The miracles of the mission

This is going to be a pretty detailed pretty great blog, so read closely. (it's detailed because I didn't have any time this week to write in my journal, so now you get the FULL story:)

 

When we last left off I was feeling a little bit down about my baptisms being cancelled and moved until after I leave. So let's continue from there. So on Monday we went to an FHE at the Sengson Family's house. I love that family they are so great! It's a single mother with 15 children!! Holy Smokes she is so great.... and they are all active. Anyways we were playing games and Sister Cabato kept getting texts during the lesson. I tried to read her emotion to see what was happening and I couldn't really tell.... then we leave the fhe and all that she says to me is, "Sister you have to jump up and down okay?" me being the obedient missionary that I am just started jumping up and down and then I said, "Wait, why am I jumping up and down?" And then she said that Rubelita can still get baptized!!! she's the one who said that her parents thought that she was investigating a different church and so she couldn't get baptized.... it turns out that her parents were just kidding.... actually they are members, and she really could get baptized:) I was so happy!!!

Tuesday: I had exchanges with Sister Storey-who I love by the way- she is from Kaysville and she is just soo funny. Anyways we had a really great day of teaching and came home from lunch. While I was cooking lunch, we got a phone call. It was President Barrientos, I'll just write you a little bit of how the conversation went.

Me: Hello Po President!

Pres: Hello Sister Schultz! How are you? Are you on exchanges right now?

 

Me: Opo (yes) President.

P: Do you have exchanges tomorrow?

Me: Hindi po (no) President

 

P: Okay that's good. So, Sister Schultz, tomorrow, you will need to come to Laoag. You will be flying out tomorrow.

 

Me: (Automatic tears) What?

P:Yes, we have a problem with the visas and so you will travel here early in the morning tomorrow.

Me. No.... (bawling) president... no,,,,

P: Sister Schultz listen; okay you will take the bus tomorrow to Laoag and then you will meet Sister Woahn, Elder Taukei, and Elder KNowles and you will all be flying out of Laoag to Manilla tomorrow.

me: (Still crying) But president... we have baptisms... 

 

President: Listen Sister I'm not done yet. You will be flying to Manilla, but you will only be staying for two days and then you will return here to Laoag. Don't worry you're not going home yet.

Me: Alah! (there's no translation for that) President!

President: Laughing- you're okay Sister Schultz okay? I'll call you later.

 

WORST. FEELING. EVER!!!

It was at that moment that i am really grateful for my real release date:) And that I'm not going home yet:)

 

Needless to say, it wasn't the best day for exchanges that I have had. Then that night I packed really quick and in the morning I took the early bus traveling to Laoag (5:30 AM) I had to travel by myself which at first I was like Aw! Sweet! I'm traveling by myself! By then after like 5 minutes I got really really bored.... and I had no one to talk to. couldn't sleep, even though I was way tired. We made one stop about an hour away from Laoag (it's a five hour bus ride) and when we started again I Was out! The bus driver had to wake me up in Laoag. I got off of the bus and was very disoriented... and I had no companion. I have been to Laoag very few times in my mission, so I was really unfamiliar with everything. Luckily you can just jump in a tryce and tell them where you want to go and they will take you there. I went to the mission office and then just waited and waited and waited for 3 hours! Until they finally told me to go and meet Sister Woahn at some taco place in Laoag. Meanwhile Sister Woahn has been waiting at the taco place for a while now and decides to come to the mission home. We missed each other. Haha 

    Turns out that my tryce driver didn't know where the taco place was, so he just stopped at a tryce terminal. The other drivers swarmed my tryce and I was surrounded by a bunch of men talking to me.... uh... help! I called the office and they told me how to get to the taco place and then the driver took me to.... not the taco place. I was done being with him though, so i just got out. 

   I walked to a security guard and just ask him "uh... do you know where the tacos are?" Stupid question in English, it sounds a lot less dumb in Tagalog, but it was effective:) He took me to the taco place! only... no Sister Woahn. I decided to just wait. I waited for about 15 minutes when sister Woahn came:) I love Sister Woahn. We ate and then just talked for ever, and finally at 6:30 we all met up at the office.

