WEEK 22: ALL IS WELL

HELLO TO EVERYONE! It is me again and seriously every week I can never believe it's P-day again. I've noticed the days and weeks and months are just flying by like crazy. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are super busy every second of the day and I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT. Being a missionary is just super great.

Okay it has been another amazing week. I will never get over how great the opportunity is to see these people really changing their lives. The Spirit is so amazing and that is what I want to focus this email on: how I have seen the Spirit really working in these people's lives. First off let me start with our investigators Zenaida and Joel. This is the couple we found while tracting. The only ones to let us in that whole night. Let me just say they are GOLDEN. I seriously love them so so much!!! This week we had another family home evening there for Sister Zenaida's birthday on Monday. We felt so so blessed because we had so much support from the Branch!!! The Branch President came with his family and the first counselor, along with the Relief Society Presidency and other members. Such an amazing blessing to have all of them there! Our Branch President, President Gutlay, even volunteered to give the lesson, and he taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon. It was super powerful and the Spirit was strong. After the lesson, we asked Zenaida and Joel if they had any "closing remarks." Sister Zenaida said she had something she wanted to say. She started with telling the story of the first day we met her. Her face lit up as she said "They came to my door and all they said was 'Hello po we are excited to meet you!' and I looked at them and they were actually happy and excited to meet me so I let them in!" Hahaha as she was saying that the smiles on Sister Fausto and I's face were as big as could be. She went on to tell about how much she appreciates the kindness us and our church has shown to her and her husband. It was a happy moment for sure :) Successful family home evening. Later on that week we taught them again The Gospel of Jesus Christ, about faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. With a focus on baptism of course and we extended baptism to them! We were so nervous because we knew Sister Zenaida really felt it but we weren't sure about her husband. Sometimes he's a little bit hesitant. But we really felt the Spirit so strongly. As I was talking somehow all of these Tagalog words are coming out of my mouth and I don't even know how. The Spirit is amazing. And it was really working through both Joel and Zenaida as well. We extended baptism to them and it went really well. Zenaida just looked at Joel as if to get his approval because she knew her answer already. Then, all the sudden they both opened up a lot. Joel said that he knew that the Book of Mormon is true and all of the teachings inside are true as well. WOW. If you only knew him you would know how amazing it was to hear him say that. Then Zenaida told us about how a while ago she was searching for the truth. She attended a bunch of different churches and she didn't really feel right about any of them so she gave up. She said she had been longing for the truth ever since. Then, the best words came out of her mouth. She said "I think you Sisters are an answer to all my questions" OKAY SO GOLDEN. She gets it!!!!!!! She went on to say that the moment since she came to church she has felt the difference about our church. She said she really felt welcome and felt like she was important when she attended our church. AHH how grateful I am for our awesome Branch and the fellowship they have shown her and Joel. They even came to church yesterday. Don't worry everyone, I will attach a picture :) They even came in their Sunday best. AHHHHH THE MISSIONARY LIFE IS SO GOOD. The Spirit is powerful and it really changes people. How lucky I am to witness just this!!!

Sige I don't have much time but that was really the highlight for this week. Our little Branch here in San Vicente is progressing SO MUCH. The amazing leaders and members are really doing everything they can to hasten the work. Since I've been here the attendance has been increasing and increasing every week. This last week we had the attendance of 181 people in Sacrament meeting!!!! Like you don't know how HUGE that is for these people. In Sacrament meeting this week we also had a few of our investigators, our mga fishermen or mangingisda sa Tagalog. They are experiencing a change of heart as well!! One was a former investigator but never was progressing so we dropped him. Well this week as we were teaching some of his friends, he just came in and listened and even volunteered to read some scriptures and participated in the lesson we were teaching!!! He is around 26, a smoker and drinker and just lives a rough life and he really had a change of heart. Usually he runs away from us but this week he was the one finding us! Anyways, he came to church and after we taught him again. He told us he wants to be like the men in the nice white shirts and ties. YES. Talk about change of heart. THE SPIRIT IS AMAZING!!!

Well everyone I could go on and on about the many stories I wish I could share but my time remaining is short. But I want you all to know that this gospel is SO true. The Spirit is SO powerful. It changes lives. It's changed mine and I now have the opportunity to help it change others. How amazing it is to be a missionary and see just how much it can change others. What a great blessing!!! This gospel is true. I wouldn't be here preachin' it every day if I didn't 200% believe it. I DO. It changes lives. No matter who you are I know that the hope this gospel brings us is TRUE hope that we can't find anywhere else. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! Thank you for your love and support you show me!!!!!!! Hope all is well with you all wherever you are :)

Mahal kita,

--Sister Reategui

WEEK 21: MIRACLES, MIRACLES, AND THEN MORE MIRACLES

HELLO ALL MY FAVORITES!! How are you all doing?? I hope you are doing well! It's been such an amazing week. We were able to witness so many miracles here in our little San Vicente Branch this week. I don't have as much time as I would like because the connection is really super horrible, but I will do my best :)
 
