Week 47: SAKIT :(

Hey everyone!! I'm all better from my sickness, thanks for all your prayers and loves :) It actually was a huge setback that I got sick, we weren't able to be out for long times in the sun and we didn't get to teach a lot of our progressing investigators. We missed them so much and ready to bawi (catch up) this week!

First, Sherwin is doing great. He's so excited to receive the priesthood and wants to baptize all his friends we're teaching. haha. Actually he has a few friends that are sincerely interested and we're teaching right now so hopefully we'll see some progression with them. 

Jessivelle and her family are progressing soooo much! They're really starting to stop smoking and drinking coffee and they're telling all their friends they're mormon already haha. Sister Jessivelle even invited us to her daughter Alexa's birthday party so we could offer an opening and closing prayer at the event. Needless to say, there were a lot of moms that were amazed at my Ilonggo this week. Jessivelle did face some judgement because of that though and she said she got a few rude comments from some of her friends BUT she told us that she cares more about Christ and wants her family to be together forever. She's so amazing!!! 

Funny story: Sister Garrish, my companion in the MTC, and her trainee, Sister De Leon, cut eachother's hair this week. It was a mess haha. Her trainee's hair used to be so long but Sister Garrish just braided it and cut of all of her hair with NORMAL PAPER SCISSORS. It was soooo crooked, but luckily my mom has cut my hair all my life and I was able to fix it so it looked okay. Sister Garrish cut her hair off too so I helped it look okay too. haha they're so crazy. 

Other than that, this week is gonna be hard. Last week our mission President joined our district meeting and straight up said in the meeting I would be transferring this transfer. Not only transfer, but finally transfer out of Bacolod which means wherever I go, it will be veeeeery far away from my first two areas :( I'm so not ready to leave Magsungay yet but I know my next area will be an amazing learning and growing experience. 

Thank you all for your love and support to me, it really means a lot. I love you all!!

Sister Pope

1) We pass by this huge cemetery on our way to district meeting and the walls are all painted cool, this one is my absolute favorite.

2) Straightening Sister De Leon's hair and trying to make it look decent.. her hair almost reached to her waist before

3) I'm not sure if I've written about him before, he was the one that went to church in his pajamas, but this is Corcor. He's half Korean and the CUTEST kid ever!! His little voice is so high-pitched and cute. We saw him on the street on our way to an appointment and he was playing with a tire, love this kid 

Week 46: SICK AGAIN

hey everyone!! im sick again haha. i really wanted to email but i have a fever right now so i should be going home soon. i really wanted to tell you guys though that sherwins baptism was awesome. he bore a really powerful testimony about Joseph Smith an d just has really gained a powerful testimony from the book of mormon. other than that our other investigators are doing really well.. sister jessivelle and her family should be baptized om july 22 so we're keeping them in our prayers. they're all so great. thanks everyone for your love !! 

Sister Pope

1) Sherwins baptism! sorry for the lame picture, it was nighttime outside and the flash looked terrible so we just took a picture inside AND i was sick haha. the important thing is that he's been baptised! 

2) ive never tried attaching a movie before so hopefully it works... this was on sunday coming from an appointment with ernesto and all of them. they always insist on taking us to the bangga from their house but the battery ran out on the bike so our investigators jay-r pushed the sikad from the back without his shoes on!! theyre super cool

(SORRY EVERYONE. THE VIDEO WOULDN'T UPLOAD)

Week 45: SIOMIT

Maayong hapon everyone :) this was another really good and busy week. 

First, school has started again which means we have to change the way we proselyte. Before we didn't have to set any appointments and we'd just go over to investigator's houses but now so many people are busy with school and work that we're having to set up like every appointment. We're trying to get on top of that time management. BUT our investigators are doing great.

Sherwin is really excited for his baptism this Saturday. We had a conference at the Stake center which is kind of far away but Sherwin and Ernesto all came as usual. They're awesome! Small point about Ernesto: he has not missed a Sunday since Sister Bernolo came to Magsungay. He's so awesome and is such an example to his friends. They're great! This week should be cool.

