Week 29 - Easters and peanut butter sell out

Week 29

First of all shout out to my favorite sister missionary- Sister Despain who is training a new missionary! This week was sick week. I got sick! But we worked anyway then yesterday my body pretty much shut down. As did my brain. But I am all better now! Thank goodness. This week was really happy and just a lot of fun. honestly. Missions are so much fun! President came and visited us again this week and did some weekly planning with me and my companion. She was so nervous! I loved it though, and I helped her laugh it off and not be so scared of him. This week I was thinking about where my brother will go on his mission! Hopefully somewhere with people as great as here.

Two of our investigators got baptized this week! We were so happy. I love them. The best part was that the baptismal service we spent all week preparing for was so great! It was reverent and everyone was wearing church clothes! Probably because it was on Sunday but hey...improvement. And their testimonies were so wonderful to hear. It's such a rewarding experience to be part of someone's conversion process. They are technically a completed family but we are going to keep working with them and not let them relax until they are sealed. Sister Gloria's husband passed away 10 years ago so her son is preparing to be baptized for him in the temple next month.

This week I finished 2nd Nephi and learned so much this time around. SO amazing how you can literally read the same chapter or verse from The Book of Mormon a thousand times and get different insights every time. This week I really thought about Nephi and repentance. And how every time he decided to be just a little more obedient, or called on The Lord to strengthen him a little more, or was asked to show a little more faith- he was repenting. That's part of repentance, too. I felt that was a theme of conference too. The Atonement is not just for big sins, it's for our shortcomings. Until we are perfect we need The Atonement EVERY day. Whether our sin was small or big. Sin is sin period. I totally just had a huge light bulb moment and realized all that this last week. I've definitely changed the way i've been looking at repentance. And the way i've been repenting.

I love this area! Transfers are this week and I kinda have the transfer bug. Hope not! Love you all have a good week!

Sister Gaspar de Alba

it's literally this hot

rom left to right: my comp! brother razzel- a ward missionary, brother adonai and sister gloria ( my converts!) and brother allan (recent convert of the other sisters who was the baptizer) brother ronnie WML, and me

sister bona- a really awesome sister in our ward baptized last november

I'm a converted peanut butter lover!

my companion is the best and she always cooks for us!

Week 27 - "Conference; like Christmas only you don't get trunky"

Week 27

This week was a lot of crazyness. Conference was SO good! It's like Christmas on the mission...but better because it doesn't make you trunky. We are continuing to have more lessons with members which makes for more excited members to share their testimonies with their nonmember friends and family.Win Win. Sister Pajo pointed out to me that I hit 8 months today! There is a little time monster hiding in my apartment. I saw President like twice this week. YES. So great. He met our completed family that is being baptized this coming Sunday on Easter Sunday. (: SO excited and happy for them. They cannot wait to be baptized. 

This week we totally had a scare. We were walking home at about 8 pm and the husband of one of our investigators staggers over to us. I could tell he was drunk and so we started walking away. Then he calls out to us: Sisters! That message you shared with me last week was so beautiful. I felt like I want to change. So we kinda looked at him surprised as he got closer to us. Then he started walking faster and yelled: But why are we fighting?! Me and my wife are always fighting since you started coming. And He totally raised his hand to hit me! What the heck. So then we just took off. Walked as fast as I could. I felt so sad for him, he was so confused. 

There is a sister in my apartment who has only been out for 4 weeks. She barely had her new missionary melt down last night.I was so impressed! Anyway- I read with her some pages in my journal to help her see how I got used to being a missionary. It was so cool looking back and thinking of all the things I overcame. I told her she could do it, but it's going to take a lot of patience with herself.

I finished The Book of Mormon this last week only focusing on The Atonement. What a great experience it has been. Especially to learn that everything we do as members of this church is to access that power of the Atonement and help others access that power too. I started reading Jesus The Christ last week. I really wanted to read it after studying The Atonement for the last few months. I feel like I am really coming to understand who my Savior is and why he did what he did while he was on the earth. I know He lives, I love him and am so grateful to Him. 

