Week 47

1. I caught dinner :)

2. This is who I spent my birfday with :) all the sister missionaries on Cebu

3-4. This is the din din appt we had the night of my birthday. Brother Rob is an ACTIVE member and not your regular Jo you find. Sis cristine and he are getting married soon and then she will be able to get baptized and then in a year... TEMPLE! it's their goal! 

5. These are all our baptismal candidates last Sat. Hahah, we didn’t have enough clothes :) 

6. WE borrowed the ward next doors... Look at everybody look all nice and Fresh :) 

It was our candidate Sammy's birthday too! So it was a super great day for her!  LOVE HER!

Week 46

Maayong Hapon sa Tanan :)

Weeeeeeeell, it has been another great week! and especially today! We got to go to the TEMPLE!!!! I love that place so much! It was seriously one of the greatest times I think I have been too. We will leave it at, the Father really does know us best :) I also saw a member from my last ward there! Which geographically,  Catarman in Northern Samar is very far from Lahug Cebu. So it was great to catch up and to see how the ward is doing and to hear the work is still going on and that they even have baptisms! So great!

This Saturday we have a baptism! Her name is Sammy Duero! AND ITS HER BIRTHDAY TOO!!!!!!! So it will be that much greater!! She turns 16, good year! She is so excited too! Her cousin is James, from the picture I sent last week! We teach them together. They are a part of that big group of kids that came and joined the lesson :) The Lord has funny ways in showing us who is prepared :) It has really been so great to see all these people come so far and growing so much! I continue to pray for the ones we teach that are still waiting for a sign. Hopefully they will realize soon how many they have already received and take the jump of faith and "go swimming" :)

We found out more about Tacloban Mission as well. They are sending people back every week. I am again uncertain of how I feel about it... but I find something really comforting, the Lord knows exactly where we are needed to be in life. He knows us inside and out. I trust He knows where I am needed and I will follow where He needs me. Who knows, blessings just like the ones I have received since being here could happen :) I sure hope so! Because this area has certainly become my very favorite! I will forever cherish the time I have spent here! 

Well, I love you all! Hope you all have a great one! 

PS... how many people can you fit in a car?? roughly 18 :) joke  lang

Week 45

1-Christ is coming... but only in that field and those times!

2-Me and my friend Elise!

2 and 3- James Baptism

PS look how long my hair is! 

4 and 5- Beautiful monkey outside the house of a part member family we met

6-The Espilico Family

7-Sister Rebecca and some of her housemates. The White guy is a member from Canada. 

8 and 9- some baby goats we found :) They were the cutest!

Week 44

Hella Errabody!

Like I said In the last email, we went to the temple this last week on a temple tour. We thought it was just going to be the original 8 that were planned... It ended up being around 30 all together! SUPER COOL! I will attach the picture! It was such a cool experience and to see how people felt just being on the grounds of the temple! So many kept saying they just wanted to go inside. Out of curiosity and how happy they felt. It was awesome!

This week has been pretty great though! Minus the part of being sick basically all week! I have a sipon(Cold), and something is up with my stomach. I am on some meds that semi work. Buuuut, if next week the emails say, "Life in the hospital" or something witty with Grey's Anatomy, I think you understand what happened. 

This week I also got a phone call during a lesson from President Tanner. Rare. So I left the room and took it, wondering if it was him saying he regretted letting us go on the now bawal temple tours or if it was about having to be admitted. It was about Tacloban. They are starting to send us back now! At first it was just going to be 2 zones in Leyte. Sogod and Maasin Zone. And it was going to be just 3 of us that got reassigned in Cebu East. Well, They are now sending back 12 of the 18 that are here in Cebu East. I am staying, which  am kinda glad about, I love this ward and I wanna finish Sister Mahinay's training! But all together, it's a great thing to hear. That all is up and running now in mostly all areas and that life is progressing! Such a blessing. 

Well, I love you all again and hope all will continue in being great! LOVES YOUS

SISTER BRAY

Week 43

So It has rained this WHOLE week straight! It never does that. We heard that it is worse in America right now. Niagra is frozen over and that when you throw water up in the air it instantly freezes.... Could be an exaggeration, but I am going with it! Hahah:) so stay warm! We are trying our hardest too. I had to sleep in my long sleeve Hawaiian Style shirt! I haven’t used it since the MTC! Hahaha, I am serious, I call 2nd coming! 

