Hi family.....Maayong Pasko (Merry Christmas!!)
Just so you know I will be calling Christmas Eve at 8PM Texas time. I was able to sign into my skype account...Sisternicoletrayner, so make sure you are online and let's hope there aren't any internet problems in this part of the world....
We had great success last week when 3 less active members came back to church for the first time!! So exciting. They have all been pretty hard headed and so it made us so excited and happy to finally see them come to church. The work here is so great and we have so many people to teach that the other week we asked President Schmutz if they could put in another companionship here...which looks like they will be doing in the next couple of transfers. I was talking to my companion the other day and it just seems that Heavenly Father is throwing investigators at us left and right and we are struggling to teach them all because we have so many less actives! And our area is so big so that's another obstacle. This area is on the brink of exploding and we are excited...especially if 4 missionaries will be assigned here....the work will just go "BOOM!"
We have so many things to do these next few days and I think I'll just wake up and it'll be the middle of January. On Friday we have our Branch Christmas party and so are busy inviting all of the less-actives and investigators to come. We have been putting forth an extra effort to find fellowshippers for them and so far it's been great to have members work with us...it is much more effective. On Saturday we have a missionary Christmas party/devotional and I am excited :) My companion has a great voice so we'll be singing some Christmas duets....(oh how I wish I could find a viola or violin here!!)
It has been rainy here lately which makes missionary work even more exciting!! We are sliding around in the mud and yesterday night my companion just totally biffed it. I love my mission!
I really like this area here and I am hoping to finish my mission here (haha...the chances are not high!) and the branch is so great. There are great leaders and people are really willing to work. I am sad I never worked with the missionaries before my mission....(but in Utah you have to like hunt them down because they are assigned to so many wards!) I have really found a love for missionary work and I hope that all of you are fulfilling your duties in Home and Visiting Teaching....and your callings. It is so important that we help build up God's kingdom here on earth and that we help our brothers and sisters!
I am so happy that it is Christmas time. This is the best time of the year :) I am so grateful to be serving a mission right now- I am learning about what really is important and I am grateful for this time to come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that you all will take the time to remember what Christmas is really about and what Christ did for all of us.
Have a great time (don't stress to much in that last moment Christmas shopping, DAD!) and enjoy yourselves this Christmas! Next year, we will all be together :)
Love you
Sister Trayner
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
happy 12.12.12
Hi family!
Thanks for your emails this past week. Don't worry, every one here is fine. I am sad to hear about the losses on the other islands but overall Negros is fine and recovered. There were just a lot of fallen trees but all is well.
I feel like I don't have much to tell this week....Last Saturday we had Zone Conference which was great and I learned a lot. It's always so wonderful to learn from other missionaries and President and Sister Schmutz.
It's super hot in this internet cafe and i'm having a hard time focusing...so sorry if this email is kind of lame.
We had a less-active member come back to church for the first time and I was SO surprised. The missionaries have been visiting her for almost a year and at first she was super hard headed. She has been offended by many members (now remember....being offended is a choice) and just forgot why we go to church each week. We don't go to socialize, we go to partake of the sacrament and to learn. We taught her a lesson and I feel that our boldness what exact enough that she came to realize she needed to come back to the church. Her family are all less active members so hopefully they will all follow. It was so great to see her at church. I LOVE RESCUING LESS ACTIVES! It is the best feeling ever---I am so grateful to be serving a mission here in the Philippines where we focus so much on the less-actives.
We were able to watch the Christmas Devotional and it was great. I was reminded of how magical this time of year is in Utah! The snow, the concerts, the music, the food....but I am grateful to be here in the Philippines. The people here go caroling and it's so funny. I love hearing them sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" in their cute Filipino accents!!! This is a great time of year and a time to remember our Savior Jesus Christ.
