Feb 23

Hey Mahallies!

This is the last week of the transfer....and I'm psyched! 6 weeks nalang to give my best with the name of the Lord on my chest! May the blessings continue rolling in (:

My district and I got to go to Tagaytay on thursday, and the view was magical. I love them tons, and they're so supportive - i'm grateful to have learned from each of them. We found a gigantic pineapple house and spent the day singing the sponge bob theme song while viewing live snakes and taking selfies. It was a great pday. 

Throughout the week, we visited our investigators. Sister Gizelle, a mother of 4 of the cutest little rascals, attended church again this week and got to attend class. I feel like whenever we speak about the gospel, she glows with happiness! You can just see her eyes light up like "eureka!" because she's constantly learning by the Spirit about God's plan. She wants to be baptized and is completely ready to, but she and the government don't have a record of her husband's birth certificate. She told me how hard she'd been working to get a new one made - she and her husband have both been saying the most sincere prayers and have been doing all that they could to get married. We've been doing our best to help - but seeing first hand how determined she is to get baptized because she knows it's true inspires me! Watching her convert unto Christ and become more aware of His love for her is good enough motivation for EVERY missionary to share this gospel.

Today all the missionaries leaving in a month went to the mtc to get x-rays done. It was crazy to think that just a year and a half ago, I was waving goodbye to that place and heading out to the field. time moves so fast - we gotta make the most of it. 

I know that people are waiting for the truth - for this gospel - and I plan to give my very best these next six weeks. The work never stops!

I love you all, and I pray you continue to build your testimonies through reading and pondering the words of God.

- Sister Calica

Happy V

Hey Mahallies. We're reaching the end of this transfer, and next week, I'll get to know if I stay or if I go! I love golden city - I've officially hit my 6 months here, and it's been the best 6 months ever. I've been so blessed to be surrounded by people who are ready for the gospel, and a ward that is so supportive of the work! 

I just wanted to share a few of the tender mercies I experienced this week.

Last Saturday was Brother Bringas's birthday. We had gone to his house to wish him a great one...but he wasn't home. We ended up being punted appointment after appointment - even our most dependable investigators didn't have time for a lesson/weren't home! I couldn't figure out why - until we knocked into Brother Bringas selling lugaw. We ran to him singing happy birthday, and he started crying! He doesn't have very much family, and I'm almost sure no one greeted him except for us...so although we were punted the entire day, it was a blessing for me to be used as a tender mercy in God's hands, to show a child of God that his Heavenly Father remembers him individually. 

Sister Elijah got to go to church for the 2nd time, and she's committed to come every week from now on! She's growing so much in her testimony, I'm so blessed to see how much she's been growing. Rom has been working with us a lot more as well - I can tell that his testimony is growing as well, because he's so willing to share it with those around him. He finally attended the sunday school class, and loved it!

I'm grateful for all of you, and hope that you continue to seek ways to be an instrument in spreading God's love for his children. Seek service, and pray for opportunities to help others! The best way to find happiness is to focus on helping others gain it first. 

Love you all! 

Sister Calica

Becoming who He'd have you be

My love for the scriptures have been burning immensely this last week. With the flexibility in the new schedule, I've been able to fit in 2 hours of personal study by starting earlier, rather than just one (don't worry, I've been fitting everything else in as well) and it's been a big blessing. One of the best scriptures I found this week was 1 Corinthians 10:13. God never gives us problems, addictions, or hardships too much for us to bear. It doesn't take years to overcome - repentance can happen as soon as we decide "i'll change - and mean it"

I'm grateful for you, my family. I'm grateful to hear that sabrina's doing well, and I hope that jill had an amazing birthday! love you always. 

10 weeks

So this week was amazing. I got to attend the Young Women's broadcast & the worldwide missionary broadcast. God is sending so much new revelation - I can feel the work hastening and I'm thrusting my sickle in to build the kingdom as much as I can! I'm so grateful to be apart of it! Such a blessing to be a missionary - I wish I could fully describe the happiness it brings. 

Our schedules have changed and become a lot more flexible. They kept emphasizing how we would be blessed for using our agency correctly - and I'm so grateful for the change, because I feel like it's preparation for how life's going to be after the mission. Obviously, no one's going to be keeping me on check and watching my every move...but I know that God is watching, and that He expects so much out of me. He's prepared me for this life...so how could I possibly give Him less than my best effort?

I was so inspired about their insights - I'd love to share some with you:

1. If your investigator (or your child) is not keeping commitments you extend, before assuming something is wrong with THEM, reflect on yourself and your teachings. Why did is it not important to them? What did they not understand? Was the spirit present during the lesson, to bring the message to their hearts?

This really applied to one of our progressing investigators - Rom - who is 16. He'd been taking the lessons because of his tito. He's respectful and willing to listen, and even goes to church. But I feel like he still can't see the personal importance of the gospel in his life. He'd lied to us about stopping his smoking and drinking...and UGH it was the most awkward situation trying to get him to admit it (bc his tito had given us a heads up). I was so disappointed - not just because we'd have to push back his baptismal date...but because the importance of the wow obviously didn't impact his heart. He kept continuing to give into peer pressure.

I kept wondering if maybe it was because of me - because perhaps I wasn't able to bring the spirit as powerfully as I should've been. At the broadcast, we learned about the importance of practicing the gospel in our lives - especially daily repentance. Not just repenting about the big things - but even things we don't really consider sins...but just bring us away from God. Not only sins of commission, but sins of omission. I know that I'm not perfect and there are still things I need to improve and fix.

Because another key point they expressed was that we don't have to worry about if we're doing enough, if we ARE giving are best. like it says in alma 26:27 - success is "given"...so if we have to double guess about if we're doing are all...then we're probably not. and the real question should be, "what lack I yet"?

I learned about the importance of baptizing CONVERTS. people ready for the gospel, and who love the gospel. I realized that if they just do it for no good reason, then they have a better chance of falling away. I actually felt really prompted to ask mom to speak with ateh soo...to express the difference in your life with getting baptized for your future family and then after reading the bom and REALLY becoming converted. I know each of us should still continue to develop our testimonies everyday. Have personal and family prayer, both morning and night. Read your scriptures. Go to church and understand the importance.

I know that at times it's hard to know if we have a testimony. We may doubt it. but i love this quote i read this week

"a testimony is the holy ghost bearing witness to our soul of the truthfulness of the gospel and restored church. when we fail to pray and study the scriptures, the influence of the spirit is weakened - lowering our resistance to tempation. when we sin and become unclean, we lose the spirit all together and w/o it can wonder if we had a testimony at all