This week I really got to see how the Spirit works through people. Seriously so many miracles happened this week. Let's start with our new investigators! The ones I was talking about tracting into last week. Zenaida and her husband Joel. So this week we had a Family Home Evening at their house! It was only the second lesson and they were totally all for a family home evening, it was awesome. It was Joel's birthday so that is why we had it. We got there and they had prepared food for what seemed like the whole San Vicente Branch hahaha I LOVE THE FILIPINO CULTURE BECAUSE THEY LOVE FOOD AS MUCH AS I DO! We were blessed because we had some sisters from Relief Society come to fellowship them and it was really fun. We taught them The Plan of Salvation and let me tell you, the Spirit was SO STRONG. Somehow I was able to teach and teach and teach and words just kept coming out of my mouth and they actually understood what I was saying! Miracle yen. As I looked at them, they were just taking it all in. It was so incredible to see!!! They are so so receptive and I love teaching them. The Relief Society sisters that worked with us are both converts and they shared their conversion stories with them as well. It was so super spiritual, and I could really witness the Spirit working through them. At the end we were talking with them and they just said "it just makes sense." They are strong members of their Catholic church pero they are really recognizing the truth of what we are teaching them. We also taught them on Saturday about the Book of Mormon. Seriously I feel the Spirit every time we teach pero the Spirit is so so strong when we teach them. And everytime as I focus on them and how I can better help them, not what I'm going to say next, the words just come out of my mouth. It's the craziest thing. That's when I really KNOW that they have been prepared by Heavenly Father and they NEED to hear these things. Ah being a missionary is so so amazing. Do you want to hear the biggest miracle?? THEY CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY!!!!! Yes. They really did. Really it could have been one of the happiest moments of my life. AH and they even stayed for all 3 hours, even though they own a store and had to be away from it the whole time. Ah the Lord really prepares people. How lucky I am to be an instrument in His hands to bring His gospel to these people that NEED it. Sister Fausto and I were talking one day after we taught them and I asked "what made us even go to their house?" It was like 8 or 8:30 by the time we got to their house, the last house on the street. Why did we even go there? They have one of those Catholic Jesus statues in their front yard and we usually avoid those to avoid any conflicts. We could have just gone home because it was late. We could have stopped after we were rejected 10 times by their neighbors. We couldn't even answer the question why we went to their house. But for some reason we did and because of that we met these great people that have really been prepared by the Lord. AH His work is so incredible and I know without a doubt He will always provide a way for His children to receive these truths in their lives.

Ah sige let me share another one of my favorite moments of this week. Now this may not even sound that cool to you all but it was really a big deal for me! So I have told you about the Espela family. We have been teaching Ailene for a few weeks now. Her father was the inactive that we found and he wanted us to teach his daughter. Well let me just start with telling about the first time we visited their family. They were a little hesitant to let us in but tried to be kind because the missionary that was there when he was baptized, came back to visit. So that is the only way we were able to get into the house, and it was a miracle that they kept letting us in. Tatay, Sonny, hadn't let missionaries or members in for at least 10 years because after he was baptized, he became really inactive. Pero we went and had a family home evening there. We asked him to offer the closing prayer that night and he refused. He was mad that we had asked him to say it and was too shy and walked away from us. Since then, we have been visiting them several times a week. Little by little we would invite him in and he would listen to the lessons we were teaching his daughter. Then he started coming to church. Slowly I have been able to witness the Spirit really working through him, and oh what a great blessing that has been! He has attended church now 4 times and is considered an active member again :) YES IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS EVER. Ah so this week we were teaching him and I asked him to say the closing prayer. I was hesitant because I remembered the horrible reaction he had the last time we asked him. With no problem, this time he said "Pweding pwede! which means like "I sure can!" Ah okay I know it probably doesn't seem like a lot but it really it was such a good moment. My eyes started to water as I really recognized the Spirit working through him. He has changed so much in the last 4 weeks since he started to come to church and in just a few weeks, his daughter will be getting baptized as well. How grateful I am to be just a small part of these people's lives!

Okay one more story. Another thing I learned this week was the power of listening. Listening to both the Spirit and the brothers and sisters I am entrusted to visit with here in the Philippines. We went and taught Nanay Illuminada this week just like we do every week. She was a less active, but since I've been here she's attended church now for 10 weeks in a row and has become very active! So we went there to teach her and I didn't really think anything of it. Just another lesson. She has a lot of trials in her life and usually it's the same story every week: her trials are hard but the Lord is always there for her. This week was different. As we got there and were talking with her, she was telling her stories like usual. I kind of zoned out because half the time I can't understand what she's saying because she's speaking Bicol, the different dialect here. And then all the sudden she started crying and I heard the saddest words come out of her mouth. She said "I am praying and praying but I feel like Heavenly Father is too far away to answer my prayers." AH. These were some of the saddest words I had ever heard anyone say, let alone coming from this strong grandmother I had come to love so much. She then went on to tell us that she had lost her faith. She told us about her daughter with mental problems and the hardship it is on her. We learned that her daughters mental problems have turned super violent this week and one day she even punched Nanay Illuminada in the face and pushed her to the ground. She threw stones at their house and destroyed all their windows and doors in the whole house. Nanay is over 60 years old, has no job, and is trying to support this family that is falling apart. Her husband died years ago and it is just her. Ah as she told us her stories we were all just crying and crying. We were just wondering and praying how we could help this poor lady. So we shared with her D&C 24:8, which says "Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days." As we testified to her, I felt the truthfulness of this verse. And as we testified to her she was just crying and crying to us. How I wish I could just take all of her problems and trials away. But I have faith in His plan. In something bigger and better than anything we could think of. Because He really does know us better than we think He does.

