Sunday, December 13, 2015

Ay naku! sobrang exciting yung lingo noon :) may tatlong kaming nabinyagan! gustong-gusto ko yung hbuhay ko bilang isang misyonera!

This last week was full of smiles. I absolutely love my area! On Saturday, three of the Espiridion siblings were baptized! Ayuuunnn!! It was such a spiritual experience. Friday afternoon we visited with the Espiridion family to "practice" their testimonies, because of course, after their baptism they were going to be asked to share their feelings and testimony about the gospel. So, Sis. Bergonia and I thought that we should probably give them a heads-up, seeing that they are just mga bata (kids). I don't think that I have ever heard a more sincere testimony than the one that Arjan gave on Friday afternoon. He was so extremely grateful to his Heavenly Father for blessing him with the gospel. Every word that came out of his mouth, you could, truly, feel that is came from his heart.

It is so amazing to see what the gospel is able to do with the hearts of those who are willing and ready for the message of the restored gospel. The best part about their baptism, was that their mom, Sister Alma, was there to witness it. She is our next priority investigator! The example the kids set for their mama is one that makes Sis. Bergonia and I extremely grateful to be sister missionaries. Nothing brings up greater joy than helping families receive the blessings of the gospel.

I love this gospel with all my heart and am so extremely grateful for the knowledge that I have about Heavenly Fathers plan for us. I testify that his plan is perfect; and through his plan and the atonement of Jesus Christ, we will all, one day, be able to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father and live with our families and loved ones forever.

I hope that you all have an amazing week!  MAHAL KO KAYONG LAHAT!

Sister Leausa

Sister Leausa and her tiny companion, Sister Bergonia

Espiridion Kids 

"Another Filipino dish down.....tortas!"

Sunday, December 6, 2015

My first week here in Taytay has been AMAZING! I absolutely LOVE my new area and my cute little companion. Her name is Sister Bergonia. She is from Isabella, Philippines. She is 4 feet 10 inches tall. LOL! We are seriously David and Goliath and I love it! In these past four days that I've been with her by Tagalog has improved so much (at least I think it has...haha!).

My new area (Taytay) is beautiful. I LOVE IT HERE. Half province and half city, nothing like the "city" in my last area (my last area was city like, New York City of the Philippines...metro Manilla..somewhat modernized).   The people here in Taytay are so willing to listen to our message and they're all really sweet and humble. I thought the people in my last area were really nice....yeah, the people, especially the members in my ward, here are extremely sweet. There is so much potential in this area and it make me so excited.

We have three baptisms coming up, next week Saturday! 3 siblings; Arjan 16, Bea 12, and little Irish who is 8. We are really working with their family and focusing hard on them; Espiridon Family. There are 9 people total in their family, so, of course, our goal is to get all of them bapitzed.  Sister Espiridion (mama) came to church for the first time yesterday and said she really enjoyed it. Hopefully she keeps coming :)

I know that I say this every week, but its okay :)  I absolutely love being a missionary. There is nothing in this world that has ever made me happier. Before my mission, I never used to be a morning person. NOW, I wake up every morning (at 6:30 of course hahah!) and I am excited to go to work. I wake up with a smile on my face and with a heart full of love and gratitude towards my Heavenly Father for blessing me with this amazing opportunity to serve Him. I love this gospel so much! It has seriously changed my life. I didn't ever really know who I was until NOW, a daughter of a King. This gospel is by far the most beautiful thing in the world.

