Sister Delgado serves in the Great Legazpi! : The best day of my entire life.

It was June 13, 2015 when I received a call from the assistants to the president telling me that I will be emergency transferred from Gubat, Sorsogon, to train a short term missionary, Sister Ramada, in an open area in Bulusan, Bulan. However, the AP’s told us that we would be staying in the Legazpi apartment with the Sister training leaders, Sister Jemino and Sister Dizon, until the end of the transfer since we were only halfway through that current transfer. As the weeks went by in the transfer, Sister Ramada and I felt prompted that while we are here in Legazpi waiting for the transfer to end we should help the ward out and see if there was anything we could do to help. So, we went tracting with some of the members of the ward to see if anyone would be interested in hearing the message of the Gospel.

One rainy Sunday night, about 8:30 at night, Sister Ramada knocked on a cute yellow and orange house inside of a Barangay, and a sweet little girl answered. The little girl was about 10 years old and had the hugest smile on her face. She quickly grabbed her mom and told her “two girls are outside the door and one of them looks super white!” Sister Ramada and I chuckled. The little girl said her name was Chelsea Gonzales, then her mom, Odette, kindly asked us to come the next Sunday to share our message with them. Gladly we accepted, and also invited them to attend church.

The next Saturday comes around and Sister Ramada and I were so excited to teach the Gonzales family. We taught Chelsea and Odette that families can be together forever through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ .That following Sunday, Chelsea unexpectedly came to church! Sister Ramada and I were so shocked at how willing this little 10 year old girl was to come to a place she had never been before and how well behaved she was! We all sat next to each other during sacrament meeting and President and Sister Guanzon decided to go to church in Legazpi and so we all sat together. President Guanzon kept looking at us sisters and Chelsea during sacrament as we whispered what was going on and what the speakers were referring to.

He told us that his heart was breaking knowing that he would be sending us to another place while we felt so much love for this little girl who attended our sacrament meeting. Odette and her other daughters, Denise and Miley, ended up coming to Sunday School and Relief Society as well, and Sister Ramada and I had no idea they’d be coming! Our hearts rejoiced exceedingly! Sister Odette and Denise sat right next to the one and only Sister Guanzon and felt touched by the powerful testimony and insights she gave during the Relief Society lesson. Sister Guanzon wasn’t familiar with Sister Odette and Denise so she introduced herself to them and bore strong testimony of how the Gospel changed her life. Sister Guanzon was actually confused as to why we were in the Legazpi ward because we weren’t the assigned missionaries that she normally saw and how we already had investigators going to church. We explained to her our situation and that we had found this family through prayerful tracting. She immediately told Odette that none of that, or this, was a coincidence, and that her family needed to listen to our message. Sister Odette then told us that we could come to their place later that night to share the rest of our message to her and her family because she was looking for something that could truly help her and her kids feel more guidance in their lives.

Although we knew that Legazpi wasn’t going to be our assigned area, we couldn’t stop thinking about the Gonzales family. The thought of leaving them and this city did not feel right at all. It was the most unsettling feeling I’ve ever had on my mission. Sister Ramada and I decided to fast and pray for the rest of the day, inquiring of the Lord what His will would be for us and for this family. We needed to know whether or not to stay for this family or whether to just leave and pray the other missionaries would help them. Since Sister Ramada and I had only shared the first few principles of the gospel, we had not mentioned the book of Mormon to them or any detail about the Restoration. So we thought that if that night (Sunday) Odette would allow us to teach this family and would accept the challenge to read the Book of Mormon and come to church next Sunday, this family is the family the Lord needs us to focus on.

It was pouring rain yet again that Sunday night and Sister Ramada and I relied on the Lord more than we ever have before in our entire lives. Odette let us in and the Lord guided us with the Spirit in what to say and do to help her family feel the divinity and truthfulness of this message and how it will change and help their lives for the better if they would let it. They accepted to read the Book of Mormon and to come to church the next Sunday. Sister Ramada and I left their house with tears in our eyes; the Lord had answered our specific prayer and made it clear what we needed to do. We called President Guanzon and he told us before we could really even explain what had happened that we are to stay in Legazpi City, open our new area there, and do all we could to help the Gonzales family enter into an everlasting covenant with God through the waters of baptism. Now after a transfer of teaching the Gonzales family about the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and Gospel of Jesus Christ and His commandments with sister Ramada, the ward members of the Legazpi ward were heavily involved. Through the direction and guidance of Bishop Francisco, the ward members, and the stake President, became very involved in through full fellowshipping and helping them to feel loved and welcomed. Through the ward council and the mission coordination meetings we had with the ward, family home evenings with the Gonzales family were planned, member present lessons happened, and designating members from the ward to fellowship them during various church activities were deemed successful. None of the members who fellowshipped and loved the Gonzales family ever failed to bear powerful testimony and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ had changed their lives tremendously and the overwhelming influence of God that they felt so strongly in their lives. The Gonzales family actually had many connections they made between their social lives, school, and work with the members; which made them feel all the more like family. Sister Ramada and I couldn’t believe our eyes with how well they all clicked and how the members unwaveringly gave love and charity.

