Homecoming at the Airport - March 23, 2011

Leaving the Philippines and Homecoming - March 23, 2011

So it is the final days up till I got home. This is how I felt…

We had a career workshop I went to my old area because it was at my old building, which was weird. It was fun and weird haha. You feel like this isn’t a very good P-day and how you should be getting ready for the work they rest of the week. Then you remember that you won’t be doing in more work like you did. The workshop was fun and we got to say good-bye to the sweet senior sisters! We also got to go to Ramzi one last time. Haha.

They give hats to all the missionaries who are leaving. I do love that I was able to serve in San Pablo so it means something to me. J

Then we went back to the mission home and had dinner and an FHE that was wonderful and then we all bore testimony and I was first which means I just ended up crying the whole time from the beautiful words of missionaries who love the work and are having a hard time dealing with good-bye. It was a wonderful experience! How I love my fellow missionaries and especially my beloved mission president and his wife!!!

Then President did some farewell interviews, I was supposed to get mine but didn’t that night. He asked me if we could do it in the morning. So that night we had nice warm! Showers. Wow! Haha. And of course we couldn’t sleep so I had a good talk with all the sisters. The next day we were off to the temple so we had to get some sleep. I decided to wake up early and do my interview early before I put on any make-up because I knew I would be crying. I was interviewed by president and he just told me what a great job I had done and how much he loves me.

He gave me my certificate of honorable release and had me read it. I was already crying but as I read that certificate I couldn’t help but sob just after the first line, “You are honorably released from your sacred calling…” it was so hard to hear! President smiled, laughed, and cried at my tears and I will never forget his sweet uplifting words to me! How blessed I truly am to have meet and been inspired by all the wonderful people I know from San Pablo Mission!

Then we traveled to the temple. It was a good trip with the other missionaries. Then when we got there I was able to see Sis. Arrieta and her fiancé and Sis. Clave!! It was a great reunion!

We all had lunch and then went to the temple! What a blessing! Going through the temple again! I love it so much the spirit that come from do work for the living and the dead is so astonishing! The temple was beautiful and it will always be one of my favorites!

I traveled to the hotel with Sisters Tuifua and Gepiga, it was fun! We had a good night trying to make sure that we could get everything to fit the weight limits haha. Then we had a morning of good-byes and I met up with Sis. Adams and another sister I met in the MTC and we had the same flights so we were able to talk in the airport. The flights were long and no sleep could be found. I was heart broken and excited! I talked to some guys, who to be honest looked a little scary, they were older and in a big band group. It just goes to show once again that you can’t judge by looks because they were very nice. I sat by one and we talk about the church, he has a lot of friends who are members and has even read the Book of Mormon but doesn’t want to change. He was very nice though!

Then I finally got off the plane and it was a long process to go through customs and I’m sure seemed even longer knowing that my family was waiting right around the corner.

I came out and there they all were with signs and smiles! I started running up the slop with my big cart of luggage it was so good to be able to embrace the wonderful family who has made me who I am! They all have made me better and so in a why they have all lift a little mark in the Philippines! I loved my mission! It changed my life in so many ways and made me into a much better person! I will forever have the Philippines and all the people I love from PSPM in my heart!

So now I have been home for a while and I miss the mission, I think I always will but I strive each and everyday to be an example for all the people that I have taught, met, and who have influenced my life! The mission will forever be a part of who I am!!!!        

Last Week in the Field - March 21, 2011

This was my last week of service and it was bitter sweet. My last P-day was spent with a bunch of missionaries.

We had extras because we had the companions of some who had to go renew their visas. So I was with a bunch of Pinyos! Haha J

After that we went to the Kawit family for dinner and we were able to talk to Bro. Kawit a little even though he is still trying to resist.

So in the work this week we were able to teach the son of Sis. Tess! That was exciting I feel like each time we go to their home we get to teach more and more of their family! He seems really interested! We had a great lesson with Olive and Jemuel! We taught about Joseph Smith and the Spirit was so strong! Then Tatay Lino!!!! J He is still going strong! I love him so much!!! They all committed to go to church on Sunday so I am really excited!

