Happy Halloween!

Another week, come and gone. Always too fast and always full of miracles!! I love mission life. We had a busy week with 2 exchanges, interviews with President Mangum, and workshop training with the Lipa Zone sisters. My companion is still the best missionary ever and Lipa is still a land full of miracles!! Really though, I am so happy. 

Pioneers in Lipa!! This couple were literally first members here in 1974. The Brother was the Patriarch for years. I love this ward!

Treats from the corner store with Sister Moore

We found some superrrrr great new investigators this week. On Thursday during personal study I had a really strong impression to go visit the L family, a family we found through tracting a couple weeks back. I was kind of confused because every time we try to teach them they are always gone, but we decided to follow the Spirit. So later that day we went and... nobody was home haha. But there was a sister on the balcony of the upstairs apartment complex who saw us and was so excited to talk to an American. She started asking us tons of questions and wanted to take a picture. My comp and I call that my "foreigner power" hahaha! Anyway she ended up telling us to convert her, invited us into her home and asked like 10 questions of the soul. It was amazing!! Sister Uba and I were like um what, is this really happening. She also has a family member in Manila who is a member and wants us to come back and teach her husband and daughters too. :)

We also found another family of 9 kids that is sooo receptive to the gospel!! I felt like I was walking on clouds when we walked up to teach them. Literally 9 kids ages 8 and above and the husband and wife have the most loving relationship. They come from very hard circumstances and have close to nothing materially but they all had the biggest smiles and are so excited to come to church next week. I don't think I stopped smiling all day after we taught them. God is performing so many miracles here and I love being His instrument. I feel blessed everyday to be surrounded by these Filipinos. 

Friendly Filipinos!

This couple lives in Pakil, my first area, and it was really fun to see them when they came to visit family in an area where I was doing an exchange. We were very close when I lived in Pakil.

I have never been more tired but also never been more happy! I thought BYU swim team was the hardest thing I have ever done but a mission in the Philippines takes the cake! There is nowhere else I'd rather be. I know our Savior lives. I feel the strengthening and cleansing power of the Atonement every single day as I strive to improve my weaknesses and be the most diligent missionary I can be. Have a great week and remember how much God loves you!

Love, 

Sister Giles 

Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders in Lipa!

Huwag Manghusga!

Hello po!! 

Another great, busy week! Heavenly Father is blessing this area so much with great investigators! We have 11 progressing investigators and we are nearly running to every appointment and getting them ready for binyag! (baptism) I still love this ward, area, and companion. Even more than last week :) 

On Friday we traveled to St. Tomas and worked with the sisters in that area. It was such a great day full of miracles. They are reopening so it has been a little tough but we found so many less-active members. I worked with Sister Hanipale from Tonga. Polynesians just make me so happy! We were walking and this pregnant sister stops us and says, "Jesus Christ? Mormons?" she seemed so shocked.  Turns out she was baptized 2 years ago in a different area in the Philippines but when she moved, she lost contact with the church. She has been praying to be lead to the church again. Right time, right place, doing the right thing! The Lord really does prepare our path as missionaries!! 

Sister Hanipale and I teaching together

On Saturday we set some time aside to find some less-active members in one of our areas and we were faced with so much rejection #missionlife but we still saw miracles. We were looking for a family and nobody seemed to know them (there are no real addresses you just ask around).  We were walking this street and got to this house and my companion and I both walked toward it and said "tao po!" (knock, knock) and it was the family we were looking for! It was honestly so cool. Let the Holy Spirit guide!

I just want to share with you all a little about one of our MIRACLE investigators Sister C. She is a single interior designer in her 30's, and is the most prepared person ever. She used to live with a member family and has a friend on a mission so she has been familiar with the church for a while. She got the missionaries number a while ago but wasn't interested until a couple weeks ago. She is so excited for her baptism on December 3, reading the Book of Mormon every night (she is in Alma), and is making friends and enjoying church. We have seen the gospel of Jesus Christ bring her so much peace and happiness. She struggles sometimes with feelings of loneliness but as she has learned to turn to her Savior, the Book of Mormon, lds.org and prayer, she has a new light about her!! She has taught me so much. One of the biggest lessons is we can never rush conversion. She has been reading and investigating on her own for a couple years but never felt ready. But NOW she is ready to make and KEEP baptismal covenants. Sometimes it's hard to trust the Lord's timing but I know He is in control and He is always performing miracles and preparing souls for the missionaries to teach. I love being an instrument in His hands!! 

