April 28, 2014

Family!

Thank you soooo much for your emails! It sounds like you had a great time in Moab and it sounds like your weeks have been going well! That's great! Glad to hear you're all doing well and staying healthy! 

This week has been... wonderful! Wow. It was wonderful. I was sooo blessed to be able to go to the temple this past week! Seriously, a huge blessing. We have been teaching Sister Irene for a long time now and she was a less active who has now become active again! We helped her prepare to go to the temple again and she did what she had to do and was able to go! We were blessed to be able to go with our ward while they went to the temple! Sooo blessed!

Anyway, the temple.... wow. It literally is the House of the Lord. The Spirit is so strong at the temple. Even if just on the grounds of the temple, there is a different feeling. We were across the street from the temple, and then when walking back to the temple and getting on the grounds again-it was like night and day. There is a feeling of peace that comes with the temple. I love it. I just am at a loss of words for the wonderful feelings I had while at the temple. I am so grateful that I was able to go. Such a blessing. 

This past week we had an investigator from Manila come to church! He's come to our church before, but he studies in Manila. Whenever he is here he asks us to teach him. Brother William is taking the lessons in Manila and is sincerely studying and searching for the truth in his life. He struggles with his family in making the choice to join the church or not. When teaching him, it was amazing how the Spirit took over and just talked directly to Brother William through us. We don't know everything about him, we don't know where the other missionaries are with teaching him and what not, but we do know that Heavenly Father is perfectly aware of what His son needs. And it was a humbling experience to teach exactly to Brother William's needs without knowing exactly what it was he needed. 

I know that Heavenly Father knows His children, so perfectly. He knows us, He loves us. He has a perfect plan for each of us and His plan is always better than our own plans for ourselves. When we choose to follow His plan, when we choose to submit to His will rather than do our own-it is amazing how happy we are. 

Thanks for your continued love and support to me here. I receive so much strength, protection, and so many blessings because of your continued prayers. Thank you. I love you so much! Choose to follow the Lord's plan rather than your own and we will be happier-promise :)

Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Davidson 

Pictures! :)

1. I had exchanges with Sister Tupua on her birthday! It was so much fun to be with her again especially for her birthday!

2. We had a Zone CSP sweeping up around the street! It was great!

3. 2 of our old Assistant's came back for a mission reunion and they came to our CSP to say hello!! these 2 old missionaries were some of the greatest missionaries ever and it was so fun to see them again!!

4. Taking turns taking naps in the van on the way to the temple! Leaving at 4am even though it's sooo early it was soooo worth it!

5. At the temple!!!! Bright and early!!! LOVE IT!!!!!

 ahhh I love Sister Ganancial soooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. the best Kabahay ever!!!!! With Sister Wheat and Sister Jipus!

3. We love the temple!!!!

4. Sister Lea and I!!! I LOVE her!!! She is like my aunt here in the mission it's great. And it was a great blessing to be able to go to the temple with her!

5. AND it was great! When we were at the temple all the ward from my first area in Tarlac were there for a wedding! Because of the different schedules we were all on, we didn't get a group picture, but it was sooo fun to see all of them again! I was able to be with them when I first was new in the mission, and then when I went to the temple last December, and then when I was able to go to the temple again!!! They are really like my family here I love them!

 1. LOVE this temple!!!!

2. LOVE Sister Ganancial!!!

3. Trying to get baby Precious to smile ha ha. This is the daughter of Bro Allan and Sister Lea!

4. Group picture!!

5. Sister Ganacial is tall enough to stand up in the van!

 1. So these are the vans that we traveled in. ha ha doesn't look much like vans but more like big cargo cars you take big heavy duty stuff in.

2. On the way home ha ha

3. Trying to take a short cut to avoid traffic... Like the road to sennica again :) "where is the highway? the other way... why are you here looking for the highway?" that was a true conversation

4. At another Stake CSP!! Cooking this was the CSP. Jokes. Ha ha we just took a break from sweeping for the picture. :)

5. With the ward!! Ward 3 is the best!

1 Successful CSP with the Stake!!!

2. One of our investigators, Brother Red and his wife Sister Florence gettting their pool ready for their kids to swim in!

3. Cute right? The kids love to swim!!! 

4. With Brother William from Manila!

5. With Tatay Relito and his granddaughter!!! and Sister Jana Jiminez who worked with us!  

. Saying goodbye to my favorite family here ever!! The Mañalac family... sooo cute!!! Fun fact. I am transferring later today and guess what... going back to Tarlac!! This will be my 3rd time in Tarlac!! It is an emerengency transfer b/c of the batch that I am going home with and with the new mission president coming in in July. Crazy that I'll be going back to Tarlac! ha ha I hope I get to go on exchanges in my old areas in Tarlac W3 and then in Lapaz!!! 

