8 minutes to write this.....

This week was so great and I wish I could fill you in on every little thing, but that would just take another week.

 

Highlights...

Matsumaru and Guion family time, I love visiting these people! We always have such a good time teaching them and answering their questions and helping them come unto Christ. Oh and singing, we love singing in our lessons with them and its always funny because we all share one or two hymn books so everyone is always on a different line of tune... and then we all just end up laughing and singing.

We also went over on Saturday for Hershey's 18th birthday, cause you know

it isnt a party until the missionaries show up

On Saturday we had Jannah's baptism!!! It was so wonderful and there were 4 baptisms total that day in our ward! Four souls that had a desire and acted upon it and are now dedicated to keep following Christ. And 3 of them were children, it just made me realize what a blessing it is to have the gospel young and to be able to have Christ as a foundation for life.

Side notes

-There is this thing here that everyone does to their hair, its called "rebond" and straightens you hair for like a year (yep talia you would love it) anyways my companion is trying to convince me to do it. Votes?

- Also everyone here uses whitening soap, lotion everythinggg. In the US we use tanning products, here it is whitening. I'm gonna need to tan for sure after the missioin since I've been using whitening soap so far #oops

-I ate fish eyeballs at dinner..they were delicious

-Mahe family reunion, is that really happening without me? Joke just send me lots of pictures!! So glad I'm a Mahe!

Going bowling with the ward missionaries and leader after this..

 

Oh and Read The Ostler's family blog..they are the coolest!

http://thephilippinesmanilamission.blogspot.com/

"Shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise."

Alma 37:45

I know this is true and that no matter what course our lives are currently on we can always get back, we can always come back unto Christ. I know this because I've read the scriptures and I try my very best everyday to live them. I know that Christ lives and I feel his love and I feel closer to him as I read the scriptures.

I love you all and hope this finds you happy and well,

Sister Mahe

Happy Days

This week has been great

Started off with FHE with the SA's in our ward and that was just good fun. 

On Tuesday I went on exchanges with Sister Chong-Nee and that was too much fun..haha joke but I love going on exchanges with Sister Chong-Nee. She reminds me of Hawaii..haha. They are shotgunning the area so its brand new, we walked a lot and knocked on lots of doors and big gates. Most people wouldn't open up for us but sister Chong-Nee says you just have to know some people will reject you but there's nothing wrong because... 

"blessings come after rejection."

Friday was Sister Falgui's birthday and we celebrated with dinner appointment after dinner appointment. Oh man we felt like dying at the end of the night- people are just too good to us sometimes. 

Saturday we helped with the stake mini-mtc and that was cool to teach a bunch of youth and get them excited about serving missions and being missionaries right now, we can all be missionaries right now.

Jannah also had her interview and she will be baptized next Saturday! Yay, she's way cooler than I was at 9 and knows so much about the gospel. We made her little cards with reminders about gospel principles and she was so excited to meet with us because she had been studying them all week! 

Oh and I taught Relief Society on Sunday..WHAT!!??

I just found out that morning. Reminded me of when dad would call me on Saturday nights to tell me I was speaking on Sunday. Good times.Good times. 

Today we had a family day activity at the church since its a holiday here. Haha

It was great we had an egg toss and it was a raw egg..we didn't know that and Sister Falgui caught one and it exploded on her. But our team won that game, so...worth it.  #champion

Life is great and I love being a missionary

Hope you all love what you are doing to, and if not remember the most wonderful thing about life is we can all change. Its is the very essence of the message of the gospel. 

xoxo

Sister Mahe

Today I'm Grateful for....

This has just been another great week.

Missions are great because you have really hard times and really good times but when you sit down to really think about things its like only good things have been happening. It a blessing and I'm grateful for it!

 

The legacy of the grateful circle:

So when I went to Tonga back in 2009 with the AYS group every night before prayer and scripture study we said one thing we were grateful for that day. I LOVE IT. So when I got home I made my family do it. I loved it and it always made us stop to think about our blessings and Gods hand in our day. My friends and I also did a group text with one grateful the summer before I came out on my mission. And in the MTC we did it as a district. I love the grateful circle...

 

And it never dies, this week I felt like we needed to do it with our investigators the Abit family. And it was wonderful, brother and sister where both there and one of their daughters and you can really tell a lot about a persons day by what they say when its their turn. Then you can know how to help.

 

Also lets be honest if you say "I can't think of anything, today was bad." You are lying. Bad days are no joke but there is always and I mean always something to be grateful for. Like that you are alive, that washing machines exist, music, shoes, sun, rain, the beach, family, friends, pets, new clothes, old clothes....seriously anything right?

