Hello Family,
I am not sure what to write this week, it has been a long full week. With Sister Santos we teach about 9-12 lessons a day and are always tracting and OYMing. [Open Your Mouth-ing. It's a contacting mindset that if you open your mouth to talk to someone about the Gospel, it will be filled. -Emily] It is awesome. President DeLaMare suggested that I be more assertive in this area. I am trying. As for the work, we basically started from scratch when I got here, not sure why but we have been tracting like crazy. We have found a lot of new people that are progressing, one family stopped us on the walkway and said that they wanted to go to the temple. We started asking questions and found out that about 4-5 years ago they took lessons from the Elders and for some reason stopped, and their young daughters remembered going to the temple and when they saw us they came up and asked to be taught. We gave them Books of Mormon on Friday and the feeling there handing their 3 daughters (which are now upper teens) their own BoM. Wow, what a feeling. They texted us on Saturday if it was okay to bring their BoM to church with them on Sunday. How amazing! Temple tour on Saturday was good we just took a taxi with 3 of our investigators, no getting up at 3:30am like in Morong. Unfortunately on the way back the traffic was horrible, again with the no rules really, try having a whole mass of cars from one direction trying to get into a single lane...ulg...so we were all feeling car sick and one of our investigators kept throwing up which honestly did not help at all.
Oh well, the church is still true.
Another investigator taught us about Enos and testified of the truthfulness of the BOM, the spirit was so strong in the work this week. I feel like a missionary, every night I am dead tired but feeling the Spirit, I know that we have a lot of work to do here, Kaya namin!!
Tracting is different here, in Morong it was more provincial and here it is just a mass of houses and houses where I didn't think one could fit. Some of them are so small, so so so small. I am learning that with the Spirit is doesn't matter if they live in a mansion or in a little tiny basement house with cement walls and dirt floor the Lord still wants them to hear the gospel. I have been experiencing some interesting smells which knock all appetite out, and some sights and sounds which astound me. But again the Church is true, I didn't get called to the Philippines to be comfortable. I was called here to work, and that means forgetting myself, forgetting that I am uncomfortable and focusing on loving the people I am around, trying to understand their Tagalog and address their needs. That is when the work goes better, when I am able to do more, when I am happier. I still have a long long long way to go.
Happy Conference everyone. I am not even going to start with the waves the homesickness that I have been feeling every time someone mentions conference. Sigh. The Church is true. I will be able to watch some of it next weekend with our investigators at our stake center. I love my new ward though. I loved Morong as well but there are a lot of SA [I think this means Single Adults. - Emily] here and they are really helping me with my Tagalog.
Happy News. I was asked to speak at a ward baptism on Saturday so we went. For the special musical number there was a girl who played the violin. My heart about died of joy the first violin I have seen in the Philippines. After the baptism I asked her if I could play it, for an hour I took requests from the children's hymn book. There was no shoulder rest which made it slightly difficult for me, and it was out of tune at first. I showed her how to tune and explained some other things she had questions about, then I just played for the members. I started in a different room because I didn't want too much attention but after a while most of them had come to listen. I know that I had help from the Spirit as I played. For not really playing in 5 months I was able to play every song they requested on the first try. By the time that we really needed to get back to work my soul was so happy. I can't even begin to describe the joy that playing again, being able to share music with others help others through music again...amazing. Actually a lot of those in the ward ask me for help with music, either piano hymns or theory for their classes. It is just another testament to me that I am supposed to be here in the Marikina 3rd ward.
Well that is about it for this week. Everyone was out partying yesterday because it was the 1 year anniversary of Ondoy [the typhoon]. We hear about it a lot because this area was one of the most effected by it. A lot of drunk people. Lets just say after an event yesterday we then met up and went to work with 3 SA helpers. I have never been so glad for RM's who come with us to work. YAY work with missionaries.
Oh also I got a handful of letters today. Thank you all for your letters that you send. Yes Valerie your pouch mail made it through, thank you. I haven't read them yet, haven't had time but I am so excited. I LOVE MAIL!!!!!!
Enjoy conference, the fall leaves, crisp apples, the cool beautiful mornings that just testifies of God, all of which I miss a lot. Again The CHURCH IS TRUE!
I love you all.
Sister Rebecca Jensen
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