…What

Okay.

This is a weird one.

Okay, I'll update everyone on Crisamae.. preeetty sure I've talked about her before? She is our most progressive investigator on the island with special sacrament, we hold the meeting in her house and everything, I think I mentioned how she wants to be baptized so badly and was just waiting for us to give her a date because she saw us do it with other people and was like "Oh okay, you wait you don't ask for one." OKAY SO she needs to get married so she can be baptized, right? Okay, marriage is like the worst and most confusing thing ever here and so no one gets married, but her and her husband Ryan really truly do want to be married, they just lack funds, etc. So the sisters in Cauayan told us that they also had an investigator to marry so they went to their judge to figure it out and he is amazing gali, he asked "Why do they want to be married?", "To be baptized", "Alright then! Here are the papers, have them sign here and here and bring them back to me!" Literally as simple as that. So they go and ask him how we do that here in Sipalay and he just gives them the papers to send to us and he will do the whole thing. SO AWESOME. So there isn't like mail and stuff here because no one really has houses, so the sisters had to send the papers to us on a ceres bus and we had to wait and meet the bus and get the papers. Still pretty simple. So we time when the bus is coming and go to an appointment right by where it will stop. We walk out of the appointment and the bus going driving past. AH. So we go running off after it, skirts flailing, but its already way too far in front of us. Magically a trike pulls up and is like "Mambaroto?" (They always do this because thats where the church is so anytime the trike drivers see us they always come and ask "Mambaroto?" and usually its annoying because obviously I'm walking down this road and not in any indication going to the church right now, but this time it was a huge blessing because Mambaroto is the next bus stop)  "YES" we reply and jump inside, "FOLLOW THAT BUS!" We go flying after the Ceres but it takes a different route than the trike can so we had to detour and lost it. We zoom on gihapon to the next stop but when we get there its too late, its already gone on to the next stop... an hour away. So now I'm thinking, "Okay, I can either call the sisters and ask them to go to the judge...again... and get the papers... again.. and send it on the ceres... again.. OR we can go to the next stop and get those ones." We decided to go to the next stop. 2 hours later we were back in Sipalay, papers successfully received,very windblown but happy.

Now that we have those papers all we have to do is have them signed and its baptism dayon. The plan (as of last friday) was to have the wedding last saturday and the baptism this saturday (for obvious reasons). Crisamae and Ryan are all for it, they just wanted to contact their parents first, shempre, so they can tell them they are getting married gali. Totally reasonable. But their cell phone is dead, they have no electricity in their house, and they have no load to call. So we offer our phone, problem solved right? Oh yeah, did I mention that its a huge storm here that is from the real storm in the place where their parents live? Try calling. No service. SO. We still have... however many days... haha.. tillsaturday, to contact their parents, sign the papers, have the baptism, and live happily ever after.

Even if we can't work everything together by this Satuday, ayos lang gid, totally fine. "I would that it would be in my time... but if not I will still rejoice." Alma 13:25

We also attended seminary this last week because they are going to do a "mini mission" thing and wanted us to come and pretend to be investigators so the students could practice and then we give feedback and suggestions. So we have a few investigators that attend seminary, right? Oh my gosh it was the best thing of my life having my own investigators teach ME the restoration hahaha. Introducing themselves "Hi, I'm Elder Craste", hahaha. What a pleasure.

We were reading this morning in Mosiah 26:2, I don't remember if I've shared this one already, but I love how it shows the difference it makes in our lives when we realize that there IS a life after this one. There IS a "tomorrow". Because no tomorrow means no consequences. Just like groundhog day, right? Doing whatever you want because there is no tomorrow to give you the results of your actions. Or like that movie Max Keebles Big Move, where he thinks he is moving so he does a bunch of tomfoolery things and then turns out they don't move. And now he has to face all the things he has done. If we don't believe, or fully realize, that there is a life after this one, what would be the point of doing good? Of keeping commandments? Of not living only for the moment? Just do whatever makes you feel good because this is all there is- no eternal consequence, right? BUT when you really believe in the after life, everything you do should be with the realization of your choices effect in that life. There is not a single choice that we make here that will not to some extent carry over to the next, for better or for worse. If I've already shared that insight before, patawad lang beh. #Bythemouthoftwowitnesses

My personal study this week has been ridiculous. Its like a mini general conference session every morning. I don't know if its just because the Lord has a lot he wants to teach my right now or if its my attitude towards wanting to learn a lot (probably both) but its been so fun. Its like I've been living in Clearland #Thewindboy

As for... you know... haha its so weird. Mostly actually just my dreams at night are like dug induced or something, I'm am having the strangest dreams. One night I'm dreaming that I'm sitting in cafe rio with everyone and I just have a fit because I keep saying things in Hiligaynon and no one understands, so I go to the bathroom and call Hilary (Sister Roos) and I'm just crying to her, speaking in Hiligaynon, weirding out everyone else in the bathroom.
      But you know, its okay. There is no way to try and describe any of this. I am enjoying (thats not even a close to sufficient adjective) being the Lord's full time missionary more than anything I have experienced in my entire life. This has without any doubt or argument been THE single most important and best choice I have ever made. I could never ever ever ever ever have imagined what these last 18 months have been to me and will continue to be not only until my last mortal day but into the eternities. This mission will effect me every single second of every single day for forever. While my full time service is on its final lap (and you better believe I am SPRINTING to the finish) its only the beginning of my lifetime service. That is one of the things that the Lord has been teaching me more fully detailed these last weeks. The Lord's prophet, Joseph Smith, says some part what I'm feeling pretty well...
  "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to thevictory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forthanthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us toredeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free."

I know that I may still have another email next Monday, but on the off chance that this is it, I just want to leave with anyone who reads this my personal witness and testimony of the living reality of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that my Heavenly Father sent me, and all of us, here to this temporary earth full of opposites because He loves us more than we comprehend and knows who we are and what we can become. I know there is life after earth. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is our key to happiness and peace in this life and exaltation in the next. I know that I will see my Father and my Savior again and I am doing everything within my power to make sure that that reunion will be joyous and eternal. I will be spending the rest of my mortal life ensuring that happy ending, not only for myself but for my family and for all of God's children."Let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, wewill praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power,and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say thesmallest part which I feel." 

"I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, thatthey might have everlasting life." ... and that calling is just beginning.

All my love,

Sister Manwaring