wk 75 - Grabi and semana namon!

Companion: Sister Herrera
Area: Gardenville (Tangub Ward)

Durian :)

sister Bliss Balintay :) 

Sister Herrera's Birthday Spaghetti!!

 (we never made it because we had so much food she really wanted it so I made it for her!)

I was wiping off the stove and my companion took a picture.. so here you go! 

my capid banana :) (twin) kuno
if you eat these you will have twins one day haha! superstition here!
I've had a lot of them that are even more stuck together! Hopefully one day I have twins!! ;) 

Sister Josephina! A Recent Convert :) She's so cute!!
She's the only one there during the week.

Durian!! :) A fruit!
It's a little different and it stinks but it's good when you eat it :)
Like creamy kind of. 

That's Hermi one of our investigators that showed up at church and said he was interviewed but went home before being baptized but now he wants to be baptized. We are teaching him again to be interviewed next week and baptized on the 14th :) He lives at a members house! The Balintay Family :) 

Family!! 

This week has been one of a roller coaster week. It started at the top and went all the way down! haha Lets just say Saturday was probably one of the hardest days as a missionary. All of our investigators have such a visible visit from Satan. It's really so real and incredible.

They are all getting so close and we have to work harder to keep them going!! :) We had some ups but they got pulled right back down. I don't want to go in all the details but it was just a crazy week. Our baptismal canidate got a fever and didn't come yesterday and then our baptism for next week isn't ready anymore. But the others ones are still going, we visited all of them and all had their trials but they are all holding on still!! Just got to keep them going!! I feel like I just need to keep running to keep up with everything that's going on!! And yes I do sleep at night don't worry mom :) It's the only way to get energy to keep going :) I feel like if I take one second to take a breath, it all will fall apart. But this is Heavenly Father's way to let us know that we need to rely on the atonement and this is his work. We will walk in the same path Jesus Christ walked, feel a little of what he felt and keep going. It's not all joyful and happy. To have those times of joy and happiness will be so much more worth it when you agi through the trials. I pray to keep going with them and help them to continue.

We still have some miracles in it all!! An 11 year old girl who's the niece of one of our ward missionaries has been coming to church. She thought she was baptized but it turns out she hasn't yet so we met her yesterday :) It was really cool!! Miracles are happening!! Our RC are inviting people to come to church and they come and I feel like we have no time for finding ourselves. It's almost hard with everyone there. Members want us to come to their house and I want to go to them to get their help and I guess we will have to use that for sure as a finding way, because we are all about missionary work. It's an incredible thing that's happening and through trials and challenges, we can overcome it all with the Atonement of Jesus Christ!! IT'S AMAZING TO REALIZE! I really do love it so much and am grateful for it!! 

There's a video I want you to look for and watch. It's the Atonement by I think Eyring and Holland talk in it. It's amazing! And makes me cry. President talked to it forever ago. And through this week all I could think about was that. As well as in my patriarchal blessing it says always be strong in times of disappointment. Remember you will always have family and friends to support you. I know that's true and I'm grateful for that :) Thank you for everything you do!! I am grateful for you and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ!!

I love you all!! :) 

Love, Sister Smoot 

wk 74 - Full and Amazing week!!

Companion: Sister Herrera
Area: Gardenville (Tangub ward)

we went to manila! :) these are the foreigners i'll be coming home with :)
me and two other elders will come to salt lake :)
(Elder ?, Sister Nielsen, Sister Manwaring)

Sister Sefetti, Elders??

that's the vice president's house in manila kuno.
The driver told me to take a picture that drove us around. so i did! :) 

a missionary here in our mission's parents took us to lunch in Manila. It was very nice of them :) 

2 batch mates stayed at my house friday night when we got back from manila and traveled home the next morning :) Sister Nielsen & Sister Sefetti! love those two!! 

They went and taught one lesson with us at the leysa family :) I love them!! 

Brother Roy's baptism!! He's the husband of a member :)

This week was good!! Yesterday we had brother Roy get baptized who is the husband of a member!! He is really amazing! So ready and awesome!! They have one little girl and hopefully in 1 year they will get sealed in the temple :) It's incredible to see!! We've only taught him for a couple weeks because he's from the other area but he's incredible!! :) I love being able to have all these people to teach!!

Next week we have brother Ronnie which we have taught the whole time get baptized and then the next week it's sister Jean, who is the one that I had the experience with last week I told you I think. Then the next week Pargoso Family who is a couple with three small children as well as brother Hermie that showed up to church last sunday and said I have been interviewed and not baptized yet. we cant find his record but we are teaching him as well :) we also have brother Ariel who is the nephew of Ronnie who didn't come to church yesterday so we changed his date from the 7th to the 14th. He better come next week! :) haha He's amazing as well! Then after that Gentugao family!! Grabi no?! And we have even more that we are working with!! It's so incredible to see how many people need and want to be taught the gospel!! It's almost overwhelming but it's amazing how much God loves us and how much he helps us as well!! :) I love how if we give the work to him he will guide us and direct us. It's really does happen!! :) I love it!! 

