PHOTOS

Sooo... Spencer's mom hasn't been good at loading letters and pictures for the last month ... letters are all up .... Here's a bunch of photos!

👋 Tuesday February 25, 2020

Heeeeey! This past week has been aight. We had Zone Conference so that was cool. It was mostly just focusing on being more accountable and using our Area Book Planner (ABP) App. The problem we've been having as a mission is just that it's kinda tiring trying to keep the ABP App updated all the time because there's just a TON of different parts to it and ya so we've been trying as a mission to get better at using it but it's been a long process hahahaha. It was a good conference though. 

On Sunday we were able to have more of the people we've been teaching come to church so that was great, but then while visiting one those people our phone died. Like it just randomly turned off and decided it would never turn back on again sooooo ya we got to spend our Monday trying to get to the Mission office to get a new phone. So we got a temporary phone while hopefully our phone gets fixed. While at the office though we ended up attending a last minute farewell to one of our office elders. His lung callasped... twice. So ya he is going home to finally get the rest he needs. So ya not a super exciting week, but it was still alright.

Yup,
Elder Shirley

Morag upat na lang di ba? (rough translation "doesn't it seem like 4 days?"

Tuesday February 18, 2020

Well since my last pday was like 4 days ago not a ton has happened. We had Stake conference which was cool. I dont know if it's happening outside the Philippines but they're really pushing for this thing called "Linking Arms" where Members and Missionaries really work together to support and strengthen Part Member Families. The idea is super solid and I can't imagine how awesome the work would be if it's fully implemented. Some wards have already really started working with missionaries to identify Part Member Families that missionaries could visit with the assigned ministering brothers and sisters for those families. We've already seen some really good success from it. Families coming back to church, friends and family entering the waters of baptism. It's been cool to see members truly being missionaries themselves. Elder Sudayon and I have been trying to find some new people to add to our teaching pool, we have a few new promising people right now but hopefully we'll see even more success as we work with members to visit part member families.

That's all for now. We have zone con this upcoming friday and I might finally have my interview with President so we'll see what happens.

Love ya!
Elder Shirley

Thursday February 13, 2020

Alright just so you're aware, MLC took up our Wednesday/Thursday so we're just now having Pday on Friday

So sad to see no email from my parents! 😪

I only got 4 months till i can see ya in person though so I can let this week slide 😉

This past week was pretty alright. We got a bunch of new faces in our zone now. Nearly every companionship had a change, the only exceptions are Elder Sudayon and I and the Elders in Pardo. So ya it's been cool to see how that's already started affecting stuff (especially since it's been good). We've seen a really big change in the efforts people have been putting into their areas. 

Even in our area we've already seen a huge miracle. There was a sister we talked to on the side of the road once like over 2 months ago that had told us her son was serving a mission, but she herself was not a member. Well we werent quite able to find her again, but this last week her son had someone from his mission that just finished their mission contact us. So Sister Elkah (the RM) helped us get in contact with this Sister again. Sooo we were finally able to meet the Yap family! So in the Yap family the Father and the 2 oldest sons are members (with one on a mission). The mom had been taught by the missionaries about 20 years ago in a totally different part of the Philippines. Well on our first visit we talked with her about how she felt about her son being on a mission and explained to her what we, as missionaries, do to help others. She happily invited us to come back and ya it was awesome... Well she came to church on Sunday! And we went back again just a couple days later. When we went back we had probably only been there for a couple minutes when she told us she and her son (14yr) wanted to be baptized. She said that she had such a wonderful experience at Church, that the members were just so welcoming, that her Sunday School Class was just so inspiring, and she just loved it. She told us that after she had gone to church she remembered how her relatives told her that they always pray for her and hope that some day she would join the church. Well in the words of sister Yap, she said that, "...[her] family's prays have been answered! [Her] heart has been softened and she is ready to become a member." I've never seen such a quick conversion. 

