Week 28

Hey everyone!

How are you all doing? School, work, sports? I hope everything is going well over there! Things are starting to calm down a bit over here from the super typhoon but there are still so many repercussions from the damage of the storm and the people who were killed :( One of the Elders in my mission found out both his parents were killed in the storm and that his house is gone. I can't imagine the pain and hurt he as well as so many of the people here are going through... please keep them in your prayers. But my companion found out her family is safe and she still has a house to go home to so we are very happy about that! 

So this week has been another challenging but great week! We got rejected pretty bad this week BUT sister Lariosa and I didn't let that get us down! haha we just kept trying and trying and we actually found some really progressing and truth-seeking investigators. 

And on top of that, I literally think I had the best day of my entire mission earlier this week! So who wants to hear what happened?? Well hope there is someone who ants to know because I'm telling you anyways haha. K so here's the story :D Last sunday our investigator Joy came to church and she said she liked it and we were super excited to teach her the next day, but something came up and she said we could come on Wednesday. We were a little worried when we began the lesson on Wednesday because before we had started she asked if she could just go to church and not be baptized. My mind was going everywhere while we were singing the opening hymn trying to think of what I could say to her to help her in our lesson. We opened up with a prayer and I just prayed so hard that my mind would be cleared and be able to listen to the spirit and that Joy would be able to feel the spirit in the lesson. As soon as we ended the prayer I asked her how her Book of Mormon reading is. Get this, she got the Book of Mormon on Nov 5 and by Nov 13 she was in Mosiah!!! She said she loves it and just can't get enough of it. 

me and Sis Lariosa at zone conference

Sister Mack, Sister Garrett at me at Zone conference

She said every time she reads it she feels so much peace and happiness she doesn’t want it to end or put it down. I then felt prompted to ask a series of questions to her. The first was "why do you think you feel that way when you read the book of mormon?" She thoughtfor a couple seconds and then simply stated "because I know it's true. It is the word of God for us in our day and contains the fulness of the gospel." (all of this took place in Tagalog by the way haha this is just in english for your convenience) :) So then I asked her if the Book of Mormon is true, which she just said it was, what does that mean for her? Once again she thought for a second and then with tears in her eyes she said "that means God restored his true church back to the earth after centuries of it being lost after the death of Christ and his apostles through the prophet Joseph Smith because He loves us. It means Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. which means this church, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true." 

The spirit was so strong and I seriously felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest it was burning so deeply and sister Lariosa and I could barely even speak. I told her yes, yes it is. We bore our testimonies to her and all 3 of us were crying and just feeling the spirit SO strongly, like it was almost tangible in the room. Then I asked her, "so Joy, if you know the church is true what must you do to be a member of the true church?" she just smiled and then whispered "be baptized". I am so excited for Joy to be baptized Dec 3rd and she cannot wait! I have not felt the spirit so strongly my entire mission and I have never felt so guided by the spirit orthat I (me, Sister Lowe) was truly able to help someone. On the days where it gets tough or I miss home, its moments like this that make it all worth it and more. I love being a missionary and sometimes can't imagine what it will be like in a year when I am not wearing this black badge. I love my Heavenly Father and my savior Jesus Christ and know they are very aware and mindful of us. I love you all and you are always in my prayers. Mahal ko kayo at ingat po kayo palagi!

Love always,

Sister Lowe  

Week 27 - Typhoon Hayain hit

Hey everyone!!!

So we've had a little rain over here if you haven't heard haha. Apparently we just went through a super typhoon here which has been pretty devastating to many parts of the Philippines. So many people have died and many areas of the Philippines are in a state of calamity. It's been quite the adventure but don't worry we are all safe here in Hermosa! My companion Sister Lariosa is from Bacolad which is in a state of calamity right now and still hasn't heard from her family so that's been pretty hard for her (please pray for them), but she is so strong and we are working hard and doing our best to help the families here in Hermosa. (At this point Jessica doesn't even know how bad the storm was because they have no contact with the news).

