And then there were two...

It's just me and Sister Daclan for about 36 hours. We meet our new companions tomorrow. We've been cleaning the house in preparation for them. We feel very blessed that neither of us are transferring so we get to spend Christmas with each other. For Christmas dinner I'll be spending the evening with my favorite family (The DeJesus's). But other than that it's work as usual.

Sister Litz left last night. A group of elders brought over a cake and we ate outside of our apartment and sang some hymns. It was happy. It's amazing how close you can grow to people within such a short time. We were only a tripanionship for three weeks, but I've learned a lot from her and Sister Daclan.

Only 2 of 5 of the family will be baptized this Saturday, but I'm still really excited. The daughters decided they weren't ready. And I agree that it's better to wait. Baptism is a huge commitment--it's a covenant with God! But the parents are so ready and I feel so blessed to have been an instrument in the Lord's hands in introducing them to the gospel. The Spirit was the real teacher, though. Sister San Agustin actually admitted to me the other day that she can understand/follow my Tagalog now and before she would just nod her head. Haha... But seriously, conversion only happens through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Working with the less actives is slow, but good. It's a whole other world in teaching less actives. They're at such varied stages. There are those that don't remember anything, those that are really bitter, those that are just having a hard time in life, and those that have solid testimonies, and I'm not quite sure why they're not at church. I really need to be acquainted with the scriptures and be in tune with the Spirit in order to teach them because their needs are so different. It's going to be a challenge, but I have hope that we can bring many souls back. I was listening to this one song by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir where they sing, "Bind me not to the pasture, chain me not to the... set me free to find my brother, and I'll return to thee some how." It's beautiful. I don't remember what it's called. But I definitely feel like I've been let outside the fenced area to find the lost sheep, and I'm so determined to get them back, to church, and, eventually, to the temple.

I know Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. He has a lot of expectations of us, too. But we can rise to the occasion through faith in His Son Jesus Christ and the enabling power of the Atonement. This is a good time to evaluate our relationship with Christ. Why is He so important? Why do we honor Him and celebrate His birth? This is an amazing talk that helped strengthen my testimony and understanding of who Christ is and what it means that He is our Savior...http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/teachings-of-jesus?lang=eng&query=teachings+jesus

Maligayan Pasko!!!!!!!!! (Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!)

Mahal ko kayo,
Sister Cope

Pictures of the week:
1. Our Christmas tag wreath courtesy of my Dad :)
2. At Cloud 9 last P-day with Sister Litz and Sister Daclan, and the most of our district.
3. The beautiful view of the city and the sunset at Cloud 9.
4. Saying goodbye to Sister Litz...