"B'coz I know the plan"

Dear Family, 

Kumusta na kamo? How are all of you  doing? I hope great. I guess school is almost over on that side of the world, right? School will be back in session here in about 3 weeks. haha. Endure to the end all of you. haha. And I will endure to the end of tag-init (hot season). 

It was great to see you on skype last week! This week has been really great as well. We had seven investigators come to sacrament, plus four other people who aren't investigators yet. And we had a bunch of less active members come too! It was great. In the Leganes banwa (town center) there is a stand called "Mister Siomai" where Sister Aurelio like to buy siomai a few times a week for a snack. The lady who owns it is named Eden and she is really nice, but super busy so we can't teach her, but the good news is, she told us to pick up her son and take him to church with us. So we went to the siomai stand on Sundaymorning and took Ivan to church with us. He is 9. I sat with him during sacrament and he had a lot of questions about the sacrament. And then one of his classmates from school came over and fellowshipped him and took him to Primary. It was great! I am hoping we can figure something out where we can teach Ivan in the banwa or the Elders can at Eden's house. Yay! 

On Thursday, Sister Aurelio and I went to the Town Hall to ask about the process of getting a marriage license. Our investigator, Jenamie, and her husband, John Ray, and two other couples we are teaching with them all need to get married. When we get that figured out, then four baptisms should follow. They are all former investigators who were even interviewed for baptism, but haven't been able to get married yet. Their biggest challenge is  money. They are really poor. While the actual marriage license processing fee is somewhat affordable, the cost of fare for them to travel around and collect the paperwork will be the biggest problem. But I have faith it will all work out, we just need to help them build their faith and do it. :) We are also teaching Catherine (12), Noela (10), and Brian (9) with them. They all came to church. Catherine is the sweetest. She reads the Book of Mormon to Noela, because Noela has difficulty reading. That is what Christ means when He tells us to be childlike.

We had MLC (Tues. 6 May) and Mission Conference (Thurs.  8 May) two weeks ago with Elder and Sister Ardern. I want to share some of the things I learned from them, because it was great! (Plus they have New Zealand accents.) Their and President and Sister Aquino's counsel to us kind of kept jumping back and forth between Teaching & Finding & Missionary work and Marriage. Talk about trunky missionaries...oh brother. jk! They talked about finding and marrying a Man or Woman of God. They also talked about how Education is so super important. Elder Ardern had Sister Ardern tell a funny story to us... 

When they were newlyweds, Elder Ardern still hadn't finished his degree, but he had a teaching certificate, so he thought that was good enough. Sister Ardern didn't think so. She kept encouraging him to enroll in school again to finish his degree, until one day, she pushed him out the front door, locked him out, and told him not to come back unless he had his University registration papers in hand. So he went to "Uni," as they call it in New Zealand, and registered. When he came home, Sister Ardern made him show her the papers through the window as his ticket back in. haha. I loved that story. Go Sister Ardern! 

Elder Ardern taught us that it is the greatest crime for a missionary to return from their mission and fail to apply all they learned on their mission. He also shared that no mediocre persons will make it in to the Celestial Kingdom. That is why we must always strive to be the extraordinary children of God that we have the potential to become. Satan would have us settle for average, but Heavenly Father knows we can do more and be better. 

Transfer day is this Thursday. I thought I might be transferred, but maybe not. There has been some drama in Jaro 1 for the last few weeks, so it will be interesting to see what changes happen there. (That's just one of those stories that can wait til after the mission.) Unity is so important in the work of the Lord, and if we are not focused on Him, we cannot be unified. Leganes is the  greatest. We received a copy of the ward mission plan this week. The work is going well here. I love it. Brother Lito, the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric, lives by the phrase, "B'coz I know the plan." What will  you do differently today because you know the plan of our Heavenly Father? Look inward, Reach outward. I love you all. Halong! 

Love, Sister Winward

Recent Converts Rock!

Dear Family that I love soooo much,

How are you all doing? I am doing great! I hope you are all having a festive Cinco de Mayo. No one celebrates that here. haha. I am do looking forward to Skyping next week! Yay! But before that, I am looking forward to MLC tomorrow and Mission Conference on Thursday with Elder Ian S. Ardern, the Area President for the Philippines.

