Hello! This is Sister Dilag. I will be serving in the California Sacramento Mission (Official Assignment) and the Philippines San Pablo Mission (Temporary Assignment.)
I am giving you weekly updates! I hope this finds you entertaining.
Heads up! This week was interesting. I start to see improvements and changes I was expecting in the mission.
Teaching
I had a great week! We had the opportunity to teach two families: Atonducan and Pullo Family. The Atonducan Family is a family of four and we taught them, “The Plan of Salvation.” The Pullo Family is a family of dozen and we taught them, “The Book of Mormon.” Both of these families were consistent on their commitments. These commitments were to Pray, Read and Ponder. It touched my heart dearly.
Another person we taught this week was a Sister and her Grandpa (in his mid 60s), the Nagrampa Family. I had a soft spot for them. Both her and her grandpa are willing to do the commitments, everyday!
Challenges
We had an on and off relationship with this one Investigator, hehe. The investigator couldn’t answer the phone call. I had to wait for an hour and call again, but couldn’t answer. It was frustrating. I forgot the effective approach in the mission. I realized we need to fast and pray for this person. And it works!
Zone
Geez, Laguna is not getting better. It gets sicker as it is. The virus was too much, that it gradually spread the entire zone. We went out ‘panic buying’ necessities. We saw a few of our zone missionaries.
We happen to stop by the Sisters in our zone. It was great to see Sister Pangan and Sister Badajos getting the hang of things. They finally went out! Sister Guzman and I had a hard time delivering food necessities for them before. I’m glad they went out for a stroll!
I saw my ‘nanay’ in the mission Sister Gonzales (STL). I missed her. She’ll be home by, next month! She happens to be with Sister Gaspar and Sister Barcarse. They look great! I am so happy to see them healthy and safe.
We happen to pass by, Elder Lopez and Elder Nisperos. We had no clue they were ‘panic buying.’ I wasn’t able to see Elder Galang and Elder Raguinan. Sister Guzman and I had to bounce-off!
District
Surprisingly, we don’t have a decent photo (ooOops). We had District Council Meeting! We focus on our teaching goals this week.
Ward
San Pablo 3A is down to earth ‘humble.’ I love the members and their interaction with us! Everytime we pop ourselves virtually, and they would ask our thoughts. They love missionaries!
Language
This week I want to focus on some fun stuff we’ve been doing. I got a new word, I often say everyday! It’s, Thank you! In Ilocano you’ll say, “Agyaman ti adu.” In Bisaya, “Daghang salamat.” In Tagalog, “Maraming salamat!” Well in Spanish you’ll say, “Muchas gracias, Hermana.” (or Hermano). It’s silent “H” hehe.
Devotional
I had a great devotional too! I bet you listen to Elder Jorg Klebingat’s talk. It’s profound and edifying! I got caught up by his emphasis on, “Pain of Discipline and Pain of Regret.” He encourage missionaries to stay in the mission and become an expert. Two words wrapped up in the mission, ‘Faithful and Competent.’ It was an exquisite talk, give it a listen!
You can also read another talk of Jorg Klebingat on the Gospel Library App, “Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence.” (October 2014, General Conference). I recommend it! I read it yesterday, and it was the best.
There you go, I hope it made your day! Send pictures and your whereabouts. I would love to read and see!
Love,
Sister Jeth Haines Dilag