Beach Baga!

Okay I'm going to type so fast to try to fit all this stuff in:

This week we had exchanges in Abuyag and I went there to work with Sister Tuiloli who is my batch coming in the mission. She is so awesome! We had a ton of fun and had some good work. (and their apartment is haunted so that was fun) Then the next day was our one year mark sa field and our kabahay threw us all a party at lunchtime and it was awesome. 

The work is slowly progressing here. We keep getting "sorry we are catholic. Come pick up your book of mormon, we don't want it anymore" texts from all our new investigators so that's a bummer but so is life as a missionary. But I won't spend time talking about that, I wanna tell you about our SILVER LINING: Elmo. So Elmo is the boyfriend of a member who has been coming to church activities for over a year and wanting to be baptized but his parents are devoted Catholic and really against it. When we met him he said the missionaries would never teach him because he told them he couldn't be baptized. But I remembered Mom's conversion story so I figured if he has the desire to learn then we should teach him. So yeah, the miracle is he now has a baptismal date for October and his parents started coming around. (but please keep praying for their hearts to be softened so he can be baptized). ELMO IS SO GREAT! He already has a strong testimony and last week without us even inviting him to, he and his girlfriend fasted and prayed that his parents would allow him to come to church and they did! He said he even cried he wanted to go to church so bad and their hearts were soften and they gave him permission. He loves the church. He understands the doctrine. He is so stinkin' smart. He is definitely a golden investigator. We saw him walking one day on the street and I asked him if he had walked all the way from his school to the church and he smiled all cute and responded "yeah... but I need to practice walking if I get to serve a mission one day, right? missionaries always walk." WHO IS THIS KID. I can't even explain how powerful his lessons are. I'm so excited for him. Gonna join him in fasting weekly for his parents because his baptism will happen if they can come to terms with it. I know that even if his parents aren't ready to accept the gospel, if Elmo is we need to help him get there! He is the same age as mom when she joined the church and I just know he will have a happy ending like her! Also side note but they are both totally going to serve missions and then get married in the temple its gonna be great! 

Friday we had zone training and it was really good. The ZL's here are awesome and all the missionaries are awesome and participate a lot so it's fun to have our meetings:) Saturday we had a CSP planting trees with our branch and I even got to see the Manahan's! 

Sunday nanay Patria came to church!!!!!!!! We came to pick her up and then saw she had already started walking there all by herself. Even though she is super old and weak and blind. She was determined to get there and i was so proud of her. That was maybe the best moment of my week. Because she has been struggling with feeling the love of God for her and after sacrament I leaned over to her and was like "nay, how was church?" and she just had the biggest smile and is like "It was beautiful" and then I said "do you feel how much he (God)  loves you now?" and she said "yes!" 

IT WAS SO GREAT!

Today we went to Gubat for a zone activity on the beach. It was so fun and the elders had set up this scavenger thing and one of the tasks was "bury sister turner in the sand" so yeah gotta love the elders. I was wet and sandy the whole day but it was so fun! Also I wore jeans for the first time in a year and felt alot more Journey than Sister Turner as I played with the other missionaries on the beach. SO YEAH that was weird but I'M JUST TRYING TO FOCUS. I love the beach still:)

Next week we have transfers. I think I should stay here but we'll see what happens. I've learned I really can't tell ever what is going to happen with transfers. 

Love you all!

ALSO I CAN'T BELIEVE DAVID IS GETTING MARRIED THIS SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND AMRON CAME HOME FROM HIS MISSION ALREADY????????????????????????? what in the world. Time moves so fast. I can't believe I'll be home in four months. What is life. 

Sister Turner:)