A few nami announcements: Phils. Iloilo Mission was so close to reaching our April goal. The final total was 98 baptized and confirmed. Yeah! And the Jaro Elders told me that Rose and Mickey are set to get married on June 7! Hooray! (Dad, I think that counts as a pretty cool birthday present. :)  ) And I made Mango Float for the first time this week. It is delicious. Mangoes are delicious. I just thought you should all know. :)

Yesterday, we had a very sweet testimony meeting.  Many of the members were able to go on the stake's temple trip to Cebu last week. For them to get to the temple affordably they ride the "roll-roll." This means they ride a bus which then "rolls on" a boat, take a 12 hour boat ride, then "roll off" the boat and continue their drive to Cebu temple. Sounds exhausting to me. I am so grateful for how ridiculously easy it is for us to get to the temples so close to us in Utah. No excuse. (I may be slightly trunky when in comes to going to the temple again. :) 6 months na lang. So. Excited. ) Anyway, the Bishop's 12 year old daughter, Heart, was able to attend the temple and she bore the sweetest testimony yesterday. She almost couldn't speak, but I felt the spirit just how it feels doing the work of the Lord in His Holy Temple. Love it!

I love working with the recent converts in Leganes Ward. I don't mean teaching them. I mean they text us daily and tell us they want to come along and work. Yeah! Kimberly, the ZLs recent convert, gave us a referral a few weeks ago, and the ZLs told us she wanted to come along when we teach them. So Kimberly, 15 y/o, came along with us on Tuesday. Her friends, Jessa Lyn (15) and Mark (17), each have a baptismal goal date now! She did great, bore testimony to the people we taught and everything. Then the next day we met up with the ZLs to give them a copy of the Restoration DVD, and they told us that Kimberly had a great time. They said Tuesday night they were in the middle of a lesson with Kimberly's father, Johnny, and she came home with a huge smile on her face. The Elders asked her why she was so happy, and she said, "I just worked with the Sisters!" True joy comes from sharing the gospel. 

We have had Diana, 13 y/o, come along with us to work, too. She a less active. Her brother Tregie, 11 y/o, really wants to be baptized, but their parents are less active so we are working on getting him some support to endure first. They both came to church on Sunday! And a ton of other Less Actives came too. The church was overflowing again. It was a good day.

Tonight we have an FHE planned with Jerica (inv.) and Junjun (LA).  (Who also came to church yesterday! Yay!) We let the members know, and it spread like wildfire. I even got invited to our own FHE by some of the members. haha. It's gonna be a party.

I hope you all have a great week. I know our Savior lives. I have felt His love for His children fill my soul on several occasions. That happened this week when we were teaching Sister Valencia especially. The Spirit is amazing. I know that as we improve day by day to be obedient to our Savior, Happiness will fill our lives. I love you all.

Love, Sister Winward

Too much Awesome to handle

Dear Family, 

How are you all this fine day? I'm doing great. It has been sooo hot here. Like in the 90s all week. I'm dying. I'm told every day "Nagabalhas ka, Sister!" You're sweating! haha. Also, this week was fiesta week in our neighborhood. What this means for us is that Babylonian music was BLASTING all week long. Literally shook the walls of our apartment. So loud. All week. I'm pretty sure speakers that loud are illegal in America. But, ayos lang, the final day was Saturday, music blasted til 3 in the morning. And now it is over. Hallelujah! Honestly, more ridiculously funny than frustrating. 

For some more funnies:

That awkward moment when TOO MANY members want to work with you in a day. Like 4 or 5 of them. YES!!! 

That awkward moment when your companion tells you to take off your glasses so she can show everyone how she thinks you look just like "Mama Mary." :P 

That awkward moment when the Filipinas in your apartment weigh themselves and are upset because they lost a few kilos. haha. 

And some tender mercies: 

That awesome moment when you get a free taxi ride from a far part of your area all the way home, just because the driver was on his way to Jaro anyway. Thanks, Bert!

That awesome moment when you are in the same far part of your area, desperate (again) for a ride home, and the Stake President and his family just happen to roll up in their truck. Answered prayer. 

There is too much awesome and not enough time. I love Leganes (again). We had a great ward council yesterday. The members are working with us everyday. I've never had more member present lessons or more referrals in my whole mission than this week. In Sacrament and then in Ward Council yesterday, Bishop Democrito announced the vision that they have for the ward to become one ward and two branches within the next two years. Then he invited the auxiliary leaders to set goals and do action to make that vision happen. There is so much unity, so much great work to do, and so much excitement for missionary work. I love it. The church was full to the brim yesterday. The Elders had to get up three times to add more chairs. And the deacons had to get their sacrament trays refilled. It was awesome. 

