Philippines Mission--Week 42--"If we both shoot a basket and one of us makes it, we get to teac

Maajong hapon! The letter is kind of short but it's a new adventure in a new area :) Enjoy!

January 28th, Thursday, This day I literally traveled ALL day. The missionaries transferring got on a boat in the morning (which took about 2-3 hours) and then we got off and headed to the mission office in Liloan, Cebu where all of the missionaries transferring got together. I traveled to my new zone, Bogo zone, then traveled to a place with buses and waited, literally for about 2 hours for a bus. And then after we got on, we traveled to Carmen which took about another 3-4 hours and then stopped, ate, and traveled to Bogo which took another 3 hours. It was the most tiring transfer I've ever had. But it was still pretty fun because I got to meet some new missionaries in my zone. January 29th, Friday, My first day in Medellin, Cebu was pretty okay! Sister Delos Reyes and I visited an investigator, Sister Felicia, who is pretty old and likes to quote the Bible (even though she doesn't understand the meaning of the Bible verse) haha. We took her a Book of Mormon and talked about it a little bit with her. She's the cutest old lady ever! When we try committing her to read/pray about the Book of Mormon to know for herself whether it's true, she said, "I already know it's true because it comes from God." It's so cute but kind of frustrating at the same time haha.

After her, we visited Sister Idsan. Sister Idsan has been active since she became a member, but then all of a sudden she has a heart defect and lost a ton of weight and couldn't walk, talk, read, or recognize anybody. So the Medellin branch prayed/fasted for her to get better. And then when Sister Delos Reyes and I visited her, she could walk and talk and read!! We shared with her about Heavenly Father/family and how they love her. She's the cutest woman ever. She kept holding my hand and when we said goodbye, I gave her a hug and she kissed me on the cheek! I love her!! After Sister Idsan, we visited John Rafh (who was baptized at 13) but then his records were lost and so he has to be rebaptized. We taught him about the Restoration to refresh his mind. His baptismal date is on February 13th, so we have to hurry and reteach him everything before he is baptized.

January 31st, Sunday, Sister Delos Reyes and I went to the farthest part of our area and it looks just like Idaho! It has sugar cane fields and dirt roads. It's pretty awesome. There's this loooong dirt road we have to walk down and as we were walking, Sister Delos Reyes pointed to one of those really tall metal towers in fields and said, "It's the 'Awful Towers'" instead of the Eiffel tower. haha! It really does look like the Eiffel tower.

We visited the Arnais family (investigators) and taught them about Joseph Smith/Restoration. They're really interested in the messages and want to go to church, the problem is the church is too far from their home so they can't because the mom has 13 kids and the fare is too expensive. But we're planning on having a 'special sacrament' for the investigators/members that can't go to church.

Also, before Sister Delos Reyes and I headed home, we had started talking to this guy that was playing basketball and Sister Delos Reyes said, "If we both shoot a basket and one of us makes it, we get to teach you." He agreed because he thought that a bunch of young girls couldn't play basketball. Sister Delos Reyes shot first and missed, and then it was my turn. I was SO nervous, especially since I haven't played since middle school, and everyone just stopped what they were doing and stared. But then I shot it and . . . I MADE IT! haha. It was so awesome! All of the basketball players started shouting/laughing and looked at the guy and said, "AH! Patay ka!" ("Ah, you're dead!")

When we got closer to home we went and visited the Pino family and taught the father. He's always getting drunk after work so Sister Delos Reyes wanted to teach him about being a good example for his children. We're hoping he applies the message into his life because his family is so awesome!!

Well, new adventures await me here in Medellin, Cebu. It's a very mountainous area and I'm ready to climb one to save some souls! ;)

I love you and miss you all!

Love,

Sister Johnson