Rain, rain and how about some more rain?

Aloha!
Well this week has been a really great week despite all of the rain! We have finished up week one of training and really gotten a feel of how well we teach together. You know on the District 2 DVDs when the girls says, “I’m not training sister Voyles, She came pre-trained!” That’s pretty much how I feel about Sister Smith! She is super magaling in al of the work! She’s always happy and never homesick. J I’m so grateful to have her as my companion!
. Actually that is a really funny story we were out finding people that were on the former investigators section and we went all the way (way far) Out to this one investigators house and she wasn’t there;9 but her daughter was and she is really active and likes to work with the missionaries and stuff so she said we could still teach her…. So I made Sister Smith teach the whole lesson of the Restoration. Haha. She left out a few parts, and obviously her grammar wasn’t the best… but she did soooo good! I was way impressed!
We’ve definitely been working this week in all of the rain and floods, we didn’t know that we weren't supposed to, so now we will repent…. By working even harder. Actually after all o the rain had dried up and the roads were clear we were working again in one of our areas where we had been working all week and there was a giant dead snake on the road left over from the flood water…… um…. We definitely had the protection from the Lord over the last couple of days.
The branch here really is so helpful in missionary work. I can’t figure out why the attendance is so low every Sunday because they are doing so much to help the church grow here. Anything that we need (fellowshippers, forms, 15 focus) they get it to us right away! We are almost always working with fellowshippers and everyone does a really great job with fellowshipping on Sunday. What’s the real concern?
We have a couple of really great investigators right now, the Capuchino family. A family that Sister Boekweg taught way back in the day and they stopped progressing but I think now might be the time. J It’s a family of six and when we teach, they all listen J…. Okay so we have only taught them once so far…. But they are totally going to get baptized. And the other two are Kathlyn and Denmark. They have a lot of changing to do, but they both come from really broken families and I think they really can feel that the gospel can help them in their lives.
One day when we were going to teach Denmark, I said “who are we going to teach right now?” And Sister Smith responded, “German I think? Ah! Denmark! I knew it was some European country.” Haha she is so funny! And she like to run! Yes! Thank you Heavenly Father for answering my prayers!
It flooded so bad this week that we took a tryce to one of our areas and it flooded inside of the cab while we were inside…. It’s a little deep.
Oh! And you know what! Once upon a time, it rained REALLY bad in Paoay. And we taught a lesson and then it wasn’t raining. Well then we get to the other side of Paoay and it started raining… no umbrella. I forgot it at the last appointment. I’m not talking a casual rain here. It was pouring! I was soaked and so freezing! Someone gave my their broken umbrella and I pretty much used it as a blanket. I was so cold L Sister Smith did try to share hers with me, but she’s so tall! By the time it got down to me there was nothing blocking it anymore L And I got the run-off from her umbrella. L Needless to say I was a little wet.
Later that day there was a black out…. No lights anywhere and pouring rain… we might have gone home early. I felt super guilty. Then later that week when we had interviews, I found out that we weren’t even supposed to go out that day because of the bad weather, President just didn’t have our number, so we never got the text. L oops!
I had a really great time at interviews this week, I feel like it helped me a lot more to feel like I was actually a part of the Philippines Laoag Mission, up to this point I’ve kinda felt like I don’t know anyone and that I was just kind of going solo in everything that I did, but this week I really felt a lot more connected to President and Sister Barrientos and also to the Zone…. Even if there are a billion of us. J
Sister Smith and I haven’t been sleeping too well…. Which for her is understandable because she probably still has jet lag. We both wake up at about 5 every morning. By the time 9pm rolls around we are both so exhausted that we can barely think!
Today as you know is p-day! Sister Smith washed her clothes for the first time today by hand…. Well I might have helped a little. But I’m so proud! My little anak is growing up! I can hardly believe she’s already 2 weeks old!
While we were working in the flood water too this week…. There was definitely a downed wire that we saw in one…. But don’t worry we didn’t see it until we were already halfway through… the feeling kind of resembles that moment when you tip your chair just a little too far back…
 
