Lice.....Again

okay there is so much to say!!!! here are some people we are teaching and thing that happened 

Julan and Cherrylin Intes (okay the ones that have 6 children under the age of 8 they are all so tiny) they have been trying to overcome the word of wisdom which is not easy gud but we decided to focus on praying to know again about Joseph Smith and no words would do it justice and it was such a sacred and special excperience but i will just say the holy ghost testified and ITS TRUE! We had a member give brother julan a priesthood blessing and promised that he would be able to stop today. powerful gud but we will keep praying for them.

Janera Pogio her sister is a recent convert and almost the whole neighborhood has noticed the differences in their lives since they started learning the gospel, she has a job interview on friday and asked us to help her with her english and when we asked her about her strengths she said: prayer! How nindot?? so true though thats a strength for all of us because it's' how God helps us in all things (2 nephi 32:9)

Alan Birao okay he has been taught for so long but is finally seeing how he is really converted and it came from his reading the book of mormon, praying, and actually being like a missionary!  he invited his friends to come to a lesson and ended up teaching the whole thing about faith being like a plant and then we read in Alma 32 and he was amazed that something he felt was in the scriptures without him even knowing it haha

some good times:

Okay, so there are lessons in seriously everything! first, I have lice again which we are thinking just means they never went away in the first place haha which has helped to remind me how important it is to use the Atonement of Jesus christ all the way gud!!! we cant just throw our old ways in a calm pool just so we can get them out later if we desire to go back to our old ways, that we need to throw them in churning water and use the real permethrin stuff and lice combs instead so we can leave old ways behind (okay never thought lice would relate to that but just some of the thoughts we had while my sweet companion used the lice comb)

We tried doing a fhe about eating oranges and using mouthwash and the correct order of things (usually my dad did this about the law of chastity) but about seeking first the kingdom of God and all other things take its place and it kind of worked but they were just happy to eat the orange even after using the mouthwash, but they got the picture and want to come to church on Sunday!!!

Also!!! we tried teaching John Paul in tagalog! Sister Zoleta actually helped me so much before but its a whole different language so Sister Nelson and I stumbled over words and tried switching in english to help him understand too but we testified of God's love and finding that in the Aklat ni Mormon and they were sooo intently listening and his sister Devine told us she got the chills and soo badly desired a testimony like that ah God is so good sorry i love it here this is my home if we put Christ first everything gets put in the right place and we can be sooo happy!!!!! have a good week! 

Day of Travels

This morning Sister Miller & Sister Nelson and another set of Sister missionaries got on a bus and rode for several hours from Toledo to Cebu for meetings.  Kayla took time during the bumpy bus ride to hand write us letter and then sent us pictures of  the letters at an Internet cafe just before heading back to Toledo.  She also sent some pictures from the week.  We sure love hearing from this girl whether by phone, email, hand written letters, photos, etc - we LOVE it all!!!

Happy 2020!!!!

Hello!!! I'm in Toledo on Cebu Island.  Ah, i had to say goodbye to Sister Zoleta and Busay Ward - its so wonderful there i feel like it helped us to grow so much and ah love the people, pero Toledo is also so wonderful and so many miracles!!! We always run house to house Sunday morning (especially when our phone was broken) to remind and invite everyone to come to church and we had MIRACLES HAPPEN   18 people were there!!! 8 were little kids under the age of 8 and we looooove them and the sacrament is so powerful and totally what brings people back time and time again,  even before they have been baptized because who wouldn't want to be able to become new and grow and change and learn through the atonement?! 

That's something I looked at this week, remembering Lot's wife. Okay maybe we are having such a good time and enjoying our life as fishermen or in Sodom and Gomorrah or in Jerusalem, but because Christ loves us so much he asks us to do things for our growth.  Having planned blessings in store ahead of us if we just choose to follow him and become fishers of men or leave our old lives behind and don't look back!!!

 I love our recent convert Queent who has been trying to change her whole life as she becomes a disciple and leaves old wardrobes or drinks behind. Also the intez family!!! This is us going to church with their 6 tiny children ah we love them and also okay no time but i love you Have such a good year and day!!!! 

Wait, there was this moment we were called over and started to talk to someone and they asked for a way to know parts of the bible were true or a second witness okay bASAHON NI MORMON! then, imagine the most magical sunset glowing orange and pink as we testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. i love being a missionary.  okay bye!  

Walking to church with the Intez Family  They are the Best!!!!!