I have started to read the Book of Mormon again and I am loving it. Reading the scriptures is so great, especially on the mission. You just learn so much...your brain is like a sponge! I have learned a lot from the example of Nephi. For 8 years he and his family wandered in the wilderness only to arrive at the land Bountiful- a place so wonderful when compared to the wilderness! In the wilderness they had experienced so many trials and in Bountiful they were living the life! Only a few days after arriving, the Lord called Nephi to the mountain and told him to build a ship. Can you imagine? you have suffered so many trials for such a long time and the Lord asks you to leave your comfort zone and go through another trial? This is just how are lives are. We pass through a time of trial and finally find ourselves at peace, a resting time of sorts, when all of the sudden another trial comes. We need to be more like Nephi, trusting in the Lord and going and doing. He didn't ask, "Why do I need to build a ship when where we are IS the promised land?" He had such faith and trust in the Lord. I am reminded of the quote by Elder Scott that says when we have trials that aren't results of our bad choices they are just evidence that the Lord is wanting to stretch us and polish us a little more. I know that the Lord has a plan for everyone of us and our trials are part of his plan. but if we become more like Nephi and trust in the Lord life will be better. It's much more enjoyable to be like Nephi than to be like Laman and Lemuel- always complaining!!
I love you family, a lot! You are the best. Once again, if you want a scripture case, let me know if you have regular or mini sized scriptures and i will order some for you!! ALSO--- y'all need to decide when I can call you? I have no idea what the time difference is....but i can skype on christmas eve or christmas, Philippines time. I will need to know by next Tuesday....so that i can know what time to get on!! so decide, ok?
LOVE YOU ALL< HAVE A GREAT WEEK
Sister Trayner
Thanks for your emails this past week. Don't worry, every one here is fine. I am sad to hear about the losses on the other islands but overall Negros is fine and recovered. There were just a lot of fallen trees but all is well.
I feel like I don't have much to tell this week....Last Saturday we had Zone Conference which was great and I learned a lot. It's always so wonderful to learn from other missionaries and President and Sister Schmutz.
It's super hot in this internet cafe and i'm having a hard time focusing...so sorry if this email is kind of lame.
We had a less-active member come back to church for the first time and I was SO surprised. The missionaries have been visiting her for almost a year and at first she was super hard headed. She has been offended by many members (now remember....being offended is a choice) and just forgot why we go to church each week. We don't go to socialize, we go to partake of the sacrament and to learn. We taught her a lesson and I feel that our boldness what exact enough that she came to realize she needed to come back to the church. Her family are all less active members so hopefully they will all follow. It was so great to see her at church. I LOVE RESCUING LESS ACTIVES! It is the best feeling ever---I am so grateful to be serving a mission here in the Philippines where we focus so much on the less-actives.
We were able to watch the Christmas Devotional and it was great. I was reminded of how magical this time of year is in Utah! The snow, the concerts, the music, the food....but I am grateful to be here in the Philippines. The people here go caroling and it's so funny. I love hearing them sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" in their cute Filipino accents!!! This is a great time of year and a time to remember our Savior Jesus Christ.
I have started to read the Book of Mormon again and I am loving it. Reading the scriptures is so great, especially on the mission. You just learn so much...your brain is like a sponge! I have learned a lot from the example of Nephi. For 8 years he and his family wandered in the wilderness only to arrive at the land Bountiful- a place so wonderful when compared to the wilderness! In the wilderness they had experienced so many trials and in Bountiful they were living the life! Only a few days after arriving, the Lord called Nephi to the mountain and told him to build a ship. Can you imagine? you have suffered so many trials for such a long time and the Lord asks you to leave your comfort zone and go through another trial? This is just how are lives are. We pass through a time of trial and finally find ourselves at peace, a resting time of sorts, when all of the sudden another trial comes. We need to be more like Nephi, trusting in the Lord and going and doing. He didn't ask, "Why do I need to build a ship when where we are IS the promised land?" He had such faith and trust in the Lord. I am reminded of the quote by Elder Scott that says when we have trials that aren't results of our bad choices they are just evidence that the Lord is wanting to stretch us and polish us a little more. I know that the Lord has a plan for everyone of us and our trials are part of his plan. but if we become more like Nephi and trust in the Lord life will be better. It's much more enjoyable to be like Nephi than to be like Laman and Lemuel- always complaining!!
