Good Morning FamilY!
How
has your week been? It's been another great, really fast week here in
Mandaluyong! So before I forget, I just received an e-mail from Janeth from Palawan,
and she told me that my "grandpa" here in the mission, Tatay Dagot
and Nanay are getting ready to be sealed in the Manila Temple on April 15! Ahhh
that makes me SO excited! But I can't believe that it would be right after I
would go home. Janeth said that Tatay has been telling her that they are
bringing fresh cashews for me and can't wait to see me. Yeah so I'm thinking I
will write president, and if they haven't already bought plane tickets, see if
there is anyway I can stay to be with them in the temple and then go home. I
don't know how you feel about that, and I have no idea if it's even possible,
but you don't know 'till you ask right? So just thought I'd let you know that
I'm asking president today and will probably have an answer next week. I would
love to see them because they are the family we helped reactivate. We visited
them every week. We reactivated Tatay, and then once I was transferred, I
heard that Nanay also returned which was a miracle because she was always sick
before and due to health reasons couldn't make it to church. But they said
they've been working really hard even if it is difficult for them to get to church
because they really want to make it to the temple. Wouldn't that be just the
best way to end my mission? Yeah so we'll see.
So anyway, for
this week we had such an amazing testimony meeting yesterday in our ward. It
started off with our less active, Tatay Luis, who we have been working with that
just yesterday became active. He also just Saturday was able to go to the
temple and receive his endowments. He actually has an interesting story because
he was really active before and even worked with the missionaries before though he's in his 60s. But last July when he wanted to get ready to go to the
temple, they weren't able to give him his temple recommend. They said that he
needed to get an annulment from his wife that he had been separated from for 22
years. Here in the Philippines that's SO expensive and is SO rare that any
Filipino can afford that. Then also they said he had some WOW problems also.
Well then he got offended that they wouldn't give him a temple recommend and
that started his becoming less active. Well Sister De Leon and I visited him
and have been working with him each week until he exercised his faith and came
back to church. Then last Saturday he received his endowments! And then he
shared the best testimony to start our meeting.
Then we had a
bunch of our ward missionaries share about their preparing for missions and
the experiences that they've had. We have seven of our YSA right now that are
all working on their papers and getting ready to serve! It's so awesome! Then
man I can't even explain, but the spirit was so strong in that meeting. I was
crying; Sister Tuia was crying; and our less active Shirly that was sitting
next to us was also crying. All the members in our bishopric shared their
testimonies, and it was just an unforgettable meeting for me. I haven't cried
like that in sacrament in a while. I'm usually too caught up in our
investigators and less actives, making sure they have a friend to sit by and
are having a good experience. But it was such a good Sunday.
Then Bishop
invited us to his house last night to attend their Family Home Evening, and,
man, I just love that family. They’re just so neat and all are so close, and I
loved being with them for their family night. Oh and yes Christian did pass his
interview and will be getting baptized this Saturday! We're really excited for
him. He's such a stud!
Oh so your
questions about Sister Tuia: she grew up in Samoa but went to three years of high
school at East High in Salt Lake and stayed with her grandparents. But after
high school went back to Samoa because she likes it better there in the
islands. Her dad's a bishop, and she's the first of her siblings to serve a
mission. All the Samoans and Tongans and missionaries from Australia and New
Zealand (Sister Afu) go to the MTC in Utah to learn the language and then go to
Philippines. All the missionaries coming from Asian countries go straight to
the Manila MTC and are only there for 19 days. The sad part about that is even
the Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, and Chinese don't get to learn any
language in the MTC. It all just comes when they're in the field. I don't know
why, but that's just how they do it. But I heard they're working on changing
that so all missionaries serving in the Philippines will come here to the MTC.
But they're going to need a bigger MTC first.
So yeah I think
that answers your questions. As far as registration, when it gets closer to
register for fall classes, I can ask President for an extra hour on the
internet and check what classes they are offering and let you know. Right now I
have no idea what I want to take or what's available or teachers or anything. Just
let me know when it's closer to registration.
Okay well I think that's about
all for today. I love you all so much. I love being a missionary! I have the
greatest calling in the whole world! Life is great; live it up! Take care!
Mahal ko kayo!
Sister Stromberg
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