Week 38

So this week is the week that we meet our new president! We actually will be have a "Meet the President Zone Conference" in the San Pablo chapel... Our zone will be combined with 3 others zones: Cabuyao, San Pablo, Siniloan, and Santa Cruz. We're pretty close to San Pablo. I'm excited! It's even on the "forf of July" haha. Don't worry! I'll be celebrating in my mind and heart. I hope that you all enjoy that day and the wonderful freedom and blessings God has given us there... Don't ever take it for granted! And if you do, just come to my mission and you will see.  :)

This week has been alright. We are still teaching our beloved investigator, Willmar. What a great person. I feel the Spirit so strongly when we teach him. We've only been able to teach him every Saturday and Sunday with his job, but he is so humble and willing to change. I love his desire to learn and grow. I'm learning a lot from teaching Him. I don't know why, but my face just lights up and I feel so excited to teach him every time we do. We could have the worst day, but every Saturday and Sunday we look forward to our evening appointment with Willmar. He really wants to learn the commandments of God and follow them... he also wants to change. I just feel like we were friends before. I know he will get baptized... I'm wanting to stay in this area to see it happen, one more cycle! 

Transfer week is almost here: two more weeks.. I've been here for 4 cycles now, and the chances of me getting the call on transfer day is highly likely... Which I'm not sure how I feel about it, if it happens. I really love Sister Dadivas, I love our investigators, and I like our apartment and area. We'll see what happens. I've still got time so I'll enjoy it as much as I can.  

This week Sister Dadivas was sick which gave me time to do my favorite things: study and clean! haha! I washed clothes, mopped, washed dishes, and wrote my talk for zone training meeting. It was a good time for me to study and think about being called to be a servant. This week I'm just feeling especially grateful to be a missionary. I know that I will never have this time again to just study the Book of Mormon. I'm really going to miss this a lot when it comes time to return.

Something that's been on my mind is how my mission is like a mini episode of the plan of salvation and of returning home to our heavenly father. We come to our mission or mortal life and learn and make mistakes and all these things happen to us, and then we have to be ready to go home. And I know when I return home, I want to return home with the spirit in my eyes and a song in my heart to heavenly Father giving him thanks for my mission. Just like when we return home to God, we need to be ready and prepared to do so in order to feel worthy to be with God again.

I'm also learning a lot from my fellow house mate, Sister Aquino. She is 25 years old and has cancer. She got cleared to serve, but she's not sure if she will finish her mission if it gets bad.. I look up to her so much. I was expressing to her some of my frustrations about myself and feeling down and she told me, "Sister, everything that God wants you to be after your mission starts here in your mission. It all starts here for you." I've pondered that a lot and realized how true it is. God has given me a start. And I know that He is making me what I need to be and what He wants me to be. No matter what, he will remain true to me if I am true to Him. And no matter how hard it gets here or how stressed or frustrated or lonely I feel at times, I know he's there. If I do my part I can be happy.

Well, I hope you know how much I love you. This week has been pretty mellow again. I really love being here. I love being a missionary. I am a representative of my Savior. And I will never get this time back! I'm happy and healthy. I hope you all are, too, and that you have a fun 'forf of July' with everyone! 

Happy forf of July! :)

xoxo,

Sister Seastrand