FAMILY!!!
Oh my goodness!! I LOVED the emails you sent this week. They were all of quality. So thank you. I think last Conference Elder Bednar talked about how members need to write missionaries...not just write, but write quality letters.... :) So thank you, it does mean a lot to me when you tell me stories in your life and things!
So...Sister S left on Monday and right now I have a temporary companion, Sister L from Valencia Branch. Her branch is in the same District. She is so great! She is just waiting for her mission call so she doesn't have work or anything. She is so awesome to come and help out the Cortes Branch. It's too bad she's not a real missionary here because I really like her!
And....drum roll, please.......I AM TRAINING! Crazy, right? Yes, cuh-razee. I'm not sure what my emotions are right now in this moment, haha. I always thought I would train when I was older in the mission. I am excited. I am nervous. It's going to be great. Maganak ko!! So yes tomorrow evening I will go with 2 of the elders from our Zone and then Friday Morning I will pick up my new companion, we'll have a training session, and we'll come back to Bohol together. President Schumtz told me I hit the mission record of 5 companions in 5 transfers! Haha, so true. I have had so many! But since I will be training I should finally have a companion for longer than 6 weeks. That will be nice.
So Cortes Branch....yes....it has been another hard week but I'm still kicking. I've had some awesome experiences in my personal study lately that have kept me going and helped me know what needs to be done in this area. We have had many a Less-active hide from us in these past days that all I do now is just laugh. What else am I supposed to do? We are also challenged because in our area they only have jeepneys (bus type things) in the mornings and early afternoons and our area is super duperly far away so we've had to study in the evenings instead. But some nights we just have no where to go because most of the Less-Actives live in the far away parts and there are only 3 members or so who live in walking distance from our apartment. So yes, after P-Day, in the evenings, it is always a success...haha. Anyway enough of my ranting.
We finally committed the long-time investigators to ask and pray about Joseph Smith, and they did it! They received an answer! But, they still do not want to be forced into being baptized....so we will continue to teach the doctrine, keep inviting, keep praying and I know the day will come when the Aquaviva family will be baptized.
Well family thanks for the emails. Also I received a package in Cebu so I will get it Friday...I hope it's the package from Nana. I'll let her know if it is from her.Thanks for your love and support. I am totally healthy now! And it might rain to day which means a break from this heat streak! Hallelujah!!! Thank you for your prayers, they have kept me going these past 6 weeks.
Love you lots,
Sister Nicole Trayner
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
I despise chickens
Every morning at exactly 4 o'clock in the morning our neighbor's chicken cock-a-doodle-dos. And every morning I groan as I throw my pillow over my face. Here in the Philippines they LOVE chickens. They buy chickens, feed them to get superly duperly plump and then you know, they kill it and eat it for a birthday or some other special celebration. So although we live in an apartment our neighbors still tie up their chickens outside. There are chickens EVERYWHERE. And I have come to despise them. They are so, so, loud. I just always want to go talk to our neighbors and say, "I sure hope your chicken is more delicious than the sleep I could have had!"
Anyway, hello family!!! I hope you've had a great week. Thank you to those of you who wrote me. I love getting emails!
Also,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MADELEINE!!! I can't believe you are 5 years old, Maddie! I miss you a lot and I hope you have a great birthday! Go get some Rita's!!
Today is going to be such a wonderful day. We are going to Chocolate Hills and we are going to see some Tarsiers! Hopefully I'll be able to hold one!! They are the cutest little monkey things ever! I am very excited. I love Bohol!
I have recovered from my mysterious virus....after I wrote last week I spoke too soon because Thursday and Friday I broke out in rashes EVERYWHERE and it looked as if I had some kind of skin disease. But I am fine now. It was seriously the strangest thing that has ever happened to me.
We weren't able to teach very much last week due to my virus thingy....in fact I can't even think of any interesting stories. On Monday we had a Service Project and the elders killed a yellow poisonous snake...that was interesting and a little bit frightening to watch! Some members of another branch are going to transfer their house to a new plot of land so we just cleared the land of trees and plants and things. I just always laugh because I know the Lord sent me here to learn to be comfortable in the outdoors. I never was much of an outdoorsy person before! But now it's great.
