Sister Brittany Robertson: Week 56 - Another Week in the Vineyard

Magandang araw! Kamusta kayo?

This week was a great, happy week! I totally missed talking to y'all last week. Last Monday was a bit stressful as all the lines in the whole city of La Carlota went out due to the severe storms. There were like 3-4 typhoons that followed in a row and it was called a "super typhoon." It was crazy windy and crazy rainy and a little scary at times. It was focused on central bisayas which includes Negros Island. Anyways, it seemed to pass so we have had a few sunny days, which was nice.

I got to attend yet another MLC (mission leadership council) where we talked about true success. I have probably talked about this before in others of my letters cause I truly believe it is the hardest part of missions- measuring your success. Numbers are constantly thrown at us and constantly measured and counted and looked at and talked about. It sometimes feels like numbers, numbers, numbers. But true success is of course measured by your commitment as a missionary to devote all your time, all your mind, and all your energy to this work. Which is also a hard thing to measure, so sometimes it feels easier to measure your success by numbers. But the Assistants to the President reminded us that true success comes from working our best everyday and being able to come home and say we did our best and we will do better tomorrow. I think that goes for all people, not just missionaries. Life is hard, but if we are trying our best everyday and then being willing to become better the next day through true repentance and a humble heart, that is all Heavenly Father asks of us.

Also, after MLC, there was kind of a funny incident. So there is a bus company that is the most used bus here on Negros. It is called Ceres Liners. Ceres for short. So apparently, this last week they had some time of misunderstanding in their family (the family that owns Ceres) and they totally messed everything up for the entire island of Negros because of their fighting. They, for two days straight, did not let anyone drive Ceres buses and everyone just got stranded in the places they were at. Like seriously, some people couldn't get to work or school because of the pride of this one family. So yeah we totally got stranded in Bacolod (all 30 missionaries that attended) and we, including some others, were able to be driven by the Assistants to our prospective areas, but others had no choice except to sleep in Bacolod. Anyways, there is this one thing that people say here ALL THE TIME that "if we only had money, all our problems would go away." And there was one family we were talking to and they had this epiphany that "Oh I guess having a lot of money causes more problems than having very little." (Because the Ceres family is one of the wealthiest families here in Negros). So yeah just sunk in that I wish everyone here would understand that, coming from a first-world country, I have been able to see that money is not happiness. Family and the gospel of Jesus Christ are the only sources of true happiness.

We also had three baptisms last Saturday! It was a great day because these people are truly converted to the gospel. Letecia, Rhodroa, and Rodolfo all got baptized and bore the sweetest testimonies. Brother Rodolfo gave me a special shoutout in his testimony which was sweet and touched my heart. They have all been taught by the missionaries for a long time now. There has been so many missionary companionships that have come and gone without success to get these three in the font and get baptized. I really have felt special as I have felt that Heavenly Father let me be the one to witness their baptisms. All three of them had something go wrong the morning of their baptism and all three of them thought their baptism would not happen, but all three of them got on their knees and prayed for a way and answer to their prayers to be able to continue with their baptism. And they saw miracles. Satan is so good at trying to stop the work, but we as missionaries are reassured that no one or nothing can stop the work of the Lord! It will never stop!

I miss my old area, but have already started to see miracles here so I know this is my time to be here. I was able to see Sister Garcia at MLC which was really fun. I miss her lots and she expressed how much she misses me. I was also able to see Sister Tagpuno, who I trained, cause I am now her Sister Training Leader, so that was way fun. It is cool to see the fruits of your efforts on your past companions especially those you trained. I love this work! I am learning every day. I am growing to be better everyday and praying for y'all to feel the same kind of happiness I feel everyday! I love y'all! I miss y'all! Have a fantastic week!

With lots of love,
Sister Robertson