El Nino

heyO!

sorry i've been MIA with the email! I got robbed of my pday last week b/c I had food poisoning. Sadly, I think I got it from my own cooking haha Sis.Mahinay said it's proof that I'm not ready to get married yet haha that's ok with me (:

Sis.Mahinay and I got to go to the temple this week! I loved it as usual. Everytime I walk in the doors, I always feel like I'm home. I guess in a very real way, the temple is a resemblance of our heavenly home where we're all trying to go back. Temples are true blessings for us and I'm so grateful that because of the Gospel of Jesus I know how to get home.

We are working with some superrrrr great investigators right now, mostly youth! It always amazes me that instead of getting on fb or playing basketball with their friends, what our investigators want is to be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They truly are an example to me! One of our great investigators who is getting baptized next month is Paul. He's such a good kid! When we taught him the word of wisdom, he stopped smoking with in a week. He came to General Conference last week, but he kept texting on his phone whenever a new speaker would come on. Eventually I reached over to tell him he'd enjoy conference better if he wasn't texting, but before I did, I looked at his phone. Come to find out that everytime there was a new speaker he would type our their names and takes notes on what they were saying! Those kind of things literally melt your heart as a missionary!!!!!

I want to leave you guys with a great quote from Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, "When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed." I testify of this principle as I have seen first hand how the Gospel changes my investigators for the better. There is a super old grandpa in our ward, Tatay Sugarol, that walks in the heat, and over hills and sometimes alone each Sunday just so he can come to church. He is a silent example to me of how Christ changes us.

I love you all! Stay cool! Have fun! And find a way this week that you can get to know your Savior better!

lots of love,

sister lauck

p.s. if you guys want to hear some bisayan, see what the city is like here in cebu, and see one of the many super youth that are here, check out this video!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-01-003-sharing-your-light?category=youth-media&lang=eng&cid=HP_TU_4-21-2015_dPTH_fMLIB_xLIDyI-2_

pictures: us w/ tatay sugarol!

             us w/ some of our super awesome youth investigators!

              me @ the temple 

Malipayan Kais Tanan

You can say I've been slacking a little on the emails. I'm sorry!!! Life has been busy, but great! I think the secret for why missionaries are so happy is that they are never really thinking of themselves.

In no particular order, here are some things that have been going on in my life:

Another earthquake happened 

I went to the dentist and learned they don't really believe in anesthesia/pain numbing medication (btw, I would not recommend going without either of those two )

Went on splits with Sis.Bolo and got to go back to my old area with my old investigators! It was heaven!

Did cleaning checks for the sisters in our zone

But this was the cherry on top.........

My investigators from my last area got baptized!!!! Juliet & Angel & Mark & Jefferson!!!! Even though I'm no longer assigned to the area, I got to attend because I'm still in the zone. And I even scored and got to give a talk on the Holy Ghost. It literally was the best thing ever. I just sat there during the baptismal service and soaked in the spirit and the joy that comes from watching people you love make a decision to come closer to our Savior. It was pure bliss. You have these feelings as a missionary that really are indescribable. I know this church is Christ's church because when I live the Gospel and its teachings I am so happy. I know it's true because I have watched others being changed by Christ and their commitment to follow Him. I have felt the Spirit testify to my heart that all these things are true. I know that Heavenly Father wants for all of us as His children to feel this happiness, His happiness. I'm so lucky that I get to share what brings me eternal joy with other!

Hope everyone gets to feel a little bit of that eternal joy this week!

love,

Sister Lauck (:

Loving Missionary Life!!!!

Okay sorry, this week is more just like pictures............

I went to my first MLC last week! It stands for Missionary Leadership Council... or something like that haha I LOVED it! The Spirit was so powerful and it was neat to see first hand the love and work that goes into doing this work here in Cebu East. And it was super fun b/c I got to meet up with my batch of missionaries that I came here with over a year ago (pic #1)

we also did some service this week helping some members dig a septic tank. Sis.Bolo got a "stolen shot" of me (pic #2) (:

Sis.Sears, Sis.Mahinay, and I are loving life! We have all been nicknamed by our investigators -

Sis. Sears is PUTI- which means white

Sis. Mahinay is KUSGAN - which means fast/strong; because her last name means slow..... it's funny to the filipinos

And I am MESTIZA - which means mixed blood

so that's that!

And then there's a picture of our area (: it's desert meets mountains meets tropical forest!

I love everyone! I'll send everyone a better email next week!

Sister Lauck (:

Happy March!!! (:

March has come, which means I'm starting my 2nd summer in the Philippines aka THE SWEATFEST!

So last week Sis.Bolo and I were enjoying ourselves in our perfect area with our perfect investigators, happy to start another transfer together and finish up Sis.Bolo's training (:

And then transfers came. And I transferred.......... the next area over hahahaha we were so sad, but totally laughing about it at the same time! 

