Family!!!!
Okay wow. Yes this week was fantastic. Thank you sooooo much for hanging out with me! Seriously? So great. So great. i can't describe how great that was for me. And it made me miss all of you so much! Ha ha that's why we're only allowed to skype 2x/year ha ha. It seriously was a big pump up for me though and i am so so so blessed to have you all as my family. Thank you. it was soooo great to see all of you!! ha ha sorry about the mild technology problems though. ha ha it turned out great though and prayers are answered. The Church is true and God is mindful of our wants and needs! You all look so great! Thank you thank you thank you so much for hanging out with me! loved it. thanks also for the emails you sent! loved each one of them.
This week like i mentioned was fantastic. obviously for Christmas. But another amazing reason.... I got to go to the Manila temple!!!!!!!!!!!! i was able to go with Tarlac Ward 3, my first area, and be a witness to the family sealing of the Solonga family. What.a.miracle. But really, it was truly a miracle. When we got first on the bus, it was like coming home. those people in my first area, my first ward, is like my home and family and home ward here on the mission. I saw all those people I served with for my first 6 months and I was so happy to see them. seeing my bishop and his wife, seeing just everyone, they really are like my family here on the mission.
Okay though, let me tell you about the miracle of the Solonga family though. if i told you last week, ha ha sorry you're hearing it again. anyway. sister bongolto and i met the solonga family through the bishop, the same day we met the de Jesus family. we met them, as they were less active. we had a quick hello nice to meet you, when can we come back? then we left. sister bongolto and i came back and continued going back every week. during the time we were visiting them we got the permission in our mission that we can go to the temple if we go with a family that we help return to the temple. we, with our Bishop (working with leaders by the way is the way to go to do missionary work) gave the solonga family the temple goal date of 28th december. they accepted. then one Sunday, Tay came to church for the first time in 30+ years!!! What a miracle! then the miracle continued as he continued to come to church, and he came back to full activity!!! In September Tay received the Melchizedek Priesthood at Stake Conference. What a neat experience for their family. I got transferred, but the missionaries continued to visit them and help them prepare for the temple. Then this past week. we were witnesses for their sealing. what.a.miracle. The feelings were indescribable. the wife of Bishop mentioned to me that about 3 years earlier, Nanay had mentioned in RS while crying that she didn't ever think they would be sealed as a family b/c Tay wasn't interested in coming back to church. And then this past week-there they were. I was so happy that everything worked out. It was so so amazing. I was a witness to see this family be sealed for time and all eternity. ah man, the Lord loves us and truly wants us to be happy in this life, and He wants us to be happy for eternity.
Just the entire experience at the temple was amazing. The feelings just on the temple grounds are amazing. there is a different spirit, a special spirit just on the grounds, and then even more so inside the temple. it was a really, really good experience for me and it made me love the temple so much. i am looking forward to the next time i am able to go to the temple! Hopefully... in April with Ward 3 again. brother Archie (my 2nd baptism here in the mission when I didn't know anything that was going on, didn't speak an ounce of Tagalog, etc) and his wife are planning on being sealed at his one year mark after baptism! They came on the temple trip and even though they couldn't go inside, they brought their 2 adorable kids and just walked around to feel the special spirit. hopefully in April I can go again!!
I love you all sooo much. I am so grateful that through the temple we have the opportunity to be with each other not only now, but for eternity. I remember that was an incredible blessing and comfort to me after mom passed away. that was initially the first reason i wanted to serve a mission. because of the peace i was brought through that knowledge during a hard time in my life, i wanted it to share it with others. now I am serving a mission so I can share that knowledge with others, but also i am serving a mission because I love our Savior Jesus Christ. It is through Him, that all things are possible. It is through Him, we are brought peace into our lives. It is through Him, we are able to be forgiven of our sins that are hard to bear. through Him, we can give our sins to Him. we can give everything to Him, and willingly He takes it all away because He loves us. I love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What a great week we just had to celebrate His birth.
Thanks again for all you do for me. i love love love each of you sooo much! Thank you for our family prayer. I felt connected to each of you through that more than through the technology. I felt Mom's presence also. Thank you for choosing the right. Ha ha dad I'm glad you asked me 'what do you think we're not going to all 3 hours of church?" I think I always emphasize that so much and fulfilling your callings b/c that is what we are working on most here so I assume it's what everyone is working on. But really, we've always gone to all 3 hours, you've always fulfiilled your callings and you've always done more-thank you for your examples. I'm still going to emphasize it though ha ha becasue I know we can always do more. so I hope you all did your home and visiting teaching this month! :)
I love you all. I hope you have some good new years resolutions for yourselves, and also as a family. Do we want to have any family new years resolutions by the way? i'm up for it! :) like maybe you can always have a family prayer before you close your hang-out sessions. i don't know. anyway. I love you. Stay safe in your journeys and enjoy the snow!
mahal ko kayo! (p.s. good Tagalog/chinese Dad)
-Sister Davidson :)
pictures! and it's a lot b/c i love all the pictures of the temple! and like really. there are a ton of pictures. sorry. hope you like them as much as I do!
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