Well, everything just changed...

Hi!!!  So here I am emailing from my new area, San Pablo City!!!!!!!

Yeah.  Wasn't expecting to come here.  But I am so happy!  Also, wasn't
expecting what my new calling would be.  On Tuesday we always get
the transfer phone calls.  I got mine and all the assistant to the
president said was you will be coming to the mission home on Thursday
to have an interview with president and you will find out your new area
and companion.  I was flipping out inside.  I had no idea what
President was going to say to me.  Then when I was in his office, he
just laid it to me straight: "Sister you are being called to be a
sister training leader and you will be companions with Sister Tua'one
and reopening the San Pablo 3a area."  Little did I know what I would
be getting into here.  When we arrived, we found out this is more like
opening a new area because there were only two investigators in our
area book that are not even progressing!  I was like, oh man, we have
got some work ahead of us.  But cool thing is that Sister Tua'one is
like a bomb missionary and teaching me all her ways.  She has been an
STL for 3 transfers, her sister also just passed away last transfer so
she has been having some hard times, but we are both so happy and
ready to start fresh in this area and really fulfill our purpose here.
Find. Teach. Baptize.

So just yesterday, we fasted.  And I fasted harder than I have ever
before in my life.  While planning for what our vision was for this
area, we made a huge goal in faith that we would find, teach, and
baptize one completed family by the end of this transfer.  It is going
to require a lot, but this is really testing our faith and strengths
and weaknesses.  We created a vision for what we want to accomplish
this transfer and submitted it to President and made some huge goals
in faith.  These are numbers I have yet to achieve in my mission, but
I am ready to wear my brain out and do what the Lord would have us do.
I know God is preparing this family for us.  And all I can hope is
that my weaknesses don't stop us from finding them.  This ward has been
slim on baptisms but I think with our drive, we are going to find
those people here in San Pablo.  This area is also very wealthy, so we
hope we can get into so house and meet with the members.

I can see how this transfer is going to stretch me.  For all y'all who
don't even know what a Sister Training leader does, we go on exchanges
with the sisters of our zone and help them with training and their
work and area.  I am realllllly excited to be able to work with the
sisters because I know they will be teaching me so much more than I
can teach them.  It will also be cool to see other areas and
experience so much more of what this mission is like.  ALSO, Sister
Gaspar De Alba, Sister De Castro, and Sister Williams are in this
zone!  I will be working with each of them!  I am so pumped to work
with my old companions.

I am feeling really humbled, scared, nervous, excited, pumped, happy,
and everything in between.  This is going to be an amazing experience
for me, and I hope I can reach the potential and standard that God has
set.  I know He has called me to this work and I am willing and ready
to do it.

Also, for all of YOU!  I want to FOLLOW UP.  How is your study of
Preach My Gospel going?!  I am doing some hardcore study of Chapter 9
(finding) and Chapter 13 (church leadership).  What are you learning?
I am learning that I need to talk to everyone in order to find those
prepared people.

Ok I love you all!!  Keep the faith.

Sister Waldrom
Jacob 4:7

 

Why Morgan is serving....

http://bcove.me/25ol2ef3

ayaw ko na umalis!

I am being transferred this week from the best area ever!  And I am so
sad!  But I am excited for the upcoming adventures and challenges.
This area is the promised land.  I will miss the recent converts,
members, and all the goodness that is here.  And especially my
companion!  Sister Johnson is done with her training now and is ready
to take on the world!  I am gonna miss her considering we have the
same personality.  She is the best.

So a less active we visit often, her mother passed away.  She was
active in the church and we went to the funeral and visited their
family.  It was very sad for the family and ward because it was so
sudden.  So keep their family in your prayers!

Brother Sasuya gave a talk in church and it was so awesome for my last
Sunday in the ward!  The ward asked me to bear my testimony and I
just cried.  Embarrassing.  But I just love them!  Then I took tons of
pics with members.  These people are the best.

This week was Holy Week and no one was around and that was hard.  Even
all businesses were closed.  These people are so religious.

Today I am so bad that I procrastinated writing this email to the
end and I have two minutes left, but know that I am happy and doing
well and miss you all!  I'll be emailing from a different part of the
Pines next week!

