Cause youre gonna miss this....

Hey everyone!

I like how Jenna did it and just sent a picture. That’s what I want to do this week. But I guess I’ll write a little bit so that you don’t get mad at me! Hah so this week was hot. Like so hot! I’m trying to love it because I know I’m going to miss it when I get home but it is a little rough haha. I know that it doesn’t seem that hot..just 90s but I think it’s just the humidity that gets you. 

So this week we focused on finding. Because obviously if no one is progressing you have to find new people. So we talked to just about everyone that we saw. We got a lot of nos and a lot of people who wouldn’t even look at us.  But there were also a lot of people who listened.  Even if it was just because I was white…it was still nice.   But at least we see the success coming from our efforts.  On exchanges I got a referral but I didn’t think it was in our area so honestly I didn’t think much of it. But then yesterday I finally noticed that it was in our area so we went to contact them. And surprisingly they were super excited and willing to listen to us. They are just looking for a way to make their family happier and we told them we had the solution haha. The dad even joined the lesson half way through and committed to go to church and said the closing prayer.  Which was pretty cool because by the way the kids acted we got the feeling that he wasn’t into church too much. But we are going back to them on Wednesday so well see what happens.

Also we were finding and talked to this girl and she just asked us out of the blue if we could teach her and her family. Of course we agreed and ended up teaching their whole family about the plan of salvation.  Then the next day we saw the dad and he told us that the mom had died that morning (she had cancer).  We were so sad because of course it was such a shock. But we are hoping that through teaching them we were able to give them the comfort they need to get through this trial in their lives.  I just hope that they are doing ok. Cause they were the nicest family.

And last but not least.  We taught the husband of one of our recent converts this week.  He doesn’t want much to do with church to say the least. He doesn’t pray and he doesn’t like us telling him to pray. He’s a little offish but he let us teach him. So we tried really hard to be nice and loving and try and teach in a way that he would understand/accept.  We decided not to try and commit him to do too much because we didn’t want to scare him away haha. So we committed him to read one verse in Alma and come to church for one hour.  (he came to church a long time ago but got so bored and never came back)  So we said ok brother, 1 verse and 1 hour.  And when we got to church on Sunday he was there!  He didn’t stay for the whole 3 hours but at least he kept his commitment.  I was stoked. Oh the little things that make the biggest difference.

So even though this week was a little bit of a struggle…..we did see a little bit of success.  And sometimes the little things make the biggest difference.  And the lesson I learned this week is to find the happiness in every day.  And do all things out of love. And if you do that…you should have a pretty good week.

Love you all!

XOXO from Noveleta

--Sister Van Tassell

These are some pictures of some of the graves for the wealthy people in the Philippines.

Sorry no pictures again this week.  I have to get my SD card fixed

Ok I’m going to put my focus on this letter so I can get it done fast.

       So as you all know I’m in my new area. And I was so excited to be here cause it reminds me of my first area. But then I got to know my way around and it’s basically not progressing at all. People listen to us because I am white and then the next time we try and teach they hide in their house or don’t let us in.  So I will admit that this week was a real struggle for me. Because I know that there is a reason for every area I am put in and every companion I am put with…but sometimes that reason is a little difficult to find.  And then you get closer to going home and you have the added temptation of getting lazy and saying oh I’m almost to go home so let’s just not work as hard.  Or the area is dead so maybe I’ll just try and enjoy myself this week. But then I think that there is absolutely no point in being here if I act like that. I might as well get on a plane and go home. But since I can’t do that….I might as well stick it out and work hard while I can :) And I’ll see if I can keep up the good attitude for 10 more weeks haha.

But on the other side of things...Cool things that happened this week:

1. We found a guy with the last name Celestial! We were super pumped to teach him but unfortunately his wife doesn’t want us there.  So maybe next time haha.

2. We were walking down a street and then I just thought of going to one of our OYMs and it turns out that they were at their house and willing to listen. So we were able to teach.  And the coolest part is that when I mentioned it to my companion she automatically said ok, let’s go…maybe its revelation.  So I was impressed with her willingness to turn around and walk right back where we came from even though we didn’t have an appointment there.

3. I had a dream of teaching a family.  I’m not sure if it’s a family that we are going to find (I hope so) or just a sign that missionary work is really my life now.  That I even dream about it.  Either way works for me haha.