My companion is going home next week and I will have another temporary companion! I don't know her yet because she is from a different branch so I hope she is normal and that she is ready to work, work, work! She'll be my companion Monday to Friday when my new companion will come. I've had so many companions! I just hope I'll have my next one for more than 6 weeks. We'll just have to wait and see.
This past week I've been thinking a lot about prayer. Here in the Cortes Branch we have taught so many less-actives who have told us that they never even prayed to know if the church was true or if Joseph Smith was a true prophet. And each time I am just shocked. How did they pass their baptismal interview??? Why were they baptized if they never even prayed? But it is the same for us as active members of the church. It is important that we are always doing our part to obtain a testimony and that we are always praying to know. If we read our scriptures, we should ask to know if what we have read is true. Every time we read or hear a talk by President Monson we should pray to know if he is a true prophet. We should always be asking because then we will always be receiving answers and reassurance. So my challenge for all of you is do to just that. Read, Ponder, and Pray/Ask.
This area is still full of challenges but I am learning to love it no matter what. Come what may and love it :) i have learned so much this past transfer and I am so grateful for the things i have learned. I hope that all is well back at home and that you are all happy! I pray for all of you all of the time.
love you lots,
your filipina sista
Anyway, hello family!!! I hope you've had a great week. Thank you to those of you who wrote me. I love getting emails!
Also,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MADELEINE!!! I can't believe you are 5 years old, Maddie! I miss you a lot and I hope you have a great birthday! Go get some Rita's!!
Today is going to be such a wonderful day. We are going to Chocolate Hills and we are going to see some Tarsiers! Hopefully I'll be able to hold one!! They are the cutest little monkey things ever! I am very excited. I love Bohol!
I have recovered from my mysterious virus....after I wrote last week I spoke too soon because Thursday and Friday I broke out in rashes EVERYWHERE and it looked as if I had some kind of skin disease. But I am fine now. It was seriously the strangest thing that has ever happened to me.
We weren't able to teach very much last week due to my virus thingy....in fact I can't even think of any interesting stories. On Monday we had a Service Project and the elders killed a yellow poisonous snake...that was interesting and a little bit frightening to watch! Some members of another branch are going to transfer their house to a new plot of land so we just cleared the land of trees and plants and things. I just always laugh because I know the Lord sent me here to learn to be comfortable in the outdoors. I never was much of an outdoorsy person before! But now it's great.
My companion is going home next week and I will have another temporary companion! I don't know her yet because she is from a different branch so I hope she is normal and that she is ready to work, work, work! She'll be my companion Monday to Friday when my new companion will come. I've had so many companions! I just hope I'll have my next one for more than 6 weeks. We'll just have to wait and see.
This past week I've been thinking a lot about prayer. Here in the Cortes Branch we have taught so many less-actives who have told us that they never even prayed to know if the church was true or if Joseph Smith was a true prophet. And each time I am just shocked. How did they pass their baptismal interview??? Why were they baptized if they never even prayed? But it is the same for us as active members of the church. It is important that we are always doing our part to obtain a testimony and that we are always praying to know. If we read our scriptures, we should ask to know if what we have read is true. Every time we read or hear a talk by President Monson we should pray to know if he is a true prophet. We should always be asking because then we will always be receiving answers and reassurance. So my challenge for all of you is do to just that. Read, Ponder, and Pray/Ask.
This area is still full of challenges but I am learning to love it no matter what. Come what may and love it :) i have learned so much this past transfer and I am so grateful for the things i have learned. I hope that all is well back at home and that you are all happy! I pray for all of you all of the time.
love you lots,
your filipina sista
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Jungle Fever
Hello my dearests!
So yes, I thought of my subject line while I laid in bed ALL DAY yesterday. We're not sure what I was sick with but Sister Schmutz thinks it was a mild form of Dengue Fever. So I was banished to my bed for a whole day and let me tell you what...I pray that NEVER happens again. Fevers are not fun here in the Philippines. I was seriously on a roller coaster of heat to sweating it all out for days...it wasn't fun :( But I am doing much better now, thank goodness.