This last week we experienced a pretty cool blessing. Brother Duero referred us to some of his teenager cousins. And then the lesson grew and grew and grew! We have to split with them the Elders! We just go into separate parts of the home and teach them. They are so great! It's the Dueros cousins, neighbors, people that work for them, seriously! It is so cool! These people are so ready! In our last lesson with them gave them a date, the 25th. There is about 8 that have sincerely been there for each lesson. And 3 of them said YES! The others just have a couple concerns about it. Most are non-sense excuses. ITS YOUR TIME! the lord is calling you... Sometimes I really just wanna say JUST DO IT-nike, but that is not the best way. They all have answers to it. They feel it is true and it brings them happiness as well. just baby steps maybe. They'll get there. We give them a temple tour tomorrow! So I will send pics next week! It will be super cool! We just hope that the weather will be nice :)

Well, that's about it for this week. I love you all! Keep  it real! Stay warm :)

SISTER BRAY

Week 42

Hello everybody! How y'all doin??? :)

Sooo just like I said in the last email.... NANAY NA AKO! I'M A MOMMY NOW! I am training! Me and Sister Diongco, who is also training, went to Liloan chapel so excited to pick up our little bundles of joy! :) hahaha, her name is SISTER MAHINAY! She is from Manila, in Quezon City.... so she is PURE Tagalog! hahah, she knows English though! I only know a little tagalog... I can understand it, but I can’t really speak it. She is totally picking up on Cebuano already though! And it is so great to see it! Hahah, we get joked about a lot because a foreigner speaks the language and she doesn’t yet... Hahah, we think it’s funny too! 

We had a great time with the baptism and so did ALL the ward! It is so great to see how the members of this ward have truly taken "Every Member a Missionary" to heart. Pajo is actually called Zion! Hahah they decided to "change" the name recently :) Jokes lang! But it is so great! I love this ward! And we have received so many blessings already as a companionship. This last Sunday, we fasted together. For some of our investigators. One in particular. Mary Grace. She is from Negros and works for Bishop. She found out that her twin 17yr old sister is pregnant and getting married. So she is going home, not coming back. Her baptism was to be this weekend, but with her going home 3 days after her baptism, we were all worried that she would go inactive. So we fasted. The next day when we saw her, the first thing she says, "I'm not getting baptized." I didn’t feel sad or worried either..... She told us later of her best friend. I thought ya, cool, I love my friends more than anything, but this is really random. Her best friend is a member. She found out that her family has been visited by her friend and the MISSIONARIES so much this part week! She is going to continue with the lessons there and gah, blessings! I was so happy when she told me!!! 

Well, I love you all so much 1 and I hope that all is going well and that you have enjoyed the year so far :) haha, it just  started but hey :) 

SISTER BRAY

1- the Baptism! Badeth and the Duero Family

2-Me and Sister Mahinay the day we were assigned

Week 41

Happy New Year sa Tanan :)

Hope y'all enjoy it! We definitely enjoyed ours! As a zone we were able to watch a oh so pirated version of Frozen and the Rise of the Guardians! Both are amazing, I recommend :) Hahah, and we watched all the fireworks outside our window at midnight! It was so great! I loved it! Cheers to the New Year! I love the Youth Theme for this year, and I have no doubt that it is not to help the youth to prepare for their missions... to help others to "COme unto Christ and be perfected through Him" Moroni !0;32. It will be a great year! I am certain of it! 

To start off this New Year.... I am training! I pick up my anak(child) tomorrow morning! I am excited and at the same time nervous because I have only been in a Cebuano area for one cycle, and only know the language a little bit. But, I know that the ward will help us out! There is a big number of Poly's and Filipina's coming in. More than Americans. I pray for a brownie :) jokes! But I am so excited! And she will have a great first week as well, because, she will also have her first baptism! Sister Badet asked her parents over Christmas and they said YES! So it will be a great way to kick off the new year!! :)

Well, hope you all enjoyed the HOLLA DOLLA DAYZ!!! Continue the Christmas spirit ya? Love all you meet! I am grateful for this last year and the time I have been given to serve this past year! And to survive the storm and to have been so blessed in the Cebu East Mission. LOVE YOU all so much! I will send some pics too.... KEEP IT REAL!

