Wk 44- First week without Training!! :) haha

Area: Bata
Companion: Sister Oquias

We got a little treat last week for Talia and Mom's birthday :)

A Star Apple!

When you squeeze it to open it, milk like juice comes out.
It's very good but makes your hands and fingers sticky :)

This week has been really good :) It's a little different, yes without the training, but i'm getting use to it :) I've been doing the training schedule for so long!! Then only thing that really changes is we have 1 hour of companion study instead of two. We are still working on finishing her training though because she didn't do much with her previous companion, but so happy she is here with me! :) We are just trying to get use to knowing if we eat lunch at 11 or go out and come back to eat lunch. This week we've been eating at 11 haha kind of early but ok lang! it's working :)

Sometimes people will say me and Sister Oquias have the same tsurya. or we look a like which is kind of funny because i'm American and She's Filipina but she is beautiful so i just take it as a compliment. :) I did look at some pictures though and she kind of looks like Diane. It scared me a little because it's only in a few but it is kind of funny.

Anyways being here in Bata still is wonderful. :) We had two baptisms on saturday, brother John Carlo and Sister Doloras were our two baptisms. I'm working on sending pictures :) But It was wonderful! We did the baptisms with the elders in the morning. The little girl they baptized is i think the first one in her family. Her parents attended and she bore her testimony and said i hope my family gets baptized too because it's a good feeling. It was amazing!! Sister Doloras was like an hour late but we started and then she showed up got her dressed and took a picture before she went and sat in. We almost did two programs but it worked out :) Then Sunday sister Doloras was sick so she didn't come to church to get confirmed, but hopefully she comes next week, we will probably go out to visit her next week.

me and my companion and our baptism on saturday :) the little girl is from the elders and the little boy is from our area. His name is john carlo :) 'he lives with his grandma and his grandma was a less active! Sister Neis taught them while she was here and how we got to know him was one day like a month later, they showed up at church! said he wanted to be baptized. After sister neis left, we went there a few times but they were never there, it's kind of a further area. but it was a cool little sweet miracle :)

it was so cool :) and then john carlo got up bore his testimony and said it also that he wants his family to be baptized haha it was cute :) his grandma is the only other member

The baptism :) John Carlo and his grandma nenita and deloras and sister erma :) 

But we found out yesterday she is in a different ward. Not just different ward but that country homes is in a different stake... oops! but there are people there coming to church in bata, so I don't know, i guess we will figure it out tomorrow at district meeting, but it's been a fun little hastle. Everyone is confused on boundires here. There is also a dangerous place in our area that we have gone to in the day only, because it's dangerous at night, but it's very long it's Abkasa, but we are working on switching our area around so the elders can have it. It's just not very many houses and pitch black at night. I've only heard of things happening there, but don't worry, we are getting it changed around :) I've been trying for a while now, but it's finally working with these elders, they are helping me and my companion :) But maybe it's why I needed to stay here. I'm just happy I'm getting a handle a little on things and maybe kind of figuring out how to be a missionary haha :) But whatever we do, wherever we go, it's the lord's plan.

This week... sorry i keep forgetting my journal but i did write :) i'm doing better! I just want to say we are working on finding more people because most of the people that were progressing are now recent converts so we have to find more people :) So that's our goal this next week!! It's been an amazing experience! :) We have found some people that have been taught by missionaries before or that want their kids to grow up in the church. They were suppose to come to church yesterday, but we are working on them, we just started teaching them. But we also found out we had a less actives kids that aren't baptized yet at church yesterday after they had left, so we went and visited them and now she is going to be baptized on the 22 of February. :) I'm so excited and love finding new people!! You always find new places even being in the area for a while!! :) I love it!! :)

Brother Wycoco also brought us food while we were at the baptism! Very good pasta :)

Well I love you family!! SO CRAZY TAN'S ENGAGED!! Tell them congratulations and that was very cleaver what they did :) I LOVE IT!!! :) haha thank you!! I want to see more pictures if possible :) I love you so much!! Thank you for everything you have done for me :) For your prayers and your support. And don't worry mom, as a missionary we are suppose to leave home behind, something I did but not very well. Things like weddings and having babies help me want to forget more about home and go to work more, which i promise is a good thing as a missionary. Them getting married while I am gone is a blessing in disguise for me. And It's a blessing that we are doing what we are suppose to be doing!! So happy also for Tayton that he got his eagle and for Jade that he is SO CLOSE to turning in his papers!!! AHH!!! Our family is amazing!! Thank you for everything!! I will do the best I can to be a better missionary for you!! :) Thank you!! :)

Love, Sister Smoot