Sister Julia Harrison

Kamusta y'all!     So we had another transfer day, but I'm still in Caliguian! And I have my second non-Filipino companion. Sister Su'a is from Samoa, and she's super awesome. And it's been weird to be the missionary who's more familiar with the area, because that hasn't happened since my first area. But I'm so happy that I get to be in Caliguian for more than one cycle because I love it here:)     This week I got to speak in sacrament meeting, and I decided to talk about charity. In both the Bible and Book of Mormon, prophets teach about the importance of having charity, and describe the characteristics of charity. In Moroni 7:47 Mormon ultimately defines charity as "the pure love of Christ." And of course Christ is our perfect example of charity. This is clear as we learn about his life, particularly his sufferings. Using "Come, Follow Me" this week we studied the trial and crucifixion of the Savior. Through His suf...

Kamusta y'all!      I feel like I'm always saying this, but time is just flying by. Transfer day is on Wednesday, which means I've been in Caliguian with Sister Abellana for six weeks. Though it feels like almost yesterday. This past week was our zone conference. It was President and Sister Hiatt's last zone conference because we'll be getting a new mission president in July. During the conference we watched a short video called "By Small and Simple Means" which was about how the Church started off so small, and how it has become something so much greater than anyone could have anticipated.      I've been able to see that growth, the hastening of the work, a lot as a missionary in the Philippines. This last week I got to attend a chapel dedication for another area in our zone. It was such a great testimony of the faithfulness of the members in that area. Some members make such great sacrifices for so long just to be able to attend chur...

Kamusta y'all!      This week I've been thinking a lot about Heavenly Father's plan for us, and about the wonderful hope we can have because of Christ's Atonement. There have been several deaths in Caliguian this past week. And Sister Abellana and I got to participate at several different services. For nine days there are big tents set up in front of the deceased's home. People gather there to show respect, support, and celebrate. Then on the last day there's a service in their respective church, and then a funeral procession to the cemetery. In a little town like this, pretty much everyone is related somehow. So there were a lot of people gathered together for the burial.       It's interesting to reflect at times like these. There are so many people who don't really know what will happen after this life. People lose their loved ones, and don't have the reassurance that they'll see them again. I know that because of Christ's...

Kamusta y'all!    So we had a couple adventures this week, but overall it was pretty great. On Wednesday we got to go on exchanges and I was with Sister Barnett! It was the day before our 1 year mark, so it was fun to be companions again for a day.      Brother and Sister Emiliano were baptized on Saturday! But we were afraid they almost wouldn't be. We got back from our exchanges, and they weren't home on Thursday. We tried again on Friday but they still weren't there, and their niece told us they'd gone on vacation... They don't have a phone so we couldn't call them to make sure they'd be back by 9am Saturday. So we just did a lot of praying, and a member volunteer to check on them Saturday morning. They managed to get home early Saturday and were still early to their baptism. (Which is super impressive considering Filipino Standard Time and everything :)        And honestly they've just such a joy to teach. In every les...