Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving to you, my lovely family <3
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> It's crazy to think that just a year ago, I was on a plane ride over to my new home here in the Phils, and that here we are a year later, and Sister Calica || was heading out to hers on the same day! ALSO you have to know that i literally waited up all night and day to make sure i'd get that call from sister calica so that's honestly so STINK that it didn't work but y'know thanks for trying bc obviously the love is real. 😉💟😘
> My companion and I tried to celebrate thanksgiving but one of our kabahays (sister Verances) was just NOT in the jolly ol' thanksgiving mood and said that they don't celebrate thanksgiving here in the phils so Sister Swanson and I ended up celebrating on our own and went out on a cute date to this little cafe right next to our house. This week was pretty amazing! Some miracles we'd witnessed: 1.Our homeless investigator, Jhun, read 83 pages in the tagalog book of mormon in ONE DAY. AS IN, he's caught up to my month's worth of studies in a single day. I was amazed, but curious if he actually understood it, and so I started explaining that the book of mormon ISN'T the mormon bible and isn't about mormon, and he replies "i know that this is just a book - but i know that it's the word of God. and it testifies of Christ. And it has all my answers - if I have any questions, I just have to read, and I get my answers" AND I FOR REAL JUST WANT YOU ALL TO MEET THIS GUY BECAUSE HE'S SUCH A GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR!!!!!!! This last week, we had stake conference far from our normal ward. People have to attend church 4 times in order to be baptized, and I was honestly concerned that he wouldn't go, because of course he works really hard to try to make enough money to have enough food, BUT BEFORE WE EVEN ASKED IF HE WAS GOING HE SAYS "don't worry sisters, i'll meet you there" and paid the whole fare on his own. he actually ended up getting lost, but eventually found his way to the church and got there even earlier than us. He showed up in his best white shirt, and EVEN took off his beanie (which he'd been embarrassed to do thus far because of the wounds on his head) but then looked around and felt embarrassed because he said everyone was so well dressed. So he sat outside and read the pamphlets and contemplated if he should stay or leave...and then he told us that one of the members invited him in and made him feel welcome! we were so grateful for such a miracle.
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> I've realized the meaning behind "teaching people, not lessons". It is SO important to LOVE everyone we meet. we decided to take a different approach with one of the less actives we'd been struggling with and had pretty much lost hope on. We came in, and just started talking, and it's AMAZING how much she opened up. Usually, I feel like we just share a verse with her, tell her to come to church, she'll make some excuse about why she can't make it, and then we leave discouraged. but this time - this time was SO different. After listening to her testimony about how she knows this church is true, and that she knows she's lacking the action to prove it, She TOLD US that she'd come to church, and that she wanted to go back to the temple too. I was amazed. It was then that I realized that the question should never be "what are we teaching to our investigators today?" it should be "what do my investigators need to learn, need to feel, and need to experience to move closer to God"
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> I am so grateful. We also got guitar lessons from our cute little Recent Convert, Nanay Prima, so that was amazing. i could see how happy it made her to feel like a teacher again (: She's deaf, but so talented - aka we should all work to add to our talents, because we'll use them still, even in our old age!
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> I love being a missionary, and I can't wait for all of you to experience this for yourselves.
> Jeremiah 1:4-10
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> I love you all!
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> Sister Calica |
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> Pictures of me in the jungle, sister swanson and I with brother Jhun, a family home evening with Rex and NovieFaith (i made her a poster lol) and one with my other kapatid, sister aquino, and nanay, sister livermore (who is leaving to usa in a few days! dec 7)