Week 7 - unexpected changes

Oh. my. gulay.

This week took a turn for the INSANE! last night at 5 my companion got a call from president saying she would be emergency transferred in the morning, and that he had a special assignment for both of us. She has a new companion who is really struggling. I got a new companion as well! My assignment was to take on a companion from the Tacloban mission. 15 of them got transferred to our mission. She is so great and has such a good attitude. She has been through so much, and lost a lot of her stuff. This is so crazy! And i am kinda freaking out about the short notice! But it's life...and i love this girl already(: Other than that...it's been a really normal week. Just work and work! We are not able to have p day nest week until friday because of the area presidency conference. I am so excited for that! A new waltermart opened like across the street from our neighborhood and it has everything we could possibly need. and a MANG INASAL! pumped. but really.

I went on exchanges this week with Sister Asuncion, and oh my gosh i learned so much! i love her. Apparently like none of our investigators had actually received a personal witness to know that the Book of Mormon is true. Thats basically essential for conversion. So we resolved concerns all day. It's been something on my mind for a while but I was pretty hesitant to talk about it with my companion because we disagreed a little about what we should do for them. But we definitely resolved that(: I was so happy. I just felt like my mind opened up a little more, and my investigators felt so much love from me.

My tagalog is improving, i feel like i made a big jump this week! YES. also my new comp is a philippina so she its about to take an even bigger jumnp. her english is really good, too. AND she makes adobo. holla to that.

After exchanges, i made TONS of goals for this transfer and for my mission. I felt kinda overwhelmed with how much i need t get better. But all is well and i am working on them.

I love this gospel so much. Honestly, i am just so blessed to be here and help people feel the love their Savior has for them.

Love you all!

sister gaspar de alba

my usual breakfast: oatmeal, an egg, and pandesal

lunch with some of the ward members. they brought it to the church for us- they are the best! our last supper with sister waldrom :(

could our relationship be described any better? probably not. 

#teamawkforlife she cracks me up on the daily. 

me and my new companion! sister galabo...shes great! from cagayan de oro, visayas. she is super sweet, has been out for 4 months and will finish training me

Week 6 - what typhoon?

good news everyone- I survived my first transfer! relatively unscathed. to everyone who heard about the storm: we are all okay here! It wasn't very serious in my area at all. Just some high winds and lots of heavy rain. We did not work Thursday night or Friday. Thank you for all your prayers and concern!

 Monday was zone p-day so we didn't get to go out either. This week was suffering on the work ends of things and i definitely felt the difference. The storm allowed us to have so really awesome extra study time! That was really good, I got a start on a few projects I'm working on. Sister Asuncion also taught me and my companion how to make adobo- SO good..and really easy. I also saw a mouse crawling on my bed last night, that was really fun. not! There are lizards in my room and now mice. I literally live in the jungle. Good thing we have a brave sister training leader who lives with us that doesn't mind getting the mice.

I love this place. The huge gray clouds are definitely my favorite. Everyone is already playing Christmas music and putting up lights. We have a little banner but we are getting a Christmas tree this week! A little Charlie Brown one but that's all we need.

I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM!!! And it was a completed family! Such a neat experience to help them become active again. They had been inactive for like 10 year, but brother used to be in a bishopric. We got to see him baptize his 2 kids yesterday. It really reminded me of one of the main reasons I'm here. I'm here to help people feel the joy that I feel in knowing I can be with my family forever. I'm here to help them take those first steps in that process.

Love you all!

-Sister Gaspar de Alba

 

my district for the first transfer. (plus the zone leaders) we win for most awkward

the T family- a completed family! YES. We baptized their last two kids and have been so blessed to be part of their re-activation processti

Week 6 - raw chicken! and curfew

Literally. Cant. Believe. how fast time is going. kinda starting to make me worry. Come Saturday night, and my companion and I realize we don't know what to write home about. This week seriously flew. We had 3 days with early curfews this week for halloween, all soul's day, and election day. These philippinos get pretty crazy on those days and President is SO protective about Sisters. So we got some extra study time in. To celebrate Halloween, my companion and me of course went to mang inasal- our fav philippino restaurant. Ramdom news for the week: I finally got sick! From some raw chicken at this tiny restaurant after district meeting on wednesday. The good news is- it was just raw chicken and it came back up so yay no stomach worms! I am all good now. We also had a brownout. The electricity went out at midnight and came back on at 6 am. We definitely noticed because our room got to 90 degrees. SO HOT without our fans! Also- this morning was zone p-day so we went on a hike in los banos...i know. hilarious. It was so gorgeous! I literally live in the jungle. I LOVE the philippines. So pretty. Plus the added bonus of being around cool older sisters full of wisdom and really dorky hilarious awkward elders.

I got to work some more on my concerns book this week, which was seriously the greatest. I'm making lists of scriptures for a lot of common concerns people have. Apparently every good missionary has one...they are SO helpful to bring to lessons so you can always be prepared for any concern.

I learned a lot this week about patience and love. A few of our investigators require a lot of extra patience and love. It's hard to know exactly how to help your investigators. But this week I learned so much about loving them. It you love them, you will listen to them. And if you listen to them, the Spirit will tell you how to help them. It's really just that simple.

I finished the Book of Mormon last monday and started it again. I'm in Mosiah right now and I feel like I finally understand it! Well...chronologically. Reading it fast kinda helps you map out the timeline in your head. Also i've been reading it with themes in mind. Right now i'm reading it with a few words phrases I’m looking for: power & authority, and remember. I love the Book of Mormon. Every time i testify of it, I am so grateful for the teachings it has.

Love you all!

-Sister Gaspar de Alba

happy zone p day to us. and we were definitely stoked to wear shades.

me and sister burt on this killer hike. we were the only sisters at the front. frankly, i was just stoked to finally be outside! 

welcome to my paradise

hiking time with my trainer and the zone