Christ!

Mahal ko po kayo!  

-Sister Roderick

P.S. My dream came true the other day when I got to hold baby pigs!!!! 2 days old! I was loving it! I have pictures but cant upload them. You will see them eventually! :)

Faith Conquers All

My planner is just about empty. If you know me, that is not good. I need plans! My brain doesn't think too well without a good plan. hah Our schedule is still full of community service projects just about everyday so the scheduling has kind of gone down hill. That is A-okay though! This week we are hoping to get back into more of a normal(ish) routine and start teaching lessons again! I sure hope at least!

Transfer announcements were Saturday night. (where does the time go?) Sister Lua and I will be staying here together in Libmanan! We were pretty certain that she would be transferring but she's not so that's good! I am happy. We still get along really well, my Tagalog is improving dramatically, and we have some really awesome goals and plans for our area this transfer...STAY TUNED for future success. :)

Our strength (and weakness) right now is the number of less active members here in Libmanan Branch. Weakness because there are so many of them! Strength because we are helping them all come back to church! :) 

Last week we had 22 less actives attend church. That, my friends, is a miracle. Many people have asked us what we are doing to bring them back to church..I have been saying, "well we visit them!" Kind of 'duh' statement but its true! We have to visit our members, uplift them, and help them return! But yesterday I realized another crucial part in order to have success, not only in the church, but in anything...we must have FAITH. Faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in ourselves. and Faith in others. I think so many people lose faith in others, therefore resulting in a stagnant area, no progression. When we have faith in others, they will see that. They will feel your love for them and eventually they will change. What a lesson I learned. Faith and love for others will change lives. Amazing.

In other news, this week I ate chopped up lamb intestines. Yup. That's one for the books. (and I didn't throw up!)

I love you and miss you all! Take care! :)

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

Buhay Pa

Don't worry all, I am still alive and well! 

Last Monday we received news that a typhoon was heading right our way, here in the Bicol region of the Philippines. We were instructed to head to the church for shelter early Tuesday morning to wait out the storm.

Tuesday we did as told and took some clothes, food, and other supplies to the church with us. You could literally feel the difference in the air. Rather foreboding really. Around lunch time it started pouring rain with strong winds. Little by little other families came and joined us at the church until we had more 6 or so families gathered in the church. We all made dinner together (canned foods and ramen! whoop whoop!) hah Everyone took a room and set up for the night. The storm really hit around 7 or so at night. It sounded like we were inside a tornado (granted I have never been inside a tornado, but that's what I imagined it would sound like, if ever I were inside one ha). I was fairly certain the roof of the church was just about to fly off. Scary. Many prayers were said that night. We tried to rest for a little bit but to no avail due to the heat and noise. Around 1 in the morning the water started entering the church so we all picked up and moved into the big sacrament hall to set up camp again. A few restless hours later, the winds died down enough that we were able to go outside. Trees everywhere...no longer standing but uprooted and thrown across the ground. Crazy. Luckily not much damage was done to the church and we were all safe. :)

This week we have spent every waking hour serving others, cleaning up debris, and rebuilding houses. Our area was hit pretty bad and almost every house was damaged. Many were completely destroyed and these poor people are having to start over from the ground up. Hopefully we will be able to get back into a regular schedule again real soon (including sleep! 9 days now with barely any sleep. its rough) 

Anyways. We are safe and doing well. Its amazing how positive these people are. Smiles are still present on everyone's face despite the craziness that currently surrounds us. Keep the faith. No matter what physical or spiritual whirlwinds come your way, build your foundation on Jesus Christ and we will always make it through. :) Take care all! Love you!

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick

Let's Get This Work Started

Holy smokes. I am tired. Many headaches, stomachs, and restless nights this week as we have worked so dang hard to get things started here in Libmanan. Although rather difficult to get things rolling here, our hard work is paying off as we were able to get a lot accomplished this week and I am starting to smell the amoy of progress heading this way.

Yesterday at church we had 17 less-actives attend along with 3 investigators. I guess you could say I was a bit happy.

Yesterday afternoon, us missionaries put on a fireside to get these members pumped up to share the gospel. (it was actually supposed to be Saturday but a solid 0 people showed up...including our branch presidency and other leaders) Kind of hard to help motivate the members, if there are no members in attendance to motivate...SO they moved it to after church so that hopefully more people would attend. It still was not the best showing of people I have ever seen but at least people came this time. Each of the 3 companionships of missionaries in our Branch took a topic and shared a short 20-minute part to the members. For our part, we talked about our calling as members and as disciples of Jesus Christ, to uplift and help others. We brought a bunch of balloons and had 2 of our elders try to keep the balloons in the air at the same time without letting any fall or touch the  ground. As they balanced them and tried to keep them all in the air, we continued to add more and more until eventually they lost control of all but 2 balloons. We explained that the balloons represent members. If just the missionaries visit the members and try to uplift them or to help them stay active, little success will come...then we had all the members stand and help uplift the balloons or the "members." Obviously it was much easier and none fell. The point was that if we all fulfill our calling to uplift our brothers and sisters, it is much easier, and even satisfying and joyful. We must all work together and do our part to uplift one another and to become stronger.

After the fireside we all split up and went out to visit some of the less-active families in our Branch. It turned out to be a really good, rewarding experience. The work is progressing here. Slowly but surely. 

Oh also, a typhoon is coming our way tomorrow. We have been instructed to prepare our things and head to the church to wait out the storm so please keep us in your prayers. Thank you. Love you!

Love you all! Take care always!

-Sister Roderick

The Time is Far Spent, There is Little Remaining

Hey fam and friends!

Sending my love to all! Hope you are healthy, happy, and well! 

The work goes on. This week we finally were able to obtain records for our area and after many hours, we were able to get things more organized. Love me some good cleaning and organizing. Exhausting in the moment but well worth it later on. 

This week I studied about the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He is 'the way, the truth, and the light,' and that 'no man entereth into the kingdom of God, except through Him.' I know that He will come again to the earth and that we MUST be ready! 

Here is one scripture I read this week that really stuck out to me, 2 Nephi 26:24-

 24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

Everything He did and continues to do is for our benefit, because He loves us. He loves us so much that He was willing to suffer and die for us. What then do we do to show our love for Him? If EVERYTHING He does is out of love for us, and He is our perfect example, then should not everything we do be out of love for Him? We must exercise our faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ, repent, turn from the distractions of the world, and be obedient to all the commandments of our Father in Heaven.

President Gordon B. Hinckley once said "Eternal life will come only as men and women are taught with such effectiveness that they change and discipline their lives. They cannot be coerced into righteousness or into heaven. They must be led, and they means teaching."

As a missionary, this is my purpose, to teach others the gospel effectively so that they will change their own lives, repent, and come unto Jesus Christ. Have you been changed by the grace of Jesus Christ? Do you think, speak, and act as Christ would have you think, speak, and act? It is up to us whether or not we will be clean and ready for Christ's Second Coming. Don't let the time just keep passing by. Make the appropriate changes now to align your life and your will with that of our Father in Heaven and His son, Jesus Christ.

Love you all, take care always! Keep smiling!

Mahal ko po kayo!

-Sister Roderick