Masarap ang Holy week

Hey family!

So first off, transfers... I'm staying in Laoag, but my cute companion is going to Sinait which is my old Zone in Vigan, she'll love it! I'm just really sad to see her go, she has become my big sister and we've worked really hard together! My new companion issssss.. Sister Rodelas! haha she actually is living with me right now, and she is soo awesome! Hilarious and from Canada, but her family is from the philippines so she grew up speaking Tagalog! Our two areas are becoming one, which means we will be sooo busy. we have baptisms coming up onnn MAY 10 my birthday!!! Best gift ever! And many more to follow that. We have really turned Laoag upside down and the area is now progressing. I think I'm getting good at this whole missionary thing!

 

On Thursday we had a district meeting about helping people to pray at the end of a lesson. It may seem simple, but people are really shy to pray and really don't like to. We learned a lot and started applying it right away. Every person we taught prayed and the end of the lesson. It was amazing we had so great experiences! sometimes it's really awkward when you ask someone to pray because they just say ikaw na lang. or you! but after a lot of patience they finally pray and most of the time really open up to our Heavenly Father. It's really sad that a lot people don't think of praying as a way to converse with our father in Heaven. It truly is a telephone line to heaven. That we were able to help people understand that and develop that relationship is very rewarding.

 

I hope you all had a fun easter! Easter in the Philippines is a bit different. It's basically a week that they call Holy Week. They celebrate it by first not eating any meat then marching around all night with candles and graven images, screaming catholic songs (with microphones) to jesus statues, whipping themselves for their sins, and nailing themselves to crosses (yes I promise that is real). So it was kind of a rough week for us missionaries here, because well not a lot of people were home and well we don't really celebrate easter like that in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To be honest, it makes me really sad because Christ doesn't want us to cause our selves pain or do anything rediculous. He just wants us to remember him and keep his commandments. He atoned for us so that we may have hope (Moroni 7:41). Hope that we may return, be made clean from our mistakes, and supported in our trials and afflictions. He want's us to be happy!

However one highlight is that all the members feel bad for us so they just keep feeding us! haha therefore we have Masarap ang Holy Week!

 

Funny story of the week: we were at a less actives house when alllll these people started arriving, we were stoke when they asked us to stay for lunch and even more stoked when they asked me to pray, probably just because I'm american that speaks tagalog, but still I grabbed that oppertunity. Before I knew it they all stood in a circle and pushed me in the middle and said okay lead the prayer...uhh okay. So I just prayed like I know how, but during the prayer people are taking pictures and saying hallelujah and stuff. when I finally end the prayer everyone looks up and does the sign of the Cross (catholic). It was really scary, because here I am in the middle of the circle just smiling, while they all do the sign of the cross and stare at me like i'm a sinner... but don't worry, I just kept smiling.

 

I hope you are all doing amazing! mahal na mahal ko kayong lahat!

Sister Abelhouzen

p.s.

picture: cute little nanay, she's a recent convert, 83 years old and reads her BOM every day (she's in 4 Nephi).