2. Then with Sister Ganacial!!! 

3. Ah love na love ko sila!! Sister Lea is so great and I'm going to miss her so much as well as miss Sister Ganacial!! 

That's all folks!! It was a TON of pictures but we went to the temple so of course there would be tons of photos. I love you all! Stay true to the faith and stay true to what you believe in! Go to the temple as often as you can! Always remain worthy to hold a temple reccomend and remember the covenants we make!!!!! 

Mahal ko kayo!!!

-Sister Davidson :) 

April 20, 2014

Family!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!! Maligayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay!

Thanks for all your emails to me with the great pictures! I love seeing and hearing how you're doing! 

This week has been great! I was able to be a witness to the results of faith and hard, disciplined work. We were able to achieve many of our goals this week because of focused work and because of faith. I have been having many good conversations with Heavenly Father and I have been asking to see where I might improve. I have goals for myself that I haven't been able to accomplish. I have been unsure why things are not working out the way I expected them to work out. But I've been learning much about faith and about much disciplined and hard work bring results and I am seeing the wonderful benefits of it. It is exhausting, and it is sooo worth it. As in so worth it. 

This week we've been working a lot with our favorite family! The Mañalac family! Wow they are the best. Seriously, we are working so hard and doing everything we possibly can to help them recognize their answers from Heavenly Father. We know He is giving them answers, and so we are trying to help them recognize the Spirit. During one of our lessons Brother Troy was able to open up about his hesitations. He has grown up and been extremely involved in his own religion with his family. If he makes the decision to change religions, it will be going against everything he was taught growing up. It will be going against their family's religion. It is a big big step for him and he's not sure what to do. We were able to patiently listen and with the Spirit help him figure out what he wants. Help him figure out if this really is Christ's true church, if the sacrifices he will be making really will be worth it or not. It is a big big step for him right now and for his family. Because we know of the truthfullness and the blessings of living the Gospel and of making the decision to follow Christ no matter what, we are lovingly helping him and his family make their own decision of what they want to do. Please pray for this family. They truly are sooo great and their potential is amazing. But they need help recognizing their answers from Heavenly Father. In the Lord's timing, everything will work out. 

I love you family! I know that blessings come to us when we live the gospel of Jesus Christ. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us when He Atoned for our sins. When He did everything for us. It is the ultimate evidence of love. Especially this past week of Easter. What a beautiful way to celebrate the life of Jesus Christ and also of His death and especially His resurrection. I was so lucky to spend Easter going to church, partaking of the Sacrament, and then going and sharing to everyone around me about the Atonement and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I couldn't have been doing anything better this Easter than that. I am so blessed. This Gospel brings blessings to our lives we don't even realize, but the blessings are abundantly there.

Mahal ko kayo. I know that Jesus Christ loves you. When we draw close to Him, He draws close to us.

-Sister Davidson :)

1.Sister Claire making the fire for them to cook their food. She's 11 years old and she makes a fire better than me! I'm so impressed with the skills of Filipinos

2. Exchanges with Sister Carter! These 2 youth were baptized this past weekend and we were able to help prepare them more for what would specifically happen at their baptism. They are so excited! 

3. Sister Carter! Working in her area in Kalikid!

4. Eating ice cream with the Mañalac kids! They are the best!

 1. Mirinda with NAnay Tolentino and Sister Fabillion on exchanges! this Nanay... Nanay Tolentino is seriously the best Nanay in the world ha ha. She works EVERYDAY with the missionaries alllll day too! She just puts puts around and laughs all the while. She's the best.

2. With the convincing power of adorable children we were able to get Sister Ganacial to pull this awesome face!

3. Working with a couple from a different ward to help the Mañalac family! Brother Troy and the Sister were work mates a long time ago! They met each other again at the Come Unto Christ fireside and we got them to work with us! Later today we're going to their house for an FHE with the Mañalac family! Should be great!

4. Can't you see why we love this family soo much!? They're the best. Please include them in your prayers!

1. Sister Wheat is the best and made us Easter Pancakes for dinner!! It was soo great! I love our kabahay! 

2. Loving the self-timer shots! 

3. I love Sister Ganacial!!!!! Best ever! 

That's all folks! Sure do love you all! Remember to never doubt the Lord but rather act on the so so quiet promptings we recieve from the holy Spirit. The Spirit will never guide us astray. Promise :)

Love you all! Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Davidson :) 

. Kaela, Alexandria, and JJ feeling the American spirit! These are the kids of the Mañalac family who I love so much! They truly are such cute kids!!

2. Ha ha so randomly Alex and JJ started pulling faces and it was so adorable we took pictures.

3. Tatay holding up his Mga Pinil ng Aklat ni Mormon from when the missionaries gave it to him back in the 90s. All missionary work makes a difference!