The recent converts here are doing great. Yesterday, Norman and Renren were called to be the YM President and 1st counselor. They are recent converts of just the last few months. I am so excited that they are being trusted with those callings, and I know they will do great! Rafael, Zharra, Norman, Lito, Mareta, Kim, Elijah, Ana, Renren...these are just a few of the awesome members that I love so much already. They are great. 

We found this cool girl named Jerica. Jeferson is still cool, praying hard for an answer. We contacted some LA families and referrals and found some awesome investigators that way. Thursday was cool. We worked with the WML, Rafael, and he was able to administer priesthood blessings to our investigator family that was sick. And later the bishop and stake president blessed a sick LA sister in our area. I am so grateful for the priesthood and for worthy men ready to exercise it. We're still figuring out which investigators we will focus on so we can help them to be baptized. And guess what! Before, the highest number of baptisms our mission had reached was about 65. The last few months it has steadily progressed. There were 71 in March. And I'm 99.9% sure that we reached our mission goal of 100 baptisms in April. I"ll find out for sure tomorrow. Yay! We're like the PIM recovery team. haha. :) 

I learned this week that faith and a positive attitude are really like the same thing. I also learned that faith really can move or build mountains, it just takes time, diligence, patience, and perseverance. I am so thankful for my Savior and for all the things I have learned as I am trying to be like him. I am learning to turn the other cheek. I have learned that when you want others to change, you need to look inward and reach outward. We have a much greater capacity to love and to serve than we think we do. We have to be the change we wish to see in the world. I have seen that happen literally in the last few weeks. I have also seen what happens when Christ is not the focus as we make goals and plans. It is ugly and there is no unity. Blaming others is the opposite of progress.Christlike Service and charity are the keys to progress. That is why Leganes is on fire!!!! Yeah! 

I love you all. I know Christ lives and He will support us and push us forward as we strive to become like Him. Halong pirmi! 

Love, Sister Winward

I Love Leganes!

Dear Family, 

How are you all? I hope you all had a great Easter! We are so blessed to have a loving Heavenly Father who sent His Son to atone for us. And we are so blessed to know that His Divine Son was resurrected and lives again. He lives! So, I'm sure you're all wondering how people celebrate Easter over here. Honestly, it wasn't a very big deal. There are some weird, sacrilegious traditions. The Ward went on a beach outing in Dumangas on Good Friday, and we were able to attend. It was fun! Some of our investigators also came.  

Remember how Jaro was a rather challenging area for me? Well, the Lord definitely rewards our patience and faith... because Leganes Ward is AWESOME! We are working with a couple of member referrals, the Ward Missionaries love to come work with us, we had a great correlation yesterday. I am really excited about this area. Church was really great yesterday. I was really impressed at how organized the ward is. It has the best attendance so far of the units I have worked in. The members are very humble and faithful and they are united by their love for the Savior. I am trying to learn all the faces and names fast enough. 

Some of our investigators are Johnmar, Jeferson, and Elvie. Johnmar is 18 and a referral of a recent convert. We have taught him twice so far, and he is very interested and wants to be baptized. He has the support of his family, though they are not interested at this time. He is really close friends with Renren, the recent convert, who has a really strong testimony. Johnmar is kind of shy, but I know that as we build his faith, the gospel will help him have courage. Jeferson is 18 and Elvie is 23, they are siblings. Elvie has been taught for a while now, Jeferson just started listening, but he attended General Conference with Mareta (one of the YSA). Whenever we try to extend commitments to Elvie, she always says, "Well, I can't promise..." She is afraid to commit because she is afraid of not following through. But she and Jeferson did come to church yesterday, despite her not "promising." Yay! :) They live in the same boarding house with Mareta. They are so cool! They have great questions. Jeferson and Johnmar are definitely future missionaries. For sure! 

So, you know the Lost Boys of Neverland, in Peter Pan? They really exist! I'm pretty sure I found them in Leganes. Yesterday, we visited with the RS President to confirm the FHE we have planned for tonight, and we learned that all the ruffian boys that were running around in her front yard/driveway area aren't related to her, they are just random street urchins who heard they would get food and a safe place to sleep there. Her brother uses his own money made from the family junk shop to help out the 8 boys (ranging in age from 7 to 17). She told us how boys just started showing up about 15 years ago when they moved into that house. Her brother built them a little bamboo-and-tin loft where they can sleep, and they just live off of the extra food and kindness of their family. It was so ridiculous and so sad and so heartwarming all at the same time. The boys are not orphans, their families just don't take care of them. She said that her niece didn't want to play with one of the boys, Fritz (7), because he smelled bad, so the RS President took him over to the bomba (water pump well) and tried to bathe him...she said it was like trying to bathe a cat. Fritz was afraid of water. She makes sure they have clean clothes to wear, even if they can only find a set of old pajamas. We invited the Lost Boys to our FHE tonight. Hopefully they won't hide from us, and hopefully we can share the gospel with them so they can have happiness and direction in their lives. 