-Sister Schultz (Shorts)

New faces and new places

Man this week has been so crazy! First off... I got to work in Laoag with the Sisters there! It was so awesome! The bus ride from Camalanuigan to Laoag was a little sketch.... actually there was one time that we stopped to go to the bathroom and I walked to the little shack things that they have for their bathrooms, and oh what the heck?!?!?! there was no toilet..... you just go on the floor!!!! Freak no!!! I'm not doing that!!!!! So even though there was a huge line waiting for the bathroom with the toilet.... I made the bus wait for me and I waited patiently (as patiently hat you can when you really have to go to the bathroom) And used the lesser of the two evils.

When we got to Laoag, we stayed at the Laoag 5 apartments..... What the heck!!!!! They have air conditioning.... hot water.... a bath tub... showers.... and an oven.... I have not seem most of those things in almost a year! I almost cried when I took that hot shower! Actually I think that I might have a little bit.

So I worked with Sister Richards and Sister Dillman in Laoag in their areas, It was way fun, but it is always a little exhausting when you aren't working in  you own areas.... But I love those two girls so much! AND we got to go running while we were there because they have a huge rooftop area that they can just run around.... some people get all of the glory.

We had trainers training and both of my trainees are training now, so I will get two grandkids the same time that I have another child hahaha. Supposedly I'm training in 6 weeks again too.... I'm starting to feel like I am never going to get away from 12 week training in my whole mission. But training always has its fun little surprises.....

Before training we did a little Book of Mormon placing and it was really fun, that was the first time that I have ever done it and I worked with a new Sister, Sister Cooper. It was really fun, the poor girl hadn't slept in about 36 hours so she was so tired, but her Tagalog was really good! And she was really excited!!!

Best ICE CREAM EVER= yellowcab Ice cream! go team! It was the best investment of my money that I have had so far on my mission:)

And now the moment that you are al waiting for! My new companion is Sister Katy Smith from Utah! I'm so excited! Her Tagalog is way good! So I actually knew a long time ago that she was going to be my companion, ever since my sister told me that her roommates little sister was coming to my mission I said to myself, I am going to be her companion some day. I didn't want to hinder inspiration or anything, So I didn't even tell President Barrientos, But lookey here! She is my new trainee! Crazy small world!

Well, opening an area has its ups and downs. First of all everyone was really excited to get new missionaries, but we have no idea how to do ANYTHING! Upon arriving at the apartment.... well let's just say that the Elders before us weren't exactly the cleanest.... okay our apartment was disgusting! So President told us we could clean first.... we spent about 6 hours cleaning the house and even now it's not exactly the cleanest thing that I have ever seen. Then on Saturday we had our weekly planning. First we had to go to the church and meet with the Branch President to split the area and coordinated fellowshippers. The branch her is super great with their callings though and so the coordination has gone really really well! Then we went back to the apartment and split the area books and tried to figure out who was what in the area book.... the elders just kind of shoved all the papers in the book not bothering with the labels, so we don't know who is progressing who is recent, baptismal dates? nothing. We just have a lot of names.... so it looks like everyone who was taught at least twice in the last year will be getting a visit from us in the next couple of weeks. Planning basically took all of Saturday as well.

By Sunday we pretty much had cabin fever so we were way excited to go to church! There is a WICKED rain storm going on all day on Sunday, So there wasn't tooo many people at church, but I will tell you what Paoay does have!.... Carpet and cushy benches!!! Oh man I was so happy!