So now I'm in a three some with Sis.Mahinay & Sis.Sears and we are STL's (Sister Training Leaders). And we had 0 investigators attend church, which was a rude awakening from the 9 investigators Sis.Bolo and I had the week before haha but such is life! But I'm so excited to work with all of the sisters and really just get to learn from them -  I'm already trying to work on making some goody baskets for all of them, so I am definitely in my element (:

The only hard part about leaving my area was saying good bye to my investigators - we all cried every lesson my last day in the area. Even though I only taught them for six weeks, we grew so close to each other and to the Savior. The sweetest blessings of a mission are getting to watch these people you love grow. Sis.Juliet, who didn't really want to be taught when Sis.Bolo and I first met her, is getting baptized next week. Sis. Reah, who hadn't read the Book of Mormon the past year she had been investigating, read through 2nd Nephi in just 2 weeks. It's the greatest feeling in the world (: That's the power of following our Savior. Real change occurs in your life. I have a huge testimony of that as I've watched the same process take place in my own. There's no greater feeling of happiness than knowing you are getting closer and closer to becoming like our Father in Heaven and His Son (:

Needless to say, I am a happy camper!

Love everyone oodles and oodles!

Sister Lauck (:

p.s. for pictures: sis.bolo and I helped an investigator harvest their crops (:

                         we had a sister sleepover complete with junk food for sis.davis's (our house mate) last night in the mission before she went home 

                         sis.angel (our ibd) & me

Happy Valentine's Day

Yesterday at church everyone asked what Sis.Bolo & I did for Valentine's day. Our response - "we worked." hahaha so we did nothing special, but there was still plenty of love to go around (:

Do you know what was not fun about my week though? When I had to eat the stomach lining of a pig. It had the consistency of rubber and the taste of.. well, whatever stomach lining taste like haha and to make it worse it was deep fried, as is everything here in the Philippines. I'm pretty my life expectancy has decreased by 2-3 years.

On a super cool note, President Beck ,the Church Young Men General Presidency and Elder Bowen of the Quourm of the 70 visited our mission (:

But the highlight of my week, as with every week, is teaching my investigators! This week we were teaching RJ. He's a great 18 year-old kid who made a lot of mistakes at an early age in his life. We were teaching him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he asked me, "Sister Lauck, do you actually think I can change? Like really change? I think I've done too many bad things to feel clean again." I was SO happy to tell him with full confidence that he can indeed change. In essence, all of us need to change, whether we've made big mistakes or little ones. And that's what I LOVE about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a message of hope & 2nd chances. The reason Heavenly Father provided us a Savior is so that He can help us be cleansed of sin and especially help us to change, especially because we cannot do it on our own. That's definitely a lesson I've learned time and time again on my mission and I am extremely grateful that I have a knowledge that I can become clean in every way and become a better person through following my Savior Jesus Christ. What a blessing this Gospel is in my life (: And the best part is that I get to share it with my friends like RJ, who don't have this knowledge. I know Heavenly Father wants us to become like Him, so He provided us with EVERYTHING we need to be successful. I know He loves you and He loves me. I hope everyone is able to feel the love He has for you in a very personal way! I love you all (:

Sister Lauck

p.s. pics - the 4 pinays (well 3 real ones + me the wannabe) at a mission conference

the elders and us had a cake party (filipino tradition) at an investigator's house

Swete Ko Kays Tanan

Just for funsies, y'alls Bisayan phrase for the day:"swete ko kays tanan" = I am the luckiest person ever

Which is exactly what I am (:

Sis. Bolo and I had 9 investigators go to church yesterday. I was so happy that last night my facial muscles were dead sore haha and that's saying something because I usually am exercising those bad boys everyday! 

It was also so neat because Sis.Bolo and I saw direct blessings in our work as a result of our fast for our investigators. Sis. Juliet, who said last week that baptism was not the right decision for her, came running up to us when we saw her at her job saying, "Sisters, sisters, baptize me tomorrow! I got an answer! I know this church is true". That's probably my favorite thing to teach as a missionary - that people can pray directly to their Heavenly Father about whether what we testify, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church here on the Earth, is true or not. And if they have sincerity and our willing to act upon their answer, they ALWAYS receive an answer from Him. It's a formula that works every time (:

I love everyone! Whether you are a member or not, try asking our Heavenly Father if these things are true, and I KNOW you can get an answer from Him personally! 

love,

sister lauck (:

Happy February!!!!!

Hey y'all!

In case anyone was having a bad day...

Here's a picture with cute, little Filipino children to cheer you up (: (they don't look too happy in the picture, but I promise, they really are happy kids)

and here's a great quote from our living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson:

“So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment.”

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned on my mission is that when the rough waters come, there are still so many reasons to be happy and smile. Happiness is definitely a choice! (: 

I love everyone!

Sister Lauck (O: