Changes Abound! Happy 2014!

Written on 1/5/14

Hello my loved ones!

I just finished reading all of your emails and goodness gracious, there is so much to be grateful for this week. You are all so wonderful and inspiring... I love you all so much.

This week has been a loooong week. It started with our New Years Eve...On NYE and New years day all the missionaries had to be in at 5 pm. We were all sitting in the kitchen washing laundry, where we got a dreaded phone call from the Assistants. Sister Fitz looked at the screen, then threw the phone and told me I had to answer it. I picked up and Elder Sablan asked for Sister Fitz. I handed her the phone again and watched as her face fell..... Emergency transfers. Needless to say, our New Years Eve was slightly dampened. We all cried a lot, but tried to have fun anyway. New Years Day we spent that night together as well, helping Sister pack and trying to enjoy our last time together.

Thursday we went to Galo for transfers and for my follow up training with President and Sister Lopez. My new companion is Sister Person! She was my Sister Training Leader in my district, and she is returning home a week from tomorrow. Weird! We had a really successful week together- lots of baptism dates given and.....

Sister G. was baptized on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The MOST best. She gave the cutest, simple and strong testimony after her baptism, and was just so bright and happy. What a lovely little thing she is. Her sister also accepted the invitation to be baptized. Baptisms for all! Whew. Love it. I'll try and get some pictures to you all.

I'm so glad my letters finally came! There are more coming, and I'll keep writing, but who knows when they'll all get there :) I love hearing about all your adventures and your vacation together! And your home projects, too, Mom :) Can't wait to see pictures of the progress!

In our follow up training President Lopez based his training on the videos featuring Elder Bednar and his talk "Spirit of Revelation". You should all go watch the video cycle! "Patterns of Light." There's 3 videos and they are so good. Only a few minutes each :) His talk is SO good, and if you have a few minutes, read that too. Here's a small excerpt from it:

"In many of the uncertainties and challenges we encounter in our lives, God requires us to do our best, to act and not be acted upon, and to trust in Him. We may not see angels, hear heavenly voices, or receive overwhelming spiritual impressions. We frequently may press forward hoping and praying—but without absolute assurance—that we are acting in accordance with God’s will. But as we honor our covenants and keep the commandments, as we strive ever more consistently to do good and to become better, we can walk with the confidence that God will guide our steps. And we can speak with the assurance that God will inspire our utterances. This is in part the meaning of the scripture that declares, “Then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God”.

As you appropriately seek for and apply unto the spirit of revelation, I promise you will “walk in the light of the Lord”. Sometimes the spirit of revelation will operate immediately and intensely, other times subtly and gradually, and often so delicately you may not even consciously recognize it. But regardless of the pattern whereby this blessing is received, the light it provides will illuminate and enlarge your soul, enlighten your understanding, and direct and protect you and your family."

So good, right? Man, I love Elder Bednar. Always a good reminder for me to remember who is really in charge. It's not me, and it's not you. But we are all in the hands of the Master potter. I testify to that with all my heart. He gives us enough light, and guides our steps daily, in order for us to grow day by day. The gospel is so cool.

Anyway, till next week! Sorry this email is a little scattered. The work is working here in the Philippines. Never forget this blondie loves you.

XOXOXOXO

Sister Luke

P.S. Happy Happy New Year!
sorry, the pictures aren't working :P Maybe next week!

This is Sister Person! I'm finally tall! She's a cutie. And SO good. 

Man does not live by bread alone!‏

Written 12/29/13

Hellloo!!! (Mrs. Doubtfire style, anyone?)

Hey, guys. So... It was a pretty great week :) I got to see your shining faces, which was definitely the highlight of the week (if you'll excuse the pun. My humor has gotten so bad...). Our Christmas was AWESOME. We got to skype, we exchanged gifts, and it felt so Christmasy in our apartment. Sister Davis' mom sent her Christmas tree scents, so it even SMELLED like Christmas in the apartment. How fun :) We ate with Brother P. for Christmas lunch and that was pretty fun. It was a catered lunch! Ritzy. We're excited for the progress he's making... albeit slowly.

In regards to the subject line.... That was proven true this week. Man needs WATER to live. And we ran out. The past week the water in our apartment wasn't working, meaning we relied on the rain (typhoon) water outside in our big barrels to shower etc. It's not that bad, but we used the last of the Yolanda water on the day after Christmas to shower.. We were literally scraping the bottom of the barrel :) Ahaha. The water got pretty nasty.. We dumped out the last yucky dregs of it down our drain outside and cleaned out the barrels so they'd be ready for new, clean rainwater. But now we had zero water to wash dishes, ourselves, the apartment,and our clothes. (I never realized the necessity of water for all those things....) Our barrels outside were empty and waiting to be filled, though! So I suggested that we say a prayer together for rain to fill our buckets enough to have some water to shower the next day. Lo and behold, 20 minutes later, while in the middle of personal study, a downpour occurs :) All of us looked up from our desks as smiles crept onto our faces :) We raced outside to make sure we had as many buckets as possible catching water. God's so awesome, right? It rained for a couple hours, and by the time we got home that night, we had enough water to shower the next day :) 