1:Pajo ward Missionaries-E.Pole'o,E.Koroinamua, S.Diongco, S.Ande, and ME

2:This is the cock fight arena we pass through to get to the church :)

3:We cleaned our house on the 24 with the Elders, found out we had kittens living in the forest of our back yard! 

4:Cleanin up the yard

5:The Zone at our Christmas party at BlueWater Resort

6:Saying goodbye to Rosely Ann and the Aban family. They head back to Tacloban today!

Week 40

hello everybody! And merry Christmas! I hope it's a great one and you all enjoy this holiday season! Sorry again, because this email will be rather short! But I just want to remind everyone of the true meaning of the Season. 

This morning I decided to read about Christ’s birth. I read in all the major St. Books. You know, Matthew, Mark Luke, John, but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all :) Hahah Jokes lang! And I noticed so many interesting things. These shepherds "Immediately" left to worship a babe. These kings traveled for two years just to reach their Lord. His parents even suffered much hardships just trying to bring Him to this world. But they all realized He was the Savior. They all knew they needed Him. Even as a baby. Later in His life, his family went on their "yearly vacation" with the neighborhood, Mom and Dad forgot him there sadly and went back, seeing him talking with some richies in a temple, saying, "What are you doing? Do you not know that Dad and I have been worried sick?!" His only reply, “What do you mean? You know I am here to do my Father's work." Christ's role from the beginning was to do His Father's work. To bring all of His brothers and sisters back to the Father. I am so very grateful for Jesus Christ and his purpose here on earth and for the great love he continues to show to all of us. I hope we can all remember Him this time at celebration of His birth. That we will continue to look to him as a Light, just as the Wise Men did. And these things I say, in the Holy name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Week 39

Hello Everybody :)

So we had a very exciting week! And a lot of news going around on about Tacloban. It's straight up cray and at the same time such exciting news. But first I want to talk about the stuff going on in good 'ol Pajo ward...... 

I will not lie, this is my favorite ward to have been assigned to work in so far. This ward is amazing! They are always so continually supportive of the missionary work, we have days set apart just to contact referrals with members! Hahah, we are no longer visiting teachers to the les active members :) Jokes Lang, but it did feel like that just about all the time. So needs to say, that we have so much fun contacting all these members friends. You can totally tell just how much the gospel means to these members, and how much they desire their friends to enjoy this happiness as well. Me, Sister Ande, and Elder Koroinamua gave talks this Sunday on missionary work and hastening the work this Christmas season. It totally gave the members even more encouragement to share :) At stake conf. about two or three weeks ago, a member of the stake talked about sharing the gospel this way, "I have a gift for you. And I want you to read it." Talking about the Book of Mormon. And what greater way to give the gift of Love, Happiness, and the 'Jesus is the reason for the season". :) 

The ward as well was so very supportive of welcoming our new member this last weekend :) Little miss gwapa, Rosely Ann, was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. The ward planned everything for the service and was prepared to welcome her. I have had the greatest blessing by being able to meet her and share the gospel with her. Again, there is no doubt in my mind, she is one of the elect members in Heaven. Sister Rachel, our ward mission leaders wife gave a talk at the service, and said, "There are angels here. And they are smiling at you." Her family was totally there and so happy that they are all one step closer to being together forever :) I testify that that is true. That Rosely Ann will bless her family for eternities. Her deep desire to live the gospel and to have it in her life is so amazing! She will continue to "Pagpadayon sa hasta ka hasta" for sure! 

Now for news on Tacloban.... Y'all remember my first ward? Tanauan. How we always had a max of 50-60 come to church each week and were a ward of about 600..... A member from Alang Alang told me some amazing news about Tanauan on Sunday. They have an average of 600 come to church each Sunday since the typhoon. Bishop Cabe has his hands full :) I can't even describe my emotions when they told me this! Do you know how hard we worked to get people to come to church, and now basically all of Tanauan is coming to church! It is so amazing to see how quickly people turn to God. There defiantly times in life when we feel the world will answer all of our troubles, make them go away. When the baguio hit I saw more people turn to God. Some that even didn't believe in Him, or hadn't even prayed before turned to Him, because they knew He was the only hope they had. And more importantly because they knew He would answer. 

