MALIGAYANG PASKO!!

Merry, Merry Christmas everybody! 

Well last weekend was surely the weekend of all weekends! Congrats to Shaye and Court!! The most beautiful brides ever! And welcome home to sweet Ash, Panda and Heath. 3 amazing sisters who have totally returned with honor!! Shoutout to allll of my amazing friends and their examples. 

But to be honest....I think I had the best weekend of everyone because Brother J was baptized :) Yay!! It was a beautiful baptism. And yesterday Sister Uba, Sister Candy and I were able to speak about Christmas and missionary work in church! My 2 favorite things. I read a little bit from Luke 2 and shared how my Grandpa would always read this to our family on Christmas Eve. I encouraged the ward to "Fear not!" (v 10) because we have the good tidings of great joy again on the earth!! Fear not to do missionary work! Fear not if you are faced with trials and hardships! Jesus Christ lives and He has overcome the world! I love the beautiful message of the birth, ministry and Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful to have another Christmas here in the beautiful land of the Philippines. Remember the reason for the season! Be thankful for all the gifts our Savior has given us, turn out and share your love and testimony with others! 

I have been reflecting on this past year a little bit and I am just so full of gratitude. Last Christmas I was crying like a baby because I missed my family so much and I was just starting to feel the true enabling power of the Atonement in my mission life. I also didn't really understand the Christmas Devotional in Tagalog, ha ha. But this year I understood it all! But more importantly, I can now testify that I know my Savior. I know with my whole heart and soul that He lives and His redeeming and enabling power are real. I LOVE being a missionary and sharing the light of Jesus Christ with others. All is well, all is well. Have a merry, merry Christmas!! Talk to you soon fam :) Mahal ko kayo!!

Love, 

Sister Giles 

Sweet Sister Candy bought us a cake in honor of my mom's birthday!

 

Love all your fellowmen. Saint or Sinner!!

Happy Birthday shoutout to my dear mother on Wednesday!!! Everybody spoil her and bring her chocolate and give her hugs for me. Everybody knows Dawn Giles is the best so I don't even need to brag about her. 

All is well here in Lipa! Sister C is the best recent convert ever. She is already giving us referrals and brought her friend to church! He is this sweet Tatay she always buys coconut juice from. Also we have some good news...Brother J is getting baptized on Saturday!!! :) :D :-)) He has been having some doubts but he attended Sister C's baptism last week, felt the Spirit so strong and then told us his next lesson he wants to be baptized ASAP. I feel so blessed to have been here to be a part of J's conversion process. He has overcome so many doubts and a cigarette addiction and he is just such a powerhouse now. He will be a great future stake president, mark my words. I love these people so much!! 

My dad asked about our golden family and they are still doing great. Came to church again yesterday and loved it :) Keep Sister A in your prayers also, she is ready for baptism but feeling a little hesitant. 

Yesterday our Relief Society lesson was on charity and the sisters were kind of complaining about how sometimes neighbors are hard to love. This little 4 foot something Nanay in her 80's with orange hair in our ward just walked to the chalkboard during the lesson and wrote, "We cannot say we love God if we do not love all our fellowmen. Saint or sinner." Everybody got quiet and she said "love all men" and sat down hahahah it was awesome. She also gave a Book of Mormon to all her neighbors. She is our best member missionary and she is in her 80's and doesn't hear anything unless you are yelling in her ear. What's your excuse for not sharing the gospel? 

Mahal ko kayooooo!!

Sister Giles

The District

Pagpapakumbaba

The subject of my email means humility in Tagalog. No special reason it's just one of my favorite words and I thought you all might like it! 

Well, another great week!! Sister Uba and I have been really finding with faith this week and we saw miracles every single day. Like sweet sister E! We were tracting and she was sitting outside her house so we talked to her. She let us in and said she was so happy because her dad was baptized in the LDS church and always went to church but he had died and she had so many questions about "Mormons!" She has recently moved and has been reading the Bible and looking for an honest, Christian church close to her house. We answered her questions, taught her about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she accepted a BGD!! (Baptismal Goal Date)

Sister Uba and I were feeling brave so we "tao po'ed" (knocked) at this hugeeee house and like 50 dogs started barking at us but we didn't back down! The sweetest lady came out who has also been wondering for a long time which church was true and she also accepted a BGD! 

