Out of the Brown Sea

This week was probably the worst so far on my mission.  Not only did it begin with my lingering cold (obviously caused by showering while tired), President called on Tuesday morning.  After only a few hours of packing and tears, I was driven to my new area in Laoag.  I left eight investigators and a double wedding that will all occur in the soon future.  I left Sister Mafi with an area and people she does not know.  I was devastated.

The first days in Laoag were extremely difficult.  Our area is big and sister missionaries have been serving here since the Fall of Adam.  Being in a new area is always hard; I did not know a soul or the geography.  Proselyting was hard and I was lonely.  On the first day, Sister Hansen and I looked over the riverside.  I felt as though I could almost touch San Nic.  But later, the Lord sent me a tender mercy as Macmac and Bryan Agustin rode by.  Sister Hansen and I joked that in less than 24 hours, the people in San Nic located me and hunted me down.  

This week did begin to get better from there and my new companion is awesome.  Sister Hansen is the bomb actually and I am currently living in the nicest apartment in the mission.  No more brown water and all of the sisters in the apartment are American.  Thus, I am out of the brown sea.  We are super obedient and super hardworking.  We have set ridiculously high goals and we already found 11 new investigators in 6 days!We even committed the "banana stand" family to baptism during the first lesson, a great referral from Elder and Sister Eddington, the senior couple that serves in Laoag.  The Lord always blesses those who are willing to labor diligently.  And Sister Dumalao said I sound like a native...even though she was lying because in the lesson before I said ""tatlong talong" over and over (three eggplant) instead of "tatlong tanong" (three questions).  Yeah, our investigators laughed a lot. 

We will now take a break for a short message entitled, "The Benefits of an American Companion:"

1. You feel tiny because she is almost 5'11".  She actually thought I was somewhere around 5'8" all week.  It shows you how living in a land of tiny people messes up your height perception severely.

2.  She can teach Tagalog.

3. You do not eat rive 73 times a day.  I think I may lose some of the weight I gained in my work with Sister Mafi.  This is good.

4.  She understands how it feels to see a non-missionary white person here.  When we see a white person here we want to yell out, "Who do you think you are?  You do not belong here!"

This week started out terribly for me.  I am grateful to have seen Sister Grace and her kids yesterday.  I have been reminded many times that the people of San Nicolas will always be part of my life.  They have touched my heart in indescribable ways.  I have learned this week that a mission is a collection of defining and refining moments.  I am here to change lives wherever the Lord needs me.  I am thankful to be in Laoag.  Even though this area is known as one of the hardest in the mission and the last baptism was in July, it does not have to be that way.  As we recommit ourselves to the Lord each day, he will bless us in ways we would never guess.  This week began as the worst yet in my mission, but it ended as the best so far.  I feel like there are many best weeks to come, too.