Alam ko po na nabubuhay sina ating ama sa langit tsaka si Jesucristo. Meron po ng diyos yung perpektong plano para sa ating lahat. Sa pamamagitan ng plano ng diyos, lahat ang mga bagay ay posible! Nagpapasalamat po ako para sa pagbabayad-sala ni Jesuucristo, binago ng ebanghelyo yung buhay ko, talaga. Ang simbahan ni Jesucristo ng mga banal sa mga huling araw ay totoo. Ito po and pinakatotoong simbahan ni Jesucristo dito sa mundo :) Mahal na mahal ko kayong lahag!! Sana magkaroon kayo ng magandang lingo :)

Sister Leausa

Sister Leausa and Sister Bergonia

Monday, November 30, 2015

Grabe! Pasensya po sa inyong lahat. Hini nagsulat ako sa inyo :/ Sobrang busy ang aking mga lingong noon. Pero, masaya ako ngayon! :)

I'm sorry that I have not written in the last couple of weeks, it has been pretty busy here in the Philippines. So much has happened and I wish that I could type it all, but that would take FOREVER! haha!

Let's see, the highlight of my week is that I finished my 12 week program (new missionary training) Woohoo!!! I was not too fond of it. haha! So, I am transferring to a new area. :) Right now I am in Quezon City South Zone. Tomorrow morning I will be transferring to the TayTay Zone. From what I have heard, it is about an hour away from the zone that I am in now. I am SUPER excited! A new zone means, a new companion, new area, new members, and most exciting...NEW INVESTIGATORS!! New people to share the gospel with.

My mission is seriously flying by. I have NO clue where all my time is going. I feel like just last week I entered the MTC and this month will be my 5th month as a missionary. So crazy!!  I love this work so much and am so blessed to be a servant of the Lord; especially here in the Philippines where everyone is so sweet and humble.

A little update on the Ylagan Family :)  Sister Rea had her baby! about three weeks ago, little Francis. He is so cute. Their family continues to come to church every Sunday and we visit them three times a week. We're still waiting on their marriage license so that they can be baptized. They are so excited! They have been waiting forever! Their testimonies have grown so much since the first day I met them. Their family has a much stronger relationship and you can really tell that they notice the Lord's hand in their lives. They are by far my favorite family in this area.

Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes I get so caught up in all the thing I have to do as a missionary that I forget to notice all the miracles Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are performing around me. I have never felt so close to my Savior and I love it! I know my Heavenly Father loves me. Like the story of the 99 sheep in Luke. Before my mission I was that one sheep that went astray, I lost my way. My Heavenly Father sent my Shepard after me...and he found me. I am forever indebted to my HF for investing his time in me. For sending me my Savior, for "finding his lost sheep." I love this gospel so much and I know without it, I wouldn't be where I am today.  I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I know Thomas S. Monsen has been called of God to lead us in these latter days.  I am so extremely grateful for the plan of salvation. There is nothing in this world that make me happier than sharing the blessings of the gospel.

Mahal na mahal ko kayong lahat! Sana maganda and lingo nyo :)

Sister Leausa

"My favorite part about the Philippines....the kids. Ate means big sister, so whenever they see me they say, "Hi ate!" Ugh! I just LOVE them." 

"I finished my 12 week training program. Woohoo!"

Ylagan Family

"Bishop Ugay and his family. Such a sweet family. They feed us dinner every pday!"

Sunday, November 22, 2015

I cannot believe that Sister Leausa has been gone for four months today. She left for the MTC on July 22, 2015. I asked her about it today when we exchanged emails and she said "The time is flying by! I feel like I just entered the MTC last week.  haha!

She also mentioned that transfers were coming up tomorrow. If they are to be transferred, they will get a call tomorrow night so she does not know yet if she will stay or move to a new area. When I asked her if she wanted to transfer this is what she told me, "No, I want to stay in my area for one more transfer. I love my investigators!!"

She says that the work is hard but very rewarding. She loves what she is doing and knows that all of her hard work and dedication will pay off in the end.

Until next week....

"Sister Devi and I were walking to an appointment, and saw this guy getting mangoes out of the tree, so of course I wanted to try and.....I GOT 2!!!!"

"One of our investigators gave birth, Sister Rea Ylagan. We have all been waiting for this baby forever!  He is so cute!! Francis DeLan Ylagan"

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Another busy week for Sister Leausa and Sister Devi. Sister Leausa did not have enough time to write a weekly email but she was able to send these wonderful pictures.

