Sister Pike goes to the PHILIPPINES!: Week 70

This week was WONDERFUL!!! Are you ready to hear about a miracle? I got to work the whole week! So last week I was out the whole week and it was really hard! I had received a blessing about a month ago which said just listen to the spirit in what you need to do and have the faith to be healed. So I've been setting new goals trying to reach new levels of diligence and obedience to show my faith and have the ability to be healed. Going out to work only to just return a few hours later not even being able to sit and teach in lessons. I studied a ton of on faith and of course we need to be patient with his timing, but come Sunday, I just felt kind of stuck. Running out of ideas of what to do to improve and show my faith so I was really thinking about asking for another blessing and then that night, my companion (without me even talking to her about it) said she was going to text our district leader for a blessing so I thought that was PERFECT timing so I asked for one too. And it was just the best blessing ever! It said, "Increase your spiritual strength and you will receive strength in all areas of your life." and I thought, YES! I can get better! And then he continued, “as you show your faith, your physical strength will be renewed and you will be able to share the blessing you have received with the people here." And that was like the green light I needed to go, push myself without reservation, without fear that it will get worse and knock me out forever. I was so happy! And then came Tuesday, the true test... I was sooo tired! It was one of those mornings I just felt so draggy and wanted to sleep all day long. We went to district meeting and lunch and came back to do language study and Sister Brown had basically just given up on me. I was gonna fall asleep any second and be out for the day. She started language study in our room and I just went downstairs and prayed and prayed that I would have the spiritual strength to keep going even though my body was just giving up on me. I would read my waray-waray Book of Mormon until I was about to break, then pray some more. It was SO HARD! I knew that I could lay down and fall asleep instantly for like 5 hours and no one would think anything of it. But I also knew that I had specifically asked for a way to show my faith to healed it had been given along with the promised blessing that I could do it! That I could push myself beyond anything that I could do and receive the strength I needed. I struggled for the entire hour of language study until I resolved to go outside and work NO MATTER WHAT! And as I resolutely walked up those stairs to tell my companion that I'm ready to go, a miracle happened. The strength came! I laughed at the look of surprise on her face when I told her I was ready to go work and also as she looked for signs that I was going to fall over at any second and she saw none because it wasn't there. I can't fool her, she knows better than anyone, but she believed me and we went out and worked the whole day and I wasn't even tired. Not even a little bit. Or the next day. Or the next. We did a service project, we continued. It was such a relief that I didn't have to worry about anything but working my hardest! It was the best! I worked for a whole week! If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is so real and powerful and can help us do things that we cannot do on our own whether it be receiving physical strength or even spiritual strength to overcome temptation and put off the natural man. Lots more has happened but nothing really compares to this. Enjoy your week and look for all the miracles all around, large and small! I love you!

Love, Sister Pike

We drove all the way to Paranas (45 min) on a jeepney, got punted and drove all the way back. But we got sparkle (a soda) and peanuts so it was all worth it. haha I joked, "We just went on a field trip to get sparkle and peanuts!"

The houses I was talking about. Winding cement paths with basically a swamp underneath where they throw all their trash and is really smelly.

Our service project, we used sundangs (machetes) to losen dirt to take out all the rocks so a family can build a garden! Service projects are usually really hard to come by here but it was so great cause we were all (6 of us) able to work the whole time and know exactly what was expected of us.

Our awesome nanay dresses - also called dusters.

Last Monday we went to a debut-18th birthday of a girl in our ward and it was so fancy! They did it in the chapel and it's a huge deal! Super delicious food. It was p-day so we went a little bit before we went to work.

They were enrolling in school at the church so there were a ton of kids playing in a pedicab in teh church parking lot/basketball court.

Super pretty sunset

Sister Brown talking to Simon, a son of member. Mostly took it to show what their house was like, they have a little room then a ladder with like 5 steps then it's their living room.