Queent - I LOVE her so much!

Christmas #2 in Toledo

Hello!!! I am here in Toledo again at Christmas time, it has been such a big learning experience and being able to see the things that have changed in a year in myself and also the things I still want to keep working on changing. I love the pure love people have for others here and the acceptance I have felt and love as I met the people being taught here. 

I felt so much joy as we helped the Intez family of 8 come to church for the first time as a whole family on Sunday!!! Brother usually has work but committed to do his best and to see all of their tiny little kids lined in the pew reminded me of what this gospel really is about; the uniting of families for time and all eternity!!! We do not yet have a phone in our area so it has been a little trickier keeping up with appointments or reminding people when we are going over, and contacting the sisters in Balamban, but they seem to be doing good and so selflessly serve wherever they are.

 Sister Nelson has been so patient in trying to remember the people and areas here and just is so patient in teaching and really listening to and responding to the concerns of others. I have much to learn from her and so many people to serve and love! We talked about serving out of lust/ fear/ or out of love and it helped me to realize how it starts with the right intention and desires. Just like how Lehi chose to obey the commandment to leave Jesuraselm not out of fear of what man could do, but because he loved God and desired to obey all His commandments. Also how Nephi didnt want to go back to his father without obeying the commandment to get the plate, not because he was worried about "how the zone leaders would respond when they looked at the stats" (putting this into a missionary perspective) but did it out of love for obeying. Love in obeying means doing it joyfully and I realized I may have been lacking in doing missionary work, sharing the gospel, and even tcing for the right reasons. It really is because these are my dear brother and sisters and I love them!!! I want them to be happy and feel peace and joy and understand why I feel that in my life because it is all because of this perfect gospel!!! 

For some reason I have been feeling far from the promptings of the Spirit, or in other words I have been expecting to receive thoughts or impressions or words but haven't been recognizing them. This was such a good opportunity to take a look at my personal prayers and if i really do ask in faith, knowing that God will give and bless and help these people through me if I am sincere, but also that He won't always answer or prompt me in the ways I expect. I love the example of Nephi in desiring to know if things were true so he asked for himself through prayer and the Holy Ghost bore witness. I am so grateful for the holy ghost and just am continually working on seeing how it is trying to speak to me. I LOVE SERVING AS A MISSIONARY it feels like pasko everyday. And I am so grateful for the example of all the sisters here if how they love unselfishly.

Sister Miller and I after getting hit with endless smoke from the fire and chopping onions for an eternity! Haha they say a mission requires blood sweat and tears and I think we have the tears part checked off now!

Eating the food that we helped cook at the Christmas party!

Tatay Dela Cruz having the time of his life stirring rice with a stick he chopped off from a banana tree

Nany getting ready to cook some amazing fried chicken!!

Leaving Busay

I am sooo grateful for this blessed time I have had here in Busay.  I loooove these people so much. As we walked the streets the other night and saw the temple over the hills I just felt so at peace and know all I have learned and felt really is for my growth and I hope to take it with me for the rest of my life. It can be easy to question if I have done all I could have here, or if this Busay ward is stronger than when we got here, but I know that Busay ward, and this area has helped to strengthen my testimony of this sacred work and that it is TRUE! Ah it will be so hard to say goodbye to Sister Zoleta I have absolutely loooved being her companion and feel as though she has helped to train me again on how to teach and be a better missionary and more Christlike person. She is such an example and I have no doubt that her love for the people we are teaching here will continue to help and guide her in her work. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to testify of our Savior and feel His love for others, especially this Christmas. The truthfulness of this work and also the Christmas season helps all grow in desire to come unto Christ and we saw that on Sunday! We were punted on Saturday which gave us time to return to a couple who sells bananas on the street. She wasn't very busy so we talked and as we discussed the blessings of the gospel for the family she cried and said she wants her daughter to be on the right path and be happy, and because our plans had fallen through we got to go to the daughter who was home right then and was so happy to discuss the gospel and then we returned on Sunday and she and her lola kuyoged with us, no doubts they just wanted to feel the spirit and they did!!! The sacrament was powerful and so good. 