Also I loved my personal study the other day in Mosiah 29. Verse 12 says, "Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of man are not always just." Huwag Manghusga! Judge not! We don't know people's hearts. I have been trying to apply this more in my life and seeing people with clear, non-judgmental eyes. I promise it makes you happier. 

Well that's all for the week friends. Wish I had more time but you will all just have to hear lots and lots of missionary stories when I'm home in 5 months!! Have a great week xoxoxo mahal na mahal ko kayo!!

Love, 

Sister Giles

My Wall

 

Miracles in the Midst of a Typhoon!

Helloooo everybody! 

What a great, miraculous week in the land of the Philippines. This country still amazes me every week, I just love it here so much. I am a Filipina now for sure. I am a rice eater, flood walker, clothes hand washer and Tagalog speaker!

Sister Beason cleaning our fish for lunch

Tilapia, my favorite!

"Typhoon Karen" hit Lipa the past couple days but everybody is safe and we were still able to work, no problems. The typhoon was really hard at night but we were able to work fine during the days. After district p-day today we had to walk through hugeee floods and crazy rain and we were all soaked. I wish I got a pic but it was all just too wet. Making fun memories! But please keep these people in your prayers because we have a super typhoon coming this week and a lot of these houses will have a hard time taking the wind and rain. I know a lot of the families who are so close to my heart are cold and without a lot of necessary supplies so please pray for the Filipinos. 

District P-day

I love, love my new companion Sister Uba, we are having so much fun and working hard!  Honestly, exact obedience and hard work just showers miracles. Our mission set a goal last year for baptisms in the year of 2016 and we are a little behind that goal so we are doing all we can to get our progressing investigators ready for baptism. PSPM is the best mission and I know we can all do it!! 

Lunch after District Meeting

We had a miracle with Tatay Leonardo, a great investigator. His wife (well girlfriend) has been really closed off to the gospel but this past week she has started to come to church and she has agreed to be taught! They are also making plans for marriage so Tay can be baptized :) Also after a lot of prayers, a recent convert's husband has been also coming to church and finally agreed to be taught!! As we pray to be led to families God is truly answering our prayers!! 

Mahal na mahal ko kayo!! 

Love, 

Sister Giles 

Kaligayahan sa pamamagitan ni Jesucristo! (Happiness through Jesus Christ!)

Magandang Hapon sa inyong lahat! Kumusta kayo?? (Good afternoon everyone, how are you?)

It has been a great week in Lipa. I loveee my new kasama (companion), Sister Uba. She is such a great missionary and I have already learned so much from her. She is 4'11 so I am feeling a little bigger and taller than normal hahaha! She is the cutest. 

My super cute and super small companion. She is a great missionary!

So obvious highlight of the week was General Conference! (They watched recordings a week later) I loved every second. We had some investigators come and they really enjoyed it also yeeheee! Sister A, a girlfriend of a member, is progressing sooo well. She has the sweetest, most receptive Spirit. She is 20 and she and her boyfriend are participating in some YSA activities too :) Please pray for Brother J. He has a great desire to be baptized and he continues to find answers to his questions through the Book of Mormon and church but he has a smoking addiction that is pushing back his baptismal goal date. He really has the desire to quit but he could use some extra prayers :) Also Sister M, a mom in her 40's, is just a rockstar. She participates in church and always reads the Book of Mormon and writes down her questions and thoughts. We were teaching word of wisdom to her (she loves coffee so it was a little hard to accept) but the Spirit just totally worked on her and she was like "I understand now. It's because God loves me!" So simple and so true! God gives us commandments because He LOVES US!! We show our love for Him by following them. 