 

I'm just glad I have parents who taught me to be grateful, to say please and especially to say thank you.

 

I am so grateful for the gospel and it overwhelms me to think of God's love for me and for each of you. Can you even fathom it? I really just can't. We read John 3:16 with one of our new investigators Wendy last week and asked her how it made her feel, she just said "Grateful, I don't really know how else to say it."

This week I'm grateful for the Matsumaru and Guion family and the love and spirit we feel there.Also grateful we sing hymns in their lessons and sang silent night last night. #MerryChristmas

 

I'm also grateful for Jannah who is only 9 and has such a strong desire to be baptized and never fails to think of us and bring us treats on Sunday.

 

Grateful to be a missionary always

 

I am so grateful that we have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us so much he gave us a plan so we could have

eternal peace and happiness.

xoxox,

Sister Mahe

Big Mac and BFF fries....

Haha its not really the subject of my email, just what we ate for lunch.

McDonalds delivers here and Sister Baraeta our housemate from Kiribati has never had Macdo before so it happened...

 

Anyways this week has been eventful and amazing!

I feel like I maybe say that every week and you don't really believe me, but honestly crazy things and miracles happen every.single.day out here.
 

On Monday we ate at the Albania's house and she made the most delicious lasagna. Spaghetti and stuff like that here is usually super sweet-but hers was like Italian style and it felt a little like home. The Albania family is the greatest, the are the definition of a missionary family. They always invite us to teach their friends and family, they work with us during the week, and alwaysss feed us. They are a blessing.
 

On Tuesday we sent off Sister Ram and had District meeting and they told us about the bagyo or typhoon that was coming and so our first priority needed to be getting our 72-hour kits ready and getting back to our apartment by 6pm. So we did. It was pretty calm that night.
 

On Wednesday we got a text at 5am telling us transfers were canceled and to stay inside until we received permission to leave. That's when the winds picked up. We lost power and water. So getting ready was an adventure. Luckily we have a generator so we had lights, just no water.

Around 2 we found our transfers would go on so we headed to the chapel!

Luckily there wasn't too much damage just lots of trees down and a few power lines.

And then we went to the mission home to meet our new missionaries!!!

I'm training Sister Falgui, she is a Filipina and super great! Really she is already a pro at this. Its funny because before we knew who we would be training while eating dinner she said, "I hope you'll be my trainer, you look kind" Hahah what can I say I have a kind face..jokes. Anyways it was fun to find out she is my anak here in the mission!

 

On Thursday the Elders delivered us two huge bags of food from the Malate Family-they are the best and always fill up our cabinets..like we don't even have to do shopping today #blessings

Keep feeding the missionaries mom and dad, We are getting the blessing!

Then Saturday

best.day.ever

Rose and Edwins Baptism

It was kind of magical and so beautiful.

To see this family enter the waters of baptism, they are converted to the gospel and have let Christ in their lives, they have let his love and Atonement change them.

I will forever be grateful for the prompting Sister Cobing, Sister Soifua and I had to stop and talk to them. It has been a miracle.

When Edwin bore his testimony, he said after he came out of the water it felt like God had given him a second chance.

Rose shared that after her first time at church she went home and said "Oh so this is how its suppose to feel" It is the spirit that touched her heart and led them to that day.

Oh and on Sunday 3 new investigators for us just "showed up at church" and want us to start teaching them.Can you say miracle?

Stay Good and Remember

" The key to anything is to keep an eternal perspective"
Sister Mahe
 

Transfer Days

Wow..suwerte kayo

It means you're lucky because....

two emails from Sister Mahe this week..I thought I send the email last week but guess I just wrote it and forgot to hit send.

This week has been great. We had fun following up with people we met that accepted return appointments. Brother Antonio is one, we went back and he said he has met missionaries from a lot of different faith and never lets them in, but when he saw us he saw his children. Another is Sister Sony who said she never lets missionaries in but said there was something different about us. And then Sister Raquel we met one day because we offered to help with her laundry, she didnt let us but let us come back and started crying when we read a verse in the Book of Mormon to her. I don't know what will happen with these people, but its amazing how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can open doors and hearts when nothing else could.

We did some service this week too, we help our investigators the Abit family make BBQ for their shop..hehe it was fun.
We also helped some of the single adults in our ward paint their new house a bunch of them moved into which is right next to our apartment. Its the best because sometimes on our way home they just tell us to come over and feed us. Its the greatest.

BIG NEWS:

Rose and Edwin are getting baptized this Saturday!!!! Ahhh

Feeling on cloud nine. It is just so amazing to see the gospel change lives and make good people better and fill everyone with happiness.