Despite the crazy weather this week was one of the best of my mission so far! This week we found 3 new really great investigators and they are so amazing! Their names are Joy, Shania and Martha and they came to church this week and loved it. Joy is loving the Book of Mormon and said to me that she feels something different when she reads it, a peaceful calming feeling that makes her feel happy. She said she is addicted to it and can't put it down at night, haha. She is such an inspiration to me and I can't wait to see her progress even further and become closer to her heavenly father and Jesus Christ. 

We also had Ohmi and Edrei Robles at church this week and they are so excited for their baptism on November 24th! They always talk about it when we come over and hug us and kiss us and tell us their experiences and readings in the Book of Mormon. I have grown to love their family so so much and I can not wait to see them enter into the waters of baptism to begin their journey back to our Heavenly Father. They are just the nicest family and they will truly always have a place in my heart. Then on top of that Anthony (our less active who hasn't been to church in 5 years) came to church again this sunday! He talked to us later and said that he is so grateful for us, and the day that we knocked on his door. At first he would barely talk to us but now we are great friends and we love talking about the gospel and how it helps us in our lives. He told me that many missionaries have come and gone but he could really feel our love for him and he is glad that we didn't give up on him. I told him of course we won't give up on you! kahit matigas and ulo nyo (even if you have a hard head sometimes) haha he just laughed and said totoo po yan (that is true). We are so close to him and his family and I almost cried when he shook my hand and told me I never have to worry about him because he will never leave the church again, it is true and the only way to receive true happiness :)

I seriously love being a missionary!!! The people I meet, the lives ive seen change, the hearts that have been softened  make every moment worth it. I know God lives, he loves each and every one of us and is aware of our struggles and trials. He will help us if we just let him and put our trust in him. I love you all so much and hope you are safe and happy :)

love always,

sister Lowe

Week 26 - Monday before the storm

Hey everyone!

This week was seriously one of the best weeks of my mission so far! We have been working so hard here to reactivate the less actives as well as find new people to teach and man oh man has the Lord blessed us! 

One family that is very special to me is the Robles family. We only met them a month ago but I love them so much and we have gotten so close! Anthony and Aliw are the parents, and Edrei, Ohmi, Eden, and Endzel are their four children. Anthony and Aliw are long time less actives (the last time they came to church was 5 years ago) and none of the others in the family are members. It’s so funny for me to look back on when we first met them and how things are now. When we first met the Robles family, they cracked open the door and talked to us for maybe a minute before saying they were busy and were not interested in coming to church. Many of the members here in Hermosa told us we would be wasting our time with them, that many many missionaries had gone and taught them but no success or change. But sister Lariosa and I both felt very strongly that we shouldn't give up on them. And I'm so glad we didn't because not only are they happy, reading their scriptures everyday and having family prayer, but yesterday for the first time in 5 years the Robles Family came to church! I can not describe to you the feeling that came over me when I saw them walk through the church doors and shake my hands with big smiles on their faces. Moments like this are what make every sacrifice of being thousands of miles away from everything i love and know worth it. I love being a missionary and being able to bring the gospel to by brothers and sisters here in the Philippines and help to strengthen families here. I love the gospel. The church is true! There is no better work than this! I love you all and hope you are safe and happy! 

Mahal ko kayo!

love always,

sister Lowe :)

Jessica at 27 weeks of her mission

Week 25

Helloooo :)

So sorry I don’t have time to write my usual letter to everyone but i just wanted to write to you and dad! I miss you all so much and I hope you enjoyed fall break! Dad sorry you had to work so much :p Mom I hope you are relaxing and not killing yourself with too much work, haha. So I’m doing good here and I love my companion Sister Lariosa! we are like best friends- she and I love working hard everyday and always try to have  a positive attitude. So, I have some favors to ask of youuuuuuu :)

1.   Can you send some good fun, simple FHE games or activities I can do here with our investigators and their kids? 

2.  I need new brown and black crocks (the keds style - I think it was) bc i left them outside and they shrunk in the sun, haha.