Not only was this experience an awesome miracle, It made me think about us as individuals when we ask for blessings from God. Hopefully this makes sense, because it's easier in my head. We have barrels, if you will, in our minds or hearts, waiting to be filled with whatever we are asking from God. Help, guidance, comfort, knowledge, forgiveness. God wants to fill these, but first we have to be willing to dump out whatever yucky stuff may be inside; whatever may be filling them up currently, and disallowing us from filling them up with things of the Lord. Maybe it's our pride, maybe our desire to sin. Perhaps we have guilt, or we're harboring bad feelings against someone. Before the Lord can fill us up with what we're asking for, we must be willing to relinquish whatever gross stuff may be holding us back from becoming empty- in order to be filled. Often times people say things need to get worse before they get better. I've found the same thing. Sometimes it seems like the Lord is asking for so much from us. We're pouring out our soul for Him.. Only to find that he was drawing out the gunk from us.. Making us empty and clean in preparation for the blessings he has waiting for us. In essence, we must let go of sin before we can become vessels of the Lord. 

Hope that made sense.. It made more sense in my head, but that's how it normally goes with these things :) Hope you are all having a wonderful and lovely week. I love things here in the Philippines! Life is simply awesome. Missionary work is awesome. Happy New Year to everyone.. Write me and let me know your new years resolutions! It's a time for change, no? No better time than now. 

Sister and I have a baptism this week! Our cute little G. is being baptized on Saturday! :) She just turned 12, and her mom is a less active. We actually found her through OYM, and found out later that her mom is a less active. Amazing, how the Lord works! We've only been teaching her for about 3 weeks but she's definitely ready and excited to be baptized. I'll send pictures next week and tell you about it! Yay for saving souls. 

Love you all so much! Till next week,

Sister Luke

 

 1. They have the sweetest gates here in front of everyone's houses. This is one of my new favorites we found :)

 2. This is what happens when we run out of water.... This is us filtering the water before we shower. We take water out of the big blue one and run it through an old button up shirt into the bucket :) Voila! Ready-Rain-water. Try it at home! Just kidding, that's gross. :)

 3. The miracle rain filling the buckets!

Christmas time is the best time!‏

Written 12/23/2013

 

Good Morning my loved ones.

This week was an emotional roller coaster. More on that later. This week has also been super fantastic because it's Christmas! Yesterday we had the awesome opportunity to go to the mission home for Zone Conference and to watch the First Presidency devotional. That was so sweet... It really feels like Christmas here. We even ate really nice sub sandwiches! It was so American I wanted to cry. I couldn't help but remember that devotional, what, 3 years ago now? At Heather and Spencer's apartment, when we watched the devotional with them; they made the peppermint chip cookies and Charlotte got so excited I thought she was going to pop? :) What good memories :)

Here's the reason for my slightly broken heart this week: We had to postpone T.'s baptism. I don't want to give too many details, but as we were going through his practice interview for baptism, a few things we hadn't known about came forward that need to be resolved. We were really bummed for a while, but I prayed that night and felt such peace about it all. I know it's way better for T. to be completely spiritually ready for his baptism than it is for me to have my selfish desires (a Christmas baptism). I feel a lot of optimism about it and we're hoping that it can happen in the next couple weeks. He is so wise, and I'm happy that he recognizes the need for and desires complete repentance in his life before he makes sacred covenants. What an example he is. Keep sending your prayers his way!

I have really limited time today, but I want you all to know how much I love you and how much more the Savior loves you. I can relate more of my weeks actvities to you when I SEE you tomorrow :D

Your emails the past two weeks have been a huge support to me. Shoutout to Bekah this week who will be celebrating her birthday and we will all celebrate her awesomeness. All the best to you, Bekah :)

This week during one of my personal studies I was reading about the life of Jesus. For our celebration tonight as an apartment, we wanted to do the traditional reading of the Christmas story and sing all the Christmas songs in the hymnbook. As I thought about our plans for Christmas Eve, I had an idea (impression?) to make a...program? of sorts. (For lack of a better term.) I went through the story in Luke and the story of the Wisemen in Matthew and divided up the scriptures with the Christmas hymns that corresponded to the verses. Tonight, we'll read a few verses, sing the songs that go with them, read some more, sing, and enjoy the Spirit of Christmas. It was a special experience to read the verses, ponder on the lyrics of the songs, and to think of the birth of our Savior. The lyrics of the hymns are powerful... I would definitely suggest to look through them. Music is powerful.

We had a lot of less active members come to church last Sunday, and I am forever grateful for this universal time of year- everyone's hearts are softer, words are kinder, actions are sweeter, people are more selfless, and feelings are more tender. At the Christmas party, the Elders and us sang the First Noel for the beginning of their program, and it made me think of my year of Madrigals, getting to sing for so many ward programs and dinners. What a special time Christmas is, wherever you go, and whoever you're with!

Thank you for your support and your love. Sorry this email is a little bland this week... Hopefully tomorrow will make up for it :) There's probably more to say, but I can't think.....

So.....

I love you all so much, and I'll SEE you tomorrow!!!

XOXOX

Sister Luke

P.S. One special request: To anyone who would like- President Lopez asked us to gather testimonies and experiences that people have had with keeping the Law of Tithing, so we could share some of them (and the blessings that have come to loved ones in our lives) with the less actives we are teaching. If anyone would like to send me their testimonies or experiences with the law of tithing, feel free, they would be greatly appreciated!