"I made my first PI dish, sinigang! It's my favorite."

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Grabe! Malapit tayo sa December!

I can't believe its already November! :) I've seriously been slacking on my "weekly emails." MY BAD. So much has happened  in the last two weeks. So much that I can't remember it all. My days are all mashed together here. What I do know, though, is that the work is definitely hastening. And that's all that matters. I hope this email gets to all of you in the best of health and happiest of spirits.

So, the other night Sis. Devi and I were on our way home from our last appointment and we were talking about how stinky, sweaty and sticky we were (life in the PI). The next morning during personal study, I was thinking about always being stinky, sticky and sweaty and I related it to missionary life.

The 3 S's of Missionary Life:

Stinky: In one of our district meetings, our DL mentioned this quote, "our attitudes are the aroma of our hearts." Having a positive attitude changes EVERYTHING. Having a positive attitude about praying and reading the scriptures will create a love for them. As missionaries, we have to be positive and have an eternal perspective about everything. Our investigators might not progress the way WE want them to, but I am sure they are progressing in the way THE LORD wants them to. And, really, in the end, that is all that matters.  Everything happens in His time. We might not always smell so sweet (LOL) but our attitudes and the "aromas" of our hearts need to be.

Sticky: We want our investigators to "stick" to the gospel. We want them  to keep their commitments so that their relationship with Heavenly Father will strengthen; so that their desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized will increase.

Sweaty: If we are not sweating, we are not working hard enough! If we aren't sweating that means we are not getting to enough appointments; we are not giving our best to share the gospel with everyone we can in that day. And, those who are not hearing the gospel are not receiving the blessings that come from it, the blessings we know that they need. Everyone needs the gospel. If we are not getting to everyone that we need to, people are getting "left behind."

"Ohana means Family. Family means NOBODY gets left behind."

Being a missionary is by far my favorite thing in the world. Being stinky, sweaty and sticky before I came on my mission used to bug me like crazy. But, when looking at it as a missionary....it has a totally different meaning.

Navubuhay sina Jesucristo at Diyos! Mahal ko po ang ebanghelyo nila. Alam ko po ang simbahan ni Jesucrito mg mga banal sa mga huling araw ay totoo. Mahal na mahal ko kayong lahat at nagpapasalamat ako para sa inyong support at pagmamahal. :)

I love this work so much and am so blessed to be a servent of the Lord. I hope and pray that you will have an amazing week.

Sis. Leausa

So glad she received her package from home.

Sister Kathleen Leausa and Elder Esaia Soifua
Second cousins serving together in Quezon City. 

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Hi Mama,

This week has been a loooong, rough one. I don't think my body has ever been this tired. Whew!

Sister Devi and I visited Mama Lourdes yesterday and found out that she has fluid in her lungs and heart. This news totally broke my heart. I can only imagine the pain she is in. I remember the first night that we found out about how serious her health problems were I prayed so long and hard for her before I went to sleep. I cried soooo hard and prayed that she would get better and then in the middle of my prayer, I felt selfish. How could I ask my Heavenly Father  to keep her here when I know how much she is suffering?

Whenever I see Mama Lourdes, my day instantly becomes better and I was thinking to myself, how am I ever going to get through my rough days here if Heavenly Father takes her away from me? So now when I visit her I take every opportunity that I can to build a relationship with her and share the gospel with her. I know that she might not have time to accept the gospel here on earth, so I know I have to do all I can to prepare her for the missionaries on the other side.

Mom, I love this woman so much and I have no idea where this love has come from. All I know is that I love her and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to get to know her. She truly is a blessing.

I absolutely love being a missionary and all of the experiences that I am having. I know for a fact that if I wouldn't have come on my mission that I would have been another lost soul. My Heavenly Father's love for me amazes me. I am so extremely grateful for all the blessings He blesses me with.

I love and miss you guys so much. I can't wait to hear from you next week. 

Sister Leausa