As Sister Ramada left her short term mission and Sister de Hoyos and I became a companionship, we prayed to the Lord to help us know what else the Gonzales family needed in order to enter the covenant of baptism.

As Sister de Hoyos and I prayed and fasted for them, many challenges were coming into the lives of this is precious family. Although they felt in their hearts that they wanted to commit to God and His restored Gospel through baptism, doubts arose unlike before and Satan was working his hardest to make them feel that what they would embark upon would be a mistake.

Denise had a set baptism date for Wednesday, September 9, 2015, in which we were all so excited for. But after the baptismal interview of Chelsea and Odette, they told us and Elder Raven that they were not going to be baptized the following day with Denise.

Well, I know you all want the truth.

Sister de Hoyos and I were devastated. We were shocked, confused, and wondered where in the world did we go wrong. Had God forgotten why He even sent me and my companions to Legazpi City? Had he forgotten how much this family needs this Gospel? Why did we even open this area, had it not been for this family? My heart had never felt so heavy or saddened than on that Tuesday night on September 8. The confusion and strife felt within our hearts was an understatement because of our love for this precious family. The thought of us lacking something that we should have said or done differently for them was haunting.

The next day when we told Bishop Francisco what had happened, he of course felt devastated as well. He himself had questioned God if there was something more we could have done to help them, the whole ward did.

Then as President Guanzon spoke, he understood our sorrow and great love for this family. He spoke simply, yet lovingly and powerfully. He said it’s simple. Just trust God. Trust that this is His plan, and that He loves this family more than we know. We accepted his remarks and decided to just fully trust in God and understand that the Gonzales family needed something only God himself could give them that would strengthen their faith.

So on that Wednesday afternoon, it was pouring rain. We were preparing for Denise’s baptism and were praying for a miracle to happen and for better understanding. As 6:00pm approached, the Gonzales family came ready for Denise’s baptism. Then suddenly, Chelsea whispered in my ear, “Sister, I change my mind. Momma and I want to be baptized with Denise.” Odette said that during the hours of that day, she was praying for a sign from God telling her whether or not this be the right choice for her. Even though she felt it was true, it was still hard to make this decision that would change her life so drastically. She said during her prayer, that if God would stop the rain by the time she got to the chapel, it would be His will for them to be baptized. The rain stopped as they entered the gates of the chapel.

Odette received the Lord’s answer seconds before she entered the chapel.

My heart dropped! The members were filled with joy and tears were instantly filled in every eye in the room. Chelsea, Denise, and Odette quickly got their baptismal clothes on and hurried back in the sacrament hall. I called President Guanzon and told him a miracle was about to happen so if he wanted to see it he better come back to the chapel!

As everyone settled down, the baptism program began and each one of those precious souls were baptized and confirmed the following Sunday. They all bore such sweet testimonies about their love for the Lord. They expressed how the feeling of baptism was something that they have never felt before. How pure they felt. How they’ve never felt so much closer to their Savior by following His example.

If there’s anything that is to be learned from the entire experience, it’s that the Lord is absolutely in charge and we need not to worry nor despair. If as missionaries, we do our part in allowing ourselves to be simple instruments for the Lord, we must rejoice. Every single second of our lives is carefully planned by our Almighty Creator. As members of the church and as missionaries, working together can bring about miracles we can’t even fathom. The Lord is hastening his work. May we have enough faith to seek His will, and be willing to simply trust enough to do it.

Love,

Sister Delgado

I witnessed the biggest miracle on Wednesday of my whole mission...
The Gonzales family was baptized and confirmed into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Sister Ramada came back from Bacacay to see the miracle... Such a glorious day!!!

Bishop Francisco, Stake President Pangan, Sister DeHoyos, Odette Gonzales,
Chelsea Gonzales, Denise Gonzales, me, Sister Guanzon, and President Guanzon.