Letter # 39 (Feb. 23, 2014) Golden hair with lice? or are they bugs? A big fat eye? Pride

As I mother I worry about my sweet daughter far away and all she encounters! This one was a little hard not to be there to help her with her mystery wound and all the other weird happenings! Oh the stories she probably leaves out!

I forgot to mention valentines day! Not that much happened, but we were able to get home about 10 minutes before cerfew, so we decided to walk to a local bakery and get fresh-baked-still-hot-mango-filled pastries. Haha, that was our celebration.

This week was good, lots of new investigators and lots of golden progressing investigators. Sometimes I don't know why I got so lucky to be here in Cadiz, but I'm just trying not to ruin the good things that are happening.

Yesterday I got to speak in sacrament meeting again. This time they didn't tell us until 2 minutes before sacrament meeting started. I think I like that better though, because then you don't stress out about it. You don't think about it, just follow the spirit, and pray that the feel it.  We have sacrament meeting last and it had been a busy day in our classes before hand.  We had 15 investigators at church and a special baptismal interview for one of them with couple missionaries Elder and Sister Anderson.  When I called them for the interview, I didn't know that they were ending their mission. They told us that they would come and help us as their last appointment here in the Philippines. They leave today back to America. It's always crazy and sad to see people go home, especially when you love and respect them. But I'm happy they get to go home to their kids and grandkids.  They stayed for sacrament meeting too before they left to pack up the rest of their apartment. 

This week we went to a family of Recent Converts and one of the girls asked if she could look at my gold hair. Then she pulled out a lice.  She was so concerned that I have lice, so her mother came and brushed and picked through my hair to remove a few bugs. She said that I don't have lice, but just a few bugs from the heat. She told me to use an umbrella when I am in the Sun. The reason I am telling you this is because it felt so good to have a mother stroke though my hair. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and mom would play with our hair. It made me a little homesick, but mostly I was just grateful for her kindness and love. She also told me which shampoo to use to fix it. :)

Also, this week I got a fat eye. I still don't know what caused it, some said it was from bugs or ants or one of the giant 2-inch large cockroaches that are EVERYWHERE in our apartment, but I couldn't see out of my left eye. We still proselyted, but it was kind of distracting. Plus, it happened the day we had to take our pictures for exiting the country. Hopefully they still let me leave in November when they compare me to the picture. Haha. I will attach a really ugly picture showing you what happened. :)

My eye! don't worry, it got worse to the point where it was closed...

Yesterday on sunday was Sister Fotofili's turn to lead the area. She always does a good job, but I am still learning not to be a control freak because of my prideful ways.  I have been learning a lot of humility as I bite my tongue and smile and just follow her plans, even when I feel there is a "better/faster" way. I just have to remind myself to get rid of the pride and learn from the way Sister Fotofili does it too. Yesterday, I learned a particularly important lesson about humility. We only had time for one more appointment, and I was hoping to visit one of our really progressing investigators because there was a commandment she really needed to learn. But Sister Fotofili wanted to go to a less-active home. So I smiled and followed silently, kind of disappointed, but letting her lead. When we got to the home, there were more people there than usual. This less-active had her children home (half of them who are not members). We were able to teach them, find out that they wanted to be baptized and they want to go to church next week. Two of them now have baptismal dates for April 5. Brother Adgardo and Sister Shyrel. I learned a huge lesson of trusting our companions. We both have the same authority for this area. It's not "my area" with a helper, but its "The Lords Area." We are both working together to receive revelation and work together to help the Lord in this area. I'm so grateful for this learning opportunity and more grateful that I didn't let my pride get in the way. I really hope I didn't let my pride previously stop us from continuing the work, but we just have to keep learning and moving forward. I am so grateful for Sister Fotofilli. She will return back to the Tacloban Mission tomorrow and I will pick up my new companion. I hope she remembers our time here in Cadiz as a good time full of lots of miracles. Because that is how I see it.

I love you all and can't thank you enough for all your support! Lots of love,

Sister Smoot