Week 72: MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hey everyone!! It is sooooo christmas-y here in the Philippines! I was really feeling the Christmas spirit yesterday.. after our work was done it started raining pretty hard and this strong cool wind came across the ocean and cooled down all of Sipalay! We were actually COLD!!! We didn't use our electric fans! We just wrapped ourselves up in blankets and drank some hot chocolate my mom sent me. It was probably only like 70ish degrees but we were so cold. All the filipinos here were wearing big coats haha. It's really Christmas time! 

Because of the "cold" weather a lot of people were in their homes this week so we got to teach a lot. Trisha is doing good as usual, she just turned 18 and we're going to celebrate with her later tonight. She really is the best and continues to fellowship all her friends. She progresses slowly but surely! 

Mark is doing great. His wife is totally supportive of his baptism and we have committed him for this Saturday. He has such strong faith and after being an investigator for 10 years, we are really encouraging him so he can be prepared for this Saturday. It would be such a miracle!

Also in the Philippines like every store here is a guard that watches outside, including 7/11, and one of the guards there is like reeaallly progressing! We invited him to church and he went, he's been twice now! We extended baptism to him and he said "I think this is what I really need to change", he's so awesome! We're really excited to see how he continues to progress. 

We also had another beautiful p-day at a place called sugar beach, we barbecued pork on the beach and played frisbee. I serve in literal paradise!!!

But I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and find a way to show Christ's love to someone this season. I love being a missionary and I'm so grateful I get to serve Him for another Christmas. 

Thank you all for the love and support, you guys are the best! 

Sister Pope 

Week 71: DASIG ANG TION!!

Hey everyone!! So today was sad because a lot of my mission friends went home today but I'm so happy for all of them and they all will return with honor :) So Sister Fawcett and Sister Ducado is going home.. so sad. It really feels like Sister Fawcett and I just got here and were going out on exchanges straight up struggling on speaking the language and I just said goodbye to her earlier both speaking fluent ilonggo... time is sooo fast!! (dasig gid ang tion!!)

This week was fun because we had zone conference and received trainings from our mission leaders. We really think it has helped our zone and we made it extra fun with a gift exchange at the end of it. Our zone has bonded so well and we're all going to cry on transfer day (which is on the 1st of January).. a lot of missionaries are going to be transferred! 

Our investigators are continuing to progress well, Trisha is progressing slowly but surely. She really shows her faith through church attendance and prayer but really has to work on losing her vices. She is so committed though and seriously teaches her friends the gospel and commits them to keep commitments she's the best.

We have a baptismal date for Mark! We're soooo hoping it will all work out and the stars will align haha. We also got a referral from a member of this guard that works at 7/11, his name is Francis and is amazing! He already has so much desire to change and has a good group of fellowshippers. We're so excited to see all their progress!

So.. I have officially eaten balut!! Haha, it was actually pretty good! It kind of was hard swallowing down the chicken fetus though.. but mostly it just tastes like chicken soup. 

Also! The Semillano family from Magsungay, my second area, came to Sipalay for vacation and I saw them!!! We were so surprised that we saw each other haha, they're so strong in the church and I'm so grateful I was able to meet them.

Well thank you all for the love and support and hope you all enjoy your Christmas season, I'll enjoy mine in the 80+ degree weather in grass huts. I love the Philippines!!!

Sister Pope

1) Me and sister Bartolome at a meeting :)

2) BALUT!!! mmMMmmMm 

Week 70: ZONE CONFERENCE

Hey everyone! This week went by REALLY fast.. in fact the weeks have been starting to blur by! Which is really scary I don't want the time to go by fast haha. 

This week was good, on Tuesday we went to the city for zone conference which was good, we were combined with the other zones in the mission so it was fun to see some familiar faces there, especially the ones that are going home in two weeks! Which are TWO of my companions!! Bye bye Sister Fawcett and Sister Ducado :( I'll miss them a lot!

Sister Santos got a little sick this week so we weren't able to be out long, her back is really sore. We got a doctor to look at her, but being assigned in the most mountainous part of my mission the doctor was kind of a funny sight. He had this crazy hair, glasses that had one missing lens, and his t-shirt that he was wearing had at least more than ten sizable holes in it. He seemed pretty smart though and Sister Santos has been getting a little better with the pain medication she's taking. Let's just say I'm glad that I'm not the one that got sick haha.

Trisha is doing great! She really has a difficult past but she is so willing to change and is so kind and open to everything! She's also fellowshipping everyone that lives by her and she's already committed like three people to come to church with her next Sunday. She's so great! 

Anyways we're really excited to get back to the work this week now that my companion has been able to recover a little. Thanks everyone for the love and support!

