Week 38 - Salve and Marian's Baptism

Hey guys! 

It's been another great crazy week of missionary work! I'm telling you the time here just flies because you are so busy all the time but it's fun and I wouldn't change it for anything :) This week we found 12 new investigators and had 10 investigators attend church yesterday! They all really enjoyed it and are excited to attend again next week. We also had Salve and Marian's baptism this past Saturday!! It was SO good and they were just so excited to get baptized! It was so cute :) Sister Paciano, Sister Jensen and I let them borrow some of our dresses and jewelry and straightened their hair because they said they wanted to look their best on their baptism day. They looked so nice and the members were so nice and welcomed them into the ward with open arms. There is nothing cooler than seeing people from the moment you first met them all the way to their baptism day. When they come up out of the water they just seem to glow and my heart is always just so full of gratitude to my Savior for the opportunity we all have to become clean from our sins and mistakes if we just follow him and his shining example. I seriously just LOVE being a missionary and I can't imagine my life now without it. Of course, there are hard days, we all have them, but when you look back and see the lives you have touched for better, those hard days all seem to disappear and everything is just right. 

So I was able to attend a leadership training meeting earlier this week and I was really touched by what the speakers said. They spoke of Jesus Christ and how he is our perfect example. We should strive everyday to pattern our lives after his and if we mess up, get back up and try again. I loved what Thomas S Monson said in one of his talks from this past conference when he said we all have trials and hard times in our lives, but what sets us apart from the rest is how we react. "Shall I falter or shall I finish?" If I have learned one thing from my mission it is that no matter who you are or where you are from or whatever your circumstances may be, EVERYONE has problems. everyone. But what we do and how we react to these problems separate the great ones from the weak. These sweet people here in the Philippines live in very poor conditions with hard circumstances. Many of them open up to us and poor out their souls about how they can't feed their children or afford to send them to school. But when we share the gospel and when they accept it into their lives as my recent convert just told me this sunday "kahit walang pagbabago sa buhay ko, pagatapos tinanggap ko ang ebanghelyo at nabinyagan ako, parang wala na akong problema" or "although nothing in my life has changed, after receiving the gospel and being baptized, it's as if all my problems are gone". 

I know this church is true and I know the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. I know it has changed mine. Love you all soooo much and I hope you all are happy and healthy!!

Love,

Sister Lowe