Trainer! Transfer! Malolos!

Hello to all of you!

Well, it has definitely been a long and interesting week this week!

We'll start with Wednesday. It was a very long day on Wednesday. It started out with us going to the hospital. Not anything too serious. I was just getting a check-up on my ear. It turns out I have a middle ear infection, but I've been taking medicine and everything, so it should be healing up pretty soon here =] I have a follow-up appointment on Friday just to make sure everything is ok.

View from the 12th floor of the hospital

At the hospital with Sister Apolinario. Smiling through the pain?

Now we'll go to Tuesday. During our district meeting, my companion got called to be a trainer! She's already trained once, and now she's going to train another new missionary for her last 2 transfers here in the field. She'll be great! Well, Thursday, we got a call from the APs, saying that I needed to be at the trainer's training at the mission home on Friday. (WHAT??) It turns out that not only is Sister Apolinario training, but so am I.

So, we went to trainer's training on Friday, and it turns out that Sister Clark is also training! I was definitely excited for that. It will be awesome! 

Yesterday, we had our transfer announcements. This is where we find out where we're going and who is going to be our new companions =] Of course, we were all super excited to know where we're going and everything. So it turns out that Sister Apolinario is staying here with her new missionary. And I'm going out to Malolos with my new missionary. Here's the twist, my new companion has actually already been here for a transfer, but here trainer went home 2 weeks into the transfer. So, I'm going to 'save the day', according to our APs. I'm excited and so very nervous all at the same time. I'm not quite sure what to except, but I know that everything will be ok! Over in Malolos wish Sister Bugtong is where the Lord wants me to be, so that's where I'm going to go! More good news is, Sister Clark is my neighbor over in Malolos! So I'm sure we will have lots of fun!

Goodbye San Mateo Montalban!

We've definitely had a good week this week! Other than those crazy things happening, we've had a lot of progression in our area lately! We finally were able to start a temple prep class on Sunday, so we have a lot of returning less-actives who were able to attend that. It was the coolest thing to see them there! They all looked way excited =D

We've also had some progression with our investigators this week as well! Sister Apolinario and I feel like we have 2 investigators who are really progressing towards their baptismal dates. We think that Sister Apolinario and her trainee will probably have a few baptisms either in the next transfer, or the one after that. I told Sister Apolinario that she'll just have to send me some pictures when they get baptized =] We're really excited for them!

I guess that's about it for the week. Today we're just packing and getting everything ready for me to get to my new area tomorrow. I'm sure it's going to be great!

I'll just share a little bit of something spiritual that I've been thinking about this week. At our last district meeting yesterday, our DL asked all of us to speak on certain Christ-like attributes, and mine was patience. Go figure! Just as soon as I got called to be a trainer, everyone has been telling me I'm going to have to be so patient with my trainee. Well, isn't that the truth! Being patient is not something that just comes, but it comes from the Lord. We have to pray for it and work towards it. In Preach My Gospel, it talks about how patience is not just being patient with other people, but it's also being patient with ourselves. It's not something that is easy, but it's definitely worth it to work on. I testify that it's not easy. It is hard to be patient, but it will help us get to where we need to be. In Alma 34:41, it says: "But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions." One of our greatest challenges here on this earth is to align our will with the Lord's, but as we do this, we will be so much happier, and we will have this promise. We will one day rest from our afflictions, if we follow Christ's example and do the things that he has asked us to do.

I know that this church is true with all of my heart, and I'm thankful for everything this church has helped me to become. Mahal ko kayong lahat! Ingat kayo palagi!

Love,

Sister Wilwand

The jeepneys in Montalban are painted and decorated. Sister Wilwand said she has seen jeepneys decorated with Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, X-Men, etc.

When the jeepneys are full, you have to hang on the back!

Sister Wilwand told me she wouldn't be cutting her hair her whole mission but I guess she changed her mind!