SWEET ARE THE FRUITS OF OUR LABORS

KAMUSTA NA KAYO??

Hello Fam! I miss you all! 

This week has been so awesome! My anak and I are just finding so much success in our work. We've taught 13 new investigators this week! I am just blown away at how much fruit we are seeing from our labors. Transfers are coming soon....and I really really hope that I stay here!  Rose just had her baptismal interview yesterday and she will be baptized this Saturday! I am so excited for her, she is so ready :) It's amazing to see her grow. 

I cut my hair this week.....yeah....bad idea. haha I've been scared, and I didn't want to cut my hair in the Philippines, but my ends needed a trim really bad. So I went and got my hair cut....

I told him this much __.......he cut this much ___________________!!! ahhhh

It's not terrible...but i'm never cutting my hair here again. haha ah, i miss my long hair :( It was pretty funny though, the whole salon was gathered around me as they were cutting my hair, just admiring it and feeling it and taking pictures. and then they asked me if they could curl it haha so they were sitting there styling my hair and taking pictures haha. so even though the hair cut wasn't the best, at least I got a free style, right?...

So we were able to contact a referral this week! Edward. We've tried contacting him two times before, but he hasn't been at the house. It's the one family in IVC that I mentioned a few weeks ago with 7 kids! All starting with the letter J. They are such a cute family :) We had only been able to talk to the mother briefly though. 

Well, this last week, we had planned to go to Jen or to Mark, or Melody. My anak asked me where we were going to go and suddenly the thought came..."Go to Edward Antonio." ....."Let's go to Edward." I said to her. Ha, she was surprised, and I was too! It wasn't in any of our plans. But we went.

Well, he was there! And he welcomed us in happily! He told us that his kids had told him we had come the week before and he was sad that he wasn't home and he's been waiting for us to come back.  He said that earlier that day, he had seen us in the pelengke, but had been too shy to say anything. But he told himself that if it is God's will, they will come to my house tonight. 

And we came. 

He was so open, and thankful that we were there! His desire is so big to learn more and help his family. I am just amazed. I am amazed at him and His faith, and the wonderful, mysterious ways that the Lord works. 

We also met an awesome guy this week as well! He's a tricycle driver and we rode in his trike to the chapel one day, and he asked us about the church. He's about 25. He had so many questions! He has been searching for a religion for 7 years now he said, and has been curious about the Mormons...but too shy to say anything. We set up a return appointment with him to come teach him and his wife at his house.  When we arrived, he pulled out an entire notebook of questions and deep study in the Bible! He had lined up tons of materials/books/pamphlets from tons of different religions. He told us that he doesn't want to trust in man, that he's just been searching for the right religion. He's attended to many, but left right away because he didn't like what he saw. I was so happy to testify to him of the way that our Heavenly Father gives to each one of his children to find out for ourselves the complete truth that is available to us all. We don't have to just take someone else's word for it, but he promises us a direct answer from Him of the eternal truths and plan that he has prepared for us. 

Ah, I could just tell he's been so hungry--searching for so long. He's a brilliant guy, knows a lot about the Bible and a lot of history--especially Roman history.  I felt so inadequate as the missionary there to teach him. But I'm so excited to share with him the things that I know will satisfy his hunger. The lesson went really well, and we're going to meet with him and his wife a lot! 

Well, I'm out of time again. I just really am so grateful to be here. I love love love this work. I love  being a missionary. I think I'll just stay here forever. Haha :) 

Anyway, I love you all! Thanks for all your love and support! I'll talk to you next week!

MAHAL NA MAHAL KO KAYO!

Sister Oyler

Temple day pictures from last week

 

Happy birthday, Maricel!

 

 

ang aking barkada sa IVC :) 

Maricel has candyyyy

 

Hoy Panga!

 

Making No Bake Cookies for the FHE

 

 

FHE

 

We've started a new approach...teaching dogs the gospel..

 

....they're pretty receptive.

 

ha! he's so cute though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun with Aki!

 

 

HELLO HELLO HELLO

Kay, I'm trying to type fast, because I always run out of time.