No one seemed to know what we were supposed to do so they just said. Here's your ticket just take a tryce to the airport.... by ourselves again! Get to the airport. Get on the airplane and it's off to Manilla! Go off the airplane, and.... no one was waiting for us (what? What are we even doing here) Sat around for like 20 minutes and then finally found our driver. He took us to the hotel airport (which is where I stayed when we came in) and had a really nice dinner at like 11PM and then took hot showers (that was nice) and slept on real mattresses in an aircon room:) (that was also nice:)) in the morning we got up really early and took a van to the embassy. We got there.... no one was waiting for us again. (what is this?) haha so we just grabbed some forms that we thought looked right and filled out the paper work and got our pictures taken and stuff. Then we called President and we were like.... uh.... is this what we are supposed to be doing? There is no one here. He called his people and someone came over. Turns out that we never had to do any of that stuff.... just get fingerprinted and sign some forms.... then we were done. 7 hours before our flight was supposed to leave!!!

The driver didn't want to take us to the temple, but it's closed when we actually go home, so we bribed him to take us... as in.... we paid him a lot to take us.... then we couldn't stay long, but we took some pictures and then left, stopping to get some krispy kreme donuts:) Gotta love Manilla! got to the airport....waited....flew back to laoag:) no one was waiting for us.... so we took a sketchy bus to the mission home.... no one was there. At this point we have no money at all because it's close to the end of the month and since we were all leaving, our support got cut. So we couldn't even afford to go home. SO we found a mango tree and had mangos for dinner:) Elder Knowles sat down to eat his mango and completely ripped his pants! It was hilarious!!! Sister Woahn and I saw the whole thing happen and we were just dying with laughter! About five seconds after they ripped, in pulls President Barrientos:) Oh priceless:) Stayed the night over in laoag (Another Hot Shower) and in the morning had interviews. 

I told President Barrientos about the Juan Family and how we had to move their baptismal date to the week after I leave because of word of wisdom problems... I may have cried... and he said, "Sister Schultz are they ready?' "opo President."

"Okay" He said, "they can get baptized right before you go home:)" I was sooo happy! And thus we see that the Lord works in mysterious but marvelous ways!!!

Rode back home by myself:) It was freezing cold and my window was broken:) Got home and now we are back in business:) 

 

This week... TIN TIN came to church! Tin Tin is our investigator that is in a wheelchair, she has hypocephalus and NEVER leaves the house. We have been trying to pick her up for the last month and she finally was able to come today!!! I was so happy! The branch basically attacked her with hugs and love!!!:) I'm so happy:) We had 20 investigators at church today:) if one bad week can bring that many blessings then I guess that enduring is definitely worth it!

Love you all! I will see you all in 17 days!

 

I forgot to bring my camera today.... so no pictures. Maybe next week... or you can just look at Sister Woahn's Blog.

 

Just push him in

Well, well, well... which would you like me to start with, the good news? Or the bad news? Well I will start with the bad news so that we end on a happy note. So we had a ton of baptisms lined up for before I left, and I LOVE them all so much! I'm so attached to them all. Well, six of the 11 that we have were a family... and they are all over 12 and the other day we taught them again about the Word of Wisdom....kill me now. :'(
5 out of the 6 of them have participated in some sort of word of wisdom issue in the last week (Coffee, cigarettes, or alcohol.) I was heart broken.... because it means that we have to push their baptism to the week after I leave instead of the week before:( I cried like a baby. As in the whole rest of the night :( They are still excited to get baptized, and they are preparing themselves better now, so I know that it is good for them, I'm just very sad:( Then our baptismal candidate for next week was all ready, then her parents magically figures out that it was the LDS church.... how they missed out on this through the whole process is a little beyond me, but they have forbidden her the get baptized. I kind of feel like, "What the? Why!?! Satan hates me!" It's so unfair! I worked so hard and I was so obedient. My heart is broken.
In kind of better news though! Spencer was baptized! He was the one that was deathly afraid of Elder Seumanutafa.