This week in my study of Job and the Psalms, I learned that the Lord wants us to seek wisdom before we seek wealth. Wisdom cannot be bought. Information is different than knowledge. There is a lot of information available in the world today, but only knowledge understood and applied can help us to become like our Savior. Heavenly Father wants His children to learn spiritual and secular things. And like it says in Moroni 10:5, the Spirit is our guide as we seek for truth and wisdom. We do this as we study and ponder His words daily. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and truly is our Heavenly Father's kingdom on the earth. As we "immerse ourselves in His kingdom" we will feel His love surround us, and we will gain eternal wisdom daily. We are so blessed to be members of the true church. I love you all! Halong! 

Love, Sister Winward

Switcheroo!

Dear Family, 

Maayong aga!!! Kumusta kamo? Salamat for the emails and Easter wishes. Happy Easter to all of you! Maybe I'll tell you about some of the ... interesting... Katholiko traditions next week. So, let's get down to business, this has been THE Craziest week of my life. And not really at the same time. haha. 

So, on Tuesday, President Aquino joined us for our district meeting. After announcements were read, he stood up and told us that the STLs and the DL were going to trade areas. WHAAAT???!!!! SURPRISE! Because the jeepney fare costs about the same, we still live in the Jaro 1 apartment, but now I am assigned to Leganes B (pronounces Leg-UH-neez). And our District Leader, Elder Asuro, took over our area, but still lives in Leganes. We've had a few days to tour each other around and make sure we each know where the Less Actives and Members and Progressing Investigators live, but other than that we are basically "whitewashing" (or starting from scratch with just the basic knowledge of the area that is contained in the Area Book). 

So then...President interviewed a bunch of people because he was still finalizing transfers. We asked him if one of us would still be transferred, and he only said that we should be ready for anything. I think he likes to put us all on edge for transfers. haha. We were expecting Sister Marchant to transfer, because she has already been in Jaro for 6 months. But then, on Wednesday night her name was not in the transfer text and the ZL, Elder Asi, told us that she wasn't going to transfer. So we were so excited! 6 months together! What a blessing! Yay! So she unpacked.

At precisely 8:36 am on Thursday morning, in the middle of our Personal Study, Sister Ribelin called us from Arevalo and said that, gali!, Sister Marchant's name was down for transfers after all. Whoa. Then we frantically began to pack her bags. Then the AP South called. Then the AP North called. Then the ZL called. Then the DL texted. All informing her that, yes, she was transferring after all and she needed to be there in one hour. (It takes an hour by jeep to get to Arevalo...). AAAhhhhhh. Just imagine our anxiety. haha. We packed her up in about 25 minutes flat, grabbed a taxi, and rolled into the Arevalo Meetinghouse parking lot at about 9:39 am. Taadaaaa! hahaha. 

So, I have a new area and a new ward and a new companion, and the same old apartment. (Which is actually pretty new, I'm glad I still get to live there.) My companion is Sister Irene Vinus Aurelio. Sister Aurelio is from Los Pinyas, close to Manila. She actually is Sister Marchant's trainer. She is a teeny little Filipina Sister, about 5 feet tall, and she is 26 years old. She is the 5th of 7 girls. Her mother converted to the church after her father died. She is soooo sweet and soooo cute. I love her to death! She sings a lot (just like Sister Marchant), and she is always smiling. She likes to braid my hair and she has a lot of questions about English and about America. I am helping her with English, she is helping me with Tagalog, and we are both helping each other with Hiligaynon. I am glad my area is Hiligaynon again! Yay! (The other dialects in our mission are Kiray-a, Aklanon, and Capiznon. Everyone knows Tagalog/Filipino.)