Those are just a few of the amazing miracles we were able to witness this week. Ah how wish I could really express how truly grateful I am for this opportunity to serve a mission. How amazing it is to share this gospel. And how truly amazing it is to witness the Spirit working through these great, humble people. Thinking back to a year ago, I never would have imagined myself here all the way in the Philippines. Let alone on a mission. But it has been the greatest blessing EVER. How truly grateful I am to be entrusted to be a representative of Jesus Christ. This is His church. And it is SO true. And all of our brothers and sisters desperately need this gospel, even if they don't know it yet. Don't ever be afraid to share what you believe in. You never know the impact it could have on some one's life.

I LOVE YOU ALL AND I HOPE YOU ARE ALL WELL!!!!!!!!!!! Stay safe and stay righteous.
Mahal kita,
Sister Reategui
ps- Here are some pictures from this week! It was Sister Fausto's birthday so we had a little party of course. :) Enjoy! 

WEEK 20: THE WORK IS WORKING!

HELLO TO ALL MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!! It has been quite a week that I am excited to share with you. So I had mentioned that I got sick last week. Well this week it came back and I was pretty bad. I kept throwing up and couldn't eat any food. We tried to work but I was throwing up so we couldn't. I ended up having to go to the hospital to really find out what was wrong because I had a really bad fever for 10 days straight. Ask me if I was deathly afraid of going to the hospital here haha because YES I was. Pero it was okay and I am alive to tell you about it so I am counting my blessings :) There they didn't really tell me anything and couldn't figure out what was wrong with me so I guess they thought the good solution would be to just give me every medicine they could think of for every symptom I have or could possibly have haha so that's what they did and I went home with 8 different kinds of medicines. I specifically asked for non-drowsy so I could work well this week and when we got home I look at all of them that I had just taken and they said DROWSY on the back haha awesome. Well when we got home from the hospital it was only 4 pm and so I decided that I would eat some food and if I could keep it down for once, we would go out and work. So I ate and gave it 30 minutes and I kept it down so we went out to work! I was kind of depressed because we hadn't been able to work much the day before because I was sick so I needed to go out and work. I was just praying really hard that I would feel okay enough to work and teach because we had a lot of appointments. And obviously this work is important to The Lord because we were able to work all the way until 9:30 when we came home. And even though I was so tired because I took like 8 different drowsy medicines...somehow I didn't fall asleep! The whole day really was a miracle and I am counting my blessings :)

Sige so because I was sick we missed out on some work. I was so sad and just praying that for the next few days we could teach like crazy and I could have the strength to continue to get feeling better. My prayers were answered! We saw so many miracles this week it's crazy. So from Thursday to Saturday we were able to find 6 new investigators. That is a miracle in itself. We found all the investigators while we were TRACTING. Yes real missionary life. I had never tracted until last week. It makes me feel like a real missionary haha. So, since Thursday was the first full day of real work without me being sick we were super busy. We taught 9 lessons and it was only 7:30 pm. We still had a solid 2 hours to work but no more set appointments so we went out and tracted! We went and "tao po'd" every door on this one street. "TAO PO" is what we yell when we are outside of someone's house. We don't knock here haha it's like yelling "people!" and then they come outside. So we had tried every single house on this street and were approaching the last one. Guys real life it was like on movies when they try every house and the last one lets them in. It really happened in real life to me. Hahaha the last house let us in!!!! It may have felt like my birthday or something. She let us in and was so nice! She got us some Filipino oreos and even turned off her TV and just sat there and listened to us. We got to know her and then started teaching her. She was super receptive so we taught her the whole first lesson! After we asked her if she had any questions and she asked "Can you teach me about my life before this next?" Hahaha and we were just smiling so big and said "That is EXACTLY what we are planning to teach you next!" She was so nice and after her husband came and we got talking to them and planned a family home evening for tonight in their home! So it's super exciting. The next day we had 5 new investigators! One of them was a referral from a sister that works with us a lot, and the others were found while we were tracting as well. The people are so receptive here so tracting is super fun. We taught them all the first lesson and set return appointments! So yes despite me being super sick, it was a really REALLY good week. 

