Hello Pamilya!
So, transfers was this past Thursday. We had the transfer
announcement on Wednesday during our district meeting. Sister Montemayor has
been transferred to the Angeles Zone with Sister Vaca as her new companion. She
was really excited because they are opening an area over there. To be honest, I
was really confused for a couple of minutes when they announced who my new
companion would be: Sister Foukimoana. Nope, that is not a Filipino name, it's
Tongan. Yup, my new companion is Tongan and she is awesome! (mom, I think her
last companion was the sister whose blog we followed before I can here into the
mission field. Sister Curtis, right?)
She unintentionally scared me when we first met. One of the
Elders in my district is actually her cousin so, he texted the APs (assistant
to the president), who then texted the STLs in her area, who then passed the
text to the phone that she and her companion share to let her know who I was.
(Apparently I'm very nice and have a soft heart. No, I have NOT been flirting.)
I didn't know that he had texted her or that he was her cousin. (So, I didn't
know anything about her besides the fact that the apartment was not going to be
as quiet as it was the last 12 weeks)
Anyway, since she knew more about me than I did, when she
saw me, she said, more or less, "Sister Jones! I'm going to love you
because you're my new companion and this is going to be so great!" and
gave me a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek (Tongan custom). I liked Sister
Montemayor, she worked hard and helped me with a lot of stuff during the
training program, but she is not one to express her feelings very openly and
she doesn't give hugs. So, to have someone suddenly be flip-side of the coin
towards me was rather startling and I almost freaked out, but at the same exact
time, it was nice. My heart rate returned to normal after a couple of minutes
and then we were able to join the rest of our zone and returned to Camiling.
She's been in the field for 9 months so her Tagalog is expanded to the point
where she can hold a conversation with adults.(wish I could send a picture, but
the computer won't open the file for some reason). She loves being a
missionary, is obedient to the rules, works hard, really likes to laugh, is
scared of frogs, and we've already had some experiences that are very
laughable.
We have two baptisms this weekend: Anne and Christine. They
are so prepared! I'll tell you a little more about them next week, I only have
a few minutes left. I just want to share some of my thoughts about general
conference since I got to watch it last weekend.
I loved general conference this last weekend, especially
President Uchtdorfs talk about gratitude. The one line that stood out to me was
"Gratitude is the catalyst to all Christ-like attributes." That is so
true! It's hard to describe in a few sentences, but how can we have faith that
our Heavenly Father provides if we are not grateful for what He has already
provided? How can we have charity if we
are not grateful to have the opportunity to show His love to others? The talk
also made me realize that I need to be more grateful IN my circumstances and
not just FOR my blessings. Elder Ballard's talk was something that all the
missionaries just sat and said "Thank you for saying that for us."
This work is not just the missionaries work, it's everyone's. I would advise
revisiting his talk and doing what he asks. It will prepare those planning on
serving and it will help you serve now.
Mahal ko kayo
Sister Jones
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