5 Months tomorrow...

Hello my lovely friends and family! What a week it has been! Lots of good news and lots of blessings! Tomorrow is my 5 month mark and I absolutely can't believe it's been that long. What the even heck.

So Rosalio's baptism is back on! This Saturday! I'm so excited for him! He's so excited! He passed his interview on Saturday and we're off! :D

On Tuesday we went on exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders and I went with Sister Lapuz in our area. It was so much fun and I learned SO much!

Thursday we had Zone Conference in Sorsogon with Elder Haynie of the Quorum of the Seventy. It was an incredible meeting. We learned a lot about prayer and about Enoch (whom I love) and about our purpose to find those who have been prepared. The Spirit was so strong! Elder Haynie kept calling on me to answer questions and to read scriptures and stuff and it was just such a cool experience to be edified by the Spirit like that. You learn so much more when you're involved and ask and answer questions.

We have the BEST investigators right now. Erwin is my favorite (am i allowed to have a favorite?) and he's so sweet and so genuine. We tracted him and he's one of those people that were just completely prepared by God. He reads the Book of Mormon and asks questions and is just a golden investigator, talaga. i'm so blessed to be here. I really hope I get to see him be baptized.

A cool thing that happened yesterday: So after church we get on a Padjack to head back home, I tell the driver "project" because that's where we live. so he goes the wrong way and I'm like "where is this dude going?" and we're right by one of our investigators houses. Sister Routhier is like "let's just go visit the Molina Family because we're right here anyway" I was hungry and wanted to just go home, but I decided to listen to her.  So we get there and it's just Sister Molina. We teach her a really great lesson and she's so happy we came. I just all of a sudden get a prompting to ask her if there is anything we can do to help her. She hasn't been able to come to church because she's needed to work. There family is struggling a lot right now financially. So we just offered to help with laundry or anything. I could tell she didn't want to say yes because she's a very independent woman, but she accepted and I'm super excited to be able to help her! Hopefully we'll ease her work load so she can come to church. I love her a lot.

So yes. It's been a great week and I'm excited for the upcoming week! I love being a missionary! I love you all so much! have a great week!

Sister Wilkins

Re: Week 21 Pictures

1. We had Ice cream last night. It melted in like two seconds.

2. I seriously love these sisters so much.

Week 21

Hello all! I can't believe it's already Monday. Time is just going faster and faster. I can't even handle it.

So at the beginning of this week, we found out that our Baptism couldn't happen. Rosalio's mother who is a less active member in Irosin decided she didn't want him to be baptized. So that happened. My heart is broken. But we've been praying that she'll soften her heart. Next fast sunday man...

So that happened and we were rather discouraged. We technically don't have to tract because we have so many investigators, but we decided that we need to get some new investigators and tract. We found Erwin last week and he's crazy progressing! I'm so excited for him! When he prays it's so meaningful and sincere. We found CJ this last Saturday and he's so interested. The Lord definitely blesses you and makes up for any losses. Plus it was really hard for me at first to tract because I've never had to lead before, but I've got it down man! We've been talking to everyone! It's the spirit of missionary work and I can't get enough of it! People reject us and some let us in, but whatever the result, I love sharing the Gospel and I love opening my mouth and just telling people how it's blessed my life!

We had lots of crazy Spiritual experiences with teaching members and less actives this week. The Spirit is so strong in every lesson. That's been a goal of Sister Routhier and I, to not focus on the numbers or how many lessons we teach, but to focus on the quality. I've found deeper meaning in my purpose and a greater love for the work because of this. I finally feel like I'm doing what would please my Father in Heaven and that's all I really want anyway. I love being a missionary!

Today we had a choir practice because my zone will be singing at our Mission Tour Zone Conference on Thursday. Elder Haynie of the 70 will be there. I'm so excited! We're singing I Need Thee Every Hour/ Kailangan Ko Kayo meaning that it's mixed English and Tagalog. So pretty. I love my zone! I love my life.

So basically that's it. It's been a super busy week full of blessings! I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Ingat!

Sister Wilkins

Week 21 Pictures

1. We broke that. They make furniture for tiny Filipinos... haha

2. Buong Bulan Zone Sisters!

Re: Pictures Week 20

1. More boodle fight

2. Sister Routhier's first FHE with the Tanada family. They're legendary.

Week 20? wut.

HELLOOOOO! Magandang Buhay! Talaga...

So this week was another crazy, stressful, blissful, incredible week being a missionary. Have I mentioned yet that I love it? Maybe just like once or twice.. haha

So last P Day we went to the house of the other sister's recent convert and had a "boodle fight" which is pretty much you eat food off of a banana leaf with your hands until you literally are unable to eat more. It was great. I seriously love how I'm just starting to get the hang of the language. Like, I can make conversation and have a good time, despite the language barrier.

I'm so blessed to have Sister Routhier. Talaga. She's a gem and she's WAY better at everything than I was when I entered the field. We have been working our tails off with PLANNING. Haha this week has been ridiculous because when Sister Tarantan and I opened our other area, we didn't open it correctly and there are so many investigators that just never were taught after the other missionaries got pulled out. So we sat down and planned and figured things out and the next weeks and months are going to be incredible. We're gonna get to work and change people's lives. We're gonna leave this place better than we found it. I'm so excited!

So this week we had zone training and that was fun! I love that I can actually understand all of the counsel they give us now! haha Tagalog, man. I love it.

This Saturday we have the baptism of Rosalio and I'm beyond excited! He's so ready! We have been working a lot with one of our investigators named Gloria. She's Catholic, about 60 years old, her husband passed away about a year ago, and she always rejects our baptismal date. i was feeling like we just needed to drop her, but then we had a lesson with her and very clearly, the Spirit told me to keep visiting her. We're trying to get her to come to church now. She reads all of the assignments. When I first met her, she said she thought we were angels. She's thanked us openly for being her guides and for helping her. I love her so much. It's just hard to get people to actually do things sometimes. haha. But I'm grateful to be able to help her.

Anyways, love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Wilkins

Pictures Week 20

1. Boodle fight!

2. Self timer action, man.