Sige what else should I include? I will update you all on Jerome. Let me start off by saying this little boy is CRAZY. We ran into him this week when we were walking home. Let me expand on what I mean by "ran into him." We were walking home in the pouring rain and all the sudden I see this person running towards me screaming my name in a scary voice and then tackling me to the ground. Ask me if I was screaming for my life....hahaha I literally thought someone was trying to kidnap me. Hahaha when I realized it was JEROME we were laughing so hard. He just looked at me and said "gotcha" hahahahaha so funny. So we started talking with him and found out he was busy begging for money all day for medicine for his brother. He hadn't even eaten all day because he had saved all his money all day for his brother. He had made 8 pesos the whole day. It takes 50 pesos to make a whole American dollar so basically he had made around 16 cents. SO SAD. So we found out what kind of medicine his brother needed and bought it for him. He told us not to worry, that he was going back to his home because when he had the medicine he was allowed to go back to his house. Well we watched him go home and he still went back to the fish port. We went and talked to him and found out that even though he's been saying he is with his dad, he is still sleeping on the beach. Since that night we haven't seen him. So keep him in your prayers! He is a fighter so we have faith that he will be okay :) 

Here is a funny story for the week...So we taught our recent convert Jorel this week. He is 9. In his village this week some Jehovah's Witness missionaries have been visiting them and having like preaching nights where they speak to anyone willing to listen. He said he didn't go there because he didn't want to be burned. Hahaha but he was standing outside listening. He said they kept telling him that they had revelations from God and he said, "When I heard they have revelations from God I asked them if they knew Thomas S. Monson, because he is the real person that gets real revelations from God. They said they didn't know who he was." Hahahahaahahahahaha we were laughing so hard!!!!! Oh how I love that boy :)

Well everyone it has been a week. A crazy one but a busy and good one. But one thing I know is true: the power of prayer is real. One thing I have learned here that as we are not so focused on ourselves, but those around us, that is when we really see miracles. That is when we can see real blessings from our Heavenly Father. The gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is true and contains real power that we NEED. We need this gospel in our lives. We can't survive this life alone. We need our Heavenly Father. We need faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Because it makes all the hard things in life okay. There is a purpose to everything. Always remember that.

I love you all!!!!! Thank you for the love and support you show me. I am constantly overwhelmed with your love.

Mahal kita,

Sister Reategui

attached is a picture of me and Sister Fausto, me with the Nares family, and another one with all my medicines after I went to the hospital. Haha

Also, here is a link to my Skydrive where I usually upload my pics every week! :) 

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=B62DF9EB1FD8E770!107&authkey=!AGrrw2VG-QZYSis&ithint=folder%2c.JPG

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

WEEK 19: NEW YEAR, NEW COMAPANON!!!

Hello everyone!! I have survived the New Year here in the Philippines! This was a crazy week. We had transfers on New Year's Eve. Since our transfer point is in Sorsogon, Sister Alabanza and I traveled there where I met my new companion, Sister Fausto! She's Filipina, 26 years old and will be 27 in a few weeks. She is from Zomboanga City and has been out for about 11 months now. Her and I get along really really well already! She is a convert of only 3 years and she is a really good missionary. I have already learned so much from her it's crazy. I feel lucky to be her companion! And here's the best part...she is a college professor and teaches food technology. AKA she's a professional cook. So, yes really it's a blessing to be her companion.

So let's see...this week was tough because of the holiday. We had curfews on a few of the days. And I have been sick the whole week. I got a sickness that is going around the villages here. My American body can't handle these Filipino sicknesses here because it has kind of taken over. Pero it was good because since it was a holiday, most people were home with their families all week. So even though lots of people were busy, we were able to visit lots of our members and investigators and do a lot of service. This week again we did service for Nanay Liza and washed her clothes. Again, it turned into service for the whole village as we washed their clothes and as I, again, pumped the water for the village. Hahaha but it was awesome as always. 

So this week we got a few new investigators. One of them is named Ailene. She is 14 years old and is the daughter of an inactive in the ward. He was baptized like 10 years ago and stopped coming to church shortly after. Well, the sister that was one of the missionaries here when he was baptized came back to visit a few weeks ago. She invited us to a family home evening then so of course we went and met the family. There, he introduced us to his daughter who is 14 now. She was just 4 when he was baptized so she wasn't baptized then. So we were able to go back and visit them. We were kind of hesitant at first because they haven't let any missionaries or members in their home for years. But guess what? THEY LET US IN!!! It was a tender mercy of the Lord for sure. Somehow his heart was able to be softened and they let us in! So we started teaching his daughter, Ailene. We taught her 3 times this week and extended baptism to her and she accepted!!! She came to church for the first time this week and was just smiling the whole time :) It really strengthened my testimony that the Lord will prepare a way for people to receive the gospel no matter what. If we didn't first go to the family home evening with the sister that knew them, we would have never gotten into that home! The Lord is preparing His children for the gospel all around us :)

Well sorry this is a lame email for this week. Mostly this week we spent a lot of time tracting and OYM'd to find new investigators. Pero we did have a good turn out for church yesterday! We had lots of less actives come. Some people that I hadn't seen come in all my time here which is almost 3 months! The Lord works in mysterious ways. I have seen His miracles here in the mission more than ever. I love being a missionary because I get to see these people change. And not because we are telling them to, but because they really want to. They want the life they can have with the gospel in their life.  Missionary work is hard. It is real work. Pero it is the Lord's work. So I know He is with me every step of the way. He promises to support us through our trials. That He won't take them away and deprive us of the growth, but He will be there, carrying us every step. Because He knows what is best for us. And His plan is far greater than anything I could ever imagine.

