AH!! A new companion here in Gubat!‏

Kumusta lahat!

I have a new companion! Sister Cyrene Ilago. She is a cute little Filipino from Davao, Philippines. Her native language is actually Visias and Tagalog is her second language. You come to find that when you serve in the southern parts of the Philippines that there are tons of dialects down here! So yes, there’s barely any English in the house. Sister Ilago has been on her mission for a year and 2 months… Grabe! I really love Gubat and am so blessed to have her and an awesome area.

We’ve had some pretty funny experiences this week. Things really started to get interesting when teaching a 22 year old, smart college student named Je. Je is super sweet and totally loves the missionary discussions. We are only able to see her once a week  and so we teach a bunch to her at a time. We left with her the lesson 1 pamphlet of the Restoration of the gospel. She read it in preparation for the next visit. So when we came back to teach her, she had tons of questions. Particularly about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Her questions were of course valid and required immediate answers. But after explaining all we could to answer her questions, it really came down to if she would read the Book of Mormon, she would find an answer to all her questions about Joseph Smith being a true Prophet of God and if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was the restored by Jesus Christ himself. She was really hesitant to commit to read the Book of Mormon but committed to read it. Haha. She said she really hoped that she wasn’t yielding to the enticings of the devil because “sometimes the devil appears attractive and harmless” aka hinting that she was suggesting that we were the devil’s disciples and teaching her false doctrine. Yeah just take that in for a sec. Pretty funny, huh? Filipinos are super spiritual and really want to do what’s right.

Yes, I was able to bear testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. But frankly, I was a bit shaken by all her questions. And when it comes down to it, its all about faith and how much spiritual strength you feed yourself. So because of this experience I realized that you can never be fed enough sprirtual strength. Everyday, especially as members of the church, we need to spiritually uplift ourselves so that we can be unmoved and unshaken. In my personal study, I was reading in Mosiah 13-16. Great chapters might I add. The highlight of that study was when it said that God cannot deny himself, nor can he deny justice. Meaning that God is justice.  Meaning that every promise that God ever makes, any law He created, He is bound to keep and live. (D&C 82:10)  God must let justice prevail  in our lives and let us grow from our hardships and learn from our mistakes. If God were to intervene at every given hardship, how could we grow. Because of His love for us, He sent his beloved son Jesus Christ as mercy to claim the penitent. Because of Him, we are able to repent and have a chance to be cleansed from our sins. 

I'm so blessed to be here in the Philippines. Despite any physical discomfort people face, it’s beautiful. Every day when I wake up, I feel such purpose in my life and so grateful to be sharing truth to such God fearing, humble people. Filipinos are so hilarious. Even when they don’t try to be.  These people are so willing to listen. Even the drunks. Especially when they see you’re teaching a family, the drunks love to randomly join. It’s a pretty interesting experience let me tell ya. But me and Sister Ilago end each day with a laugh and smile. 

i love you all so much and so appreciate all your emails of love and support. It means the world to me!

mahal na mahal ko kayo!!!

Sister Delgado <3

Sister Ilago!  Such a cutie.

A Tribute to Sister Padre and Missionary Work‏

Hello Family and Friends,

Yes, breaking news. My companion is being transferred.

I'M GOING TO MISS HER SO MUCH.

I know with all my heart that Sister Zesarina Vivica Padre was meant to be my companion. She's one of those people where you know God specifically place someone in your life so that you could learn and grow and want to be a better person. I think my favorite thing about Sister Padre is that she taught me to be a better missionary in a way that wasnt chastising and rude. Through her example, I was able to stretch myself in ways I never knew possible for the people here in Gubat. She told me the Christlike attribute she was able to really exercise during our companionship was patience. Which I know is completely valid. But the attribute I was able to learn these past two transfers was love. Without genuine, pure love, there is no qualification to assist in this work.

It was funny because I remember thinking that having one of your best friends as your companion was supposed to be this fun! haha I'm so blessed to have met Sister Padre. Words cant explain how grateful I am for all she has done for me. We've experienced so much together and she's seen it all. I will always remember these last two transfers with her for the rest of my life. I will always carry the wonderful example my trainer showed me. Gubat will miss Sister Padre terribly. I will miss one of my best friends terribly. But I know her talents and skills are needed in other areas, and I am excited to embark upon a new journey with my new companion. 

Life is a beautiful thing and is ever changing. The beauty of change is the opportunity to grow and stretch yourself. I had no idea the amount of strength one can receive once in the service of God. I'm done with adjusting to all the hard things a new missionaries experiences, thank goodness. I'm so grateful the Lord has blessed me with so much, namely my family. 