      So I have to say that even though this was a little bit of a rough week….im glad that there is always a bright side.  Sometimes I sit around Sunday night and think about what I’m going to write and a lot of it is the down side of things.  But then I get to the computer shop and type it out and it usually doesn’t sound too bad haha.  I read a really cool story about a girl who had to get chemo and she said that she couldn’t go 6 more times and that it was just too hard.  But then her mom asked her if she could go today? And she said yeah I think I can make it through today.  And then her mom told her how she had to do it one day at a time.  We can’t do it all at once.  But we CAN do it one part at a time.  That’s what I love when I look back at my mission so far.  There have been things that at the beginning I couldn’t do. (speak the language, have patience haha, etc) But as the days and months pass I find myself learning how to do the things that I couldn’t do at the beginning.  Slowly and surely. One word at a time. But after a year you look back and see how many words have added up and how you can have a conversation.  And that is what we have to keep us going.  So don’t be afraid to look back…only if it is to see how far you have come. J

I love you all and I’m so thankful for your support. You are the best. Keep on Keeping On!

XOXO from Noveleta

--Sister Van Tassell

SKYPEEEEEEEEEE:)

Heyy everyone!  So I’m in my new area..>Noveleta.  And my companion is Sister Picar.  Sorry we don’t have a picture together yet.  Next week na lang.

        Well this weekly letter will be short.  I just thought I’d share a little experience of our transfer day this week. So transfer day for me is a crazy experience cause I have a LOT of stuff and that means my bags get pretty heavy.  And heavy luggage is bad enough but it is even worse when you have to transport it on busses and jeepneys. So I always pray for a miracle on transfer day.  So that is my short story this week...about my transfer day miracle.   

       So we rented a jeepney to take us to transfers because we all had so much stuff.  And one of the members was the driver so he gave us a good deal.  Anyways we got to Molino and I was super super stressed cause I had no idea how I was going to get all my stuff home. Cause it was just sisters and no elders.  So then I just decided to ask the driver if he would take me.  And he said yes.  Even though it was super far out of the way. So he took all of us and our bags right to our house.  And the elders took them inside.  So I basically did transfer day without having to lift my bags by myself even once.  It might not seem like a big deal but for me it was. And I know God listens to all of our prayers and helps us our physically as well as spiritually :)  Even with heavy luggage!  

      Well Happy Mother’s day to all of you mothers out there!  We love you and I know that I appreciate my mom a lot more especially now that I’m living far away from her.  Especially after I hand washed my own laundry this morning haha.  So I love you mom!  Take care everyone and well talk to you next week!

 XOXO from Noveleta!

--Sister Van Tassell

Well now that I got the call I can officially say that I only have one more transfer call left of my entire mission.  That is as long as nothing crazy happens like emergency transfers and stuff like that.  I’m getting transferred to Noveleta which I really don’t know that much about but I do know that it is close to the ocean. But not really the pretty ocean. The dirty part. But I will survive. My companion will be Filipino again and they say she is a really good cook so there you go.  I will keep you updated as time goes on.

Let’s see.  I guess I’ll tell you a positive of what happened this week.  We had a really cool experience with our investigators. So we have noticed that in this area we have been blessed with receiving referrals that are very prepared for hearing the gospel.  For example.  We taught Word of Wisdom to three of our investigators this week.  Two of them had really bad problems with the word of wisdom before. They drank coffee a lot!  But about a month before we started teaching them...they both went to the doctor and the doctor told them that they had to stop drinking coffee (for health reasons).  But still that is legit because now they have seen the improvement and are willing to stop drinking coffee forever! :)

And then the other one that we taught is super receptive of all the lessons.  Yesterday we went to pick her up for church and while she got ready her nephew was making coffee. And she saw and she went off on how coffee was bad for him and how he shouldn’t drink that or tea and that he needs to drink milk or hot chocolate instead.  It was super cute. And then one other time.  We were in the lesson and we were talking about prayer and she said that she realized that we don’t have to do sign of the cross because Jesus never did sign on the cross.  Me and my companion about fell out of our chairs cause we had never mentioned anything about this to her and yet she had really seen the importance in following Christ.  We brought her a skirt to wear to church and it was the funniest thing. She thought it was so weird to be in a skirt and she felt so awkward walking by her friends cause she never wears skirts.  She reminds me of Hayley cause she is so dang funny and always makes us laugh so hard.

Also one cool story...maybe I already told you this. But our most progressing investigator now is a part member.  Her husband is a returned missionary that went less active because of work.  We found her by OYMing on the street and we actually taught her neighbor.  We met her cause she listened to our lesson through a little window and we noticed she was interested so we talked to her afterwards.  Then we found out about her husband and started teaching her. Now her husband comes to church every other week when he isn’t working and she comes even when he doesn’t come.  She has such a good testimony and I love teaching her cause she is always so eager to listen to us.  She told us how she never allows other missionaries to teach her and she isn’t sure why she let us teach her but she says even though we are young we make her feel comfortable and she doesn’t want us to leave.  That’s why it’s hard to transfer.  I guess we always have to go but I want to see her get baptized.  I worry about leaving her and I’m going to miss that family so much. It’s so hard to get close to people but I guess that’s a big part of why I’m here. And if everything works out then their family can be completed and hopefully, after a year, go to the temple together.  That would make my life.

