Malipayong Pasko

It was GREAT week here in Baclayon! I love this area- the branch is small so there's a lot of work to be done!

Christmas Day we spent at the meetinghouse teaching Sister Jen her last lesson and waiting as she got her baptismal interview. It was so amazing to see her happiness and to hear her testimony! It reminded me of Mosiah 18:8-11, labi na verse 11, because she has such a strong desire to be baptized.

As we waited behind the church we found natural aloe vera growing (which we harvested to use in our hair/skin!) and we found GIGANTIC spiders living in huge webs. So of course we caught bugs and threw it in their webs and watched them attack and eat it. Kind of morbid, pero lingaw! All the kids here in the Philippines play with spiders as a pastime, so we're just blending in with the culture....

Then on Saturday we had the baptismal service for Jen- it was beautiful! We went out and picked tropical flowers to decorate the table, and I got to give the talk about Baptism and we had all the women in the ward give a musical number. She was so happy and the Spirit was so full in the room!

Funny teaching moment: we were teaching an old Tatay and he told us about how his wife just died a few months ago. We were of course about to express our sympathy and everything, but he went on to say how he wants a new wife now to cook and clean for him! He said even though he's old, he can still find a new wife!

Also funny, last night my companion left her bag of sliced bread out of the fridge. In the morning was two giant armylines of ants- one going to and one coming from, each ant carry a tiny piece of bread! They carried like 3 whole slices! My companion will never leave food out again haha.

We have so many new investigators right now and even though it's hard to remember where they all live (no addresses), I am loving the chance to introduce so many people to the Gospel. There is so much potential here in Baclayon.

People here are so generous and kind. Even though they don't have much, they share so willingly. We were invited in by complete strangers on Christmas Eve and they fed us paniodto and then told us to come back another day and teach them and all their relatives! Our neighbors brought us food too. And we were given tons of fresh kapayas by an investigator....lami gyud kaayo! And we were blessed to spend Christmas Eve night at a members home teaching a lesson about Christ! :)

I'm so happy to be bringing in the New Year here in Bohol. All of the missionaries are meeting in the chapel in Tagbilaran on New Year's Eve night to watch Disney movies, since it isn't safe to be out proselyting while people are shooting off fireworks and partying haha.

I hope you all have a great New Year's! 

-Sister Bertoldo