Philippines Mission--Week 14 "Just hold on! I'm here, just hold on for a little while longe

DINNER was crawling in our kitchen! The Bohol Sea is my backyard so we get lots of crawling things in our yard and house.

Kamuuustaaa mo! Time has really flown by! I've been on my mission for 5 months so far, and have a couple of weeks before I hit my 6 month mark. Crazy! So this is what's happened to me the past week...

On July 6th, Monday, it was the first P-day that Sister Orzal and I got to spend together! We travelled to Tagbilaran which is about 2 hours from Jagna and went to the BQ Mall and did our shopping there. I love being able to go to Tagbilaran and shop at the mall, but it's always so tiring! Even though P-day isn't teaching all day, it's still A LOT of work. Especially when you have to wash your clothes by hand! Oh man. That's probably the most tiring part of all. But I'm so happy that I can do it! It took me a while to be able to clean my clothes properly. Yuck!

Then on July 7th, Tuesday, We had our first district meeting with a new district leader (Elder Borrego from Arizona) and some new missionaries. It was a really good district meeting! Even though our district leader was kind of "in our face" and somewhat chastizing us, I could still feel his love for us and his love for this work and the Lord. Which sounds really odd. I can tell that this transfer will be really good because we have awesome leaders that are pushing us to give 110% for the Lord.

It's also Sister Savanah Asay's 20th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANAH! Love and miss you!

On July 9th, Thursday, Sister Orzal and I got done teaching an investigator and we were going to walk home but I thought, "Hmm, we should tract and find new investigators." And I HATE tracting. It's so scary! Especially when you can barely speak the language. But I decided to just try it anyway. So we turned down this road that led to the Jagna high school. And there were lots of little kids that just got out of school, and they were just standing around talking. Sister Orzal and I were talking to each other when we heard some kids yell, "Americana! It's in Americana!". It was so cute! We then walked past them and I heard a little boy say, "What's your name?" in English, so I turned around and took the opportunity to introduce myself in Cebuano. I looked at all of them and said, "Ako si Sister Johnson! Unsa'y inyong ngalan?" (I am Sister Johnson. What is your guys' names?) And the moment I said that, all of them just freaked out and started yelling! haha. I looked at Sister Orzal and she said, "They're just really surprised that an American knows their language. They think it's cool." They were too shy to talk to me so we turned around and started walking away when this lady getting water asked in English, "Where are you going?" And once again I had to have courage to turn around and introduce myself. I was so nervous! Especially when there were lots of people watching me try to speak Cebuano. Good thing we have companions. Sister Orzal helped me to speak with her and introduce ourselves. We then picked up some water and said, "Magtabang mi nimo. Asa imong balay?" (We will help you. Where is your home?). She then took us to her home and she introduced us to her older daughter and son. We gave them a pamphlet and the set an appointment with us to return and teach them. It's always really scary for me to tract, but I know that the Lord was with me guiding me, and helping me to speak the language and have courage to open my mouth.

On July 10th, Friday, Sister Orzal and I had our weekly planning, which took a lot longer than we had anticipated. Every weekly planning, we plan out who and what we're going to be teaching for the next week, and then we plan out goals that we want to accomplish with the branch and with each other. At the end of every weekly planning, we have companionship inventory, which is where you come together and talk about your companionship strengths/weaknesses, and personal strengths/weaknesses. The reason why our weekly planning took longer than we planned was because we really opened up with each other and said our true feelings, and what we needed from each other to make our companionship be really strong and united. It was a very good companionship inventory. It's kind of like a refresher for the next week. Get out your true feelings, work through them, and start over with your companion to try and be better.

Then on July 11th, Saturday, Sister Orzal and I watched "Meet the Mormons"! For those that haven't seen it yet, I suggest you do. It's such an amazingly, inspiring movie. I love it! I think my favorite part of the movie is "The missionary mom."

It's about a mother who grew up in a broken home. Her mother and father had her when they were 16 and their family was broken apart the moment she was born. She has been living on her own since she was 15, and at the young age of 16 she had a baby, without help from the father. She and her son, Anthony, went from homeless shelter to homeless shelter. She started taking some lessons from the missionaries, and then got back together with her boyfriend and had another baby. Sadly, the baby passed away. She was so angry with God that she stopped taking lessons from the missionaries, and every time they would go and visit her, she would tell them, "Don't talk to me about God. There is not God in this. Why would God take away one of His beautiful children from me?" Then one night she was in a gas station and just broke down in tears because she couldn't handle her life anymore. She was then randomly approached by a member of the church that was working. The mom opened up and told her what was going on, and the worker asked, "Do you believe in God?" The mom then said, "I've been taking lessons from the missionaries." And the worker told her, "I'm a member; I can call the missionaries to come here and give you a blessing if you'd like?" Right when she "fell to her knees" and thought of giving up, the Lord helped "lift her up" again.

She then thought to herself, "I'm thinking that the Lord isn't there for me, but really He's telling me, "Just hold on! I'm here, just hold on for a little while longer!" Every time I hear those words, I get goosebumps! Every time I think I'm on my own, that nobody is there for me, the Lord always lifts me up and shows me that I'm not alone. That He's here for me, He's always been here for me.

I know that life can be really hard sometimes. We have many trials and tribulations to try and overcome, but he Lord will NEVER leave you alone to deal with them. We need to always remember that when we feel like giving up, or feel like there's nobody there to help us, the Lord is saying, "Just hold on! I'm here, just hold on for a little while longer!" I know with every fiber of my being that the Lord is really there for us. He will lift us up on our feet when we've fallen to our knees. I know my Savior lives and I know He loves us.

Love you all!!

Love,

Sister Johnson