Week 37 Photos

1. After the Storm

2. Cagsawa!

3. yes.

Maligayang Pasko!

Maligayang Pasko! Wow! I can't believe Christmas is on Friday! that went by fast. This was a great week! It went by so fast but like it seems so long ago we got evacuated..

Yes, I did in fact survive the Typhoon. We ended up being evacuated to the Daraga Sisters' apartment instead of the chapel (thank goodness, because a million members were at the chapel). We pretty much just hung out in the dark because no electricity or water. It was great! And let's just say Sister Delgado is super fun to be around when she's bored (she's crazy. in a good way.) haha :) We had a headstand competition (I won) and filmed creepy videos of each other that you can all see after the mish. haha... we're insane.

I was able to skype the fam on Tuesday after we didn't die so that was an AMAZING early Christmas present! Two skyping sessions. I loved talking to you guys! After that blessed event, we literally ran to a jeepney and then ran to a tricie to get to the mission home to say goodbye to the departing batch of missionaries and to give them stuff to take home for me.It was great. Then Sister Guanzon let us charge our phone and take a shower in the mission home because no water or power there... haha. But it was the first hot shower I have had on my whole mission and it was glorious. Definitely worthy of being in the weekly email. I will never take it for granted again.

So the Typhoon actually happened right when transfers were supposed to happen so everything has been crazy. On Wednesday all of the new missionaries were coming in so we had to be in a trio in the morning and a different trio in the evening to make sure no one was alone. We got to eat lunch with our senior couple the Mulligans and I absolutely love them. We speak in British accents to them and they love us. Elder Mulligan told me that my British accent is really good. I'd like to thank Jim Dale and J.K. Rowling for that. We didn't have transfer point until Thursday and neither of us are being transferred but we went because we had to take our trio member and also Sister Delgado is the new STL so she had to be trained. This means lots of exchanges with the trainee of the other STL for me! She's a visa waiter going to Salt Lake City East mission so I will teach her English. I'm excited!

On Friday we had our ward Christmas party. I. Love. Legazpi. Ward. There was dancing and games and singing and food. Filipino food is the best, guys. Bicol Express. Mmm. Hopefully I'll be able to cook for y'all when I get home. Saturday we finally got to have a district meeting and also we got to witness a baptism for the other sisters. It was such a spiritual experience. So good.

Sunday was the best. Fred came to church for the third time in a row and he's got just one left before he can be baptized. He showed up wearing pajama bottoms and Sister Delgado and I are just laughing. He's just a sweetheart and he's definitely one of the elect that the Lord has been preparing. That night we had the best lesson in my whole mission. President and Sister Guanzon came with us to Fred's house and his brother and his family were there as well as his sister in law Iza and her son, Ichigo, who has been hiding every time we go there. Basically President bore an absolutely incredible testimony and the Spirit was SO strong. Ichigo was asking questions. Fred's brother's whole family were just staring in awe at president, even the little boys. They said after "we'll be at church on Sunday!" It was amazing. I wish President could come to every lesson. I'm very excited about this new family but they live in another sisters' area in Daraga so we won't be able to be their missionaries but still... It was amazing.

This morning we went to Cagsawa, a ruin by Mount Mayon. It's this catholic church that got ruined in a volcano eruption 200 years ago. It was so beautiful there. We made friends with some French tourists and this random guy took some cool forced perspective pictures for us. Life's good. 

I'm so excited for the coming week! We've got lots of stuff happening and it's going to be a very merry Christmas indeed. I love you all and I hope you have a great Christmas! See y'all on Skype!

Love,

Sister Wilkins

Pictures Week 36

1. We decorated for Christmas!

2. The shirt was a gift.. haha I made the tree! Excited for Christmas! :D

Pasko na

Hello people! How is life?

This week has been insane. I'm emailing way early today because we've got a signal 4 typhoon coming our way and we're being evacuated to the chapel in like 2 hours.It's Typhoon Nina and I just keep singing that Ed Sheeran song.. But don't worry, I'm alive and I will continue to be alive. We just get to have a massive sleepover. with like the whole mission. Christmas Con Part II... haha.

So we taught a really great lesson to our investigator Joanne and then we get outside to find that her dog has stolen one of my shoes. yeah ok. that's cool. So once again, I went home wearing someone else's shoes and holding one in my hand. I have bad luck, I'm telling ya.

We got to hang out at the mission home putting together Christmas packages for all of the missionaries and it was so fun! The Guanzon's daugher Princess loves me and we sang Do You Want to Build a Snowman together. She is the cutest. We kept trying to bribe the office elders to tell us about the transfer plans but they wouldn't cave. But....

Transfer Announcement came on Saturday and I'm staying in Legazpi with Sister Delgado for Christmas! It's gonna be a pretty good Christmas away from home. There's gonna be two new missionaries in our room so we had to squeeze another bunk bed in there and its rather cozy.