Teaching Sister A in the beautiful home of one of our members

One of my favorite talks was by President Nelson about finding joy. We truly can find joy in any circumstance through Jesus Christ!! Our purpose in this life is to be happy and prepare to meet our Heavenly Father. I know that even in the hardest of times, we can be happy because that is what God's plan is. I will always remember my first couple weeks here in the Philippines..so hard! I don't think I would have described myself as a very happy go-lucky Sister Giles back then. But I was determined to find joy here on my mission so every morning, while taking a cold bucket shower with lizards and cockroaches around me, I would sing "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today!" Eventually, there really was sunshine in my soul. Even if sometimes I would sing through tears or be thinking very negative thoughts in my head while singing, the Savior picked me up, healed me and helped me find JOY!! Now I would describe myself as the happiest person ever and I even love those cold bucket showers! 

I hope you all have a great week and find lots of joy through living the perfect gospel of Jesus Christ. Mahal ko kayo!!

Love, 

Sister Giles 

Salamat, O Diyos, sa Aming Propeta!

Hello, hello! 

Still here in Lipa seeing many miracles and having lots of fun! I'm companions with Sister Munoz and Sister Beatson until my new kasama comes on Thursday. Her name is Sister Uba and I'm so excited! She's a new STL and super sweet. Sister Labisa and I saw so many miracles this week and we were so happy because it was her last week as a full time missionary :(

Sister Labisa's farewell dinner

 

We spent some time tracting in our neighborhood and found 3 great new families!! Prayers answered! It was amazing to see how many miracles were just around the corner of our house. I think sometimes we are all too focused on things happening outside our own neighborhood! I encourage all of you to think of a way to share the gospel or serve the people closest to you! You never know, there could be somebody around the corner waiting for your love and invitation to come and see what the LDS church is all about! 

Fresh chocolate milk!! Missing the little things like always having cows milk  in the fridge, they only have fake stuff at the stores.

We had a great turnout at church. I wish I had time to go through all of our superstar investigators but please continue to pray for them!! We have 8 people that should enter the waters of baptism in November. I LOVE LIPA!! 

Church selfie with an amazingggg investigator Sister M, right next to me, and also a recent convert Nanay J!

We watched General Women's Conference and wow, it was so spiritually fulfilling!! I love being a covenant daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. President Uchtdorf's talk on faith was just what I needed to hear. I love that he said faith doesn't mean pushing our will on God's will. True faith EMPOWERS us to act on God's will! I think the phrase "Thy Will Be Done" is a great life motto. If we can just humble ourselves and exercise true faith, God will bless us more than we realize. He will refine us into the people we are capable of becoming. We also need faith if we don't understand some church doctrine or a commandment. We should always remember we have a loving Heavenly Father who knows so much better than we do. The key to happiness and peace is to surrender pride and our will and submit to the will of God. I know this to be true. I know God loves us and I am so thankful for a living prophet and apostles to lead and guide us. They are called of God and this is the true church!! Have a great week!! MAHAL KO KAYO!

Women's Conference! Some missionaries and these cute investigators B and L. They love coming to church and they read the Book Of Mormon but I'm hesitant to baptize them because their parents aren't interested in the church. I think I'll let them nourish for a couple more months maybe years so they don't go inactive. Super sweet girls who have have been taught by a lot of sisters. 

Maging Masunurin!!

Another great week in the beautiful land of the Philippines!! We had zone conference this week. I loveddd it! President Mangum taught from the Old Testament about Saul and David and Goliath. He is the funniest, most insightful man. I love learning from him and Sister Mangum. We talked a lot about how obedience trumps ALL. It is the first law of heaven and all blessings are predicated on our obedience! He also taught about how God cares about our HEARTS not about our outward appearance and actions alone. He said, "When I look in the mirror all I see is a short, fat, bald guy. But I am so happy to know the Lord only cares about what's inside!" Haha so true!! We should always be more focused on the inside than the out.

Pres and Sister Mangum are the best!