Sister Jessivelle and her family are doing awesome too. She said she dreamed the other day that someone told her to go to where she is happy. She told is she prays every night if she should be baptized and she said after she dreamed that., she thought of Sister Bernolo and I. THEN she went to sleep again AND DREAMED THE SAME EXACT THING!! I don't know about you but that sounds like an answer to me. We've set a date for them in July and are really hoping they progress well!

MLC was this week and we learned a lot of cool things and ate a lot of good food. Obedience was the main focus and we talked about how obedience shows that we know the gospel is true and that we love Christ. Which is true! We won't break the commandments is we have a strong testimony and love Christ. 

Anyways that's all for this week, thanks everyone for the love :) means the world! palangga gid ko kamu tanan :)

Sister Pope

1) The awkward batch picture at MLC where I'm the only sister in our batch there and have to stand awkwardly in the front... 

2) Elder Prangan and Sister Fawcett!! My two favorite people that transferred out of the zone :((

3-4) Sister Ramiro and I did exchanges on Wednesday to plan for zone training and we just went to Magsungay when we were done and taught Sherwin and friends. The second picture is with Sherwin's mom who we're also teaching, they're all just so awesome!

5) This was at an investigators house. We'd never been inside before but he let us is that day since it was raining out really hard and he raises beta fish for a living! He has seriously hundreds of glass gatorade bottles with one beta fish in each bottle. I'll try to get a better picture next time because it's SO COOL

6) Stake conference with Sherwin and Ernesto and friends!! 

7) THE BASKETBALL BOYS!!!!! They were at conference too and I literally almost cried seeing all of them. They're still progressing so well :'))

Week 44: POWER OF READING

Hey everyone :)) There were soo many miracles this week I don't know where to start.. I just want to say that the Book of Mormon has such great power to change lives.

First, lets start with Sherwin. He's had a rough time receiving an answer to his prayers about Joseph Smith and started doubting if he'd ever receive an answer so we asked him to read 3 Nephi 11 that night and pray to know if what he read was true. When we came back the next day he said he read it and felt something he hadn't felt before and really felt as though what he read actually happened. We then assigned him that next night to read Alma 32 and he read it again!! We didn't see him until church that Sunday and he told us in sacrament meeting he wanted to bare his testimony because he finally knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet because he knows the Book of Mormon is true. We're so happy for him and have extended him baptism again for June 17th and he's accepted. We know he's qualified himself and he's so ready :) 

Miracle number two was with one of the families we've been teaching for over three months now. They love the lessons and have a desire to be baptized but have never been to church UNTIL yesterday!! The mom, Jessivelle, came with her two daughters and Mark and Kenjie came too! Kenjie has been going out teaching with us just to see what missionary work is like and it's really changed him.. they all enjoyed church on Sunday and are making plans to go to church again. The mom's sister lives with her in their house and was to shy to go to church with them but she's reading the Book of Mormon every day. She told us that she was to shy to go because earlier that morning she was reading the Book of Mormon and one of their neighbors walked by their house and made fun of her for even listening to us. That lesson we taught about the tree of life and the how the people in the great and spacious building laughed at those who partook of the fruit, and we can choose to either follow them or follow Christ. Needless to say, she said she chooses Christ and will continue to read :) We know that their whole family will make it to church one day!

Other than that, a lot of amazing little things have happened this week that I couldn't possibly write everything but I just know for a certainty that God answers prayers and can answer them through the Book of Mormon. I know this gospel is the gospel that Christ established and we are so blessed to live in this dispensation. The Book of Mormon has the power to soften hearts and answer prayers and contains the fullness of the gospel. Just an amazing week and we're looking forward to these next couple weeks :) Thank you everyone for the love and support! 

Sister Pope

1) This adorable little girl's name is Apple.. she lives next door to sister Jessivelle

2) This is Lub2x brother Dave.. he had this huge stick and was knocking down these things of cotton from the tree so he could make a pillow

3-4) Jessivelle, her daughters, and Mark and Kenije after church :)) They all went to all three hours!! love them so much