Hello again from the Philippines - January 31, 2011

Sister Andreasen & Sister Tacbobo

Zone pday bike riding around the lake in San Pablo

I didn't know what pineapple plants looked like, they are so cute!!

Riding the troll on the railroad with the Senior Sisters.

The Zone with the Messamers Family

I love all the cute children

Beautiful San Pablo

Smile

Life in San Pablo is like life in America with some Tagalog hehe. Just joking, but I love it here! I love our investigators. We are working on finding and teaching as many people as we can! I am so excited! Each week we meet new people and I love them and I am so excited, we have so much potential in this area! I just pray each and every day that they will feel the power of the Spirit that comes with this message and do all that I can to remain worthy of that spirit each and every day. Lately I have been thinking a lot about what my MTC teacher, Sister Hawkes always talked to us about, quiet dignity. I think it is something that I always need to work on because I guess I am more of a loud person but I just want to always be able to feel and respond to the subtle prompting of the Holy Ghost and I know that as I develop quiet dignity that will come. It is something I have been working on my whole mission and I just really have been working on it this transfer so that I can be prepared for the investigators! I love the people here so much and I just want them to realize the amazing blessings that come with taking a little faith and trying something new!

So to answer your questions. It is cold some times and hot sometimes, that is not however it is cold some days and hot some days the weather just changes so quickly sometimes. I am still cold at night and still don’t use the electric fan hehe. The threesome is still awesome it makes it easy for us to split on Sundays too :) but may companions Sister Batan and Sister Tacbobo are so amazing I learn so much from them!!!! I love it. And about the TB test, I just got an x-ray because I need it before I leave. Should I bring it home? 

Anyway back to work, 

We have a great progressing investigator Brother Jerry, he should be baptized this coming Sunday but he didn’t come to church and we haven’t been able to talk to him yet so we are a little worried, so I hope it goes through! We have been praying extra hard for him.

Then we have the Sacueza family and we had an appointment and our plan was to give them a baptismal commitment! But they weren’t home! :( We were so sad so I am excited to go see them tomorrow! I just pray that all goes well, they are pretty set on the Catholic religion but I know if the read the Book of Mormon and pray about it they will know! 

Next is Marj! I love her! We met her when we went to teach someone else. We have an investigator who is not really interested and we have been thinking about dropping him but we went to teach him and the member that works for him, that is who gave the referral, her best friend was there. That is Marj. So to clear it up. Jenny, the member gave a referral, Brother Patty (not interested). But her best friend came back from Manila and is living next to her and so we are teaching her now and she is amazing! And she came to church with Jenny on Sunday. Well as we were talking we found out Marj's mom lives right next to jenny's mom in another part of our area so the next day we went to teach her and she is amazing! I am so excited I hope that they can progress together!  Because of the work schedule of Sister Marj she doesn’t get to see her baby very often, who lives with her mom, so if they go to church not only will they grow closer to the Lord but it will also give their family a time to see and grow closer to each other! I love it!

The sisters were teaching a family before I got here but they weren’t really a big priority because the mom and the dad wouldn’t really listen just the kids but they are too young to go to church on their own so we weren’t really sure what we should do so we decided to focus the lesson on the parents, well when we went back they weren’t there but.... Richard was there he is one of their older sons he is 16 and he is really interested he reads and asks questions and I think that he will be progressing really well. He said he isn’t sure that Joseph saw our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ but he committed to pray about it! :)

Each day we meet more and more people and I am really excited for them to progress and to see which ones we will focus on and just to share the gospel with all who will listen! I love the work and I love being a servant of the Lord. I love studying and growing closer to the Spirit. That is actually how I decided to change my major.

I am not sure yet what it will be I need to talk to someone and I also need to talk to dad and maybe Brother Gibbons. I was reading an Ensign in our apartment and I read an article about seminary and how it started and then I thought about all the students at dads school who are members and I thought that maybe you could start to have seminary as a class at school? Can you do that in California? Well I just thought it would be a good idea. And I was thinking that I could still get my degree in education just focusing on religious studies with a minor in home economics. Hehe. I don’t know if this is possible but it sounds like a good idea! I would love it! I don’t know if that was just me thinking up great things in my mind or if it truly is possible! I hope so. But I am still looking to be a teacher but not theater and speech. So just let me know I would love to talk to a counselor, dad, and Brother Gibbons to see if it is possible and what I can do and how I can make what I want to do into a career. It would be great if you could talk with a counselor for me but of course I'm not there but I trust you :)

I love the gospel and I want my whole life to be focused on the church! I love sharing this wonderful message of truth with our brothers and sisters and know that as we grow closer to Him we will want to help others come closer as well! I love you all so much I am grateful for your love and examples in my life!

Love Sister Andreasen