We had our district meeting on Tuesday and I had to give the lesson. I talked about enduring JOYFULLY to the end! I talked about how important this work is and how sometimes it gets hard but each day is amazing and wonderful!!!! I cried! I know shocker! Haha. I just love the work and I find so much joy in it I never want it to stop!

We had zone interviews on Wednesday and that was great and uplifting. It was funny, President had an interview with me, even though I will be getting another one in a few short days. He said he doesn’t want me to miss out on my last zone interview. He asked me if I was ready and I cried :/ he told me that I have done a great job and he wishes that he could have more missionaries like me. It was really hard to realize that he was saying good-bye a little bit. 

Anywoo, back to the work! We went and a lot of the people that we wanted to see were not home but it was okay because we found some new people so that when I leave there will still be a lot of people to teach here J

On Saturday we were able to have a great spiritual experience and the half day mission of the office elders. We met a lot of members who are less active and they committed to come to church so that was great!

I was able to see Bro. Edwin. I don’t know if you remember him but we taught him and then he was never home but we were able to continue to teach his wife Lian. Then the day we were going to commit her for baptism she told us that her husband doesn’t want us to come anymore, well her son told us because she was too embarrassed to come out. We weren’t able to see her since but we kept going by. Then we found out that their youngest son was in the hospital. We only got to talk with Bro. Edwin for a short time but we were able to tell him how sorry we were and how we want to help if we can in any way, so I hope that it softens his heart, because they are a great family and I feel that one day they will except the gospel as a family!

Saturday I was able to go to a member’s house and I was able to become a true Pinoy! Meaning I road a Carabao!!!! Yay! It was so much fun. A little scary when it started moving around but I loved it and I really did feel like I was becoming more like these wonderful people. Hehe.

I went to church on Sunday and only Michelle came. That was a little hard because I had such high hopes! I had to get up and bear my testimony and it was so hard to look in to the eyes of these wonderful people that I love so much and tell them good-bye! My heart just ached! I love them so much and they will always be a reason that I am a better person! I love them so much! I was doing okay until we got on the jeepney and I had to leave my area!!! I got to the mission home full of tears but happy to see my batch J I finally got it together and then the APs said they were taking my companion back then I had to say good-bye! She is so sweet! I know she is worried but I know she will be amazing!!! I am leaving my last area in good hands.

When I walked in the mission office there was some mail for me and then the office elders said they had something for me, it was flowers from Sis, Tacbobo! She is so sweet! I love her so much and it was so hard not to be able to see her again before I leave. She would always put flowers in my hair and she gave me a bouquet of flowers before I went home.

We had dinner and then just got ready for Monday, our last “P-day”. It is going to be a really good, hard last days!!!

I love the work I love you all and I will see you soon! 

Love, Sister Andreasen 

Last Letter From The Philippines - March 14, 2011

This is the way we wash our clothes.

Sweet Nanay!

Do we have enough seat belts?

Yummy Coconut

Good Times!

I love you all!

First off I just want to let you know that the tsunami had no effect on us here. I am perfectly fine. I don’t know a lot about what happened but yes we did hear about it.  From the things that they said it just sounds so sad! It just made me think that these really are the last days and we need to be prepared! How grateful I am to have the gospel and the opportunity to share it with others. The gospel is a way to gain eternal life, happiness in the life to come, so it means that this life won’t always be happy.  I know that it is going to get hard and it is going to get scary but even in uncertain times we have the peace that comes from the loving comfort of our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ! 

I am so glad that you got my package and yes I did get pearls, one of each color hehe. But if you just want to wait we can organize it when I get home. The animals I'm not sure what I will do with them. They were given to me so yeah I don’t know yet but I love them.  Is there enough Liahonas for me to have one too? If not its okay. 

So I am loving the work and just trying to do my best up to the very last. It is hard to think that it is only one more week!!! I am going crazy. I feel like my mind knows but my heart hasn’t caught up yet. I think it will break when I leave! But I have been thinking that it is like a transfer. Every transfer has been hard, some more than others, but I have always seen why the Lord needs me to transfer and I have met new people that I love. So I know that this will be the hardest "transfer" but I also know that it too is the plan of the Lord and I just need to follow the spirit and trust in his guiding hand! I know that this is a good thing. I just need to be ready to listen to His will for me. 

