This is my 4th week being here in the Philippines! I've been out on my mission for 3 months. Crazy how time flies by. It's still summer for the Filipinos here. Just one more month and it'll be rainy season, where it's nice and cold. I'm so excited! Here are some things that have happened to me here in Bohol since the last time I sent you all a letter.
On Tuesday, April 28th, Sister Lagan and I got together with Sister Elaine Barbon, the less active girl that I mentioned last week. Sister Elaine wanted to come with Sister Lagan and I to all of our lessons because she's thinking about serving a mission as well, and wanted to see what it was like being a missionary. It was awesome having her come with us because she's been really inactive and hasn't wanted to interact with the missionaries/go to church. But ever since we visited her, she now comes to church and help us out with our missionary work.
All of us took a Rela over to the "hill of death" to teach a new investigator. I call it the "hill of death" because it's a really long hill that is really steep and hard to walk up to, and it kills us every time we have to walk up it, haha. The thing that sucked about walking up this hill, was that it was one of the hottest days since I've been here. Sister Lagan and I were fasting so we couldn't drink water/eat anything. When we were walking up the hill, the sun was beating down on us and making us sweat so much. I quietly said a little prayer that we could have a break from the sun. When I finished my little prayer, this huge cloud went in front of the sun and stayed there all day. It was so cool looking! At the top of the cloud, you could see the sun shining through, and I kid you not, I swear I saw Heaven. I'm still not quite sure if I really did, or if it was just me going crazy because I was exhausted, thirsty and hungry. haha
After we got done teaching people up on the hill, we walked over to Brother Gony's house. Walking over to his house was an adventure. Instead of the usual way we go, we took a shortcut down a steep cliff through a bunch of palm trees. It was pretty scary walking down the cliff because there was a bunch of branches sticking out everywhere and tons of logs you had to try and step over. But it was pretty fun walking through the forest.
We finally got to Brother Gony's house and taught him about the importance of prayer because Sister Lagan says he's had a hard time keeping his eyes closed during the prayer. It was so funny because before we started the lesson, Sister Lagan prayed for us. In her prayer she said, "Please help Brother Gony to keep his eyes closed and not read the Book of Mormon during the prayer." Sister Lagan and I then opened our eyes a little and looked over at Brother Gony to make sure he wasn't doing anything, and guess what, he was! His eyes were opened and he was flipping through the Book of Mormon reading it. It was terrible because Sister Lagan and I started laughing during the prayer. After she said, "Amen" we both just looked at each other and started laughing. Oh man, Brother Gony is so funny. He's always cracking jokes and being silly. Whenever we sing before the lesson, he always says the words out loud before we sing them. When it's his turn to pray, and Sister Lagan is still talking to him, he always interrupts her and just starts praying without letting her finish what she's saying. And every time he does that it makes us laugh! It's terrible.
Then, after we taught Brother Gony, it was getting pretty dark so we hurried and took a Rela over to Sister Jessa's house (our investigator, who has been coming to church, by the way!) and taught her about the Plan of Salvation. It was a really awesome lesson! Even though Sister Lagan and Sister Jessa were speaking in Tagalog and Cebuano, I still understood everything, and I connected my sentences with what Sister Lagan said. Lately when I teach, I'm able to understand and then connect what I'm saying to what Sister Lagan said, instead of just repeating the same thing that she just said.
Even though the day was very tiring, it was awesome because Sister Elaine got to experience what it's like to be a missionary, and now she wants to come with us more and help us out more because she had a lot of fun with us. I'm so excited and happy she's getting involved with the church again! All it took was for someone to let her know how much she's loved, and how important she is to our Heavenly Father.
Then on Thursday, April 30th, Sister Lagan, Elder Robanakadavu, Elder Talan and I got on a bus in the morning and headed over to Tagbilaran, which is about a 2 hour drive. Our Cebu East Mission was having a Mission tour with our Mission President (President Tanner)and the Philippines Area President, President Ardern, (who is the president over all of the Philippines missions, and in the Quorum of the 70).
When we walked inside the church, it was packed with tons of missionaries that serve in Bohol. Sister Lagan and I walked around talking to people, and then out of nowhere I hear, "Sister Johnson!" So I turned around, and saw Sister Nalawas (from my batch in the Provo MTC). It was so awesome seeing her again! I hadn't seen her in a month and she's the only one from my batch I got to see again, besides Elder Robanakadavu.
The Mission Tour started off with President Ardern's wife being the 1st speaker. She and President Ardern both shared their conversion story, and how important the missionaries were in their lives, and how the missionaries helped keep them active in the church because nobody in their families were active/members.
The stuff President Ardern talked about was really helpful. He taught us a lot about what we as missionaries need to do to get people to come unto Christ and want to be baptized. His advice was really helpful and makes me want to try even harder as a missionary. Sister Lagan then said the closing prayer, and said it in English. I was smiling throughout the prayer because her English was perfect. She literally sounded like an American and was using the English that I had taught her before. It was so cool. I was so proud and happy for her! After the prayer, a bunch of missionaries went up to her and said, "Sister Lagan, your prayer was nindot kaayo (really great). You sounded like an American! Who has been teaching you English?" Then she looked at me and said, "Akong gwapa kauban!" (My beautiful companion).
I still remember what she told me before we became companions. She prayed to Heavenly Father and asked Him to help her learn English. She then talked to President Tanner and said that she really wanted to learn English from an American. The day we were at the Mission President's house to find out who our new companions were going to be, Sister Lagan showed up with the older missionaries and noticed that I was the only American there. She told me she was really nervous to meet me and that she didn't want to talk to me/interact with me because if President Tanner saw us interacting, he might put us together; and she was too scared to learn English even though she really wanted an American companion to teach her. It was so funny, because when President Tanner called her name she got really nervous because she said a prayer before and knew that I was going to be her new companion. And then President Tanner told us we were companions!
Life here in the Philippines is pretty hard. It's always hot, I'm always tired/hungry, I can't understand the language, I miss my family so much, but the one thing that gets me through the day is prayer. Prayer is so important. I challenge each of you, if you don't do it already, to have sincere personal and family prayer every day. It will not only strengthen your relationship with Heavenly Father, but it will strengthen your relationship with your family and make you stronger and happier. Always have a prayer in your heart. Our Heavenly Father wants so badly to hear from us. Pray to Him and tell Him all about your day, ask Him questions, tell Him your concerns. He wants to listen, and He's waiting to help you. But you have to let Him in first.
P.S. For all you beautiful women out there: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!
I love you and miss you all! Have an awesome week!
Love,
Sister Johnson <3