Fred came to church again on Sunday and he said to President Guanzon earlier this week "3 more sundays until I can be baptized". He's really excited! I'm so excited for him! He also went to the mission home and told president that he doesn't want either of us to be transferred. hah. I love him. He's a sweetheart.

We watched the Christmas Devotional last night and of course I cried. It was all of my favorites speaking. The Spirit was so strong. I'm so excited to be a missionary here during Christmas time. Also I want you all to youtube the song "Thank You For the Love/ Salamat sa Pag-ibig" It's THEE Christmas song of the Philippines this year and it's so beautiful. It's always stuck in my head. I love it.

Even though we're gonna be evacuated, I'm actually really excited to experience Typhoon Nina. That sounds horrible, but hey. You only mission once, di ba? I've never been in a natural disaster before so this'll be cool. I just hope no one dies. I'm just excited to be able to get out there and be a Mormon Helping Hands after. I just wanna help people. Spiritually and physically. Plus I'm excited to get some serious scripture study done while we're evacuated. It's not all bad, eh?

I love you all and I hope you have a great week! Sorry this email is scatterbrained, I've got a lot going on at the moment.. haha. I love you!

Merry Christmas!

Sister Wilkins

Week 35 Pictures

Lignon Hill

Week 35 Pictures

1. Christmas Con red lipstick

2. and the Uke

3. Fred and Iza at church!

4. The office elders love us

His hand is stretched out still

Hello from your favorite Sister Missionary :D It has been quite a week. Like crazy.

On Monday night we (being the Legazpi sisters) got to set up the stage and everything for Christmas Conference on Tuesday. I was real glad I spent so much time decorating our house with paper snowflakes last year because my skills were definitely utilized. It was a way fun night.

Tuesday was Christmas Conference! It was SO MUCH FUN! I got to see Sister Routhier and everyone I missed from Bulan – and everywhere else in the mission too because it was a mission wide conference. It was Sister Routhier's birthday and I gave her a calendar that I hand made with all of these hand drawn quotes in it and she cried. Isn't it the best when you get someone a gift and they love it so much they cry? Yeah, that was great.  Our presentation went really well (I'll try to send the video if I can, it's pretty great) except the microphone died and everyone cracked up. We even won an award. But everyone else did too so yeah.

Some of the Bulan Sisters had to sleep over at our apartment because they missed the last bus to Bulan. So our house is filled with people and we're all passed out. At 2 AM we get a call from the AP telling us to come open the door because there's another sister who needed to sleep over. She got some medical problems and had to be sent to the MRC. That was crazy and I got like zero sleep. Then that night we went on splits. We had planned to meet at a certain spot and curfew comes and goes and Sister Delgado is nowhere to be found. I'm sorta freaking out at this point thinking something has happened. I was with Herlinda (she helps out at the mission home) and I didn't have a phone and hers was dead. So we decide to go to the Mission home to see if they're there, and sure enough. President Guanzon was just like what happened? And I was all good question. But he actually was very nice and understanding about it. Nothing like showing up at the mission home past curfew without your companion. Haha

On Thursday we taught our investigator Joanne and IT WAS INCREDIBLE. Oh my heavens I can't even get over it. The lesson was pretty long and I was feeling like it wasn't even done. I was feeling like there was something more she needed to tell us. So, I kept asking questions not really knowing where I was going with things, just following the Spirit, when she finally breaks down and tells us this story. When she was 15 years old, she was kidnapped by her friends' dad. He put her to sleep and tattooed his last name on her back all big and bold. She is so traumatized from the experience. As she's telling us this, Sister Delgado and I are absolutely sobbing. She was asking us if her body is still a temple. I've never in my life felt so strongly God's love for one of His children. I had never before felt so much conviction in saying that the Lord and His Gospel can heal all wounds – physical and spiritual. I want you to know, whoever is reading this, that you are loved. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for you specifically so that He whould know how to help you overcome the challenges and trials in your life. He knows. As real and as scary as anything in your life is right now, He knows. He is the only one that can fully understand and that can fully help you. So, turn to Him and let Him help you. His hand is stretched you, you just have to take it. I testify that no matter what you've done in your life or whatever has happened to you, The Savior can heal you. You just have to let Him. So act. Go to church, read your scriptures, pray. Do the simple things everyday to draw just a little bit closer to Him everyday and I can promise it will change your life. After all, faith without works is dead, right?

Saturday was one year since I opened my mission call. I can't believe that was a whole year ago. It's been the best year of my whole life. Lots of growing up, lots of changing, but I've never been so happy or felt so close to the Lord.

On Sunday our investigator Fred came to church and he really wants to be baptized! I'm so excited for him! Today we had our Zone Activity at Lignon Hill and it was way fun. Life in Legazpi is crazy, there's not one uneventful day. Saturday is transfer announcement and I can't belive it's already here. I'm just praying I get to stay in Legazpi with Sister Delgado for Christmas but I know whatever happens, it'll be great.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Wilkins