Week 37 - marriage con with the Petersons

Week 37

This week was really awesome with my new companion! She is so great. As far as the work goes...it was a little rough. But we are excited for this upcoming week and have definitely set some really good goals. Shout out to my bro for graduating and having the opportunity to go to the temple. I am so proud(: 

Last week we had a really neat opportunity as we were teaching a less active sister. Her brother has moved in with her and he is about our age. She invited him to our lesson and we had the most amazing experience with them both. We really felt the presence of the Holy Ghost as we taught him about the restored gospel. He is SUPER shy and literally will not look at us in the eyes. But towards the end of the lesson, we could feel his sincerity in the questions he asked and the things he said. Then I turned to this sister and invited her to teach her brother what The Book of Mormon is and how important it is to her. She bore powerful testimony as she invited him to read it. After the lesson Sister Ramsey and i had an epiphany. THIS is what the prophet means as he has repeatedly invited us (members of the church) to come together with the missionaries. He has invited us to reach out to those we care about and share with them what is most precious to us- the knowledge of the restored gospel. I think this is what The Lord means when he talks about hastening his work. She was a great example to us both. I really could feel The Spirit as she testified of the book of mormon. That's how we can know if this really is Christ's church, and if there really is a Heavenly Father out there who loves us and has a plan for us. We HAVE to read the book, live it, and pray to ask if it is true.

I was so grateful for the opportunity we had to have our last zone con with president peterson! Definitely bittersweet. I love that man. He of course picked on me when he asked a tough question, made me sit inthe first row, and all the other very president peterson like things he does. They taught about the doctrine of the family as found in the proclamation. (that's why i called it marriage con instead of zone con) I loved hearing their testimonies and felt such gratitude for their service. They have really pushed me to become better. It was super funny to see all the huge rugby playing elders from new zeland and tonga cry and cry as they hugged president. But of course when I got up to hug them i did the exact same thing! He is just such a big part of who i am and for that I will always be thankful. 

Happy Father's day to all of you and especially to mine! From whom inherited lots of things i'm very proud of. (: Love you dad!

Love

Sister Gaspar de Alba

 doing service for our recent convert. she taught me how to hand sew button holes.  

  me and the Peterson's at their last zone con!  

 my sweet new scriptures in custom leather. Don't worry- my mission logo is on the back. Classic SIster missionary life.  

Week 36 - Ch...ch…ch…changes

Week 36

Lots of changes this week. first of all my anak (sister pajo) went to a zone that is 6 hours away with ALL elders. Sisters have NEVER been there! Just her and her companion who is basically the best sister in the mission. I am so proud! Anyway my new companion is Sister Ramsey from Wyoming. She is like incredibly smart and has wonderful ideas. She is opening up my brain again. I am still in Calauan! Going on 6 months. This coming week we have our last zone con with president peterson. SO sad! 

This week was just pretty crazy with my companion running around saying goodbyes to recent converts and my new companion meeting everyone. That's basically what took up most of our time. But we had great meetings with the ward council members on saturday to get ready for ward council meeting. The ward mission plan is in the works! We are super excited. 

That's basically all the news for the week! I am feeling like this transfer I will learn some patience. My companion is so smart and such a wonderful teacher. When it's time to speak tagalog, she struggles a little bit. So we are getting used to simplifying our teaching to her needs. It's so different being with an american companion! People stare at me even more now. I keep thinking they will get used to me but they don't. 

Shoutout to my favorite gruaduatee- my little bro. Congrats! (: 

Have a good week all!

Love Sister Gaspar de Alba

 i love her! and miss her already. 

 sister tua'one. my STL twice. she's awesome 

 my district leader. if you were wondering if he is a new zeland version of my brother the answer is YES.  

 me and my new comp! sister ramsey. she is a graduated history major from wyoming. who is also a DRUMMER! that just says it all. we get along super well! 

Week 35 - "The Notebook" and the mangeach or peachango

Week 35

Tons of highlights this week. First: Brother J got baptized! YES. We were so excited for him and his family. It has been such a neat experience to be part of his conversion process. He referred his parents to us last week and we are now teaching them. Also a super golden family we have been teaching for about a week accepted baptism with tear-filled eyes a few days ago. Literally they have been waiting for this for so long. Me and my comp decided to go hard for our last week and finally hit 50+ OYM's and 30+ lessons. That was awesome. Numbers aren't really important but goals are. And the goals we set last week really pushed us! Last highlight of the week: Elder Christensen from the presidency of the seventy came to speak to us on tuesday. 