I love you family, a lot! You are the best. Once again, if you want a scripture case, let me know if you have regular or mini sized scriptures and i will order some for you!! ALSO--- y'all need to decide when I can call you? I have no idea what the time difference is....but i can skype on christmas eve or christmas, Philippines time. I will need to know by next Tuesday....so that i can know what time to get on!! so decide, ok?
LOVE YOU ALL< HAVE A GREAT WEEK
Sister Trayner
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Nakasurvive ko sa bagiuo!!
Hi family!!!
Oh my goodness gracious. I AM ALIVE!!!!
Haha, okay, I just like being dramatic. So were any of you worried about me and the crazy typhoon? Looks like Rachel and Nate knew about it but Dad had no idea when he wrote to me about the weather of his mission and the weather of Zach's mission! Way to not check the weather for the Philippines, haha.
So we found out a big storm (baguio) was heading to the Visayas on Sunday night because we ran into a member and she was literally freaking out. Hardly ever do typhoons hit this part of the Philippines...usually they turn up and hit the northern part by Manila and so when they found out this storm was predicted to be bigger than one last year which caused a lot a lot of damage every one was really worried. We were able to go and buy 72 hour kit stuff at the store after District Meeting on Monday and buy everything we would need--- living in a 3rd world country in time of a natural disaster is a crazy thing! We were told the storm was a 3 out of 4 level storm and that it was aiming for Negros. We were advised to not leave our apartments after 12 pm on Tuesday.
So.....Tuesday morning we went to work early and taught some lessons and as we were returning home it got CRAZY!!!! Oh my gosh, I was laughing so hard because the rain was just pouring and the wind was just blowing us around. A hobby of the Filippino men here is that when there is a storm, many coconuts fall from the trees (free coconuts!! yay!) and they all run to claim the free coconuts...yes, it was entertaining for me to watch but heavens! If one of those falls on you, you will die. So we made it home safe and sound. As we were eating lunch, the power went out. (meaning...no electric fan....meaning....death by heat in the Philippines) Let's just say for the next 6 hours or so we sat in complete darkness and watched the storm rip apart trees. It was the craziest thing ever! Thankfully the rain wasn't to heavy. But that wind! The storm lasted a long time but the winds only 2 hours or so. My companion has seen many storms and so she was calm about it all while I was just amazed! We didn't really have anything to do (down time as a missionary is the WORST) so we sang all the Christmas songs from the hymn book. Also my flashlight wasn't working so we used candles.
Tuesday night was a very hot night (like I said, no electric fan here=death) and when we woke up, NO WATER. We had filled up buckets of water but my patience was tried when I entered our bathroom to find that my companion had used our stored water to wash her clothes. Now talk about a trial of patience! We had drinking water but no water to wash dishes or take a shower with! Ahh! It was PDay so we headed to the mall (which all of Dumaguete decided to do as well---there's air conditioning and electricity there!!) and our Zone Leaders brought us water from their house. So kind. As they were doing so, we were so kindly informed by our neighbors that there was a bomba (water well) not too far away. So this is my favorite thing. In true Filippina style we went and pumped up our own water and hand washed our clothes. It was so great!
There isn't too much damage here....the most damage is by the ocean where the storm pushed a waiting area/boat station into the cement wall and up onto the road. Don't mess with tsunamis! A lot of trees are down and are now naked. But mostly the buildings are fine. We were really worried about the poor people here because their houses and roofs are just made out of leaves and things....some of them flew away but for the most part, the houses here survived.
