We had a surpise transfer. Sister Ticzon got transferred to an area in
Zambales. It was probably the worst transfer of my mission because we
really weren't expecting it. They're changing the transfer dates of
all of the missions around the world, so that they are more uniform.
Anyways, my new companion is Sister Maricris Bacarro from Lucena,
Quezon. She has a great laugh and teaches very simply and directly.
I've learned a lot from her in our 5 days together here in GuaGua.
We have another baptism next week-Elsa Yambao. She is Rodel's wife;
Rodel was baptized 2 weeks ago. She is great and we are really excited
for her. It's exquisite to see the progress of the people that we've
taught here in GuaGua. By the time they are ready for baptism, they're
teaching us and sharing with us things that they are learning, and
it's a really sweet experience.
My birthday was a very normal day. :) It's my second birthday on the
mission, and it's hard to feel like I celebrated it, without my family
and friends nearby. A member gave me an egg pie which was very kind.
Other than that, we worked and came home and then went to bed.
I have another stye in my eye and 2 (hopefully only 2) more boils.
Lack of sleep and high stress might be responsible. Because I'm
finishing up my work here on my mission in less than 3 weeks, I'm not
terribly worried. I'll have a lengthy time to rest when I get home.
(It's interesting that in times like this, I've come to better
appreciate people in my life, who I miss and love. I was trying to
figure out why being sick on my mission feels so much worse than when
I'm at home. I realized that since I was a child, my father was a
source of information and support whenever I was sick. On my mission,
I feel a little too separated and it makes things a bit difficult.)
I learned something yesterday- that despite being in physical pain,
it's actually possible to transcend that. There were times yesterday
when I forgot whatever pain I was feeling, and instead felt joy at the
message we were sharing. Its the weirdest, most illogical kind of joy.
I can't explain it. I feel weird for saying it, but it's true.
Ian is amazing and for our lesson, he brought a notebook with notes.
Instead of us symbolically 'feeding him', he's starting to feed
himself. It's incredible. He's doing his own studying, his own
reading, his own research. It's so great. He still is struggling with
coming to church because of his family situation, but we are trying to
help him with this so that he can continue to grow and experience the
joy of 'living the gospel' instead of just reading or only studying
it. He also has been smoking for about one year, and after we taught
him the Word of Wisdom, he began to make steps to quit smoking and be
free from that addiction. I have really never seen someone so quickly
embrace the gospel and really feast 'upon the word of Christ.' (2
Nephi 31:20)
If it wasn't for being sick, a part of me would love to continue on in
my mission instead of going home. But, I'm starting to feel the need
to rest and to heal from the various health problems I've experienced
on my mission. I am mostly full of mixed feelings about going home. To
be honest, it still hasn't really fully settled into my brain that I'm
leaving. Anyways, I love you all.
1 Ne 11:36, 15:3-11--(What does 'humility' mean?)