It's honestly been so inspiring to be a part of her story. There were so many things that just stuck out to me: the power of prayer and love, the influence of members at church, and the example of her son living righteously. I think things like that are often times under appreciated or taken for granted, but they're the very reason sister Yap and her son, Kirt, were so ready to receive the Gospel! So ya I guess our week has been pretty awesome now that I think about it.

Love ya!
Elder Shirley

Transfers!

Tuesday February 4, 2020

Transfers! Elder Sudayon and I are still in Talisay together! This'll be our 3rd transfer together! It should be good. We got some new potential we're working with and the work looks like it's gonna continue. The rest of our zone is gonna be moving around a bit though. We got a couple missionaries training (shout out to my brother of the mission Elder Dutson) and just a few others getting shuffled around the mission.

A couple days ago we FINALLY found a new house kay the house we've been living in has a ton of problems. We're actually gonna be moving into a totally new house (that's actually reeeeeally nice) with the elders from Pardo and it's actually gonna save the mission a ton of money. The senior couples over housing and even President Pajaro were actually all very excited about it for us hahaha.

This upcoming friday we're having a special conference thing with President and Sister Schmutz (area presidency president/wife) and Sister Bingham (general relief society president). So ya should be cool.

Oh i also have worms again. I pretty much spent my day yesterday waiting at a clinic just to have them tell me i have to poop in a cup. So ya hopefully that's all over soon 😅

Sorry that was all just kinda random but ya that was pretty much my whole week.

Love ya!
Elder Shirley

Tuesday Jan. 28, 2020

We've been going on a lot of exchanges kay it's the end of the transfer and we hadnt done any exchanges yet hahaha. Well the last two we've done were with the Elders in Lawaan and Linao. So I got the chance to work with Elder Swain (my follow-up trainee) again on exchanges in Lawaan and Elder Dutson (My brother on the mission) in Linao. 

Those two days of work were probably my favorite days of work this entire transfer. I don't really know what happened but we just really got to work and saw miracles happen. Elder Swain and I got 5 lessons in on one day which doesnt seem like a ton but that's the most lessons their area has seen in one day for a VERY long time. Elder Dutson and I had 6 lessons on a Monday meaning we only worked a half day (because of district council) and still got in that many lessons plus a whole bunch of testifying contacts. 

There was a bunch of other cool things that happened, but I don't want to go on a long rant about it all. But ya it was just nice to really feel like I was giving it my all with these Elders. I always strive my best to be a good example to the Elders I go on exchanges with and try to help them learn as much as I have to offer, but I always feel like I take more out from the experience than they do. It's kinda hard to explain how I've been feeling this transfer, all the different kinds of trials and blessings that have come and gone, but I don't know it kinda has somehow been good. I've had some really low times this transfer, but I got out of them. I found peace and joy in many different ways. Often times it felt like a day by day battle (sometimes even hour by hour), but I must say it's all just made me realize I'm stronger than I thought I was.

My biggest worry coming to the end of my mission is that I would lose that fire and not give it my all. I've come to recognize in myself that that fire is still burning strong. Though rains by strive to douse it as winds beat upon it, I've come to learn just how much stronger we can become in affliction. I've come to love reading the words of Paul. They seem to really connect with me (probably even more so as a missionary) Something he said in one of his letters to the Corinthians really connected with me...

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

I think often times we go through hard things in life and we understand that somehow in someway it's suppose to eventually make us stronger and better. That's not really how Paul describes it though. He talks about glorifying god IN his infirmites, or taking pleasure IN his reproaches, persecutions, and distresses. Almost even saying that it's not until that very moment that we're at our weakest, when all seems lost, when there no longer seems to be any strength left in us at all that we are then actually at our strongest.

I've been praying a lot lately that God would give me the strength to give it my all these last few months. It's been a long time coming but at the same time it feels like I dont have enough time left. Well with everything that I've gone through, I think he's given me just that; enough time and more than enough strength to do all that he's sent me here to do.

After all, "...I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in [me]." Romans 8:18

I know I am doing God's work and I don't want to be doing anything else. Nothing could make me change how I feel about that. I love what I do.

Love ya,
Elder Shirley