Another exciting news, pero more of a "daw" (or the word on the street) from all the Tacloban missionaries and from the massive email chain going on.... We are going back next month or February! They say all will be well by then. President Andaya and two of the office Elders are over in Maasin in Leyte right now. We will now be Philippines Maasin Mission :) Hahah, one mission call, three missions :) 

Well, I love you all and hope that you all have a great Christmas next week :) I will be skyping y'all, so be sure your phones have a chime or something so you can get my email and get to the computer! Hahah, and make sure Rubs is there :) I gotta meet my niece! Hahah, LOVE YOU!!!!!

SISTER BRAY

Week 38

Hello Everybody!!!!!!!!

This email may be a little short, but know that it is meat with love....

This week I learned a lot from the Spirit. A lot of things with Claire, and with Sister Bray. Things in need of improvement an things that I have grown into. Hahah, and physically grown into as well :) I am now being told, "Halaa, tambok ka na Sister Bray!" (Wow, your fat now!).... Thanks. I eat rice. Hahah, but in all seriousness, I have grown more since being here. I have noticed my maturity increase and how it will prepare me for after mission life and furthering in Heavenly Fathers plan for me. Minus, the continuous jokes I make :) I am grateful for everything though. For the way that I have been lead and for the life I have been given. Who I am and how I am able to help these people to recognize their worth. We have a baptism this Saturday! Her name is Rose Lianne, and she is WARAY!! She is from Leyte and we speak Waray with each other. And it makes me so happy! She is amazing! She is so prepared by the Lord and knows her worth as his daughter. And I am so grateful for the opportunity to help her to come closer. And for the trust Heavenly Father has in me to help his children.

Well, I love you all so much and I am so grateful for all the love you continue to show and share. Please keep it up, especially this Christmas season, and share it with others :)

SISTER BRAY

Week 37

Hello Family!!!! 

So our Pday was switched this week so that we could attend the temple today! Grabi, I can't even begin to tell you how big of a blessing it has been to be able to go to the temple! I was able to go in Manila and now I have a temple in my Mission!! Thanks number 1:Temples! It has blessed and helped me so much throughout my life, and especially now. Being away from all the temples, it felt different! Hahah, but now I have filled up again and I am totally ready to go and do! It is such a great place, every temple is, but Cebu is gorgeous! And the experience I had today is one I will always cherish! It helped me resolve personal matters and as well get the peace I needed to carry on.

I am glad you all had a great Thanksgiving and were all able to enjoy the blessings of love and friendship. We too were able to have such a blessing. I thought for sure, I would never have a Thanksgiving on my Mission. Just like Halloween or the Fourth of July. But, President and Sister Tanner would not have that! The four zones nearest the mission home were invited for a Thanksgiving Feast! And for most of the missionaries, it was their first! We had potatoes, turkey, gravy, homemade rolls, apple crisp, and just for the pinoys, RICE :) Hahahah, it was so great! And such a blessing to be reunited with everyone and enjoy the blessing and the beginning Christmas cheer! We all gave our thanks and our gratuity and definitely slept great that night :) It was a great day!

Things which I have definitely learned and grown from this week, would definitely be the love of the spirit. How the spirit loves each and every single one of us, that it is able to touch each one of our hearts and help us to come closer. This Sunday we had our stake conference and our 2nd councilor shared directly to the YSA of the stake and the ym and yw as well and preparing to enter the temple. It was great to recognize the steps I have made in my life that have helped me to come closer to the Lord by entering his holy house. He shared a story by a Young Women’s President in the 80's, I wish I could be able to find the story to give the full feel of it, but sadly I cannot. So I will summarize. There is a little boy who gets lost and finds his way to a YWs porch. The Yw calls the police and waits with the boy on the porch for his mother. Her and the little boys friendship grew so much in the small time they were able to spend together.  They sang Primary songs together, colored pictures, played games, and when the boy’s mother arrived the little boy asked her, "Are you Heavenly Fathers wife?" This YW was shocked by the question, but even more overthrown by the response that left her, "No. But I am His Daughter." We are all examples of our Heavenly Fathers love for all of us, His children, and should continually strive to help others to recognize their worth in His plan and our own as well. This I so dearly pray for every day. That I may be able to help others to know just how great a love their Father has for them and how dearly he wants us all to return to Him and our Heavenly Mother someday. That's a big purpose I came here on my mission, to help others to realize the great love that He has for them. 

Well, I love you all and I am so very grateful again, for the time I have been given to learn and to grow and help others to come closer. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SISTER BRAY