Unang cycle
Kamusta y'all!
5. Zone conference
I only have a few days left, and I'll
have finished my first cycle here in the Philippines Cauayan mission.
And what an adventure it's been! No two days are ever quite the same.
This week we went to Cauayan city for a training for new missionaries
and their trainers. It's crazy to think that this week I will no longer
be one of the newest missionaries here. We were really fortunate to get a
ride to Cauayan city with some members who have a van. It was great
because it was faster, more comfortable, and a lot cheaper! Honestly the
members in our ward are so generous and willing to help us in any way
they can.
Speaking of members, members who help with
missionary work are just the best. But not just because they make things
easier for us. Sister Tampus and I can walk around talking to people
all day -which we do- and we can find people who listen to us, and
sometimes they're willing to learn more. But the people who are the most
prepared and willing are those that have family or friends involved and
supporting them. Of the people we're teaching that are really
progressing, all of them have family or friends who are members. When
they have someone looking out for and supporting them more than just the
missionaries, they have a greater interest and desire. And when we do
missionary work we are blessed with joy! We had a brother bring his
neighbor to church yesterday, and he was so excited to introduce him to
us and to explain things to him. The smile on his face was so brilliant,
and his excitement was contagious. Regardless of how people respond,
our efforts to help others experience the blessings of the gospel will
always be rewarded. The church here really is growing so quickly. Our goal as a mission is
for each companionship to have a baptism every week, which isn't too
unrealistic, though we're not quite at that level. The church buildings
in this area are definitely some of the nicest buildings around. It's
kinda weird because they all have big fences with a padlocked gate
enclosing the building and basketball court. Our building is unique of
the ones I've seen so far (4 total), because it has two floors. The
chapel is upstairs with a few classrooms, and the rest of the rooms are
on the main floor. The only room with air-conditioning is the clerks'
office, and the rest just have ceiling fans. One thing that really
stands out about the churches is that they're so white. The walls and
floors are all just white, and it's really like stepping into another
world when we enter the building.
Sister Tampus and I work with the Diffun ward which includes Diffun
and several barangays that are more spread out. Our building is close to
our apartment, and our ward is the only one that meets there. I know
there are some branches in other areas, and in Santiago (in our
district/stake) they have 2 wards and a branch meeting in their building
with two sets of missionaries serving in the city. Our ward is pretty
well organized, but it's definitely different from the US. The stake
president is in our ward and we have dinner at his house every week
which is pretty great. Our ward does have a rough time with
less/inactive members. The other day I think someone said there are
100ish active members and 300ish less active. So we've been visiting
some of those. Visiting less actives is one way we find people to teach
because they often have family/children who haven't been baptized.
It has not been cooling off here, and I won't be experiencing any
fall...or winter. It's just hot all the time, but it's bearable. I can't
imagine what the hottest months would be like though! I am not pumped.
But the humidity literally isn't a thing anymore. I can't remember what
it feels like for the air to be dry, this is just what air is like.
I hope y'all got the chance to learn
something awesome from General Conference. I won't see it until this
weekend, because if we watched it when it's actually happening it would
be the middle of the night... So I've gotten a couple general conference spoilers, which is all good.
I found out about the sacrament schedule change at church because some
of the members had already seen it. So that's crazy. Also President
Hiatt said in his email that 12 new temples were announced, including
another one in the Philippines which is so awesome! I am so excited for the opportunity to
hear from the Lord through His living prophet. What with general
conference and a baptism this weekend, we've got a lot to prepare for.
So stay tuned! :)
Ingat y'all!
Sister Harrison
1. Just your typical missionaries :)
2. Yeah, there's a lot of rice here
3. Drinking from a mini-coconut "masarap!"
4. Our beautiful chapel5. Zone conference
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