Sister Waldrom
2 Nephi 22:2

Mahal ko si President Monson.

Well, I am a week behind you all, but conference was dang awesome!  I

have really been looking forward to hear the words of our leaders.  As a
missionary, conference is a whole different kind of experience.  I
never fall asleep like I used to... I am on the edge of my seat for
every word they say!  I LOVE CONFERENCE.  My favorite talk was by
Richard G. Scott, it had a lot to do with missionary work.  I also was
a big fan of Russell M. Nelson, W. Craig Zwick (who spoke to us in the
MTC). Gary Stevenson, and Michael Teh.  And I love the way Elder Bednar
always teaches the same things in a different way.  The Atonement and
Grace.  So powerful.  I loved it.  Before the Sunday morning session
we were walking out of our neighborhood to the hiway to catch a
jeepney to take us to the bus terminal to take us to our stake center,
but then a jeep full of members picked us up, including our stake
president.  It was a fun drive because it was a beautiful drive and
the wind was in my face and I was just smiling at every person we
drove by and I was just so happy to be going to conference.  It was
just a really great moment for me to see the holiness that surrounds
me here.  I am just so blessed every moment of every day to be here.

This week was a little slow on work due to conference and a lack of
people being in their homes, but our investigators Joan and Cristina
are doing well!  Definitely progressing towards baptism.  Everyone
else is doing ok too, but we didn’t get to see too many this week. :(
sad stuff.

It is like extremely hot here right now.  I sweat a lot.  Its super fun.....

Also, I had a great experience where I got to defend my faith!  I was
talking to a man on a jeep and he had tons of questions about our
religion.  Very good and logical questions, but he really stretched my
brain as he whipped out bible verses and defended his faith too.  As
much as defending our own faith is important, we must show our
Christlike love.  Just like in Elder Hollands talk.

Oh and this morning we had zone interviews with president!  It was my
last one with him before he goes home. :(  It was a great interview,
asked me what my greatest challenge was, I said helping investigators
progress after they received their personal witness.  Then he straight
up told me "well sister, you have been in your area for 6 months.  We
need you somewhere else now.  Get ready."  AHHHHHHHHHHH I am going to
be so sad to leave these people here.  But I am stoked for some new
challenges!

Ok, I really have like nothing else.  I love you all
sooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!

Mahal Kita,
Sister Waldrom
Doctrine and Covenants 8

work work work that is the secret!

Herro to you all in the land of cleanliness and air conditioning... It
is I, Sister Waldrom.  The missionary in the Philippines who is
sweating her brains out and loving her life.  It is quite an
opportunity to write, yet again, another epistle to you all.  Not too
much is new, still loving Batangas.  The ward here is amazing.  Our
investigators are awesome and progressing.  But baptisms seem to still
be a little distant in the future.  Pero, masaya pa rin dito!  Grabe
talaga, sobrang saya ako!  Oh whoops, you dont know that means... That
stinks for you!!  hahahahaha

So get this.  On Tuesday, we go into our lesson, and I was dumb and
thought our lesson plan was for another investigator, but i just did
the wrong lesson.  Sister Johnson was like what?  and I was like
awwwww shoot.  My bad!  Taught Word of Wisdom instead of the Sabbath
day!  Oh well, the Lord provided and it was great.

We had a lot of investigators at church and I was happy.  And we
had an awesome ward activity and the youth put on this really well
done modest fashion show and went all out and it was so cool and I was
so impressed and it just reminds me that the church is the same
everywhere.

I finished reading the Book of Mormon and my study on Faith.  It was
so awesome.  I learned so much and I recommend studying by topic!!

We watched the General Women’s Broadcast and I basically cried the
whole time.  Especially the part when the primary sang I am child of
god in Tagalog.  Gah I just love this country.

And something I have learned is that converts of the church here love
the missionaries.  Even if it has been years since their baptism,
chances are they are the only member in their family and they rely on
the missionaries to support them and help them through their trials.
Didn't quite expect to be a therapist on my mission, but it is such a
blessing to help the members here!

I love you all and am sooooooooooooooooooo pumped for conference on sat!
Sister Waldrom
Ether 6:17