I love you all!!! I am so grateful for your love and support that you continue to show me!!! I hope you all had a safe New Years! I'm sorry I'm not able to send a better email or to respond to all your emails, the internet is really bad here and I don't have much time. But just know that I love you all!!!!!!

Mahal kita,

Sister Reategui

PS this picture is super awesome for many reasons. one: it is of us tracting in the POURING rain. like my life story here in the Pines. two: one of our less actives that is obsessed with me is poking his head in the middle of us hahaha made my day when I saw that. ENJOY :)

WEEK 18: CHRISTMAS SA PILIPINAS!

HELLO TO MY FAVORITE PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Hard to believe another week has passed. I have been here now for 12 weeks! CRAZY. I can't really believe it at all. We have transfers tomorrow, and I will be staying here! Sister Alabanza will be leaving to open a new area a few hours away. I AM SO HAPPY I AM STAYING HERE!!!!! I love this place and I am obsessed with everyone. Sige so it was kind of a slow teaching week because of Christmas pero I will fill you in on the good times :)

Sige let's start with Christmas Eve. So, that morning bright and early Sister Alabanza and I did some service for a few grandmothers. One is a less active member and one is an investigator. What service did we do you ask? We washed their clothes. By hand. For like 3 hours. One of the hours I volunteered to do the water pump......yeah don't really know why I volunteered haha it looked like fun at first. Then after like 5 minutes my arms were hurting. But I was determined so I just kept pumping minding my own business. And then all of the sudden I look up and I had attracted a crowd...hahaha like half of the village was circled around me watching me pump the water. So they started lining up buckets and I just kept pumping away. So basically that day I provided the village water haha. People are very amused by a white American Sister Missionary willing to pump their water and everyone was just staring. Haha then this group of boys came up and screamed in super broken English so it makes it even better, "Who made dat white Sister pump all the water?" Hahaha. These guys are crazy. Let me explain...the village we did the service project in is where most of our less active and investigators live so we are there almost every day. Every night when we are walking through that area we see this group of boys smoking and drinking. Probably around 8 of them and they are all around 15 or 16. Well,while I was pumping they stayed to watch the show too hahaha so I started talking to them. Jokingly I kept inviting them to church knowing that they were probably drunk haha. Two of them are inactive members, 2 are investigators we have taught so they are familiar with our church. The inactives haven't been to church in over 3 years though so we have been trying to teach them but they still don't come to church. Anyways, I got them to help us with washing the clothes though so it was good.. Since that day we kept seeing those boys drinking and drinking literally every night. Haha but I made friends with them so every time we walk through that village now, they all scream my name so it's awesome. All I say back is "magsimba tayo!" Like "Let's go to church!" Hahaha. But guys wait for the best part of the story. So Sunday we are waiting by those church doors, not even remembering this big group of boys. At exactly 1 all the sudden I see 8 boys walking up to the doors.......okay I was hitting Sister Alabanza haha I really couldn't believe it. Happy happy moment :) I was asked to bear my testimony in church on Sunday so I was glad I could testify to them of the importance of coming to church haha and I was staring at them the whole time and they were just nodding their heads so let's hope the message got across :)

So this week, with Christmas and everything, we were invited to lots of family home evenings. Family home evening here in the Philippines = food, food, and more food. Hahaha but I love it. The support of our branch is crazy amazing. We got a new Branch President a few weeks ago because our old one is now District/Stake President. Our Branch President is a returned missionary and he is super involved with the work. He even comes and works with us whenever he has time. And his counselors are super good and supportive. We had a family home evening at each of their houses this week with all of our investigators. We are very VERY grateful for their support! We had a branch Christmas party this week as well. Since everything is better and more fun here in the Philippines, it was super fun of course :) Each group in the church did a performance so it was fun. The Primary one was super cute and guess who the star of it was...Jorel! Hahaha he sang a Christmas song for like 5 minutes straight while the others danced. Want to hear a funny story? At the end, the announcer said there was someone that wanted to do a solo. Hahaha, I look up and guess who is dancing for everyone? JEROME. HAHAHA we were laughing so hard. Don't worry everyone, there is a picture on my Skydrive to prove it :) SO AWESOME. Speaking of Jerome, we taught him a few times this week like always :) He is progressing so much. He keeps asking when he can be baptized which is sad because we can't really answer him. We have talked to President and he is trying to figure out what to do in our unique situation since we don't have any parental consent or information or anything about him. We continue to teach him though and the Branch is doing a good job of making him feel like a member :) This week we gave him a Book of Mormon story book and he almost cried because he was so happy to receive a Christmas gift :) SO STINKING CUTE. So the next day he went around begging for money all day and guess what he bought? Candy for Sister Alabanza and I! Seriously this boy is my inspiration. We are not teaching him, HE IS TEACHING US! I have learned so much from him.

