Not Yet Full

Maayong hapon!

There's no time, but my first few days with Sister Paget have been upbeat and full of miracles. We have a new baptismal date for......*drumroll*.......Roger Jr.! He finally came back, and he still has the desire to be baptized, he just had to be found and asked, which is why full-time missionaries exist in the first place! I love the Maningo family so much, and I want them ALL to receive the blessings of the gospel. I am really hoping and praying I will still be here in Danao to get to see Roger's baptism, but it is set now for August 20th!

Catherince and Minda are still coming to church and last Sunday they brought with them 2 of our other investigators who are their neighbors....so we are really happy about that small miracle! Sister Paget and I started off our transfer with a companionship fast!

As for STL responsibilities, we have a great group of 12 sisters this transfer! Two of which are BRAND NEW MISSIONARIES! One of the new trainees is being trained by Sister Dayhop, so she is technically my "apo" (granddaughter) in the mission :) I guess that means I'm old now!

I am so grateful for the scriptures and the teachings of modern day prophets and apostles in our lives!

"When we go to serve and comfort anyone for the Savior, He prepares the way before us." -Henry B. Eyring

Sister Paget and I are full of companionship goals: sisters' activity with Sister Maughan, the mission president's wife, hiking, riding a caribao, and of course, helping people to prepare for baptism :)

With 3 transfer left on my mission, this scripture keeps playing through my mind: "And verily mine eyes are upon those who have not as yet gone up unto the land of Zion; wherefore your mission is not yet full." (D&C 62:2) There is still so much more I want and need to do, and the time.... dili maigo!

love you all,

sister bertoldo

Danao pa more!

Time is short because our email time is now only 1 hour and 20 minutes. But here are the highlights:

1.  Transfer calls- I'll be staying in Danao as STL over  Lacion, Liloan, and Danao. Sister Paget, also one of my  MTC batch, is my new companion and I'm SO excited for our transfer together! I know there's still more the Lord wants me to do here in Danao, and I feel so calm and hopeful for further progress in this area- I have come to love the ward and worry for it's success.

2. Catherine was able to come to church with her lola and her baptism is set for August 6th. Also.....Roger Jr. came home from work, so we're planning to jump on this opportunity to teach him again and hopefully reschedule his baptism- he is a little shy of us, because he got some crazy haircut at the influence of his friends, but we assured him that we don't care about his hair, just his salvation!

3. Ruby, meanwhile, has officially "backed out" as an investigator....it was a heartbreaking moment for me, because she knows the Church is true, she has the desire to follow Christ and live the gospel, but she can't see how she can overcome the trials in her life right now. Now she is working in Lahug and we can only hope and pray for her. But I did get in some last words to her, and I told her that she may doubt herself, but we don't doubt in her and God has a plan for her.

4. Nanay Minda, who was a stubborn less-active just a few short months ago, told us she has a plan to go back to the temple. Her husband had been through the temple before he died, but Nanay Minda hasn't yet. We started to talk about the temple with her and before we could even get the lesson out she teared up and expressed her desire to be sealed to her husband. It was a powerful moment for me, because even though I know there still so much Minda doesn't understand, I could feel how sincere her desire was, and that's half the battle.

5. As for me, I'm 14 months in the mission! In the last two weeks besides teaching I have seen dolphins playing in the ocean, eaten intestines and a bbqed chicken foot (a Filipino favorite), climbed a palm tree, and eaten avocado cake which was to die for.

6. Back in May I had felt prompted to write a letter to Carla, back from Baclayon, and encourage her to go to school. Then I heard from the missionaries there that she had been debated whether or not to go to school when she got my pouch....she's in school now! We are so grateful for promptings of the Spirit.

7. Cebuano word of the week: langob. This week, we taught a family living in a langob...

Have a great week!

Sister Bertoldo