Week 54 - transfers and rain

Hey guys!

Well, like I said last week, we had transfers this week and as I sadly predicted... Sister Burt got transferred :( yup we cried like babies haha. We just became such besties here in Calapacuan and we had so much success here together... I really miss her... BUT im still here in Calapacuan and I am very happy about that because I just LOVE the people here! Every single area that I go to just seems to get better and better! Hajie, Mhae, and Saricris are doing AMAZING and are seriously like some of my best friends now, and it just amazing to see the huge change in them and their lives. I feel so blessed to be just a small part of it :) SO im sure you all are wondering who is my new companion?? da da da daaaaa... Sister Enguita! she is sooooo nice! She is from the Philippines down in Mindanao and she's been on her mission for 10 months. Right now I am training her to be an STL and she is just the most humble and sweetest people i've ever met. We are working really hard in our area to bring as many souls to God as we can! We have 4 baptisms the week on Saturday!!!! We are super excited for them and we also have more baptisms coming up in June!! I love missionary work, it is the BEST work on the planet :) It may not be the easiest time of my life but it is the best thing for my life. 

So I also have new housemates in the apartment! It's me, sister Enguito, sister Talent and... Sister Lariosa!!!!! Yup, my trainee is now in my house again!!! We were so excited to see each other again :) I've missed that cute girl. So its approaching rainy season again, and its already flooded a couple times here. The day before sister Burt left we forgot our umbrellas that day and on our way home got SOAKED! I mean completely wet as if we had jumped in a pool with our clothes on haha it was awesome :) 

Well, I'm sure i'll have lots more to tell you next week, but for  now just now that I love you all and know my savior lives. He sacrificed for us and died for us so that we can return to him. I love my Heavenly Father and my redeemer Jesus Christ :) Lets all keep sharing the good news!  Love you all!

Love,

Sister Lowe

sorry no pictures, i forgot my camera back at the apt :)

Week 53

Hey guys!

Hey I hope Marissa is feeling better! That's really scary :( I'll continue praying for her! 

So this week has been another stellar week as always! Its SOOOO hot (may is the hottest month in the Philippines) BUT it is great haha. Seriously, Sister Burt and I have just been so blessed in our area here in Calapacuan. We only planned on having 3 baptisms this month and are actually going to have 5! Looks like God have a different plan than we did haha, I'm just happy we were able to find the people he has prepared to hear the gospel. 

Milagrosa Albino (Mhae's mom) is doing awesome! She reads her Book of Mormon every day and applies what she learns to her own life better than i think i do haha. John, Jernika, and Jerika are doing awesome and are learning more every day and coming to church every Sunday! They will all be baptized this May 31st! They are so so excited :) Chuck, who is Saricris' brother now wants to learn about the gospel because he's seen such a big difference in his sister so we have been teaching him too and now he has a testimony and wants to be baptized! Mhae has been a great little missionary to her family, her mom is getting baptized next week, she invited her grandma who is in a wheelchair to go to church (and she did!) and now we are teaching her uncle and cousins because she gave them a Book of Mormon and they said they felt the spirit when they read it, something telling them it was true. 

Jessica with Mhae's grandma

The Book of Mormon is amazing. I know it is the word of God and I know it changes lives. It changed mine. And it has changed many lives of the people I teach and help here in the Philippines. If you have not read it... READ IT. If you have read it, read it again!! It gives such peace and comfort when you feel like you are alone or don't know what to do in your life.

So besides that, this next week is gonna be interesting... transfer week! I know I'm gonna cry when Sister Burt gets transferred, we are so close and practically real sisters now haha. But I know whatever happens is for a reason and God's plan.  

Sister Burt (bestie!), and two other sisters from the mission with Jessica

Week 52 - 1 Year Mark

Happy Mothers Day!!

I just have to start out this email by saying I have the BEST mom on the planet!! Literally, I don't know where I'd be without you, and I am so grateful for you and everything you have done for me and our family :) Mom I love you and had a blast skyping you guys!! I'm still freaking out because Robert is so tall now and his voice is deep haha. 

Ok, so now I’ll tell you guys about this week! So first of all... I hit my 1 year mark last Thursday!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH! How crazy is that? For my year mark Sister Burt, Sister Adol, and Sister Talent and I really went crazy and bought graham crackers, American chocolate and some marshmallows and made smores on our gas stove haha. That's as American as you get here haha. Soooo, did I mention I have been on my mission for and entire year now!? I just can't believe it!  The time goes by so so fast and I seriously treasure every moment, every day I have here. I LOVE the culture, I LOVE the people and I LOVE the gospel. Life really just doesn't get any better. I mean ya AC, Mexican food, and a washer and dryer would be nice haha but I am just so happy here and I have really come to realize what is important in life.   