Well we were really nervous about the actual ordinance of baptism because he is soo shy. But he went straight into the water with a big smile on his face. ITS A MIRACLE!!! I said, then he got baptized... yes!!! BUT!!! his dad said the wrong words.... and his hand didn't go under.... NOOO!!!!! They told him that he had to do it again and he just started bawling and ran out of the font. Then the dad was ticked and he left the church all together. Meanwhile in the bathroom, Sister Cabato, Spencer's mom and I are all trying to convince Spencer that it's not his fault and that they just have to go one more time....  now he's screaming that he doesn't want to go again.
Both his parents are members so his mom said that he had to go again. We had the other baptizer waiting in the freezing cold water and got Spencer to the stairs of the font.... still kicking and screaming. The baptizer is bobbing up and down in the water to try and help Spencer see that it's not so bad and that he can do it. But he still doesn't want to. (Oh by this time we also cleared all of the people out of the room so that it was just the two witnesses and his family) and the mom finally just says to the baptizer, just grab him and do it or he'll be really upset and never get baptized. I felt sick! I didn't know what to do:( He  was clearly ready and wanted to, but he was just so shy. Finally they got him into the water and baptized and when he came out he was completely fine and happy. It was a little reassuring, but I still felt like I was forcing someone to get baptized. The next day at his confirmation though, he was fine and just as happy as could be. I think maybe I have an ulcer now. Haha well, maybe not yet.... but another baptism like that and I just might.

ps. I just fund out that my very first RC just got his mission call:)

Just keep praying

So this week has been a really great week:) I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Copeland:) She is from Tennessee and she is so great! It was probably the least stressful exchange that I have ever been on before:) And also.... I LOVE my area:) Every appointment is the greatest ever! My stress levels right now are way up.... but not because we cant find people to teach.... its because we can't find enough time to teach all of the people that we are supposed to get them ready for baptism:) We have investigators that have come enough times to church and are keeping their commitments, but we haven't taught them all the lessons yet.... as a consequence, right now March 8 is looking pretty stressful.... we have 1 wedding and 9 baptisms planned for that day.... just keep swimming:) the water is looking pretty good after all.
On that note, we have a baptism coming up this Saturday and it was by far "THE MOST STRESSFUL INTERVIEW EVER!" Spencer is a 9 year old part member who has the gospel down solid. the problem? When he first meets someone, he WILL NOT TALK to them. We reviewed the baptismal interview questions with him and he was set to go, but once he got into the Interview with Elder Seumanutafa, he just froze.... he wouldn't talk.... then he hid in his shirt and started crying. Elder Seu.... called us in to talk to him and it took us an hour of teaching and running around and bribing until we finally got him to pray in the hallway while Elder Seu... sneakily listened in. His mom had to pray first in Ilocano, then I had to pray in English, Then Sister Canato had to pray in chubakano, then he prayed in Tagalog..... there was a lot of praying. After his prayer, Sister Cabato and I had to do the interview questions while Elder Seu... still hiding around the corner just listened in:) He passed!

Well then yesterday at church he was mad at the world and didn't want to be there.... more stress.... so we changed our plans and took snacks and the testaments movie over to his house to try and patch up his feelings towards the missionaries and church:) Mission success! At first he was really mad that we were there, but then once we started the movie, he was back to being our best friend:) Now we just have to make it through till his confirmation on Sunday:) Just keep swim.... oh I mean praying:)

Schultzy Gmae

okay sorry this is going to be a super rushed one! Nothing too great
happened this week! Except we had 10 investigators at church. It is
great to come into an area and have none and get it up so high. Our
biggest problem right now is trying to find enough time to teach all
of the people that want to get baptized! Hopefully they all get
baptized before I go home:) In other news:) I only have 38 days left
until I come home. "someday" is finally here! It's a lot different than
what I thought that it would be, but this version is WAY better! :)
And in final news Did you know that in the amount of 19 months you can
have 2 babies? I did it:) haha not literally:) but another baby was
named after me this week:) Her name is Schultzy Gmae:) Pictures to
come when I'm not using caveman computer:) Love you all!