Another Week Gone...

It's been yet another awesome week! One month down. Hard to believe... I think I've learned more the past 7 days than the weeks previous.

 

So this morning, President Beck and his wife approached me before new missionary arrivals, and said, "Sister Wilson, I would like to have a word with you in my office," clipboard in hand. My heart dropped down into my stomach and I searched my mind for anything that I could have possibly done wrong. I'm pretty sure I broke out in a cold sweat. He told me to have a seat and he shut the door behind him. Oh my golly, I about died. Then he sits down and said, "Sister Wilson, how is your humility?" I just stared at him, completely speechless. He said, "Sister, you're going to need it so that I can give you this huge compliment. You are the most well-adjusted and most prepared missionary we have ever seen." I couldn't think of any reason why he would think that but he started asking me quesitons and writing notes about my life. He asked me the things that I did to prepare and the such. It was an answer to prayer that he did this because the night before, I asked the Lord to help me know that I was in the right place. All I can say is wow. (And that God probably thinks he's pretty funny.)

 

I saw my first rain! It's so weird that it rains consistently, all day long instead of 5 minute spurts of rain, sunshine, hail, and random bipolar weather. We also got tricked for one of our teaching appointments. We were told to go wait in the garden for our new investigator, April, whom we had never before met. We sat out there for a while and she wasn't showing up but we noticed someone else who had beeen sitting there for a while but he was a teacher and we didn't think anything of it. Until our appointment didn't show and neither did his... so we went to talk to him and he identified himself as April's boyfriend. So we asked where she was and if we could teach him. He rejected the offer and we were so confused because once we went back inside, he stayed there. Turns out he was supposed to be our investigator and we were suppposed to be persistent- it was an OYM test. This is hard to detect in the MTC because the teachers are always waiting for other missionaries to come and teach them... oh well, lesson learned.

 

I think one of the hardest things on a mission is going to be making close friends and then they leave. This week we had some missionaries very close to us leave for the field. We became best of friends in such a short time. It's wonderful how the gospel blesses friendships and brings people together but at the same time, you make and then lose friends every 6 weeks, haha.

 

I hit the field in a week! Crazy! We got to go proselyting on Wednesday, which was definitely an eye opener. We went to my area that I'm gonna be serving in and it was literally the slums of Quezon City. It was complete culture shock for me. Raw sewage, stray dogs, garbage and broken glass filling the streets, and flies everywhere. It will definitely be an adjustment. It really humbled me and made me grateful for everything I have. Some peoples' homes are shacks as small as a bathroom. They would cram a family of 5 into those tiny living quarters and all the clothes that they owned were hanging on the line outside their front door. We really live like royalty and tend to take that for granted. The lady we taught was great! She was a recent convert as of November, baptized the same day she got married. Talk about a big day... her husband is still investigating and they have the most adorable little boy. She bore her testimony to us of how she wants her husband and son to feel the happiness and blessings the gospel brings and won't lose hope for them. Her faith was astounding and it was powerful, even though she kept getting distracted by Frozen playing in the background. (It took everything inside of me not to belt 'Let It Go' with her!) She showed us her list of questions that she's had throughout her life and how they had been answered through scripture study. I learned that it's rude to knock on people's doors. You're supposed to stand outside and say, "Tao po!"  and they invite you in. After the teaching appointment, they gave us pamphlets and told us to give them away and OYM a bunch of people. Of course the first person I OYM'd was drunk off his rocker. He took the pamphlet right out of my hands and pretended to be interested so he could talk about our white skin (the in-field sister was also white). Then it got weird because he was trying to touch our arms and so we got out of there pretty fast. Hopefully when he sobers up, he will read the pamphlet and still be as enthusiastic. :P

 

We rode a jeepney back and I don't think I'll ever get used to the driving... it's already dangerous enough without the drivers steering with their knees as they count change for passengers. When we got back to the MTC we nearly kissed the ground. It's gonna be so hard to leave this place! We have a newfound appreciation for the beautiful campus. When everyone wiped their faces, it rubbbed off brown because the air is so pulluted.

 

OH! I almost forgot to mention balut. Calm down, I didn't eat it. We aren't allowed. The teachers, however, can do whatever they want. So Brother Edioy smuggled balut into the MTC and ate the whole thing in the classroom. (Pics attached.) Yummy...

 

We had a Q&A with Pres. & Sister Beck on Sunday with our tiny group which was really nice. It was more personal that way. Pres Beck told the elders that his first impression of them was " Here is matter unorganized."  Only endowed members will get the joke. ;) They taught us that everything we need to know about the field and what to expect on our missions can be found by reading Alma 26.

 

Here's my spiritual thought for the week. The branch president talked about it in sacrament meeting nad it really touched my heart. Some people ask the missionaries how there can be a God when life is so hard. God is like a silversmith during the purification process. In order to purify silver, he has to put it into the hottest part of the flame. As with life, God gives us hard situations to refine us and build our character. However, the silversmith has to stay and hold it as it sits in the flame so it won't cool down prematurely and become useless or overheat. Through our tirals, God is supporting us and we need to recognize his hand. And lastly, the silver is done when the silversmith can see his image in it. I think the parallel here goes without saying.

 

Elder Ardern of the seventy stayed to dedicate the support services building on sSunday. He talked about rededicating ourselves to giving our very best efforts because mediocrity is a tool of the devil. Satan knows that we're ok with average and he makes average effort seem like enough. He knows that average is not enough to return to Heavenly Father so he uses that as a tool against us. Never give half-hearted efforts! God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers!  That's all I have to say. I love you all!

 

Sister Wilson

 

P.S. Shoutout to anyone who wants to send me a postcard. I'm gonna start collecting them for the Philippines Postcard Wall of Fame! ;)