This week was so good!! Elder Dallin H. Oaks came and talked to our mission. Elder Bowen from the Seventy also spoke to us. It was incredible. I was so inspired.  The Spirit bore such a strong witness to me as Elder Oaks was standing to address us, that this truly an apostle of the Lord.  I was touched and was taught so much.  The things that he and Elder Bowen said in particular were things that I have been needing to hear at this point in my mission. It has inspired me to be better, to reach higher, work harder, everything! It was just amazing. 

So here in the Philippines, they don't really celebrate Halloween. It's not really big. But they do have a holiday on Nov. 1 called All Saints Day in remembrance of everyone who has died. And then on Nov. 2 it's called all Souls Day for everyone who is still living. Anyway, they have a cool tradition here on the night of November 1st everyone has candles lit outside their doors. It's really pretty to see everywhere! 

So I am so so so excited for Rose!! She is progressing so fast, she is so ready! I can't even believe that we just met her on October 18, and she will most likely be baptized next weekend!! We are teaching her every single day in order to complete all the lessons in time. I really really hope she does get baptized on the 15th because I will most likely be transferred on the 19th...and I want to see her baptized so bad! She is just amazing. Just soaking it all in. Asking questions. She already just has a rock solid testimony. It's just amazing to me how fast it is all going! She is AWESOME!! 

So this week, I woke up one morning and opened the front door so me and Sister Quiban could do some jump rope and we found a rat in my shoe! It was just chilling there, but it was kind of odd, because we kind of moved the shoe around and normally a rat would scurry away and hide. But it just stayed in my shoe...We tried to dump it out, and it got turned over on it's back and then we saw that it's stomach was like split open!! It squeaked and curled back up in my shoe. ehhhhh. I felt bad for it...but I was kind of grossed out that this mouse thing was like rubbing it's intestines around in my shoe...blehh! We knocked it out of my shoe and then it scurried over to the corner outside... We found it a couple hours later and it was dead. Poor guy. There are a lot of rats here. Some of them you'll see running...and they are no joke like the size of a cat.... haha but for some reason they don't really freak me out. But the IPIS!!!! (cockroaches). Ahhhh! AYAW KO!!!!!

Also, this week....I got a "pigsa". Or in English, "boil". Ahhh it hurts pretty bad! It's because of the heat here...and because I'm stubborn and don't use want to use an umbrella when we're walking outside in the heat. haha Luckily, it's just one on my arm, and it's slowly getting better. Thanks to Ate Maricel :) She's taking good care of me, Mom :) But that's a first. I never thought I'd ever have to deal with boils. Gah. Joys of the Philippines :) 

So I love the temple. 

I just have no words to describe it. I'm so glad we have temple days here in our mission. This morning was an absolutely incredible experience for me. But I won't go into it because I have no time.  However, the area presidency changed it so that now we won't have a temple p-day every transfer :( Now it's every other transfer... so I won't be able to go again until January or February. Bummer. 

So we talked to this old guy on the street the other day about beer.  Ha, that's how we started the conversation with him because as we walked by, we literally saw probably around 300 empty bottles of Esperada lined up around his house....haha he actually goes around and collects them all and then re-sells them, there are a lot of kind of cart people like that here that go around and collect every kind of things. Nothing is trash here. It's all picked up by somebody and sold or used for something else. Anyway, he was hilarious, and after we talked to him about beer, we had a great conversation with him about Jesus Christ. He agreed to have us come back and teach him more.  So everybody...you can connect ANYTHING to the gospel. Even beer. 

Okay, grabe time goes so so fast. 

Anyway, it's so good to hear from all of you. I am doing so great here right now!  I don't know why, but I am just the happiest I've ever been!! I honestly don't know why. I am just SO HAPPY!! I love this work. I love being a missionary. I love ALL OF YOU! 

Don't forget that!  Ingat po kayo sa itong linggo!

mahal na mahal ko kayo!

Sister Oyler

 

 Helping my kabahays with their English spelling...hahaha it gets pretty funny :)

 

pagod. haha

 

 

Sister Blue Face...? haha

This is called....the end of the day....

I've reached the point where my nametag looks old and dirty...

 

 

Rat in my shoe...

 

 

 

 

 

 

"NOOH! Parking"