Okay my thought for the week. I've been studying about Christ a little bit extra this week because of Christmas. Never have I appreciated this holiday as much as I did this year. Which is surprising because I am so far away from home and everything I used to know. But I have learned, like really learned, that that's not what it's about. It's all about THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. It's about making Him a reality in our lives. And when we make Him a reality in our lives, we don't do the "right" thing because we feel like we have to. It's about gaining the DESIRE. The desire to be Christlike. It's the desire to do what he wants me to do because I want to. Because His way has become what I am striving for. His way is THE WAY. We should want to do what He would do. Responding as He would in the effort to bring MY life in harmony with HIS. In a book I was reading this week called "Our Search for Happiness" I read this quote that I LOVED: "If you really concentrate on trying to walk the way He walked - loving, caring, serving, and obeying each step of the way - one day you'll look up and discover that His path has led you directly to the throne of God. For that is and ever has been His great purpose and mission: to lead us to our Heavenly Father so we can dwell with Him in His heavenly home." YES. This is what it's all about!!!! It's bringing our life in line with His. It's through HIM, ONLY HIM, that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. How great is the blessing? And all they ask of us is to follow what they tell us! And when you think about it, it shouldn't be too hard. Because our Heavenly Father knows everything. He knows what's best for us. And I know that He is ALWAYS there for us. Through our happy times and hard times, He is there. Waiting for us to trust in Him and His great plan. Because His plan is far better than anything we could imagine for ourselves. 

Well I will say it again and again, I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!! I love this Christmas season, even if it is STILL hot and sweaty. Missions are awesome. I love being a missionary. It is such a great blessing that I treasure so much. I am trying my best to represent our Savior Jesus Christ with everything I've got and then more. Because I know that with Him by my side, all things are possible. That through trusting in Him, I know that He WILL work HIS miracles in these people's lives in whatever way HE chooses. Not always in my way but in HIS WAY. And I know without a doubt His plan is far better than anything I could imagine.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! AND I HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL, MERRY, SAFE CHRISTMAS!!! And Happy New Year!

Mahal kita,

Sister Reategui

Here are some pictures, from the service project on the beach and from one of our family home evenings.

WEEK 17: IT'S CHRISTMAS AND STILL 100 DEGREES AND SWEATY AND I LOVE IT!!!

Hello everyone!!! Merry Christmas!! How are all of you? I hope you are doing well!!! Let me just say that I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!! It's the best ever. I love the Christmas season! I love being HIS representative. I love wearing HIS name right next to mine. I love the Christmas Spirit. Even though it is still hot and sweaty here hahaha. I love it!! I love these people! I JUST REALLY LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!

Sige so this week we had the baptism of Alfred!!!!! Ask me if it was super awesome because yes, it was super awesome. He has such a strong testimony already. His grandfather, our recent convert Alfredo, was the one who baptized him. His sister Apple, our recent convert, was one of the speakers. Their family is progressing SO much already and I love being able to be a little part of their conversion! I feel so blessed to be an instrument in the Lord's hands here in the Philippines. It was a special baptism for me because it's my first that I have taught since day one! And...I have failed to mention that Sister Fonua and I have a tradition of singing at all of our baptisms. For some reason people here think I have a good voice haha probably just because I'm white but I just go with it :) So this week we sang Savior, Redeemer of My Soul. AKA the prettiest song ever so look it up. It's a Hymn but we sang a different version. Mom, it was inspired from the Vocal Point CD that you sent me that we listen to ALL the time so thank you!!!! Anyways yeah I'm a singer now. No big deal. Everywhere I go people assume I can sing and they call me up to do a special musical number. Like they call me up straight from the pulpit right before they want me to sing. But don't worry, I'm a missionary and ALWAYS prepared for anything! Because if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear :) Oh and Jorel, one of our other recent converts who is 9, (and happens to be progressing SO MUCH TOO) gave the closing prayer. It was the cutest thing. He said "Heavenly Father thank you for the prophets because without the prophets we wouldn't have the Book of Mormon or the true church here on the earth or missionaries like Sister Reategui and Sister Alabanza" hahaha can you say PRECIOUS??? Like who taught him that? Him and his sister are the only members in their family. He is such a good example to them! 

This week we also went to Legazpi for our mission Christmas Conference! President loves us and we were able to have a conference with the WHOLE mission AKA.....I GOT TO SEE ELDER TATUM NIELSEN!!!! May or may not have been one of the best reunions of my entire life. SO good to see him! He is like a legend basically so it was cool to see him in real life hahaha. The conference was super good, President is awesome and inspiring as always! There is so much work to be done here in the Philippines and I feel lucky to be a part of it! The work is really progressing! This week it felt like we were traveling to and from Legazpi most of the time so it was kind of a slow week. Pero syempre I will fill you in on some of my favorites :)