Also, before I forget...Thanks Emily for sending me a package! WOW! (Rach please let her know I got it) I loved the watch and the earrings and most of all the letters and pictures from back home. I have the best friends :)
We continued to plug a long this week in Cortes....last Friday morning we had only 2 lessons for the whole week. I was so discouraged and thought to myself, "well this seems impossible!" Anyway, I had a heart-to-heart with my scriptures and Heavenly Father and things worked out. We ended up teaching 17 more lessons in 3 days. We also had an investigator family come back who we thought were far gone...and they went to church (well the mom and daughter) I've learned a lot about faith this week. And this area is going to take A LOT A LOT A LOT of faith.
We had Zone Conference on Monday and it was fantastic. President Schumtz talked about being set-apart and I just realized that while I am an ordinary person I have been set-apart to do extraordinary things and so I need to remember that! It was a great meeting and of course I just loved seeing the Schmutzs. They are my favorite.
Today we have a District Activity to a Bee Farm and also we are going to some caves. Should be pretty cool!
A new senior couple arrived for our District this week and I am so excited!!! SENIOR COUPLES ARE THE BEST!!!! They are so sweet, Elder and Sister Jacob from Orem. They don't live to far away from us and they have already been such a great help. I don't even hesitate when thinking about serving a mission with my husband in the future. It is a definite YES.
None of you had much news in your letters so I hope that all is well and that life is happy. Hopefully Zach's visa gets here pretty soon. I can't believe how long he has been waiting! Yikes.
This week I finished reading the Book of Alma and I love the story about Moroni and Pahoran. Moroni was so angry at Pahoran because they weren't receiving any help from the government and he wrote a very, very, very angry letter to him. But I love Pahoran's response. He wasn't angry at all. It is so clear he chose to look at things from both perspectives. Life is what you make of it. And full of responses. I hope we can all choose to be more like Pahoran. Choose to not be offended. Choose to react in a calm matter. Life is made up of reactions!
Love you all,
Nicole
So yes, I thought of my subject line while I laid in bed ALL DAY yesterday. We're not sure what I was sick with but Sister Schmutz thinks it was a mild form of Dengue Fever. So I was banished to my bed for a whole day and let me tell you what...I pray that NEVER happens again. Fevers are not fun here in the Philippines. I was seriously on a roller coaster of heat to sweating it all out for days...it wasn't fun :( But I am doing much better now, thank goodness.
Also, before I forget...Thanks Emily for sending me a package! WOW! (Rach please let her know I got it) I loved the watch and the earrings and most of all the letters and pictures from back home. I have the best friends :)
We continued to plug a long this week in Cortes....last Friday morning we had only 2 lessons for the whole week. I was so discouraged and thought to myself, "well this seems impossible!" Anyway, I had a heart-to-heart with my scriptures and Heavenly Father and things worked out. We ended up teaching 17 more lessons in 3 days. We also had an investigator family come back who we thought were far gone...and they went to church (well the mom and daughter) I've learned a lot about faith this week. And this area is going to take A LOT A LOT A LOT of faith.
We had Zone Conference on Monday and it was fantastic. President Schumtz talked about being set-apart and I just realized that while I am an ordinary person I have been set-apart to do extraordinary things and so I need to remember that! It was a great meeting and of course I just loved seeing the Schmutzs. They are my favorite.
Today we have a District Activity to a Bee Farm and also we are going to some caves. Should be pretty cool!
A new senior couple arrived for our District this week and I am so excited!!! SENIOR COUPLES ARE THE BEST!!!! They are so sweet, Elder and Sister Jacob from Orem. They don't live to far away from us and they have already been such a great help. I don't even hesitate when thinking about serving a mission with my husband in the future. It is a definite YES.
None of you had much news in your letters so I hope that all is well and that life is happy. Hopefully Zach's visa gets here pretty soon. I can't believe how long he has been waiting! Yikes.
This week I finished reading the Book of Alma and I love the story about Moroni and Pahoran. Moroni was so angry at Pahoran because they weren't receiving any help from the government and he wrote a very, very, very angry letter to him. But I love Pahoran's response. He wasn't angry at all. It is so clear he chose to look at things from both perspectives. Life is what you make of it. And full of responses. I hope we can all choose to be more like Pahoran. Choose to not be offended. Choose to react in a calm matter. Life is made up of reactions!