I love you!!! That is one thing I am truly excited for to see all your loving faces once again!!! This email is so weird because I know it is the last.

I just want you to know that the work is still moving forward! I love the work. We have been working so hard to get Sister Tess to come to church! And this week she came!!!! I am so happy!!!! She is so amazing! I gave her some church clothes and I was so happy when she wore them to church this Sunday!!! I love the gospel andI know that it blesses the lives of the people who truly try to apply what they learn from it! 

I know that is also what I need to do, apply all that I learned from the mission. I know that this is one of the biggest blessings in my life! I am excited to see all your shinning faces at the airport!! :) I will continue to work hard until that time! 

I love you all so much!!! See you soon!
Love, Sister Andreasen!
P.S. I tried to send pictures but I don’t think they will all go through. When I come home na lang. :)  

I Love The Work! - March 7, 2011

Wearing out my shoes in His service.

The Abuyabor Family "I Love Them"

It is so good to hear from you!!!!
I love you all so much! We have met so many new people! We met 34 new people this week! Wow! And we had 4 investigators come to church on Sunday!!!! Yes!!!! Many of our investigators have baptismal goal dates and I just know it is because of the spirit and use of the new curriculum that we have been able to help our investigators to progress! It has been a great week! We taught Sister Evelyn and she said that she wasn’t suppose to be home but she believes it was God who made it so she was home to listen to our message and what lesson where we going to teach her? The restoration! She was so right!!! I love the spirit!!!
Then we committed Brother Joseph and Sister Tess to be baptized and they are really excited! Brother said he never listens to other religions that come to their home but he just felt something different with us!!!! Again, I love the spirit and Brother Joseph is amazing!!!!
The senior sisters worked with us this week and so we got to go to a lot of people and it was amazing! They are so awesome! We also started teaching this family that has 15 kids!!! I'm so excited! One of the oldest has a baptismal goal date! So I hope we can teach him more often!!!!
Nanay Juliana is so cute and she said that she doesn’t want to continue because she is not going to get baptized but she loves us and we can come teach her. Haha. So we just told her that we just want her to understand our message so we will come back and teach her a little and help her understand.  So I think no matter how long it takes one day she will fill the need to change!!! She is so excited though that we let her keep the Book of Mormon and said she is going to read it! Hehe
We had a Family Home Evening at a sister’s home so that we could teach the girl who is staying with them. She is 17 and she is their house help. Her name is Sara Jane and she is so shy but I think she is really open to the message! She even came to church on Sunday!!! I'm excited for her!!! She came from Bicol so I think it will be a hard adjustment but I know this will really help her to feel joy!
We taught three people who are less active this week and they all came to church on Sunday! I was so happy when I saw them all!!! We are going back this Saturday and I think we will get some good referrals!!! :)
