Wk 47 - What a week!!

Area: San Carlos
Companion: Sister Lara

Sister Lara & Sister Smoot at
Saturday District conference meeting

This week has been kind of a rough week. We have gotten turned down so many times! (i didn't know philippinos could turn people down) but 2 times we've been told not to come back this week, because they are their religion, so it's pointless for us to come back. Then the person who was interviewed last sunday for baptism last saturday told us fridaynight that he had doubt and didnt want to be baptized. So he dropped out and then our baptism next saturday told us on saturday that her mom didn't give her permission which she lives with her lola and her mom is in bacolod and her lola who will also be baptized on march 8.

Anyways, on the bright side our baptism this saturday is on still :) she talked with her mom and sister lara did too over the phone and she said ok, now that she has a little understanding. Then the little girl said she didn't want to anymore because she thought she had to confess her sins if she was baptized or something and then we told her to pray and then she came and said i want to be baptized. This was all within saturday night and sunday. So we got interviewed sundayand will be baptized on saturday. She is 8 and is amazing! Her name is Abigal :) I am excited for her! So that helped our week end a little better :)

Other than that, we are slowly trying to help our investigators progress and come to church. They are all doing pretty good but some that we thought were really progressing didn't come to church yesterday for what we saw but one that doesn't want to be baptized came to church with our recent converts but sister said he's done that before. so i guess we will see what happens :) Hopefully we can talk to our canitate, JR, to see if we can help him again want to be baptized (he was suppose to be baptized saturday) but anyways, its been a week of fighting against Satan.

I do want to testify though of fasting. I fasted saturday just for some miracle to happen because we were turned down so many times and now abigal turned around and is getting baptized and her mom accepted and everything! So amazing!! :) I love this work here and how many little miracles happen each day.

Thank you for everything you do! I look forward to a good week this week :) Have a wonderful week and Happy Birthday to DAD!! Love him so much :)

Love, Sister Smoot

At the Sunday session of District Conference

..with an investigator

The choir that sang at the District conference

(Answers to my questions:)

(your new apt.)

in this apartment we have rats. we don't use the upstairs there's a ton of rats we hear them all the time and they sometimes get into our garbage. we have cockroaches like crazy and mosquitoes i'm getting bitten again but am trying my best not to be even with bug repellant the get me. but i'll keep putting it on.

(need a new memory card?)

i don't know... i think i am ok i think i still have a couple more. i'm good for now though but i do have another full memory card i want to send home maybe i cna give it to sister sinema again to put in her package so it's safer.

(who is regie that got baptized: Angela (fromBata)posted it)

regie is her exboyfriend in manila haha he did come and i met him and he continued teaching in manila and got baptized. She highered her expectations of a boy she wants to marry and next thing i know he's coming to visit and has a baptismal date. haha the elders taught him while he was in bata

(valentine's day?)

they all wear red haha... no just kidding. not really anything special everyone works here always no matter what holiday. but we did get a gift from recent converts :) cute! they weren't baptized while i was here though but the are a cute family :)

(do you have a view of the ocean- or sea?)

if we walk to a certain area yes we have a view in our area and there's a little island too that's in our branch but the elders have that area you have to take a little boat to it but i didn't take a picture i didn't have my camera with me. but it's a little different. we aren't in a subdivion but we do have a gate :) it's a cute house with two huge mirrors inside!

(the dress you're wearing on the sunday district conference-and you both match in your orange!)

i got that dress for 150 pesos at an okai okai (thrift stores here) and yes our favorite colors are orange. she changed before we went there so i was dressed first ;)    (150 pesos= $3.36)

They rented a truck to bring members to the Conference