Today was the first of our final three zone conferences. It seems unreal. We are continuing to work and serve as if we aren't going to be leaving. It's a lot easier that way. It's also really fun to work hard and to be immersed in the effort to bless lives. The movers came yesterday and packed up all the things we will be sending back to the states. The walls are empty in our house and the workers are painting, fixing walls and re-landscaping in preparation for the new mission president.
Gratefully, we are still able to focus on the work. We appreciate so much how the church tries to help us so we do not have to worry about cars, housing, etc. while we are on a mission. It is nice to have people help us with those things. The work of salvation is an exciting and wonderful effort. You can easily see why missionaries don't want to go back home. It's not that they don't love their families, it is because there is so much joy in seeing the way the gospel changes and blesses lives.
After a morning being taught by President and Sister Ostler and the assistants, the missionaries attend classes that focus on applying the things learned earlier that morning.
Lunch is always a highlight of the day!
Birthday Cupcakes & Candy Bags!
A HUGE THANK YOU to all the mission moms who contributed money for the missionaries to all receive mission umbrellas for Christmas! Luckily the rainy season doesn't start till the end of May, because we had trouble getting them printed, so the missionaries finally received them today!!! Filipinos use umbrellas year around due to the rain and hot sun, so they will be appreciated VERY MUCH! The umbrellas are also going to be used as OYM tools...to help bring up the idea that the gospel of Jesus Christ DOES help families be happy and that families can be forever. The missionaries also received pass along cards that will help them encourage investigators to seek additional information....and hopefully investigate the church.
We also finally completed a project that the mission has been working on for at least a year. Thanks to some wonderful missionaries who really caught the vision for this project and were willing to sacrifice all sorts of time and effort into the project, now each companionship has a satellite map of their area so they can keep track of members, investigators, etc. better. It will be a great blessing for all the missionaries!