After church we had a great meeting with all of the branch missionaries and they are all really excited to work with us! That is really great because we don't even know how to get to and from the market yet:)

So even though the streets were all flooded with a foot of water on Sunday, we couldn't take not working anymore and we paired up with the Branch Missionaries and headed out to work! We only taught three lessons but there is a really great story here. So While I was in Sinait way back in the day I went on exchanges with Sister Deyro and we taught a recent convert named Kharen. We were like instant best friends. Well she is now a recent convert/less-active and when she saw me she was soooo happy! She was like Sister Schultz you have no idea how hard it has been for me to stay active in the church! I have WOW problems and I've been praying for you! I prayed for you to get assigned here so that you could help me come back to church! Crazy! way to receive that revelation President Barrientos!!!! She committed to come back to church and she is going to fellowship with us every other day!

Sister Smith is SOOOO good at Tagalog! She is already teaching sections of the lessons and she understands most of what people are saying. I'm sure it's a lot harder than she lets on, but she is one tough cookie!!!

Til next week.

Side note to Sister Woahn: This week feels more like LONGER instead of SHORTer, we will see what next week is.

Love you all!

Change it is

This week has been a really.... difficult/ good week. First off, we had two baptisms this week! One: Julie Ann Malicad, she is so great and she totally has the strongest testimony ever! Actually her testimony made me cry after her baptism. She is about 21 or 22 and I just love her so much. The other baptism that we had was a tatay. J He is around 64 years old and his wife just got baptized 2 weeks ago. Right before his baptism, we taught them about eternal marriage and baptisms and works for the dead, and him and his wife were just bawling they were so happy (they have had three of their children die) They just are so excited to know the things that they know about the truthfulness of the gospel on the Earth. J It’s just tender.
In other news.... I got transferred. L They say that once you really start to love an area that that is the time when you get transferred and it is sooo true. While I don’t necessarily love the branch here all of the time, I am soooo attached to my recent converts and my less actives that it is just so hard to say goodbye to them. I really only cried in weekly planning when I prayed for all of them, But still it was pretty rough. I will be transferred to Ilocos Norte, to an area called Paoay. I worked there once on exchanges and it was really beautiful and the branch I hear is super progressing, so I’m excited but a little nervous. I never have opened an area before, and I will be training again.... probably an American, maybe a New Zealander. That would be pretty cool.
What I think that I will miss the most about this area is the Salvador Family. I just love that family sooo much and I have seen such a strong conversion process in them over the past 3 months. They are my favorite,. And of course the Teja’s.... I can’t make it through all that I have been with the Teja Family and not love the memories that I have had with them. Change is hard, but it’s one more growing step that will prepare me for the rest of my life. J The very hardest thing that I think will be for me though is going to be saying goodbye to Sister Woahn and Sister Tauti tomorrow morning though. L I love those two girls so much, they really are my Sisters and I am going to miss them so much! I’m definitely going to go and visit Sister Tauti after the mish.... and Sister Woahn... Let’s be real, we are like best friends, so of course I will visit her all the time. J
This chapter of my mission is just finishing up, but the next is just about to start. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me.

Sometimes people name their children after you

This week was... good but crap at the same time. It all started on Tuesday when we had district meeting and it just progressively got worse until President Barrientos came. Things improved, but then they got worse again, and lets just say that I am readily looking forward to transfers, even though it seems as though I am going to be in the same area again.... three areas on my whole mission? It appears that that is just how it is going to be. \

Well a couple of highlights from this week. We once had a baptism, and his name was Brother Rolden and His Wife's name is Jenny.... well, Jenny was pregnant, and to this date she hasn't been baptized because she has been pregnant with... a little girl! This last week, she finally had her little baby and guess what they names her!?!??! Julia Hazel! That's so awesome! Here are some pictures!

Look closely

Forgive me for the short blog but I still have to write President and We are out of time! But how are you all?!?!? I am missing you all and I really cant wait to see you.. in seven and a half months. The other highlight of this week was the two baptismal interviews that we had that will be baptized next week. The LA (less actives) that I offended are now returned to church and they said it was because I was so bold with them :) Thank you Heavenly Father:)

Love you all!

All my companions left on the mission