This Sunday we got a lot of lessons taught because we were able to split and I met a guy who was taught before and he wants to be baptized! So that is going to be great!!! I love it when people know they felt something and want it back, it is really the spirit working in their lives! He was a referral so it just goes to show the great help that members are in this great work!!!
We were also able to teach Brother Randolph Abuyabor, the father of Joseph and Aldrin!! He was taught before but offended so I am really hoping that now is the time for him to feel the spirit again and come back to church! He is so nice and I just pray that he will be home each Sunday, not at work so we can teach him!
Then we met a new couple! And they are great! We went to teach some new members and they had people there so we taught them instead. We didn’t have a lot of time because we needed to get home before curfew so I thought oh just an introduction. But then the spirit said "use the Book of Mormon!" so I felt inspired to share a verse and when I did brother read it and right after Sister took the book from him and just started looking and search, I just felt that this helped bring in the spirit. Brother said that he has tried a lot of religions and I know that the Book of Mormon is the way for him to feel the difference here! That this truly is the church of Jesus Christ! The lesson was short but I think they felt the spirit and they said they want to listen again! We left them a Book of Mormon! I am really excited to go back to teach them!
Then we had a great experience last night!  I have an ear infection and I could feel it Saturday morning and so Saturday night I didn’t know what to do because it was late and the next day was Sunday and I knew it would get worse but my mission presidents wife just asked me to wait till Monday. So Sunday night I tried to text a member who is a nurse and ask where I should go, but they didn’t text back so I thought oh I will just ask our next-door neighbor. Which was good because I felt like before I leave I need to talk to her about the church! She has lived next to sisters for a while but doesn’t know about the church! So I asked her and she said, “Actually I have an ear infection”! She gave me some antibiotic, which is the same thing I took last time! And she helped me know where I should go to get the medicine I need! She then started to ask questions and by the time I left she gave us crackers, medicine, and invited us to have dinner before I leave. We in-turn left her with a pamphlet and a Book of Mormon and we are going to go back to her later tonight! She doesn’t live in our area because we don’t live in our area but we are going to prepare her so she can listen to the sisters! I'm so excited!!!! It worked out so well! The Lord helped me with my ear problem and provided away for me to talk to this sister about the gospel! I am so grateful for the Lord and his answers to prayers! I am so glad that for whatever reason that nurse - member didn’t answer his text!!! I love the gospel! I love this work it is so amazing! I know that the Lord is blessing me to have these sweet experiences before I leave! I just need to keep doing my part and work as hard as I can to the very end!!! It doesn’t seem real that I will be leaving even though I already have my flight plans!!! :/ But it just doesn’t feel like it there is so much work to do!!! I love this work!!! I am grateful for the love and support that you all have given me and the help that you send in times of need! I know that Lord is always here for us and I am so thankful to have the truth in my life! I know the Lord has given me the best gifts ever! A loving eternal family and a testimony of my Savior!!!!! I love it! I love you all!!!!!
Love,
Sister Andreasen!  

