Called to Serve: GAGAMBA AND BALUT

HELLO, PAMILYA!

Kamusta na kayo? I miss you all so very much.

This week has been great! Training is so much fun! My anak and me are doing so well. This week we got to go through the temple so she could receive her endowment. Ah, I just love the temple. I miss being able to go whenever I wanted to. But I'm lucky that there is a temple in my mission and we get to attend every transfer. We really are so lucky to have so many temples close to us back home. I hope that everyone at home is attending the temple... I hear about all of these families here in the Philippines, who save up for years and years just to get the money to travel to the temple so that their families can be sealed. And back at home, we have temples in our backyards, but we often take it for granted. ATTEND THE TEMPLE!! okay.

So, Harrison.... It finally happened. I had a HUGE SPIDER encounter. And I almost died!!!!!!!!!! Literally.

Just.....just look at it.

THAT is not an insect!! That is a freaking ANIMAL! IT IS GINORMOUS!!!!!!! (p.s. I didn't take the picture, I gave my camera to someone else to go back and take a picture for me...haha)

It was on the wall next to our apartment... Before we locked our apartment for the night, I went out to check to make sure everything was locked and secure and I saw THIS on the wall.....I don't even know how to describe what happened next... But I'm pretty sure I screamed loud enough for you all to hear. I came frantically barging back into our bahay!! And I couldn't fall asleep for about an hour knowing it was on the wall right outside my window.....gahhhhhhh.

That red pipe is about twice the size of an average hose...to give you an idea about how big talaga that spider is! Bigger than my hand!

Anyway... Delia and Ricky are both doing so great! From the looks of it now...they will probably both be baptized on September 27th! I am so excited for both of them! We taught a lesson to nanay just the other day, and I was just amazed at how immersed she is in the Book of Mormon! She loves reading in the Book of Mormon Stories booklet too, with the pictures to help her understand what's going on. We followed up about her reading, and she just started telling us all about Alma the younger. She said she wants to take the picture book and read it to all the kids outside because they are stories that they need to hear, she said. We showed her the pictures in the front of the Book of Mormon, and she just started going off about the liahona and Nephi and how Laman and Lemuel tied him up on the boat and it stopped working and she just went in detail about it all. She really understands and is really excited about these stories and things she is reading! I just admire her. Her excitement has made me appreciate the Book of Mormon more. I honestly think I am learning more from these investigators than they are learning from me.

So we had MTC exchanges again this week! But since my anak is brand new, we stayed together and just had a missionary work with two of us. We worked with Sister Chu from Taiwan! I thought about you, GayDawn, and actually talked to her about my aunt that served in Taiwan. Sister Chu is actually being assigned to Tacloban! So she's learning Cebuano. She speaks Chinese and broken English, and then poor thing went on exchanges where everyone was speaking Tagalog. Haha, she is awesome though. She is the first Taiwanese missionary to serve in the Philippines! It was so much fun to work with her and I know she's going to be an awesome missionary! It's really cool to get this opportunity to work with all these incoming missionaries and feel of their testimonies and excitement/nervousness for the mission ahead of them.

So the other night, we were wrapping up the day and were heading back home. We were walking through Escopa III (I assume this refers to a ward name.) and I had stopped at the gulay (vegetable) vendor and started singing the "Bahay Kubo" song which has a lot of vegetable names in the song. So I started singing the song and asked the tatay vendor to show me which vegetables were which. Haha, that was so much fun! The vendor was at first surprised that this Americana was speaking Tagalog....and THEN singing one of the children's Tagalog songs...haha but then he was overjoyed to show me which vegetables were which and we ended up singing the song together and pointing at vegetables and laughing. I love it here. Anyway, as I was singing with the gulay vendor, a man selling balut walked by. haha, Sister Felipe got pretty excited, she was craving balut. So she called him out and bought a balut egg. While she was eating, I started talking to the balut guy. And it was just amazing what folded out. His name was Hernan. He was a super humble, down-to-earth, awesome guy. Well...eventually, I found out that he has a Book of Mormon! And he's read some of it! He talked about Nephi and some of the things it mentions in the introduction. He's never met any missionaries before, someone just gave him the book...he doesn't remember who. He is a Baptist, but he says he is searching for more. He is super smart and knows a lot about the Bible. Just completely open and receptive, SO VERY PREPARED. As we talked with him, he was so happy and open to us coming to visit him and teach. It was just such a miracle moment. Hernan said that he knew it wasn't an accident that we met. I know that's true, too. I know God is placing people in our path every day. And he works in small and simple ways to move his work forward. Even if it involves random cravings for balut! ;)

Ah! We also met this amazing old nanay this week. (I know, my mission must be with all the old people....haha just kidding we have a lot of younger investigators too :) ). Anyway, Nanay Aris. And she was 87 years old! We met her as she was walking to the tindahan (She offered to translation, but the itranslate ap on my phone said this meant "shop".). When we started talking and she mentioned that she was 87, I was so suprised!! She was so strong and healthy still! I asked her what her secret was haha. And she laughed and then took me by the hand and smiled and said, (in Tagalog) "Child, always, always remember....every morning, before you set foot out your bedroom door....you must pray." She smiled and pointed towards heaven. I was just smiling in admiration at her. I am amazed at each person I meet here. Their faith is so strong, these people are incredible. I'm sorry family....I don't think I'll be able to leave this place.

I am loving it here... It is crazy how much of a roller coaster ride this mission is for me. Times where I feel like I can barely keep going....and times where I feel like I'm floating on cloud 9. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I honestly think that one of the reasons He sent me on this mission...is because He wants to sculpt me. Something that I didn't realize before.. I am being molded by His all-knowing hands. I am just grateful that He can take me with all my flaws and imperfections, and every day mistakes....and with His patience..help me be someone better.

Thank you all for your support and love. I miss you all. Terribly. That's probably the biggest struggle for me--being away from all of you. But that's part of this sacrifice, and I know it's worth it. Stay safe!! Keep smiling! There is always something to be grateful about. Even when you feel you might have hit rock bottom... Smile and remember that life is much bigger than what we normally see every day.

MAHAL NA MAHAL NA MAHAL NA MAHAL..... KO KAYO!!

Sister Oyler