Also do you remember that super sweet sister G we found a couple weeks ago? We had a chance to teach her and her husband and 2 daughters together and they have been also looking for a church to worship together as a family and they all accepted BGD's!! 

God is a God of miracles. As my companion and I have been striving to be exactly obedient, applying diligence all day and praying specifically and with faith- God is giving us amazing people to teach. They are all so prepared!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!! 

I had an "I'm a Filipina" moment this morning when I was washing my clothes by hand, my companion was cleaning the fresh fish we just bought from a lady on the side of the road and we were speaking Tagalog hahaha! I never want to leave.

 

Also one more thing, I hope all of you back home are attending the temple regularly!! I miss the temple so much. You are all soooo blessed to have a temple so close. My sweet companion and her family were all converted in 2006, saved up money for a year and then in 2007 traveled from the very bottom of the Philippines to the Manila temple to be sealed forever as a family. I am truly inspired by these faithful Filipinos. Sister Uba told me that her family and a couple others traveling to be sealed prepared the Sacrament on Sunday, had FHE and sang hymns on the boat. Even though they don't have much money, they are so happy because they know they are an eternal family!! I hope all of us still have that same reverence and commitment to temple covenants even if the temple is 10 minutes away. Have a great week!! Mahal na mahal ko kayo!!

Love, 

Sister Giles 

Maging Ilaw sa Sanglibutan!

Hello po everybody!!  

I hope everybody had a Happy Thanksgiving. I made a little Thanksgiving dinner for my comp and kabahay, definitely

not my mom's mashed potatoes but hey, they liked it. It was a Thanksgiving I'll never forget!! I feel extremely blessed everyday as I live and serve around these humble people and share the amazing gospel of Jesus Christ!! 

I am also so happy the new Christmas video is out. Go watch Light the World! Or Maging Ilaw sa Sanglibutan!! We have cute new pass along cards, I love the Christmas season. The best season for missionary work!! Especially here in the land of the 'ppines where everybody loves their Savior :)

Good news...Sister Candy's baptism is all set for this Saturday!! Woohoo!! She is so excited. It has been such a privilege and blessing teaching her and watching the Gospel change her life. She has a new light in her life and is such a converted person. 

Also yesterday our miracle family that I told you about last week came to church!! The whole completed family :) They are very wealthy but very humble and we can see them as great leaders here in Lipa someday. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation to them this week and it was such a sweet moment teaching a completed family all sitting together and participating and watching the Spirit teach them and soften their hearts. They have a goal to be sealed in the temple and become an eternal family :)

Sorry not a lot of time because I spent a while looking at the cute pics of the family my dad sent me haha. I am so thankful we are an eternal family!!! I love this Gospel. I love being Sister Giles. I love my Savior so much and I hope you all share His light this week!! Maging Ilaw! Mahal ko kayo!

Love, 

Sister Giles 

Sister Candy is the best and bought us Burger King. We used the self timer and Sister Uba didn't make it, haha love her soo much!

Binyag ni Sister Candy!! :)

Hello po! 

It was such a great, busy week. Sister Candy is baptized!!!! :) It was a beautiful day. She looked beautiful in white and had such a glow. We are amazed by her spiritual maturity. Her testimony is so pure and powerful. After her baptism when she bore her testimony, she quoted Amazing Grace and said "My chains are gone, I've been set free. My Lord, my Savior has ransomed me." We all just started crying because the Spirit testified to everyone who attended that the Atonement is so real. Sister Candy has truly been set free and she now has a chance to return back to her Heavenly Father because of her obedience in following Jesus Christ. I love this Gospel so much. I love being a missionary and instrument in God's hands. Nothing brings me so much joy!! I know with my whole heart and soul that through Jesus Christ we can all be set free. All trials and sin can be made light through the Atonement. Sister Candy will be a great leader and light to Lipa Ward 1 :) 

We also had the chance to attend MLC and have exchanges with Sister Santizo and Sister Moore!! I worked with Sister Santizo in her area. She has been my friend in the mission for a while now and is from Utah so we had a great time!! There are very few "white" girls here in the San Pablo Mission haha so we love when we get to spend some time together. We also saw a cactus!! Yeah I have no idea why there is a cactus in the Philippines but I think AZ was just trying to give me some love :) 

MLC was also sooo inspirational. GREAT things are happening in PSPM! President focused on the word BELIEVE. We need to believe more that we can overcome any false limitations we have for ourselves. I love setting goals and my companion and I are feeling so motivated to set higher goals and believe and work hard to achieve them! I don't want to go home! Maybe I'll just stay another year so I can witness more miracles and be a part of the BEST thing in the whole world- the work of salvation!