Wow, I Love The Work! - February 28, 2011

Yummy Papaya!

Sister Gabuyo and Sister Andreasen

Another Beautiful View

Sister Andreasen

So I had some great experiences this week in the work and blessings for missionaries!

At Zone Conference

So first I will tell you about Zone Conference. It was amazing! It was full of fun seeing other missionaries and just plain happiness. But most important it was filled with the spirit. I love zone conference because it is always what I need to hear, something that I need to be better at doing or improve on to make the work better. We focused on using the Book of Mormon more and teaching people - not lessons. Which is one of my favorites! When you really focus on the people they feel of your love and they understand that you are there to help them and love them and not for any other reason! I love that! Then focusing on the Book of Mormon I have always known that this is the way that people will know if this is the true church but what they taught made me realize that I need to be using the Book of Mormon more and that I need to help them understand the importance of the Book of Mormon even in just the first lesson! I am so grateful for the spirit and strength that comes from zone conference!
Then we also got to see David O. McConkie and Elder Edwards! We had a devotional here in San Pablo and only the San Pablo zone was able to attend and I am so glad I am here! The talks were amazing. Elder Edwards spoke of a letter from a sister missionary, who one day got the impression to go visit less actives. They got impressions on where to go and went to work but to their dismay they didn’t find any success. The missionary talked about feeling like she didn’t do enough. To make a long story short she had somewhat of a conversation with herself in her head and came to the conclusion that if she was following the spirit and being obedient we will always fall short even our best won’t be good enough but that is why we have a savior! He loves us and will make up for the rest and will provide a way to make up for our shortcomings! How grateful I am for that! Last week that is what I was feeling and that just gave me a reminder that Jesus Christ is here to help me and make up for what I can’t do. I love in Preach my Gospel it says, "Everything that is unfair about life will be made right through the atonement" I love that truth! Pure and simple if we do all we can the Savior has already provided a way to make up for our shortcomings, heal our broken hearts, and finally make us whole, sanctified through His love and mercy! How great the plan of our Father in Heaven is!
Also! We had investigators come to the devotional! They were so excited! Sister Tess and Brother Joseph (hehe) I love it! I love the name Joseph! It’s dad’s name, its in the scriptures, Joseph of the Old Testament, Joseph of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. My middle name is Jo after Joseph and now we have two great progressing investigators whose names are Joseph! I love it. Then Sister Tess her birthday is may 27! Random facts of happiness hehe. Anywoo, they are progressing and so excited about the church and I am so excited for them and know they will be baptized!
We also have another investigator who is a member of another church here and they always have a lot of questions and are a little hard headed. It took a while to explain the importance of the restoration and the Book of Mormon. He said he would ask his pastors about it and I just thought wow that will never help. So we just testified to him that answers like this don’t come from people but from the Lord through the spirit. It was a really good lesson and after he gave a kneeling prayer and I think it really helped him feel the spirit!
Then we have another investigator Nanay Juliana. She is a little old lady and super cute!!!! She calls us her little ladies in English. She likes to speak English and it is adorable! We went to teach her and she broke down and started telling us about how her husband is weak and that she is scared that she will lose him. She talked about how she has trust in Gods plan but is scared to lose her husband. She talked most of the time and expressed her love for him. It was so sweet! Of course I cried and we shared with her about the plan of salvation and the comfort that comes from the atonement of Jesus Christ! She said that when she talked to her husband about us he said that they are catholic and too old but if they were younger they would be "Mormon" hehe so we just have to help them realize that they have this time on earth to prepare and know the truth no matter how short the time may be. She expressed her love for us and told us that were are her best friends! She is amazing and I think I knew her in the pre-existence.
So Marj our former investigator who moved to Manila, she is the daughter of Tess and Joseph they have another daughter who we were able to teach. I was so excited because she seems really interested but she can’t get baptized yet because she is living with a man and they are going to have a baby but they aren’t yet married and can’t get married for two years because she is only 16! :( But we are still excited to prepare her for the time when she can get baptized!
We also were told of a place to go teach by a member, she has two referrals that we haven’t yet met and then we met her brothers and they are excited and want to be baptized! I am so excited for the work.
I have had a half-day mission but it was in my first area so you probably don’t remember and I probably didn’t really understand what was going on hehe.
But it is amazing we will have all the missionaries from our zone come to our area and ward members will work so that we can split up and go bring back the lost sheep in one great morning of reactivation and spreading the gospel! It is going to be epic! I think it will really bring a good spirit to the ward and help the members feel the joy of missionary work, help reactivate and help to find new investigators! I am so excited! However I will only see day after affects.  Because it is on the 19th the day before I go into the mission home.
It is crazy to think how fast it is coming and I am not ready for it. There is still work to be done so until the last minute it is my job I will be as diligent as I can! I love the gospel. I know it is true and I am so grateful for it in my life!
I love you all and am glad to hear you are doing well. Just like you I hope it warms up of I will die when I go home. Hehe. I love you keep being the great family you are! You are always in my prayers!
Love, Sister Andreasen   

Work, Work, Work, That is the Secret - February 21, 2010

Attack of the Butterfly

I love you all!