3.  Send me Devon’s email and address at BYU please bc I want to talk to him

4.  Will you send me lots of pictures? 

5.   Keep being the awesome amazing parents you are :)  I LOVE YOUUUUUU :)

you all are amazing examples to me and I love you so much. This week we had transfers but i stayed here in hermosa with Sis lariosa to finish her training. This week we had a lot of rejection and it was kind of discouraging. Dad, in your email to me, you talked about how in Thailand; they all treated you like a movie star but wouldn’t listen to your message- thats how it is here. (ps: dad will you please send me more stories or stuff about your mission? it really helps me and I realized I don’t know that much about your mission.) EVERYONE and their dog wants to be my friend and take pictures with me and entertain me at their house but they don’t want our message (at least this week it seemed like) but I know it will get better and if I do my best the lord will bless me. Man, missionary work is HARD but its great and it’s worth it. The last appointment we had this week, when we were a little down from so much rejection, was the biggest blessing from the Lord. we extended a baptismal goal date for them in Nov. and they accepted and came to church the next day. The Lord really does look out for us. 

I love you SO SO much like you don’t even know but, I am happy and doing great here in the Lords vineyard. keep encouraging the ward to do missionary work! Mom, I’m so happy to hear you are working with the missionaries! I wish I had before, and I have made a promise to myself that when I go home I will work with them a lot bc they need the help of the members. us missionaries can’t do it by ourselves. I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVEEEEEE YOUUUUUUU and cant wait to hear from you next week!

love always, 

jessica

ps: I have a question for you two. Do you want to come pick me up from my mission and have me take you around to all my areas? They allow this for the foreigners its called a mission tour and I thought it sounded super fun and I would really love for you all to see the Philippines! Just let me know because believe it or not that day is going to come faster than we all think and getting a Visa and stuff takes time and planning. If it’s too expensive or you want to wait a couple years to come back here with me thats totally fine I thought I would just ask :)

love you!

pics

1. companionship unity a its finest- sister Lariosa and i smearing cake frosting on each others faces haha

2. tracking

3. me with some of my little fans :)

Week 24

Hey everyone!!

So it's been another great week here in Hermosa! A lot happened this week here in the Philippines so there's lots to tell this week. So one, there was a huge earthquake in Cebu which everyone was talking about because a lot of people here have relatives and friends over there. A lot of people died or were hurt which was really sad but we did hear that all the missionaries over there are safe which is good :) Next we had exchanges earlier this week so I was companions with Sister Smith for a day which was really fun because she is a new american missionary so with 2 white Americans walking around (and unfortunately no one could work with us that day) we attracted a lot of attention from the Filipinos in our area haha. One of my favorite things to do here is listen to people around me talk about me in tagalog because they don't think I can understand them and then talk to them in tagalog. haha. its so funny they always are super surprised and don't know what to say back, haha. Not to brag or anything, haha, but this week was kind of a record for me in the number of proposals I received and the number of people who told me I am their crush, haha. Seriously, if you ever need a self esteem booster I'm telling you, you gotta come to the Philippines. It's pretty hilarious :) 

Anyways, even though all that stuff is great and all my very favorite part of this week was being able to listen to General Conference and hear from our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. Seriously, general conference was just so amazing and the spirit and peace I felt while listening to the speakers words was just incredible. One of my favorite talks from this conference was by Kevin S. Hamilton about enduring to the end. He told a story from his youth when he was a basketball player in high school and had to get in shape for the season. His coach made them train and condition to the point where he literally thought "this is it I am going to die" He ran to the point of exhaustion and lifted weights he didn't think he could bear. BUT he never gave up. He endured. He pushed through and had hope that one day he would rest from his afflictions. For most of you who know me, I also played basketball in high school as well as track and field. I remember my own experiences during conditioning for basketball or track and i'm pretty sure the same thoughts came to my head- "i think i literally going to die right now. someone please tell my family I love them" haha. In fact, one time at the end of my freshman year, I even told my coach I was thinking of quitting. But I didn't. I endured. Even when it was hard and I felt like giving up (or throwing up haha) I thought about my team and what I wanted to be, what I wanted to accomplish. If I gave up I would gain nothing from my experience and I would stay weak and out of shape. So I pressed on and endured 4 years of intense practices and training. But by the end of it all I was proud of what I had become. I was (what I consider) to be a pretty decent basketball player and runner, strong, and most importantly happy to say that I was not a quitter. Sometimes in this life we face intense trials and afflictions. We are brought down by the pains and problems of the world and others around us who would prefer to drag us down. Sometimes people question"why do bad things happen to good people? or why am I facing this hardship in my life?" "Has God abandoned me?".  I can promise you he has not. Our purpose in coming to this earth is to be challenged. To learn, to grow, to gain experience so that we can reach our full potential and return to our loving heavenly father after this life. If we never had trials we would never grow or learn how to overcome them. Elder Orson F. Whitney so beautifully said: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.” 

