Maayong Aga!
This week was the real transfer week and I received a new Companion! Sister Fotofili from Tonga. Sister Madronio left after five months of being here and now we are just two new missionaries trying to figure out where to go and who to save! Haha. It is a lot of fun though, because Sister Fotofili has such a positive and funny attitude. We can always find something to laugh about. Sister Fotofili is from the Tacloban Mission and is still adjusting to missionary life here in the Bacolod Mission and all that comes with it, including the Language. She was only in Tacloban for two months before the storm, so she is still a fairly new missionary. She is so strong as she works to overcome some of the damage from the storm and is really an inspiration. She came from Bacolod 5th ward and was in the same district as Sister Jenna Smoot. She said that she always wanted to be companions with Sister Smoot because she loved how nice and talented and good she was at Ilonggo and teaching. Transfers were right after their district meeting and Sister Fotofili said that when she got to the mission office and they told her that her companion would be Sister Smoot, she was excited but confused because she knew that Jenna was not transferring. I hope I’m not too big of a disappointment and that I can live up to Jenna’s example. Just so you all know, everyone loves Jenna and she is doing amazing work!!
This week was a little challenging since we both have no idea where anything is and the area is extremely large and there was no map of the area and the area book is not updated…. Yay. Haha, but we have been working one step at a time and really learning to love and grow close with the ward members. We ordered a map from the office and have been learning where the investigators, members, and people are. Since no one has addresses anyway, it is more like finding general areas, then asking around if anyone has met the people. It’s fun, but it’s also another learning and growing experience in learning to rely on the Holy Ghost to know where to go and who to talk to.
We have one family that I absolutely love. They have two girls and one little boy. We met the father on our way home one night because we were riding in his tricycle. We visited his family the next week and they came to church the next day! The two girls have been to church twice and young womens once. They already want to start working on personal progress and are making progressive headway in the Book of Mormon. We are very impressed with their faith and dedication in finding out if this is true. Their family is so busy because the girls go to school really far away, so they leave the house at 6:00 AM everyday, and don’t return home until 7:30 PM. Every day. They don’t have a lot of time for family time, but they are finding it in order to read and pray and prepare for Sundays. The parents have not yet come to church because of work, but we are praying for them to follow the example of their girls and find the blessings that are there when we sacrifice. We always feel the spirit so strongly in their home and even though we only get to visit them on Saturday’s, it is something that I look forward to each week. I’m excited for their progression!
I hope you all know how much I love you and how grateful I am for you all! I am so grateful for your emails and for your support. I hope all is well with you too and that you are making time for the Lord. A lot of times we think we will do more or be more dedicated when we have more time, but I’ve found that the key to success is to Make time for our Savior. I am so grateful for the many blessings and tender mercies that He gives us daily. I hope we can all recognize the millions of blessings and miracles around us each day! Until next week!
Love, sister smoot
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