December 2, 2013

Family!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I'm grateful for all you do for me and I am sooo blessed to be part of our family! Thank you!! Thank you also for your kind emails! LOVED reading them! ha ha sounds like your Thanksgiving was pretty laid back. But good nonetheless. 

This week was awesome! Didn't do much actually to celebrate Thanksgiving, but it was fun telling people Happy Thanksgiving and then explaining it to them. We had Zone Training on Thanksgiving which was fun, because our zone in Tarlac is awesome and at every Zone Training the Spirit is really strong. But the big event for this week was the Thanksgiving/Appreciation dinner President and Sister Martino had for all the stake presidents in our mission, members of the area 70 and the senior couples. Okay seriously, our mission president is amazing. I love him and his wife. So we as missionaries weren't invited to be part of the dinner, but a select few of us got the special privilidge to be part of the musical presentation for our leaders! It was awesome! We practiced on Friday afternoon, then Friday night we presented our musical talents. For me, I was happy being in the choir! Ya! I happily volunteered my musically inclined companion, Sister Naldoza, to be in a quartet, which she rocked at but was super shy. But yep, she did it and it was great! We presented a total of 8 Christmas songs with different varities and what not. The Spirit was so incredibly strong. Music can seriously touch the soul. Music can soften the hard heart. Music can lift someone in mourning or lonliness, and music can also motivate us to be better people. I love music. After our short presentation, our mission president sent us out to work while they finished dinner and we went Christmas caroling in his neighborhood! Sooo fun! Okay so our President lives in a pretty nice area.Like really nice. We went to some very elegant houses. One of which was the aunt of President Aquino-the President of the Philippines. Ya... they live in a nice, nice area. We were welcomed and they felt special that President and Sister Martino had asked us to come carol to them. It was great. Ah man I love music and the Spirit that it brings!

It was interesting to me to go to those different houses and Christmas carol. These people have been very blessed in worldly wealth. But as I noticed and interacted with these kind, well off people, I noticed immediately that something was missing. And it was the gospel of Jesus Christ and they joy that it brings. Yes they were happy, but it was easy to tell they didn't have the eternal happiness that the gospel brings into our lives. It made me very grateful for the testimony I have of the Restored gospel and the blessings and joy that I have in my life because of the gospel. It also made me incredibly grateful that I have joy in my life that will last through eternity. Yes those children of God are incredibly blessed with worldly things, but all those nice things will not last for eternity. What lasts for eternity is the joy that comes from the living the gospel of Jesus Christ. The joy that is eternal in our families. The joy that comes from things that money can't buy. I hope that I will always remember the great gifts that God gives us that money can't buy.

Yesterday at church we had 5 less actives come to church for the first time in years! Nanay Pingol, Nanay Maglalang and Tatay Maglalang, Sister Clarence Sahagon, and Sister Erica Sahagon. It was soooo neat to see friends reunited again, to see smilies on their faces. It was like coming home for them. Ah what a blessing to be part of bringing people back to our Savior Jesus Christ! I am sooo blessed! I love being a missionary and I love our Savior and the joy that He offers us when we choose to follow Him.

Thanks again for all your love and support! I love each and every one of you and am incredibly blessed to have you all in my life! Thanks for everything!!!

-Sister Davidson

pictures!

Sister Susan teaching me how to cook Chop Suey!! Sooo delicious! I'll make it in the future no worries.

 Ya! I'm learning how to cook like a Filipino!

 masarap!

 And I just love the Philippines

 Yep, love this place.  

Christmas carolers at the mission home!!! SUCH A GREAT EXPERIENCE!!!! 

 Sister Naldoza and me!

 Sister Stone and I! My first kabahay!!! 

 Sister Tui'one and Elder Hubbard practicing! Music is sooo powerful!

 In the jeepney heading off to the mission home! 

1. We had a Zone CSP cleaning and cutting some grass from around a house. Zone gatherings are always great! Sister Tui'one rocked it up by doing all the dirty work while I happily gave great encouragement and moral support. I think I got that trait from Dad. Dad you're so great at motivating and encouraging and directing all those around you to work ha ha. If you know what I mean... :)

2. I love our zone!

3. We sisters work hard.

4. Anak ko! Sister Bongoloto and Sister James. Sister James is from Pakistan and she is one of our new missionaries from the Tacloban mission. Asking her about her experiences in Tacloban during Typhoon Yolanda.... wow. Lets just say miracles happen all the time. Her life, she's here to tell about her experience in the typhoon-miracle. 

5. Tarlac Zone! 

3 Generation pic!!! I love Sister Bongolto and Sister Daly!!!

2. District 4!!! Elder Anasario, Elder Carbonelle, Sister Naldoza and myself! Fun stuff!

3. Nanay Wy and Nanay Pingol!!! Our nanay's here in La Paz!! Our kapit bahay and this was Nanay Pingol's first time coming to church in years!!! Ahhhh what a blessing to see her smile and see old friends! I promise ha ha they really are extatic to be at church, their faces just don't show it. 

That's all folks! Thanks again for all your love and support! I hope we all remember the little things that we should be grateful for. The little things like food 3+x/day, things like different clothes in our closet, shoes that don't have holes in them, sanitary bathrooms in public places, family gatherings, a job, enough money to go to school and get an education, agency to choose the major we want to go into, etc. sooo many little things that I know I took for granted everyday, I still take for granted everyday. But I hope we remember the little things in life, the little miracles we witness everyday, the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives. I love you all!

Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Davidson :)

p.s. Christmas is coming... :) Thanks in advance for your Christmas package! It is super expensive though so please don't worry about sending packages or what not! Handwritten letters are good enough. what I really want for Christmas... :) 

Elder Ballard thank you for your inspired talk last October! 

"My message this afternoon is that the Lord is hastening His work. In our day this can be done only when every member of the Church reaches out with love to share the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to work together in partnership with our 80,000 missionaries now serving. Information about this great work, especially the assignments for the stake and ward council leaders, is clearly outlined on the LDS.orgwebsite entitled “Hastening the Work of Salvation.”

We know from our research that most active members of the Church want the blessings of the gospel to be part of the lives of others whom they love, even those whom they have never met. But we also know that many members hesitate to do missionary work and share the gospel for two basic reasons.

• •  The first one is fear. Many members do not even pray for opportunities to share the gospel, fearing that they might receive divine promptings to do something they think they are not capable of doing.
• •  The second reason is misunderstanding of what missionary work is.

We know that when someone gets up to give a talk in sacrament meeting and says, “Today I’ll be talking about missionary work,” or perhaps even when Elder Ballard gets up in general conference and says the same thing, some of you listening may think, “Oh no, not again; we have heard this before.”

Now, we know that no one likes feeling guilty. Perhaps you feel you may be asked to do unrealistic things in your relationships with friends or neighbors. With the help of the Lord, let me remove any fear you or any of our full-time missionaries may have in sharing the gospel with others.

Make the decision to do what Jesus Christ has asked us to do. The Savior has said:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

“Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

“If ye … know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:7–11).

Brothers and sisters, fear will be replaced with faith and confidence when members and the full-time missionaries kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to bless them with missionary opportunities. Then, we must demonstrate our faith and watch for opportunities to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father’s children, and surely those opportunities will come. These opportunities will never require a forced or a contrived response. They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters. Just be positive, and those whom you speak with will feel your love. They will never forget that feeling, though the timing may not be right for them to embrace the gospel. That too may change in the future when their circumstances change.

It is impossible for us to fail when we do our best when we are on the Lord’s errand. While the outcome is a result of the exercise of one’s agency, sharing the gospel is our responsibility.

Trust the Lord. He is the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep, and His sheep know His voice; and today the voice of the Good Shepherd is your voice and my voice. And if we are not engaged, many who would hear the message of the Restoration will be passed by. Simply stated, it’s a matter of faith and action on our part. The principles are pretty simple—pray, personally and in your family, for missionary opportunities. The Lord has said in the Doctrine and Covenants that many people have been kept from the truth only “because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12).

You don’t have to be an outgoing person or an eloquent, persuasive teacher. If you have an abiding love and hope within you, the Lord has promised if you “lift up your voices unto this people [and] speak the thoughts that [He] shall put into your hearts, … you shall not be confounded before men;

“[And] it shall be given you … in the very moment, what ye shall say” (D&C 100:5–6).

Preach My Gospel reminds all of us that “nothing happens in missionary work until [we] find someone to teach. Talk with as many people as you can each day. It is natural to be somewhat apprehensive about talking to people, but you can pray for the faith and strength to be more bold in opening your mouth to proclaim the restored gospel” ([2004], 156–57). You full-time missionaries, if you want to teach more, you must talk to more people every day. This has always been what the Lord has sent missionaries forth to do.

The Lord knows us. He knows we have our challenges. I realize that some of you may feel heavy laden, but I pray that none of you would ever feel that reaching out in normal, pleasant ways to share the gospel would ever be a burden. Rather, it is a privilege! There is no greater joy in life than being anxiously engaged in the service of the Lord.

The key is that you be inspired of God, that you ask Him for direction and then go and do as the Spirit prompts you. When members view the work of salvation as their responsibility alone, it can be intimidating. When they view it as an invitation to follow the Lord in bringing souls unto Him to be taught by the full-time elders and sisters, it is inspiring, invigorating, and uplifting.

We are not asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior.

Six weeks ago I received a letter from a very successful member missionary family, the Munns family of Florida. They wrote:

“Dear Elder Ballard, 30 minutes after the worldwide broadcast on hastening the work of salvation, we held our family missionary council. We were thrilled to find that our teenage grandchildren wanted to be included. We’re happy to report that since our council meeting, we have expanded our family teaching pool by 200 percent.

“We have had grandchildren bring friends to church, have enjoyed sacrament meetings with some of our less-active friends, and have had some of our new contacts commit to take the missionary discussions. One of our less-active sisters has not only returned to church but has brought new investigators with her.

“No one has turned down the invitation to take the missionary discussions. What an exciting time to be a member of this Church” (personal letter, Aug. 15, 2013).

Heed the promptings of the Spirit. Supplicate the Lord in mighty prayer. Become engaged in doing what you can in sharing the great message of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I quote from another successful member missionary, Clayton Christensen: “Every time you take someone figuratively by the hand and introduce him or her to Jesus Christ, you will feel how deeply our Savior loves you and loves the person whose hand is in yours” (The Power of Everyday Missionaries: The What and How of Sharing the Gospel [2013], 1).

God bless you, brothers and sisters, to find the great joy that comes from experiencing miracles through your faith. "

Thanks Ryan for letting me know you are working on this! You'll be blessed and feel sooooo happy!! I'm excited to ask you about it when we hang out on Christmas!