And to answer your question mom, yes it's hard to follow up with all the RCs (recent converts) but we did have 35 of them show up to church yesterday and we didn't even get a chance to visit all of those! they are just amazing!! We are figuring it out next week with the ward missionaries to teach the RCs so they can still be taught and we can help them but not be overwhelmed!! This ward is amazing and so willing to help :) 

This past week we had a follow up training for Sister Herrera's batch and it was incredible!! It was a wonderful way to feel the spirit and after that, I got to go work in Bacolod 3rd ward (i think or 2nd) but it's where Sister Smoot was assigned before and got to work with Sister Sefetti and Sister Dequina! It was a cool experience and then Friday we went to Manila and came back friday night just for finger printing!! haha such a cool experience no?! It was really fast but it was amazing!! I had a talk with my batch mates as well that was incredible!! I absolutely love this work and seeing how much we've grown and how much we can help each other and the stories that have happened to us! It's a really an incredible experience serving a mission! 

I am so excited to be able to keep going and finish out strong and get this area set up well for the missionaries that take my place. It's really any area is an amazing area as long as you work like a missionary. It's really incredible to see how if you follow the spirit the area will progress!! It's incredible how God will do his work no matter what or where you are if you're with him or not, so why not just pick it up and be with him so we can keep going!! As members that's what we need to do!! Always be willing to help the missionaries and progress in the missionary work!! It's the best thing to be involved in :) I love this work!! I will NEVER stop doing it and will always work to help my testimony grow even more! 

Thank you for everything you do!! :) I love you all!! :)

Love, Sister Smoot 

(pictures from the follow up training)

singing "I need thee every hour"

Wk 73 - We are now the only missionaries in Tangub ward!!

Companion: Sister Herrera

Area: Gardenville (Tangub ward)

santol :) i have to squeeze it between my legs to open it!!
you can also cut a little slit in it but it's fun to open it between my knees :)

our bishop's dog (we live in the front of his house) waiting for us to come outside!! :)  he is so nice!! He's a puppy and he's so cute and cheerful :) I love him!! But he had ticks when he came, he's new but has been showered with shampoo to get rid of them :) he's okay now!! 

lansones!! :)

our bishop brought us dinner one day and we ate it the next day for lunch because we weren't hungry.
Milk fish... my favorite!! It is delicious!! I think even mom would like it :) it's good!! 

our ride home when it was raining!! Brother Leysa wore a bag :) astig no?! :)
 haha i loved it so i wanted a picture :) 
we get a ride because it's far and we would have to ride a tricycle anyways so he is so kind and gives a ride home for free every night!! If we don't go to him he calls us and waits until we come get a ride home before going to home. He's a recent convert!! I love that family!!

Boy's baptism :) Brother Tan was the one who baptized him!! One of our RC :)

Brother Boy's baptism!! :) (Eduardo)

 we walked over and his little boy who's 8 was setting up the chairs in primary :) so cute!! :) 

sister Lezel :) A RC that works with us quite a bit :) 

Family!!! :) 

This week has been pretty good!! So we had a call this week of transfers and the other sisters got pulled out so now we are the only ones in Tangub!! We are over the whole ward and it's kind of big but it's okay!! We can do it!! There is 52 recent converts and before we had 26 only. It's been a little bit of a challenge with time and finding new investigators but we are figuring it out :) Luckily ward members are working with us and we are splitting a couple times a week with sisters in the ward!! It's an incredible thing!! Wow!! It's the first time I've been the only companionship in one ward. It's kinda crazy but so fun!! It's a lot of work but it's worth it!! The best exhausting feeling I've ever felt!! :) 

We also had that baptism of Boy. Who the other sisters taught but we were the only ones there when he was baptized but I've met his mom quite a few times when I've worked in the other area. Her name is Josephina and she's adorable!! I love her :) We also knew him at church!! 

Next week we also have Roy who's from that area as well who's the husband of a member!! We have taught him a couple times!! Then the next week we have a few people from our area getting baptized!! Pargoso family hopefully!! Sister Nanette still isn't sure but she wants to follow her husband and he is sure gid!! Just pray for her :) She's amazing! Their family is amazing!! They have 3 little kids :) As well as Ronnie, a RC convert, Babyjane's husband :) They are all amazing and we have more to come!!! :) On September 7 we have a sister named Jean!! Miracles after miracles!!

Jean is a granddaughter of a RC Tatay Nonoy I told you about her before. I'm not sure if I told you what happened. I can't remember if it was the past week or the week before. But She said she kept seeing us and just wanted to get closer. Then we taught her and everything. After a couple times she came looking for us and we were at a near by members house teaching another investigator. She started going through a hard time where the father of her daughter would stop helping if she was baptized but grabi!! The members talked to her and we shared with her and she shared her experience with us. We saw her the night we ended up teaching her riding a motorcycle with, we found out it was her brother. she's a single mom and has one daughter. She said when she saw us it was like pitch black. Dark kaayo!! And all she saw was me a glowing. It was crazy!! I felt completely normal when I saw her but that's how she saw me! She is incredible and the members were saying maybe we knew each other in the premortal life, and I kind of feel like it's true. It's so crazy and incredible how everyone is so amazing!! Forever I always thought I would never know who I would help, but tender mercy again. God let me know :) 

I love this work!! We just need to continue working hard and never let this precious time of the Lord pass by without doing something worthwhile!! :) I love you family and am so grateful for you!! Thank you for everything!! :) This church is true!! Never let yourself or anyone else tell you otherwise!!

Love, Sister Smoot :)