This last Sunday I had the opportunity to speak in Sacrament meeting about missionary work. Yes, all in Tagalog of course ;) As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it's frankly our duty to share the gospel in any way we can. Prophets of old have counseled us to do so. In Moses 1:39, God says His work and glory is bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. What a marvelous cause. If this be God's work and glory, oh how blessed we will be if we are to assist in His work! Not only will God bless us as we share the gospel to our fellow brothers and sisters, but we will naturally feel true happiness. That true happiness I've found comes from internally gospel principles within yourselves, thus strengthening your testimony of the restored gospel, serving others by sharing the gospel, and in resulting in genuine love because you see their value as children of God and want them to return to Heavenly Father's presence. 

I know that through missionary work, the gates of Heaven will open and blessings will be poured upon our heads. The gospel provides TRUE help to those in need, whether rich or poor. And that is a fact that I stand by firmly.

I love this gospel and this beautiful work.

I am so happy to be staying in Gubat.

I love these people and my mission. My journey.

Mahal kita mga kapatid!

Sister Delgado

Anyone Hungry?

:D

My sweet girls Sharon and Angela :)

I love Gubat!! I mean COME ON!!

A Tribute to Nanay's Day‏

Well today has been such a glorious day.

Thank you so much for the skype call and for all the letters of love and support. I sure do love my family so much. 

Special shout out to my one and only grandma Leslie Minson, Mommy Shelly, and Nay Josie for being the most influential women in my life.

With life out here on the mission, I'm truly being reminded of all the things you've taught me and I cant thank you enough for the love, patience, and care you've showed me my entire life. Please know how much I love you!!!! 

I'm especially grateful for the wonderful nanays out here on my branch. So blessed!

Well this week was great! I was able to lead the area and do all things Sister Padre normally does. Yeah, a little pressure on my end to apply all the things I've learned from the last 11 weeks here out on the field. But I think the biggest lesson I've learned is to simply be fearless and not afraid to share this beautiful message of the restored gospel. I literally opened my mouth and shared our message to whoever would listen and I always felt the spirit every time. I am not ashamed of this gospel and can testify that it changes people's lives for the better. With this gospel I know people can find true happiness because true happiness is feeling the love from our father in Heaven and feel closer to Him. And the way we can do that to its fullest potential is through accepting His restored gospel and keeping all His commandments. I stand, and will always stand firm with that belief. 

In leading Gubat, and with the STL exchanges we had again this week, I

especially became thankful for all the things my nanay Sister Padre taught me here as well.  I also felt an increased love for the people here as well.

I love my area.

I pray for them daily and hope to find ways to bless their lives.

It felt so great to be able to work so hard this week. 

Our standards of excellence per week is 35 lessons per week and we achieved 39! so exciting!

We taught so much that I barely have a voice right now! haha sorry nanays for the unattractive boyish voice I had haha. But I pray you all feel of my love for you and I truly love where I am at with life. 

Serving a mission is the best thing a person could do if they'd like to find themself.

I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day!

I love you all and know this gospel is true!

mahal kita,

Sister Delgado <3 

Sending my love here from the Phil<3

Barcelona Beach!

Beach Hopping on Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from Rizal Beach!

Rizal Beach!

Throwing Peace Signs and Cooking ADOBO‏

HELLO family and friends!

AND HELLO to my new baby cousin Hazel Eleanor Minson!!! :)

Well this week was a blast! haha, well, I started my week with getting my hands caught in the medal electric fan and got my hands and nails cut pretty bad. So I can barely type right now and am on my way to the hospital! haha so I'm walking around Sorsogon throwing peace signs with my bandaged fingers. 

But this week, the pressure is on!  not really haha. This is the 11th week of my training and I will be leading the area, lessons, and managing all the things my trainer Sister Padre normally does.

I will let you all know how it goes next Monday. Im so excited and feel absolutely fearless. I love Gubat and sharing the gospel and I love Tagalog so this will be a great time, 

I love you all and hope all is well and I cant wait for my Mothers Day call next week!

ingat kayo palagi

mahal kita

Sister Delgado

PS: I have perfected my cooking skills in cooking ADOBO!  I'm finally a "qualified filipina" lol

Walking around Sorsogon like this.
Loosing my mind. lol

Gutat's favorite Sister Missionaries

Tracting with Sister Padre

Sister Delgado Tractting

When you forget to ask the fish sellers
 to clean the fish.

Suman fun!

Kids having fun playing with water.

Mosquito feast on my legs everyday! haha

We sure love our jungle :)

A keychain one of the members
of the branch made me :) 

My planner case featuring 
Leslie Minson and the BOM.
Cute motivation to keep working hard!

What can I say, I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world. 

#Blessed

We love everything you send us!!!
From the Scriptures to the pamphlets to everything!
The almonds are always a hit and of course the Lara Bars!!!