So about Jerome. He sounds like a crowd pleaser because all of you ask about him all the time haha. To answer your questions, he is doing well! Hanging in there. After we found out about him getting kicked out of his temporary little home, we didn't see him for a few days. He was no where to be found. Actually we couldn't even look for him because as you all know, he has no permanent home. So we just have to depend on him going to the Perez home. But one morning Sister Alabanza and I all the sudden thought to go to the Perez home. Kind of weird because we usually go there in the afternoon because that's when Jerome is there. We walked in and suddenly a boy jumped into our arms!!! YES. IT WAS JEROME!!! Okay it's a miracle he was even there!!! AH The Lord is really really helping us out in this work. Not even kidding this was such a big blessing to see Jerome. SUCH A MIRACLE!!! So we talked with him and found out where he was. I can't really share many specific details of the story but long story short, he was taken to a clinic to get some special shot, and the owners there heard about his story. Now they want to adopt him. But the people that want to adopt him live in Manila. So it's kind of really really sad pero happy that he will be taken care of :) We don't know when this will even happen or if it's for sure going to happen or not. He deserves someone good to take care of him though! And until then, we will continue to teach him :) This week in the middle of teaching him, he just said....these are his exact translated words... "Sister Ring, (yes he calls me sister Ring hahaha he can't pronounce my name...) after your mission where are you going?" Haha and I told him back to America, and he said "Will you take me with you to America?" Hahaha we all started busting out laughing. AH HES THE CUTEST! I told him yes. He asked when I will be leaving and I told him February 2015 and then he said "Excited ako!" "I'm excited!" Hahaha we were all just laughing so hard. So basically when I come back don't be surprised if I have a little boy with me :)  

Well everyone the work is working. I LOVE being a missionary!!! I love the Christmas season. I love these people coming together to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. They don't need fancy clothes or gifts or food to really celebrate Christmas. Because it is all about CHRIST. And the happiness His gospel can bring us. The peace that He gives us. One of my favorite scriptures that I have been sharing a lot recently is D&C 50:40-44. It says: "Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost." He has overcome the world, FOR US! That we may feel of His grace. Of His peace. We don't need to fear because He has set the way for us. He lived a PERFECT life. Atoned for OUR sins. May we remember our Savior at all times, and during this Christmas season, may we celebrate the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! I am so so so grateful for all of the love and support and prayers that I feel every single day. I really have the best friends and family in the entire world!! Thanks for everything. Oh and PS shout out to the Manning family, I hope you are reading this! Thank you SO MUCH for the package!!! Made my entire week! You guys are the best and I appreciate it so much!!! And thank you for the yummy American goodies :) I am working on writing a letter back to you all! :)

LOVE YOU ALL AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Mahal kita,

--Sister Reategui

here are some pictures, i don't know what order haha but one is an awk pic with Elder Nielsen haha so far away from each other because we are missionaries now...hahaha and one with JonJon and Janzzen (and friends) and the bracelets my AWESOME sisters and cousins made and sent to me to give out here, THANK YOU FOR THOSE BY THE WAY!!!! The kids LOVE them!!! and a picture at Alfred's baptism of course :)

WEEK 16: THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

Hello hello hello to all my beloved family and friends all around the world!! How are all of you? I hope you are doing well!

Another great week here in the Pines. I can't believe it's week 10 already. Time flies when you're having fun and working hard! :) Have I mentioned how much I love this place? Because I will continue to tell you how great it is. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE! And I absolutely LOVE being a missionary. How great is this calling!

Sige so last week I told you about how I got lice. Well the day after I got rid of the lice, I got the flu. Yes, I know, terrible. Satan is really trying to get at me and my positivity hahaha. I was super sick for the whole week. Pero there is still work to do so don't worry! I was determined to not let this get to me. It was still a great week!

This week we continued to teach Alfred. Let me tell you, this boy is SO prepared. Just like the rest of his family. Each time we teach him, there is a special Spirit felt. Whenever we are done with lessons with him, I often look back and wonder how in the world I said half of the things I did. Haha the Spirit is really so so amazing. Super powerful when we teach him. I know that he has been prepared :) Everytime we go he has new tabs on his scriptures from reading assignments we have given him haha so awesome. And when we teach him its basically like a review because he studies the pamphlets and scriptures like crazy! It's awesome. His baptism is this Saturday and we are all VERY excited!

JonJon and Janzzen (yes that is the real spelling of his name hahaha) are continuing to progress as well :) They are the cutest ever. This week we taught them about Joseph Smith again and the Book of Mormon. We teach them 3 times a week, and since they are super young review the lessons a lot so they can really understand the simple doctrines. When we taught them later on in the week, I asked little Janzzen about his prayer about Joseph Smith, and he said to me....(these are his exact translated words...) "I asked God if He really showed Himself and His Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith and He told me He did." OKAY WHAT. He's 10 years old. Hahaha all we asked him to do was to pray that Joseph Smith is a true prophet. Can you say progressing? YES. Progressing so much!!!! I love those little boys :) This week as I was walking down the street, Janzzen came running to me saying "Siter Ratgee I have a gift for you!!" Hahaha and he made me close my eyes and put out my hand...and the next thing i knew, he was putting a ring on my finger!!!! Hahahahaha I laughed so hard. He's the best EVER! And cute little Jorel is his little bff and they are just so awesome. Jorel is only 9 but has such a strong testimony already! The other Sisters in our Branch had a baptism this weekend and Jorel came with us. During the baptism we were sitting with Jorel and he said he felt sick. So we told him to pray. So he did. Like seriously a 10 minute prayer. Then he put his head up and said "Sisters! Someone was talking to me!" Hahaha and we asked him what they said and he said "I was praying and then a voice told me that as long as I follow the commandments, I will always be okay and healthy." And then he said "all I said was yes. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen" Hahahaha. We testified to him that that was the Holy Ghost. And he said "well of course." Hahahaha. These little boys are my inspiration.