 Throughout our mortal existence we are bound to find ourselves in situations or areas of our life where we feel like our burdens are to hard to bear and we cannot continue. We must remember in times like these that we are never alone and we do not have to cary our burdens alone. Our savior Jesus Christ atoned for us and will willingly carry us if we let him in. If we have faith, patience, and endure our trails well, God will surely bless us and we will become stronger than we ever thought possible. I was once a weak, uncoordinated and out of shape freshman in high school (trust me just ask coach martin she knows haha :) ) but because I endured, worked hard every day,  and trusted in my god that he would help me, 

I was able to be proud of the person and player I was at the end of my senior year and see how much I had grown, learned and been strengthened. I will always be grateful for the lessons I've learned from my trials and hard times because they have made me the person I am today. And of course, I couldn't have done it without the amazing support I had from my amazing parents, coaches (Thanks Martin, Grimm, and Pfaff :) ) team, and friends. We have the best supporter we could ever ask for as we go through hard times- Our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ :) I am so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge and strength it gives me to do hard things and to be happy :) I love being a missionary here in the philippines and i love all of you!!!

mahal ko kayo!

sister lowe

pics:

1me and my besties sister garrett and sister mack after conference!

2. exchanges with Sister Smith

3. Darcy and Clark’s baptism!

Week 23

Dear Mom,

Hey, I haven't gotten it yet but I'm excited!!! I get to watch conference in 2 weeks and I'm so excited for that too!! not gonna lie I'm pretty jealous that dad is going to see devon at BYU and see the game and linda and everyone but its all good, I'm having my own fun here in the Philippines haha. I love you sooooooooooooooooo muuuuuuuuuch!! i miss you a lot too but don't worry I'm good and happy here! :) but still really miss you haha, when I get home you better prepare yourself for ALOT of mommy daughter bonding time haha- ice cream, chick, flicks, chocolate, manicures, talking about everything under the moon, everything! haha I love you mom!! I want you to know how much I truly appreciate you- I can’t even explain how much I love you and am thankful for you. you are a great mom and example. keep enduring just like you said! thats the only way we can ever truly be happy- and always remember to find joy in the journey :) love you!!!!!

love always 

your favorite daughter (shhh we don't have to tell Marissa haha :) )

Dear Dad, 

Awww, it seems like such a long time ago that you came to visit me at BYU!! that was so fun! Not gonna lie I'm a little jealous that you are going to BYU and get to see the game and be with linda and everyone else but thats ok I'll get over it haha. the tagalog is better, I lead all the lessons and can pretty much understand most of what people are saying to me now which is good. I mean I'm no where near fluent but i can really see the lords hand in helping me. i think its so funny that I took 3 years of spanish and i know WAY more tagalog than I do spanish haha. the lord really is the key for sure. we will have conference in 2 weeks. We were supposed to have it next week but there is a huge philippines festival that week so they moved it bc it wouldn't be safe for us to travel. I'm so excited for it!!! Aw dad I really love you and miss you a lot. I'm doing great don’t worry or anything but I do miss you and love you so much. when I get home we better go to a football game too!!! haha. well tell everyone I love them and miss them! 

love always

your favorite daughter, jessica (we don’t have to tell Marissa haha :) )

Week 22 - No time

hey family!!! I’m so sorry I have no time to email a big email this week, but know that I love you so much and you all are in my prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!! Next week will be a good email - I promise, haha

Love always

Jessica :)