So for more than 24 hours the whole city was out of electricity. It was pretty creepy walking home. When we got home on Wednesday night (I forced myself to sing "Count your Blessings" every time I wanted to complain) we were getting ready for bed and BOOM!! The electricity came on!! I cried happy, happy tears of joy as I came to the realization that my dearest friend, the electric fan, would be with me the whole night. As far as we know, our little apartment building was one of the first places to receive electricity. The Senior couple here told our neighbors to be thankful they had sister missionaries as their neighbors! Our water came back and I celebrated by taking a nice cold bucket shower.
We haven't been able to email until now due to no electricity in the city and also no internet connection. But I am glad to say that I SURVIVED A TSUNAMI!! I'm thankful for the lessons I learned from living through this...boy, was my patience was tried! It was a crazy experience and it was actually kind of fun to "go camping" here, haha.... As far as we know, Negros was hit the hardest and the storm wasn't super strong in Cebu or Bohol. I hope there wasn't too much damage. We heard today that another baguio is heading its way here, let's hope not. A missionary can handle only so much down time!
Our area is doing great and I really like it here. The branch here is actually the most functioning one I've been assigned to. The Branch President is great and the members are too. It is really close to becoming a ward and stake here! I love being out here with all the lizards and frogs and cows and goats! I forgot how great it is while I was in the city! The people are super nice and super welcoming to us here- we are welcome in their home any time and any day (a difference from the city) and the people of Negros are very receptive to other religions (they're not all just Catholic) We walk super far which is leading to some pain but I'll be careful.
My companion is so good to me and cooks me lots of yummy food and she will eat brown rice (I'm trying to avoid that starchy white rice as much as possible) and she is so kind. If you forgot, her name is Sister Abundo. I can just feel she will be transferred. A good thing can only last so long :)
I am so grateful I decided to serve a mission. As I look back, I am such a different person. I have learned so much! I have come to LOVE reading my scriptures here on my mission. I wish I could have personal study for 3 or more hours each day! I have such a strong testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have also been reading the New Testament which is so wonderful. But there is something so different and special about the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi 9:6 it says, "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen" Nephi didn't know why he was to make the records but he did it anyway because he had faith in God. I know whatever we are asked to do as members of his Church there will be a way prepared for us. We may not understand the "why" to everything but I know that God has all wisdom. I know we are all children of our loving Heavenly Father. We are so blessed in our family. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family. I love you all!!
Love
Sister Trayner
PS----if you'd like a really cool scripture case Filipino style let me know what size your scriptures are....if they are regular size or if you have a mini...
Oh my goodness gracious. I AM ALIVE!!!!
Haha, okay, I just like being dramatic. So were any of you worried about me and the crazy typhoon? Looks like Rachel and Nate knew about it but Dad had no idea when he wrote to me about the weather of his mission and the weather of Zach's mission! Way to not check the weather for the Philippines, haha.
So we found out a big storm (baguio) was heading to the Visayas on Sunday night because we ran into a member and she was literally freaking out. Hardly ever do typhoons hit this part of the Philippines...usually they turn up and hit the northern part by Manila and so when they found out this storm was predicted to be bigger than one last year which caused a lot a lot of damage every one was really worried. We were able to go and buy 72 hour kit stuff at the store after District Meeting on Monday and buy everything we would need--- living in a 3rd world country in time of a natural disaster is a crazy thing! We were told the storm was a 3 out of 4 level storm and that it was aiming for Negros. We were advised to not leave our apartments after 12 pm on Tuesday.
So.....Tuesday morning we went to work early and taught some lessons and as we were returning home it got CRAZY!!!! Oh my gosh, I was laughing so hard because the rain was just pouring and the wind was just blowing us around. A hobby of the Filippino men here is that when there is a storm, many coconuts fall from the trees (free coconuts!! yay!) and they all run to claim the free coconuts...yes, it was entertaining for me to watch but heavens! If one of those falls on you, you will die. So we made it home safe and sound. As we were eating lunch, the power went out. (meaning...no electric fan....meaning....death by heat in the Philippines) Let's just say for the next 6 hours or so we sat in complete darkness and watched the storm rip apart trees. It was the craziest thing ever! Thankfully the rain wasn't to heavy. But that wind! The storm lasted a long time but the winds only 2 hours or so. My companion has seen many storms and so she was calm about it all while I was just amazed! We didn't really have anything to do (down time as a missionary is the WORST) so we sang all the Christmas songs from the hymn book. Also my flashlight wasn't working so we used candles.