Touring the Elders around our area this week has been fun. Elder Asuro and Elder Walmer are assigned to Jaro 1B now. I have already seen miracles happen for them. A bunch of LAs that would not let us in have already let them in. Yay! I had been thinking a few months back that our ward would really do well if it had some Elders for priesthood support. Rumor has it that there has been a lot of drama back home about women and the priesthood. I know that both men and women have important roles in and valuable contributions to the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Equality is not being the SAME. It is when both men and women are given equal opportunities to exercise their unique God-given gifts and talents.  :)

 Anyway, off the soap box, I know that Jaro needs the Elders and Leganes needs the Sisters! A lot of areas got switched around, it was a really crazy transfer. I am very excited to be in Leganes Ward. The old bishop is now the new Stake President, Pres. Suya. The current bishop is Bishop Democrito, who joined the church about 12 years ago. The Ward Missionaries have toured us around more than the Elders did. The Members take responsibility of the investigators and care for them just as much as we do. Probably because a lot of the Recent Converts and Investigators are member referrals. Yay!!!! They are very involved in the work. The funny thing is that I am still basically in Iloilo city. All my areas are within a one-hour jeepney ride of each other. haha. 

General Conference was wonderful, of course! I loved Elder Holland's talk. I could've used that a few weeks ago, eh? But better late than never. I will be a defender of the faith! Also, I am glad people here are too nice to spit or throw food at us. Hallelujah! I actually liked all the talks and could write a novel about everything I learned. But I'll spare you all. I just love it. :) The cool thing is...this is the first time I've ever had questions ready for conference, and all of them (no matter how random) were answered in one way or another. I listed out my questions a few weeks ago and forgot about them, then this morning in personal study I went through and jotted down how each question was answered through conference. So cool! I highly suggest it. :) I also read Esther and am working my way through Job this week. I am really glad I am not him, but I am also really proud of him for defending his faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 

I hope you all have a great week. I also hope you all know that I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God here upon the earth. I know that my Savior, Jesus Christ, lives. I know that all the teachings of the prophet, apostles, and church leaders point us toward salvation and everlasting happiness. Life is not hard. It challenges us so we can grow in faith and love. I love you all! Don't forget that! Happy Easter!

Love, Sister Winward

Lessons Learned

Dear Family, 

How are you all doing? What was the best part of conference for each of you? I am excited to watch it this weekend. I wonder who my companion will be...transfers are on Rachel's birthday. RACHEL'S BIRTHDAY??!?!!!!!! Happy Birthday Rach! I can't believe you are turning 18. Tigulang ka na! (You're old now!) And Happy Birthday to Christy today! Yay! And Happy Birthday to Hannah next week! :) 

On Thursday (the 3rd) was Sister Marchant's 22nd Birthday. We had an FHE with the Sase family (LA) on Monday, and they surprised us with a big, delicious chocolate cake! Sister Marchant was sooo happy. I made her some blueberry crisp instead of a cake....with a 72 hour kit candle in it. haha. "It's more fun in the Philippines!" 

The highlight of this week was teaching Rose and Mickey the Law of Chastity. I have never seen two more determined people in all my mission. They know blessings will come from living the gospel. They have already seen many. Mickey made a 180 in his life just in the last 6 months. And since we've started teaching Rose, she has so much more peace and happiness. She used to be painfully shy. She still talks super quiet...and is mostly Tagalog, but she has expressed her testimony of Christ. She is amazing! They just need to save the money, then they can get married, Rose can be baptized, and they have a goal to go to the temple to be sealed as an eternal family with their baby girl Hannah next year. They've told us they have a month picked out, once they can decide on a date for their wedding, they are going to announce it.  

I also learned a lot of lessons personally this week. I really learned how to apply the steps of the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively in my own life. I learned that apology is greater than pride and can heal relationships. I learned that I love Women's Conference! I learned about forgiveness. I learned again that it still really hurts to be dropped by investigators. But I also learned that finding is the greatest....I know there are prepared people. We meet them every day. It gives me hope. I've been learning, as the adjacent area has been raking in baptisms, that it is a blessing just to be able support them and their recent converts and their investigators. We're all in this together. I'll speak at every baptism if I have to, it is all the same to the Lord. I learned that sometimes the Spirit isn't logical, but it will guide us to fill people's needs. We visited with a member for I think like 2 hours...but she needed it. She has been struggling so bad. Her life is kind of like Job's in the Bible...but right now she is still in the suffering part. Blessings will come to her. I know it. I also learned that when I really feel like I just want to call my Mom...that is a great time to pray to my Heavenly Father. I learned that being a leader really means to serve people like Christ would.  

What did you learn this week? I love you all and I hope you all have a fun and safe week. Remember that Christ lives and He is our hope and our salvation. 