Love you all,
Nicole
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Nagantus ko sa pagkagwapa (I"m suffering of beautifulness...)
Oh family, I don't even know where to begin about this week. There is just one word to describe it: HUMBLING.
My area keeps proving itself to be very challenging. We'll just put it that way. All of the investigators from the elders have all stopped progressing and basically all have stopped listening. We've traveled for 30 minutes in our area and then hiked for 30 more minutes only to be turned away or find that no one is home. Our branch is so small so therefore our Less-Active pool is much smaller than average so we've been given permission to do tracting...which has of yet to yield any rewards....We've had record amounts of people hide from us.....but the work goes on! Let's just say I've been praying and reading my scriptures at every opportunity.
On Monday we had a Community Service Project with our District which was really fun. We made brooms out of the leaves of Palm Trees....you take of the leafy part and use the branchy part for the broom. And we also wove tree leaves into roofs. It was really cool! Then of course they climbed up the coconut trees and got some coconuts! We drank the coconut juice and ate the yummy meat inside :) It was very Filipino so I loved it! I'll miss those coconuts when I get home!
I do have some good news to report...that we haven't been as lost! Also some sad news: Elder Bednar's trip here was cancelled :( So sad! Also some other great news: There are still mangoes here in the Philippines. As an elder here once told me, "A mango a day keeps Satan away" Haha...so true! At least I've got those mangoes to keep me going...haha!
Well all is well here. We have Zone Conference on Monday so I am excited to see President and Sister Schmutz. I just love zone gatherings. It is so fun to see all of the missionaries and also I just learn so much! Being a missionary is great. It is as if my learning ability has quickened here on the mission. I love it!
I hope that you are all reading your scriptures...especially the Book of Mormon! I know it is the word of God and that if we apply it in our lives we will be blessed. The Book of Mormon has such great converting power that in order for one to be fully converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ they need to read, study, and ponder it! I know we will come closer to the Savior Jesus Christ through our searching the scriptures. Make it a goal to read every day---even if you are so busy that you can only read for 5 minutes. Just do it :)
I love you all and think of you often. Thank you for the support that you've given me and for all of your prayers. I hope that all is well and that America is kickin' trash in the Olympics :)
Love
Sister Trayner
My area keeps proving itself to be very challenging. We'll just put it that way. All of the investigators from the elders have all stopped progressing and basically all have stopped listening. We've traveled for 30 minutes in our area and then hiked for 30 more minutes only to be turned away or find that no one is home. Our branch is so small so therefore our Less-Active pool is much smaller than average so we've been given permission to do tracting...which has of yet to yield any rewards....We've had record amounts of people hide from us.....but the work goes on! Let's just say I've been praying and reading my scriptures at every opportunity.
On Monday we had a Community Service Project with our District which was really fun. We made brooms out of the leaves of Palm Trees....you take of the leafy part and use the branchy part for the broom. And we also wove tree leaves into roofs. It was really cool! Then of course they climbed up the coconut trees and got some coconuts! We drank the coconut juice and ate the yummy meat inside :) It was very Filipino so I loved it! I'll miss those coconuts when I get home!
I do have some good news to report...that we haven't been as lost! Also some sad news: Elder Bednar's trip here was cancelled :( So sad! Also some other great news: There are still mangoes here in the Philippines. As an elder here once told me, "A mango a day keeps Satan away" Haha...so true! At least I've got those mangoes to keep me going...haha!
Well all is well here. We have Zone Conference on Monday so I am excited to see President and Sister Schmutz. I just love zone gatherings. It is so fun to see all of the missionaries and also I just learn so much! Being a missionary is great. It is as if my learning ability has quickened here on the mission. I love it!
I hope that you are all reading your scriptures...especially the Book of Mormon! I know it is the word of God and that if we apply it in our lives we will be blessed. The Book of Mormon has such great converting power that in order for one to be fully converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ they need to read, study, and ponder it! I know we will come closer to the Savior Jesus Christ through our searching the scriptures. Make it a goal to read every day---even if you are so busy that you can only read for 5 minutes. Just do it :)
I love you all and think of you often. Thank you for the support that you've given me and for all of your prayers. I hope that all is well and that America is kickin' trash in the Olympics :)
Love
Sister Trayner
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