Sister Pope

Sorry no pictures :( actually I think my SD card got a virus... maybe all my pictures got deleted haha that would really be a bummer

Week 69: NEW PEOPLE

Hey everyone, another really cool week this week, lots of miracles :)

So first I'm mostly excited to share about the referral the elders gave us, I think I mentioned her last week in my email. She is awesome!! We visited her on Tuesday and she's already telling all her friends that she's going to be "mormon" haha. She's 17 years old, she lives here in Sipalay with her aunt and she actually just had a baby two weeks ago. She has been through a. LOT. of trials in her life and she's so ready to leave them behind her and change. It will be a long change process for her but she has a strong desire. She was sooo excited to go to church she brought her aunt and her next door neighbors with her and during sacrament meeting, she asked us if she becomes a member if she can be a speaker too. She's so amazing! We're so excited to see how she progresses. 

Mark is doing really well too! He kind of struggles when his wife isn't here to support him to go to church but we shared to him the blessings of church attendance and he came on Sunday! We were so surprised and happy. We're sooo excited for him!

Annddd, another really fun p-day haha. Brother Gerald, the older brother of Jay, brought us to this place with a HUGE cave and it was sooooo cool! The center of the cave has this big river and it's super pitch black on the inside and we only had one flashlight so.. it was kind of a struggle haha but really fun! 

Tomorrow we're traveling up to the city for a meeting with our mission president since we don't have mission tour so we're excited to receive some new council from our leaders. 

Thank you all for the love and support! It means the world :)

Sister Pope

I'll send pictures next week of Trisha and our p-day :) this computer shop is sketch lol

Week 68: MIRACLES!!

Hey everyone!! We witnessed a few miracles this week that I'm excited to share with you all :)

SO Brother Mark has finally decided to be baptized! His wife went to Manila but she's coming back in December so he'll be baptized on the same day as his son, JM. We're soooo happy and so excited for his commitment to follow the Savior :)

Then we found a lot of new investigators this week, and one of them has actually been going to church for the past two months and we didn't know, he's the younger brother of a part-member family and his name is John Paul, so we make a fun match. Do you guys get it? haha, anyways we finally got to teach him this week and he has a really sweet heart, we're excited to see how he progresses!

THEN the elders met this cool girl a couple days ago.. so the elders live in our area so they talk to a lot of people here because they like live here and one night they were on their way home from proselyting and this girl yelled at them "hey, are you guys mormons" and they were like "yeah" and she was like "I want to join your church. Do you guys have a baptism or something so I can join your church?" We totally thought it was a joke when they told us but it's real, and we're meeting with her on Tuesday. Hopefully it goes well! 

Anyways, p-day was also really fun again, we went to this beach resort called Campomanes Bay and it was soooo fun! We're all recharged for another week of work :) I love being a missionary and I love Sipalay! 

Thank you all for the love and support :)

Sister Pope

1) my upper arm is so white haha.. 

2) campomanes bay !

3) The fish the elders caught

4) we sat in these little bamboo things on the ocean

5-7) Jay's baptismal pictures :)

Week 67: JAY!

Hey everybody! It's been a week of ups and downs but mostly ups :) Sister Santos is a lot of fun though and we had a lot of good progress this week with the work.

So we're at a point in the area where everyone we're teaching is new (except brother Mark) so they're all about at the same progress as of right now. Soo it's really just us against time deciding who we need to go to and who's progressing! We're teaching two really cool families right now that we really hope progress, they just need a little help strengthening their faith.

Jay was baptized on Sunday morning! It was such a good service and he's changed soooo much. He's a part-member family and they returned coming back to church in September. He's older brother, Gerald, actually served a mission and we're so happy to see him regularly come to church now with his small family. But back to Jay, he used to be really annoying, would never pray, and really disobedient. And WOW he has changed so much! Of course, the elders know him since they're in the same ward as him and our district leader that interviewed him, Elder Tabligan, was soo shocked at his change. Even though he's only 10, kids an experience a change of heart too. 

Anyways, just another week! Talk to you all next week :) Thank you and love you all!

Sister Pope

Week 66: SIPALAY GIYAPON!

Hey everyone! Did I send an email last week? I can't remember.. anyways, this was another good week, and we have transfers! Sister Esteban will be leaving our trisome so now it will just be me and Sister Santos :( We'll miss her! 

Our investigators seem to be stuck right now in their progress right now, especially Mark. We're just really trying to build his faith right now. But Jay is getting baptized this Saturday and we're so excited! His less-active family has returned and we're so excited for him to follow their example in baptism. 

Honestly there hasn't been a lot that has happened and I'm reeeeally tired right now from traveling all the way from Sipalay to Bacolod for transfer day, but just know that I love you all and am grateful I'm staying here in Sipalay!

Sister Pope

1) beautiful sipalay

2) sister bartolome!!! saw her at a meeting this week :)) miss her so much!

3) Janelle and Althea, the elder's recent converts. they're soooo sweet and always have us over for lunch/dinner