 The time has come for me to bid farewell to my companion, Sister Labisa. Oh, I will miss her! We have had a great 6 weeks. I have learned so much from her. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many humble, faithful Filipinas. My companion has truly taught me how to lead and follow like the Savior, how to prioritize the important things and how to have fun while still working hard :) 

One family that just has my heart here is the G family. They are a family of 10 kids under the age of 18 and they live in a small, wooden treehouse kind of thing smaller than my room at home. Brother is not a member but Sister G and many of her kids are. Filipina women like Sister G are truly my heroes. It's very common for the men here to get caught up in drinking, smoking and laziness (I promise I love them too, haha) but I have seen family after family led by the sweet and strong Filipina mothers! One day this week after visiting with the Gs and some other great investigators, my heart was feeling pretty heavy. It seemed like every single person we taught had heavy, heavy burdens and I was wanting to do more to help them. But as the Lord always does, He sent me a miracle to lift my spirits! We ran into a very faithful recent convert, Sister M, who was selling little rice cakes door to door with her 3 year old daughter. We knew she was struggling so we spent some time talking and she bore the sweetest testimony to us of the blessings of tithing and that even though her faith felt weak, she was going to pay her tithing next Sunday and she knew blessings would follow. I walked away with tears in my eyes because even though M and her small family are barely getting by, she is being blessed spiritually and temporally for her faith and obedience. 

Playing games at our ward party

American candy from my package from home was a big hit!

Setting up a boodle fight, all the food in the middle of the table on banana leaves that you eat with your hands, yum!

I love these people. I love their simple and powerful conversion. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the change it makes in people!! This is the true church. I love you all! Thank you for your constant support and prayers. I can feel them and I am so thankful for my cheering squad back home. Have a great week!!

Love, 

Sister Giles   

Zone Conference

A Great Week!

Hello po! 

Great week here in Lipa. My brother Jack sent me a play by play of his day at school and asked what it was like to be a missionary. So here is a little play by play of our great week for Jack:

Tuesday-our apartment woke up with really sick stomachs (Philippines missionary life haha) but the work must go on!! So we went on with our plans and had exchanges with the sisters that live with us! I worked with Sister Beatson from New Zealand. She is so fun and crazy, we had a great day of work and lots of miracles! 

Wednesday-we had a great district meeting, great day of work. Stand out lesson with Sister J, a recent convert. She is SO STRONG! The cutest Nanay and she literally just reads the Book of Mormon all day and takes notes in this cute notebook. Super humble circumstances and just the most solid testimony. These Filipinos inspire me every day. 

Thursday-My comp was still feeling sick but she pushed through and we got so many lessons and talked to so many people!! The Lord really does strengthen us when we put our trust in Him and exercise faith and diligence! Stand out lesson- Sister C. a 28 yr old investigator. Her dad is a member but working through some Word of Wisdom issues. We had such a spiritual, strong lesson. C is the best. We had a little bit of a family council with her and her dad, taught about faith in Jesus Christ and the Atonement and committed them to change! Sister C is being such a good support to her dad right now and her testimony is just growing and growing as she reads the Book of Mormon, asks questions and attends church. Missionary work is FAMILY work and we love helping their family come closer to Jesus Christ. 

Friday- Highlight was lunch with the DJ Family. Such a loving family with the prettiest house and best food :) Ate some REAL spaghetti with REAL cheese...it has been so long...and then another day of hitting the street!! Stand out lesson- Brother J. The coolest guy with the biggest desire to know the truth. Committed him to baptism on October 29 woohoooo!! He lives with a member family who is the biggest support to him. Members- invite your friends to hear the gospel!!! 

At the DJ Family's House, beautiful!

Our investigator, Brother J.

Saturday- we had a great day of work and a great ward activity about missionary work and got lots of referrals woohoo! 

A ward member who is great at the guitar, he's the best!

Sunday- had 6 investigators comes to church and I gave a talk about missionary work. Lipa Ward 1 is catching that missionary spirit...yay! 

I finished the Book of Mormon recently and started it over, always a great experience. I know with my whole heart, mind and soul that Book if true! I was reading in 1 Nephi 21:15-16 the other day, beautiful verses. It says there that just as a woman never forgets her child, the Lord never forgets us. I know that is true. We are truly "graven on the palms of His hands". I know the Savior died for all of us, individually! He NEVER forgets us, even if we forget Him. I love you all so much! Read the Book of Mormon and come closer to your Savior! Have a great week!!

Love, 

Sister Giles