WEEK 26: The power of faith.

AH HELLO TO ALL MY FAVORITE PEOPLE!!!! How are you all? I am happy to report it has been such an amazing and hard but super rewarding week. Let me start by saying that I love my new area so much already. These people are amazing and seriously every family we teach and visit with feels like family. There is a special kind of love here in the Philippines and I am just so obsessed with all things in this culture!!

Through our hard work this week, we were able to see so many miracles. So before I got here the numbers were a little low because our areas are just super far away from each other and it's hard to teach a lot of lessons in a day. So we were pretty far from the standard of excellence which is 35 lessons per week. In my old area we were able to reach the standard and I knew the Lord would provide a way for us to eventually reach this in this area with a lot of hard work and diligence. Usually in this area they were getting like 15-20 lessons a day so we had a lot of work to do, but we were determined.  At first my companion didn't believe me that we could anywhere close to the standard, but I just told her "have faith, the Lord will provide a way." So we started the week with a goal of about 25 lessons this week. We just taught all day every day and tried our hardest to be exactly obedient. I can't even tell you how this was possible, but somehow, it became SO possible! Teaching opportunities just were literally handed to us left and right and it was such a miracle. On top of that, we talked with everyone in our path and really tried our very best. Well anyways, long story short, we were able to teach 31 lessons this week, more than ever has been taught in one week in this area.  We also had 14 referrals from members which is usually more than in a whole month, just this week!!! And we had 11 new investigators. And on top of that all, we more than doubled our progressing investigators to 14. All in just one week. So needless to say, I have literally seen the help of the Lord in His work. We really are entitled to His help when we fully rely on Him. Really, nothing is impossible with the Lord.

Okay I want to tell about another miracle this week. So we teach the Arabia family. Okay I know I say this about everyone but seriously, they may be one of my favorite families I have met so far. We teach Nanay, and her 2 sons, and some of her granddaughters. They are all investigators and progressing SO SO MUCH. I can't describe with words how excited they are each time we get to teach them. When we go, usually they are teaching us actually because they read and study the pamphlets like CRAZY. They are so super prepared by the Lord and I feel blessed to be entrusted to teach them at this time :) So let me start at the beginning of this story....this week we found an extra pair of random glasses in our apartment that we found out were from a member. He had had them for a long time and they didn't fit anyone he knew. Here glasses are pretty expensive, so when your eyes get bad when you're old, you really can't do anything about it. So Nanay Arabia told us this week that she couldn't read the Book of Mormon because her eyes are really bad. She was super sad about it but didn't have money to get glasses. We thought of these glasses, but knew that they didn't work like anyone in the whole Branch so they probably wouldn't do much for her eyes. We told her we had glasses but we told her not to expect them to work because they were tried on probably over like 50 people. She just said "I have faith that the Lord will provide for what I need" and that was that. Her faith is so strong and AH I just really love her. Anyways, well let me tell you just how wrong and of little faith I was!!!! THEY TOTALLY FIT AND WORKED FOR HER EYES!!!!!! She put them on and we handed her the Book of Mormon and she started crying as she read the introduction page. It was such a precious, precious moment. I will really never forget that moment and the gratitude she had for a simple pair of glasses that were old and so used. This meant the world to her. She just kept saying the rest of the night, "thank you Lord for making those glasses for me and only me" Ah so so precious.

Here is another short story. So this story starts years ago when a man was baptized. About 35 years ago to be exact. Well a few years after he was baptized, his brother got up in testimony meeting at church and shared something really super personal about his brother in front of the whole congregation. After that day this man never attended church again. Well, we met this man this week. We set an appointment with him for the next day. The whole time I just kept thinking "this man is never going to let us teach him." Well we get there the next day and he has chairs ready for us and has his Book of Mormon ready. OKAY SISTER REATEGUI OH YE OF REALLY LITTLE FAITH. Well long story short, we taught him about the power of the Atonement and it was a super spiritual lesson. And this is the best part....guess who came to church yesterday FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 30+ YEARS!!!!! Yes. He totes did. It may or may not have been the best day ever.

Well everyone, don't be like me. Have faith. Hahaha, no just kidding I do have faith but sometimes I underestimate the power of the Lord in our lives. He really works miracles and I have seen that this week. There is a scripture in Moroni 7 that I just love. Verse 33 reads: "And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." GUYS IT'S ALL TRUE. THIS GOSPEL IS SO TRUE. AND IT CHANGES LIVES.

I love my opportunity to be a servant here in the Lord's vineyard in Tabaco. Missionaries really play an important role here in the branch so it's fun. Like last week I spoke in Sacrament meeting and then we gave the lesson in gospel essentials, then this week I spoke in Sacrament meeting again. Great times. I eat fish every day. Today I ate the biggest shrimp I've ever seen in my life. The seafood is growing on me....like literally growing on me because some of it doesn't look cooked. HAHA jokelang it's cook and not half bad.

Well I really love you all and all of you are in my prayers!!! You all are awesome. Missionary work is awesome. This church is awesome.

MAHAL KITA from all the way here in the Pines,

--Sister Reategui

P.S. Here is a picture of my district...Elder Tatum Nielson is there in the back. Also, another picture from the dairy farm we went to last week.  I am with my companion, two roommates, and a sister in our ward.