Let's see.....of course I will update you all on Jerome. Pero I apologize ahead of time because I have sad news. Let me start at the beginning of the week with the good news though! We found out he has been staying with an older lady that lives near the beach. Some nights he stays there and she feeds him when he needs food. She doesn't have much money herself, so it is hard for her and he doesn't stay there every night. But when he has no where else, that's where he stays. As he told us about her his face lit up. How grateful he is for the little necessities in life we all take for granted! So, we had a family home evening with the Perez family this week which was super awesome because we had 2 investigators there, Jerome, and Queenie, who is related to the Perez family as well so we are in their home a lot. Jorel also came so it was a full house. Even Sister Perez's husband who is the only non member of the family came so it was good :) We taught about the importance of family unity. Before the lesson while we were waiting for everyone to get there, the kids were asking about my family. So of course, being the proud daughter and sister that I am, I hurried and pulled out a picture. I showed each person in my family. Then Jerome hurried and grabbed the picture. He just stared at it and then just said "wow." Most people are confused when they see my family picture because my mom is blonde and I'm not blonde. They are always confused because they think all Americans should be blonde hahaha. Anyways, Jerome was being super quiet with his head down staring at the picture so someone just asked him what was wrong, and then he looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said "your family is complete and happy." I think those were the saddest, most sincere words I had ever heard. I felt like a knife went straight into my heart. How selfish I was for bragging about my cute happy family that I am so blessed to have. How much he wished and hoped just to see his mom or siblings or dad again. The room was silent. No one talked for what felt like an hour. Jerome taught me so much in such a simple way. Something that I have always taken for granted and hoped would always be there. In that short moment I gained the most appreciation for my family that I have ever felt before. How lucky I am to have them. I will never take that for granted for another second of my life. So a few days after the family home evening, we found out that Jerome was kicked out of the house he had been staying at. The lady found out that missionaries had been teaching him about our church and told him he needed to stop listening to us. In the most proud voice I have ever heard, he said to us "I told her I want to learn more about Jesus Christ from you." Then he told us he doesn't stay at her house anymore. He chose the gospel, that he knows is true, over the basic necessities that he NEEDS. He is acting on his faith in the most bold way I can ever imagine. He is such a good example to me! He is again left without a home and food, but he knows the power of this gospel. He has such a strong testimony. Simple, but so powerful. This little boy has changed my life.

I LOVE THIS WORK. I LOVE being a missionary! Of course there are a lot of hard times. Satan likes to get at me and tries to make me realize all the hard things in life. But this work brings me too much happiness to let anything get me down! One thing I have learned here is that even though I can't pick and choose what trials I have or hard times I have, I can choose my ATTITUDE. And I shouldn't let anything, no matter how hard, get to that. Because I have learned that the mercy of God is enough. The hope of God's Son, Jesus Christ, is enough. When I give my absolute all, and then give more, He makes up for the rest. Part of this life is enduring the hard times with patience and a good attitude. The least I can do is show my happiness and gratitude for all He does for me. For the great calling I have to be a missionary. For the great opportunity I have to see my brothers and sisters here in the Philippines changing their lives. Right before my eyes. Gaining that real desire to learn more about the gospel. Because it is true. God's love is here for us no matter what. It is here when we are going through hard times, and it is here when we are going through the best of times. It is just always here. He is waiting for us to call upon Him. To fully rely and trust in Him with everything that we have. I have realized this more than ever. I have realized that I am nothing without Him. ESPECIALLY as a missionary. I am nothing without His Spirit to truly convert those I teach. That even though I can't speak the language as perfectly as I wish, these people will feel something different about the message I share. Because it is about Him. And His Son, Jesus Christ. And in this Christmas season, how important it is to remember that. The Spirit of Christ can bring hope. When all things are crazy and confusing in life, Christ's love is enough. That as we are striving to remember Him, and emulate His attributes, that is when we really discover our true selves. When we lose ourselves in the service of others, that is when we really find ourselves.

The Spirit of Christ is being selfless. It is giving without any intention or thought of receiving anything. It is relying on that peace that can only come through Him. It is learning more of Him and sharing it with those around us. It is really really striving our best to show charity to those around us. Christmas time is a time of charity. The PURE LOVE OF CHRIST. How great is His love and His mercy He shows to us always! May we always live in the Spirit of Christ, no matter what season it is.

I LOVE YOU ALL! I pray for you all. I really do hope you are doing well. Keep me updated with your lives :)

Mahal kita,

Sister Reategui

ps- here is a picture from the FHE with the Perez family :)