More pictures and their story next week....

Also I'm a nanay na! Which means I'm training, President Ostler called Friday night. He asked how I felt about getting a new missionary and I was just like "umm that would be fine" hahah but really as nervous as I am to train my excitement is greater. Probably because I had the best trainer ever (who goes home this week #weird)

Oh also Sister Cobing is going to Palawan..not in my last area but close and she will live in the house we use to be in #nandezlegacycontinues

Heres to a week full of baptisms, rain, and training newbies (I still feel like I'm a baby missionary)

XOXO

Sister Mahe

Stranger things have happened

Family and Friends

Hope you are all well and enjoying life. 

So like the subject says, stranger things have happened. Or maybe not because this week was pretty crazy.

I experienced my first earthquake ...dont worry mom and dad it was just a small one. We were teaching a part member family the Abongs and we were just sitting around outside and all the sudden it felt like someone was shaking all of our chairs. Its was super fast, needless to say we finished by teaching about prayer. 

And the next day it was raining super hard and all day. I went out with Sister Ram because Sister Cobing and Basulgan were sick. We had to take a side car into out area because it was flooding. And then once we got into our areas we realized we couldnt get into either one of them because the floods were so high...like waist deep. We were able to check on a few people but then had to go home because the floods were too high for us to be out in them. Me and sister Ram got a good laugh though cause the whole scene was crazy and we just had no idea what to do, like should we just swim to our next appointment? Sorry I forgot my camera, so until the next flood. 

And then we stopped by one of our part members house but she was busy. Then these two girls came up to us and said "hey those guys over there said they want to listen to you" So all you missionaries out there know you act on those kind of things! It was funny they were super interested but only work here in Makati, so we referred the missionaries to them over there. And they bought us cokes and offered us jobs after our missions...haha like I said stranger things have happened. 

Anyways strange things happen cause life is just an adventure, and its an adventure that leads to the ultimate price of Eternal life with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I love the gospel and I love that I can walk with Christ everyday of my life. 

One of our investigators Maryvick told us " I know Christ is here, hes with you." 

  

"He is the silent listener in every conversation and the empty chair at every dinner table."

So we should probably always be on our best behavior

xoxo, 

Sister Mahe 

BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUTS

Lizzy- You are old now #grandma just kidding stay cool always shebanek

Taylor- Love ya! Hope its wonderful and you go to the beach and eat publix subs 

Kelsie- work it sister Thompson. you are the coolest sister ever! #areyoutrunkynow

America- You are amazing, no but really I will sing the star spangle banner and eat mac n cheese this friday! 

Days not to be forgotten

This week: 

So MTC splits was the coolest!!!! They are so sweet and full of excitement and they just love talking to everyone and using their Tagalog.I was like oh goodness this is what I should still be like. Everything is just exciting because its new, but shouldnt it always be. Me and Sister Cobing both agree we need to get back that new missionary fire. 

(Courtney, Nicole I we get to go when you get to the MTC) 

In the Philippines Manila mission, on Saturdays we have baptism. #itswhatwedo

And Meriden was BAPTIZED!!! Along with James who was taught by the Elders. 

So Bishop gave some amazing closing remarks, he drew resemblences from both Meriden and James

1. They have both been investigators for a long time, Meriden for about a year now she has been coming to church and just waiting for her father to be reactivated. James too who was suppose to be baptized last year and then the super typhoon came and he had to move. 

2. Neither of them had family members in attendance at the baptism. They came alone. But not really because with Christ we are never alone, and the ward was there and we really are just one big family. 

3. They are both young. Meriden 14 and James 18. They are still so young and yet they have chosen to make decisions in their lives now that will bless them eternally. They have chosen not to follow the crowd of what is popular but to be courageous and stand for whats right. 

Ahh it was just bliss, the world needs more Meriden and James. 

I've also been studying Elder Bednars talk "The Atonement" its insightful which is maybe why it took me all week to read. I love how he points out that the cleansing and healing power of the Atonement helps us go from bad to good people and the strengthening and enabling power allows us to go from good to better. 

I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ that has allowed me to become and do more than I ever could have with my own abilities or strength.

"When I think of the future, I am overwhelmed with feelings of positive optimism.."

- President Boyd K. Packer

When I think of the future I too am filled with positive optimisim and hope, because of the Atonement and the gospel. Because with Christ our futures are oh so BRIGHT! (honestly the are seriously so bright, even if they seem dark or hard now..hold one for good things to come) 

As President Stucki always says, 

"Its not about where we are, but about where were going."

Hanggan sa susunod (until next time) 

Sister Mahe