"Don't Take a Picture of It!" "NO! I'm Going To Get a Flashlight To See It Better!"

Monday, MARCH 3, 2014

Sisters Dollete & Bettilyon

So the other day, and by the other day, I mean yesterday, I had the most pleasant experience of cleaning up a horde of maggots out of our trash. Hooray life. Shout out to Gma for sending the rubber gloves. So here is how the story goes: we made fish soup the other day. We did not eat all the fish soup. We threw some of it away and trash day is not until Monday. Que gross. Sunday, we come home, and our apartment is rank. Like truly awful. So I finally decide to put on my big girl pants and do something about it. I go over to the trash and there are all these foaming, white maggots. Sigh. So I go put on a pair of rubber gloves and start taking care of things because something must be done. Enter the other two Sisters. Sister Keith comes over, looks at the mess and says "oh my gosh, I think I am going to throw up, how are you not gagging right now?" I say "I really need you to not throw up and help me, sometimes you just have to put your big girl pants on and clean the maggots." So that is what I did. Cleaned maggots.

Moving on. We had this really amazing lesson with one of our investigators Mindarose. She is 25, but she has a leg deformity, so she is only about three feet tall. She has not been progressing, but she always likes to listen to us, and she understands a lot. We went into the lesson without a plan really because we just wanted to talk to her about whatever it is that her concern is. So we start talking and we ask her what questions she has for God. She says that sometimes she wonders why she was born the way she is and she said that she still sometimes cries about it. We testified to her that God loves her and that he has a plan for her. We shared 3 Nephi 19:28-29 and told her that God loves her no matter what and that we need to trust in his plan for us. One of her big problems is that she is not reading the Book of Mormon, so we told her that she can know what God's plan for her is by reading the book. Her face was in a shadow because we were teaching her outside at night, but when we committed her to read the Book of Mormon, she took a second before she said yes, and I think she was crying. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, and I know that God really does love all of us, no matter the trials he sends our way, its all a part of the plan.

I also taught an English class this week, and by I taught, I mean I struggled for about ten minutes and Sister Dollete swooped in to save the day. We taught it for the Sta. Clara people because we cannot teach in their area anymore. The class will get better, I just need to be more confidant and less aka-awkward. Kaya ko iayn. But the Sta. Clara people. They just are awesome. They come all the way to centro for us to teach them on Saturday, then come all the way back on Sunday for church. They could be baptized, but we have not been able to teach them all the lessons yet. Such faith and such patience. The people in Cagayan are really different. They are so humble and so willing to do what God wants. It makes any of the excuses I make for myself totally invalid.

 Missionaries and Filipino Friends

So the other day, aka yesterday, we went to a members house and the district president was there, and he had this issue of the Liahona that is all about temples, it is really so beautiful. Sister Cagahasian has one, and Sis D and I were talking about how we could order one, but it would be really difficult and take forever, but President Bote had TWO extra copies and he gave them to us. We basically floated home. #youknowyoureamissionarywhen. But temples y'all. I really did not appreciate them nearly enough before. You really do not know what you have until its gone. They are really the House of the Lord and how lucky are we that we have a place on this imperfect Earth where we can go and commune and be in God's presence. Being a missionary and seeing others lack for things that I took for granted in the gospel makes me appreciate my home, ward, stake and temple so much more. The gospel is true anywhere, but we have it pretty great in Salt Lake. If you can, go to the temple. For me. Thanks!

Mahal Kita!

Sis Bet