 Have a good week all!

Love

Sister Gaspar de Alba

perks! the office elders are awesome. (still sunburned from last monday in this picture)

this watch tan gets worse and worse every day. i feel like a legitimate sister missionary. YES.

this watch tan gets worse and worse every day. i feel like a legitimate sister missionary. YES.

eating lunch all together between conference sessions! behind the stake center in san pablo is a gorgeous lake. can you see it?

Week 27 - Sis von Trapp

Week 27

This week was crazy as usual. I keep thinking I will have a nornmal week one of these months with nothing special going on but i dont think that week exists! Anyway this week we had exchanges, the RS broadcast, interviews with President, and zone p-day! We had some really great lessons with investigators this week! Getting close to helping some of them be ready for baptism. 

So yes Zone p-day is first! SO fun. We went on this gorgeous hike that was literally one of the hardest hikes I have ever been on. Straight uphill, we are wiped. And we are all suoper sunburned! Even the Filipinos and islanders. Thats when you know it's hot. But it was of course so great to sit and chat with missionaries and just have fun together. Plus I literally started crying when we got to the top and saw the view. I love this place. 

Some cool experiences this week working with members: First we worked with a counselor in the RS presidency who went on a proselyting mission at 53 a year after her husband died. She did the same thing I do every day! So cool. Our lesson with her was perfect. Well no it wasn't...But the Spirit was there and our investigator really loved learning about tithing. Which is a huge concern of the area presidency because not a lot of members here pay it. So anyway this member shared her testimony in sacrament meeting about following promptings of The Spirit. She had been struggling but she felt prompted to work with us on this day with this investigator and the topic was what she needed to hear. I love Heavenly Father. He watches out for all of us so perfectly. Next cool story: One of our investigators has quit smoking for a week so far after we taught the word of wisdom last week. He prayed with so much fath asking Heavenly Father for the strength to do this. He had such great desire. AND guess what?! Heavenly Father answered his prayers. All of them! Not just that one. In one day, he heard from his wife who is far away in Syria, and he received a witnedd of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. I am so blessed to witness these miracles.

Our interviews with President was SO good. My companion was totally worried. President had us bring a written out vision for our areas. He said, "Sister- this is very ambitious. I know the only 2 people here who can accomplish all this are you and your companion. Make it happen." Then of course he made me cry as he teared up and thanked me for my hard work and told me I was becoming the missionary he expects of me. I feel like when he tells me those things, The Lord must be proud of me too. I have a long ways to go, but I am so grateful for being on the right road. 

Have a great week all! 

Sister Gaspar de Alba

this is called mangosteen. i cant even describe it but it is a really good fruit! elder toro is really awesome and knows its my fav so he brought us some from his area!

just chillin on a bike on the top of a mountain!

My district

having lunch!

we got to the top of our hike and one elder started singing: "the hills are alive! with the sound of music..." yeah we all cracked up. but really thats how gorgeous it was! Breathtaking.

Week 26 - meeting goals and cleaning the church

Week 26

SO good. Every week is so good these days. We started off with a really great zone con and then were able to teach like 75% of our lessons this week with members present which was awesome. Because of that, our investigators took huge steps in their conversion process. The other sisters had a baptism Saturday. Three of our investigators came and really felt The Spirit witness to them that they needed to be baptized. It got SUPER hot this week! 

On saturday we had the opportunity to clean our church building. We didn't tell any of the members and when we showed up to the baptism I was expecting everyone to notice but literally NO one noticed. I was a little sad. It is not cleaned very often at all, especially the way we cleaned it. So then as I was walking home from the baptism feeling frustrated that none of the members cared if the church was clean or dirty, i totally had an epiphany. I remembered something President said in his talk at zone conference about the sacrament. How we should never take it for granted again, especially after he chastised us all when he taught us the significance of the sacrament. I realized that the reason the members didn't notice was because it wasn't important to them. And I realized that about the sacrament for myself. The reason I had been taking it for granted was because it wasn't important enough for me. After the baptism on Saturday bishop asked the 4 of us to speak. So we had family prayer like we do every night with our ward mission leader and the ward missionaries to think of what our members needed to hear from us. We felt like we needed to teach Lesson 3- The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It went SO well. I was so grateful for the opportunity to prepare myself spiritually to teach my favorite topic- the laws of justice&mercy. 