Tuesday night was a very hot night (like I said, no electric fan here=death) and when we woke up, NO WATER. We had filled up buckets of water but my patience was tried when I entered our bathroom to find that my companion had used our stored water to wash her clothes. Now talk about a trial of patience! We had drinking water but no water to wash dishes or take a shower with! Ahh! It was PDay so we headed to the mall (which all of Dumaguete decided to do as well---there's air conditioning and electricity there!!) and our Zone Leaders brought us water from their house. So kind. As they were doing so, we were so kindly informed by our neighbors that there was a bomba (water well) not too far away. So this is my favorite thing. In true Filippina style we went and pumped up our own water and hand washed our clothes. It was so great!
There isn't too much damage here....the most damage is by the ocean where the storm pushed a waiting area/boat station into the cement wall and up onto the road. Don't mess with tsunamis! A lot of trees are down and are now naked. But mostly the buildings are fine. We were really worried about the poor people here because their houses and roofs are just made out of leaves and things....some of them flew away but for the most part, the houses here survived.
So for more than 24 hours the whole city was out of electricity. It was pretty creepy walking home. When we got home on Wednesday night (I forced myself to sing "Count your Blessings" every time I wanted to complain) we were getting ready for bed and BOOM!! The electricity came on!! I cried happy, happy tears of joy as I came to the realization that my dearest friend, the electric fan, would be with me the whole night. As far as we know, our little apartment building was one of the first places to receive electricity. The Senior couple here told our neighbors to be thankful they had sister missionaries as their neighbors! Our water came back and I celebrated by taking a nice cold bucket shower.
We haven't been able to email until now due to no electricity in the city and also no internet connection. But I am glad to say that I SURVIVED A TSUNAMI!! I'm thankful for the lessons I learned from living through this...boy, was my patience was tried! It was a crazy experience and it was actually kind of fun to "go camping" here, haha.... As far as we know, Negros was hit the hardest and the storm wasn't super strong in Cebu or Bohol. I hope there wasn't too much damage. We heard today that another baguio is heading its way here, let's hope not. A missionary can handle only so much down time!
Our area is doing great and I really like it here. The branch here is actually the most functioning one I've been assigned to. The Branch President is great and the members are too. It is really close to becoming a ward and stake here! I love being out here with all the lizards and frogs and cows and goats! I forgot how great it is while I was in the city! The people are super nice and super welcoming to us here- we are welcome in their home any time and any day (a difference from the city) and the people of Negros are very receptive to other religions (they're not all just Catholic) We walk super far which is leading to some pain but I'll be careful.
My companion is so good to me and cooks me lots of yummy food and she will eat brown rice (I'm trying to avoid that starchy white rice as much as possible) and she is so kind. If you forgot, her name is Sister Abundo. I can just feel she will be transferred. A good thing can only last so long :)
I am so grateful I decided to serve a mission. As I look back, I am such a different person. I have learned so much! I have come to LOVE reading my scriptures here on my mission. I wish I could have personal study for 3 or more hours each day! I have such a strong testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have also been reading the New Testament which is so wonderful. But there is something so different and special about the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi 9:6 it says, "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen" Nephi didn't know why he was to make the records but he did it anyway because he had faith in God. I know whatever we are asked to do as members of his Church there will be a way prepared for us. We may not understand the "why" to everything but I know that God has all wisdom. I know we are all children of our loving Heavenly Father. We are so blessed in our family. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family. I love you all!!
Love
Sister Trayner
PS----if you'd like a really cool scripture case Filipino style let me know what size your scriptures are....if they are regular size or if you have a mini...
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