Also, Brother Glen!!! This Brother he is soo bryte and intellectual but he informed us that he feels there isnt a need to question and at this point in his life he just wants to be as a current and follow where this path and the Book of Mormon is taking him. We hadn't had a chance to invite their family to church and we were late as we kuyoged that daughter and lola but then we heard a little voice call out "sister!!!" and it was the son of brother glen and THEIR WHOLE FAMILY WAS AT CHURCH they had sacrificed and found out what time and went to church and he said he felt at peace and it was such a good way to remember the Savior partaking of the sacrament!!!! also the niece of the daughter that came with us is only 5 but as she looked the sacrament table she asked "jesukristo ba na?" tinuod gud siya, nga the sacrament really is a way for us to lay our sins on the altar and it represents the body and blood of our Savior. OKAY sorry this is probably so confusing but I just cried in our lesson with Brother Glen because I felt so at peace, this is the Lord's work and He IS preparing people every day for us!!! 

I studied about being a peculiar people today and love how it is described in the scriptures as a special and treasured people. Even if members face hardships or rejection or persecution, we get to be the Lord's chosen people and are so special to Him in our efforts. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!! I am excited to keep loving and serving and becoming better and yay almost Christmas! 

Mosiah 16:8 Came to my mind

Okay you know how we always say the gospel is so real or Christ really was resurrected or we need to read our scriptures and say our prayers? So almost 1 year ago to the day i was in the mtc trying to memorize Mosiah 16:8 in bisaya and it was soo hard i kept returning to the same words over and over and couldn't remember them and it definitely never got perfect but i just loved the words ang kahapdos sa kamatayon gutuhop diha kang kristo (the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ) 

 Fast forward here we are in Busay a year later when sister Zoleta and i got a call that a sibling of a member had passed away and the ward had offered to do a funeral service. We agreed to join and thought we would just be attending but as it started they asked me to get up and speak. I had never met the wife or family of the man who had passed away and i disnt even have a bisaya book of mormom because we had already given it away so as i stood and the words of Mosiah 16 filled my mouth i had the most unexplainable feeling of yow REAL this is!!! 

The gospel is real and the resurrection is real and its somehing ive said and believed but just to feel it in that moment across the world and facing a crying family while icried with them i felt it. We always say the sunday school answers that we need to try and read and have faith but in moments where it comes to it, we have to ask ourselves if we really truly believe and know and ah I KNOW IT! It's not just something we say to feel good, its the truth! Its what gives hope when we think our world has fallen apart or when we think we cant get punted by one more house.

 The new nativity video available on www.churchofjesuschrist.org

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Find messages of Christ to uplift your soul and invite the Spirit. www.churchofjesuschrist.org

  I invite you to go watch it.       It shows the wise men kneeling at the feet of our Savior at such a young age and i know they kneeled and worshipped because he is our savior and redeemer.

 Brother isagani continues in his desire to change through the atonement and despite peer pressure is saying no to things he shouldn't do or drink and says he feels strong. Also luz and victor i feel like they are some of my many parents here and they are such busy people he is building a house by himself  but we are still trying to invite and visit them lots. Im so sory im so bad at writing sa english also matag semana but I LOVE BEING A MISSIO ARY !okay have a Good week love you all!!!!

At her District Meetings

With Sister Raymundo from Sandy, UT

Tender Mercies Abound

We believe that Life's Path is always lined with Tender Mercies.  That the goodness of God can be found in any trial or experience.  Recognizing the 'Hand of God' in our individual lives is something we have tried to be very mindful of over the years.  His tender mercies have been apparent through all the major trials of our lives, but we have seen 'Tender Mercies Abound' in our family since Kayla has been away serving a full time mission.

This tender mercy has brought tears of gratitude and great happiness to our family.

Our fiend Matt let us know a few weeks ago that he was traveling to Cebu in early December and would be happy to take a package to the Mission Home there for Kayla.  Not only did he make it to Cebu and the Mission Home, he was able to attend church in the ward Sister Miller & Sister Zoletta  are serving in and got to give her the package in person.  

We had not told Kay, Matt wold be traveling near her area, so I'm sure this was a HUGE surprise.  

What a tender mercy that she is living right in Cebu at a time when a friend would be visiting Cebu.  What a tender mercy that he found her and got to see her serving in her ward.

Here's what Matt shared with us:

"She appears so happy.  Such a huge smile!  Wish you could see all the little girls (at least a dozen) go out of their way to greet her before church - they all light up with the biggest smile when they see Sister Miller"

Such a blessing to hear from someone who has seen her and been with her.  Our family has been so very blessed during Kayla's mission. We have tried to record all of the tender mercies we have experienced, but it has been hard to remember to record all of them. We recognize the Lord in the details of our lives and thank him for His endless mercy and unconditional love.