Sorry I’ve gone on about my investigators for this whole letter. I guess that’s what is on my mind right now.  Next week I’ll let you know how transfers goes. It’s getting so close it’s crazy. Just got to try and keep the FOCUS.  Love you all. And I’m always praying for you, mahal na mahal ko kayo!

XOXO for the last time from Trece

--Sister Van Tassell

You are braver than you believe…        4/26/15                            

It’s going to be a little on the shorter and sweeter side today so I hope you all don’t mind.  It’s one of those times that I procrastinated the hour of writing my family email until the end and now I’m paying the price haha. Cause soon I’ll have to log off and the day will have come when no work can be performed. haha good times. And missionary humor.

Ok so this week was awesome because we had Sisters Day! Which is the best thing ever.  It’s just basically like a relief society activity and a chance for all of us sisters to relax and chat with other sisters and learn ways to improve the work.  I love, love, love that they allow us to have sisters day cause it’s true that sometimes us sisters need to have those kind of activities in order to keep us sane.  Poor Elders.  But yeah we had a good time. We got to do crafts and had a catered lunch. And the best part was Sister Tye talk for us. She talked about the quote from Winnie the Pooh that I attached at the bottom. She said that we just have to remember that there will be hard times and there will be times when we want to give up but to always stay strong and not melt under pressure. And remember that quote.

That was the main thing that happened this week. Not too much else. We got some referrals from our recent convert who are pretty awesome! We are getting excited for them because they are so interested in hearing the message. We are teaching one part member family and they are just so awesome. We asked the wife if she knew whether or not the Book of Mormon was true and she said "YES!" We were a little surprised at her enthusiasm but we asked why. And she just went on to tell us how she sometimes has problems with getting super nervous and she doesn’t know why. But whenever that happens she has started reading the Book of Mormon. And it just brings peace to her and she is able to relax and forget about the nervousness.  So that was a really cool testimony builder.

We also visited a newly contacted less active and asked her in the lesson if she knew whether or not the Book of Mormon was true.  Her answer was also a "YES!"  She went on to say that if it wasn’t true then she wouldn’t have joined the church and she wouldn’t have changed her life.  I loved her short little testimony because it’s something maybe we forget. That the Book of Mormon is true and therefore the church is true. It’s that simple. We shouldn’t stress about the little things cause it’s like I think Jeffery R Holland said... We already know the score of the game. We know who will win and who will lose. It’s up to us which jersey we will wear. So don’t stress the little things. Just be consistent and know that it is true. And that little testimony will carry you through.

That’s all for this week.

Love you all! See you in less than 100 days hahah.

XOXO from Trece

Sister Van Tassell

The Final Countdown  

Magandang pday sa inyong lahat!  Just to let you all know tomorrow is my 100 days left in the mission mark.  It’s pretty darn cool. Time flies when you’re having fun!

I’d also like to let you all know that I know how you feel. We are all suffering from the weather. It’s too cold for you and too hot for me. Too bad we can’t just meet in the middle. I’m just glad that summer is almost on the downward swing. Bring on the rain!

So much happened this week! We went hiking at Pico de Loro. If you don’t know it then look it up on google cause it is soooo pretty. The hike was actually pretty hard. And of course the elders took off and didn’t bother to wait around for us. So I got stuck with the slow group. It wasn’t too bad cause I still was getting over being sick so it was a little bit harder to breath. But I survived. About halfway up me and this other American sister got bored with the slow pace and we took off and met the elders at the top. It was super high! But it was just the peak of the mountain. Then we had to go down a little ways further to get up to the actual Pico de Loro.  The elders were all pretty proud of us cause it was high and we were the only two sisters that made it. It wasn’t even that bad though. Pretty easy actually. And so cool.  Defiantly worth it. It’s a different experience hiking in the Philippines though. It’s like jungleish and you sweat a LOT more! But it was still fun. And an amazing feeling to be able to get some exercise and fresh air!

I also got to go on exchanges with sister Edington...one of my mtc companions! That made me super happy. And we basically just got to catch up because we have been on opposite sides of the mission for such a long time.

This week was LEGIT cause we had a baptism. It was my companion’s first baptism so she was super excited and I was too. It was the cute old Tatay that I’ve been telling you about. He was so excited and when he gave his testimony he just cried and cried.  I was a bit worried cause this is the first baptism that I have had to be in charge of as senior companion and leading the area. So it was stressful. But when everything got started I just looked at the picture of Jesus that we had set up in the front and I just felt so good and knew that even though it wasn’t perfect, it was ok cause we had done our best and that Tatay Panny felt the Spirit and so did we and that is what counts. So that was defiantly the highlight of our week.