Eating Smores for my 1 year mark

So this week we found a TON of new investigators who look like they will really progress and guess what? We had 16 investigators at church this week! holaa! haha Oh man we were so so pumped to see them all walk through the church doors. So you know Mhae our recent convert? Well we are teaching her whole family now and guess what? Her mom, sister, and 2 cousins are gonna get baptized!!!!! Her Mom is so awesome! She has such a strong testimony and has truly seen such a big change in Mhae so she just knows this is going to be such a blessing for their family. Her husband doesn't usually like talking to missionaries BUT oh yes there's a but :) Milagrosa (Mhae's mom) told us he's been reading her Book of Mormon and he wants to come to church! He lets us in and talks to us all the time and yesterday we had a family home evening at their house! It was so so fun and he was just laughing and enjoying himself the whole time. P.S I am so excited to show you guys all the Filipino games I've learned here! The Filipinos have such a funny sense of humor I love it haha. What else what else... OH! Ok so we had 9 less actives at church yesterday and 1 is this one guy named Alexander Mercurio and he has not come to church in yearsssssss. He straight up told us that he thinks boxing is more important to him than God. Ya. BUT we hadn't shared to him in a while because it usually just ends in him telling us he wont go to church because of multiple various reasons but the other day we felt like we should go to him and his family and we shared about The Atonement and the sacrifice Jesus made for us and left. Then yesterday I was helping my investigators find a seat at church when all the sudden I look up and see sister Burt just laughing and shaking hands with him! He came to church! It was a mothers day miracle haha. Oh and there is something else that I realized this week! So I was chorister at church yesterday (ha that reminds me of when Jenny used to be chorister in Crestwood 1st ward and I'de make funny faces at here haha- shout out Jen haha) so i could see everyone in the audience. I started counting all our investigators, less actives, less active returns, and recent converts and realized that since I have been here in Calapacuan we have been able to bring 34 people closer to Christ. 34 people were in the congregation because of heavenly father's hand in mine and sister Burt's work here in Calapacuan. It really puts things in perspective, when you think sure, I don’t have an oven or any of the american food I crave haha, but i help bring people closer to Christ everyday. That is so much better!  

Well, I'm all out of time but I will leave you guys with one funny story.. the other day we were walking down a hill and we saw these kids sliding down the hill on toilet seats. yup gotta love the Philippines haha, Love you!!!!!!

Love,

Sister Lowe

Week 51 - BEACH

Hey guys!!! 

Ok so this was such an awesome week!!! I know that might get old to you guys but every week is such a miracle to me! This week especially! Ok so you guys might have noticed that in my email last week we were kind of struggling a little bit with getting people to listen to us and finding people who who attend church and really progress in the gospel. So to top that off at the beginning of this week we found out our 3 investigators to be baptized in May... well let's just say they are not going to be able to any more. PJ has some very serious issues that we found out from other people, then Jo-ann (17 yrs old) ran away with her boyfriend and Sari is always busy with work and doesn't come home till 2 in the morning so... ya. 

But, Me and Sister Burt truly believe that God has people ready for us to teach and baptize this month so we prayed harder than ever before, and worked so hard that we literally would fall asleep on our knees praying at night haha. We fasted and worked even in the blazing heat to show Heavenly Father how committed we are to him and our calling as missionaries. We just needed his help to find the people he has readied for us. Well as usual, the Lord always provides and helps his faithful servants (1 Nephi 1:20)  and we found 2 amazing families who we taught and now want to be baptized! They all came to church on Sunday and we had 7 less- actives come back to church as well! 

One's name is Froylyn and he is just amazing! He is now 23 and told us that he used to be super active in the church, but went a little wayward as a teenager and completely lost himself and fell away from the church. But he cried when he told us how burdened down and just sick he felt for the things which he's done in his past. He told us he wants to change, he wants to follow the Savior again. Of course the repentance process is not an easy one, but I know Heavenly Father loves Froylyn and all of us that have made mistakes in our lives and it is 110% possible for us to stop, take a close look at our lives right now, find our weakness and change them. Like I told Froylyn, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can all repent, change who we are to what we want to become, and free ourselves from the crushing burden of sin. I love My Heavenly Father and am so grateful he sacrificed his only begotten son Jesus Christ for us. Through his death we all live. Life is not easy, but it is full of miracles and we must slow down our lives to catch the hand of God in our lives because it is right there. 

Yesterday we had a tri-zone activity because we achieved all our goals and achieved the standard of excellence for the mission!!! We got to go to the beach in Iba and play beach volleyball, make sandcastles, do relays on the sand, and even get to put our feet in the water! yes its a big deal haha. It was so so so fun and I got to see so many of my good friends like sister Garrett, sister Lariosa, and sister Ila! I seriously LOVE my mission! Olongapo Philippines mission is the BEST mission in the world!!! And I love all the people I get to help in the process :) I love you all and I will see you in 6 moths! Yup. I hit my year mark this week! ahhhhh! the times just flies! So I’m gonna work harder than ever so these last 6 moths last! :)

Love you all!

Love,

Sister Lowe