So you made me a little trunky in that last email when you said that we are going to TOFW in April! I am so excited and John Bytheway will be there! Wow! I am so excited! Haha. I am going to send pouch this Thursday because we have zone conference and then I will send the doll to Sister Remy. I was able to send the package today they said it could take up to 25 days. So it should be there before me. Haha. Wow that is so weird to think. Haha. I sent some shells, ties and clothes too. I didn’t write that great of a note because I didn’t have a lot of time and I am writing you right now. Sorry. Just know that I love you!!!! :)
So first the weather it is hot now. But not too bad but I have a feeling I will die of cold when I go home.
So lets get to the work. I love it! I love all the people I am meeting in this area! But I had a hard week this week. We gave Sister Marj a baptismal goal date and then the last time we taught her she told us that her job in Manila called and she is going back to work in Manila, so she left this Sunday :( I was so sad! But at least she still wants to be baptized and so we gave a referral to the missionaries in Manila. So I hope we get good news.  Her best friend is a member so I think it will all be okay.
Then we weren’t able to see Tatay Lino this whole week... again! I was so sad! Then we went to see Sister Lain and her kids just came out and said that there dad doesn’t like it and tried to give back the Book of Mormon :( it was so sad! I love that family so much and we were hoping to give a baptismal goal date to sister and I really think she is ready and knows the truth! So I hope that one day they will come to the church! Sister is ready and it just breaks my heart that she can’t even come and talk to us face to face. Sister Lian’s kids said that she was too embarrassed to come and talk to us. So we are going to go back and try to talk to her again. So after that I was feeling a little sad and I just felt like it is may last area and my last transfer and what do I have to show for it! How can I leave the mission and this is how I leave the area and these people! It just broke my heart!
So Saturday night I went home feeling as though I was lacking in the work and so I just wanted to find out what the Lord needs me to do. As I was reading my scriptures I read in 3 Nephi and it talked about how people won’t accept the gospel even when it is right in front of them and it just made me realize that these are the last days and so they aren’t all going to accept the message but that they need to be given the opportunity. Then Sunday was an amazing day! We met new people and we were able to give baptismal goal dates! Then that night I looked over the work that we had done and we met 23 new people and they are amazing! I think the Lord was just helping me see the positive and to remind me that we need to be finding those who will progress and to focus efforts on those who are truly going to accept the gospel! I am excited for the new people that we are meeting and I am excited for our investigators who have baptismal goal dates. I know that I won’t be able to see the fruits of our labors because they need to come to church four times but at least the Lord gave me reassurance that I am making a difference in this work and in this area and that I am doing his will. I hope that I can help people come closer to Christ. We just set a half-day mission and I know that it will give so much help to the ward and to missionary work! I love this work! I know that the Lord has a purpose for me and that he needs me to find the elect and it is hard to see some not accepting the message and I just think about our Father in Heaven and Savior. What must they feel when we don’t accept them or when we go against their will!
I was so grateful for your testimony in the last email it really gave me strength and helped me realize how important this work is and that I just need to keep doing what the Lord wants me to do, continue to read my scriptures, say my prayers, and just work work work. That is my mission "slogan", "work, work, work that is the secret" and it truly is to be happy in the work and to know you are doing the Lord’s will just work! I love it!
I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ! And I am grateful for this knowledge and for the opportunity to be one of the Lord's missionaries!
Please tell Abby happy birthday and that I love her! Travis too sorry I didn’t say it last week, oh and Aunt Jill!!!!! I love you all!
Sorry if this email is a little crazy we have a member that is here and she doesn’t know how to use a computer so she keeps asking for help and then so does my companion for spelling on English. Hehe. She is writing to president. Haha. Sorry if this is a little crazy! I will write more next week!
I love you all!!!!!!!!
Love, Sister Andreasen 

Hello Again - February 14, 2011

Getting Our Planning Done!

So how is everything going? I hope well. I know who uncle Joe is but I didn’t know him that well, mostly just hearing his name. But I am sure it was hard for grandpa. I am glad to hear that he is doing well though! Speaking of family, when I was in Barra one of the member’s Brother Jerome just came home from his mission and he said that he trained an Elder Andreasen. So I wrote him because he is still in the mission. I figure we are some how related because Andreasen isn’t a very common name. He didn’t tell me his name but he said his dad is Bryon and they are from Logan Utah. He said his grandpa is Clifford but goes by "Boose". He also said his great grandfather is Aaron Andreasen. So I don’t know if we are related but I'm sure some how. So yeah, it’s just a small world!  I got a new companion at transfer day; she like my anak is also from Tarlac, Camiling in Tarlac. She didn’t know Sister Pascual before the mission but they met in the MTC because they are batch. All of my last companions are batch, Sister Pascual, Sister Tacbobo and Sister Gabuyo. That is my new companion, Sister Gabuyo! She is amazing! She is very sweet and very humble and I am blessed to have her as, yes, my last companion. I also got the Liahonas at transfer day. So I hope to get the money and send them today so that they will get there, also some other stuff so I don't have to worry about the weight of my luggage when I.... Anyway, I got your package!!!!! Thank you so much! I got it at transfer day :) thank you for all its wonderful goodness hehe. My companion was also excited because I was able to give her a little Book of Mormon! She loved it. And the rest I will just send. 