That's all folks! Thanks for your love and support! I sure do love you all and I know if you will put the Lord first, everything as in everything will fall into place better than you could imagine. Love you!

-Sister Davidson 

April 14, 2014

Family!

Hello!! Thank you so much for your emails! Loved them! Sounds like it is warming up there and you are all excited for the Spring! Enjoy the goodness of spring! Eat lots of Peeps for me!

This week was great! We were able to watch General Conference this past weekend!!!! Ah man it was great! I LOVE General Conference. All the talks were perfect, they were all inspiring, and they were all coming from the Lord for us! It was great. If you ask me my favorite, they all were my favorite. I loved all of it. I really liked President Monson's talk about just loving more. About just having more charity. I really like how it seems as if all the talks of President Monson are always about just following the example of the Savior. For me it is an example of how President Monson is truly a prophet of God. He doesn't self-claim himself to be a prophet, or he doesn't ever bring attention or call the fact that he is a prophet, but he is a humble servant of the Lord who when he speaks, the love of God is felt through him. I love it. 

This week I've learned a lot about faith. We were reminded about the faith that the early pioneers had. In studying the scriptures I have been noticing the strong faith of all the prophets and their devotion to staying true to the faith. The prophets had it hard. They were persecuted, they were rejected over and over again not just by strangers but by their own family and friends. They continued to be true to Jesus Christ. They continued to fear God more than they feared man. During Conference I learned a lot about being a determined and dedicated disciple. There will always be opposition to good, meaning there will always be the opportunity to stand up for what we believe in. Sometimes that means we will stand alone. But we really are never alone as Christ is there for us. Christ is the ultimate example of standing up for what was right. He really was the absolute perfect person ever. He really is the Son of God. He choose not to commit sin, He had the ability to, but He chose to resist and to choose the right every time. The little negative things that pass through our heads sometimes. The negative things we think of others at times. The unkind judgements we sometimes make. The things we fail to do everyday simply b/c we're too tired, or we've had a long day. When we make excuses for ourselves, He never did that. Wow, I love our Savior Jesus Christ. He really is everything. I know that if we will follow up, if we will have faith in Him, all things will work out. We will have the courage to stand up for what we know to be right. We will be happy, and Christ and Heavenly Father will be happy with us. 

I love you all so much! I hope you're doing the little things EVERYDAY that will bring you closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. Don't make exceptions for ourselves, don't make justifications for ourselves if we should do something but we put it off for whatever reason. I know that when we follow the Savior with full purpose of heart, we will be blessed more than we can ever imagine. 

Mahal ko kayo!

Choose the right. Stand up for what you believe in. Stand up for what you know to be right.

-Sister Davidson 

pictures! :)

1. We had FHE at the Abenoja family! (they are less active in our ward) It was a lot of fun with a lot of great games!

2. The ward! 

3. The Abenoja family! AND we were soooo excited b/c they ALL came to General Conference!! When we asked how they liked it they said it was inspiring!! We were sooo excited they came!

4. We had a GREAT CSP in our area helping the community help widen the drainage system, which is very needed.

5. Some of the Sisters mixing the cement together! Crazy how easy it is, and then I think we make things so complicated in the States, just saying. 

1. The Elders moving big chunks of old cement to be broken down and be made into new cement! 

2. Good work Sister Gancial! And good work Elder. Supervision is always needed as Dad is so good at teaching us ha ha.

3. And then putting the cement in the block things which make it all stick together! Yep we could totally start a construction group. But... we wouldn't hire ourselves.

4. After a morning of work, the nap is necessary.

5. Go CAB Zone!!! 

 Getting fancy with the camera! I love Sister Ganacial!

2. Elder Wong and  Elder Illustrisimo our great Zone Leaders!

3. CAB ZONE!!! BEST Zone literally ever! This was right before transfer day! Every single companionship was changed with this transfer except for Sister Gancial and myself! Blessing that we get to stay together! But our zone literally is sooo different now as half the zone is now gone and we have so many new missionaries. It will be interesting how everything will be different and so great!

4. Little JJ pulling faces again! I don't know where he learns them all but I love it!

5. Little Precious is a great driver! Working with Bro Allan and Sister Lea our amazing ward mission leader and his wife.

That's all folks! 

I hope you enjoy the pictures but more importantly I hope you feel my love when I send them all! You all are great and I love you so much! I KNOW if you make the Book of Mormon a big priority in your life, you will meet Jesus Christ more than you ever have before. He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer. Without Him we are nothing. With Him, all things are possible. With Him, we have the ability to become like Him. Get to know Him. Let Him be your best friend. You won't regret it.

Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Davidson :)