So here's a joke- the zone leaders asked me to be in charge of our zone t-shirt because they heard i was artistic. I hope all of you laughed at that! Then I really started to miss pup. Where is she when I need her?! 

This week was so great, we found some new investigators we are really excited to teach! 3 of them are the mom and sisters of a member who is about to leave on a mission. We got to teach their family yesterday about faith. He bore such a powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel as he shared with his family his desire for them to be sealed in the temple. They are not yet members and it's been really hard on him. I was so grateful fore his strength and his faith. What an example to someone like me who comes from a family full of active members of the church. How grateful I am for my family!

Have a great week all!

Love

Sister Gaspar de Alba

me and sister seastrand at zone con!

sister williams who is now in my zone. YES

this is probably my favorite elder of all time. He's the best! 

got to see some old friends from cabuyao!

this is like the filipino equivalent of a sonic slush. they have them everywhere now because it's so hot here! called a halo-halo. so good!

we deep cleaned the church on saturday. it took SO long! But it was so worth it.

we all spoke at church yesterday! ps- i totally found this shirt at an ukay-ukay here for 20 pesos.

Week 25 - Visionary people (not just whettens)

Week 25

This week we got punted a lot the first few days....rough. But we had some really great members willingly work with us which made a world of a difference for a few of our investigators. Transfers were last week so we have a whole lot of new missionaries in our zone. We saw them all at lunch on wednesday AND I'm super excited because Sister Williams is in my zone. She was so excited to see me, in fact, that she spilled a drink on me at McDonald's. Embarrassing. On Tuesday the office elders called us and let us know that we will be singing at zone con. WHAT. I said, Elder- you know there are people in this mission who can sing, right? that is not me! But of course I told them I would. So me and Sister Pajo, Sister Hopkins, and Sister Taufa are singing tomorrow for 100+ missionaries. I hope it's decent! This week the weather was SO weird. Got so hot on tuesday and wednesday and less on thursday. Then friday until today it's been freezing and raining. I totally got heat exhaustion on tuesday. (i think) That's what Sister Peterson told me. It was really interesting...i've never felt dizzy for 3 straight days. Thank goodness it is back to cold and rainy. 

Just one story for this week: 

 One of our investigators who has been progressing super quickly was stuck last week. So we prayed a whole lot and really thought about what to share with her. What kept coming to my ,ind was to ask her if she has received a definite answer that The Book of Mormon was true. Which i thought was weird because she is almost to 2nd Nephi in 3 weeks! And she cries talking about The Book of Mormon. But we brought it up anyway and she told us she hadn't asked because she feels it's true. We explained to her that's really good, but that she needs a definite answer so she can understand that this is Christ's church. We had such a great lessons with her, The Spirit really helped her understand Moroni's promise. One of our members also shared her experience knowing The Book of Mormon was true. She felt it's truth in a dream. I am super uneasy when people tell me they have visions and dreams here because they have them ALL the time. Filipinos always talk about visions they have of Mary and I just am pretty skeptical about it. But anyway- the lesson was good. Then we came back and asked this sister if she had received an answer. She told us of this dream she had where she was told in her dream that she needed to be baptized and go to church. That everything we were teaching her was true and she needed to show her faith through baptism. SO happy for her. I learned through this all that I need to have a little more trust in our Heavenly Father and remember that He answers our prayers in different ways. He really knows His children and he knows how to talk to them in the way that they need. 

Have a great week all! 

love, Sister Gaspar de Alba

this is me and my monkey friend. he's kind of mean when we don't have food for him.

excuse the YSA behavior...i live with a tongan sister! Lived with tongan sisters for like 5 months now. i LOVE islanders. 

a family in our ward we had FHE with last night. 

dang cute