Okay so I bought this super cool notebook made in India about a month ago and have been saving it. (Because I still have an obsession with school supplies) Anyway this week I finally found a good enough reason to start using it. Okay so first- Elder Christensen came and gave an amazing workshop on prayer. He basically went through with us the process of receiving personal revelation. He used the examples of Enos and Joseph Smith to explain that receiving revelation takes A LOT of work on our part. And a lot of focus. So he went through with us how we can be more active in our search for personal revelation. So that's what my notebook is. It's my book of revelations. (lame missionary pun) But really this week I have seen such a difference in the effectiveness of my personal study. I have been so much more focused, and I feel like Heavenly Father has really been answering my questions. Anyway the conference was amazing! I feel like I am just barely learning how to pray. And of course it was super fun to see all my missionary friend in far away places!

I have been reading this book that President let me borrow called "Act In Doctrine" by Elder Bednar. It literally is a compilation of everything I feel like I have learned on my mission. It is like the theme of my mission. Reading it has been so great. Everyone- read this book! It really outlines how we put our beliefs into action. 

Have a great week all! We are coming to the end of our transfer and it's pretty much a sure thing that me or my anak will be out. I'm super sad! But ready for the next step. I love her and am so grateful for all that she has taught me. 

Love

Sister Gaspar de Alba

fried fish and rice with banana catsup. just wanted to show everyone my weirdest favorite meal here! i literally buy this fish on the street. its so good

yesterday's dinner. it's a root- called gabi in tagalog. not sure in english. anyway dipping it in brown sugar and fresh graded coconut it super good! 

MY BATCH(: we were finally all together again! so cool to get to see all of them at halfway. we are still just as close as in the mtc. 

rain rain and more rain! (:

one of my favorite sisters in our ward here! shes awesome. she made me stand like that because she said my tallness was covering up the red flower. anyway she is AWESOME! her husband passed away bout 10 years ago and 1 year after that she served a full time mission just like what i do every day (walking and sweating) at 50+. shes super awesome

there was this like crazy rainbow thing in the clouds on friday night. so awesome

brother jay got baptized! 

okay is this hilarious or what? the guy next to me is our bishop! Hes super funny, he reminds me a lot of my dad, actually. And to the left is our WML. hes pretty cool

i found a new type of mango i like. called apple mango. but it tastes like peach mango together. it is SO good. literally like a peach mango mix. even the texture is a little more like peaches.

this is me pigging out. 

Week 34 - Feeling the heat

Week 34

All the weeks are blurring together! It takes a really decent amount of effort to try and remember what happens when. Shout out to the Berk&Kara Whetten fam who hooked me up with some mexican candy that everyone here has loved. It's always wonderful to get packages from the family! I got one from mom, too. But the best part of every package is letters and pictures from all the crazy kids and cousins! and my parents, too. I feel like myself again in all the bright colored tees she sent me. This week we got over 20 referrals. YES. that is some awesome member work. We had lots of new investigators last week and about 6 of them are really prepared people to hear the gospel. Miracles(: This week was SO hot. I was dizzy for like 4 days straight. This filipino heat is killer. But it's started rainy season so i'm pretty excited. 

We tried a lot of new things last week. We started doing shorter, more frequent visits with our investigators. It's really helped us to find those people who are ready to accept the gospel. We had a really great lesson with a family who was referred to us by their member neighbors. It's so cool to recognize Heavenly Father's hand in our lives and to notice His had in the lives of others. He is so patient with us. 

Last week was a little rough emotionally. The mission is hard in that way, I feel like my emotional spectrum is even wider. Yeah, it's possible. BUT. My companion is amazing and helps encourage a lot. Even though I have been out on the mission for a while now, I still miss home every now and then. And that's okay as missionaries. That's not going to go away. But what I've learned this week is how important it is to just be where He wants us to be. And decide to always be happy about it. I love being here in the Philippines on a mission, sometimes I just forget how much I love it. The best thing I have found to do when I feel like I am stuck in self-pity is to just get outside and work. To pray and make the decision in my head that I am going to stop thinking about myself. Then muster up the courage and strength to do it. And The Lord really helps us as we do that. He gives us the strength we are lacking. 

Life lessons on the mish- priceless!

Love to all!

Sister Gaspar de Alba

 a super yummy dinner at the house of one of our members. 

 this is mayce! she enters the MTC in about 2 weeks. we are so excited for her