My next favorite part of the week was Tuesday. We got to teach the husband of one of our less actives who, in the past, has refused to talk to us. But he agreed to listen and we had a really good lesson. We BRTd a lot at the beginning and I think that helped.  When we were teaching though I asked him if he was happy with his life and he answered no.  That was really sad for me cause of course we would hope that everyone is happy.  So then I asked why he wasn’t happy.  He went on to say that he was having family problems and that work was really stressful and so on.  I was like oh ok brother we understand that those things in life are never easy. But now I want to ask what your blessings in your life are. He told us that the blessings in his life are that he wakes up every day and that he has a job and that he has a family.  That shocked me and really made me think!  The exact things that made him struggle and made him say that he was sad with his life were the things that he also considered his blessings.  I found a scripture in  Helaman 12:1-2 that talks about how we are so blessed through the Lords infinite goodness.  But the time when we receive the blessings is often the time that we turn away and we lose our faith and we forget where the blessings came from.  How true it is.  I’ve seen it in the scriptures and in my life. We get too comfortable and we forget how much we need to lean on the Lord.  So I hope well remember to take a second look at the things we consider our trials and try and find the good. Try and find what God is helping you to learn. And always smile...or you will get wrinkles.

So take care this week. I’m getting off now! Love you all and thank you so much for always supporting me!  You are the best!

--Sister Van Tassell

XOXO from the top of Pico de Loro

Were a day late and a peso short

Hey everyone!  I guess I’ll start by explaining the title.  Day late because we barely got to watch conference this last weekend instead of on Easter Sunday. And peso short cause were on the low end of our support and we still have an activity today so were going to be on tipid mode.  tipid means thrifty.

But other than that this week was really pretty good. I got to start working again! That was exciting. This week we were working really hard to get our investigator ready for his baptism interview. In order for him to finish the lessons, we had to go to him every day. He is this really cute old tatay that was a referral.  He’s the one that I told you was a really good cook. And so every day this week we had dinner at their house. It was pretty legit.  And on Sunday he had his interview. He was so nervous! Cause he was really confused about the godhead and he was just sure that he was never going to pass the interview. So we told him to pray. And we prayed with him and he cried cause he was so worried. But he passed and everything turned out ok!  He is the best. He got a new haircut for the occasion and everything.  His friend that referred him was also really nervous about the interview. He kept walking around everywhere and telling us to go check on him.  We just had to tell him that the elder that was interviewing him was a really nice guy.  That kind of calmed him down a little :) good times good times
 

This week at conference was awesome! We have to go to the stake center to watch it. Well I guess not stake center cause it’s not a stake but whatever.  So on the Saturday session it was basically all missionaries there and not many members.  Sunday there were quite a few members though.  It’s pretty cool here cause there are soo many missionaries in our district/stake.  I counted the other day....but I forgot how many. But maybe close to 34 or something missionaries in our stake.  That’s pretty different coming from a stake with 2 missionaries.  But I loved hearing all the messages from our prophet and his apostles and I love the spirit that you feel from watching conference while you are a missionary.  It’s a lot different.  I actually don’t fall asleep :)  One funny thing that happened...when they were announcing temples I couldn’t really hear very well cause our video was kind of choppy so instead of hearing Bangkok Thailand I heard Bangkok china and I was super excited cause I thought that the church was like finally going to be started in china!  But then I realized after about 10 minutes that there wasn’t a Bangkok china and it was really disappointing haha.

This week I was in charge of cooking for our apartment! We ate all American food and we didn’t have rice all week! I’m sure my kabahays were not too impressed. But oh well.  I made burritos and pasta and sloppy joes. All of it was very masarap :)

As far as spiritual thought this week...I think we can just count conference.  They say that if you ask 3 questions and pray about it the week or two before conference and prepare yourself spiritually...you will receive an answer.  And I know that that is true. Because every time I’ve tried it I have received an answer.  This time I asked 3 questions and one was about how I can strengthen my faith. And it was perfect because there was so many talks based on faith and how to stay strong even when we don’t see the light. I loved the talk about the little girl that got in a plane crash and then walked the mile to the light that she saw in the distance.  The light sometimes fell out of her view but she just kept pressing forward.  And that’s how we all need to be.  Find the light and just keep pushing forward even though we might lose sight of it for a while. It’s like Neil A. Anderson talk about how we are in the last days. We have to make all of our actions count. This is our time to practice and improve and prepare for the world to come. So make it count :) I love conference and I also want to agree with Jenna and say that I sustain President Thomas S Monson as our prophet today here on earth.  He is the Lord’s mouthpiece and he is the way we can know Gods plan for our day.

Thanks for all your support and all of your prayers! Love you all

Sister Van Tassell