Love, Sister Winward

"Well, at least we have all of our teeth."

Dear Family, 

How are you all? I can't even believe Mom and Rachel are in New York right now! That is sooo cool. I wonder if they have any art museums around here? We should find out. Last week was the end of school for the Philippines. They'll start again in June. It is definitely summer...I thought I knew what hot was, and then this week happened. It is soooo HOT. Yesterday in church all the ceiling fans were on high, plus most of us had a pamphlet or hand fan, too. 

So, how about some mission funnies first. The doorknob of Sister Daroy and Sister Mendez's CR (bathroom) has always been kind of broken. On Wednesdaynight, Sister Daroy got locked in and we couldn't get her out. The doorknob would not work. We couldn't even card it. haha. So, Sister Mendez called the office elders, because she wanted to let them know she was going to damage the apartment, and she busted the whole doorknob off with her hulk-like willpower and a pair of scissors. It was so funny. Sister Daroy came out so excited to be free. I think she was locked in for like 25 minutes, and it was hot. Lol. We still have been listening to all the Christmas CDs you guys sent pretty often. David Archuleta and the MoTab just never gets old. haha. Also, Sister Marchant enjoys listening to, and singing, opera music. She is silly. I love her, she keeps me laughing. No matter how difficult something is, she always reminds me,"Well, at least we have all of our teeth." That is definitely a reason to rejoice. :) haha. 

So, once upon a time, we got dumped. via text message. TWICE. This week has been interesting. Satan is working really hard on people. And sometimes that means people are blinded by half-truths. We found this really cool girl named Liza, she is 18, and she is going to school to become a tour guide. She was really receptive, and we related the gospel and our role as missionaries to her chosen profession. I was way excited about her. And then we received a text that her elder siblings didn't want her to visit with us. And we have to respect their wishes. And then...Up until last Monday, Leoandra was way excited to get baptized. But on Monday night, we taught her and she said that her husband and her in-laws all didn't want her to join the church. So we were like, okay, we can deal with that. We were praying and Sister Marchant fasted and we talked to our leaders about some ideas of how to help her resolve that concern in District meeting on Tuesday. We've started teaching Leoandra in a different brgy, at her childhood home, because she and her family are spending most of their summer their. We had started teaching a bunch of her other relatives, too. And it was going well. We even almost got another deaf investigator, Gerald. (I love sign language!) And then on Sunday morning, Leoandra texted us and said that their mother was really angry at them for listening to us and is super against them changing religions, so we can't go back to her or her other relatives. We're praying really hard to figure out what we should do....We can't just give up on her, but we have to respect that too. One of the members who has been fellowshipping her offered to visit her. Maybe it's not her time yet. I don't know right now. 

Tender Mercies still happen every day though. We had a random guy call out to us from across the street the other day, and he crossed really quick and introduced himself. He just happens to be a member who moved here from Manila a few months back for work. His name is Sherwin. He lives in the other area, but we gave him the info he needed to contact us and get to the church. Hopefully one day when he doesn't have to work he will be able to make it. Also, I think I've mentioned it already, but I have been praying to have my eyes opened more to people who might be prepared. Of course, we try to talk to everyone, but there are some times when the Spirit tells me I definitely need to talk to a specific person. This happened yesterday on the jeepney. I met a 25-year-old woman named Angel. She is looking for an apartment in Jaro because she was transferred here for work. Just while we were traveling together on the jeepney, she opened up to me  about her family and her religious background. I told her what we are doing here as missionaries. She noted that we seemed really happy with the work we were doing even though we don't get paid. She really stuck out to me. I am hoping to stay in contact with her until she can find an apartment. Then hopefully we can visit her or we can refer her. Even with disappointments, Heavenly Father always makes our work worth it. 

I read a talk, "O Remember, Remember" this week by Pres. Eyring. I really like it...it has motivated me to write down God's kindnesses each day. We had interviews with President Aquino on Thursday. He told us to send their love and gratitude to our families. He told us that whatever we do in our missions or in life, we need to "leave a legacy that will be a destiny to others." I like that a lot. No matter what the challenges are in this area, if we do our best to build it up, especially with building member relations, one day it will yield souls who are ready and willing to accept and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are looking for those willing in heart and mind, like it says in 1 Chronicles 29:9. 

I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers. CTR and ask Heavenly Father what you can do each day to better serve Him. Halong kamo! 

Love, Sister Winward