So I am loving the work. We had a hard week with work this week. First the sisters were getting ready to leave, we had sisters come stay with us, and we were punted so it was a hard week with numbers and everything but I know that next week will be better. We didn’t even get to see Tatay Lino! He wasn’t home!!! Then Sister Marj committed to baptism and they said they were coming to church but then they weren’t there! :( so I am not sure what happened. But I am excited to move the work forward this week and get our investigators to come to church!!! Have I told you about Sister Kawit and Brother Ephraim? They are great members! Sister Kawit is the Relief Society President and Brother Ephraim has lots of callings but he works with us and helped us with the baptism.  Anyway, Brother Kawit is less active. The one that I said I felt I should go visit. Well we went to see him. I think it was affective! Although we cried, both Sister Tacbobo and I cried because he told us that he has to deal with the fact that he won’t be with his family forever and he said that this life is enough :( it was hard to hear that. I think he was offended. He is a way nice guy though. At first he didn’t want to come out and talk to us but I just started talking to him from a window and then I think he felt bad so he came and talked to us. We didn’t have a lesson we just talk so that we could build his trust but we set a return appointment and I am so excited! Hope it goes well and he understands the importance! I love this work! I love inviting people to come closer to Jesus Christ. Brother Kawit is a jeepney driver so he actually ended up taking all us missionaries to the mission home on transfer day :) 

The bishop really wants to help us in getting the ward to give us referrals and to even work with us as couples! I am so excited! I think it will really help the work. Then we set a day for a 1/2-day mission and I think that it will bring in a lot of referrals and help the less actives to come back!!!! I am so excited for the progression of this area and ward! I love them! 

People always say stuff about how close march is. I guess I have come to the realization that that is true soon I will be leaving but it just means I have to work extra hard! I know that I will be leaving but I don’t feel it! I just feel that I need to push myself and do as much good as I can in this area! It is a large area and one thing that it says in preach my gospel is "leave the area better than you found it" I really want to do that! Help member, less active, investigators, and non-members to come closer to Christ! I love this work! I love my Savior and I love that he makes up for all my imperfections. So even if last week wasn’t as good as it should have been I know that we can always do better and that the spirit will guide and direct where we need to go and how we can be more effective as missionaries! Because this is the best work ever! And I get to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord and I just want to do all I can to please him and to help my brothers and sisters! Because this is the true church and we all have to know the way to return home to our loving Heavenly Father. 

I will be sending pictures so hopefully you get them all!  

The Pullos grandkids, they are so cute and always want to wear our name tags!

The baptism of Brother Jerry!!!!! :) Brother Dwayne Salayog baptized him.

A picture with bishop, his father in law, wife and cute little boy! Bryce is the little boy he is so cute. He is supper shy but always wants to "flirt" with us. 

Brother Danny, he is the ward mission leader. His daughter Mau works with us so he was sleeping waiting to pick her up. Haha.

We went to a butterfly garden for pday and saw some cool animals too, along with a lot of butterflies. 

Then we got to see Sister Ganaden, Elder French, and Elder Holland before they went home! 

Elder French

Sister Ganaden

Elder Holland

President came over for the birthday of Sister Tacbobo. He promised her a meal at the mission home but didn’t have time so just brought it to our apartment real quick.  

A picture of Brother and Sister Kawit! :) 

Me and my companions in the "sacred grove" hehe. On the way to our area :)

Then miracle fruit, that little red berry looking thing. It is really sweet and after eating it if you eat something sour it will just be sweet! It is so crazy!!! :) One of our less active members gave them to us.

Sister Trinidad.

Then at Brother Jerry’s house with his mom! :)

The one in orange is Sister Eve! We had dinner with her. She is so sweet she served her mission here in San Pablo mission :)

then a picture with Brother Patty, Sister Jenny, and Sister Marj :) Sister Marj is in pink.

Happy Valentines Day at SM hehe.

Brother Belda took us to have dinner at SM because sister was in Manila. Haha he doesn’t look very happy but he really is. Haha.

President left his glasses at our apartment hehe.

 So I cried at transfer day! It was the last time I would see a lot of missionaries! Almost all my batch going home was at transfer day! :)

With Elder Muller and Sister Tacbobo.

Then a cute random picture of little kids taking a bath on the street. So cute hehe

That’s it I hope they all send! I love you all! And am so grateful to have you as may family!!!!

Love, Sister Andreasen
p.s. Happy Valentines Day. Hehe.