I hope everybody is getting into the spirit of Christmas and serving others!! mormon.org We are having so much fun with 25 ways in 25 days- come be a part of it! Mahal na mahal ko kayoooo! :)

Love, 

Sister Giles 

The Nature of Happiness

So good news, I am staying in Lipa with Sister Uba!! Yay! People like to call us big and small haha but we like to call ourselves the power team! We are having fun and seeing sooo many miracles. 

Me and Sister Uba

We found our investigator reading the Book of Mormon like this!

Another great week...zone training meeting, found some more families who accepted baptismal goal dates, a SUPER full Sunday School class on Sunday with our great investigators. We are moving into a bigger room next week! I love being an instrument in the hands of God. Oh and we have a small family of cats living in our roof hahaha. We are working on finding a solution, no worries. 

I love the Lipa Zone!!

Something I really liked in my personal study this week was in Alma 41:10-11. The phrase "wickedness never was happiness" is a common one to us but I learned a lot as I studied it more in depth this week. I love verse 11 when it says when people are wicked, "...they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness." I love that phrase. "nature of happiness." God is a happy God!! He is loving and merciful and His only desire is that we find joy and eternal life. When we are disobedient we are choosing to be alone. We are choosing to take ourselves far from the Holy Ghost. But when we are trying to change our natures and do what is right, we WILL be happy!! It reminds me of Mosiah 3:19. Latter Day Saints should be happy people because we are working to develop a "nature of God" and a "nature of happiness." Filipinos are happy people because they are so giving and loving and humble. Let's strive to develop more Christlike attributes so we can live in a nature of happiness!!

Mahal ko kayooooo!

Sister Giles 

I asked Abby if she had heard about the election in America and this is what she said in her personal email to me which I thought was interesting:

The Philippines is taking the election hard. All the news reporters are freaking out saying nobody can get visas now. It is actually scary for separated families in America and the Philippines. I feel lucky to be far away from it. It has strengthened my testimony that the Gospel is the only way we can find true joy and peace in a changing and scary world. And it is a good wake up call that these are the last days and we have a preordained responsibility as members of the church to speak up and spread light. God is with us no need to fear!

Pinakamakapangyarihan Aklat!

Helloooo to my dear family and friends!! 

I loved this week! Pretty normal week but we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) on Friday and it was amazing as usual. One huge thing I learned was about the power of the Book of Mormon. Our great AP's gave a workshop about using the Book of Mormon more powerfully in our work and wow, I learned so much. We focused on using it to address the concerns of our investigators. I am sooo thankful for the Book of Mormon. It really is the pinakamakapangyarihan aklat sa buong mundo!! (most powerful book on the whole earth). I love reading and studying it every day. I have come to realize that there is a lesson to be learned in every single verse. It answers the questions of the soul and it is how we can receive answers to our prayers!! If you are not reading the scriptures every day I invite you to change and enjoy the power that just flowssss through daily scripture study!! 

Philippines San Pablo Mission Leadership

At Mission Leadership Council

 

We had a fun zone pday today!! We had a "boodle fight" where you cut down banana leaves, lay down rice and meat and eat with your hands!! Haha so fun. I love this Filipino culture. Life is good, my companion is my bff and being a missionary is the BEST!! 

I know the Book of Mormon in another testament of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that through the Book of Mormon we can come to truly know our Savior. I know He loves us and THIS is His church once again established on the earth!! This is the most beautiful message we have for the whole world!! Families CAN be eternal, God LIVES and LOVES all of us individually, the heavens are open and we can receive personal revelation and revelation through living prophets and apostles. I love you all!! Have a great week! Eat with your hands this week, it's fun. 

Love, 

Sister Giles